Browsing: Politics

A Brief History On August 2, 1943, US Navy torpedo boat PT-109 commanded by a young John F. Kennedy was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, cutting the boat in half and sinking it.  Lt. Kennedy later became President Kennedy in January of 1961.  Although we have pointed out the lily-livered chicken hawks that either dodged the draft or merely failed to enlist in the military, today we honor those politicians that also served in the US Armed Forces.  (See our May 22 article 10 Celebrities that Fought in a War and our March 24 article 10 “Patriots” that Dodged the…

A Brief History On July 15, 2006, the social media vehicle known as Twitter was launched, and quickly became an essential part of electronic communications in the United States and world-wide.  Created by Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey, the social networking device caught on with frightening speed, and became one of our most important and prevalent sources of information. Digging Deeper By 2016, there were well over 300 million users of Twitter, and on election day 2016 over 40 million ‘tweets’ were sent regarding election news.  Williams and Glass had founded an internet search and directory…

A Brief History On July 11, 1921, Former President William Howard Taft was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming the only person to ever serve as President and Supreme Court Justice.  Most Ex-Presidents do not have quite the spectacular second career, but we list 10 Presidents who went on to interesting activities after leaving office. Update, July 11, 2019: In July of 2019, cable news giant CNN reported that former Vice President and current candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, Joe Biden, along with his wife earned a whopping $16 million…

A Brief History On July 9, 1850, US President Zachary Taylor died after consuming mass quantities of fresh fruit and iced milk at a July 4th fund raising and holiday celebration.  Taylor, the only President to hail from Louisiana, suffered severe abdominal distress and fever for 5 days before he died, becoming the second President to die in office (after William Henry Harrison) and leaving Vice President Millard Fillmore to finish his term as President (1850-1853). Digging Deeper Taylor represented the Whig Party, and Fillmore became the last Whig to ascend to the Presidency.  Curiously, Fillmore did not appoint a…

A Brief History On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan made history by appointing Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.  While the active participation of women in politics seems common today, things were not always inclusive for women in politics.  Here we list 10 major “firsts” for women in the realm of politics.   (Note: As an inspiration for girls, we made sure to include the alma mater of each of these highly capable women, except Catherine I.) Digging Deeper 1. 1st Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, 1981. Sandra got her…