Browsing: Politics

A Brief History On October 23, 2022, the Air Force of Myanmar conducted a bombing raid with a few fighter-bombers against a music concert!  At least 80 civilians were killed in an incident called the “Hpakant massacre.” Digging Deeper Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been undergoing a civil war since a military coup took over the government in 2021.  The “junta” government claimed the air raid was against a military post of the rebel Kachin Independence Organisation and that no civilians were targeted or killed.  The large crowd present at the bombing disagrees with that claim. Performers and concert…

A Brief History On October 20, 1827, an international coalition of British, French, and Russian ships fought against a fleet of Turkish Ottoman and Egyptian ships in the Battle of Navarino, the last major naval battle fought by wooden sailing ships. Digging Deeper Part of the 1821 to 1829 Greek War of Independence, Navarino pitted 1,252 naval guns spread across 10 ships of the line, 10 frigates, two schooners, four sloops, and one cutter on the European side against the Ottoman fleet of 2,158 guns dispersed among three ships of the line, 17 frigates, 30 corvettes, five schooners, 28 brigs,…

A Brief History On October 16, 2008, Ohio handyman Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher was all the rage among supporters of Senator John McCain’s bid for the presidency.  McCain mentioned this “average Joe” several times in the previous night’s debate, and “Joe the Plumber” became an instant national celebrity. Digging Deeper As it turned out, Wurzelbacher’s first name was not Joe, and he was not even a licensed plumber in Ohio.  Wurzelbacher had told candidate Barack Obama that he was a plumber thinking about starting his own business, a patently false scenario.  Joe the Plumber was not even employed at the time! …

A Brief History On October 12, 1973, soon to be disgraced President Richard Nixon nominated US Representative Gerald Ford to replace Vice President Agnew who had resigned due to a criminal scandal.  Ford became Vice President without having run for that office, and in August of 1974 he ascended to the presidency, the only US President not elected either President or Vice President. Digging Deeper Ford was born Leslie King, Jr., in Nebraska in 1913, but his parents divorced less than a year later, and Ford’s name was changed when his mother remarried.  A graduate of the University of Michigan…

A Brief History On October 8, 1982, actor Fernando Lamas died, probably best remembered for the Billy Crystal impression saying the phrase, “You look marvelous!”  Many other actors and celebrities have been attributed quotations they did not really say, and today we look at a few of those. Digging Deeper PT Barnum, showman and huckster, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Julius Caesar, Roman dictator, “Et tu, Brute?” Albert Einstein, physicist and genius, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.” Greta Garbo, actress, “I vant to be alone…”…