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Who was Ching Shih? Mogu?
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Have you ever considered what it would have been like to be a woman in the 1800’s? Especially in a world mostly dominated by men. Life’s primal challenges, food, shelter, etc would have been hard enough without the patriarchal societies most women lived (and often times still live) in. I’d like to think I…
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Harriet – My Review of the Movie
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I cried the entire 125 minutes of the movie Harriet. It’s well done but it is the opposite of a “feel-good” movie. It is a feel horrible movie (because it is true). After more than a year of research for my book Trials & Tribulations of Modesty Greene, I felt emotionally vested. My book…
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My Trip to Vietnam
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I recently spent around 3 weeks in Vietnam. We explored from far north, to down south. It seemed the north was more traditional, the south more touristy and modern. Let’s start where we started, up north, just south of the China border. Bac Son Valley was the way I pictured all of Vietnam. Quaint.…
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Left vs. Right – Terrorism Edition
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The 2018 Mid-Term Mailbomb Extravaganza As we learn about the man who sent multiple bombs by mail to political figures in the Democratic Party it’s difficult not to comment on how stupid this move was. In today’s world with cameras and satellites everywhere you would have to be of extreme discipline to do these…
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Billie Jean King and the Battle of the Sexes
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Sept 20th, 1973 at the Houston Astrodome was a literal game changer for women. On this day 45 years ago Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the widely publicized “Battle of the Sexes.” There was a movie made a few years back with Emma Stone as King and Steve Carrell as Bobby Riggs,…
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How Democrats Became Republicans – The Great US Party Flip
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Does Anyone Know How Democrats Became Republicans? “I heard it was a myth! Those racist Democrats who elected Barack Obama as their nominee are secretly the party that opposed freeing the slaves – the Democrats are the party of the KKK!!” ~ Your Republican Uncle & Friends Since today is 9/11 and everyone will…
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Happy Birthday Charles Dickens!
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Feb 7th 1812 is the birthday of one of the greatest writers of all time – Charles Dickens. Dickens is so legendary in fact that many historians credit him with igniting the festive way modern society celebrates Christmas. It’s not difficult to see how. The classic story “A Christmas Carol” is a parable about…
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HL Mencken vs. The State of Arkansas
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Today (Feb 3rd) in the year 1931 the Arkansas state legislature passed motion to “pray for soul of HL Mencken” after he called the state the “apex of moronia” among other things. Let’s rewind a bit. HL Mencken wrote for the Evening Sun in the 1930’s. Around that time he wrote 3 columns about…
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Today in History: The First American Novel “Power of Sympathy” Published
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The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature (1789) is an 18th-century American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown, widely considered to be the first American novel. The book was published by Isaiah Thomas in Boston on January 21, 1789. In the story, the characters’ struggles illustrate the dangers of seduction and…
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NY Times Retracts Editorial Saying Rockets Can’t Fly
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”Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods.” – Albert Einstein The New York Times is a respected paper. Some might even call it a beacon of journalism, but that doesn’t mean it’s unquestioningly right 100% of the time.…