WWI Christmas Truce

On the night of December 24th, 1914, the singing of Christmas carols by German soldiers in the trenches of Ypres, Belgium was answered by British soldiers singing carols. This led to soldiers from both sides exchanging greetings and gifts-whiskey, cigars and chocolate-and allowing for the removal of dead from the battlefield. There are stories about German and British soldiers meeting for drinks and football games. On Christmas Eve of 1915 French and German soldiers called a similiar truce to enjoy Christmas. Officers of both sides disapproved; they ordered "bombardments on Christmas Eve, to nip any detente in the bud". These events are the subject of a play in NYC showing this week thru January 2nd at the Hudson Guild Theatre on 26th Street.

(Source: "Play pays Christmas more than lip service" by Jim Beckerman of The Record. Dec 6, 2009).

Birmingham, Alabama

The city has offered a pardon to those charged with misdemeanor crimes during the civil rights protests of the 1960's. One protestor-a pastor now-was 14 at the time and held for a "week in custody at the city fairgrounds charged with demonstrating without a permit". The state has had the offer ongoing for three years and "officials have not received a single pardon application from anyone arrested in the Montgomery bus boycott of the mid-1950's, the Birmingham demostrations of 1963 or the Selma voting rights marches of 1965". The "charges" are carried like a "badge of honor" by protestors who believe they did nothing to be pardoned for.

(Source: "Civil rights protestors pardoned of charges" by The AP. The Record on 8/12/09).

US Surveillance

The ACLU reports on the state of government surveillance in the US since 9/11. Prior to 9/11 the federal government conducted spying on a "targeted suspicion" model where "first came the suspect, then the surveillance". After 9/11 the spying program was reversed; the government "vacuumed up info about everyone...in the hopes of finding someone who had done something wrong". The National Security Agency (NSA) monitors "American's telephone calls, emails, web activity and financial records". It seems that there are three methods of gathering info with the use of "warrantless wiretapping". First, is the use of "fusion centers", which are state centers of info collection that is shared with federal law agencies which includes "info about local crimes and 'suspicious activity'". Second, are the use of National Security Letters which are used to gather info from Internet service providers, banks and credit card companies from consumer records. Third, the FISA Amendments Act which is the law that "essentially legalized the NSA's warrantless spying program".

(Source: "The mass surveillance of Americans" by Anthony D. Romero, executive director ACLU. Civil Liberties: The American Civil Liberties Union National Newsletter dated Summer 2009)

"Great Society"

LBJ outlined his plans for a "great society" in a speech on January 4, 1965 (might be worth re-reading). The programs he suggested were Medicare, Medicaid and educational funding. The program included immigration reform and civil rights protections.

(Source: The Record on 1/4/09)

Children Deportations

The British government has apologized for a program that sent poor British children overseas from 1618 to 1967. 150,000 such children were sent to Australia, Canada and other former colonies (US being one). The children were from orphanages, unmarried mothers, or poor families. It seems one of the first groups was sent to the Virginia Colony in 1618 and after 1920 most were sent to Australia. Many of these children were placed in institutions and many were "physically and sexually abused or sent to work as farm laborers". Of those sent to Australia, many of the siblings were split up. While the stated objective was to give these children a chance for a "better life" it was also "intended to stop them from being a burden on the British state while supplying the receiving countries with white potential workers".

(Source: "Kids shipped to colonies receive an official apology" by Rod McGuirk, and Jill Lawless of The AP. In The Virginian Pilot on 11/16/09)

Harding and Press Censorship

The "...only known case of government suppression of a book in peacetime" occured during the administration of Warren Harding. The case involved the disclosure of the story that Warren Harding had a long-standing affair with a Carrie Phillips, who was a "former best friend" of Florence Harding-the First Lady. She was paid a sum of $ 25,000 to disappear during the time of the 1920 election. When this story was about to come to light (by whom the article does not say) the administration sent agents of the Bureau of Investigation "to seize the plates and printing press and destroy copies". This would involve the First Amendment issue of "prior restraint" which holds that the government should not take restrictive action before a publication; after is another matter.

(Source: "The Most Scandalous President" by Carl Sferrazze Anthony. American Heritage Magazine July/August 1998).

Lyndon Johnson

LBJ-as we all have heard-had reputation for colorful language. This example comes from The Washington Spectator and its editor Lou DuBose. We have heard the phrase about "keeping our enemies close" and LBJ said in that regard; "I'd rather have 'em inside the tent pissin' out than outside the tent pissin' in".

(Source: "Things Fall Apart" by Lou DuBose. The Washington Spectator 11/1/09).