Who’s naughty, who’s nice

Here are some of the public figures whose actions stood out in 2019. Naughty:

President Trump, for his effort to strong-arm a novice foreign leader into helping his reelection bid by investigating former Vice President Joe Biden.

U.S. Atty. Gen. William Barr, for acting as if he’s the president’s defense attorney and not the leader of the federal government’s top law enforcement agency.

Boeing executives and their enablers at the Federal Aviation Administration, for the egregious safety lapses in the 737 Max jetliner.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, for provoking massive pro-democracy protests and then grossly mishandling the government’s response.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for engineering the United Kingdom’s likely, and terribly unfortunate, exit from the European Union.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, South America’s version of Trump, for encouraging expansive destruction of the Amazon rainforest to increase grazing and farmland despite the grave threat deforestation in the region poses to global warming.

Nice:

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, for focusing the world on the damage that climate change will inflict on future generations.

The Twitter parody account Devin Nunes’ cow, for poking fun at the thinskinned Republican congressman from Tulare, Calif., prompting him to file suit.

John Crilly and a Polish chef called Lukasz, for grabbing a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk to stop a knife-wielding terrorist in London.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), for deciding that Congress could not look the other way when Trump sought to subvert U.S. foreign policy to serve his political ends.

Comedian Jon Stewart, for helping to shame Congress into extending financial and medical aid to ailing 9/11 first responders.

The diplomats and civil servants who defied Trump’s order not to testify in the House impeachment inquiry.

Gymnast Simone Biles, for expanding the boundaries of physical achievement.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, for showing that women can walk in space without a male chaperone.