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Bill Clinton should have enjoyed immense influence during this good time.  But his personal immorality caught up with him, in what became known as the "Monica Lewinsky" sex scandal.  Clinton had a sexual relationship with this young woman, who worked at the White House as an unpaid "intern".  When Clinton was asked about this under oath during a lawsuit, he lied about it.  That was perjury, a serious crime, and the House impeached Clinton near the end of 1998 for it.  But as happened to President Andrew Johnson about 130 years earlier, the Senate did not reach the 2/3rd vote needed to remove Clinton from office.

Bill Clinton should have enjoyed immense influence during this good time.  But his personal immorality caught up with him, in what became known as the "Monica Lewinsky" sex scandal.  Clinton had a sexual relationship with this young woman, who worked at the White House as an unpaid "intern".  When Clinton was asked about this under oath during a lawsuit, he lied about it.  That was perjury, a serious crime, and the House impeached Clinton near the end of 1998 for it.  But as happened to President Andrew Johnson about 130 years earlier, the Senate did not reach the 2/3rd vote needed to remove Clinton from office.

In spring 1999 at a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, two anti-Christian bigoted high school students massacred 12 students, one for believing in God, and a teacher.  Clinton and liberals seized on this event to push hard for gun control.  But in the presidential election in 2000, voters in the pro-gun, rural states of West Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas remembered and voted against Democratic candidate Al Gore, causing him to lose the election.  Democratic strategists admitted after the election that the gun control issue really hurt them, and no leading Democrat has pushed for gun control for most the decade.

In spring 1999 at a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, two anti-Christian bigoted high school students massacred 12 students, one for believing in God, and a teacher.  Clinton and liberals seized on this event to push hard for gun control.  But in the presidential election in 2000, voters in the pro-gun, rural states of West Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas remembered and voted against Democratic candidate Al Gore, causing him to lose the election.  Democratic strategists admitted after the election that the gun control issue really hurt them, and no leading Democrat has pushed for gun control for most of the decade.

== 21st Century ==

== 21st Century ==

9/11 was the deadliest attack ever on American soil, even deadlier than the attack on Pearl Harbor.  President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress and the entire nation, vowing to hold the perpetrators responsible.  Quickly blame was pinned on Osama bin Laden, who was in Afghanistan leading the terrorist group "Al Qaeda."  Bush demanded that the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time, expel him from its country.  The Taliban refused, and Bush ordered American troops to invade Afghanistan to defeat Al Qaeda and look for bin Laden, who was not found until he was reportedly killed by U.S. Navy SEALS in May 2011.  During the 2011 invasion of Afghanistan, American soldiers captured terrorists, including an American later charged with treason and sentenced to 30 years in jail; some terrorists were held at Guantanamo Bay, and hundreds are still being held there a decade later while awaiting trial.

9/11 was the deadliest attack ever on American soil, even deadlier than the attack on Pearl Harbor.  President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress and the entire nation, vowing to hold the perpetrators responsible.  Quickly blame was pinned on Osama bin Laden, who was in Afghanistan leading the terrorist group "Al Qaeda."  Bush demanded that the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time, expel him from its country.  The Taliban refused, and Bush ordered American troops to invade Afghanistan to defeat Al Qaeda and look for bin Laden, who was not found until he was reportedly killed by U.S. Navy SEALS in May 2011.  During the 2011 invasion of Afghanistan, American soldiers captured terrorists, including an American later charged with treason and sentenced to 30 years in jail; some terrorists were held at Guantanamo Bay, and hundreds are still being held there a decade later while awaiting trial.

Congress quickly passed the Patriot Act of 2001, which authorized extensive phone and email surveillance of Americans possibly connected with terrorism, and authorized deportation or detention of suspected terrorists.  The internal surveillance and fighting in Afghanistan became known as the "War on Terrorism," which began in 2001 and continues to this day, more than a decade later.  More than 2000 American soldiers have lost their lives in this Afghanistan War, with no end to the war in sight.

Congress quickly passed the Patriot Act of 2001, which authorized extensive phone and email surveillance of Americans possibly connected with terrorism, and authorized deportation or detention of suspected terrorists.  The internal surveillance and fighting in Afghanistan became known as the "War on Terrorism," which began in 2001 and continues to this day, more than a decade later.  More than 2,000 American soldiers have lost their lives in this Afghanistan War, with no end to the war in sight.

More controversial was President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, after its dictator Saddam Hussein refused to disarm and refused to cooperate with inspections of its nuclear program.  Some feared he was developing "weapons of mass destruction," though no hard evidence of that has ever been found.  More plausible is that Saddam Hussein was harboring or funding terrorists, and there is no doubt that his regime was brutal to Iraqis themselves.  Americans captured Baghdad, Iraq's capital, remarkably quickly, but actually the enemy had gone "underground" to engage in terrorist attacks against our troops for the next several years, possibly aided by Iran.  In 2007, President Bush approved "the surge" to stop the terrorist attacks, and it was remarkably successful.  American troops remained fighting in Iraq until 2010, when President Barack Obama pulled them out.  After the American military left, defenseless Christian churches have suffered from horrific violence against them.  

More controversial was President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, after its dictator Saddam Hussein refused to disarm and refused to cooperate with inspections of its nuclear program.  Some feared he was developing "weapons of mass destruction," though no hard evidence of that has ever been found.  More plausible is that Saddam Hussein was harboring or funding terrorists, and there is no doubt that his regime was brutal to Iraqis themselves.  Americans captured Baghdad, Iraq's capital, remarkably quickly, but actually the enemy had gone "underground" to engage in terrorist attacks against our troops for the next several years, possibly aided by Iran.  In 2007, President Bush approved "the surge" to stop the terrorist attacks, and it was remarkably successful.  American troops remained fighting in Iraq until 2010, when President Barack Obama pulled them out.  After the American military left, defenseless Christian churches have suffered from horrific violence against them.  

== The Supreme Court ==

== The Supreme Court ==

From about 1975 to the end of 2008, the Supreme Court has grown increasingly conservative (as has the nation, in your teacher's view).  The 7-2 vote by the Court in favor of unlimited legalized abortion in ''Roe v. Wade'' in 1972 had transformed, which the retirement and replacement of every Justice, into a 5-4 pro-life majority by Nov. 19, 2013, when the Supreme allowed a Texas pro-life law to take effect.  The Texas law prohibits abortion by anyone who lacks nearby hospital privileges to patients, and many abortionists lack nearby hospital privileges.

From about 1975 to the end of 2008, the Supreme Court has grown increasingly conservative (as has the nation, in your teacher's view).  The 7-2 vote by the Court in favor of unlimited legalized abortion in ''Roe v. Wade'' in 1972 had transformed, after the retirement and replacement of every Justice, into a 5-4 pro-life majority by Nov. 19, 2013, when the Supreme allowed a Texas pro-life law to take effect.  The Texas law prohibits abortion by anyone who lacks nearby hospital privileges to admit patients, and many abortionists lack nearby hospital privileges.

President George W. Bush appointed two strong conservatives to the Supreme Court during his presidency:  Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who is from New Jersey.  The liberal Justices tend to be older, while the more conservative Justices are younger.  But after 2008, President Obama nominated two young liberals to the Supreme Court, ensuring that this Court would be almost equally divided between conservatives and liberals for the foreseeable future.  Perhaps because it is nearly equally divided, the Supreme Court is accepting fewer cases for its review (''i.e.'', the Court is "denying ''cert.''" more often).

President George W. Bush appointed two strong conservatives to the Supreme Court during his presidency:  Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who is from New Jersey.  The liberal Justices tend to be older, while the more conservative Justices are younger.  But after 2008, President Obama nominated two young liberals to the Supreme Court, ensuring that this Court would be almost equally divided between conservatives and liberals for the foreseeable future.  Perhaps because it is nearly equally divided, the Supreme Court is accepting fewer cases for its review (''i.e.'', the Court is "denying ''cert.''" more often).