Once again, we missed the apocalypse, or it missed us. But not everything made it past the end of the Mayan calendar. In some ways, 2012 really was the End of Days. Here's a look back at eight things we lost.
1. Twinkies
Ironically, these little artificial snack cakes were supposed to last long enough to feed post-apocalyptic foragers, but they were done in by simple economics and human greed, not an asteroid. Maybe some nostalgic internet tycoon will buy the recipe and start producing them ironically in a Converse-like comeback. Of course, without them, individual human beings might live longer.
2. Organized Labor
Okay, so maybe unions aren't dead, but 2012 was a bad year for what used to be the backbone of the American economy. In June, union-busting Wisconsin governor Scott Walker defeated a recall bid against him. Hostess execs vilified their unions, Rahm Emanuel fought with Chicago teachers' unions, and Michigan passed anti-union right-to-work legislation during a lame duck session. Though after the Newtown school shootings, we might see teachers' unions gain more public support.
3. Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye
After Pearl Harbor, he joined the Army as part of the all-Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Inouye took a bullet to the stomach, before destroying two German machine gun bunkers with hand. Before he could toss another grenade, his arm was shot off. Inouye pried the live grenade from his dead arm and threw it into a third bunker, destroying it, then killed the last German soldier with a one-armed machine gun blast. He received the Medal of Honor, and was elected in 1962, becoming the first Japanese-American in the Senate.
4. Political Compromise
Withot Inouye, Congress has nary a voice of compromise remaining, particularly on the Republican side. With the fiscal cliff looming, Congress is home for vacation. John Boehner has offered a "Plan B" option to avert tax hikes, but it's compromise in name only, as it never had a chance of passing the Senate. Of course, President Obama has little incentive to give ground, since he's riding high on a post-election wave of popularity and none of the Democrats' sacred cows are on the chopping block.
5. Partisan Election Prediction
If the election was about arithmetic, predicting it was about statistics. No matter that the media tried spinning the presidential election into a horserace--it was never very close. Nate Silver predicted the outcome of the election in all 50 states, proving the numbers don't lie, but guts do.
6. Willard Mitt Romney's Political Ambitions
He's gone! Let's never speak of him again. At least he's getting rest, having fun, loosening up. Republicans begrudgingly nominated Romney in a desperate bid to seem reasonable, but that didn't stop the Obama ground game. But Romney can revel in his booby prize: PolitiFact's "Lie of the Year."
7. Global Warming Denial
At least on the East Coast of the United States. Homeowners with underwater mortgages found themselves with underwater homes after Hurricane Sandy. The superstorm knocked out power to millions of people for days and thousands of people for weeks. Entire towns along the beach vanished. Seawater flooded every tunnel into Manhattan, and the seawalls didn't nothing to stop the record storm surge.
8. Easy Access to Assault Weapons
The brutal killings of 20 children and 6 teachers last week in an elementary school shooting leave no one undecided on gun control. President Obama might finally have the support he needs to pass a ban on assault weapons like the ones used in the shooting. In a bizarre retort, The NRA wants every teacher in the country packing heat. Something will be done in 2013, even if it's only a symbolic measure to assuage collective guilt.
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