2004; Looking Back

BY Laura Hoffman

In this year, Sen. John Kerry and George W. Bush battled for position of top dog… Bush was sworn into his second term on Jan. 20, 2005. Shamefully, U.S. media released graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. The images sparked outrage around the world. In Massachusetts, gay marriage was legalized (finally)… it was U.S. state to legalize unions between two people of the same sex.
In July, the Senate Intelligence Committee finally admitted that they were mistaken about the “weapons in Iraq” and called their predictions overstated and flawed… they were just WRONG!!
In pro sports, New England defeated Carolina in the Super Bowl, Boston defeated St. Louis in the World Series and Detroit defeated Los Angeles in the NBA Championship game. In college sports, Connecticut defeated Georgia Tech for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, and Southern California won the NCAA Football Championship. Smarty Jones was the horse of the year by winning the Kentucky Derby.
In entertainment, everyone’s favorite domestic lady was ARRESTED! Martha Stewart went to prison after being found guilty on four counts of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators. The Google search engine went public (oh, and made its creators BILLIONAIRES)! Dan Rather got CBS news in a lot of trouble after announcing that President Bush might have received preferential treatment when he joined the National Guard and later when he served in it… proving once again… don’t mess with little Georgie. Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ was HUGE! Everyone saw the movie, either because they wanted to, or because they’d feel guilty if they didn’t. Michael Moore’s documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 became the highest grossing documentary of all time while bashing the President, (watch out Michael!) The Federal Communications Commission fined CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl, $550,000 for Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s “costume malfunction”. Basically everyone “accidentally” saw Janet’s right breast after Justin ripped off the skimpy leather patch that was covering it. Considering that everyone watching the Super Bowl that year saw her… I’m just gonna guess that her record sales went up a little.
Big songs of the year include Kenny Chesney’s When the Sun Goes Down, Usher’s Confessions, and Gretchen Wilson’s Here for the Party and Redneck Woman. Important deaths include Ray Charles, Julia Child, Christopher Reeve, and Ronald Reagan.