A Brief History On February 4, 1999, New York City police fired 41 bullets at an unarmed immigrant, Amadou Bailo Diallo, hitting him 19 times! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the aftermath of this shooting going across the country like a tidal wave, with cross currents of both support for the police yet condemnation for the officers involved. Early morning in the Bronx on that tragic day, fate paired Amadou Bailo Diallo, a 23-year-old born in Liberia, with 4 undercover NYPD officers who were on the lookout for a serial rapist known to be armed. With the misfortune of looking…
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A Brief History On February 3, 1913, a dark day indeed for Americans, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was adopted, making it legal to institute an income tax! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find that income taxes did not meet constitutional requirements for the federal government to levy such taxes and an amendment was required to allow congress to pass laws levying such taxes. Prior to implementation of the income tax, the main sources of revenue for the United States government were tariffs and excise taxes. Since those taxes raised prices for everyone, they proportionately…
A Brief History On February 2, 1887 (or 1886), the first Groundhog Day celebration took place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and such celebrations have been taking place over and over again ever since (on each February 2nd)! Newsflash: On February 2, 2019, Phil gave a grateful nation a prediction of an early Spring for 2019! By failing to see his shadow, the famous rodent gave some welcome news to a country digging out from an epic cold snap. Thanks Phil! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Pennsylvania largely settled by people of German descent, often referred to incorrectly as the Pennsylvania…
A Brief History On February 1, 2004 at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas, history was made when a “wardrobe malfunction” caused Janet Jackson to briefly expose her breast on live national television! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the National Football League (NFL) Championship Game, known as the Super Bowl, the premier television event of the year in the United States, with 90 million viewers exposed to what became known as “Nipplegate.” With the Super Bowl regularly commanding such a huge audience, only top-notch entertainers are usually provided as half-time entertainment, and at this Super Bowl Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake headed…
A Brief History On February 1, 2003, the United States suffered the second loss of a space shuttle, this time the Columbia. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Columbia at the completion of its 28th mission and ready to start reentry into Earth’s atmosphere at about 8:10 am for an estimated 9:16 am landing in Florida. Speeding around the Earth at over 20 times the speed of sound, Columbia was doomed, and the crew did not know it. On take off, a piece of foam insulation had broken off of a large external fuel tank and had struck the left wing,…
