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DAILY BRIEFIN G THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS A3 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2009 BUSH SQUEAKS INTO WHITE HOUSE ON SUPREME COURT RULING (2000) And you know where that led us INTERNET BUBBLE BURSTS, NASDAQ NEVER THE SAME (2000) Fortunately, foreclosures hit only home pages BUSH REJECTS KYOTO PROTOCOL ON GREENHOUSE GASES (2001) Other major pre-attack decision: Stem cell research funding rule. U.S. BOMBS EVER-ELUSIVE OSAMA (2001) And comes up empty BALI BOMBING, 13 MONTHS AFTER 9/11, KILLS 202 Terror rears a smaller head FRIENDSTER WEB SITE PIONEERS SOCIAL NETWORKING (2002) Mourned by MySpace, LinkedIn and — what was that again? — oh yeah, Facebook TALIBAN BEGINS RESURGENCE IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN (2003) Were Washington eyes on the ball? NEARLY 250,000 PEOPLE DIE IN ASIAN TSUNAMI (2004) World reels at speed, scope, scale of day-after-Christmas destruction NADER FADES AS BUSH NUDGES OUT KERRY (2004) From spoiler to spoiled goods FALLUJAH REBELS SPARK HEAVY URBAN COMBAT (2004) Not the first hint that U.S. would not be greeted with flowers. TERROR CELLS HIT MADRID, LONDON RAILS (2004, 2005) Horrible, but lower impact than 9/11 YOUTUBE LAUNCHES: “BROADCAST YOURSELF” (2005) Need we say more? TWITTER LAUNCHES WITH 140-CHARACTER LIMIT (2006) Need we say more? We think not. (31 characters, OK now 47 ... aw, shucks. Good thing they count for you) BLACKWATER GUARDS KILL 17 IN BAGHDAD SQUARE (2007) Can you say XE? BUSH ORDERS ‘SURGE’ TO STEM IRAQI VIOLENCE (2007) Like it or not, it seemed to work TEN ATTACKERS SLAY 166 IN MUMBAI MASSACRE (2008) Al-Qaida-style urban nightmare HOUSING BUBBLE POPS; EVERYONE BLOWN AWAY (2008) Blamers: Lenders, speculators, borrowers, etc. UNEMPLOYMENT RUNS FROM 3.8% (2000) TO 10.2% (2009) Last time this happened, Reagan was president Economic meltdown (2008) Wall Street (with consumer help) takes nation to brink of Depression, appears first to recover despite casualties, if big bonuses count. On political front, question remains: Was stimulus too much or too little? WORTH NOTING Beyond the headlines of the 2000s THE DECADE IN REVIEW: NATION AND WORLD TERROR, WAR, RECESSION AND ONE ELECTION DAY CHANGE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE DISASTER AND TRIUMPH President Barack Obama (2008, 2009) Amid conflict and turmoil, Americans historically elect black president to do what Americans historically expect any president to do: fix economy and run (or end) wars. Bonus: Decisive victory at polls. Also, cool wife, cute kids. 9/11 (2001) Still unspeakable, still heart-rending. Yet U.S. response sapped al-Qaida, and victims gave us courage (think United 93). Got the mastermind, boxed in Osama. Stay tuned. A decade of war (2001-) The reactive war, Afghanistan, turns nasty enough to need a “surge.” The pre- emptive war, Iraq, seems to be settling. But the end is not necessarily in sight for either one. Public infidelity (2008) Kwame, we hardly knew ye. Still, Detroit mayor hardly alone. Roll call: John Edwards, David Vitter, John Ensign, Larry Craig, Eliot Spitzer and Mark “Appalachian Trail” Sanford. Plus those whose texts are ticking time bombs. (Continued in Sports, C3. ) Getting warmer? (2001) Climate change, from Kyoto to Copenhagen, becomes debate of the decade, winning Nobel, Oscar and, for the skeptics, “Climategate.” Katrina (2005) America watches in horror as a major city is nearly wiped out by Mother Nature and incompetence. President takes heat, so does Louisiana corruption. Google me (2008) Social networking is fine. But premier search engine steps up to take best shot at Microsoft. Is Google aiming for world domination? We can fit you! Extreme sizes at no extra charge! SHOES 409 44th St. S.W. Just East of U.S. 131 (616) 559-0015 Toll Free: 888-929-0015 WORK & COMFORT Quality Shoe Repair ALL * WINTER BOOTS! www.mierasfamilyshoes.com Daily 8:30 am - 9:00 pm Saturday 8:30 am - 6:00 pm Closed Sunday BORN COLUMBIA DANSKO DOUBLE-H LACROSSE NATURALIZER SOREL STRIDE-RITE TOE-WARMERS TROTTERS WANDERLUST & OTHERS BORN COLUMBIA DANSKO DOUBLE-H LACROSSE NATURALIZER SOREL STRIDE-RITE TOE-WARMERS TROTTERS WANDERLUST & OTHERS AL ALL L * * WINTER WINTER BOOTS! BOOTS! 20 20 % % OFF Regular Prices Hurry! Sale Ends 1/2/10. *Childrens at W. Leonard only. Not all Styles at Both Locations . Excludes most Merrell, UGG, work boots, prior purchases & other offers. 841 West Leonard One Block West of Alpine (616) 458-7600 Toll Free: 877-884-7600 FAMILY SHOES
