Who Opened Pandora's Box? A Look At The 90s

The 90s were an interesting mix of accomplishments, scandals, new ideas, tragedies and odd people. Never before have we been more aware of the many subcultures than this decade. It brought about an education of tolerance for some and intolerance in others. Trust was on rare supply from mistrust of the government to parents of missing children. Still, we struggled on together to live through these highlights.

You can't do a report on the 90s without a look at the key leader, President William Jefferson Clinton. During the election process back in 1991 when he was heavily campaigning, everyone knew he was different.

He dared to not only show up on MTV with audience of teenagers, but he answered a personal question that no one would have ever thought appropriate to ask a potential leader of this country - "Mr. President, all the world's dying to know. Is it boxers or briefs?" Answer, "Usually briefs." Many thought this crossed the boundary of good taste, not just the question in and of itself, but also that he discussed it with a 17 year old girl.

Ah! And the women! Not just his very independent wife, Hillary, but also Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinski and a slew of other women from his harem became front page scandal material which would eventually lead to his downfall.

He was known as "Slick Willy" for his ability to get out of sticky situations without much harm and "Bubba" for his Southern roots. He was the second President to be impeached (ironically, Andrew Johnson, also a Southerner, was the first President to be impeached.)

Ken Starr was heading up the investigation of the allegations made against Clinton. There was a hazy cloud of controversy which followed him. From sex scandals to abuse of power, financial crimes to mysterious deaths and cover ups. Nothing seemed to stick.

So how did the impeachment happen?

The right to impeach public officials is secured by the U.S. Constitution in Article I, Sections 2 and 3, which discuss the procedure, and in Article II, Section 4, which indicates the grounds for impeachment: "the President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

Of the 11 possible grounds for impeachment cited by Starr, four were eventually approved by the House Judiciary Committee: grand jury perjury, civil suit perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power.

Clinton was impeached on two counts, grand jury perjury and obstruction of justice. The Senate Republicans were unable to gather enough support to achieve the two-thirds majority required for his conviction. On Feb. 12, 1999, the Senate acquitted President Clinton on both counts. Basically meaning although impeached in the technical sense, he was officially reprimanded and continued to serve out his term as if nothing had ever happened.

Moral of the story? A great personality and way with words will get you far. Face it, most Americans loved him and didn't care about his sexual scandals. After all, how many men cheating on their wives would want to admit under oath they were cheating? Larry Flint, publisher of the adult magazine, "Hustler", made it his duty to uncover the hypocrisy by publicly outing others who were cheating.

Clinton also had his controversial decisions. He ordered the military to cease its policy in discrimination against homosexuals, yet oppressed these same people by saying they can be in as long as they don't mention they are. It all amounted to the same old story, if you are gay, the military does not really want you to be open about it.

Then there was NAFTA - the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In 1994, this agreement was made in order to lower or eliminate tariffs and other trade restrictions between the three countries in hopes to stimulate the economy and create more jobs. It was hoped to put an end to the job crisis and the illegal alien situation. Critics claimed it would only make companies in the U.S want to leave for Mexico where labor is cheaper and more people would lose jobs. So far, the extreme reactions were not met. But the promises weren't either. While some companies did leave, many stayed. There were many job opportunities in the U.S., but mostly were service jobs paying close to minimum wage without benefits. And there was still a big problem with illegal aliens.

Politics were changing the face of the Cold War. Boris Yeltsin, a communist party maverick popular with ordinary Russians, won the election as president of the Russian Federation in May of 1990. As the new leader, Yeltsin immediately called for the Soviet Union to dissolve into a loose confederation of republics which are still struggling today to find their niche in the world. The Cold War is declared over on February 1, 1992. President Bush and Russian President Yeltsin sign a joint declaration pledging both leaders to the removal of "any remnants of Cold War hostility." The joint declaration states: "From now on, the relationship will be characterized by friendship and partnership founded on mutual trust and respect and a common commitment to democracy and economic freedom."

An incident, resulting from the unstable governments of the break up of the Soviet Union, happened on February 5, 1994 in a Sarajevo market. Bosnian Serbs attacked an open-air market killing 68 people. Again, the UN has called upon US troops to help police the country. War crimes, ethnic cleansing, and all the evils of Hitler were still alive and well in this country.

Most U.S. people were sure the only problem of the Middle East was just In Israel/Palestine. Then of course there was the tension that was over and done with 10 years before with Iran. Now we would be introduced to another country in the Middle East known as Iraq and Kuwait. Iraq invaded Kuwait, which in turn sparked the so-called Persian Gulf War (August 2, 1990- February 24, 1991). While not an official war approved by Congress, it was more or less approved by the United Nations. To protect the interests of the world at large and maybe to help the Kuwaitis and the oppressed people living within Iraq, we sent our troops and spent our money to try to take down the new super villian, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

If you were surprised at the terrorist act of September 11, 2001, you must have been ignoring all warning signals. The first hint that there were countries hostile to the U.S happened in the mid to late 70s when planes were skyjacked with purposely targeted U.S. residents. Then there was the hostage situation in Iran. Of course, all these things didn't happen on our soil, it was just a warning to watch out. Our first warning that these things could happen here came on February 26, 1993 when a terrorist bomb blasted the World Trade Center. Although it didn't come close to the damage it created on 9/11/2001, it killed 5 people and more than 1000 were treated for injuries. And it was still the same people behind that attack as the ones who finally fell the building in the end.

Good news in South Africa! A country that was one of the longest hold out for equal rights finally joined the rest of the civilized world. Apartheid (separation on the basis of race) was outlawed. That practice has cost South Africa a lot of money as many would boycott all products from that region. In the first election where all races were allowed to vote and run a candidate, Nelson Mandela won.

Ebola virus strikes Zaire -- May 11, 1995 Scientists confirm that Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, has broken out in Zaire. The outbreak, in the city of Kikwit, kills about 50, including three Italian nuns who had cared for victims.

Oh, but the fun is just beginning! Clinton wasn't the only tabloid fodder. There were the major court cases and criminal investigations. There have always been kooks, weirdos and bad guys throughout history, but with the growing popularity of Court TV and other networks competing for the news coverage, they were in our living rooms on a daily basis.

On August 20, 1989, Eric and Lyle Menendez killed their parents. After a hung jury, the second trial ended on March 20, 1996 convicting them of first-degree murder. They claimed they killed their parents out of fear, after years of physical, sexual and psychological abuse. The prosecution made the case that the brothers were motivated by greed, and sought to cash in on their parents' estate, estimated at $13 million.

June 23, 1993, Lorena Bobbitt takes a butcher knife and cuts off her husband's penis as he sleeps. Police recover it from the roadside and it is surgically reattached to John Bobbitt, her husband. The wife is later charged with malicious wounding and let off. John Bobbitt is indicted for sexual abuse. OUCH! One could only wonder what the story would have been if there was a hungry animal in the area that night:-)

The case was a blow for women's rights as this was viewed as the wrong way to handle a domestic problem and painting the female as weak. It was cheered by other females who thought any man who abused a woman deserved it. It inspired a songwriter to come up with this song parody to the tune of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight": "In the bedroom, the quiet bedroom, the Bobbitt sleeps tonight. In the kitchen, the quiet kitchen, Lorena wields a knife. Weeeeeee eeee eeee, wienie's gone away."

Susan Smith was charged with the murder of her two sons on January 16, 1995. In Union County, South Carolina, Smith had just divorced her husband and was in a relationship with a man who didn't want to be a father to her children. Claiming she was undergoing emotional turmoil and wanted to commit suicide. She did not want her boys to be left without a mother so she claimed to take them along for their own good. She had let her car roll down a boat ramp into John D. Long Lake with her sons locked inside and jumped out before the car went in the lake. Instead of calling for help, she had told police that a black carjacker had kidnapped her two boys, aged three and 14 months. There were too many inconsistencies in her story and the police were getting wise as the African-American community knew she was lying. She confessed and was sentenced to life in prison.

Christmas of 1996, Jon Benet Ramsey was murdered. From the beginning, suspicion was on her parents John and Patsy Ramsey. Due to mishandling of the case and the evidence and crime scene not being properly preserved, there has not been enough conclusive evidence to charge anyone in the case. The case is still open and no one has been charged.

January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan, a U.S. Figure Skating Championship, was assaulted with a blunt object on her right knee. Her competitor, Tonya Harding and Harding's husband, Jeff Gillooly, and his associate Shane Stant as well as a few others were alleged to be behind the plot to take Kerrigan out of the competition. Although injured, Kerrigan continued on in the Olympics to win the silver medal. Tonya Harding was stripped of her 1994 national championship by the U.S. Figure Skating Association and banned from the organization for life.

Shannon Faulkner becames Citadel's first female cadet on August 12, 1995. After she sued on the basis that single-sex education at a state-funded school is discriminatory and unconstitutional, she is admitted to the Citadel. Five days after joining the cadet program she withdrew from the school blaming fatigue from the legal battle and a sense of isolation. So much for women's lib!

Speaking of pushing the line of tradition, Jack Kevorkian, a physician from Michigan, was very familiar with a heart-wrenching situation for his dying patients and their families. They were in pain and did not want to suffer any longer, wanting to speed up the inevitable end. Dr. Kevorkian came up with an idea to help in the process called "euthanasia" (a dying person commits suicide.) And for his methods was called dubbed "Dr. Death." After three acquittals and one mistrial, Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 to 25 years for assisting terminally ill Thomas Youk die by lethal injection.

In 1992, the U.S. federal officials conducted a siege of a rural Idaho family. During an attempting to infiltrate a white supremacist group, the ATF charged Randy Weaver, a known white supremace, with illegal possesion and selling two shotguns to undercover federal agents. There was an order sent out for his arrest. When he refused to cooperate with them, it ended up in a standoff.

During the standoff, shots were fired and killed one of the agents. Agents fired back and ultimately killed Randy Weaver's dog, son and wife. In July 1993, a jury acquitted Randy Weaver of weapons and murder charges resulting from his set-up and the subsequent siege of his mountain cabin home by federal agents. This was the beginning of the militia call for urgency against the government and a stirring call to the hate groups.

Aum Shinrikyo, a sect in Japan released a deadly nerve gas in Tokyo's subway system during the morning rush hour on March 20, 1995. 10 were killed and over 5,000 injured. They weren't the only extremist cult group out there.

The Hale-Bopp Comet discovered in 1995 was supposed to be the biggest, brightest comet of the century. It reached its peak brilliance in late March and early April. It will not return for another 2,000 to 3,000 years from now.

On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found dead in a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California after taking fatal doses of phenobarbital then washing them down with vodka. Cult leader, Marshall Applewhite, convinced others to follow him to leave with him in a spaceship traveling behind the Hale-Bopp comet and join the "Kingdom of Heaven" in outer space. Autopsies showed that some of the cult members, including Applewhite, had been castrated. Obviously they ignored the signpost at the Jim Jones ranch, "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

In Waco, Texas there was another standoff. Branch Davidian leader David Koresh had a warrant out for his arrest for illegal possession of weapons. This case was botched from the beginning. Instead of waiting for him to step outside the compound to take him in, they tried to get him from his home. Then they realized it wasn't only guns they had to worry about.

A religious cult which believed in a fiery destruction in the end times was inevitable. They believed this was an attack by the government on God's people. The longer they were holed up in the compound, the firmer they held on to their beliefs and became more paranoid. After 51 days, on April 19, 1993, a tank rams the compound creating holes in the walls. As one tank pulled out, flames started to shoot out in the same direction. Some say the tank knocked over something causing the flame. Others say the cult members did it themselves. Eighty-six cult members, including children, die in the flames. Yet another event to fuel the passionate distrust of the government. The day was not forgotten.

On April 19, 1995, just on the two year anniversary of the Waco incident, Timothy McVeigh destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building outside in Oklahoma City with a massive car bomb made of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. One hundred and sixty-eight people are killed, including several children in the building's second-floor day care center. The bomb left a crater 20 feet wide and eight feet deep. On June 2, 1997, a federal jury in Denver found Timothy McVeigh guilty on 11 counts of conspiracy and murder. McVeigh plotted with his Army buddy Terry L. Nichols and others to commit this crime. It was unanimously voted that McVeigh should die by lethal injection.

Speaking of destructive criminal behavior, remember the Unabomber? Federal agents raided a remote mountain cabin, arresting a former university professor suspected of being a serial bomber. The so-called Unabomber had been linked to a series of bombing incidents over 17 years, and officials the following day charged Theodore J. Kaczynksi with the crime on April 3, 1996. Today he sits in a Federal prison, isolated in his cell as he was on the outside. He had an agenda to rid the world of its evil technology. Obviously, he was mentally unstable.

Speaking of mentally unstable, Colin Ferguson was charged in the shooting rampage on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train that left six people dead and 19 injured on December 7, 1993. At his trial, Ferguson, fired his lawyers, who wanted him to enter an insanity plea. Ferguson represented himself and claimed that the shooter was a white man who stole his gun while he slept on the train. He questioned his victims on the stand, referring to himself in the third person and incredulously asked them who shot them. Each one looked him stone cold in the eye and said he did. He was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder on February 17, 1995. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Shortly afterwards, New York re-activated the death penalty.

Then there was another serious sicko, this one was in the Milwaukee area by the name of Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was arrested for multiple murders and cannibalism on July 22, 1991. Police raided his apartment and to their horror found human heads and other body parts, the remains of his sick, sexual fantasies. He was sentenced to 16 life terms in prison. On November 28, 1994, he was beaten to death in prison by inmate, Christopher Scarver.

Marv Albert, a sportscaster, was charged with sexual assualt during a session of rough sex with Vanessa Perhach, who had a 10-year sexual relationship with Albert, accused him of biting her. He was charged with forcible sodomy and assault and battery. Albert made a statement in court in which he apologized to the victim. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery and was given a 12-month suspended sentence. Hours later, he was fired from NBC.

Mike Tyson was in the ring with Evander Holyfield. The fight was ended quickly when Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear. The Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Tyson's boxing license and fined him $3 million. He was also imprisoned for rape, accused for mistreating his pet ferrets, and numerous charges of assualt.

O.J. Simpson! The so-called trial of the century. On June 17, 1994 he was charged with murder the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Instead of meeting with police, he disappears from his house in a white Ford Bronco driving along a freeway in Los Angeles. People leaned over the overpasses with big signs and shouting, "Run O.J., Run!" He then goes back to his home to ultimately be arrested.

The trial was on all the networks and around the clock on Court TV. The lawyers were accused of acting for the cameras. The prosecution was accused of botching the case. The final nail in the coffin, after not explaining carefully the DNA evidence, was the famous bloody glove. Simpson tries on bloody gloves found at the crime scene. The defense alleged that the police was guilty of planting evidence and if they could prove the glove could not be worn by him, the cops planted the glove to frame him. The glove did not fit so they were urged to acquit him. On October 3, 1995 he was acquitted of murder and even if he were to admit to it now, he could never be punished for it.

This landmark case kept the jury sequestered, or put away in a safe place without media exposure, for 266 days, the longest such period in U.S. history. The group reached its not-guilty verdict after three hours of deliberations.

On February 4, 1997, a jury in a civil court convicted him on the count of a wrongful death suit.

Then there was a civil rights issue when it was caught on film what the African-Americans have always accused the police of doing. White police officers of the LAPD were filmed beating up on a suspect named Rodney King. They claimed to pull him over for speeding and when he got out of the car he appeared to be drunk or stoned, hostile and refusing to co-operate with the arresting officer. Calling for back up, other officers arrived at the scene to subdue King who would not stay on the ground. They beat him down with their clubs. The problem was they were still beating him even after he was down. The police claimed he kept trying to get up, although there is no proof of that on the film.

To answer the charges, four white Los Angeles police officers came to trial for their role in beating King. An all-white jury in suburban Simi Valley, California, acquits them on April 29, 1992. Hours later, a riot broke out across South Central Los Angeles. By dawn, about a dozen people are reported killed in the rioting.

To try to bring together the African American community, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan organized the Million Man March on October 16, 1995. It was promoted as "a holy day of atonement and reconciliation" in which black men would unite and pledge to take responsibility for themselves, their families and their communities. Although the goal of a million men was not reached to march on the streets of Washington D.C, it was an event to be savored, in spite of the fact that Louis Farrakhan is known as a racist and anti-Semite.

The 90s weren't just about scandals, there were some notable people who have passed on. Kurt Cobain, Nirvana guitarist, committed suicide on April 8, 1994. Jerry Garcia, guitarist of the rock band Grateful Dead, died on August 9, 1995. Comedian and actor George Burns died at age 100 on March 9, 1996. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. Former President Richard Nixon died on April 27, 1994 four days after suffering a severe stroke. Princess Diana was killed in a car accident on August 31, 1997. Mother Teresa died on September 5th, 1997. Phil Hartman was killed by his wife who committed suicide later on May 28 1998.

Others who have died: Freddie Mercury, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Nancy Kulp, Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Dick Sargent, Barbara Stanwyck, Michael Landon, Robert Reed, David Doyle, Morey Amsterdam, Dana Plato, Denver Pyle, Brian Keith, Alan Hale Jr., Natalie Schafer, Eva Gabor, Audrey Meadows, Roxie Roker, George "Spanky" McFarland, Nancy Walker, McLean Stevenson, Fred Gwynne, Fred MacMurray, Redd Foxx, Chris Farley, Jim Henson, DeForest Kelley, Flip Wilson, Tammy Wynette, Robert Young, Lawrence Welk, Lloyd Bridges, Roy Rogers, Roddy McDowall, Pearl Bailey, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Burl Ives, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Gene Autry, Henny Youngman, Alan Shepard Jr, Esther Rolle, Mary Frann, Sonny Bono, Jack Lord, Linda McCartney, Grandpa Jones, Sarah "Minnie Pearl" Cannon, Bob Trow, Shari Lewis, Buffalo Bob Smith, Bob Cane, Leo Buscaglia, Florence "Flo Jo" Giffith Joyner, Harry Caray, John F Kennedy Jr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Denver, Payne Stewart, Carl Wilson, Wendy O. Williams, Eddie Rabbitt, Jeffrey Moss, Norman Fell, Audra Lindley, Mabel King, Shirley Hemphill, Don Ameche, Bill Bixby, Raymond Burr, John Candy, Chuck Connors, Iron Eyes "the crying Native" Cody, William Conrad, Bert Convy, Peter Cushing, Gale Gordon, Peter Graves (the British man, not the American), Rex Harrison, Benny Hill, Raul Julia, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Skip Stephenson, Ray Combs, Bill Cullen, Gene Rayburn, Gene Siskel, Alan Funt, Harry Blackstone Jr., Sam Kinison, Joe DiMaggio, Roy Campenella, Don Drysdale, Mickey Mantle, Wilt Chamberlain, Walter Payton, Arthur Ashe, Bobby Riggs, Howard Cosell, Charles 'Pete' Conrad, James Irwin, Isaac Asimov, Erma Bombeck, Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, Alex Haley, Mario Puzo, Benjamin Spock M.D., Max Factor Jr., Armand Hammer, Victor Kiam, Orville Redenbacher , Sam Walton, Earl Scheib, Isadore 'Friz' Freleng, Jeanne Dixon, Leonard Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Aaron Copland, Gianni Versace, John Chancellor, John Holliman, Charles Kuralt, Harry Reasoner, William M. Gaines, Col. Tom Parker, Jacques Cousteau , Linus Pauling, Carl Sagan, Glenn Seaborg, Stokely Carmichael, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Mark Goodson, Hal Roach, Leonard Katzman, Stanley Kubrick, Sheldon Leonard, Rose Kennedy, Minnesota Fats, Timothy Leary, Jonas Salk, Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder, Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder, Robert "Wolfman Jack" Smith, Gene Roddenberry, Cesar Chavez, James Michener, Cleavon Little, Victor Mature, Robert Mitchum, George Peppard, Anthony Perkins, Vincent Price, Telly Savalas, George C Scott, Red Skelton, Jimmy Stewart, Vic Tayback, Danny Thomas, Herve Villechaize, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Margaux Hemingway, Audrey Hepburn, Madeline Kahn, Madeline Kahn, Maureen O'Sullivan, Martha Raye, Ginger Rogers, Dinah Shore, Jessica Tandy, Lana Turner, Spiro Agnew, {John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman, John Sirica, Elliot Richardson} Harry Blackmun, William Brennan, Warren Burger, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis Powell, Barry Goldwater, Edmund Muskie, Barbara Jordan, Tip O'Neil, Paul Tsongas, Tom Bradley, George Wallance, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Pat Nixon, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty, Floyd Cramer, Dusty Springfield, Herbert "Tiny Tim" Khaury, Frank Zappa, Del Shannon, Grover Washington Jr, John Candy

And if you are wondering why I put the obits for this decade, it is also because of some personal losses during this decade and recently. My great-grandmother [Muriel Edwards], grandfather [Andrew J Childress] and grandmother [Dorothy Childress] as well as two friends of the family, one by cancer [Raliegh Miles] another by suicide [Jay Bonmon].