A Brief History After a tumultuous rookie season in 2014, characterized by a party hearty attitude and poor work ethic, Browns 1st round draft choice Johnny “Johnny Football” Manziel ended up in rehabilitation in the spring of 2015.  Word became public that Manziel had an alcohol problem going back as far as high school.  Unfortunately, he apparently was not cured and was involved in a domestic dispute while having consumed alcohol during the 2015 season and then when he lied to coaches about attending drinking parties during the bye week was dropped from starting quarterback to third string.  Is his career…

A Brief History On December 7, 1982, the State of Texas executed convicted murderer Charles Brooks, Jr. by lethal injection, the first such execution in US history. Lethal injection would go on to become the preferred method of execution in the US until the 21st Century when serious problems manifested themselves. Digging Deeper Prior to lethal injection, the Federal government and state governments used a variety of methods of execution, from hanging and firing squads to the electric chair and the gas chamber. These methods were all deemed to be “humane,” at least compared to the barbaric methods previously employed…

A Brief History On December 6, 1969, the Rolling Stones were performing at the Altamont Free Concert when the Hells Angels motorcycle club members contracted as security got into a fatal confrontation with a music fan. Digging Deeper Never particularly famous for good judgment, rock and roll bad boys The Rolling Stones reached a new low in intelligent decisions when they contracted the brutal outlaw motorcycle gang, The Hells Angels, to serve as ushers and security for the concert at Altamont, California.  Why they would pick a known gang of criminal ruffians boggles the imagination, except perhaps the Stones were…

A Brief History On December 5, 1964, Captain Roger Donlon, US Army Special Forces, became the first Army Special Forces member (ever) and the first US military person to earn a Medal of Honor in the Viet Nam War. Digging Deeper Donlon took a roundabout path to his moment of greatness, being born in Saugerties, New York among 10 children in 1934.  Donlon joined the Air Force in 1953 after a year at the New York State College of Forestry, and was appointed to West Point in 1955.  For personal reasons Donlon quit West Point, but enlisted in the Army…

A Brief History On December 4, 1977, Jean-Bedel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Empire.  Previously the President of the Central African Republic, Bokassa apparently thought many little Bokassas would follow, as he named himself Bokassa I. Digging Deeper Bokassa was a military officer in the armed forces of the Central African Republic when he seized power in a military  coup in 1966, naming himself President.  Even that was not good enough, for 7 years later he named himself President for Life, probably to make it clear he did not plan on retiring. In 1976, this egoist declared…