Browsing: Politics

A Brief History On November 9, 1918, in the face of catastrophic defeat after four years of debilitating war, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicated his throne and went into exile in the Netherlands.  Throughout history, leaders have been forced by political or personal circumstances to give up power and leave office, sometimes of their own free will and other times because of outside influence.  Here we list 10 of those leaders that left their position of leadership before their time was due.  (Resigning to assume a higher post does not count.) Digging Deeper 1. Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany, 1918. Kaiser Bill…

A Brief History On November 7, 1933, Fiorello La Guardia was first elected Mayor of the City of New York, an office he would hold until December 31, 1945.  As any mayor of New York City is automatically well known to all of America, so was La Guardia, but in his case perhaps a lot more famous than usual.  Heck, a major airport is named after him!  Also on November 7 (1967 this time), Carl Stokes of Cleveland became the first African American man elected as mayor of a major American city.  Since it is way too hard for our…

A Brief History On November 5, 2017, with President Donald J. Trump under fire from seemingly all sides (sometimes including us!), we take this opportunity to congratulate him on setting a fine example to the youth of America by neither smoking nor drinking alcohol.  Nor does he use illegal drugs.  Our previous President, Barack Obama, was criticized for being a smoker, a terrible example for impressionable youngsters that could conceivably chose to smoke with the excuse that, “Hey, the President does!” Digging Deeper Yes, Barack Hussein Obama smoked, although he tried to keep it out of public view and promised…

A Brief History On October 25, 1944, SS Chief Heinrich Himmler of the German Third Reich ordered a crackdown against the youth culture anti-Nazi government resistance group known as “Edelweisspiraten,” or “Edelweiss Pirates.”  This group of teenagers had dodged mandatory induction into the Hitler Youth organization and worked to help others hide from government authorities, whether those avoiding service in the Hitler Youth, draft dodgers, or army deserters.  A German produced film, Edelweiss Pirates, detailed the exploits of these resisters in 2004. Digging Deeper Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was an early associate of Adolf Hitler and was with Hitler for the…

A Brief History On October 23, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln, defender of the Union of the United States, illegally suspended the rule of Habeas Corpus, the Constitutional protection of Americans against being held in confinement without charges and due process.  Lincoln has been made into an American legend and icon, an idol mostly deserving of high praise, but he was not necessarily what people think he was, or what schools teach children about him.  Here we list 10 things either contrary to the Lincoln myth, or interesting facts that you might not be aware of. Digging Deeper 1. Suspension of Habeas…