2006, A Look Back

2006 was a year with not much good to remember. Here’s hoping that 2007 will make for better reflections. Here are some of the bigger stories that made '06 what is was.

The tragic deaths of 12 and the miraculous survival of one in the Sago coal mining explosion in West Virginia captured the world’s attention to start the news watch of 2006.

Other tragedies include the death of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, who was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray while he snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef.

One of the most enduring stories from 2006 will be the Oct. 2 shootings of 10 Amish school girls in Nickel Mines, Penn., by a milk truck driver. Charles Carl Roberts IV took the girls (ages 6-13) hostage, released 15 boys (also, 6-13 years old) and let go several adults. Roberts told the girls he was angry at God (apparently for the 1997 death of his prematurely born daughter) and confessed to his wife that he had molested two female relatives (who were ages 3 and 5) 20 years earlier when he was boy and was tormented by dreams of doing it again. After shooting all 10 girls, Roberts committed suicide. Five girls survived, each with severe injuries, including one girl who likely will not recover any meaningful independent function.

But perhaps the shootings will be remembered best for the calm and courage of the girls and the loving response of the Amish community to the killer’s family. Survivors shared that the oldest girl, 13-year-old Marian Fisher, who died, asked that he “Shoot me first,” apparently to buy time for the others. Her sister, 11-year-old Barbie, who survived the shooting, asked that he “Shoot me second.” Remarkably, victims’ families have voiced forgiveness for the shooter, and the area’s Amish community has reached out to Roberts’ family, attending his funeral and helping to raise money to pay expenses.

Violence that re-erupted in Lebanon and Israel elevated global concerns for over a month beginning in July when Hamas forces bombed Israel and kidnapped a Jewish settler and an Israeli soldier.

Conflict in Sudan continued despite a 2005 peace accord signed between mostly Christian and animist rebels in the south and the mostly Muslim government. However, the bloodshed in Darfur is not because of a religious struggle, but a political clash among Muslims. According to recent estimates, at least 400,000 people have died in the region since early 2003.

But no conflict monopolized media coverage during 2006 like the daily insurgent attacks in Iraq. About 70 percent of the nearly 800 ambushes per week were aimed at Coalition forces, but sectarian violence -- thought to be Sunnis targeting Shias and Iraqi police forces -- became increasingly vicious. Iraqi civilians have suffered the overwhelming number of casualties (death counts range from about 50,000 to over 600,000) since U.S. combat operations started in 2003. However, in September, the death toll for U.S. military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan eclipsed the 2,973 individuals killed during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in America. Although multiple free elections have been held, the mounting death toll overshadowed any progress toward democratization in Iraq, and led to sweeping political upheaval in the U.S.

Voters named a number of concerns that shaped how they marked their November ballots -- including corruption and ethics, terrorism, the economy, values and illegal immigration. However, largely as a public referendum on the war in Iraq, Democrats won an impressive majority in the House of Representatives (defeating 27 incumbent Republicans and losing none of their own seats for 232 seats total -- 218 needed) and claimed control of the Senate by one seat (51-vote majority includes two Independents promising to caucus with Democrats).

But the Mark Foley scandal broke (late September) so close to the elections that it also likely contributed to voter discontent with Republicans. The Republican congressman from Florida was exposed for sending sexually explicit e-mails to teenage boys serving as congressional pages, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was blamed for a failure of leadership. Also contributing to the election woes, “faith voters” that Republicans depend on were turned off because of revelations by David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, that Bush officials mocked evangelical leaders behind their backs. Bush seemed to be the best thing the Democrats had!

Constitutional amendments to protect the traditional definition of marriage passed in eight of nine states, failing only in Arizona, and a Colorado referendum was defeated that would have legalized domestic partnerships for homosexual couples. In Arizona, ballot wording and a campaign that claimed the amendment would limit senior citizens’ Social Security incomes, were named as key factors in its defeat.

Pro-marijuana measures were defeated in Colorado, Nevada and South Dakota. Colorado and Nevada would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce for personal use, while South Dakota would have legalized medical use.

Voters in nine of 11 states rejected the doctrine of eminent domain, rebuking the practice of (primarily local) government confiscation of private property.

Gambling was a split decision among five states with voters in Ohio, Rhode Island and Nebraska saying no to gambling measures, despite enormous sums spent by gambling advocates. Voters in South Dakota, however, failed to repeal video lottery, while Arkansas lifted a statewide ban on charitable bingo and raffle games.

In Missouri, voters passed an embryonic stem cell research initiative that also allows human cloning, largely as the result of support among voters living in and around the state’s two largest urban centers. The measure passed by a razor-thin margin, 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent, but only after proponents outspent opponents $29 million to $1 million.

South Dakota’s voters turned back the nation’s most ambitious attempt in the last 33 years to restrict abortion, repealing a ban passed last winter by the state legislature.

Finally, the deaths of two world leaders brought a close to 2006 but in entirely different fashions. The execution by hanging of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a stark contrast to the passing on at the age of 93 by President Gerald Ford. Yet both men proved an eternal truth to ring in the New Year: Whether scorned as a brutal killer or hailed as a statesman representing America’s best, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

Many more news stories broke in 2006, but it would be impossible to list them all. These seemed to have the biggest impact on the most people in that odd year with an even number.