Time To Catch Up On Some News

(First, an apology, and a correction.  Obviously, I always want to be factually accurate in the blog.  The opinions are, of course, mine.  But I made a huge error in the August 28, 2022 post, "Growing Up In 2001 - Part II."  I incorrectly stated that 2996 people were murdered on 9/11.  In fact, 2977 people were murdered.  The additional 19 were the rat bastard terrorist a-holes who died.  My apologies for that error, and shame on me for relying on a mainstream media source for the numbers.)  

On 9/11 this year I picked up a copy of the New York Times.  As I searched through the news pages for a story about the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks, I did not find anything.  There was clearly nothing on the front page.  On the assumption that I must have overlooked it, I went through the news pages a second time.  Nothing.  On 9/11/01, 2753 people were murdered in and around the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.  In New York City.  And many more have since died, from 9/11 related illnesses.  Yet, the so-called "paper of record," whose motto is "All the News That's Fit to Print," could not bother remembering those souls who were lost that day in their city.  They could not be bothered honoring the memory of the 343 members of the FDNY who died that day.  That could not be bothered honoring the memory of the 71 NYPD and other law enforcement officers who died that day.  

But, they did manage a front page anti-Trump story.  In the Opinion section was an Op-Ed titled "'America's Mayor' Finds Himself Alone."  Other than a few sentences of admiration for Rudy Giuliani's leadership on that fateful day, the rest of the Op-Ed was essentially a hit piece attacking Giuliani.  It is hardly a surprise that the New York Times has proven, yet again, to be such a big disappointment.  For those on the West Coast, the editors at the Los Angeles Times could not trouble themselves to write about the anniversary of 9/11 either.   

Remember how every word out of the mouths of every person in the Trump Administration, especially the White House Press Secretary, was fact-checked?  Not so for the lucky Karine Jean-Pierre, Press Secretary to Biden.  Fox News reported that there was no fact-checking by "Factcheck.org, Reuters, The Associated Press, The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler, and CNN's Daniel Dale."  The same report says that Snopes fact-checked her one time regarding a prior comment, and Politifact fact-checked her twice.

Maybe you believe that Jean-Pierre just does not lie.  Or, maybe you understand that the mainstream media is all in on Biden's behalf, and has no interest in disputing anything out of the Biden White House.  After all, she did say people are not just walking across the border.  If you do not watch Fox, then you probably think she is correct, because you've never seen the thousands of people walking into our country across the southern border.  Jean-Pierre asserted that Biden has done more to secure the border than Trump did.  Can you see me laughing?  

Here is a good one from Karine Jean-Pierre:  "From day one, when the Supreme Court made this extreme decision to take away a constitutional right (overturning Roe v. Wade), it was an unconstitutional action by them."  Oh, really?  And notice how every action of which they disapprove is to be deemed "extreme."  

According to a group known as The Bowery Mission, there are now 80,000 homeless people in New York City.  Another group, The Coalition for the Homeless, says that "Homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s."  There are parts of Los Angeles that look like the streets of a third world country, or worse.   

Recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) gave an interview to GQ.  She spoke of little girls telling her that they want her to be president.  But AOC opined that "...my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women."   I recall hearing similar nonsense from people on the left in 2008, when Obama was running for the first time.  He could never win.  Too many people are racist and hate blacks.  Except, Obama won.  Twice.  As for women, in 2016 Hillary Clinton received 65,853,514 votes compared to Trump's 62,984,828.  

Both the 2008 and 2016 elections proved that people do not hate blacks or women.  What AOC's comment about women (and the comments by leftists about Obama in 2008), does demonstrate is the utter disregard that these leftists have for their fellow Americans.  It is not just Hillary's basket of deplorables, when referring to Republicans.  It's pretty much how they think of all Americans - racists, sexists, etc. etc. 

Biden's "Let's Forget About That Whole Unity Thing" Speech

It was a prime time TV address to the nation, which the White House press secretary assured us would not be political.  Except, it was totally political.  And what was up with that dark red background?  And why were two Marines standing behind Biden, flanking him on either side.  It is not completely unprecedented to have a military presence at a presidential address, but it is quite rare when it is not a military related speech.  Recall how the Dems and the media were apoplectic when the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs appeared with Trump in Lafayette Park.  

Notwithstanding the dozen or more times Biden mentioned "unity" and "together" in his inaugural address, this speech was the antithesis of his inaugural speech.  But it should not have been surprising to anyone.  The Democrats have been making an all out assault on the Republican Party this year.  First, we have the made for TV prime time January 6 committee hearings.  Second, we had the raid on Mar-a-lago.  Third, we had the Dems spending 44 million dollars to support Republican candidates in various primaries.  That's right, they are supporting MAGA Republicans, in the hope that they can be easily defeated.  It would be rather ironic if their cynical and unprecedented ploy backfired on them, and they helped elect candidates they believe are a threat to the country.  Fourth, we now have Biden's anti-Republican speech.  All of these things have been coordinated with one end in mind - keeping the Democrats in power.  

I don't care that Biden said that the majority of Republicans are not MAGA Republicans, because the overall tenor of the speech was to tell the country how bad all Republicans are.  Biden did not define who the MAGA Republicans are.  However, as one example, he mentioned abortion rights early on, and said the MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country backwards.  But all those Republicans who voted for Trump in 2016, and helped him get elected, meant they also helped get three conservative Justices appointed to the Supreme Court.  And those Justices were instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade.  So, to make my point, Biden was certainly implying that all Republicans who voted for Trump (tens of millions of Americans) are responsible for overturning Roe.   

There were many times, and many ways, that Biden made it clear just how dangerous he thinks Republicans are to democracy and to the country.  In other words, "keep us Democrats in power because we are the good guys."  He said the MAGA Republicans are "extreme," and "embrace anger," and "thrive on chaos," and "are destroying American democracy."  Here are a couple of my favorites.  The MAGA Republicans "do not believe in the rule of law," and "they refuse to accept the results of a free election."  I could write pages in rebuttal to all this nonsense.  But I'll focus on the last two quotes.

MAGA Republicans do not believe in the rule of law?  Do we not have laws regarding our territorial sovereignty?  President Trump did everything in his power to protect our borders.  And, upon taking office, President Biden did all that he could to reverse Trump's policies.  He decided that America could easily deal with another couple million people.  He said so during the campaign.  But he doesn't make the laws.  Congress does.  His job is to enforce those laws.  By intentionally ignoring the border issue, Biden has so far allowed nearly five million people to enter the country since he assumed office.  Biden decided he would forgive a certain amount of student debt, which will cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars.  Why isn't that a decision for Congress to make?  

Who doesn't respect the rule of law?  Remember when Speaker Pelosi referred to federal agents protecting federal buildings in Portland as "stormtroopers."  It was so outrageous that Attorney General Barr said it was putting FBI agents at risk.  The rule of law?  Remember when Senator Schumer threatened Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.  Chief Justice Roberts felt it necessary to make a rare rebuke of a politician, by calling Schumer's "threatening statements inappropriate," and added "they are dangerous."  The rule of law?  How about Maxine Waters saying "I will go and take Trump out tonight."  The rule of law?  Here is the Democrats' 2016 VP candidate, Tim Kaine, saying that "we've got to...fight in the streets."  And where were the Dems during the rioting and looting and destruction in the summer of 2020?  Apparently they did not care that much about the loss of life, the injuries and the two billion dollars in property damage, as the Dems stayed mostly silent.  The rule of law was obviously not an issue for them.   

Now let's focus on MAGA Republicans not accepting election results.  Biden said this:  "Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election - either they win or they were cheated."  Hillary Clinton never accepted that she lost the 2016 election.  She called Trump an "illegitimate president."  John Lewis called Trump an "illegitimate president."  Nancy Pelosi said "our election was hijacked.  There is no question."  Over 60 House Democrats refused to attend Trump's inauguration because, you know, he was not a legitimate president.  

Clinton, not accepting that she lost, said this:  "I don't know that we'll ever know what happened," and then referred to the "many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories..."  So many possibilities.  Except for one - that she actually lost the election.  What was that Biden said:  "either they win or they were cheated."  The Democrats never, and I mean never, accepted Trump as the President.  Not simply by their words, but by the 2 1/2 years of the phony Russian collusion story, and the four years of non-stop harassment of a sitting president.  And, at least one site reported that, while at a campaign stop, one woman said to Biden that Trump was an "illegitimate president in my mind."  Biden was reported to have replied to the many things this woman said about Trump:  "I absolutely agree."   

I cannot imagine that anyone still believes that Biden is a unifier.  Was Trump divisive?  I said so in the blog.  But, Biden has now become the divider in chief.  The difference is, Biden promised to be a unifier.  But that was just one of the many lies that have been told by Biden throughout his political career.

MAGA Mike     

Growing Up In 2001 - Part II

It was the morning hours on September 11, 2001, when my brother called and asked if I was at home.  After telling him that I was, he told me to turn on the TV.  It was almost impossible to believe what I was seeing.  At 8:46am, a plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.  Seventeen minutes later a plane flew into the South Tower.  At 9:59am the South Tower came down.  At 10:28am the North Tower fell.  I was unable to hold back my tears.  As my wife and I were watching in disbelief, I turned to her and said that it was inevitable that I would know someone who had just been killed.

It was inevitable because I grew up not very far away, across the Hudson River, in New Jersey.  I later found out that someone who attended all of public school with me, as well as Jewish summer camp, was, in fact, killed that day.  He worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, which occupied the 101st through the 105th floors of the North Tower.  As the plane hit below their offices, cutting off stairwell access, they had no chance of getting out.  658 of their 960 employees in New York were murdered that day. 

As we all later learned, 19 terrorists, with 15 from Saudi Arabia, and under the direction of Al Qaeda, flew a total of four planes, with three hitting their mark.  The third plane flew into the Pentagon.  And the fourth, believed to be aiming for Washington, D.C., was brought down by passengers.  After learning of the other attacks, some of the passengers were determined not to let another plane reach its target.  No one can forget - nor should anyone ever forget - the words of passenger Todd Beamer to some of the other passengers:  "Let's roll."  It was the beginning of the United States fighting back.  

Their bravery stopped the terrorists who had taken control of the plane.  Tragically, the plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  A total of 2996 people were murdered that day.  It was the worst attack on American soil since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  

It took nine years for the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to be built.  From 1966 to 1975.  As a student at Rutgers in New Brunswick, New Jersey, two years in a row I lived on the sixth floor in the same dorm and in the same room (1970-1971 school year, and 1971-1972 school year).   On a clear day, I was able to see the 28 miles into lower Manhattan as the Towers were rising.  What took nine years to build came down in a matter of minutes.  But building is much more difficult than the cowardly act of destroying.  

I will never forget then New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, refusing a gift of $10 million from a Saudi Prince, to help rebuild New York.  The Prince asserted that the U.S. "must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack."  And, the Prince added that the U.S. "should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stand toward the Palestinian cause...our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek."  

America's Mayor would have none of it.  "I entirely reject that statement.  There is no moral equivalent for this (terrorist) act.  There is no justification for it...To suggest that there's a justification for (the terrorist attacks) only invites this happening in the future...It is highly irresponsible and very, very dangerous."

On September 14, standing at what came to be known as "ground zero," then President George W. Bush told America and the world:  "I can hear you.  The rest of the world hears you.  And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."  America was at war.  And America was united.  Flags could be seen flying from homes across the country.  And in large numbers, Americans enlisted in the military, and signed up for service in the FBI and CIA.  Patriotism abounded.

I recall that 21 years ago I found it difficult to speak about 9/11 with friends in California.  Yes, they understood that America was attacked.  But it seemed as if they lacked the same emotional involvement that the  people in New York and New Jersey had.  I had many a conversation with my friends in New Jersey at that time.  A single generation later, it is sad that the unity, the patriotism, has been so diminished.  But it was clear to me who the enemies of America were.  And they seemed to be aligned with the enemies of Israel.  After 2000, I would resolutely stand with Israel.  And after 9/11/2001, I had no patience for those who would not stand with America.  I was firmly in the conservative camp.

Growing Up In 2001 - Part I

(There are only two stories in this post.  One from 2000.  And one from 2001.  I'll start in 2000.)

In 2000, Bill Clinton was still the President.  It was the year that he held the Camp David Summit with then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and then Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.  It has been reported that Barak offered Arafat a Palestinian state on 97% of the territory encompassed by the West Bank.  Proving once again that the Palestinians had no interest in the establishment of a state, as long as Israel still existed, Arafat made no counter offer.  Instead, Arafat walked out on the President of the United States, and returned to Ramallah.

From Ramallah, Arafat began the second intifada (Arabic for uprising or rebellion).  The first intifada lasted from late 1987 through September, 1993.  Many of you may recall that during the second intifada, Arafat sent so-called suicide bombers (I call them homicide bombers, because they were sent to murder civilians) to kill Israelis.  These murderers made no distinction between young and old, men or women, Israelis who may have been sympathetic to their cause or not.  They blew up Israelis on buses, in cafes and in malls.  They did the same at a Passover Seder.  Over 1000 Israelis were killed, with many more injured.

That was the year that I started to watch Fox News.  Why?  Because Fox actually let their audience know what was happening, often in disturbingly graphic detail.  And I could not believe it.  It felt like in the year 2000, I was watching yet another evil group of people seeking to annihilate the Jewish people.  I was sad, of course.  But I was also angry.  And I had no patience for my fellow Jews in America, who reacted as if what was happening did not affect all of us, as if it was happening in a "foreign" country.  No, these were not foreigners - they were my fellow Jews.  

So that was the year I realized that I did not know enough about the history of the Middle East.  I started reading up on it.  I had to.  Because I was determined to defend Israel, and my fellow Jews there, against all the hypercritical, hypocritical and hateful anti-Semitic attacks.  Obviously, this was not the first time in history that Jews were being targeted for being Jews.  It has happened countless times throughout history.  But this was the year 2000.  

Publicly, Bill Clinton said:  "I regret that in 2000 Arafat missed the opportunity to bring that nation (a Palestinian state) into being and I pray for the day when the dreams of the Palestinian people for a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting peace."  Privately, Clinton was said to be furious with Arafat.  

As a reminder, at the end of World War I, with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire (the Turks), the British had control of the territory now encompassing Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.  The area was called Palestine, and under British control, it was referred to as the British Mandate or Mandatory Palestine.  When the Jews were eventually given a parcel of that land for their state, they called their country the State of Israel.  The Arabs were also given a parcel of the land at the same time, when the United Nations voted to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state.  But the Arabs would not tolerate the existence of a Jewish state, and made war on the tiny new country of Israel from May 15, 1948 through March 10,1949.  

It was on May 14, 1948 that the Jewish people of Palestine announced the independence of the new State of Israel.  And it was on May 15, 1948 that the Arab world attacked, in the first effort of many to wipe Israel off the map.  But, as many readers know, the Jews had to defend themselves against the Arabs before Israel became a country.  The Haganah (the precursor to the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF), has been described as a paramilitary force that operated in Mandatory Palestine well before the establishment of the State of Israel.  The Haganah had to defend the Jewish people of Palestine in the 1920's and the 1930's against Arab attacks.  After the UN voted partition of the land in 1947, the Haganah again defended the Jewish people of Palestine from Arab attacks.   

Dennis Ross was the United States' Middle East envoy under President Clinton.  After the failure of the Camp David Summit, Ross said that Arafat wanted a "one-state solution.  Not independent, adjacent Israeli and Palestinian states, but a single Arab state, encompassing all of Historic Palestine." 

 One thing was certain.  There could no longer be any doubt - I could not stand with any on the left who sided with the Palestinians against the Israelis.  And I was greatly disturbed by my fellow Jews in America who did not feel the same way that I did.  If by 1991 I was no longer a man of the left, it was clear to me that I was now a conservative.  I was grateful to all those who supported Israel, many of whom were Republicans and conservatives.  And yes, one of the biggest supporters of Israel has consistently been Sean Hannity of Fox News.       

Biden's "Accomplishments" - Part II

I asked myself this question:  "Why is Biden so intent on reinstating the awful Iran nuclear deal?'  Besides, doesn't Iran already have enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons?  What's the point?  I came up with this answer.  The mainstream media is already helping Biden sell all the lies about the "Inflation Reduction Act."  I bet Biden is thinking if he can lock up a foreign policy "success," no matter how spurious, the mainstream media will help him sell that as well, and just maybe the Democrats will be able to hold onto the Congress in the midterms.

With the 2015 Iran nuke deal under the Obama-Biden team, Iran received $150 billion, which, of course, all went to helping the Iranian people.  Nope.  Iran continued its support of the Houthis, Hezbollah ,Hamas and other terrorist organizations.  My suspicion of Iran being able to produce nuclear weapons was borne out, according to Caroline Glick.  She reports that "last month Iran announced it has already crossed the nuclear threshold and can develop bombs at will."  

Glick opines that the post-war ideal of nuclear non-proliferation is over.  Although, one could argue that with North Korea, India and Pakistan all having the bomb, that era had already ended.  But this seems different.  If Iran has nukes, surely Saudi Arabia will want to get nukes.  Which means Turkey will also want them.  Who's next?  Egypt?  The smaller Gulf states?  The Middle East has already been the location and source of numerous conflicts over the decades.  Do we need to add the risk of nuclear war?  And we should never forget that Iran refers to the US as the "Great Satan."  

What about the planned assassination attempts by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, on the lives of John Bolton, former National Security Adviser, Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State, and others?  Shouldn't that give pause to any deal with Iran?  Glick reports that Iran is demanding that the US do nothing to retaliate, and that Biden is apparently agreeable.  

And where is the outcry from Jews and Jewish organizations, who openly opposed the original deal?  Glick's answer is that they "have been sidelined in the Democratic Party, and have no appetite for further arguments with the party that is not only abandoning them, but empowering lawmakers like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib who demonize them."   

In March of this year, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke of the problems with the original deal, but claimed the current negotiations to resurrect the deal are "good."  Good how?  Good by demonstrating just how weak Biden is?  Good because appeasing a tyrannical, terrorist supporting regime is supposed to do what?  Demonstrate strength?  

I do not expect any of my fellow Jews who are Democrats to care much about this, because...Trump...January 6...Trump...January 6...Trump...January 6...But the world did not end on January 6, 2021, and the threats from China, Russia and now Iran are growing all the time.  But Trump... 

Biden's "Accomplishments" - Part I

It's hard to argue with success.  After all, Biden and the Dems have managed to pass $3.8 trillion in spending since Biden took office.  Although, in fairness, the infrastructure bill was passed on a bipartisan basis.  But now we have the reduced version of "Build Back Better," aka the "Inflation Reduction Act (I.R.A.)"  But will it really reduce inflation?  Not according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).  The CBO states that the legislation will have "a negligible effect" on inflation this year, and may reduce inflation by 0.1% next year.  Or may raise inflation by 0.1%.

This huge piece of legislation passed on a single party vote.  It was 50-50 in the Senate, so the VP was able to break the tie.  It passed 220-213 in the House.  All the Dems were in favor and all the Repubs opposed.  Was anyone on the left outraged by the bill being called the Inflation Reduction Act, when it will do no such thing?  Of course not.  Only Trump lies, not Biden.  Maybe it was just a cute name.  And does it concern anyone that major pieces of legislation are passed on single party votes?  I thought Biden was going to be the great unifier.    

The IRS, the most hated federal agency, is getting a huge amount of money with this law - $80 billion.  That is enough, some say, to hire 87,000 new agents.  $45.6 billion is marked for "enforcement."  Newsweek reported that the IRS had originally posted listings for new job applicants that said they must "be willing to use deadly force."  That requirement was removed.  Recall that historically tax compliance was always considered voluntary.  Sure, there were cheats, and there were audits, but the vast majority of filings were accepted at face value.  My guess is those days are over.  

The Wall Street Journal claims that, contrary to the Democrats' assertions, "the main targets (for audits) will by necessity be the middle and upper-middle class because that's where the money is."  As the paper reports:  "the super wealthy employ lawyers and accountants who make litigation time-consuming and risky."  There is a new 15% corporate tax, which the Democrats never seem to acknowledge will affect all consumers, as corporations pass on their costs to all of us.   

According to the Dems, $369 billion will go towards investments in "Energy Security and Climate Change."  So what about climate change?  According to climate scientist Bjorn Lomborg, "the new US climate bill will do almost nothing to reduce global temperature."  His estimate?  Anywhere from .0009 degrees Fahrenheit to .028 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is easy to forget that China and India combined have over 1/3 of the world's population, and are perfectly willing to use fossil fuels when necessary to bolster their economic output.  

In fairness, the law reinstates "the largest oil and gas lease in U.S. history," according to Fox.  Specifically, Lease Sale 257 covers over 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.  Unless, the Dems and environmental groups find some loophole to defeat this provision.  The law does provide for a tax credit of $7,500 for the purchased of new electric vehicles.  I guess people will need that given the cost of electricity that has been discussed on the social media app "Next Door."  One homeowner complained of getting a bill for $1464.99, while another said her bill was $1800.  

The bill does allow Medicare to negotiate the negotiate the price of some high cost drugs.  Which causes me to question if the drug companies (derogatorily called Big Pharma by the left) will do less research and development, and therefore produce less life-saving drugs.  

 I would like to spend some time discussing Biden's other accomplishments.  The record 2 million illegal entries into the US.  The resultant human trafficking and drug smuggling when the border is not adequately protected.  The record number of fentanyl deaths.  The unknown number of terrorists who may have been able to sneak into the country.  I'd like to discuss the real rate of inflation.  The out of control crime.  The homeless crisis.  The reduction in our military readiness.  Biden's bending toward the woke left, and helping to undermine respect for this country, at home and abroad.  I'd like to discuss Biden's foreign policy failures.  But time and space do not permit a discussion of these issues.  Although, I will make an exception for one foreign policy disaster, for which you will need to see Part II.  

Growing Up In 1991

The tide was turning for me.  1991 saw the end of the Soviet Union, the end of the cold war, and a new group of independent countries - the former Soviet Socialist Republics.  There was a renewed hope for peace.  And it was yet another victory for Ronald Reagan.  His military buildup was done at a pace that the USSR was unable to match.  Reagan's idea of "peace through strength" was yet another success of his.  Again, it was hard not to notice.

March 3, 1991 saw the brutal beating of Rodney King by police officers.  As a defender of the police, I remember saying that if the police had given him a dozen whacks, given the danger he put them and the public in, I think people would understand.  But over 50 times?  I predicted that some of the officers would lose their jobs and go to prison.  But after a Simi Valley jury acquitted 4 of the officers, the city of Los Angeles was devastated by 6 days of rioting and looting.  Businesses that had nothing to do with the police or Rodney King were destroyed.  I was disgusted by it.  Property damage was estimated to be over one billion dollars.  I recall Korean shop owners, armed and ready to defend their businesses and their livelihoods.  Ultimately, the National Guard was deployed.  Tanks were on the streets.

Over 50 people were killed and more than 2000 were injured.  Some were shot and killed by the police and the National Guard.  Then there was the case of Reginald Denny, an innocent truck driver who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.  With traffic blocked in the streets, Denny was pulled out of his truck and had his skull smashed.  He was a white man viciously attacked by a group of blacks.  Where was LAPD during this chaos?  Mostly standing by and doing nothing.   

Yet, I still loved cop shows, because there the good guys would get the bad guys.  But in 1990, one of my favorite cop shows had ended.  Miami Vice.  I am not "cool" and never have been; nor have I ever cared about "cool."  But Miami Vice was cool.  It was different.  The music was cool, and early on the music often substituted for dialogue.  The cars were cool.  The clothes were cool.  And the women were hot.  

Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) wore a tee shirt with a white sports coat.  Yes, he was cool, but he was intense, and no one was more determined to get the bad guys than Crockett.  Not that many years ago, my then adult daughters were clothes shopping with me.  They have much better taste in clothes than do I.  As I walked into the men's store, the very first rack had white sport coats.  As I started to reach for one, I heard my older daughter yell "No!"  I asked "what do you mean?"  In her direct fashion (the only way she knows to be) she said:  "This is not the 1980's and you are not Don Johnson."  I replied:  "Then I'll come back when you are not here and buy it."  Her retort:  "And I'll return it!"  No, I didn't get the coat.  

When I was a kid, the Westerns were the shows where the good guys won.  But the Westerns were replaced by police dramas.  Two years after 1991, "Walker, Texas Ranger" began.  I loved the show and the theme music.  In 1993 our kids were only nine, six and six.  But when episodes were shown at 11pm on a Saturday night, we let them stay up to watch.  And we all sang the theme song.

I am not obsessed with cop shows; I am obsessed about seeing good prevail over evil.  However, my wife and I have watched a few other cop shows over the years.  In no particular order:  Hawaii 5-0, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Southland, NYPD Blue, Chicago PD, Blue Bloods, Flashpoint, Rookie Blue, The Rookie, CSI Miami, NCIS, NCIS L.A., NCIS Hawaii, NCIS New Orleans, FBI, FBI International, and FBI Most Wanted.  There are probably others.  

In 1992 Bill Clinton ran for President for the first time.  I voted for him.  Once.  In 1993, Michael Woo was a liberal Democrat running for the office of Mayor of Los Angeles, against businessman Richard Riordan.  But this was no longer 1971 or even 1981, when I would have automatically voted for the Democrat.  My recollection is that I was hearing "identity politics" talk from Woo, and that is an idea that I found to be deeply offensive.  Plus, Riordan just made more sense to me.  So, I voted for Riordan.  

In 1991, a dozen eggs could be had for 99 cents.  A gallon of milk cost $1.05.  And gasoline?  $1.14 a gallon.  Imagine that.  1990 saw the launch of the Hubble telescope.  It was very exciting, as I have always had an interest in astronomy.  With the Hubble, we could look deep into space and far back in time.  Looking up at the night sky with my telescope and binoculars, I was able to see the wonders of other planets.  I could see Saturn's rings, and even about 10 of Jupiter's moons, including the 4 inner Galilean moons.  With my backyard telescope, those moons only were visible as tiny specks of light.  But if I watched long enough, I was able to see the 4 Galilean moons traverse across the much larger body of the planet.  Star clusters were absolutely fascinating.  It was impossible for me to look at the wonders and vastness of the universe without thinking that this could not have happened without the hand of G-d.

After 9 years of walking with a cane, I had my first hip replacement in October of 1992.  The other hip was 6 months later, in April, 1993.  These 2 surgeries were quite the ordeal, as my doctor did not use cement to keep the implants in place.  Instead, the idea was to let the bone grow around the implant.  For two months I could not sit comfortably, as I had to make sure my hip was higher than my knee, in order to avoid a possible dislocation.  I could not drive.  Getting in and out of bed was a challenge.  And the only wat to take a shower was by sitting on a shower chair.  Of course, I was not allowed to put any weight on the operated hip.  Therefore I had to use crutches, or hop with a walker.  And I had to wear the compression stockings around the clock.  But I could not bend my leg to put them on.  Once again, my bride was there to take care of me every step along the way.  (Yes, pun intended.)  By the end of 1993 I was able to walk without a cane.  One's perspective is certainly affected when the simple act of walking is not something that can be taken for granted.   

One other thing was certain.  At this time, I may not have yet considered myself to be a conservative; but I was clearly no longer a man of the left either.