Volume 268 | No. 19

2016—Lane Graves, 2, is killed by an alligator at Disney World. In response, Disney installs signs warning that alligators are present. 2004—Timothy Clam opens the door and exits a Bell helicopter, 4,000 feet above the Grand Canyon. 2001—Dennis Koslowski throws a $2.1 million party on Sardinia for his wife Karen’s 40th birthday. Half the cost is covered by Tyco International. 1987—Someone torches Epsom, N.H.’s anti-Commie Trojan Horse. 1954—Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. 1951—Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-Booze) accuses President Eisenhower and General George Marshall of serving the policies of the Kremlin. 1943—The Supreme Court rules that children …

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2005—Congress apologizes for having failed to pass 200 anti-lynching bills between 1882 and 1968. 1999—In Kosovo, British Lieut. Gen. Mike Jackson refuses NATO Commander Wesley Clark’s orders to take the Russian-occupied Pristina airport, saying, “I’m not going to start the Third World War for you.” 1983—Pioneer 10 exits the solar system. 1971—Because “The Pentagon Papers” cover only the Kennedy and Johnson years, Kissinger and Nixon have a good laugh in the Oval Office. 1968—A U.S. attack helicopter accidentally kills Saigon’s Chief of Police. 1966—The Supreme Court rules that cops can’t make you talk. 1944—News reports say Rep. Francis E. Walter (D-Penn.) gave FDR a letter-opener …

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2000—The Energy Department admits that two hard drives holding top-secret data on nuclear weapons have been missing for over a month. 1991—White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu takes a government limousine from D.C. to New York City to attend a rare stamp auction. 1981—Failing to recognize the only Black person in his Cabinet, President Reagan, calls Housing Secretary Samuel Pierce “Mr. Mayor.” 1971—The Times begins publishing “The Pentagon Papers” on the morning of Tricia Nixon’s White House wedding. Dan Ellsberg and Howard Zinn, stoned, see “Butch Cassidy.” 1969—The Army Corps of Engineers stops the American Falls at Niagara. 1967—The Supreme Court rules interracial …

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1995—In Claremont, N.H., Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich shake hands and pledge to reform lobbying and campaign financing. Yeah, right. 1990—The Supreme Court rules flag desecration laws are unconstitutional. 1984—The Supreme Court gives prosecutors a new loophole for using illegally-obtained evidence. 1963—In Saigon, motionless, burning, Thich Quang Duc bends history. 1963—George Wallace takes a stand for segregation in the schoolhouse door—briefly; then he scuttles away. 1962—John and Clarence Anglin, with Frank Morris, escape from Alcatraz. Maybe they drown, maybe not. 1929—Forget Article One, Clause 3 of the Constitution, says Congress, the House shall have 435 members. 1920—Republicans meeting in the original “smoke-filled room” select, to …

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1990—British Airways pilot Tim Lancaster is sucked half-way out of Flight 5390 when its windshield blows out over Oxfordshire. The plane lands safely; Lancaster resumes flying. 1988—The Justice Dept. says “no entry” to a bike messenger in a T-shirt saying “Experts agree: Meese is a pig.” 1975—The Rockefeller Commission finds that the CIA’s CHAOS operation spied on 300,000 Americans and infiltrated political movements. 1968—The Supreme Court says cops can “stop and frisk” based on “reasonable suspicion.” [Or racist whim?] 1964—Muted by a tumor, weeks from death, Sen. Clair Engle [D-Calif.] points to his eye; his “aye” vote ends the filibuster of the Civil Rights Act. …

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