The 90's: The Last Great Decade? Part 3: Politically Incorrect

Part Three: Politically Incorrect

1) Bill Clinton's Sexual Harassment Trial, Monica Lewinsky and Impeachment
--My daughter, whose name is Monica, was 3 years old when all of this hit the fan.  She was confused as to why her name kept getting mentioned on TV.

--"It depends on what the meaning of 'is', is."

2) Viral Horror
--The Blair Witch Project

3) Tech Boom
--Pixar
--Steve Jobs returns to Apple after a 10 year absence.

4) Hard Drugs
--Viagra

5) Public Enemy No.1
--Osama Bin Laden attacks two U.S. embassies.  On August 7, 1998 truck bombs explode in the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

--Clinton retaliates, but is accused of trying to sidetrack the American people from the Lewinsky scandal.

6) Sit Down Com
--Seinfeld rules the American airwaves.  It was the biggest hit of the decade.

--I'm not surprised, since it is one of my all-time favorite shows.

7) The West Wing
--A liberal's fantasy White House

8) The Famous Royal Couple Splits & Diana's Death
--Princess Diana does a tell all interview, which is unheard of in British royalty.

--After going against convention, Princess Diana goes on to become one of the most loved women in the world.

--The world is in shock and mourning when Diana is killed in a car accident.  I will never forget that day, because the footage was never ending on the TV.  Her funeral is watched by 2.5 billion people.

9) World Trade Organization
--An anti-globalization protest of the WTO in Seattle lasted for 5 days and caused $29 million in damages.

10) The Shooting at Columbine High School
--I will never forget this day, it brought tears to my eyes.  Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris murdered 14 students and 1 teacher.

11) The Internet Bubble
--Theglobe.com is a sensation overnight.  Everyone goes crazy, but then theglobe.com isn't making a profit, so their stock plummets.  The bubble bursts and people lose a lot of $.

12) Y2K--The Millenium Bug
--Many people were genuinely freaked out about this and really thought the world was going to come to an end.  People stocked up on food and water, etc... I figured if anything really bad happened I'd be dead anyway, so why be psycho about it.  I remember that I even forgot about the panic until the day after New Years, and then I realized I was right about not freaking out.

Previously:
Part One: Great Expectations
Part Two: Friends & Enemies

The 90's: The Last Great Decade? Part 1: Great Expectations

--The National Geographic Channel did a short mini-series entitled, The 90's: The Last Great Decade?  It has 3 parts, so I thought I'd do a post on each part and give a rundown.

--Since, the 90's was when I entered adulthood, I remember almost everything that is mentioned very well.  In many cases, I remember where I was and what I was doing when the events unfolded.  Yet, I did learn some new things, because for the first 3 years of the 90's I was in college and paying no attention to the outside world.

Some of the contributors who were interviewed as part of the series:
-Rob Lowe (he narrates all 3 episodes)
-Newt Gingrich
-Tucker Carlson
-Jerry Springer
-Colin Powell
-P.J. O'Rourke
-Monica Lewinsky
-Detective Tom Lange
-Matthew Perry
--Roseanne 

Part One: Great Expectations

1) Gulf War
--On August 2, 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.  CNN was the first news organization to air live from Baghdad when a war had started.  Kuwait is liberated.

2) Humvees and Hummers
--The humvee got a lot of good press from the war.  The humvee led to the creation of the hummer.  Arnold Schwarzenegger ended up buying 2 of the first ones.

3) Roseanne
--She credits herself in this series as being the one who got President Bill Clinton elected.  I'm not sure thats true, but even if it was, it definitely isn't something to brag about ;-).

4) Clinton's Election
--I had all 4 of my kids while Clinton was in office.  It was because of his presidency that I woke up and started paying attention to politics and current events.  I was outraged by his lack of morality.

This series credits Clinton and his team with inventing the spin machine for how to get out of tough spots, and Clinton had many.  James Carville was the leader and can probably be credited for keeping Clinton from being impeached.

5) Vanilla Ice and the Hip Hop Culture
--Vanilla Ice had a quick rise to fame, even though it didn't last long.

6) The Fresh Prince of Bel-air
--The series credited Will Smith and cast on the Fresh Prince with giving a new and better image of the black man.

--My oldest son used to get very excited when this show came on and would "dance" in his high chair to the theme song.  The show always came on when I was fixing supper.

7) Rodney King
--This was an event that I didn't know much about because I was in college when it happened.  And while I was outraged about about the Rodney King beating, and think the police shouldn't have been acquitted, it doesn't excuse or justify what happened afterwards.

--I was horrified as I watched the footage of black men beating and almost killing Reginald Denny.  Denny's skull was fractured 91 times.  Titus Murphy was one of the four people who rescued Denny and got him to the hospital.  He was a true hero.

--The riots ended up killing 55 people and causing $1 billion in damages.  How is killing innocent people and ruining businesses in your own neighborhood going to fix police brutality?

8) Clarence Thomas
--There are few things that outrage me as much as Anita Hill being used by liberals to try and destroy Clarence Thomas's life, character and chance to be a Supreme Court Justice.  Thank goodness she wasn't successful, but it bothers me to this day that many still mistakenly believe he was guilty.    Anita Hill is a disgrace to all the women who have been genuinely sexually harrassed.

--And the U.S. is fortunate that Thomas is on the supreme court, he is an honorable man.

9) Thelma and Louise
--A rogue movie in the 90's.

10) The Rise of the Bimbo
--Anna Nicole Smith got a breast enlargement and it led to a huge rise in women getting the surgery.

--She was one of the first people to become famous for no rhyme or reason, but many would follow.

11) The Decade of the Internet
--The world wide web transforms people's lives.

--Bill Gates makes computers accessible and affordable for everyone.  By 2013, Gates is the world's #1 philanthropist.

--In the 80's, there was a movie called, Revenge of the Nerds.  In the 90's, the movie actually happens.

12) Generation X
--Nirvana is one of the many voices of Generation X.  Kurt Cobain commits suicide.

13) Reality TV
--The Real World launches a new genre of TV, reality TV.

--Court TV airs the Jeffrey Dahmer trial live.

14) The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing
--It was treated as a criminal justice matter and the men who were responsible were arrested.  It should've been seen as an act of war.

41 on 41--A Review

Photo Credit: Whitehouse.gov

--CNN aired a remarkable 2 hour special sponsored by the Bush Presidential Library Foundation, on the life of George H.W. Bush this past Father's Day, June 15th, 2014.

--It is called 41 on 41, because there are 41 storytellers that talk about the life of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush.

The 41 Storytellers:

1) Brent Scowcroft--former National Security Advisor for Bush
2) George W. Bush--43rd President of the U.S.
3) Jeb Bush--former Governor of Florida
4) Jeb Bush Jr.--grandson
5) Pierce Bush--grandson
6) Marvin Bush--son
7) Neil Bush--son
8) Roger Ailes--former campaign advisor to Bush
9) James A. Baker III--former Secretary of State for Bush
10) Susan Baker--wife of James Baker and longtime family friend
11) Jean Becker--post-presidential chief of staff for Bush
12) Tom Brokaw--news anchor for NBC
13) Billy Busch--fishing companion
14) Doro Bush Koch--daughter
15) Andrew Card--former White House Deputy chief of Staff for Bush
16) Buddy Carter--White House butler
17) Dana Carvey--comedian
18) Bill Clinton--42nd President of the U.S.
19) Barack Obama--44th President of the U.S.
20) Michael Dannenhauer--former personal aide to Bush
21) David McCullough--historian and author (my personal favorite)
22) David Demarest--former W.H. communications director for Bush
23) Mike Elliott--U.S. Army Golden Knight
24) Marlin Fitzwater--former W.H. press secretary for Bush
25) Dr. Robert Gates--former director of the CIA under Bush
26) Bruce Gelb--classmate of Bush's at Phillips Andover Academy
27) Boyden Gray--former W.H. legal counsel for Bush
28) Brit Hume--former W.H. correspondent for ABC news
29) Sarah Jackson--alumna of Bush School of Government and Public Service
30) John Magaw--former director of U.S. secret service
31) Mike Krzyzewski--Duke University men's basketball coach
32) John Major--former Prime Minister of the U.K.
33) Chip Miller--former commander of the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush
34) Jim Nantz--sports commentator
35) Arnold Palmer--Hall of Fame golfer
36) Colin Powell--former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Bush
37) Gabe Pressman--WNBC-TV correspondent
38) Dan Quayle--44th Vice President of the U.S.
39) Alan Simpson--former U.S. senator of Wyoming
40) Dr. Condoleezza Rice--former special assistant to Bush for national security
41) John Sununu--former W.H. chief of staff for Bush

--I have to say that I've never been overly impressed with Bush Sr.  I have always thought that his son was a much better president.  But I have to say that after watching this special, I do have a lot more respect for him as a man.

Things that impressed me:
 --How he treated all people.  He knew all of the W.H. staff's names and their loved ones names.  He showed a genuine interest in their lives.  He often wrote handwritten notes to people from all walks of life.  His grandson told of going through a tough time and when he went to his bedroom, there was a handwritten note from his grandfather encouraging him.

--Bruce Gelb, a classmate of Bush's at Phillips Andover Academy, tells a story about he was being bullied and Bush stood up for him.  Gelb said that Bush became a hero for him from that day forth.

--George W. talked about how he constantly tested the unconditional part of his father's love, and yet, it never wavered.

--David McCullough shared a story about admiring a signed photograph of Bush with Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams in the Rose Garden, when he had visited the Presidential Library and Museum.  After McCullough's visit, Bush mailed him the photograph.  McCullough was in awe of the president's generosity and he said the photograph is one of his family's treasures.

--Barbara Bush looks at her husband with such admiration.  She talks about how he is the greatest man and you can tell she means it.  She is a strong woman who loves her husband.  They have now been married longer than any other presidential couple.

--If you missed the special when it was on TV, go here to sign up for when the DVD becomes available.