Browsing: Politics

A Brief History On September 1, 1939, US Army General George C. Marshall, Jr. was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army.  Marshall would go on to lead the American military effort through World War II and later be appointed General of the Army, a 5 star rank created so that the United States military would have general officers equivalent to the European Allies’ Field Marshal rank.  (It would not do to have a lesser rank American in charge of Allied Field Marshals.) Digging Deeper George Marshall was a highly competent officer and not one prone…

A Brief History On August 28, 1968, the profession of policing in the United States reached one of its lowest points when the Chicago Police Department under the direction of dictatorial Mayor Richard Daley moved to violently put down protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention (August 26-29, 1968), resulting in what has been described as a “police riot.” Digging Deeper The background to the 1968 Democratic Convention had been a turbulent year in the United States, a year characterized by civil unrest over racial issues and protests over the War in Vietnam, both resulting in riots and protests that were…

A Brief History On August 26, 2019, we take a look at the crowded Democratic field of those aspiring to earn the nomination of their party for the office of President of the United States.  While a few have already made the obvious choice to drop out of the race, over 20 candidates still remain, many of which are going to be excluded from the next (third) Democratic televised debate unless they meet arbitrary criteria (naming only certain polls that “count” when determining who is invited to the debate) set by the Democratic National Committee.  In danger of not “qualifying”…

A Brief History On August 18, 2003, a tremendously sad and unusual murder took place when a Newfoundland mother who had been given custody of her 1 year old son murdered the little boy despite the mom being on bail for the murder of her husband!  Wow, does that seem like a poor choice on the part of the court?  The infamous case resulted in Canada amending its laws about awarding child custody. Digging Deeper Shirley Jane Turner of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, was facing extradition to the United States for the murder of the father of her…

A Brief History On August 15, 1281, the army and navy forces of the Mongol/Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan were destroyed at the Battle of Kōan, an attempt to invade and conquer Japan.  Aided by a fortuitous weather situation called by the Japanese a “Divine Wind” (or “Kamikaze” in Japanese), the Mongol forces were defeated, and Kublai Khan never did get to conquer Japan.  In fact, the great Khan had previously made an attempt at conquering Japan to add to his vast empire, back in 1271, and that attempt was also failed by a “Divine Wind!”  Genghis Khan and his grandson,…