What will 2009 be like?

2008 was one crazy, crazy, year.

As it ends...

• The economy in the US has not been this bad since the Great Depression and (ironically) we elected our first Black President to fix it.
• A $700B financial bailout package was approved by Congress in efforts to boost the economy (...by printing more money to give to large banking corporations whose CEOs make over $100,000 a year.) $17B will go to the American Auto Industry because they can't keep up with foreign competition. Click here for other things the bailout money could have been used for.
  
• Israel is at war in Gaza against Hamas and has already killed over 300.
• Corruption in American Politics seems to be leaking out of everywhere.
• Of the 63% of Americans (125.2 million) that actually showed up to vote on Election Day, 46% of them (58.3 million) voted for Senator John McCain and Governer Sarah Palin of Alaska. Sarah Palin did not know which countries were in NAFTA (North American Free-Trade Agreement), nor did she know that Africa was a continent. Click here for Sarah Palin's Greatest Hits
  
• 27% of Americans still approve of the job President George W. Bush has done.
• Proposition 8 was passed in California on Election Day, banning gay-marriage in the State of California.
  

Thinking ahead in 2009...

• Barack Obama's inauguration on Jan 20th. Will he bring the change that his campaign ran on?
• Will Osama Bin Laden be caught?
  
• The economy. Many economists say that 2009 will be when we (the US) hit the bottom.
  
• Israel-Palestine. Will Arab countries just watch as Israel continues to kill, or will someone intervene? What kind of impact will the US have on the war?
• Will the world be more eco-friendly? Will we see reliable, renewable energy that can replace our reliance on oil? Will Americans finally trade in their SUVs and trucks for vehicles that actually make sense to own?
  

Things I wish for in 2009 for the World and myself...

• Religion will play a lesser role in world events. (No role at all would be ideal, but let's be realistic)
• Be Happy.
  
• See and experience as much of the World as possible.
• Improve my Italian, Spanish, and Korean, plus learn another language.
  

More updates later.