# Time's Person of the Year **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 11, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106 "2005-12-11T04:40:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/41 "2005-12-12T04:33:18Z")
Brad Pitt. He started the year banging Jennifer Aniston and ended banging Angelina Jolie. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/42 "2005-12-12T17:52:55Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Seconded. It combines the “mother nature” element with the “George Bush” element with a “holy shit, political patronage has gotten so bad that a guy went from regulating Arabian Horse judges to running our national emergency management agency” element. As I said earlier, this is not an award for the person who will most embarass Bush. I’ve got $20 that says it’s not Brown. Any takers? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/43 "2005-12-12T17:58:10Z")
I dunno. Karl Rove maybe? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/44 "2005-12-13T02:47:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think “bloggers” was considered a strong possibility last year. I don’t know what they’ve done this year that would warrant a nomination. While the blogs are definitely a part of the media cycle, I don’t know what they’re contributing at this point that qualifies as potentially saving the republic. Look at how the mainstream media has dropped the ball instead of running with stories potentially harmful to the administration. The Downing Street memo and Bush’s desire to bomb al-Jazeera are but two examples. The bloggers have emerged as the Fifth Estate, keeping a check on the Fourth Estate. The infamous Dan Rather memo scandal was largely a product of blogging. Blogging has emerged as a way to get information free of the corporate filtering that the mainstream media is strained through. It’s this unfiltered expression of opinion that is the lifeblood of a republic, and the function bloggers serve to keep the press honest is a valuable one. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/45 "2005-12-13T02:49:40Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > Do people still read Time? I cancelled my subscription at the end of last year after they made Dubya Man of the Year for the 2nd frickin’ time. I feel bad however, because I then missed their excellent cover story on the witty yet controversial Ann Coulter (R - Skeletal). :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/46 "2005-12-13T02:53:26Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > Brad Pitt. > > He started the year banging Jennifer Aniston and ended banging Angelina Jolie. If he ends up in a documented three way with both in the next week, THEN I’ll be impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/47 "2005-12-13T03:45:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Look at how the mainstream media has dropped the ball instead of running with stories potentially harmful to the administration. The Downing Street memo and Bush’s desire to bomb al-Jazeera are but two examples. The bloggers have emerged as the Fifth Estate, keeping a check on the Fourth Estate. In what way did they check the media, though? Those stories still got little coverage and didn’t have much impact on politics at large. > [@](#): > > The infamous Dan Rather memo scandal was largely a product of blogging. That’s true. I didn’t say they’ve had no impact. > [@](#): > > Blogging has emerged as a way to get information free of the corporate filtering that the mainstream media is strained through. It’s this unfiltered expression of opinion that is the lifeblood of a republic, and the function bloggers serve to keep the press honest is a valuable one. There’s “unfiltered expression of opinion,” and there’s also talking point dissemination. My basic point is that, at this stage of blogging, people who spend a lot of time on the 'net (as we do) think that blogs are a bigger part of the national media than they actually are. To me, the Rather Memo story is the biggest one the bloggers have gotten published, and that wasn’t this year, which doesn’t support the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/48 "2005-12-18T20:05:03Z")
How did everyone feel about the Bono / Gates selection? ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/49 "2005-12-18T20:07:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Bono, maybe? Live8 was a pretty big deal. Good call. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/50 "2005-12-18T20:50:20Z")
Good for Bono, but I don’t see Bob Geldof’s name mentioned anywhere. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/51 "2005-12-18T21:03:29Z")
I thought it was a mistake. TIME continues to pander to pop culture junkies. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/52 "2005-12-18T21:18:04Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Good for Bono, but I don’t see Bob Geldof’s name mentioned anywhere. 😕 Why should Bob Geldof have been mentioned? As for Bill Gates, anyone want to speculate on which year he’s awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? My guess is maybe ten or fifteen years from now, when the benefits of his vaccination programs are clear. ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/53 "2005-12-18T22:31:30Z")
what about judith miller? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/54 "2005-12-18T23:40:22Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Why should Bob Geldof have been mentioned? > > As for Bill Gates, anyone want to speculate on which year he’s awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? My guess is maybe ten or fifteen years from now, when the benefits of his vaccination programs are clear. This may be in jest, I can’t tell, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised. The Gates Foundation is doing some damn fine work in vaccination systems. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/55 "2005-12-19T00:47:10Z")
It wasn’t in jest. The contributions Bill Gates has made towards vaccinations in the third world should save thousands (millions?) of lives. He will be genuinely worthy of being awarded the peace prize. (Ever heard of Norman Borlaug? He’s an American who won the peace prize in 1970 for his work in disease-resistant wheat, which reduced malnutrition in the third world. Gates’s work is at least as significant.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/56 "2005-12-19T01:04:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Why should Bob Geldof have been mentioned? Well, the **TIME** editors cited Bono’s involvement with Live8: it’s goal of increasing aid to Africa, and cancelling the debts of the poorest nations. Bono certainly was involved, but Geldof was the one who made it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/57 "2005-12-19T03:29:46Z")
> [@marymargaret](#): > > Good call. 🙂 Thanks very much. 🙂 > [@blondebear](#): > > Well, the **TIME** editors cited Bono’s involvement with Live8: it’s goal of increasing aid to Africa, and cancelling the debts of the poorest nations. Bono certainly was involved, but Geldof was the one who made it happen. True. They seem to be citing Bono’s work overall for debt relief and things, which goes beyond just Live8 and has been happening for years. I guess that’s why it’s him and not Geldof - they picked the poverty theme and also honored the Gateses, although I don’t know that they did anything of note this year that they weren’t doing before. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/58 "2005-12-19T05:45:17Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Good for Bono, but I don’t see Bob Geldof’s name mentioned anywhere. 😕 Was Geldolf picked the year of Live Aid? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/59 "2005-12-19T06:51:04Z")
> [@marymargaret](#): > > How did everyone feel about the Bono / Gates selection? A limp-wristed selection, made because it’s guaranteed to avoid offending anyone. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106/60 "2005-12-21T10:03:23Z")
> [@marymargaret](#): > > Was Geldolf picked the year of Live Aid? **1985** [Time’s Person of the Year](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_of_the_Year#People_of_the_Year) was [Deng Xiaoping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Xiaoping) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/335106.md?page=4)