Was there anything in the news this year that genuinely shocked you?

Obama winning the Nobel prize. I think he will do some good things globally but it is usual to have done it first before getting the prize!

Even though I am not a religious person,,,The poor Pope keeps getting tackled!!! He needs to get better security !!

The recent death of Brittney Murphy…

michael jackson…

The shootings at Ft. Hood. You kinda don’t expect an experienced psychiatrist to be a total wing-nut.

You also don’t expect that someone with his crappy job performance and troubling statements prior to the incident to keep being promoted by the Army as if there is nothing the matter.

I was surprised to see how many people were against the healthcare reform, it’s so sad to see how many people are so greedy and careless. It seems completely ok now to have an ‘As long as I’m ok, screw everyone else’ attitude, and it’s really not ok.

@Samantha_Rae I agree. The death of Michael Jackson was quite a shocker.

Now that may seem pretty shallow to some, but if you take the fact that people get murdered and raped every day, wars are fought all the time, 99% of politicians are corrupt (it just differs in the level), animals and humans are used and abused, etc. etc. then it makes sense that something as mundane as a pop artist’s death will stand out from the rest of the headlines.

This ))))))))))))-::

@StupidGirl : holyyy shit

That California voters supported Proposition 8 that revoked existing rights from a minority, when those rights had no present or future effect on the rights of the majority.

Minority rights should never be in the hands of the majority!
It is how things work under fascist governments such as the Third Reich (Nazis) and theocracies such as those of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The USA was not established as a theocracy and the notion of separation of Church and State was meant to prevent such a government.

(Soapbox ON)

The extreme right which includes many or most republicans and many or most of the “Teabaggers” would impose their conception of their faith as the critical factor in any decision affecting their political convictions and behaviour. Their ideas don’t derive from the teaching of Jesus but from those who speak for their faith as if they had access to all divine wisdom. Televangelists and Radio and Television talk show hosts have repeatedly shown themselves to NOT be people of faith! Make your own list of financial, sexual and drug related scandals among such people. The same is true for far too many elected officials as well.

For the most part the Democrat party is no where as far to the left as most Americans believe. Most are not even that progressive!

Unless you consider equal pay for work of equal economic value to be a radical or Communist viewpoint, it should be supported by everybody.

Unless you believe that all the rich have earned their own wealth all by themselves and believe that all those struggling to survive and care for their families in the USA deserve to starve, lose their homes, or died prematurely of preventable diseases, you can hardly believe that protections for the sickest, weakest and poorest in the nation are not the business of government.

Those who oppose welfare for the working poor, health care access for all regardless of their family incomes, and support for veterans, the elderly and the disabled should take their assets. invest them overseas, and leave the country and relinquish their American Citizenship. The Country would be better off without you.

Those things they oppose are not Socialist values, they are American values.
They are the values that used to make America great in the eyes of Americans and others around the world.

(Soapbox OFF)

The overwhelmed support of an empty-suit president. I well never understand it.

@Roby How dare you question the Messiah !! You must be a racist !!

The Large Hadron Collider needing repairs.

It was truly shocking, I don’t know how to describe that terrible experience it was like my life flashed before my eyes and I couldn’t see the Higgs boson anywhere!
The prospect of a future without the discovery of this particle was unfathomable! Oh the misery!!

Giving stimulus money $250.00 to each person. in your mind, what do you believe the majority of the people spent this money on? it was really not enough to make a difference in a large outstanding bill. it was not enough money to take a vacation. it was not enough money to purchase a decent used auto. just exactly what did the people spend this money on? my bet is that it went for items they have not been able to afford lately, like a case of beer, a carton of cigarettes, a bottle or two of good wine, a great dinner out and a movie, illegal drugs or a night with a prostitute. maybe i am the only person that thinks this way, but the $250 dollars to me was just a “thank you for electing me” small gift to the people. am i wrong here? i could be.

Michael Jackson’s death shocked me. Also, I read in the newspaper that a couple in my country are being prosecuted for the “crime” of having an abortion, and doctors are now turning away women in need for fear of legal ramifications. This news shocked me, as I always thought that my country was out of the stone age.