Tag: Volume 270 | No. 17 - Page 3 - The New Hampshire Gazette

Tues, May 5

1985—In Bitburg, Germany, Republican President Ronald Reagan lays a wreath at a cemetery full of Nazis. 1981—Bobby Sands dies of hunger in Maze Prison, defiant to the last. 1970—On the first day of a national student strike, three of the Chicago 7 speak at UNH. Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin smoke a joint onstage. 1961—New Hampshire’s own Alan Shepard prays, “Please, dear God, don’t let me f__k up.” Prayer answered, he’s the 1st American in space. 1960—Gary Powers is a “civilian employed by Lockheed” piloting a “weather research plane,” says the U.S. 1955—U.S. TVs show a mock suburb complete with mannequins hit by a real …

Mon, May 4

1990—Six-inch flames shoot from Jesse Joseph Tafero’s head as Florida’s “Old Sparky” takes three jolts and seven minutes to kill him. 1989—Ollie North is found guilty for four Iran-Contra felonies. He later skates because Congress screwed up. 1981—“Inchon!” premieres in D.C. Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who funded the flick, claims MacArthur endorsed it from the grave. It flops anyway. 1970—In Haymarket Square, Chicago, a new cop statue replaces one destroyed by a bomb months earlier. This one gets blown up, too, months later. 1970—Ohio National Guard troops fire on a crowd of protestors at Kent State; 13 are hit, four of them die. 1961—The Freedom …

Sun, May 3

2020—Dolt #45 desecrates the Lincoln Memorial with a campaign event. 2016—Lindsey Graham tweets, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…and we will deserve it.” 2016—After accusing Ted Cruz’s father of being tied to the JFK assassination, Donald Trump wins Indiana and clinches the GOP nomination. 2003—The Old Man of the Mountain is busted by the Law of Gravity. 1995—Alabama Governor “Fob” James brings back the chain gang. 1971—Cops in D.C. set a record: 7,000 protestors arrested in one day [12,000 over five days]—no food, no water, no toilets. Most charges are dropped, many arrestees recoup damages. 1968—French students protest; administrators call cops. Big mistake. …

On How to Choose a Leader

By W.D. Ehrhart Given the state of the world these days—endless war in Ukraine, ongoing genocide in Gaza, the unprovoked and ill-considered attack on Iran, and political mayhem here in the United States, we could all use a good laugh. And maybe the funniest movie I’ve ever seen is “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Released originally in 1975, it has held up well over all these years, and I return to it periodically whenever I need to remind myself to laugh. The Frenchman on the castle wall may be the funniest scene (actually two scenes) ever filmed. But the scene that really sticks with …

Is What We Need a Vaccine for Stupid?

Dear Editor: I have previously written about the major role vaccines play in preventing the diseases that they are specifically targeted for. However, ongoing research is showing that the benefits of various vaccines may go much further than preventing only the diseases that they were designed to prevent. For example: A University of Texas study has shown that adults over age 65 who receive the annual high-dose influenza vaccine demonstrate a 55 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that influenza vaccines reduced major cardiac events by 36 percent overall and 55 percent in patients …

Reflections on May Day, 2026

Nearly everywhere else in the world, the First of May is celebrated as International Workers Day. Here in the U.S., of course, May Day will be pointedly ignored. Strange, since this is where it began. On May 1, 1886, 200,000 workers across the country held a general strike, demanding an eight-hour day. Cops did their job: beating workers on behalf of the bosses. Workers persisted. On May 4th, things literally blew up. Show trials followed and four anarchists were hanged. That, in brief, is why, from 1890 to this day, on May Day, workers remember the workers who once fought for their rights—everywhere, that is, …