Cheers and Jeers - 2022 Edition

Cheers and Jeers - 2022 Edition

December 28, 2022

Welcome to David Gershwin Consulting's 2022 edition of Cheers & Jeers – our perspective on the best (and the worst) of politics, sports, culture, and media this past year. 2022 was just like the previous pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, but with more variants, more natural disasters caused by climate change, and more?bigotry coming from Lauren Boebert. And yet, we have hope for a better future.

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with our assessments, we want to wish all our readers CHEERS in the most boisterous way possible, and extend our wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2023.

Let’s get to our Cheers and Jeers!

GLOBAL CONFLICT

Cheers?to the Ukrainian people, for standing up against aggression and drawing down Russian resources since Russia's invasion in February. From driving back Russian troops with strong counter-offensives, to being?forceful and righteous in asking for more foreign aid, Ukraine and its people provide hope and optimism, even when times seem grim.

Jeers?to North Korea, which, on top of its despicable record on human rights, military belligerency, and unrelenting repression of its own people, is?covertly providing arms?to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. One would think Putin might be humiliated by having to receive support from a relatively diminutive nation, but it just goes to show you how despots have to prop each other up whenever possible.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Cheers?to President Joe Biden, who has made exceeding expectations an art form. Building on an already-impressive legislative agenda in his first term, Biden's shepherding of the Inflation Reduction Act, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and addressing gun violence with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act are just part of what the Biden administration was able to accomplish in 2022. Biden even proved you can win by losing (less), boasting some of the?least severe midterm election losses?by a sitting president in recent memory. Don't count him out in 2023...or 2024.?

Jeers?to Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, whose conspiracy theories and well-documented anti-Semitism make the strongest case yet for meaningful K-12?education. We don't want to give her cheers in any way, but we do want to recognize that some of her most ludicrous statements have some entertainment value, including fabricating a wild story that Nancy Pelosi used "gazpacho police" to spy on legislators, showing us all her poor command of the English language when she said Jan. 6 insurrectionists had their rights "fragrantly violated," and concocting a?conspiracy theory Impossible burger, weaving together tech titans, forced vegetarianism, and science, telling us that "Bill Gates wants you to eat his fake meat that grows in a petri dish."?

CALIFORNIA POLITICS

Cheers?to State Senator Scott Weiner for being one of the?strongest pro-housing voices?in the California Legislature. Pilloried by NIMBYs ("not-in-my-backyard"-ers) but respected by his peers and those who are looking for creative ways to solve California's housing crisis, Wiener exemplifies what policy leadership looks like: he doesn't do what's easy - he does what's right.

Jeers?to the backers of Proposition 29, the kidney dialysis measure, which appeared on the California statewide ballot for the third election cycle in a row. A proxy battle for the ongoing fight between a healthcare worker union and kidney dialysis companies, Proposition 29 would have required doctors to be present for all dialysis sessions (something no other state requires) and for requiring the reporting of infections to the State of California. That sounds great, except those infection reports are already being given to the feds. Voters, also for the third election cycle in a row, were smart enough to?send it down to defeat by nearly a two-to-one margin.

TECHNOLOGY

Cheers?to?Asurion?(more commonly known as uBreakiFix) for the easiest tech repairs I've ever had, replacing a worn-out internal battery on the very laptop this newsletter is being typed on right now. Convenient, reasonably priced, and fast, they brought peace of mind to a joyless task.?

Jeers?to the authors of the countless?"we're updating our privacy policy" notices?we're receiving as pop-ups, email, or other annoying forms of communication. We're not sure how much more techno-surveillance there could possibly be, and there's no clear statement of just exactly how much our privacy is being violated to begin with. Communications query: what does it mean for us, other than the fact some coder knows I just purchased electric toothbrush refills on Amazon and subscribe to at least one out-of-state newspaper?

BASEBALL

Cheers?to the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, for ending a storied career with impressive regular season and Home Run Derby performances. The former Dodger and Angel?joined the 700 club, with 703 career home runs, and came within one home run of making the Home Run Derby finals. Pujols has always been known as a?positive clubhouse influence?and a generous philanthropist as well. And it looks like due to?contractual obligations he'll be sticking around the Angels organization?for quite some time.

Jeers?to the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels for an extended?bench-clearing brawl?after a fairly obvious intentional hit-by-pitch that gave a?Stanley Cup Finals?scuffle a run for its money. Guys, this is just NCAA - no class at all.

SOCCER

Cheers?to LAFC winning the MLS Cup over the Philadelphia Union in a thriller for the ages with the 3-3 draw settled on - what else? - penalty kicks at Banc of California Stadium. Winning with?backup goalkeeper John McCarthy?made the championship even sweeter for the eight-year-old franchise.

Jeers?to Qatar, for hosting a World Cup under the cloud of corruption, migrant worker deaths, sportswashing, and?anti-LGBTQ policies prohibiting the display of rainbow armbands on players and the wearing rainbow shirts by fans. And if that's not enough, Qatar's last-minute cancellation of the ability to sell alcoholic Budweiser beverages created a logistical headache, but one that Budweiser was able to overcome:?Argentina didn't just win a World Cup - they won a huge beer party as a result.

BASKETBALL

Cheers?to Saint Peter's for reaching the Elite Eight in the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament. With 2600 undergraduates, Saint Peter's has only slightly more students than my high school, but what they may not have in student body numbers, they make up for in spirit. Defeating Kentucky and Purdue showed that while they may be a?"Cinderella" team, this won't be their last invitation to the ball...or the dance.

Jeers?to the Los Angeles Lakers, for hanging on to Russell Westbrook and not backing up its talented yet elder statesmen of the game with some new blood. Bad shooting, bad in-game decisions, and bad team chemistry have swirled together to make a losing season stew that tastes awful. Upside: at the time of this writing, premium half-court seats that are usually the price of a monthly mortgage payment are a mere?$564 each?on the secondary market.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Cheers?to USC (via Oklahoma) quarterback Caleb Williams, for putting on dazzling athletic performances throughout the season.?Houdini-like escape moves, incredible passing and running ability, and winning the Heisman Trophy hands-down. And yes, even this staunch UCLA Bruin can appreciate just how great he is.

Jeers?to the?Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, simply for existing. I like Cheez-Its (sometimes, like, maybe once every two years). I like citrus. But Cheez-Its and citrus simply do not go together. Having an actual college football bowl game named after this gastronomic atrocity is ludicrous. Is there any college football player who would say with pride, "We are Cheez-It Citrus Bowl winners!"? No, no there isn't.

PRO FOOTBALL

Cheers?to the Minnesota Vikings, who pulled off the greatest second-half comeback in NFL history. Scrappy veteran Kirk Cousins?got the game ball, as if there was any question as to why.

Jeers?to the Los Angeles Rams, who not only missed the playoffs after last year's Super Bowl win, but are now going to be dubbed the "worst defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history." Yes, injuries played a key role in this debacle, but like the Lakers, the Rams could use some depth, roster-wide. But due to the trades for Matt Stafford and others, there's a?dearth of draft picks in the Rams' future?that makes recovery from this abominable season a difficult task.

MUSIC

Cheers?to Broken Bells (featuring the Shin's James Mercer and Danger Mouse's Brian Burton) for their single?"Saturdays"?off their album?Into The Blue. "Saturdays" gives us a multi-instrumental taste of retro-psychedelia that is layered, swirling, and, yes, incredibly catchy.?

Jeers?to Johnny Depp and the producers of the MTV Video Music Awards for allowing him, fresh off the verdict in his defamation trial against Amber Heard, to drop in as the iconic MTV spaceman for no real purpose other than shock value. But that's just the world we live in now, isn't it?

FILM

Cheers?to Cate Blanchett for yet another?riveting acting performance?in?TáR. She makes it look so effortless, we're believing at every turn that her character, conductor and composer Lydia Tar,?is real, not fictional. It's so convincing that audiences believe it's a biopic. While it's not an Avatar-like success commercially, expect Blanchett and?TáR to walk away with some gold hardware early next year.

Jeers?to the?"Don't Worry Darling" faux feud?between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh. Although generating publicity for movies, already struggling with anemic box office numbers, is more challenging than ever, we'd like to think there are better ways to accomplish those goals.

TELEVISION

Cheers?to creator and actress Quinta Brunson and the entire cast and crew of?Abbott Elementary, who take the best of breaking-the-fourth-wall docu-comedy techniques to the classroom, and do so brilliantly. Having parented through middle school, I can attest it's so damn funny because it's so damn accurate. Why there aren't more mockumentary-style productions on television is beyond me.

Jeers?to CNN, for firing Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter. The saga of Chris Licht re-imagining CNN but using this meta-media show as collateral damage is described in great detail by?Slate contributor Justin Peters. It's a loss for the network, for viewers, and all of those who care about the future of mass media in America.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Cheers?to?Mastodon, for showing how a decentralized social media platform can be a positive online presence. Yes, it could be more user-friendly and yes, there are some technical kinks to work out, but it has that peaceful, easy feeling of the Internet's halcyon days of the early- to mid-1990s.

Jeers?to Twitter's Board of Directors, for?agreeing to the company's sale?to Elon Musk and the resulting maelstrom of mismanagement that is making the "bird site" more toxic than it already was, which is quite an accomplishment.

And, finally, we would like to acknowledge?some?(sadly, we don't have room for them all!) of those who left us in 2022:

Vin Scully, Sidney Poitier, Ray Liotta, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Robbie Coltrane, Angela Lansbury, Gaylord Perry, Christine McVie, Shinzo Abe, James Caan, Bill Russell, Nichelle Nichols, Bob Saget, Michael Lang, Madeleine Albright, Vangelis, Paul Sorvino, David McCullough, Ronnie Spector, Tony Dow, Naomi Judd, Taylor Hawkins, Roger Angell, Jean-Luc Goddard, Bernard Shaw, Queen Elizabeth II, Mikhail Gorbachev, Olivia Newton-John, Irene Cara, Grant Wahl, Franco Harris

ABOUT DAVID GERSHWIN CONSULTING

If there's one thing we know by now, it's that 2023 will be full of surprises. But to prepare for those surprises, be they good or bad, it's important that we work on improving our professional game. Whether that means being a stronger advocate for your cause, being a more effective communicator, or simply knocking that next Zoom presentation out of the park, we can help you fight the good fight. Find out more at?www.davidgershwin.com?or drop us a line at?[email protected]