Paracultural Calendar for August 4

[Mark Thibodeau]

 <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Second_Temple.jpg>

On this day in the year *70 AD*, Jerusalem’s *Second Temple*, located on
the Temple Mount (aka Mount Zion) is destroyed by Roman occupiers. The
Second Temple had been built 586 years earlier to replace *King Solomon's
Temple*, which was destroyed by neo-Babylonian *King Nebuchadnezzar II* upon
his siege of Jerusalem and subsequent enslavement of the Jewish people in
587 BC. Jewish eschatology holds that, before the Messiah can appear on
Earth, a Third Temple must be built. Various messianic groups have
attempted to get this project started up, but that particular piece of real
estate is one of the most hotly contested spots on the face of the Earth...
if not MOST hotly contested

***

On this day in *1693*, a Frenchman by the name of *Dom Perignon* allegedly
invents the sparkling wine commonly referred to as *Champagne*. This is a
traditional belief, however, for which there is no evidence or proof.

***

On this day in *1892*, the father and stepmother of *Lizzie Borden* are
found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Borden’s subsequent
trial and acquittal gave rise to the popular rhyme: “Lizzie Borden took an
axe. Gave her father forty whacks. When she saw what she had done… Gave her
mother forty-one!”

***

On this day in *1944*, a tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a
sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find and arrest
Jewish diarist *Anne Frank*, her family, and four others.

***

On this day in *1964*, civil rights workers *Michael Schwerner*, *Andrew
Goodman* and *James Chaney* are found dead in Mississippi after
disappearing on June 21. The film *Mississippi Burning* is based on these
events.

***

On this day in *1964*, the destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy report
coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin, near Vietnam. This led to an
escalation of American intervention in the region – and the number of
deaths on all sides – despite the fact that the events most likely *never
took place
<http://fair.org/media-beat-column/30-year-anniversary-tonkin-gulf-lie-launched-vietnam-war/>*.It
was, in many ways, the lie that launched America's war against Vietnam.

***

On this day in *1987*, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rescinds
the *Fairness Doctrine*, which had required radio and television stations
to present controversial issues fairly, giving equal time to both sides of
an issue.*Rush Limbaugh* ensues.
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