A sobering thought...

It has been about one year since I voted in my first Presidential Election (I wasn't old enough in 2000). I started to think about all that has happened (Don't think I didn't get some help from Wiki for this list...and yes I know that these are world events-but such is the character of our nation that we are effected by it).

November 2 - U.S. presidential election: President George W. Bush defeats Senator John Kerry. Republicans make gains in the House and Senate. Voters in 11 states adopt anti "same sex marriage" amendments.

November 7 - U.S. forces launch a major assault on the Iraqi town of Fallujah, in an effort to rid the area of insurgents before the Iraqi elections in January

November 12 - Jury finds Scott Peterson guilty of murder of his wife Laci and unborn son, Connor

November 13 - After six days of intense battles, Iraqi town of Fallujah fully occupied by U.S. forces.

November 14 - American Secretary of State Colin Powell submits his resignation. He is replaced by Condoleezza Rice after her confirmation from the United States Congress.

November 21 - Final round of presidential election in Ukraine. Official winner: Viktor Yanukovych. International election observers express severe criticism, and large crowds gather in a protest rally in Kiev. 12 days later, the Supreme Court annuls the result, and a new poll is scheduled.

November 26 - A group of Iraqi political leaders, primarily from Sunni and Kurdish parties, advocate a six-month delay in popular elections scheduled for January 2005.

December 3 - The Colombian government extradites Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, one of the most powerful drug dealers of the world, arrested in 1995 and 2003, to the United States.

December 6 - Terrorists attack the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing several people.

December 7 - Guitarist Darrell Lance "Dimebag Darell" Abbott, of Pantera and Damageplan fame, is gunned down during a performance in Columbus, OH.

December 8 - The biggest Chinese PC producer Lenovo announces its plan to purchase IBM's global PC business, making it the third largest world PC maker after Dell and Hewlett-Packard.

December 11 - Tests show that Ukrainian opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with a large dose of dioxin.

December 16 - The House of Lords rules that the British Government breaches human rights legislation by detaining without trial foreign nationals suspected of being terrorists.

December 26 - A village near the coast of Sumatra lies in ruins after the December 26 tsunami.The strongest earthquake in 40 years originates from the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra island in Indonesia, measuring 9.3 on the Richter Scale and creating tsunami tidal waves that sweep across much of the coastlines of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. At least 290,000 people from South Asia to as far as Somalia in Africa are confirmed to be dead.

December 26 - The re-run of the second round of the Ukrainian presidential election takes place. Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko is declared the victor.

December 31 - Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich resigns.

December 31 - Dick Clark unable to host "New Year's Rocking Eve" due to throat cancer.

January 3 - Assassination of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri.

January 9 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian election.

January 23 - Viktor Yushchenko is sworn in as the third President of Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine.

January 30 - The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.

February 10 - North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.

February 10 - Saudi Arabia holds its first ever elections for municipal authorities, in which only men are allowed to vote.

February 16 - The National Hockey League cancels its 2004-2005 season becoming the first North American professional league to cancel a season due to a labour dispute.

February 19 - Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.

February 25 The Serial Killer Dennis Rader is apprehended by Wichita Police and the KBI.

March 1 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes under age 18.

March 20 - At least 250 people in Japan are injured and at least one killed by when a magnitude 7 earthquake struck west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor.

March 21 - 10 killed in the Red Lake High School massacre in Minnesota, the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre.

March 23 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

March 24 - The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev. The crowd calling for his removal storms the Government House and riots occur throughout the capital city.

March 26 - The Taiwanese government called on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of Mainland China. Around 200 000 to 300 000 attended the walk.

March 28 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake struck off Sumatra, 3 months after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At a magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.

April 1 - Newsanchor Peter Jennings hosts what will turn out to be his final World News Tonight telecast.

April 9 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, marched through Baghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rallied in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.

April 9 - The marriage of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place. Camilla assumes the titles Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall.

April 16 - President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in the capital city and dissolved the Supreme Court.

April 19 - Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave.

May 4 - In one of the largest insurgent attacks in Iraq to date, at least 60 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a Kurdish police recruitment center in Irbil, northern Iraq.

May 5 - The United Kingdom votes in the 2005 general election. The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority.

May 10 - A live hand grenade lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.

May 16 - George Galloway appears before a U.S. Senate committee, to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme.

June 13 - Singer Michael Jackson acquitted of all charges of harming children (see 2005 trial of Michael Jackson).

June 17 - A 6.7 aftershock,which followed a 5.3 earthquake the previous day, hits California making it the fourth earthquake since June 12 in California.

June 23 - The San Antonio Spurs win the NBA World Championship title.

June 30 - MTV Networks launches LGBT-themed LOGO channel in the U.S..

June 30 - Spain joins Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting same-sex marriage.

July 2 - Live 8, a series of 10 simultaneous concerts take place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.

July 7 - Four explosions rock the transport network in London, three on the London Underground and one on a bus. Over 50 deaths were reported, and over 200 injured.

July 7 - Al-Qaeda admits to the killing of Egypt's Ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif.

July 10 - Hurricane Dennis strikes near Navarre Beach, Florida as a Category 3 storm killing 10 people, after killing over 50 people in the Caribbean.

July 16 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book of the Harry Potter saga by the British writer J. K. Rowling, is released.

July 19 - President Bush nominates Appeals Court Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court, following the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor.

July 20 - Canada's Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, receives Royal Assent.

July 24 - Lance Armstrong wins a record seventh straight Tour de France before his scheduled retirement.

August 29 - At least 1,300 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas. Within hours, levees give way and New Orleans is flooded.

September 1 - Oil prices rise sharply following economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.

September 19 - North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.

September 24 - Hurricane Rita hits the US Gulf Coast. The 9th Ward section of New Orleans floods for the 2nd time in a month and a half. Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama are also affected.

September 28 - American politician Tom DeLay is indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy by a Texas grand jury.

September 29 - John G. Roberts, Jr. is confirmed and sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.

October 4 - Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America with 80 mph of winds and kills over 600 people.

October 5 - Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith charged with refusing to serve in the Iraq war.

October 8 - An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Moment magnitude scale hits Northern Pakistan, killing about 80,000 people, see 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

October 19 - The Trials of Saddam Hussein begin.

October 19 - Hurricane Wilma swells into a Category 5 storm.

October 22 - Tropical Storm Alpha forms making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record.

October 28 - Vice presidential adviser Lewis Libby resigns after being charged with obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statement in the CIA leak investigation.

October 30 - Hurricane Beta hits the coast of Nicaragua. It is the 13th hurricane of 2005, breaking the 1969 record of 12 hurricanes.

October 31 - President George W. Bush nominates Third Circuit judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court of the United States.

November 1 - The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the United States for a state visit, their first overseas tour since their marriage.

November 1 - U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats force a closed session of the Senate over the Lewis Libby indictment.

November 2 - Thousands attend the funeral of Rosa Parks in Detroit, Michigan.

Deaths:

November 29 - John Drew Barrymore

December 26 - Reggie White

December 28 - Jerry Orbach

January 1 - Shirley Chisholm

January 23 - Johnny Carson

February 10 - Arthur Miller

February 20 - Sandra Dee

February 20 - Hunter S. Thompson

March 29 - Johnnie Cochran

March 29 - Johnnie Cochran

April 2 - Pope John Paul II

April 9 - Andrea Dworkin

June 6 - Anne Bancroft

July 1 - Luther Vandross

August 7 - Peter Jennings

September 2 - Bob Denver

September 3 - William Rehnquist

October 24 - Rosa Parks