20 years on: Remembering the senator who quit in disgrace
After a three-year ethics investigation into his unwanted sexual advances on women, many of whom were dependent on him for their jobs, Bob Packwood of Oregon abruptly announced the resignation … Continue reading
The 1995 massacre at Srebrenica and its effects on U.S. policy
Twenty years ago this week, Bosnia Serb forces seized control of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia and soon after began rounding up, and killing, the Muslim men … Continue reading
When Secret Service officers wore rubber gloves to greet gay officials
Is it “different enough”? One of the tests for conducting research into the recent past is whether the period under scrutiny is “different enough” from the present. With the passage … Continue reading
Downed pilot eludes Serbs; Americans take notice of Bosnia
The war that tore apart Bosnia in 1992-95 was Europe’s deadliest and most vicious since the time of the Nazis. It was a war that returned “ethnic cleansing” to the … Continue reading
Bob Dole, Hollywood, and ‘mainstreaming of deviancy,’ 1995
It’s been 20 years since Bob Dole, then the Senate majority leader and a contender for the GOP presidential nomination, went to Los Angeles and condemned what he called Hollywood’s … Continue reading
Closing off Pennsylvania Ave.: 1995 and a psychology of fear
The uglying-up of the nation’s capital in the name of security and terrorism-prevention can be traced to 20 years ago this week when, without warning, a two-block section of Pennsylvania … Continue reading
Clinton, his portrait, and the persistent shadow of scandal
The long reach of 1995 was reconfirmed the other day in the interview a portrait artist gave to a Philadelphia tabloid. The artist, Nelson Shanks, said in the interview that … Continue reading
Part Two: Interview takes up scandal, and ’90s ‘zeitgeist’
My interview with Nick Gillespie, editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV, took up the affair between President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky — a furtive and improbable dalliance … Continue reading
Part One: Highlights of ‘1995’ interview with Reason.com
Nick Gillespie, editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV, recently spoke with me about my latest book, 1995: The Year the Future Began. The video and the transcript of the interview … Continue reading
Lewinsky’s essay was solid: But award-winning?
It was no small surprise that Monica Lewinsky today was named a finalist for a National Magazine Award, for her lengthy Vanity Fair essay lamenting the lasting notoriety of her … Continue reading
