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Best, Worst and Oddest Government Events of 2005

January - June

By Robert Longley, About.com

Most things our government does bring one of three responses: "That's great," or "That stinks," or simply "Huh?" I suspect that even in 1778, upon hearing that the Constitution had been completed, some brand new Americans -- probably anti-federalists -- said, "That stinks." Since your choice of response depends largely on your politics, I'm just going to throw these out there and let you decide if they were the best, worst, or just the oddest moments from U.S. government during 2005.

January Full Jan. 2005 Archive

Bush Gives 2nd Inaugural Address
After winning re-election to a second term in Nov. 2004, President Bush delivered his second inaugural address.

Powell Out, Rice In
Shortly after Collin Powell stepped down, Condoleezza Rice stepped up to serve as Secretary of State.

SBA Loans Set Record
The SBA announced it had approved a record number of small business loans during the first quarter of fiscal year 2005.

February Full Feb. 2005 Archive

Bush and Putin Share Some Face Time
President Bush and Russian President Putin held a face-to-face in Bratislava, Slovakia, to discussed the new "strong U.S.-Russian partnership,"

March Full March 2005 Archive

Dinosaur DNA?
In a story ripped from the pages of "Jurassic Park," NSF researchers found soft tissue surviving in the fossilized leg bone of a 70-million-year-old, female Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur.

Who Pays the Most Tax?
The Treasury Department tried to answer the question, "Who pays the most taxes?" Did you know that most Americans feel they pay more in taxes than Donald Trump?

Yucca Mountain Breakdown?
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) revealed that data used in suitability studies on the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository located in Nevada may have been falsified.

May Full May 2005 Archive

NOAA Makes a Really Good Prediction of Bad
In a tragically accurate prediction, NOAA warned of a far-above normal 2005 hurricane season. Maybe FEMA was watching a different channel.

Logging Protection Rule Cut Down
The Clinton administration's so-called "Roadless Rule" that had banned logging on some 58.5 million acres of national forest land was officially abandoned.

The Real 'Deep Throat' Stands Up
The identity of "Deep Throat," the shadowy inside source of information in the Watergate scandal was revealed. It was...

June Full June 2005 Archive

Medical Marijuana Suffers Supreme Bummer
In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that federal law can be used to prevent doctors from prescribing marijuana for medical purposes.

Supreme Court: Who is Master of Your Eminent Domain?
In another controversial 5-4 vote, the the constitutionality of the eminent domain powers of cities to seize privately owned land, homes and buildings when necessary to make way for private developments, like malls,

Hovering Hummingbirds
And in other news, the NSF discovered how hummingbirds hover.

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