2001—The U.S. House passes the PATRIOT Act without reading it.
1983—U.S. military aircraft, using old maps, bomb Richmond Hill Insane Asylum in Grenada, killing 16.
1963—In Dallas on UN Day, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson is shoved, booed, spat upon, and hit with signs by John Birchers led by ex-Army Maj. Gen. Edwin Walker.
1962—Soviet ships reach the U.S. quarantine line off Cuba. They don’t cross it, so we don’t nuke the USSR. A Soviet satellite explodes the same day. NORAD suspects an ICBM attack; but, again, nobody pushes The Button.
1956—At Sevrès, Britain and France make a secret pact to gang up on Egypt after Israel takes the Suez Canal.
1945—The UN is created to “maintain international peace and security,” as well as “friendly relations” among nations. Glad that’s settled.
1930—The Washington Post reports on the ten-year career of George “The Man in the Green Hat” Cassady, who bootlegged out of House and Senate office buildings.
1929—The irrational exuberance of the 1920’s dies on “Black Thursday.”
1901—General “Hell-Roaring Jake” Smith tells Marines at Samar, “burn and kill; the more you burn and kill, the better it will please me.”
1871—A 500-man mob massacres 17 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles. Eight are convicted of manslaughter, but freed on technicalities.