Today in History

July 27, 2004 – Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

 A candidate for the Illinois senate then, that speech brought him national recognition.  In a politically polarized America, he urged national unity. “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America,” said Obama. “We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states.”

July 27, 1962 – Martin Luther King, Jr., is arrested and jailed in Albany, Georgia.  At a city hall prayer vigil, police handcuffed the civil rights leader on charges of disorderly conduct, failure to obey a police officer and obstructing the sidewalk.  He and other civil rights activists were leading a protest against segregation.

Memorial Day: Grateful

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, is often viewed as the "unofficial" start of summer.

Many have the day off from work and school, and few give "thanks" for the men and women that have made the "ultimate sacrifice" for the country that we call home.

We are free to make decisions and exercise our "free will", all the while knowing that there is collateral damage: women and men have died that allow us to live as we do today.

We can all agree that in life, we human beings, individually, will achieve various levels of power and accomplishments, but we all die and our legacy will live for a short period of time. 

Yes, some politicians, actresses, athletes and other so-called celebrities's death may have an impact on a large number of people, but their life is just as important as the family that sees their son dispatched to fight the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.

So, today, I say thank you to all the people that serve in the military and everyday I give "thanks and praise" for the life that I have and the people that worked to provide it.

Thank you!

Shortest Presidency: William Henry Harrison

Today we celebrate the birthday of President William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States.

President Harrison was the 1st President elected from the Whig Party. He was the 1st President to die in office, April 4th, 1841, only 30 days after his inauguration. He served the shortest term of any US President. His father was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison became president in 1889.