Then & Now: History for Today March 21 1877 - Louis Pasteur began work on virulent anthrax bacteria in his laboratory at Lille, France, spurred by a devastating outbreak of anthrax, a disease fatal to cattle and sheep. Pasteur showed the disease was caused by a living organism, not by a toxin. He worked with a solution containing the infection, which at a dilution factor of 1 part to 100 still caused death as the living organism continued to multiply. By 1881, he prepared a vaccine made from a weakened strain of the anthrax bacterium. He tested it on May 5, 1881. Cows and sheep inoculated with the vaccine were immunized and survived, while an untreated control group died. He later produced an effective rabies vaccine, tested on Joseph Meister on July 6, 1885.
1963 - Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closed down and transferred its last prisoners. At its peak period of use in 1950s, "The Rock," or "America's Devil Island," housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable.The twelve-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, featured the most advanced security of the time. For instance, some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates who had to do time at Alcatraz. Nearly complete silence was mandated at all times.
1965 - The famous march from Selma to Montgomery began. In the name of civil rights, 3,200 civil rights demonstrators, led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., begin a historic march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol at Montgomery. Federalized Alabama National Guardsmen and FBI agents were on hand to provide safe passage for the march, which twice had been turned back by Alabama state police at Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge. U.S. Army troops and federalized Alabama National Guardsmen escorted the marchers across Edmund Pettus Bridge and down Highway 80. When the highway narrowed to two lanes, only 300 marchers were permitted, but thousands more rejoined the Alabama Freedom March as it came into Montgomery on March 25. On the steps of the Alabama State Capitol, King addressed live television cameras and a crowd of 25,000, just a few hundred feet from the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where he got his start as a minister in 1954. That August, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed African Americans the right to vote. Between the passing of the act and the May 1966 primary, 122,000 blacks registered to vote in the state. This represented a quarter of Alabama's voters.
Mercury One Moment 
On his radio program on March 18th, Glenn Beck said: "They came here and asked for political asylum because if they return to Germany, the German state will take their children unless they dump them into the system where they are teaching them things about God that this family disagrees with. . . There’s nothing that is more un‑American than this." We can do our part to help them by supporting their legal defense, headed up by HSDLA. Whether you agree with homeschooling or not, by donating you can take a stand for religious liberty and personal freedom today. Your Soapbox Maryland School District Says No to Hugging, Homemade Food, Pushing Someone Else’s Kids on Swings. In Maryland, a six-year-old boy was recently suspended for making a gun gesture while playing at recess, and a second grader faced the same punishment for biting a strawberry pop-tart into the shape of an ‘L’ (or as the school deemed it: a gun). Now, a Maryland school district has banned hugging, sharing homemade food, “ad-hoc parent-teacher conferences,” and distributing birthday party invitations. Oh, and if you’re a parent, you better not forget to register before you enter the playground and make sure you don’t give a push to one of your children’s friends on the swing (you can only push your own kid). One school board member opined: “Elements of this are going to decrease parent involvement.” Sadly, when it comes to big government nanny-state advocates, that’s just half the point. Just remember, as a parent,
you don’t really “know what actually is best” for your own children, but school officials supposedly do.
Catholic Bishops to House of Representatives: Repeal Affordable Care Act Regulations that Violate Religious Freedom in Upcoming Legislation. The Archbishop of Boston sent a letter to every member of the House of Representatives that pushed for practical, concrete action, not symbolic political gesturing, to repeal a regulation of the Affordable Care Act (also known as ‘Obamacare’) that forces many to violate their faiths by purchasing, providing, and/or enabling “sterilizations, contraceptives, and abortion-inducing drugs.” The Archbishop suggests two pieces of legislation that are already set to be brought to the floor in which a repeal could occur. One of which, the Republican leader’s continuing resolution (regarding the debt limit) prohibits the government “from spending money on foreign-made ball bearings,” yet still allows funding for the controversial mandate, despite the Speaker of the House’s pronouncement that it “must not stand, will not stand.” What does it take for politicians to stick with their principles and keep their word?
California Small Business Owners are Fuming over a Retroactive Tax Grab. "How would you feel if you [as a small business owner] made a decision, which was made four years ago, (and) you absolutely knew was legally correct and four years later a governing body came in and said, 'no, it's not correct, now you owe us a bunch more money. And we're going to charge you interest on money you didn't even know you owed'[?]” This question, posed by a California entrepreneur, is not a hypothetical; rather, it has actually already happened. California, the state that not only has the Nation’s highest income tax, recently hiked it even higher. California’s tax authority decided in December that a tax break claimed by 2,500 entrepreneurs and small business owners over the past few years is no longer valid and now they are out to collect $120 million by way of this “retroactive tax grab.” With governing bodies like these, who needs thieves?
Nigel Farage to Europeans: “Get Your Money Out While You Can.” Nigel Farage has made a name for himself for his outspoken criticism of the European Union and the threat it poses to member state sovereignty. Farage recently gave a dire warning to Europeans in the wake of the Cypriot bailout, warning viewers: "Do Not Invest In The Euro-Zone. . . it is now run by people who do not respect democracy, the rule of law, or the basic principles upon which Western civilization is based." In fairness to the Eurocrats, who
does follow the rule of law these days?
Eight Stories of Heroism from the Decade-Long War in Iraq. With the Iraq War having begun ten years ago, there has been no shortage of heroism. Medal of Honor recipient Michael Monsoor, for instance, saved the lives of two other SEALs when “an insurgent grenade reached the roof and bounced off Monsoor’s chest. Monsoor immediately called, “Grenade!”, and jumped on it to absorb the explosion with his own body—even though he could have escaped the position.” Another, Captain Shannon Kay, despite injuries and heavy enemy fire, pulled seven others from a burning vehicle and saved their lives. These are just two of the innumerable stories of heroism from the Iraq War that are sure to evoke chills, awe, and a sense of gratitude to all those serving in our nation’s military.
'Death to Jews,' Swastikas sprayed around Jaffa neighborhood. The mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhoods of Jaffa (Israel) have been vandalized with graffiti of swastikas and inscriptions reading “Death to Jews.” Police are still investigating but do not have any suspects. One report notes that “Tensions between Jews and Arabs in Jaffa have been simmering for a few years against the backdrop of increased Jewish presence, which the Arab residents view as an attempt to push them out of the city."
How a Master Craftsman was Sentenced to 24+ Years in Federal Prison by his Clients’ Crimes. Alfred Anaya unintentionally happened upon his own latent genius: installing (legal) “traps,” or secret compartments into cars. Traps are a legitimate (and not uncommon) luxury car modification, can be used to conceal expensive jewelry or handgun storage while in a dangerous “gun-free zone.” Drug traffickers ended up using Anaya’s services, but he never saw any drugs, nor was he told of his client’s intentions, yet he was sentenced to 24 years in Federal prison without the option of parole when the government took down his client’s drug running operation. This is what happens when a society blames the gun and not the shooter. “The logic goes that because he suspected his customers of doing something, he had a duty to ask,” Anaya’s lawyer said. This article also notes that that “is a duty that is written nowhere in the law” and that our “culture’s libertarian ethos holds that. . . people who build things are under no obligation to meddle in the affairs of the adults who consume their wares.” Well, it used to be like that, anyway.
‘Fracknation’ Co-Director Withdraws from conference because the Host Attempted to Censor Him. ‘Fracknation’ co-director Phelim McAleer was supposed to screen parts of his documentary at a conference on commodity prices hosted by the International Monetary Fund and Oxford University. He withdrew when he was told that clips of his documentary that were critical of Russia’s manipulation of the Eastern European gas supply would not be shown. McAleer is now sounding the alarm, as this was “an attack on journalism and an attack on free speech. . . Do people really want to go to a conference where opinions on powerful people are censored?” Unless it’s a conference on how to censor people who have opinions about powerful people, probably not.
We want to thank all of you for your generosity in donating to support Mercury One in its mission of providing charity for all with malice toward none. Mercury One aims to improve the human condition in a variety of ways, and one way you can help support all of the Mercury One missions is by donating to the Mercury One General Fund. Also in the News Police Don’t Lethally Intervene with Unarmed Vandals and Thieves, but now NATO Contends they Can—as Long as their Tool is a Computer. Online Sales Tax to be Tacked onto Senate Budget. No Wonder We Have a Sequester. Check out the $750 Million Dollar U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Futurist Ray Kurzweil Discusses his First Two Months at Google as Director of Engineering. Congress: EPA’s Renewable Fuels Mandate Still Hasn’t Been Dealt With, So Expect Soaring Gas Prices. ART CASHIN: If America is Anything like History's Great Civilizations, Then This is the Beginning of the End. Why is The Government Obsessed with Researching Inane Statistical Observations Regarding Lesbians? Yet Another Multi-Million Dollar Federal Study. The Names of Fallen Special Operators in the War on Terror Takes 12 minutes and 12 Seconds to Recite—hear their Names Recited by the Special Operations community. Something to Ponder “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
*This information was submitted and compiled by Mercury One staffers and volunteers. If you see any problems or have any questions please email questions@mercuryone.org. If you have an idea or would like to contribute to the Soapbox, please email soapbox@mercuryone.org. 
No comments:
Post a Comment