A Brief History On October 14, 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared a “War on Drugs,” meaning of course a war against illegal drugs. His wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan coined the phrase, “Just Say No” in an effort to inspire the youth of America to resist the urge to use drugs illegally. Neither the government law enforcement campaign nor the simplistic exhortation by the First Lady had much of an effect on illegal drug availability or use back then and no discernible effect on curbing illegal drug use since. Digging Deeper The 1980’s was a time when cocaine became the…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On October 13, 1792, the cornerstone for the White House was laid in the capital city of the United States, known as Washington, D.C. (the city of Washington within the District of Columbia). While commonly referred to as “The White House” (because it is white?), the real name of the presidential residence is the United States Executive Mansion. A well known residence throughout the world, in the US the “White House” is a term often used synonymously with “the President” or “the Administration.” Around the world there are similar iconic residences of national leaders, and today we…
A Brief History On October 12, 1810, the Royal Family of Bavaria, in what is now Germany, for the occasion of the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, invited all the citizens of Munich to join in the first ever Oktoberfest, a tradition that has become the largest “volksfest” in the world. Lasting from 16 to 18 days, the main attraction is the wonderful beer that Bavaria is known for, but of course there is also music, dancing, and other folk-type activities, similar to American annual county fairs. Digging Deeper While…
A Brief History On October 11, 2018, the United States of America stands united in celebrating National Sausage Pizza Day, one of this author’s favorite holidays! Although the origins of this “National Day” are unclear, what is clear is that Sausage Pizza is the single greatest way to enjoy our favorite Italian themed food. (You pepperoni people that are responsible for the vast majority of pizza sales are not necessarily wrong, just not completely right.) We have previously talked about pizza in depth (May 19, 2017: “Today is National Pizza Party Day”), but today we extol the virtues of the…
A Brief History On October 10, 2010, the group of islands known as the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as a united country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Some of those islands became constituent countries by themselves within the Netherlands, while others changed their status to “Special Municipalities” within the Netherlands. Some minor islands became part of each of the 6 larger islands. Today we will discuss 10 places that formerly were recognized as countries, that are no longer independent nations. So many African countries, especially pre-colonial, existed that they would require an extensive list of their own. Europe…