History: The Year is 1968

I've uploaded year 1968 to the TSP Wiki...

http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1968


As always, Alex Shrugged's opinions are his own. Other people's work are their own. I include them here for the sake of completeness and to provide a second method of access to the material for the TSP history segment.


* The Assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King -- Contributed by Alex Shrugged

* This Year in Space -- Contributed by Southpaw Ben

* More Control Over Guns. Yeah. That Will Fix It! -- Contributed by Alex Shrugged

* Notable Births -- See below.

* This Year in Film -- See below.

* This Year in Music -- See below.

* In Other News -- See below.

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The Assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King

Contributed by Alex Shrugged

"There’s no way in the world you can keep somebody from killing you if they really want to kill you."

-- Martin Luther King, 1968, when asked why he has no bodyguard. ^[1]

The Mayor of Memphis refuses to recognize the new union of sanitation workers (garbage men) and their grievances. Normally, that is strictly a workman's issue, but when the workday is cancelled due to weather, the white workers are paid for the full day. Black workers are paid for their hours worked. They strike, and Reverend King comes to Memphis in support. He stays at his normal motel in room 306 as he always does. He gives that famous speech, "I have been to the mountain top... And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land." His eyes are distant, as if he sees a vision of his own passing, and its coming soon. As he stands on the balcony of room 306, enjoying the evening, a single bullet from a Remington .30-06 hits him in the jaw. The bullet travels down his spine. He dies in surgery an hour later. The impact on the black community is devastating. Rioters fill the streets in a hundred cities. We are all going to die anyway. Take it down. Take it all down. (FYI, Alex Shrugged is not advocating violence, but conveying the feeling of the times.) ^{[2] [3]}

My Take by Alex Shrugged
James Earl Ray ran out of a bordering house from across the street. He was a petty criminal, yet he was apprehended overseas on his way to Rhodesia and carrying a fake passport. The FBI had a weapon with his fingerprints on it, but could not prove that it was the weapon that fired the bullet. Ray plead guilty, but 3 days later retracted his plea. No dice. Ray died in prison at the age of 70, all the while maintaining that he did not kill King. Reverend King's family believes him. Conspiracy theorists point to the FBI. This is not as ridiculous as it sounds. Years before, the FBI had sent an anonymous letter to Reverend King suggesting in threatening terms that he should kill himself before they released evidence of his evil ways. Today we admire Reverend King. Certainly I do, but every man has his faults and every woman knows it. His wife forgave him. In the aftermath of his assassination, he is elevated a little higher than he probably deserves, but no harm done. We could use a few heroes. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

This Year in Space

Contributed by Southpaw Ben
1968 was a major year is space flight, with some of the most historic space missions taking place. No, not THAT one^[8], that isn't until next year. We do, however have the December 21st Apollo 8 mission, which was the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit, and reach the Moon. Originally this mission was planned to take place with Apollo 9, and Apollo 8 was to test the lunar module in low Earth orbit. This all changed, however, with the successful launch and recovery of the Zond 5 spacecraft, which was the second ship to circle to the moon. (The first was the Zond 4, which self-destructed during re-entry as it went off course as wasn't going to land in USSR controlled territory.) However, Zond 5 was especially notable, because it successfully was recovered, and because it contained plants and animals, which were only slightly affected by the trip, most notably the two tortoises who lost about 10% of their body weight, but were otherwise in perfect condition. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

My Take by Southpaw Ben
The United States put it's ego above the safety of it's men, as it so often does, when it decided to move forward the mission for Apollo 8. While the USSR took the logical path of slowly building up to sending humans around the Moon, the US decided to skip on safety testing and have it's first Lunar mission be manned. As the space race had many political and military ramifications, it can be understood why a country would try to rush to beat the other country, the real question is how many lives is being the first to the Moon really worth? While, thankfully, Apollo 8 was a complete success with no casualties, Zond 5 cost 3 lives when one of it's rockets exploded while on the launch pad.

More Control Over Guns. Yeah. That Will Fix it!

Contributed by Alex Shrugged
Senator Robert Kennedy is assassinated by a wild-eyed Palestinian. Former defensive tackle, Rosey Grier, wrestles the shooter to the ground. Dr. Martin Luther King is assassinated. There are riots in the streets! Something must be done! So... Congress does something. The first gun control laws were meant to keep firearms out of the hands of ex-slaves, but even in modern times black people have been denied access to self-defense. In fact, Reverend King was denied a firearms license because a threat to one's life is not sufficient cause. A few decades ago, the federal government limited possession of machine guns, and set a legal age for purchasing firearms. A new gun control bill has been languishing in Congress since the assassination of President Kennedy, but with the death of Robert Kennedy, and Reverend King, it gets pushed through. The new law bans mail order sales of rifles and shotguns because Oswald had bought his rife through the NRA magazine American Rifleman. They also prohibit the mentally ill from purchasing a weapon. (Does that include Congress?) The long list of prohibited persons includes: felons, drug users, illegal aliens, dishonorably discharged veterans, people convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault (essentially wife-beating) and more. ^{[13] [14]}

My Take by Alex Shrugged
FYI, a letter of clarification was issued in 2011 stating that people who are issued a medical marijuana card are forbidden to own, carry, possess, transport, ship or receive a firearm. IT'S THE LAW! Frankly, nothing could do more to increase sales of ANYTHING than for the Federal government to prohibit it. (It is amazing how many girlfriends and wives of felons feel a need to buy a gun!) Of course, the law was expanded with the Brady Law after President Reagan was shot. (Brady was Reagan's White House Press Secretary who took a bullet to the head and lived.) There was the assault rifle ban whatever that is. (I think it means a scary-looking rifle painted black.) They also limited magazine capacity for a few years. I still don't get that one. Somehow Congress thinks that when a gun runs out of ammo, the shooter must stop and carefully reload the magazine before resuming fire. Who would ever think of having TWO pre-loaded magazines or even THREE! The mind boggles. ^[15]

Notable Births

• Timothy McVeigh (executed 2001, age 33 by lethal injection): Convicted of blowing up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma. (He said it was revenge for the government murders at Ruby Ridge and Waco.--alexshrugged) ^[16]

• Ramzi Yousef: Mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing. (Currently in prison.--alexshrugged) ^[16]

• Mohamed Atta (died September 11, 2001, age 33): Hijacker who crashed a 767 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. ^[16]

• From Star Trek Voyager...

• -- Garrett Wang: Ensign Harry Kim. ^[16]

• -- Jeri Ryan: Seven of Nine, and divorced from Jack Ryan (R), the favorite to run against Barack Obama for state senate. (Barack is BORG!--alexshrugged) ^[16]

• -- In Music: Celine Dion, Kenny Chesney, and LL Cool J. ^[16]

• -- In Movies: Will Smith, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine in X-Men). ^[16]

This Year in Film

• 2001: A Space Odyssey: It's long, weird and amazing. (I like 2010 better.--alexshrugged) ^[17]

• Funny Girl: Barbara Streisand has a voice like a bell. (But her politics leave me flat.--alexshrugged ) ^[17]

• Planet of the Apes: Starring Charlton Heston. (Different from the book. Both are good.--alexshrugged) ^[17]

• Charly: From the short story "Flowers for Algernon." Rated X meaning MATURE SUBJECT. No sex. No nudity. (Worth seeing. Definitely worth reading.--alexshrugged) ^[17]

This Year in TV

• Star Trek's Captain Kirk kisses Lt. Uhura: The first white/black kiss on TV. ^{[18] [19]}

• Eleven cartoons are censored: Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies withdraw 11 racially insensitive cartoons from TV syndication. (They are REALLY insensitive. Oh brother!--alexshrugged) ^[18]

• The Raiders/Jets Game goes long, so it is preempted by the movie Heidi: TVs fly out the window when a news banner reports a last minute touchdown. ^{[18] [20]}

• -- In Comedy: Laugh-In, and Here's Lucy. ^[18]

• -- In Game Shows: What's My Line?. ^[18]

• -- In Law Enforcement: Hawaii Five-O (Book 'em, Dan-o!), and Adam 12 (TWO, count them, TWO officers per patrol car.) ^[18]

This Year in Music

• Hey Jude: The Beatles. ^[21]

• Jumpin' Jack Flash: The Rolling Stones. ^[21]

• (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay: Otis Redding. ^[21]

• What a Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong. ^[21]

In Other News

• Hot Wheels are introduced by Mattel: (I worked for Mattel as a child cleaning toilets though I doubt they knew it.--alexshrugged). ^{[22] [23]}

• Intel is founded: They produce that CPU in your computer. ^{[22] [24]}

• The DNC Convention is disrupted by rioters: It changes the direction of the Democrat Party by making room for young people, but they are radical leftists. ^{[22] [25]}

• "Redlining" is outlawed: That is the practice of banks and realtors steering black home-buyers to certain neighborhoods marked in red on the map. ^{[22] [26]}

• A North Vietnamese spy is shot in the head on camera: It is a legal execution during the Tet Offensive. The photographer apologizes for taking it. The General holding the gun forgives him. ^{[22] [27] [28] [29]}

This Year in Wikipedia

Year 1968, Wikipedia.