History & Comment for March 6, 2025

A look at historical and current events on this day, comment and humor so dry it would make a camel thirsty. 

Transcript

This is History and Comment for Thursday, March 6th, 2025

Reportedly, Muhammad gave his Farewell Sermon on this day in the year 632.   Islam is the last of the monotheistic, Abrahamic Religions.    Scholars will point out there are three and I would suggest four.    Islam is the last of these to take form.     A scholarly look will upset that segment,   as there are time gaps and serious questions about its genesis.  

Abrahm was called of God about the year 2100 BC.  He was living in the land of Ur, which is in present day Southern Iraq, and migrated to the present day land of Israel.    He was of great age but was promised that he would have a Son and be the Father of many people.   Doubtful, he Father’s a Son by a servant.   The bible account tells us this is the origin of much of the struggles in the Middle East as the Arabs are the children of the first son and the Jews from the later Promised Son.   

Christianity, did not reformed Judaism, but was the continuation after the appearance of God as the Messiah.   The debate, between Jews and Christians is was Christ a good teacher or God in flesh?      I do not want to go down the same Rabbit holes again, but I would suggest that the Catholic Religion is a third divergence.   Christianity with heavy importation of other traditions.   This brings us to the late 6th and early 7th Century and Mohammad.   Like the Catholics their writings and traditions are seen as superior to first Century teachings.    

If you want to get off in the very tall weeds, there are those scholars that suggest Mohammad was influenced by Jesuits and the doctrine was formed to create a rift against the Jews in the Holy Land.     It is almost as controversial but, the Catholic Church has a history of anti-sematic attitudes and practices.   In the middle ages the official view was the Jews killed Christ and should be held to account.   

The Normans, essentially of Viking origin controlled Western France and England dating from the days of William the Conqueror.  The Viking influence in both regions date at least another two centuries back prior to William.   In 1204, King John of England loses control of Normandy after a two year war ended with a sixth month siege of Chateau Gaillard.      This was the first time this region had come under the formal control of the Franks and began to solidify modern France.  

Renown Artist Michelangelo would be 550 today.   He was just 29 years old when he completed the stature of David.   He did not consider himself a painter, but he completed multiple works in the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Bascillia.  

The first wave of convicts and settlers arrive off the coast of Australia on this day in 1788.   

1820, the political divide in the United States is coming to full bear.   The Missouri Compromise is signed into Law on this day.   This was one of the early pieces of legislation that tried to deal with the North / South Divide.    It allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state.   It further invoked the line of 36 and a half degrees, North of this line Slavery would not be allowed if future states and below that line it would be.   The idea was to deal with future debates.   36’ 30”,  is the line will have an effect when the boundaries of Texas were set and the creation of the Oklahoma panhandle. 

Speaking of Texas, The Battle of the Alamo ends with the deaths of the 187 occupants of the mission.   This was of course in 1836.   It was a momentary set-back and became a rallying cry for the next battle in late April, which put an end to the Texas Revolution in favor of the Texans.   

We like to think that the Supreme Court is completely unbaised and hands down decision with the upmost wisdom.  That would be false.    In 1857,  they rule 7 to 2 in the Dred Scott v Sandford case that the Constitution does not confer citizenship on Black people.    Now a simple reading of the Constitution will reveal, it does not make ethnic conditions on citizenship.   History tells us that this is one of the worst decisions to ever come out of the court.  It will be overridden by the 14th Amendment. 

If you studied any chemistry,  you know of the periodic table.   It list all of the known elements in a manner where they share properties with other elements in their column.   Actually, there are a number of patterns in the table and the placement of each.   Several scientist worked on classifying the known elements in the 19th Century. It was the Russian Demtri Mendeleev, who developed the one which largely is still in use today.    If you find his picture on line,  he looks a lot like Karl Marx, we might conclude the Russian had issues with trimmed hair.  

The German Chemical Bayer trademarks the term aspirin for their composition in 1899.   While it has been quite useful, it most likely would not get through the modern drug gambit as it has a number of harmful side effects.   One is it causes stomach bleeding and the modification that buffered it.  Hence the other common name Bufferin.   Today, more modern drugs are used in the place of aspirin.    Before Bayer did their magic, native americans were known to chew on willow bark, which actually contained the same active ingredient.    When I touch on subjects of this nature, I wish I still had my resident Pharmacist to consult.  

The idea that President Franklin Roosevelt proposed in his 1941 State of the Union speech as the Four Freedoms is making the rounds in the media.   On this day in 1943,  Norman Rockwell’s painting for the Freedom of Want is published in the Saturday Evening Post.  You have most likely seen the classic painting, showing a large family gathering complete with turkey and trimmings.   It is also known as the Thanksgiving Picture.   

The four paintings were published in successive weeks.   Originally, Rockwell has sought Government Sponsorship for the paintings as part of the war effort but they rejected the idea.    When the Saturday Evening Post picked it up to go with a series of essays, Rockwell completed the paintings.    They then were sold as a set of posters by the Post and they received 25,000 orders.   The Office of War Information who earlier had rejected the idea eventually printed 2.5 million copies as part of the war bond effort. 

As with many of Rockwell’s painting, we know who the models are and they were often family and neighbors. That is the case with this painting.  The lady presenting the turkey was the Rockwell’s cook, Mrs.  Thadeus Wheaton and behind her, Mr. Wheaton. The turkey was the Thanksgiving feast for the Rockwells in 1942.   Rockwell’s wife Mary is also in the scene.    

The work did gather some protest, as it showed Americans feasting while in Europe things were much more bleak.  

The Zapruder Film is shown in motion on national television in 1975.   The well-known home 8 mm film captured the assignation of President Kennedy.     The film covers the critical 26 seconds and consist of just 486 frames.   It is most likely the most studied 26 seconds of film ever taken.   

Abraham Zapruder was a clothing manufacture, who like many folks was hoping to capture a glimsp of the President. There were 32 know photographers in Dealey Plaza that day.    The film was quickly sought by the Secret Service and processed that day. Zapruder kept the original and two copies were made.     

Like all things related to the Kennedy Assignation, there are lots of questions and theories.   Some suggest there are differences between the two copies and what they show.   Of all of the theories floating, the one that a relatively inexperincecd SS Agent may have accidently fired a shot from the motorcade, is the most intriguing.   

Forbes names Jeff Bezos the world’s richest person in 2018 with a net worth of $112 Billion.  It is honest money,  he had some good ideas at the right time.   But it boggles the average mind and usually invokes a degree of envy.    While sums in that range are highly fluid and take much effort to manage, they do make for some fun discussions.    Assuming a 5% return, that amounts to $15 million day to spend without touching the principal.  

Contemplate that for a few moments.   

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