PARACULTURAL CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER 8

[Mark Thibodeau]

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Mr._and_Mrs._Ford_and_Nixon_13_Oct_1973.jpg>

On this day in *1974*, President *Gerald Ford* begins a long-standing
tradition for the Republican Party by granting an unconditional,
all-encompassing pardon to disgraced President *Richard Milhouse Nixon*. In
*1992*, *George Bush Sr.*pardoned five defendants involved in *Iran/Contra*
<http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/lost.html> (including *Caspar
Weinberger*) mere days before handing over the reigns to *Bill Clinton*.

These pardons were only the last in a long line of pardons doled out by
Bush. However, the Weinberger pardon marked the first time in American
history that a President pardoned a defendant in whose trial he would
likely have been called as a witness, and *in whose crimes he would likely
have been implicated*. So, in essence, *Dubya's daddy* pardoned himself.
This is why yer old pal Jerky laughs his ass off whenever right-wingers try
to portray *Clinton*'s *Marc Rich*pardon as the crime of the friggin'
century.

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On this day in *1504*, *Michelangelo*'s David is unveiled in Florence.

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On this day in *1565*, the Knights of Malta lift the Turkish siege of Malta
that began on May 18.

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On this day in *1888*, in Spain, the first travel of *Isaac Peral* submarine,
was the first practical submarine ever made.

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On this day in *1888*, in London, the body of *Jack the Ripper*'s second
murder victim, *Annie Chapman*, is found.

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On this day in *1892*, the Pledge of Allegiance is first recited.

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On this day in *1900*, the *Galveston Hurricane* of 1900 kills about 8,000
people in Texas. This is one time where Texas' usual boast of things being
bigger there wasn't necessarily for the better.

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On this day in *1914*, Private *Thomas Highgate* becomes the first British
soldier to be executed for desertion during the war.

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On this day in *1926*, Germany is admitted to the League of Nations. Pfff...

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On this day in *1930*, *3M* begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.

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On this day in *1935*, US Senator from Louisiana, *Huey Long*, nicknamed
"Kingfish", is fatally shot in the Louisiana State Capitol building. Oh, is
there ever a lot more to this story than just that...

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On this day in *1944*, London is hit by a German *V-2* "buzzbomb" rocket
for the first time. It's a terrifying technological accomplishment. The
missiles are supersonic, so you hear them coming AFTER the blast. Read *Thomas
Pynchon*'s*Gravity's Rainbow* to learn more.

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On this day in *1966*, the first *Star Trek* series premieres on NBC.
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