Whenever a horrifying event like Saturday’s massacre in Tucson happens, the phrase “senseless tragedy” inevitably turns up in every news report and commentary.

The Tucson attack – in which a lone shooter opened fire at a political event outside a supermarket, critically wounding Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl – unquestionably was a tragedy. But was it really “senseless” – meaning there was no reason for it, that it was a random act like an earthquake or a bolt of lightning?

Imagine yourself trying to negotiate the traffic at the north end of the Bend Parkway, in the area of the Cascade Village Mall shopping center. (We know it’s painful, but please try.)

Now imagine thousands more cars and trucks stirred into the mix every day. And imagine that no improvements have been made to allow the road grid to handle that extra load.

Well, actually, no. Although the year 2010 probably wasn’t the worst of times – for instance, it wasn’t as bad as 1348, when the Black Death was ravaging Europe – there’s no way to pretend it was the best of times, or even one of the almost-pretty-good times.

How did 2010 suck? Let us count the ways. Or at least some of the ways, because we don’t have room for all of them.

There have been gays in the American military as long as there has been an American military. But for more than 230 years they’ve had to hide their sexual identity from the men and women they served with.

That stupid and shameful anachronism will come to an end soon, thanks to the 111^th Congress’s decision to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Support for repeal was bipartisan, and the margins were impressive: 250 to 175 in the House (with all of Oregon’s representatives voting “yes” except our own lamentable Greg Walden) and 65 to 31 in the Senate (with Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley both in favor).

When the Central Oregon Builders Association, Central Oregon LandWatch and the developer of the Old Mill District – among others – all think there’s something sketchy about an idea, it’s probably worthwhile to pay attention.

The Bend City Council paid attention – sort of – but then voted last week to go ahead with a multimillion-dollar expansion of the Bridge Creek water system anyway.