federal funds rate 2000-present

The graph is here:

I tried reading through shostak’s article (http://mises.org/daily/2768), but it’s a little over my head. i’m trying to understand why:

  1. the funds rate was relatively high in ~2000

  2. why/how it was lowered in ~2002-2004

  3. why it began to rise after 2005

  4. what effect the 3 stages above had on the economy/financial crisis.

Very involved questions, I know; my best suggestion is to use short sentences if you can. I will gratefully read through and follow up any explanations given.