It’s the end of 2010. Guess what that means here at the Freedom Bulletin? It’s time for my roundup of the top 10 most important, influential, and interesting people of the year (formerly the Imperial Awards, but now the Freedom Awards since I changed the name of my blog from the Imperial Bulletin to the Freedom Bulletin).
The list includes people good and bad, local, national, and international. For some reason, this year, at least to me, was much busier than most in terms of newsworthy, brave people who stand up for freedom…and people who are newsworthy for other reasons. As a result, it was extremely difficult to narrow it down to 10 people. But here goes:
10. Evgeni Plushenko – In the world of sports, it was Plushenko, a Russian figure skater, who stood out to me. Although he only won the silver medal in the Vancouver Olympics, he showed that he truly cared about the future of his sport by speaking out fearlessly against what he saw as unfair judging and an unfair scoring system.
9. Thomas Mortimer IV - The quadruple murder case of this Winchester, MA man, accused of killing his wife, children, and mother-in-law, was one of the most interesting, sad, and shocking crime stories of the year.
8. Philip Markoff – The alleged “Craigslist killer” will remain just that forever. One of the nation’s most notorious murder defendants, he committed suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial, leaving unanswered questions and mysteries in his wake.
7. Ron Paul – As always, this Congressman from Texas spoke out for liberty on many fronts this year, from WikiLeaks to health insurance to airport security. He was also awarded the chairmanship of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy.
6. Rand Paul – Not only the son of Ron but a libertarian / conservative leader in his own right, Rand defeated establishment candidates in the Republican primary and went on to win a Kentucky Senate seat this November, giving the Tea Party movement, and liberty in general, a great victory. I’m excited to see what he does once he takes office.
5. Scott Brown - Back in the beginning of the year, he was elected Senator, becoming the first Republican from Massachusetts elected to either part of Congress in recent memory. Although this trend did not continue in November (at least in his home state), a Republican Senator from Massachusetts is something special indeed.
4. John Boehner – Now the Speaker-Elect of the House of Representatives, Boehner was the Minority Leader when the Democrats forced their health non-reform bill through Congress. He condemned the bill in a moving speech, as well as getting all Republicans in the House to vote against it.
3. Ken Cuccinelli – As the Attorney General of Virginia, he sued the federal government over the health non-reform bill and its individual mandate and triumphed when the mandate was declared unconstitutional earlier this month.
The top two people of the year are both great in different ways. They are both worthy of being person of the year, so it was only right to do just that. The following brave freedom fighters are tied for person of the year 2010:
1. Julian Assange – Before 2010, hardly anyone had heard of Assange or WikiLeaks, but he became one of the world’s most talked-about people when his website published the “collateral murder” video and later thousands of secret diplomatic cables. Loved by many and hated by many, Assange faced death threats, attacks on his website, rape accusations, and the possibility of espionage charges because of his work for government transparency. He is truly an admirable person because he stands up for his beliefs no matter what the cost.
1. John Tyner – Many people don’t recognize his name, but almost everyone knows his famous words to TSA agents, which he captured on video: “If you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested.” Tyner had the courage to stand up to the TSA’s truly despicable policy of requiring people to either be seen naked or have their private parts patted down in order to board an airplane. This November, he helped to spark a long-overdue popular uprising. So this award goes not only to Tyner but to everyone who has protested, in any way, against the TSA’s attacks on our freedom and dignity.
Runners up:
- Jan Brewer – the Governor of Arizona who signed into law the controversial illegal-immigration crackdown.
- Jason Chaffetz – the Utah Congressman who was one of the first to protest full-body scanners and contined to speak out against them this year.
- Carla Howell – the Massachusetts small government activist who led the campaign to cut the state sales tax.
- Bill Hudak – a Massachusetts candidate for Congress who showed courage by sticking to his conservative, anti-Obama beliefs despite liberals’ ridicule.
- Judge Henry Hudson – the federal judge who ruled the individual health insurance mandate unconstitutional.
- Chris Liu – the “Patriot Pilot” who posted YouTube videos exposing the flaws in TSA security procedures.
- Bill McCollum – the Florida Attorney General who sued the federal government over the individual mandate.
- Meg McLain – a radio host who was handcuffed after refusing to submit to the TSA’s full-body scans and pat-downs.
- Michael Merlina – the Massachusetts man who sued the state for fining people who do not buy health insurance.
- Sarah Palin – this year, she toured around the country with the Tea Party Express, starred in a reality show, wrote a book, and campaigned for many conservative candidates.
- Michael Roberts – the pilot who encouraged his colleagues to boycott full-body scanners.
- Steven Slater – the Jet Blue flight attendant who quit his job by telling a passenger off, grabbing some beers, and sliding down the emergency slide.
