A Brief History On January 17, 1977, an otherwise unremarkable murderer, Gary Gilmore, became famous when he was executed by firing squad by the State of Utah. Gilmore, born Faye Robert Coffman, was the first person executed in the United States after nearly a decade long hiatus mandated by the US Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia in 1972 that held capital punishment as practiced in the US was “cruel and unusual.” Digging Deeper Gilmore was notable for insisting on being executed, and for demanding that he face a firing squad of five police officers armed with 30-30 caliber…
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A Brief History On January 16, 2020, the US Senate confirmed a new trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico, aptly called the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. This new trade treaty was the promised replacement of the previous agreement, called NAFTA, or North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement reviled by President Trump who had promised to renegotiate the agreement and replace it with a pact more beneficial to the US. Digging Deeper Although then President Trump was the impetus behind the USMCA, as a presidential candidate and as president elect in 2024, Trump has turned against his own agreement…
A Brief History On January 15, 2022, the Kingdom of Tonga, part of the Tongan archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, experienced the spectacular climax of a volcanic eruption that started a couple weeks prior. Digging Deeper The volcanic mountain involved bears the tongue twisting name “Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai,” a name we believe may be the niftiest name of any mountain we know. Unfortunately, the eruption triggered several tsunamis around the Southwest Pacific, affecting some islands and leaving seven people dead, 19 people injured, and over $180 million in damages. Some of the other mountains that bear beautiful, unusual, tongue twisting,…
A Brief History Buddy comedy fans, here is your chance to be among the first in Cleveland, Ohio to see One of Them Days on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM at Cinemark At Valley View and XD on 6001 Canal Rd. in Valley View, OH 44125! For your chance to get a pass, please go to https://events.sonypictures.com/screenings/unsecured/main/screeningInfo.jsf?code=ONEDAYHHVV. Passes are first-come, first-serve. The theater is overbooked slightly to ensure a full audience. Therefore, seating is not guaranteed. So, please arrive early! Saving seats for other parties is prohibited. Digging Deeper Best friends and roommates Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA)…
A Brief History On January 13, 1964, a 14-year-old Pamela Mason was murdered in New Hampshire, her alleged murderer later having his conviction overturned on the basis of 4th Amendment rights regarding police searches in a Supreme Court case called Coolidge v. New Hampshire in 1971. Digging Deeper The murder conviction was overturned over the concept of when and when not the police are allowed to search a person’s car, truck, or other vehicle. The times it is perfectly legal for the cops to search your car starts with a properly issued search warrant, signed by an unbiased authority. Thus,…