A Brief History On July 29, 1862, female Confederate spy, Belle Boyd, was arrested by Union forces with the assistance of famed private detective Allan Pinkerton. Arrested at least six times for spying, and despite warning that she could be executed, Boyd was never executed or given long prison sentences. Digging Deeper A native of Virginia, Boyd ran afoul of Union troops when they found Confederate flags in her home. A Union soldier insulted Boyd’s mother, resulting in Boyd shooting and killing the soldier. Found not guilty of murder, Boyd went on to a career of spying, being caught and…
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A Brief History On July 27, 1996, at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, a pipe bomb exploded killing 2 and injuring 111. The perpetrator was caught seven years later. This terrorist act is one of several Olympic incidents that go against the Olympic principles of ethics, comradery, peace, brotherhood and all that is good about humanity. Politics and hate have no place in the Olympic Games, but sometimes these factors intrude anyway. Digging Deeper Some incidents where the Olympic ideal was betrayed include: In 1972, the Munich Olympics were marred by a terrorist attack that cost 17 lives. In…
A Brief History On July 25, 2010, the web media non-profit organization, WikiLeaks, released a trove of American secret documents regarding the War in Afghanistan, commonly referred to as “The Afghan War Diary” or “Afghan War documents leak.” Digging Deeper Although WikiLeaks somehow got their hands on 91,000 classified documents, only 71,000 have been released, allegedly out of consideration for the person or persons that leaked the documents to WikiLeaks who claimed to want to limit damage to US security. While people that leak classified information are liable for severe criminal penalties, there seems to be no shortage of leakers…
A Brief History On July 13, 1973, retired Air Force officer and member of the Nixon Administration revealed the existence of an automatic audio tape system in the Oval Office, helping to bring down President Richard Nixon. While not immediately, Alexander Butterfield survived his snitching and went on to business success, eventually serving on the boards of several corporations. Digging Deeper In spite of various “whistle blower” programs designed to protect and even reward “snitches,” many people are hesitant to provide inside information to authorities in fear of retaliation. Some other “snitches” that survived and prospered include: Tim Allen, television…
A Brief History On June 30, 1882, the assassin of President Garfield, Charles J. Guiteau, was executed by hanging in Washington, D.C. Guiteau had surrendered at the scene of the crime. Today, we look at what happened to the assassins that killed four US Presidents. Digging Deeper John Wilkes Booth, Confederate sympathizer and assassin of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, was hunted down 12 days later and killed by a US Army soldier when Booth refused to surrender. Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist opposed to William Mckinley’s interventionist policies, shot McKinley in 1901. Czolgosz was swarmed and beaten by bystanders after the…