Paracultural Calendar for May 6

[Mark Thibodeau]

On this day in *1937*, the *Hindenburg* zeppelin bursts into flames upon
landing at a Lakehurst, New Jersey air-field, killing 36 of the 97
passengers on board. NBC Radio's *Herbert Morrison* witnesses the
horrifying calamity and is overcome with emotion during a live,
coast-to-coast radio broadcast during which he utters the infamous phrase:
"Oh, the humanity!" *Controversy*
<http://www.unmuseum.org/hindenburg.htm> still
surrounds many aspects of the Hindenburg disaster.

***

On this day in *1861*, the city of Richmond, Virginia is declared the
capital of the *Confederate States of America*, a mere 108 miles south of
Washington DC. Nowadays, neo-Confederates would probably choose some city
in Texas... pretty much anywhere but Austin, I suspect.

***

On this day in *1882*, the United States Congress passes the *Chinese
Exclusion Act*... a law which does exactly what its name implies, which is
refreshingly candid when compared to the Orwellian New-speak nightmares of
*T.H.E.P.A.T.R.I.O.T.A.C.T.* and *No Child Left Behind*. Originally
intended to exclude Chinese "skilled and unskilled laborers employed in
mining" from entering the country for ten years (under penalty of
imprisonment and deportation), the law was not repealed until *1943*...
over 60 years later.

***

On this day in *1889*, the *Eiffel Tower* is officially opened to the
public at the Universal Exposition in Paris, France. At 1,050 feet, it was
the tallest man-made structure in the world, surpassing the Washington
Monument, which - at 555 feet - had only held the record for five years. In
contrast, the Eiffel Tower would remain the tallest man-made structure on
the planet for over 40 years, until the Chrysler Building surpassed it in
1930.

***

On this day in *1954*, *Roger Bannister* becomes the first person to do
what would eventually become a commonplace, but which physicians and
scientists at the time had deemed impossible... he runs a mile in under
four minutes' time.

***

On this day in *1994*, after Former Arkansas state worker / nude model /
Country singer / late-night infomercial "psychic"*Paula Jones* files a
lawsuit against President *Bill Clinton* alleging that he had "dropped
trou" and showed her his pecker back in 1991 when he was still Governor of
Arkansas. Of course, it didn't hurt any that ultra-right-wing proto-fascist
newspaper publisher / billionaire / Clinton-hater / *murderer*
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5286900>
 (?) *Richard Mellon Scaife*'s so-called *Arkansas Project*
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_Project> had essentially bribed her
into launching her suit, and bankrolled the entire enterprise from its
sketchy beginnings to its silly, sordid end.

***

On this day in *1996*, The body of former CIA director *William Colby* is
found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he
"disappeared". *Quite a bit of background*
<http://www.beyondweird.com/conspiracy/cn07-79.html> is necessary to begin
to grasp the enigma that is the life and death of William Colby.

***

On this day in *2002*, anti-Islam, anti-immigration, openly homosexual
Dutch politician *Pim Fortuyn* is gunned down by "animal rights
activist" *Volkert
Van der Graff*, who decided to assassinate Fortuyn to prevent him from
"scapegoating the weaker members of society."

***

Celebrating parapolitical birthdays on this day are *Maximilien
Robespierre* (1758),
French Revolutionary and prime figure in *The Terror*; father of
psychoanalysis *Sigmund Freud* (1856) and multimedia wunderkind and
*psychological
warfare* <http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=1663> pioneer *Orson
Welles* (1915).
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