Browsing: Crime

A Brief History On this Independence Day we would like to acknowledge the important role firearms and guns of all types have played in the formation of and preservation of the United States.  Especially with the 1996 movie, Independence Day and the 2016 sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence,  we also recognize the prominent role firearms and weapons have played in Hollywood movies and television productions.  On June 27, 2016, Shooting Illustrated, an NRA affiliated publication, published a list of “Top Ten Guns of American Pop Culture” giving us inspiration for making our own list. Digging Deeper 10.  Take Down Sniper Rifle.…

A Brief History On July 4, 1966, The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was enacted, with an effective date one year later, July 4, 1967.  In keeping with the wondrous and mysterious ways of Washington, DC, the FOIA was repealed the next day!  Not to worry, a virtually identical FOIA was enacted on July 5, 1967, and was effective from July 4, 1967. Digging Deeper This goofy, confusing political posturing is exactly why the FOIA was needed.  On the other hand, far from making government transparent as the FOIA was intended, self serving interpretations and vague wordage caused the 1974 Privacy Act…

A Brief History On July 4, 1910, heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson, an African-American, knocked out former champion Jim Jeffries, a white man, to become the premier boxer in the world.  An indication of the state of racial relations in the US at that time were the riots that broke out across the country in response! Digging Deeper Johnson was the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion, a title he earned in 1908.  He had grown up in Texas, a former slave state in the deepest South, and faced racial prejudice at every turn, including being denied a championship fight for years.…

A Brief History On July 2, 1777, Vermont became the first territory in what had just (kind of) become the United States to abolish slavery.  Several other significant Civil Rights related events happened on July 2nd, and we list some of them here. Digging Deeper 1776: Continental Congress voted to declare Independence from Britain.  (The actual document we know as the Declaration of Independence was voted on July 4, 1776.)  Independence from Britain actually hurt the cause of Civil Rights as Britain abolished slavery in 1833, over 30 years before it was abolished in the United States. 1777: Vermont Abolishes…

A Brief History On June 28, 1950, the South Korean government, democratically elected allies of the United States and other Western allies, committed a massacre of suspected communist sympathizers in what is known as The Bodo League Massacre.  Somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people are believed to have been executed, including girls as young as 12 or 13.  Sometimes the so called “good guys” do things that are not so good.  Any side is quick to point out the atrocities committed by the other side, but unlikely to acknowledge their own indiscretions.  Here, for a change, we list 10 instances when…