abstract
| - January 13, 2002: President George W. Bush would sit down to watch the NFL football Miami vs. Baltimore game. Only 90 minutes into it, Bush would soon eat a pretzel and it would begin to choke him as he struggled and tried to spit it out but it failed as he tried to get to the door and passed out, hitting his head on a nearby table in his attempt at the door for help. His wife Laura would find him after their dog Barney had been barking and soon President Bush would be rushed to the nearest hospital. After a long struggle fate would rear its ugly face and the fight was over as President George Walker Bush died that day. After confirmation of these tragic events, Vice President Richard "Dick" Cheney would be quickly sworn in as the 44th President of the United States and would address the tragic events of January 13th to the nation. January 16, 2002: The funeral for now former President George W. Bush would be held and also would be broadcast over the televisions as it became the most watched event of 2002. New President Cheney would give a speech over his friend and boss and say that America will overcome this tragedy of what became known as "January 13th Incident". President Dick Cheney would also have another address to the nation over the funeral and events and would say that Washington will continue to govern and things will hopefully return to normal. January 22, 2002: After saying he would wait for a short while until choosing his Vice President, President Dick Cheney would decide upon State Secretary Colin Powell to show some "unity" and would appoint Tom Ridge to fill the now vacant State Secretary position. With Powell's uneasy decision he would become the first African American Vice President and would be said to be a good choice by Congress as they easily confirmed Cheney's choice. March 9, 2002: The Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 would increased carryback of net operating losses to five years, extended the exception under Subpart F for active financing income and created 30 percent expensing for certain capital asset purchases. President Cheney would say that Washington is coming out from the January 13th Incident and hopefully the American people are as well. March 18, 2002: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act or the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act as it was also called would be passed after it would be brought up earlier on account of President Cheney's address saying that "Congress needs to work overtime after the tragedy and get the ball rolling again". The act would regulate the financing of political campaigns and would decrease the use of "soft money" in campaigns and contributions to them. President Cheney would say that "this should do the job" when signing it into law. October 16, 2002: The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution or the Iraq Resolution for short would authorize a war with the nation of Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein. The Iraq Resolution outlined the many reasons why for the passage of the resolution. By a vote of 296 ayes to 133 nays the resolution passed through the House and soon the Senate followed by a 77 ayes against 23 nays. Soon President Cheney would say that war with Iraq was just because of the genocide against the Kurds and the possibility of weapons of mass destruction (WMD's). November 5, 2002: The 2002 Midterm Congressional Election would be held and it would be poised against the Democratic Party. With the elections held only about fourteen months after the 9/11 attacks and it was still fresh in many Americans mind and the Republicans would gain a larger lead in the House with a 229-204 and they would regain the Senate by a 51-48-1 ratio. November 24, 2002: The Homeland Security Act would be influenced by the 9/11 attacks to create the Department of Homeland Security in the largest federal government reorganization in 55 years, since the Department of Defense was created. The HSA is a sweeping anti-terrorism law giving federal law enforcement agencies broad powers to look over citizens and thwart potential attacks on the homeland. Among other things, it created the new cabinet-level position of Secretary of Homeland Security. December 1 2002: Dick Cheney shocks everyone by announcing he is NOT seeking a second term.
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