Hey everyone.  Happy New Years!  We, at 7DayBuzz, hope you all have a blessed and prosperous year.

2008 was an event-filled year, wasn’t it?  I thought I’d compile a list of the 10 stories that caught my attention the most.  I’d love to hear about the stories that captured your attention!  Okay, here goes:

10. Heath Ledger’s Death
I was not really a fan of Heath Ledger’s movies.  But he played the heck out of the joker in Dark Knight.  Such a terrible waste.

9. The Pregnant “Man”
This is so disturbing to me.  “He” was born a woman but is living his life as man, thus the media called him the pregnant “man.”  Even Oprah interviewed him!  Just a mess, in my opinion.

8. Michael Phelps and the Beijing Olympics
Yeah, the security measures were newsworthy, but Michael Phelps was THE story!  He took home 8, yes 8, gold medals.  Amazing!

7. Jeremiah Wright
He was Obama’s pastor  But he has uttered some very debatable statements, like “Blacks should not sing ‘God Bles America, but God Damn America.”  He also believes that the U.S. brought on the 9/11 attacks because it (the U.S.) has performed terrorists acts of its own.

6. Hillary Clinton
She began the presidential run as the front runner.  She ended up behind Barack.  But she got closer than any other woman.  Impressive.

5. Gas Prices
Oil started off this year over $100/barrel.  Got as high as $140+ a barrel.  Analysts were predicting prices would go over $150.  This contributed to astronomical gas prices.  In some places, gas was selling for $5/gallon!  What?!  Now, here we are on January 1, 2009 and oil is less $45!  I passed a gas station today and gas was around $1.39/gallon!

4. The Economy
Wow!  What do you say to this?  A lot of people are being hammered.  IT started with the influx of foreclosures, then banks started closing, then major car companies needed help.  Right now, it’s a trying time.

3. Tina Fey As Sarah Palin
She’s not your normal imitator.  In fact, she not an imitator at all, but man, did she have Sarah Palin down pat!  Sometime, it was hard to tell the two apart.  I guess Sarah was such a fan, that she used some of Tina Fey’s answers when interviewing:–)

2. Sarah Palin
She came out of nowhere.  Breathed life into John McCain’s listless campaign.  The Republicans were elated – INITIALLY!  Unfortunately, she wasn’t the smartest person when it came to interviews.  She turned out to be quicksand instead of the rock of Gibralter the Republican party was hoping for.

1. Barack Obama, elected as the first Black US President (44th to be exact)
He came, he saw, he conquered.  He started his quest for presidency with “Yes We Can” and ended up with “Yes We Did.”  His nickname is Teflon Obama because whatever was thrown his way just didn’t stick (and still doesn’t stick).

Affirmative action has always been and will always be a hot topic.  People either love it or hate it.  I don’t think there is a medium.  Unfortunately and whether people want to admit it, race is still a prevalent factor in how people are treated in America.  And although race relations in America are much better than they were, let’s say 40 or 50 years ago, we, as Americans still have a long ways to go.  Hence, the reason I believe affirmative action is still very much important in our society.  Of course, there are so many people who disagree with me.  For example, in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in Parents v. Seattle and Meredith v. Jefferson.  In these two cases, the Supreme Court was bitterly divided and ruled 5–4 that programs in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., which tried to maintain diversity in schools by considering race when assigning students to schools, are unconstitutional.

Now, I know you’re wondering how this relate to Obama’s nomination.  Yesterday, I was reading an article on cnn.com.  Here’s an excerpt from that article, “Barack Obama’s political success might claim an unintended victim: affirmative action, a much-debated policy he supports.  Already weakened by several court rulings and state referendums, affirmative action now confronts a challenge to its very reason for existing. If Americans make a black person the leading contender for president, as nationwide polls suggest, how can racial prejudice be so prevalent and potent that it justifies special efforts to place minorities in coveted jobs and schools?  “The primary rationale for affirmative action is that America is institutionally racist and institutionally sexist,” said Ward Connerly, the leader of state-by-state efforts to end what he and others consider policies of reverse discrimination. “That rationale is undercut in a major way when you look at the success of Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.”  Other critics of affirmative action agree. “Obama is further evidence that the great majority of Americans reject discrimination, reject prejudice,” said Todd F. Gaziano, a scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.”  To read the entire article, click here:  http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/28/affirmative-action-hurt-by-obamas-success/

I think the people who believe Obama’s nomination is proof that affirmative action is no longer needed are out of touch with reality.  Even though Obama won the nomination, he hasn’t won the race yet.  Not to mention that there are many people who say they will not vote for Obama simply because he is a Black man.  The people who are for Obama are looking for a change and believe Obama is the man to bring that change about.  Simply put, the people for Obama are not just for him because of his race.

What are your thoughts on this subject?  Do you think Obama’s nomination is hurting affirmative action?  Or will his nomination help affirmative action?  I wold love to hear your comments/thoughts…….