by Ross M. Levine

When the first issue of IN Los Angeles magazine appeared on March 3, 1998, the editor-in-chief, J.V. McCauley, challenged readers to “Show us just how late ’90s you are by e-mailing us.” Today he might ask you to send your comments to the magazine’s MySpace page or that you include a hyperlink to the IN Los Angeles website in your blog. Needless to say, a lot has changed over the past 10 years, and a lot (perhaps too much) hasn't. As you are about to see ...

THE ENVIRONMENT

THEN: Everyone’s talking El Niño.
NOW: Everyone’s talking El Meltdown—global warming. Will the Inland Empire have to change its name?

THEN: Paper or plastic?
NOW: Neither. Cloth is back.

THEN: Thomas Edison would still recognize his light bulb.
NOW: He might try to open a wine bottle with one.

THEN: Santa Ana winds bring devastating wildfires to Southern California.
NOW: You can say that again.

WORLD AFFAIRS

THEN: India and Pakistan get the bomb.
NOW: Maybe if Iran gets the bomb, they can be our friends, too.

THEN: Netanyahu and Arafat unable to make peace.
NOW: Olmert and Abbas unable to make peace.

THEN: Canadian high court says Quebec cannot secede without government approval.
NOW: But can California become part of Canada?

THEN: In Italy, Prime Minster Romano Prodi gets a no-confidence vote.
NOW: Ten years later and still no confidence.

GAY RIGHTS

THEN: Gay marriage? Civil unions? Not in the states, but Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Norway and Sweden offer not-quite-marriage gay partnerships.
NOW: We can marry in Massachusetts, partner in California, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Oregon and Washington, and civily unify in Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey—plus wed in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain, and almost wed in some other 18 nations.

THEN: John Lawrence and Tyrone Garner arrested for sodomy in their own home.
NOW: In 2003, Lawrence vs. Texas led to the repeal of sodomy laws thanks to repentant Supreme, Anthony Kennedy.

THEN: “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” turns five; how much longer can such a specious, unconstitutional policy endure?
NOW: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” turns 15.

THEN: Eleven states have hate crime laws specifically protecting the LGBT community.
NOW: That number’s now 32 (just stay out of about half the red states).

THEN: First openly gay mayor elected in North America—Glen Murray of Winnipeg.
NOW: Lots of openly gay mayors south of the border now, including David Cicilline (Providence, R.I.), Craig Covey (Ferndale, Mich.) and Michael Bloomberg (NYC) … scratch that last one.

THEN: Matthew Shephard, found beaten and tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyo., dies six days later.
NOW: With Bush at the helm and Republicans still wielding substantial clout in Congress, the Matthew Shephard Act—to protect LGBT people and the disabled from hate crimes—remains in legislative limbo.

THEN: Zero states legally recognize same-sex partnerships
now: Nine states legally recognize same-sex partnerships

THE “BODY” POLITIC

THEN: 1998 begins with Paula Jones accusing Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, and ends with Clinton’s impeachment.
NOW: In year eight, hopes of impeaching George Bush dwindle (in other words, close, but no cigar…).

THEN: Pro-wrestler elected governor of Minnesota.
NOW: Action hero still governor of California.

WAR ON TERROR

THEN: Ramzi Yousef gets life for the (first) WTC bombing, 224 die when U.S. embassies in Africa are destroyed, but what do we fear most? Y2K.
NOW: Many people’s greatest fear today? The Republicans winning in November.

THEN: Scott Ritter resigns as a U.N. weapons inspector, believing we’re not serious enough about uncovering Iraq’s WMDs.
NOW: He might as well have kept his job.

THEN: President Clinton tells the U.N. that to defeat terror, we must “affirm our belief in the primacy of ... human rights.”
NOW: Our present leadership says that to defeat terror, we must waterboard.

THEN: Osama bin Laden is implicated in embassy bombings, but he has yet to become an international “celebrity.”
NOW: Osama bin who? Wasn’t he the dude who put Saddam up to Sept. 11?

SOCIETY AND RELIGION

THEN: Smoking banished from all California bars and restaurants.
NOW: Soon you'll have to step outside for your trans fat fix.

THEN: Hustler’s Larry Flynt acquitted of defaming Jerry Falwell.
NOW: After bashing Tinky Winky and blaming gays for Sept. 11, Falwell has gone to his reward (God bless cardiac arrest).

THEN: The Vatican apologizes that the Church did nothing to stop the Holocaust.
NOW: Reinstating a more traditional Good Friday prayer, the Vatican returns to anti-Semitism-lite.

CRIME

THEN: Two boys open fire at a Jonesboro Middle School killing five; Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee laments the culture that spawns such violence.
NOW: With Virginia Tech a not-so-distant memory, Huckabee's the darlin' of the NRA.

THEN: Home-grown terrorists: Ted “Unabomber” Kaczynski pleads guilty to murder, and Eric Rudolph is wanted for bombing an abortion clinic and the Atlanta Olympics.
NOW: Come on, there must be room in Guantánamo for citizens.

THEN: Black man James Byrd Jr. dragged to his death in Texas hate crime.
NOW: Don Imus back on the radio.

TECHNOLOGY

THEN: The Internet … a good idea, if you can get on.
NOW: The Internet … a good idea, if you can get off.

THEN: Larry Page and Sergey Brin found Google.
NOW: Google finds everything.

THEN: Apple unveils its egg-shaped iMac.
NOW: iPod, iPhone ... iWishihadstock....

THEN: The United States government sues to break up Microsoft.
NOW: Let’s just say the Iraq war went better.

HEALTH & MEDICINE

THEN: Pfizer introduces Viagra.
NOW: If you took Viagra in ’98 and still have an erection, call your doctor.

THEN: AIDS turns 17, but people still have unprotected sex.
NOW: AIDS turns 27, but people still have

ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITIES

THEN: This time, it’s a “British Invasion” of one: Harry Potter.
NOW: Dumbledore is gay.

THEN: Singer George Michael arrested in a Beverly Hills restroom for “performing a lewd act.”
NOW: Taking a “wide stance” in a public restroom can still get you in trouble, especially if you’re a senator with a narrow stance on gay rights.

THEN: Leona Helmsley’s a lonely widow, living on the $5 billion Harry left her.
NOW: Trouble is a lonely Maltese, living on the $12 million Leona left her.

BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY

THEN: Clinton balances the budget for the first time in 30 years, with a $70 billion surplus.
NOW: Can you find Daddy’s peace dividend in Sonny’s $400-billion deficit?

THEN: Dot-com bubble getting ready to pop.
NOW: Real estate bubble covers globe in sub-prime slime.

THEN: Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to shore up economy.
NOW: Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to shore up economy.

THEN: First euros minted.
NOW: Take my dollars—please.