Today in History...

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 19th is World Sauntering Day, first celebrated in 1979 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan.

The 660 foot long porch of the Grand Hotel is believed to be the world's longest, and casually strolling along this magnificent feature is one of many laid-back highlights to a visit to this historically relaxed location. W.T. Rabe first proposed World Sauntering Day as a response to the cultural explosion of jogging as an activity, suggesting that instead, we should stop and smell the roses.

Numerous other artists and cultural figures through the years have proposed similar ideas. One of my personal favorites comes from late 80's Austin band Poi Dog Pondering, who argued that "You get to know things better when they go by slow." This echoes Mark Twain's famous disparagement of the game of golf as "a good walk, spoiled."

[Celery Man 20881]

http://kut.org/post/look-back-150-year-history-juneteenth-texas

Quote

Friday marks the 150th anniversary of the day that brought freedom to 250,000 African-Americans from slavery in Texas, commonly known as Juneteenth.

While President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 is recognized as the declaration that freed U.S. slaves, Confederate states didn’t recognize the Union decree. So, even after the war ended at Appomattox in April of 1865, Texan slaves weren’t freed until June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read aloud a Union proclamation that officially ended slavery in Texas.

 

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Celery Man

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 20, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut delegate Oliver Ellsworth moved to strike the word "National" from the previously approved motion (presented by Edmund Randolph of Virginia) which would have made the name of the new national government "The National Government of the United States". 

Ellsworth's motion carried, setting the precedent for what has now been over 200 years of our national legislative figures parsing, dissecting, discussing, arguing, debating, pandering, grandstanding and palavering over minutiae when there is real work to be done. It's a living, I suppose.

[El Diablo 4232]

On June 20, 1893—125 years ago today—a jury in Bedford, Mass., decided that Lizzie Borden didn’t take an axe and give her stepmother 40 whacks or her father 41, and it took jurors just 30 minutes to reach the not guilty verdict. Andrew and Abby Borden were found dead on Aug. 4, 1892 in the family’s home in Fall River, Mass., and between them they actually sustained a total of 29 axe blows, not 81. Lizzie was arrested on Aug. 11, 1892 after a two-day inquest and the next day she pleaded not guilty. She went on trial on June 5, 1893. After she was acquitted, she returned to Fall River where she and her sister Emma purchased a home where Lizzie lived until her death in 1927 at the age of 66

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

[Armybrat 40710]

Too bad the roll call vote wasn't all included in that screen shot.

The Senate:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s409

The House:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h182

(no/CR)

Edited June 21, 2018 by Armybrat

[El Diablo 4232]

June 21st, 1964, civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney were slain in Philadelphia, Mississippi; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. (Forty-one years later on this date in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter; he was sentenced to 60 years in prison, where he died in January 2018.)

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

4 minutes ago, El Diablo said:

June 21st, 1964, civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney were slain in Philadelphia, Mississippi; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. (Forty-one years later on this date in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter; he was sentenced to 60 years in prison, where he died in January 2018.)

Karma is a (patient) bitch.........  She'll get you you when you think you've gotten away scot free.

[El Diablo 4232]

5 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Karma is a (patient) bitch.........  She'll get you you when you think you've gotten away scot free.

You KNOW that motherfucker was bought a lot of beers over the years by sympathetic friends and supporters who knew. Fuckallum.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

7 minutes ago, El Diablo said:

You KNOW that motherfucker was bought a lot of beers over the years by sympathetic friends and supporters who knew. Fuckallum.

Hopefully she keeps a B list.

[phdhorn 6224]

1788 - U.S. Constitution is approved by New Hampshire, which gave it the necessary majority and put it into effect.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

3 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

1788 - U.S. Constitution is approved by New Hampshire, which gave it the necessary majority and put it into effect.

And we haven't heard from 'em since.....

[clapclapclap 9000]

2018 - Butt Juice sent to prison.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-cherry-hill-gang-member-convicted-20180619-story.html

Quote

After a week-long bench trial, U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III on Tuesday convicted Lamont Jones, also known as “Butt Juice,” of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activities as a member of the Up Da Hill and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics.

 

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 21, 1939 - Doctors reveal Lou Gehrig has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

[SimonBolivar 10910]

25 minutes ago, Walden Ponderer said:

June 21, 1939 - Doctors reveal Lou Gehrig has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

He got the diagnosis on the 19th which was his birthday. How's that for luck?

Edited June 21, 2018 by SimonBolivar

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

5 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

He got the diagnosis on the 19th which was his birthday. How's that for luck?

Up till that day pretty damn lucky.

[SimonBolivar 10910]

2 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Up till that day pretty damn lucky.

Well he probably considered himself pretty lucky I'd imagine.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

28 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Well he probably considered himself pretty lucky I'd imagine.

On the face........ face ......... face......... of the earth...... earth............. earth

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 22, 1942, Congress officially adopted "The Pledge of Allegiance" -- its form has varied greatly over the years since its initial appearance in the late 19th century... here's the wording over the years:

1892: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

1945, at the time it became an official pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

In 1954, of course, the words "Under God" were inserted, leading to numerous arguments which I'm sure the passionate advocates sincerely believe to be important. Several court cases have established that, owing to the insertion of these words, no legal requirement may be enforced on citizens who object to saying the pledge -- cases, by the way, brought by Christians who consider the pledge idolatrous, though obviously atheists object strongly, as well.

The interesting thing to me is that saying a nation is "under God" represents questionable theology every bit as much as it does unsound legal theory. Do we really want to blame God for the failings of government? Compulsory worship has never worked out very well in any of the societies in which it has been practiced.

Ironically, the logic in the case history is not based on the idea of religious freedom, but rather on free speech grounds: no one in the United States may be compelled by law to make statements which they believe to be untrue. As such, if you do not believe that American justice represents "liberty for all" (ex. discrimination against aboriginal Americans, or left-handed Americans, or anyone else) then you do not have to say it does, and the Supreme Court has (multiple times) confirmed that no one may be compelled to state the Pledge, should they desire not to do so.

[LongestHorn 759]

June 22nd in 1951, British spies flee to USSR with our nukular secrets.

https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/burgess-maclean-revelations/

https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1951/jun/11/foreign-service-missing-officials#S5CV0488P0_19510611_HOC_287

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Maclean_(spy)

Edited June 23, 2018 by LongestHorn

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 23, 1917, Bost Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth (yes, that Babe Ruth) was ejected in the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Senators. He was replaced by Ernie Shore, who retired the next 26 batters in a row. 

The game had started with Ruth walking Senators lead-off batter Ray Morgan; umpire Brick Owens lost no time in ejecting Ruth when he approached the plate to argue about the four pitches (which witnesses say were obviously balls, but the odds of Ruth being too drunk to see clearly were, alas, fairly high).

Ruth, being Ruth, decided that the appropriate response to getting ejected was to slug the ump (though, again, he didn't land a good punch, probably owing to being stinking drunk).

After Shore came into the game, Morgan attempted to steal 2nd and was thrown out. Thus, only the minimum 27 Senators batted in the game, which for years was carried in the record books as a perfect game by Shore, though it was later changed to reflect more accurately that it was a no-hitter shared by two pitchers.

Ruth served a 10 game suspension, with a $100 fine, and publicly apologized (how sincerely is anyone's guess). He played two more years in Boston, and was then sold to the Yankees after the 1919 season, leading to the 20th century "Curse of the Bambino" which was not broken until the Red Sox won the title in 2004.

[EastTexan 662]

50 minutes ago, Walden Ponderer said:

June 23, 1917, Bost Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth (yes, that Babe Ruth) was ejected in the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Senators. He was replaced by Ernie Shore, who retired the next 26 batters in a row. 

The game had started with Ruth walking Senators lead-off batter Ray Morgan; umpire Brick Owens lost no time in ejecting Ruth when he approached the plate to argue about the four pitches (which witnesses say were obviously balls, but the odds of Ruth being too drunk to see clearly were, alas, fairly high).

Ruth, being Ruth, decided that the appropriate response to getting ejected was to slug the ump (though, again, he didn't land a good punch, probably owing to being stinking drunk).

After Shore came into the game, Morgan attempted to steal 2nd and was thrown out. Thus, only the minimum 27 Senators batted in the game, which for years was carried in the record books as a perfect game by Shore, though it was later changed to reflect more accurately that it was a no-hitter shared by two pitchers.

Ruth served a 10 game suspension, with a $100 fine, and publicly apologized (how sincerely is anyone's guess). He played two more years in Boston, and was then sold to the Yankees after the 1919 season, leading to the 20th century "Curse of the Bambino" which was not broken until the Red Sox won the title in 2004.

 

For some reason (I'm old),  I had forgotten this tidbit of baseball history. Thanks for reminding me.

 

btw. What became of this Ruth guy?

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

June 23, 1917, Bost Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth (yes, that Babe Ruth) was ejected in the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Senators. He was replaced by Ernie Shore, who retired the next 26 batters in a row. 

The game had started with Ruth walking Senators lead-off batter Ray Morgan; umpire Brick Owens lost no time in ejecting Ruth when he approached the plate to argue about the four pitches (which witnesses say were obviously balls, but the odds of Ruth being too drunk to see clearly were, alas, fairly high).

Ruth, being Ruth, decided that the appropriate response to getting ejected was to slug the ump (though, again, he didn't land a good punch, probably owing to being stinking drunk).

After Shore came into the game, Morgan attempted to steal 2nd and was thrown out. Thus, only the minimum 27 Senators batted in the game, which for years was carried in the record books as a perfect game by Shore, though it was later changed to reflect more accurately that it was a no-hitter shared by two pitchers.

Ruth served a 10 game suspension, with a $100 fine, and publicly apologized (how sincerely is anyone's guess). He played two more years in Boston, and was then sold to the Yankees after the 1919 season, leading to the 20th century "Curse of the Bambino" which was not broken until the Red Sox won the title in 2004.

FUCK BOSTON !!

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 24, 1821, Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar led the Army of Gran Colombia to a decisive victory over Spanish Royalist forces led by Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre, gaining independence for Venezuela. June 24th is celebrated as el Día de la Batalla de Carabobo, with a large military parade, and organized events (particularly for elementary and middle school students throughout Venezuela).

Technically, this was the '2nd Battle of Carabobo (the first having been fought in 1814, and not having been decisive one way or the other).

Carabobo was an interesting and bittersweet moment in Bolívar's life; it was a battle of redemption, as his previously close ally, Francisco Miranda, had taken control of the area from 1810-1812, but in 1812, Bolívar handed Miranda over to the Royalists, falsely believing him to be a traitor to the cause.

Bolívar had to flee Venezuela after Miranda's now leaderless forces floundered, and it took almost another decade before the Army of Gran Colombia was finally strong enough again to challenge the might of Spain.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 25, 1900, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu found a cache of writings printed over six centuries (roughly the 5th through 11th centuries C.E.), many of which were transcriptions of writings originating from well over 1,000 years prior to the copies having been made. The majority of the writings were Buddhist, but also included were numerous Taoist writings, in addition to Nestorian Christian and Manichaeist essays.

In addition to representing a library for various philosophies and religions, the Dunhuang manuscripts are a treasure trove for linguists, with ancient Chinese and Tibetan being the predominant languages represented, but also including Khotanese, Sanskrit, Sogdian, Tangut, Uyghur, and Hebrew writings.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

On June 28th, Serbia celebrates the national religious holiday known as Vidovdan (Serbian Cyrillic: Видовдан), which is literally "St. Vitus Day" -- without going into the history of St. Vitus (who was a Sicilian, but whose veneration is observed more in the Balkan states than anywhere else), this is the anniversary of a wide array of significant dates in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia:

- June 28, 1389, in the Battle of Kosovo, the Ottoman Empire defeated the Serbian army, leading to an influx of Ottoman influence and ensuring the continued presence of Islam in the Balkans
- June 28, 1881, the signing of a secret treaty between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, with the Habsburg Empire installing a puppet monarchy in Serbia, which would eventually lead to WW I
- June 28, 1914, “Black Hand” member Gavrilo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian crown prince (see above on the secret treaty…)
- June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I
- June 28, 1921, Serbian King Alexander I announced the Vidovdan Constitution (Vidovdanski ustav), establishing the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (precursor to “Yugoslavia”)
- June 28, 1948, the Eastern Bloc (dominated by the USSR) published the "Resolution on the State of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia" condemning Yugoslavia’s communist leaders – Josip Broz Tito in particular took exception, leading to a break with the Soviet Union, leading to perhaps the only truly successful communist state in the world over the next four decades with independent Yugoslavia being relatively well-off compared to their Balkan neighbors
- June 28, 1989, Serbian Slobodan Milošević’s “Gazimestan speech” (delivered on the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo) made reference to the possibility of "armed battles" in Serbia's future, a clear foreshadowing of the genocidal civil wars which lasted for most of the 1990s
- June 28, 1990, the Constitution of Croatia was amended to officially make Serbs a “national minority”
- June 28, 2001, Slobodan Milošević was deported to the ICTY to stand trial
- June 28, 2006, the United Nations made Montenegro its 192nd member state
- June 28, 2008 marked the inaugural meeting of the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija

[DFWTexEx 274]

June 28, 1969

The Stonewall riots (also referred to as the Stonewall uprising or the Stonewall rebellion) were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the LGBT community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village.   They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the  gay rights movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the U.S.  

We fight on.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 29, 1613, London's Globe Theatre went up in flames. The Globe is often thought of as "Shakespeare's theater" but this is only partially accurate -- Shakespeare owned a minority share (12.5%), making him a co-owner alongside five other prominent members of London's burgeoning dramatic community.

While the fire was a raging conflagration, eye-witnesses stated that no one was seriously injured, though one spectator's pants caught fire, and had to be doused with a flagon of beer.

Built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company (the "Lord Chamberlain's Men"), the Globe served as the preeminent stage in English theater for several decades; after the 1613 fire, it was completely rebuilt and continued its run until the conservative fundamentalist Puritans took power and shut down all theaters in 1642; it was torn down two years later.

In 1997, a reconstruction named "Shakespeare's Globe" was built approximately 750 feet from the original site, using drawings of the 1599 and 1614 buildings as a guide for the modern blueprints.

[El Diablo 4232]

If it's not in a mud pit, it ain't Shakespeare to me.

[El Diablo 4232]

June 30 1918, labor activist and socialist Eugene V. Debs was arrested in Cleveland, charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 for a speech he'd made two weeks earlier denouncing U.S. involvement in World War I. (Debs was sentenced to prison and disenfranchised for life.)

[phdhorn 6224]

22 hours ago, El Diablo said:

If it's not in a mud pit, it ain't Shakespeare to me.

Also, pics or it didn't happen.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

June 30, 1937, Great Britain introduced the world's first emergency telephone number (999). Prior to the invention of electronic circuits, of course, telephone operators controlled phone traffic by manually connecting callers via an analog switchboard.

Once direct dialing technology advanced, the need for specially dedicated circuits became apparent, and the British were the first to act on the latest, greatest technological challenge for life in the 20th century.

Since that time, dedicated emergency service phone lines have become standard everywhere in the world; in North America, our standard is "911".

Many European and Asian nations use "112" and several have separate lines for Police, Fire, Ambulance, etc. ("112", "113", "114" and so on).

The British sit-com "The IT Crowd" was forever etched in many folks' memory for the episode in which the "new emergency number" was a running gag... how hard could it be to remember this simple emergency number, "0118 999 881 999 119 7253"? Especially with the catchy jingle.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

Many folk are aware that July 1st is Canada Day, in commemoration of the 1867 treaty granting Canadian independence from the British Crown. Fewer Americans, however, are familiar with the Quebecois tradition of "Moving Day" which falls on the same date. "Moving Day" dates back to the French colonial government, who had instituted strict rules on the dates of leases, on the premise that forcing tenants to vacate rental properties during the Canadian winter constituted an unbearable hardship.

Historically, April 1st had been set as the date on which old leases expired and new leases began; in the 20th Century, this date was moved forward to May 1st to decrease the chances of anyone freezing to death; in 1973, "Moving Day" was set in July at the behest of the various moving companies and van rental franchises, for whom "Moving Day" is something of a logistical nightmare anyway, and so ending all chances of encountering freak May snowstorms was considered a welcome relief. Additionally, Canadian public school terms end in June, so placing "Moving Day" in July allows children to finish the school year in their old neighborhoods, to the great convenience of all parties involved.

The latest available statistics show that almost three quarters of a million residents of the Province of Quebec (and fully 250,000 residents of Montreal and Quebec City) changed residence; as one might imagine, the cities schedule extra trash pickup on these days, and pickers (while not technically legal in most of the province) have a field day.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

July 2, 1822 thirty-five slaves were hanged in South Carolina, including Denmark Vesey, who had been one of the founding members in 1818 of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, later renamed Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest predominantly African-American church south of Baltimore, Maryland.

Emanuel AME, of course, is the church where in June of 2015, white supremacist terrorist Dylann Storm Roof opened fire, murdering nine people because of their ethnicity.

The 1822 slave rebellion was referred to everafter in Charleston as "the rising" -- some personal diaries of slaveholders at the time estimated that there were several thousand slaves and free blacks who took part. Vesey, in particular, was noteworthy as he had been free since 1799, when he won a lottery allowing him to purchase himself (and if that sounds obscene to you, good, you are paying attention).

A skilled carpenter, by the 1820s, he had built a good independent business for himself, but was unable to purchase his wife and children out of slavery -- the refusal of their owner to sell was undoubtedly the final impetus for his decision to take up arms.

The plotters (including Vesey) had planned to kill slaveowners in Charleston, liberate thousands of slaves, and sail to Haiti, where a successful slave revolt had earned freedom for the oppressed. Word leaked, however, and the freedom movement was dealt with in brutal fashion.

Not one single white person was injured, let alone killed.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

July 3, 1608, on the site of Stadacona (a long abandoned Iroquoi settlement), French explorer Samuel de Champlain established the Quebec Settlement (officially just "Quebec" though usually referred to as "Ville de Québec" or "Quebec City" to distinguish it from the province of the same name).

One of the 10 oldest settlements in North America, Quebec is, in fact, the oldest originally fortified city whose original outer walls still stand (though, of course, "the old city" has long been hidden by layer fter layer of new development and suburbs).

In addition to being home to most of Canada's oldest structures, most imaginative parties (their winter festivals are wild enough to make you forget that Canadians are usually somewhat modest), and home to the most ardent French-speaking separatists, there are numerous architectural and archaeological sites of interest in and around town. The Château Frontenac alone makes the city picturesque, being a hotel and a castle all rolled into one. And the view of the St. Lawrence River from atop "the hill" is unlike any other sight in North America.

[LongestHorn 759]

On this day in Gettysburg 1863, General Meade famously yelled to General Lee "shut up and send me more pigs to kill" prior to Pickett's charge.  

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

George the Thitd wrote:

 

Quote

Happy Treason Day, peasants.

 

[Trey3216 15325]

3 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

George the Thitd wrote:

 

 

And the peasants wrote: Pound Sand you Limey Fucks.   

[LongestHorn 759]

51 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

And the peasants wrote: Pound Sand you Limey Fucks.   

To which George replied, "You'll be back"

 

[Message Board User 12389]

 

[LongestHorn 759]

published on this day in 1687.  Laws of motion and shit.

[phdhorn 6224]

First "invented" (i.e making its public appearance at a Paris fashion show/swimming pool in 1946 on this day (designed by an auto engineer, of course):

[Underdog 28443]

God Bless 

[MAROON 445]

http://time.com/4827451/spam-history-80th-anniversary/

 

[Underdog 28443]

God Bless. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Spam spam spam spam

 

spam spam spam spam 

 

Spam spam spam spam

 

spam spam spam spam 

 

Spam spam spam spam

 

spam spam spam spam 

 

Spam spam spam spam

 

spam spam spam spam 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Buffsoldier 1895]

Gads.  I could go for a fried spam sandwich right now.  Light dollop of mustard and some fresh lettuce...  So crisp, so tasty.

[El Diablo 4232]

Had SPAM on Tuesday so this hits close to home. I was told/heard years ago that SPAM stood for Select Parts And Meats. No idea if it's true.

[achooloco 1065]

On 6/21/2018 at 8:43 AM, Onboard 2.0 said:

And we haven't heard from 'em since.....

President Pierce would like to have a word...

[shakahorn 1625]

7 hours ago, Buffsoldier said:

Gads.  I could go for a fried spam sandwich right now.  Light dollop of mustard and some fresh lettuce...  So crisp, so tasty.

Damn you...