Browsing: Politics

A Brief History On August 2, 1990, led by dictator Saddam Hussein, the military forces of Iraq invaded and annexed their smaller neighbor, the oil rich constitutional monarchy of Kuwait.  Iraq was coming off a disastrous war (1980-1988) with Iran and Hussein was looking for an easy win. Digging Deeper This naked aggression by Iraq was poorly calculated, as the rest of the world, including much of the Arab world, disapproved of the action, and many nations joined forces to create a huge and powerful military force to counter that invasion, evicting the Iraqis from Kuwait in 1991 in a…

A Brief History On July 27, 1794, Maximilien Robespierre, a leader of the French Revolution was arrested, later to be denounced and executed by a Revolutionary Tribunal. Digging Deeper Robespierre had tried to commit suicide before being arrested by shooting himself in the head with a gun, blowing off part of his jaw.  His execution came in the typical revolutionary way by beheading on the guillotine. Once heralded as “The Incorruptible,” Robespierre lost support among his fellow revolutionaries for his staunch opinions and the fact that his single-minded aims did not allow for humanity, and his actions as “Public Accuser”…

A Brief History On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ordered the desegregation of the US military, a move many Americans thought was long overdue. Digging Deeper At times presidents cannot or will not wait for congress to act on a subject and they take it into their own hands by issuing an “Executive Order.” Franklin Roosevelt holds the record for the most executive orders with a whopping 3522.  Second place is Woodrow Wilson with 1803 and Teddy Roosevelt is the only other president with over a thousand at 1081. Question for students (and subscribers) to…

A Brief History On July 25, 1722, a war started in Maine later referred to as “Dummer’s War,” among other names. Digging Deeper We have previously discussed some of the goofy names given to various conflicts, and today’s entry is one so appropriately named that we just could not resist!  Of course we speak of “Dummer’s War,” a conflict between New England European settlers and their Mohawk allies against the Wabanaki Confederacy of Native American tribes aligned with the French settlers of North America between 1722 and 1725 in the contested region between Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada.  The war…

A Brief History On July 19, 64 AD, the Roman night was interrupted by the beginning of what became known as The Great Fire of Rome. Digging Deeper The fire started in the Circus Maximus where Romans held chariot races.  It spread and burned for 6 days before Romans could bring the blaze under control, but as often happens, the flames reignited and a larger blaze began!  Three more days of flames, and two thirds of Rome was burned to the ground. Emperor Nero blamed the Christians, and began a program of repression against Christians, but many of his enemies…