Is it possible to top a year like 2008? We’ve encountered everything from scandal to accidental celebrity deaths. History was made in politics with the presidential election as well as in the NFL with the league’s first ever 0-16 team. Although the recession hit hard, the entertainment industry made a few strides with superhero movies like Iron Man and The Dark Knight. Here’s a recap of what 2009 is up against.

Government officials and celebrities showed their true colors throughout the year. The true criminals and scumbags captured the headlines. Before the Rod Blagojevich controversy, there was Eliot Spitzer and his prostitute (she then made a singing debut out of the exposure). Really though, who cares about “Client #9” and Ashley Alexandra Dupré? Apparently Time believes that was the number one scandal of the year and there was no mention of our governor within the top ten.

O.J. Simpson is finally getting the jail sentence many believe he deserved years ago. I guess what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

The good side of politics came with our new president-elect, Barack Obama. It shows that our nation has finally progressed past racial barriers, and it’s about time.

On a sad note, death was prevalent for the famous in ‘08. The most shocking death of the year came early with Heath Ledger. An accidental drug overdose took the life of an actor that redefined the role of the infamous Joker in The Dark Knight.

Here’s a short list of other celebrities no longer with us: Bettie Page, Isaac Hayes, Bernie Mac, Michael Crichton, Charlton Heston, and George Carlin.

History was made within the National Football League. The Patriots were near perfection at the beginning of the year, but the choked in the only game that mattered. At least we can rely on the Detroit Lions to pick us up and set the bar with an NFL record of zero wins and sixteen losses. We may never again see this feat.

Michael Phelps came in a distant second to Detroit with history-making performances. So he won 8 gold medals against the best of the best swimmers in the Olympics. The suit did all of the work anyway. I’m totally kidding, that was the single most impressive athletic accomplishment of the year. The next best athletic achievements came from Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

The Cubs blew it again…I guess that’s old news though.

Television was entertaining this year. The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and House are still three of the best shows on television. If you haven’t seen Steve Carell’s character Michael Scott on The Office, you’re missing out. Heroes took a fall this past season, but still a decent show if you’re a fan of superpowers and unrealistic twists. No matter how tacky It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (with Danny DeVito) is, I can’t get enough of it. Finally, The Shield ended their reign this past year, and not a minute too soon. I enjoyed the show for a few seasons, but it was time to put that dog to rest.

The most important subject to mention of the entire year is the music. Some bands hit, like TV on the Radio and Coldplay, and one totally missed, Guns n’ Roses. Chinese Democracy started in the mid ‘90’s and should’ve stayed there. Go away Axl, you creepy, creepy looking man…thing. Coldplay is always golden in every aspect of their career. I’m looking to the start of 2009 with Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. A brilliant album I’m still listening to is from The Killers, Day & Age.

There were so many other stories out there, but everything is debatable and some of the stories are too depressing to think about. The one thing that did happen on the LAST day of 2008 was the arrest of Charles Barkley on a DUI suspicion, awesome (apparently a handgun and prostitute are involved, as well). We started 2009 with the Winter Classic between the Red Wings and Blackhawks at Wrigley Field. Nice transition from the old to the New Year. Kudos to you professional sports! Happy New Year, let’s hope for the same excitement this time around.

A month or so ago, I received a group invite on Facebook to join a group called, Save Illinois’ State Parks. Without giving it a second thought, I joined.

During my childhood, I spent summers going to these state parks to go camping with my family.

Nostalgia aside, I feel that the political ramifications of the petition to keep Illinois’ state parks open are of particular interest.

A couple weeks after I joined the Facebook group about Illinois state parks, my mom sent me a link to a online petition on the same topic. (The closing date was touted to be Nov. 1)

I applaud Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn for standing up for Illinois’ state parks. More than that, I applaud the Lieutenant Governor for calling our Governor out.

If you read Quinn’s plea on the petition site closely, you’ll find words like “irresponsible” and “doomsday” in reference to Governor Rod Blagojevich’s decision to close 11 state parks. Basically, Pat Quinn kept it real. He took on the most powerful state politician in HIS OWN party.

Finding a deeper meaning in this story is not exactly difficult.

The political scene in Illinois is in shambles. Democrats across the state are openly critical of Governor Blagojevich. As a result, nothing is getting done. We’re constantly spending money on “special sessions” that do nothing but frustrate those politicians who want to get things done.

The outlook for the GOP is even worse. There are virtually no strong leaders in the Republican party in Illinois.

I have no solutions to this problem. I almost have a degree in Political Science but the problems that Illinois politics face are beyond a B.S. from University of Illinois.

The proposed closing of state parks is just the beginning. We should probably get our shit figured out before the end.