World Almanac Dismisses Last 2.5 Months Of The Year

This is absolutely silly. ABC 7 Chicago is passing on The World Almanac's Top Ten Stories of the Year. I thought it was a little wierd at first that the Almanac would pass such judgment with more than three weeks still remaining on the calendar, but check this out: the list was obviously compiled in mid-October. Qualifiers on the Top Ten list make this clear.

For example, "Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained at large as of Oct"; "As of Oct. 15, coalition troop deaths since the start of the invasion totaled over 1,227"; "By mid-Oct. an estimated 70,000 people had been killed [in Sudan] and 1.4 million displaced." The Almanac is dismissing two and a half whole months of 2005! And the most glaring example:

2. Polls showed Pres. George W. Bush (R) locked in a tight race for reelection against Sen. John Kerry (D, MA). Kerry had pulled ahead of the Democratic pack and effectively secured nomination Mar. 2 by nearly sweeping "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses. On July 6 he tapped as his running mate Sen. John Edwards (D, NC), his last serious rival in the primaries. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, an early front-runner, had failed to win any primaries. The Bush administration's war on terrorism-as waged in Iraq and elsewhere-and the economy were key issues in the Nov. 2 election, in which control of Congress was also at stake.

The list has been compiled before the elections, so the Almanac can't point to the election itself as one of the top ten stories of the year. Instead, it claims that the "tight race for reelection" is a major story, and talks about the election in past-tense, but doesn't mention who won. It's like one of those comedy bits where someone can't remember a name, and tries to hide the fact by mumbling and passing his face over his mouth.

"Who won the election, Almanac?"
"Well, it was krbsh."

Yeah, Almanac. We really trust you for our facts and history. One of the most important elections in the history of the United States, and you can't be bothered to wait it out before you complete your Top Ten list for the year?