From arizona!noao-gemini!noao!rutgers!apple!ames!rex!ukma!uflorida!novavax!gould!bogus!user Mon Jan 22 22:57:31 MST 1990 Article 26 of alt.fan.dave_barry: Path: arizona!noao-gemini!noao!rutgers!apple!ames!rex!ukma!uflorida!novavax!gould!bogus!user >From: bougs@user.com Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry Subject: test Keywords: eat me BT. Message-ID: <666ish@user.com> Date: 23 Jan 90 02:40:26 GMT Reply-To: Bogus@user.com Distribution: alt Organization: Society for Free Dave Barry Lines: 425 Dave would dig his work being spread illicitly. He has of course already been paid... And with that in mind... here is Year in Review 1986. One of the funniest. P.S. I got this via anony ftp from some northeastern school, along with about 10 megs more of Dave Barry stuff. Anyone got a ftp site I could dump it to for the world... RSVP to this group... ;-) --------- DAVE BARRY -- THE YEAR IN REVIEW by Dave Barry JANUARY 1 -- In college bowl action, 'Goiters whip 'Roids, 'Geeters whonk 'Nads, and Colorado Raging Hormones upset Utah State Fighting Lavatory Inspection Certificates, leaving the question of who is national champion once again to be settled by the official NCAA procedure of drunks shouting in bars. 4 -- Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh discover that the human body does not contain, and never has contained, "tonsils" or an "appendix." The American Medical Association, in an official statement, acknowledges that it has "some explaining to do." 6 -- A woman in Teaneck, N.J., files a $327 million lawsuit against Halley's Comet for turning out to be a big waste of her time. 21 -- The American Medical Association announces that it has discovered a new human organ, the "bleemus," and that studies show most people probably should have theirs surgically removed. 27 -- A blue-ribbon panel studying government inefficiency reports that for the past nine years the U.S. Postmaster General has been a squirrel. Cold weather blankets most of the United States for the three-millionth consecutive winter, but for some reason this is still discussed extensively in the news. 30 -- Former President Gerald R. Ford is reported resting comfortably after undergoing elective surgery to have his bleemus removed. FEBRUARY 2 -- In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos, promising "free and democratic elections," opens his campaign with the slogan: "Vote for Me or I'll Shoot You in the Head." In Haiti, President For Ever and Ever Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier eats a cow. Tensions mount. 5 -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) orders all commercial 747s grounded after a routine inspection reveals that some of the planes are possessed by demons. In the Middle East, Col. Moammar Gadhafi moons the U.S. Sixth Fleet. 6 -- President Reagan turns 75 and continues to be healthy and alert, as is proved by news photographs of him at his ranch, chopping wood and riding his horse. Geologists at the University of Southern California report they have discovered a powerful new and hitherto totally unknown force in the universe, which they call "Velcro." 8 -- The U.S. House votes to ban TV advertisements for snuff and chewing tobacco, citing medical evidence linking these products to various diseases. A tobacco-industry spokesmen attempts to refute these charges, but his lips fall off. 9 -- President Reagan accidentally chops a leg off his horse. 10 -- Despite being President for Life and a Good Friend of the United States, "Baby Doc" is expelled from Haiti like a large human booger. His escape plane, thoughtfully provided by U.S. taxpayers, takes him to Yellowstone National Park, where he is used to plug up the Old Faithful geyser hole. No, seriously, "Baby Doc" is of course transported by grateful U.S. tax- payers to someplace much nicer than anything you could ever afford, where he will live much longer than you. 13 -- Congress passes the historic Gramm-Rudman Act, which states that in the event that the federal budget deficit continues to be a problem, Congress will meet and make a sincere effort to pass some kind of historic act about it. 17 -- Under the careful scrutiny of crack State Department observers, Filipino voters re-elect President Ferdinand Marcos by over 600 billion votes. Marcos, in a conciliatory mood, calls for "a time of healing" followed by "a time of giving people powerful electrical shocks in their private parts." 20 -- President Reagan visits the island of Grenada to commemorate the U.S. victory over communist Cuban troops armed with sophisticated construction equipment. Thousands of cheering Grenadans turn out to watch Air Force One gracefully touch down, then swoop back up into the sky because Grenada is too short for an actual landing. 26 -- In the Middle East, Israel blah blah blah Lebanon blah blah blah PLO blah blah Syria blah blah El Salvador. 28 -- Newly re-elected President Ferdinand Marcos and his lovely bloated wife Imelda and their children and aides hastily toss the gross national product of the Philippines into designer suitcases and flee in a plane thoughtfully pro- vided by U.S. taxpayers. MARCH 1 -- Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev offers to reduce Soviet missile strength by 50 percent on the condition that the United States "urinate in a jar." The White House angrily protests that under the Protocol Agreement of 1982, a superpower is not allowed to make a dramatic new arms-reduction offer until the opposing superpower has rejected the previous dramatic arms-reduction offer and made one of its own. The two sides agree to have preliminary talks to resolve this question, but cannot agree on a site. Every time any of this is mentioned on the TV news, thousands more viewers switch to "Lassie." 5 -- The Reagan administration asks Congress to give $100 million to a group called the "contras" to hold a covert war in Nicaragua. "Don't tell anybody!" the Reagan administration cautions. 6 -- In the Middle East, Iraq uses up all its young men and has to borrow some from Iran so they can keep having a war. 9 -- Opposition develops to the Reagan administration's Central American policy when it is learned that the "contras" are in fact a South Bronx street gang also known as "The Scumlords." 15 -- Kurt Waldheim issues a statement claiming that he missed World War II because of "car trouble." 23 -- Prince Andrew becomes engaged to Corazon Aquino. 27 -- Voters in the Illinois Democratic primary nominate Kurt Waldheim for lieutenant governor. 30 -- The Marcos family, seeking a permanent home, is refused admittance by every country in the world except the fledgling north African People's Republic of Moribundi, which says it will accept them under the classification "food." APRIL 7 -- Sen. Paula Hawkins undergoes surgery to have her brain connected to her mouth. 11 -- After aerial reconaissance photographs reveal that Moammar Khadafy is building a 375-foot-high middle finger near the highly strategic Gulf of Sidra, an angry President Reagan directs massive bombing raids against various sites in Liberia. 12 -- Worldwide reaction to the U.S. raids is mixed, the major criticism being that the president probably meant to attack Libya, which SOUNDS like "Liberia," but is actually a different country. In the U.S., polls show that 87 percent of Americans support the president and think they "probably would have made the same mistake." 18 -- A Government Accounting Office audit shows that although the "contras" have received $74 million in U.S. aid, they have only one receipt, for a $2.79 can of spray paint. 22 -- Risking widespread publicity, Bold and Probing Journalist Geraldo Rivera goes on national television and opens, for the first time ever, the vault where he keeps his styling mousse. Britain expels 27 Libyans. 25 -- True Fact: The U.S. government arrests 17 people for allegedly attempting to sell arms to Iran. This item will seem much funnier later on. 29 -- Kurt Waldheim is implicated in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Libya expels 57 Britons. 30 -- A nuclear accident in the obscure Russian town of Chernobyl sets off a chain reaction of increasingly threatening media accounts, culminating when the New York Post reports that all life on Earth has been destroyed. MAY 4 -- Britain expels 109 Libyans. 10 -- The official Soviet news agency Tass releases a photograph of a city street scene, with the caption: "All is well as citizens of Chernobyl are resuming normal activities." Clearly visible, in the background, is the Vatican. 14 -- The "contras" rob a 7-11. 15 -- The Senate blocks a White House effort to sell $3.1 million worth of missiles to Ted Turner. Libya, running low on Britons, expels some Koreans. 17 -- True fact: At Andrews Air Force Base, hundreds of media representatives watch as a 44-pound, radio-controlled, motorized, 18-foot-long model of a pre- historic pterodactyl, which cost $700,000 to build, is towed to a height of 600 feet and released, at which point it flies directly into the ground. 19 -- Britain expels two Welshmen and a Celt. 25 -- The Washington Post reports that when former Reagan aide Michael Deaver left the administration, he kept the briefcase containing the codes needed to launch a nuclear attack. Deaver assures a congressional committee he has "no intention" of using the codes "without permission." 31 -- A federal grand jury indicts Teamster Union President Jackie Presser after an eyewitness picks him out in a lineup that also includes Momba the Elephant and Wyoming. JUNE 2 -- Canada demands that Libya send it some diplomats so it can expel them. 3 -- The U.S. Senate begins TV broadcasts of its sessions. Although there was some concern that the senators might "ham it up," the opening broadcast goes smoothly, highlighted by Sen. Strom Thurmond's show-stopping performance of "Poppa's Got a Brand New Bag." 4 -- In the Middle East, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq. Also Yemen. 5 -- Defense Secretary "Caspar" Weinberger announces that the Department of Defense plans to buy 600 radio-controlled pterodactyls. 6 -- Bernard Goetz opens fire with a bazooka on a New York City subway and wounds 14 "contras." Kurt Waldeheim, under growing pressure, admits that he WAS involved in World War II, but only as a nurse in the British army. 8 -- The federal budget, completely out of control, rampages through downtown Washington for six hours before it can be restrained by consultants. Congress swiftly passes a bill authorizing emergency federal funds to repair restaurant damage, estimated in the billions. 12 -- French and British tourism officials, attempting to urge Americans not to be afraid to vacation abroad, are felled by sniper fire. 14 -- Eight concerned parents in rural Georgia sue the local school district for teaching their children the alphabet, which can be used to form dirty words. 16 -- Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos wake up hungry at 2:30 a.m. and order $276,000 worth of cocktail shrimp delivered to their house in an authentic 16th-century carriage drawn by concerned U.S. taxpayers. 17 -- Warren Burger resigns as chief justice of the Supreme Court to go to beautician school. President Reagan nominates William Rehnquist to replace him. The Vatican announces that the Pope will visit Miami in 1987 to film an episode of "Miami Vice." 22 -- Several desperate U.S. airlines announce a new promotional effort under which people who fly to Europe get to keep the plane. 25 -- The Third World asks the U.S. banking community if it can borrow $500 billion until Friday. 29 -- President Reagan announces that the SALT II treaty is "dead" and that he will continue to abide by it. White House press spokesman Larry Speakes clarifies this by explaining that the president "has no idea what he is saying." JULY 2 -- Millions of people throng New York, jamming overpriced hotels and restaurants, choking the streets and making it virtually impossible to get anywhere or do anything. This has nothing to do with the Statue of Liberty. This is normal for New York. 4 -- The world once again tunes in to New York harbor in breathless anticipation as President Reagan, having been carefully briefed, turns on a battery of laser beams trained on the "Lady in the Harbor," illuminating her for several unforgettable seconds before vaporizing her in the first truly successful test of the "Star Wars" missile defense system. 13 -- The Polish sloop Stomil arrives in New York to join in the July Fourth celebrations. This item is absolutely true. 16 -- Another true item: The United States, preparing to stage a secret clandestine operation against cocaine-processing laboratories in the Bolivian jungle, sends six U.S. Army helicopters to Bolivia in a huge C-5A transport plane accompanied by another plane containing trucks, jeeps, communications equipment, tents, field kitchens and other equipment. The preparations are carried out in absolute secrecy except for giant front-page headlines in various Bolivian newspapers. 22 -- The secret covert undercover U.S. anti-cocaine military force barges through the Bolivian jungle. The operation results in the successful capture of a goat, which exultant U.S. officials declare is responsible for at least 70 percent of the cocaine traffic in the world. 24 -- The Senate Judiciary Committee learns that William Rehnquist has 163 wives. AUGUST 1 -- William Rehnquist is linked to Kurt Waldheim. 3 -- Working in dark, cold and treacherous currents far beneath the surface of North Atlantic waters lashed by Tropical Storm Dwayne R. LePoon Jr., divers for the first time are able to get an "underwater eye" camera inside the wreck of the Titanic and discover that the ill-fated luxury liner had been operated by financally troubled Eastern Air Lines. 8 -- The Coast Guard begins a search for the Polish sailing ship Stomil after it fails to arrive for a scheduled visit in Chicago. This is the truth. 12 -- A SECOND Polish sailing ship, the Gaudeamus, shows up in New York harbor to join in the July Fourth celebrations. I realize nobody will believe this item, but it happened. 15 -- The White House announces that President Reagan and Vice President Bush, in an act of leadership, will lead a group of 78 top White House officials in submitting to voluntary urine testing for the presence of drugs. 20 -- The White House announces that the high-level urine testing of 78 top aides led by the president and the vice president went "extremely well," but for "technical reasons" they are going to try it again using separate jars. 30 -- The White House announces that the president's urine sample passed its drug test, although it had to be briefed by the samples of top White House aides. Vice President Bush's sample is reported to contain traces of kryptonite. SEPTEMBER 1 -- The FBI arrests Russian Gennady Zakhalov and charges him with being a spy, noting that his passport, under the heading "occupation," says: "spy." 3 -- After heated debate, the U.S. Senate votes 67-33 that William Rehnquist can be chief justice, but he must wear a wig. 7 -- The U.S. arrests Sergei Rachmaninoff. 9 -- The Soviet Union arrests Boris Karloff. 11 -- The U.S. arrests the Brothers Karamazov. 14 -- The Soviet Union arrests "Noodles" Stroganoff. 18 -- The United States releases Zakhalov at the same time that the Soviet Union releases Daniloff. This is NOT a "swap," White House spokesman Larry Speakes announces through a hole cut in a grocery bag over his head. OCTOBER 1 -- White House Spokeshuman Larry Speakes announces that President Reagan will meet with Soviet Premier Gorbachev in Iceland, but stresses that this will NOT be a "summit" meeting. "It will merely be a meeting between the leaders of the two most powerful nations on Earth," Speakes explains. 5 -- Wall Street is rocked by scandal as one of its most respected figures, Dow Jones, is arrested. Congress declares the tapeworm the official national parasite. 8 -- The U.S. Postal Service admits that it has never really had any use for the zip code. 10 -- President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev arrive in Iceland to not have a summit. They participate in welcoming ceremonies wherein native Icelanders proudly display examples of locally hand-carved sleet. 12 -- The superpower talks break down when Reagan refuses Gorbachev's proposal to exchange two celeries for a cheese. White House spokeshuman Larry Speakes announces that the talks were "not a failure" and he once saw "a giant croquet-playing moth." 15 -- Scientists at the University of Washington discover that all these years the TV people have been playing Henry Kissinger's voice at half speed. 19 -- The Supreme Court takes back several major recent decisions on the grounds that several justices thought they were voting on lunch. 23 -- Eugene Hasenfus, a U.S. citizen, is captured after his plane, on a routine Eastern Air Lines flight from Orlando, Fla., to Detroit, is shot down over Nicaragua. 27 -- The Boston Red Sox win the World Series. (Sports Fans: Clip this item out and use it, years from now, to start fatal arguments.) NOVEMBER 10 -- News reports claim that the Reagan administration has been sending arms to -- get this -- the IRANIANS, but everybody agrees this is too ridiculous to even think about. 16 -- In volcano-wracked Hawaii, several villages must be hastily evacuated after Imelda Marcos explodes. 18 -- In a special press conference, President Reagan announces that, well, yes, we DID send arms to Iran, but the reason we did it was, we WEREN'T trying to get the hostages out. Okay? The president is then forced to depart for an important previously scheduled nap, leaving Attorney General Edwin Meese to further clarify everything by explaining that we shipped some arms to Israel, which sold them to Iran, which paid $30 million into a Swiss bank account, from which it was sent to (why not?) the "contras," who used it to supply weapons to Christian Moslem militiamen linked to fugitive financier Robert Vesco and the late Jimmy Hoffa and Lee Harvey Oswald, who in turn sold them to raise the money to pay for Brenda's amnesia operation so she would remember what Lance had told her about Heather's motel rendezvous with Drake on the day Monica put the strychnine in Lizbeth's gumbo. Also Canada was involved. Meese stresses that neither the president nor any of his top foreign-policy advisers nor anybody else important knew anything about any of this because it was perpetra- ted by a person named Lieut. Col. Oliver North, who had seemed like a nice enough person so he was placed in charge of the foreign policy, which goes to show that these days you can't trust ANYBODY, although the president does feel that North is a hero so he has fired him. 19 -- White House Speakesman Larry Spokes tries to clarify everything further but no reporters show up because they're afraid they'll wet their pants. 24 -- As criticism of the Iran matter continues to grow, President Reagan vows to find out exactly who is in his cabinet and hold some meetings with them. Secretary of State George Shultz attempts to voice his full support for the president's Iran policy, but his words are muffled by his fake beard. 25 -- The Democrats, feeling tremendous concern for the future of the presidency and, in fact, the very nation, begin planning large parties. 30 -- The White House announces it has discovered that Lt. Col. Oliver North is responsible for the federal budget deficit. DECEMBER 1 -- Formerly secret papers are released showing that President Richard Nixon met in the White House with Elvis Presley who said he wanted to be a federal agent because he had done "an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques" and Nixon arranged for him to get a special badge with his name on it. This item is true. 2 -- Desi Arnaz goes to the Big Conga Line in the Sky, where he and Fred prepare an elaborate prank for Lucy and Ethel. 3 -- President Reagan nominates his top foreign-policy advisers for the Nobel Peace Prize for intelligence. 7 -- X-ray photographs of the new U.S. embassy under construction in Moscow reveal that Russians with canned food and stethoscopes have been embedded in the walls. 18 -- President Reagan, attempting to light the White House Christmas tree, launches a nuclear attack against the province of Manitoba, Canada. Fortunately nobody lives there. 25 -- Amid toil and strife, hate and bitterness, war and the threat of war, a weary world pauses to pork out on baked goods. 31 -- Speculation that there may be life on Mars is renewed after a space probe sends back a photograph showing the planet is strewn with condoms the size of Vermont.