June 25, 2022. Wow. Yesterday was something. If you are a student of history, it’s a day that will be discussed, debated, and appear on history tests for hundreds of years. What the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe V. Wade has done is created a massive new political movement, a new class of criminals (abortionists and the women who use them) and threw gasoline on America’s culture wars. I think yesterday ranks close to January 16, 1919, which is the day that Prohibition started. Sometimes the events of the day are just too big to be successfully ignored. The next 6 months are going to be interesting to watch. Today is Bartender and Mixologist Day, Anthony Bourdain Day, Day of the Seafarer, Global Beatles Day, Great American Picnic Day, National Catfish Day, and National Strawberry Parfait Day. Now to the historical footnotes: On this day in 1678 Elena Cornaro Piscopia was awarded a Doctorate (Philosophy) from the University of Padua becoming the first women to receive a PhD. On this day in 1798 the Alien Act was passed. This Act gave the President the right to deport anyone whom he considered to be a dangerous alien. No due process involved. On this day in 1867 barbed wire was patented by Lucien B. Smith of Ohio. It was a bad day for cows. This is the day in 1876 that the Battle of the Little Bighorn took place. General Custer thought it was a good idea for him and 600 men of the 7th Cavalry to attack a camp of 7,000 Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahos. It wasn’t. On this day in 1910 the Mann Act which made it a felony to transport any woman or girl across state lines for immoral purposes. In practice, the Mann Act criminalized sex between unmarried people. To end on a higher note, this is the day in 1941 that FDR signed Executive Order 8802 that forbids racial discrimination in the defense industry. Since this is Anthony Bourdain Day, I’ll end this post with some quotes from him. “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” “I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.” “Drink heavily with the locals whenever possible.” “Whatever everyone else has asked you to do or never let you do, let’s do that.” Abide.
