Browsing: Society

A Brief History On February 15, 1862, Confederate States of America army forces under the command of Brigadier General John B. Floyd launched a surprise attack from the besieged Fort Donelson in Western Tennessee in an effort to break out from the Union encirclement of the fort.  The besieging force, the US Army of the Tennessee under the command of Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, prevented the Confederate attempt to break out their besieged forces and in turn forced a surrender of the fort, taking over 12,000 Rebels prisoner.  With the War going badly for the Union, President Lincoln and…

A Brief History On February 1, 1998, Lillian E. Fishburne became the first African American woman promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral (2 stars) in the United States Navy.  In keeping with the spirit of Black History Month (every February) and expanding on our previous articles celebrating African American achievements, we take this opportunity to cite even more impressive achievements by African Americans, not just “firsts,” but other great accomplishments as well.  (And see our recent article dated January 18, 2021), “Historic African American Firsts”) Who would you add to this list? Digging Deeper Lillian E. Fishburne, 1st African…

A Brief History On January 18, 2021, the United States celebrates the birthday of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., an icon in the Civil Rights Movement and an African American man of historic importance.  In honor of Reverend King, we take a look at some notable African American “firsts” in American History, although some of the entries may cause the reader to wonder at the dates involved.  Was the United States really that far behind in racial equality at such late dates?  Judge for yourself.  (See our many other articles concerning African American accomplishments.)  Please do not fret if you…

A Brief History On December 9, 2020, we had the opportunity to review a new feature film, Songbird, scheduled for digital release on December 10, 2020.  With the basis of the film being a mutated Covid virus that has sent the United States (and presumably the World) into a dystopian future (4 years from now), there are sure to be critics that find the subject matter to be in bad taste.  (Note: We do not provide spoilers.) Digging Deeper Touted as a “Michael Bay” film, it must be noted that Bay is the producer, not the director or screenwriter.  Other…

A Brief History On January 4, 2013, the Philippines were the scene of mass shooting carnage when a 41 year old man went on a rampage that left 20 people and a dog shot, with 7 of those people dying of their wounds and sadly, also the dog.  The locale of the shootings was Kawit, a city of over 83,000 people on the shores of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon. Digging Deeper As we have pointed out on several occasions, mass shootings are not a strictly American occurrence, as such tragedies happen in other countries as well as…