Changes

Less than eight months into the presidency of George W. Bush, on September 11, 2001 ("9/11"), 19 Saudi Arabians hijacked four planes (about five hijackers per plane), and flew them in suicide missions into targets.  Two flew into the World Trade Centers in southern Manhattan, one for each tower, causing a massive fire at about 9am in the upper floors of the towers (see diagram at right).  Unbeknownst to the terrorists, many New Yorkers do not fully arrive to work until about 9:30am; the building was only partially full and many below the impact were able to evacuate.  But many could not evacuate; some were trapped above the point of impact and fled to the roof that soon became too hot to stand upon; and hundreds of firefighters courageously entered the building to try to save who they could.  Within an hour both towers collapsed from the fires, killing nearly 3,000 people (including those who died on the airplanes).  A third hijacked plane went to D.C., probably seeking the White House as its target.  But the White House is not easy to see from the air, and the plane crashed into the much easier-to-find large Pentagon military building, killing 66.  By then the passengers on the fourth hijacked plane learned of what happened to others by making calls to loved ones on their cell phones.  They fought back against the hijackers, preventing it from ever reaching its target of D.C., but died when the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field during the struggle.  Ironically and tragically, the few pilots who carried guns on flights for self-defense had been disarmed by the government just a few months earlier, leaving all the pilots defenseless.  A program to rearm pilots after this attack proceeded slowly and amid opposition by proponents of gun control.

Less than eight months into the presidency of George W. Bush, on September 11, 2001 ("9/11"), 19 Saudi Arabians hijacked four planes (about five hijackers per plane), and flew them in suicide missions into targets.  Two flew into the World Trade Centers in southern Manhattan, one for each tower, causing a massive fire at about 9am in the upper floors of the towers (see diagram at right).  Unbeknownst to the terrorists, many New Yorkers do not fully arrive to work until about 9:30am; the building was only partially full and many below the impact were able to evacuate.  But many could not evacuate; some were trapped above the point of impact and fled to the roof that soon became too hot to stand upon; and hundreds of firefighters courageously entered the building to try to save who they could.  Within an hour both towers collapsed from the fires, killing nearly 3,000 people (including those who died on the airplanes).  A third hijacked plane went to D.C., probably seeking the White House as its target.  But the White House is not easy to see from the air, and the plane crashed into the much easier-to-find large Pentagon military building, killing 66.  By then the passengers on the fourth hijacked plane learned of what happened to others by making calls to loved ones on their cell phones.  They fought back against the hijackers, preventing it from ever reaching its target of D.C., but died when the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field during the struggle.  Ironically and tragically, the few pilots who carried guns on flights for self-defense had been disarmed by the government just a few months earlier, leaving all the pilots defenseless.  A program to rearm pilots after this attack proceeded slowly and amid opposition by proponents of gun control.

9/11 was the deadliest attack ever on American soil, and was even deadlier than the attack on Pearl Harbor.  President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress and the entire nation, vowing to hold the perpetrators responsible.  Quickly blame was assigned to Osama bin Laden, who was in Afghanistan leading the terrorist group "Al Qaeda."  Bush demanded that the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time, expel him from its country.  The Taliban refused, and Bush ordered American troops to invade Afghanistan to defeat Al Qaeda and look for bin Laden, who was never found.  Terrorists were captured in the process, and included an American later charged with treason and sentenced to 30 years in jail; some terrorists were (and still are) held in Guantanamo Bay.

9/11 was the deadliest attack ever on American soil, and was even deadlier than the attack on Pearl Harbor.  President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress and the entire nation, vowing to hold the perpetrators responsible.  Quickly blame was pinned on Osama bin Laden, who was in Afghanistan leading the terrorist group "Al Qaeda."  Bush demanded that the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time, expel him from its country.  The Taliban refused, and Bush ordered American troops to invade Afghanistan to defeat Al Qaeda and look for bin Laden, who was never found.  Terrorists were captured in the process, and included an American later charged with treason and sentenced to 30 years in jail; some terrorists were (and still are) held at Guantanamo Bay.

Congress quickly passed the Patriot Act of 2001, which authorized extensive phone and email surveillance of Americans possibly connected with terrorism, and authorizes deportation or detention of suspected terrorists.  The internal surveillance and fighting in Afghanistan became known as the "War on Terrorism," which began in 2001 and continues to this day.

Congress quickly passed the Patriot Act of 2001, which authorized extensive phone and email surveillance of Americans possibly connected with terrorism, and authorized deportation or detention of suspected terrorists.  The internal surveillance and fighting in Afghanistan became known as the "War on Terrorism," which began in 2001 and continues to this day.

More controversial was President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, after its dictator Saddam Hussein refused to disarm and refused to cooperate with inspections of its nuclear program.  Some feared he was developing "weapons of mass destruction," though no hard evidence of that has ever been found.  More plausible is that Saddam Hussein was harboring or funding terrorists, and there is no doubt that his regime was brutal to Iraqis themselves.  Americans captured Baghdad, Iraq's capital, remarkably quickly, but actually the enemy had gone "underground" and engaged in terrorist attacks against our troops for the next several years, possibly aided by Iran.  In 2007, President Bush approved "the surge" to stop the terrorist attacks, and it was remarkably successful.  American troops remain in Iraq to this day, though Barack Obama (elected in November 2008) promised early in his campaign to pull them out.   

More controversial was President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, after its dictator Saddam Hussein refused to disarm and refused to cooperate with inspections of its nuclear program.  Some feared he was developing "weapons of mass destruction," though no hard evidence of that has ever been found.  More plausible is that Saddam Hussein was harboring or funding terrorists, and there is no doubt that his regime was brutal to Iraqis themselves.  Americans captured Baghdad, Iraq's capital, remarkably quickly, but actually the enemy had gone "underground" to engage in terrorist attacks against our troops for the next several years, possibly aided by Iran.  In 2007, President Bush approved "the surge" to stop the terrorist attacks, and it was remarkably successful.  American troops remain in Iraq to this day, though Barack Obama (elected in November 2008) promised early in his campaign to pull them out.   

President Bush was unsuccessful in passing an attempt at immigration "reform" that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in the nation, and given them a path to American citizenship.  President Bush did support and sign into law the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," which allows students of public schools that repeatedly do poorly on mandatory tests to transfer to another public school that has a better record on these tests.  Ted Kennedy's staff wrote most of the bill, and before long both conservatives and liberals were criticizing many of its burdensome regulations on the school system.  The Act does seem to have improved accountability of public schools slightly, but does not generate new alternatives.  Political activism by homeschoolers resulted in adding a provision to protect us against being subjected to the mandatory public school tests; any state that attempts to do that (and there was legislation in New Jersey to require that) will automatically lose millions of dollars in federal funding.  Homeschooling had become mainstream by 2008.

President Bush was unsuccessful at immigration "reform" that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in the nation, and given them a path to American citizenship.  President Bush did support and sign into law the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," which allows students of public schools that repeatedly do poorly on mandatory tests to transfer to another public school that has a better record on these tests.  Ted Kennedy's staff wrote most of the bill, and before long both conservatives and liberals were criticizing many of its burdensome regulations on the school system.  The Act does seem to have improved accountability of public schools slightly, but does not generate new alternatives.  Political activism by homeschoolers resulted in adding a provision to protect us against being subjected to the mandatory public school tests; any state that attempts to do that (and there was legislation in New Jersey to require that) will automatically lose millions of dollars in federal funding.  Homeschooling had become mainstream by 2008.

By the end of 2008 the economy was in a severe downturn, with unemployment increasingly rapidly, and this contributed to victories by the Democratic Party in Congress and the presidency.  43 out of 50 states had a budget deficit (more expenses than revenue), and since nearly all states have laws requiring them to balance their budget, they need to cut back the programs and lay off government workers.  The federal government itself faces a large deficit and congressmen are considering a "stimulus package" to spark economic improvement, as President FDR did (unsuccessfully) with the New Deal.

By the end of 2008 the economy was in a severe downturn, with unemployment increasingly rapidly, and this contributed to victories by the Democratic Party in Congress and the presidency.  43 out of 50 states have a budget deficit (more expenses than revenue), and since nearly all states have laws requiring them to balance their budget, they need to cut back programs and fire government workers.  The federal government itself faces a large deficit and congressmen are considering a "stimulus package" to spark economic improvement, as President FDR did (unsuccessfully) with the New Deal.

Barack Obama resigned from his position as one of the two U.S. Senators from Illinois upon being elected president.  That created a vacancy to be filled, according to Illinois law, by the Democratic Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich.  On December 9, 2008, the Governor of Illinois was arrested by federal officials based on secret tape recordings of his recent phone conversations.  "Federal authorities said wiretaps caught Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat in exchange for financial benefits for himself and his wife, Patti."<ref name="Scandal">http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/illinois.governor/index.html</ref>  The investigation in this case could become the top news story of early 2009, as there were reportedly at least five people trying to be appointed to that U.S. Senate seat.  "Obviously, like the rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the U.S. attorney's office today," Obama said. "But as this is an ongoing investigation involving the governor, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."<ref name="Scandal"/>

Barack Obama resigned from his position as one of the two U.S. Senators from Illinois upon being elected president.  That created a vacancy to be filled, according to Illinois law, by the Democratic Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich.  On December 9, 2008, the Governor of Illinois was arrested by federal officials based on secret tape recordings of his recent phone conversations.  "Federal authorities said wiretaps caught Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat in exchange for financial benefits for himself and his wife, Patti."<ref name="Scandal">http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/illinois.governor/index.html</ref>  The investigation in this case could become the top news story of early 2009, as there were reportedly at least five people trying to be appointed to that U.S. Senate seat.  "Obviously, like the rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the U.S. attorney's office today," President-Elect Obama said. "But as this is an ongoing investigation involving the governor, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."<ref name="Scandal"/>

Completely independently, when Hillary Clinton recently resigned from her U.S. Senate seat from New York to become Secretary of State in the Obama Administration, Caroline Kennedy (daughter of former President John F. Kennedy but never elected to public office) immediately and surprisingly asked to be nominated by the New York Governor as Hillary's replacement.  Caroline Kennedy, and particularly her powerful uncle Ted Kennedy, the long-serving U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, supported Barack Obama's candidacy for nomination by the Democratic Party at a pivotal moment in early 2008.

Completely independently, when Hillary Clinton recently resigned from her U.S. Senate seat from New York to become Secretary of State in the upcoming Obama Administration, Caroline Kennedy (daughter of former President John F. Kennedy but never elected to public office) immediately and surprisingly asked to be nominated by the New York Governor as Hillary's replacement.  Caroline Kennedy, and particularly her powerful uncle Ted Kennedy, the long-serving U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, supported Barack Obama's candidacy for nomination by the Democratic Party at a pivotal moment in early 2008.

"Politics is like an iceberg - 90% of it is below the surface" is a famous observation.

"Politics is like an iceberg - 90% of it is below the surface" is a famous observation.