A Brief History On December 17, 497 BC, the Romans celebrated their Pagan holiday, Saturnalia, a celebration honoring their god of agriculture (and a bunch of other things) with partying and sacrifice. Gift giving, feasts, partying and a carnival atmosphere surrounded Saturnalia. Digging Deeper Celebrations and holidays around the time of the Winter Solstice (December 21 on our calendar) are common throughout the ancient and modern world. Nowadays we have Christmas for Christians, a date that really has nothing to do with the birth of Christ but is believed by many to be chosen to compete with pagan and Jewish…
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A Brief History On December 16, 1773, Americans proved that they were not willing to be pushed around by a government that levied onerous taxes upon them, and this displeasure was expressed in the civil act of defiance known to us today as The Boston Tea Party. Digging Deeper Today’s anti-tax minded Americans calling themselves the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party Movement (circa 2010) finds its origins in this step leading to the American Revolutionary War. The Tea Act of May 10, 1773 had been passed by Parliament in England to tax tea headed for the colonies in America, and…
A Brief History On December 16, 1965, General William Westmoreland, the American commander in Viet Nam, requested an additional 243,000 US troops to go with the 184,300 US military men already in South Viet Nam. It was not enough, and it would never be enough. Digging Deeper Viet Nam was part of the French colony of French Indochina, and had fought for its independence with success in 1954, but splitting the country between the communist North Viet Nam and democratic South Viet Nam. The communist North was determined to reunite the country under the communist banner, and was supported by…
A Brief History On December 15, 2006, the first F-35 Lightning II multi-purpose, multi-service fighter bomber made its first flight. The F-35 program is the most expensive military system in history. Is it worth it? Digging Deeper The Lockheed Martin Lightning II is meant to serve the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps as a multi-role 5th generation fighter plane with excellent stealth characteristics and superb performance. It is a single engine fighter with a crew of 1. Built in 3 main types, the F-35A is the conventional take off and landing version used by the Air…
A Brief History On December 14, 1836, a war between the States ended, but one you may not be familiar with. The so called Toledo War, also known as the Michigan-Ohio War ended when Michigan chose to give up its claim on the land called The Toledo Strip. Digging Deeper Ohio had already been a state since 1803, and Michigan was eager to join the union by achieving statehood. Unfortunately, due to sloppy mapping and a marginal understanding of geography, there was some confusion and dispute as to where the border of Ohio and Michigan was. On top of that,…