Things That Didn't Happen in 2012

A little perspective helps our understanding.  Instead of discussing the most important things that happened during the year, here's my yearly column on things that were expected to happen, but didn't.   Happy New Year!

 
Starbucks Didn't Run Out of Pumpkin Spice Coffee

In September, the U.S. started its annual obsession with pumpkin spice drinks at Starbucks (which is probably where my holiday weight comes from).  But it didn't take long for panic to set in as rumors spread that the pumpkin spice drinks were in terrible shortage.  Fortunately, it wasn't true, and there was no danger.   Whew.


Focus on the Family's Blunder

Four years ago, Focus on the Family (a Christian, non-profit organization) published a list of things that would happen by 2012 if Obama was elected president.  These far-fetched predictions included the dissolving of the Boy Scouts, churches having their ministry licenses taken away if they didn't ordain gay marriages, and Russia occupying Poland.

This was obviously just  an attempt to scare people into voting a certain way.  To be fair, it wasn't a series of predictions, but only a list of things that Focus on the Family thought was "likely" to happen.



The Media Never Figured Out Who the Mayans Were

The fact that the so-called "Mayan Apocalypse" didn't happen is an easy choice for this list, but what is not so well known is that few people in the media even figured out what the Mayan calendar looked like.  These people, who claim to be culturally sensitive and progressive, never failed to display the Aztec calendar while discussing the Mayans.

This is NOT the Mayan calendar, for cryin' out loud...

Sylvia Browne was Wrong

For those of you who don't know, Sylvia Browne is a "psychic" who writes books and appears on TV shows to tout her predictions.  Why include her here?  Because, due to her Catholic background, she has a strong following in the church from people who believe she has a spiritual gift for reading the future.

Brown made it clear that she believed Mitt Romney would win the presidential election.  Nate Silver had it right, though.


No One Understood Social Media

Social Media is free, and it pays to keep that in mind.  Our culture of entitlement finally started to erode when Instagram pointed out that our pictures belonged to them.  This is a good thing, because it's about time social media users learned that they aren't in control.  (Speaking of social media, did you know that you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr?)

Mass Shootings Didn't Happen the Way We Were Told

The shooter in Colorado did not dress like the Joker, he didn't use machine guns, and he didn't wear bullet-proof body armor.  His mother did not confirm that he was the shooter when the police called.

The Connecticut shooter did not go to the school to shoot his mother.  He did not use an assault weapon, nor did he carry four pistols with him.  CNN even managed to type his name wrong in their Twitter feed, leading to an innocent man being accused of these crimes and spending a few days trying to clear his name and avoid people who threatened him.

Our journalists are not working at a high level, and this sort of misinformation should not be tolerated.


That's all. 

Any predictions for 2013?  I think I'll write another one of these articles in twelve months.