Browsing: Lifestyle

A Brief History On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing the Medicare and Medicaid programs the American people have come to take for granted. Digging Deeper Medicare was and is a program to provide health coverage to people over 65 years old and older, many of which were retired and no longer getting health insurance through their employer.  Medicaid was and is a program to provide health insurance to those people too poor to afford it.  The final bill passed the House of Representatives by a 307 to 116…

A Brief History On July 18, 1984, hungry customers of the San Ysidro, California McDonald’s got more than they expected when a gunman began shooting people.  (San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego.) Digging Deeper In yet another case of the mental health system failing the patient and the public, 41 year old James Huberty was feeling as if he needed mental help, and his wife suspected he may have been mentally ill.  Huberty called a local mental health facility and was promised a prompt call back, but when he had waited for hours beside the phone and no return call…

A Brief History On July 5, 1937, Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam to a Depression weary world.  A cooked, ready to eat meat product in a can, Spam was just the ticket for soldiers in the field in the upcoming World War.  It was also ideal for shipping to hungry allies.  Unfortunately, many folks think the salty, greasy, fat laden stuff in better suited as dog food, especially if you do not like your dog.  Britain and Australia got their share shipped to them, and Spam became a Monty Python joke.  Even unwanted emails are called Spam!  Still, it now comes in several flavor varieties (as many as 15)…

A Brief History On June 28, 1987, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Air Force became the first military force in history to purposely target civilians with chemical weapons when they attacked the town of Sardasht, Iran with “mustard” gas. Digging Deeper Iraq was at war with Iran at the time, a particularly nasty affair.  Additionally, the people of Sardasht (perhaps 20,000) were Kurds, an ethnic group that also lives in Iraq and Turkey and has been clamoring for an independent country of their own.  Thus, the ruthless regime of Saddam Hussein could kill 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak, by…

A Brief History On June 27, 1985, US Route 66, known as “The Main Street of America,” was officially taken off the list of US highways.  Established in 1926, it was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles (Santa Monica).  Spawning a hit song (by Nat “King” Cole) and a hit television series, this route was the American highway, at least until superseded by the Interstate Highway System.  It survives (barely) today in pieces as “State Route 66” in some states and as stretches of a “National Scenic Byway.”  Many other symbols of America have also come and gone, and…