Timeline of My Life

By Marco E. Gutierrez

1994
! The White House launches its official web page. Initial commerce sites are established and mass marketing campaigns are launched via electronic mail (e-mail), which leads to the term spam being coined.

1995
! Car-bomb blows up block-long Oklahoma City federal building. Timothy McVeigh arrested as suspect. ! On September 7th, 1995, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington, a young, handsome baby with a promising future was born. His name: Marco Elliot Gutierrez. ! Trivia: The middle name Elliot is because I was born in Elliott Bay, Seattle. Not sure why they dropped the second t, though. Probably because my dad is a poor speller.

1996
! Congress passes the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, putting heaver restriction of welfare applicants. ! I move from Seattle, Washington to Austin, Texas.

1997
! A sheep is completely cloned by Drs. Ian Wilmont and Keith Campbell. The sheeps name: Dolly.

1998
! Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, is beaten to death in a hate crime.

1999
! Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold storm Columbine High School and kill twelve students, a teacher, and themselves.

2000
! George W. Bush wins election in the slimmest and of the most controversial elections in US history.

2001
! On September 11th, 2001 19 agents from terrorist group AlQaeda hijacked four planes, two of which were flown into the world trade center in New York City, a third into the pentagon, and a forth which people suspect was headed towards the white house, but ended up crashing in Pennsylvania. Over 3000 people were killed in these attacks, and many more were injured. This remains as the largest number of US citizens to die in a single event outside of war. The impact of this event was immediate: the Bush administration pushed to strike back against terrorism, which led to long-standing War on Terror in the middle east, where many of our troops still remain. The war itself, which was a product of the 9/11 attacks, sparked mass protests all over the country and showed a huge divide in ideologies across our country, a division only ever paralleled during the Vietnam war. Since then, our view on terrorism has shifted towards Muslim extremists, and our attention as a nation has been far more focused on the Middle East. Security all over our country has also been made to be stronger and more secure, the executive office even creating a new cabinet, the Department of Homeland Security. The attacks on 9/11 can be said to be a turning point in our nations history, and the crucial event that has shaped us as a nation during the turn of the century.

2002
! Bush addresses UN, calling for regime change in Iraq.

2003
! Space Shuttle Colombia explodes, killing its 7 astronauts. ! I move from Austin, TX to the city of Los Angeles.

2004
! US Media releases photographs of US Soldiers sexually abusing and humiliating various Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

2005
! On August 29, 2005 the Gulft Coast was struck by Hurricane Katrina, a devastating natural disaster that would ravage homes, and topple the entire city of New Orlenas, killing over 1,700 people. The 29-foot wall of water produced by this hurricane was the highest recorded in all of US history. What made the hurricane additionally tragic was that it hit an infamously impoverished area, and many of the people whos homes were destroyed could not afford a place to stay, and were forced to looting. The government faced heavy criticism, as well, for its handling of the situation, prompting our country to reevaluate the way we handle disasters.

2006
! President Bush signs Patriot Act, which was made to strengthen security in the US as a reaction to terrorism, including things such as wiretapping.

2007
! Nancy Pelosi becomes very first female Speaker of the House. ! My little brother, Milo, is born.

2008
! The run for president was between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama is one the country will never forget. It was the end of the Bush era, lasting an entire eight years, a presidency that would create mass-protest and mistrust towards out government. Barack Obama campaigned for hope and change, and when he won he went down as the first African American to be made president of the United States. ! This election effected our country in many powerful, tangible ways. First, it marked a major advancement in our acceptance as a country, and showed that, although racism is still very present, we have worked very hard to overcome it, and come far. The election also brought in a much larger number of young voters, and set the precedent for mass amounts of students and young people to become more politically involved.

2009
! Unemployment reaches 8.1%, highest since 1983, marking the USs largest recession since the Great Depression, coined by many as The Great Recession or the Lesser Depression. This recession hit worldwide, and many would say we are still recovering from it today. Our nations GDP dipped to a historic low during the end of 2008 and into 2009, as well as unemployment rates, while food and oil prices rose sharply. ! What began the recession was the popping of the housing bubble, which caused major banks Lehmen Brothers and AIG to face huge financial crises, which in turn caused many people who had trusted their money in these banks to lose massive amounts of money. ! While the recessions toll can be felt even today, I believe the more lasting impact it had was a general distrust towards major companies, banks, investors and high-level executives, due to the fact that almost all of the men in these categories walked out of the recession relatively unscathed, while the lower and middle class was struggling.

2010
! In the largest accidental ocean oil spill in history, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the west Atlantic, spilling 4.9 million barrels into the water.

2011
! In Operation Neptune Spear, ordered by Barack Obama and the CIA, Osama Bin Laden is eliminated. ! My second little brother, Sam, is born.

2012
! 20 year old Adam Lanza invades Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut and murders twenty children and six staff members.

2013
! In May of 2013, Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and NSA contractor, disclosed classified information that revealed a large amount of controversial information regarding the CIA and the NSA, and the government in general. Snowden revealed various internet surveillance programs that were specifically spying and surveying on other countries without their knowledge or consent. This has created massive debate over the country of whether this spying is something we should support, and has raised questions about secrecy within the government. It has also furthered mistrust in the government, and made people question the spying and surveillance of the CIA and NSA to the point where Obama made an official statement in a speech urging Americans to believe that the government is, in fact, not spying on them. ! US citizens were not the only ones to respond with anger, however. The Brazilian government responded with outrage, calling it an unacceptable violation of sovereignty, and demanded an apology. China and the European Union expressed frustration as well.