Change We Can Believe In
Shayley Pate
Election of 2008
- Barack Obama and Joe Biden propose a permanent tax cut of $500 for workers and $1,000 for families. A first round of these tax credits could be mailed out quickly by the IRS based on tax returns already filed for tax year 2007.
- Obama and Biden would extend these expedited tax credits to senior citizens who are retired as a down payment on his plan to eliminate taxes for all seniors making up to $50,000.
- McCain won Nebraska but Obama earned an electoral vote by winning the popular vote in the 2nd Congressional District. This marked the first time that Nebraska has split its electoral vote since it went to an allocated system in 1992.
- Obama received more votes than any candidate in history. The prior record, about 62 million, was set in 2004 by George W. Bush.
Effects of 9/11 Since the Attacks
- 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
- The attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defining the presidency of George W. Bush. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.
- Afghanistan war was started in response to 9/11. It began on October 7, 2001 but is still talked about. The United States was fighting against Al Qaeda and the Taliban government.
- The Patriot Act Extension was signed on May 26, 2011 by President Obama. This was meant to make it easier to watch individuals suspected as being a terrorist.
The War in Iraq
- The war in Iraq started in 2003. It began because of of suspension of weapons of massive destruction in Iraq. The US withdrew forces in 2011.
- The protracted war between these neighboring Middle Eastern countries resulted in at least half a million casualties and several billion dollars’ worth of damages, but no real gains by other side. Started by Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein in September 1980, the war was marked by indiscriminate ballistic-missile attacks, extensive use of chemical weapons and attacks on third-country oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
- Although Iraq was forced on the strategic defensive, Iran was unable to reconstitute effective armored formations for its air force and could not penetrate Iraq’s borders deeply enough to achieve decisive results.
- The end came in July 1988 with the acceptance UN Resolution 598.