Browsing: April 12

A Brief History On April 12, 1999, President William Jefferson (“Bill” or “Slick Willie” if you will) Clinton was cited for Contempt of Court for lying in a civil suit brought against him by Paula Jones alleging sexual harassment for unwanted sexual advances. The suit had been thrown out by the presiding judge but was reinstated when President Clinton’s admission of having a sexual affair with White House intern Monica Lewinski became public. The lie referenced in the Contempt ruling referred to a deposition in the lawsuit in which Clinton denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky. Digging Deeper The impeachment of…

A Brief History On April 12, 2018, fans of the video game, Rampage, will be treated to the big screen adaptation of their beloved game, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in his typical heroic, wise-cracking best. It is easy to see how female fans can so profoundly be attracted to The Rock, with rippling muscles and a genial personality to go with his characteristic wit and sense of timing. Lovers of spectacular special effects and vivid RealD 3D in an action film setting will be in their glory watching this eye-candy monster movie spectacular. Digging Deeper Rampage brings all the…

A Brief History On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut (their version of astronaut) Yuri Gagarin was sent into orbit around the Earth aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first human being to “slip the surly bonds of Earth” and voyage where no man had gone before, Outer Space. Digging Deeper Humans have looked up with wonder at the Sun, the Moon, the stars and planets beyond the clouds and wondered what is really up there? In the past, with no better explanation, stories were made up about celestial gods, the Moon made of Green Cheese, flaming chariots and all sorts of…

A Brief History On April 12, 1864, Confederate forces under Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest massacred a large part of the Federal troops defending Fort Pillow, Tennessee. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Nathan Forrest well known as a founder of the Ku Klux Klan and renowned as a racist, leading about 7,000 Confederate cavalrymen. Fort Pillow was an earthworks fort supposed to protect the Mississippi River, but it was not of a good design.  The cracked layout of the fort actually favored attackers having better fields of fire than the hapless defenders who found it hard to fire at…

A Brief History On April 12, 1831, 74 British soldiers got the surprise of their lives when the “new fangled” suspension bridge they were marching across collapsed! Digging Deeper The bridge at Broughton, near Manchester, England, was built in 1826 in the new “suspension” style. Being one of Europe’s first suspension bridges and only 5 years old, it was considered state of the art. As the British troops marched “in time” in 4 columns across the bridge their synchronized footsteps began a rhythmic resonance creating a pleasant sort of bounce, causing some of the men to start whistling in time! …