DECEMBER 4 — ELECTIONS: Whigs Choose Harrison in Log Cabin Election of 1840; 1941 Japanese WWII News; 1995 Commodore Theater inVirginia Designated Historic Landmark
1839 – Whigs choose Harrison to lead the party through the Log Cabin election.
The Democrats had been enjoying presidential victories throughout the 1830s, until the Panic of 1837 left President Martin Van Buren unpopular. In 1836, he had opposed Ohio senator William Henry Harrison and walloped him and the other Whigs who were running. But now Van Buren was nicknamed Van Ruin and was considered ineffective for the economic downturn. Here came Tippecanoe and Tyler too. Harrison was considered a war hero who defeated Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe. John Tyler,
Van Buren, who had successfully ran with his Vice President Dick Mentor Johnson, was having problems with his VP as he was looked upon very negatively for having open relations with his slave, July e Chinn. Now the Democrats weren’t putting up with him at all, and Johnson would not be nominated to run under Van Buren this time around. As a result, Van Buren wouldn’t have a vice president with who to run. Meanwhile, as the smearing campaign went, the Whigs painted Van Buren to a sadistic landlord that was fashionably dressed. The Democrats labeled Tippecanoe as old and senile. In fact, Harrison, at 67 years young, was the oldest to seriously run to this point. The Democrats, according to Wikipedia, responded by saying that Harrison “Give him a barrel of hard cider, hard, leaning booze, and … a pension of two thousand [dollars] a year … and … he will sit the remainder of his days in his log cabin.” Is that so, Democrats? Then the Log Cabin election it shall be my friends, America was clearly ready for another rough and ready president like Old Hickory Andrew Jackson, and Harrison fit that bill, along with Tyler from Virginia, which was Van Ruin’s home state. A hard cider and log cabin president it would be this time around, which is ironic because in reality, Harrison came from wealth and Van Buren did not, but dressed the part. Old Tip he wears a homespun coat
He has no ruffled shirt-wirt-wirt
But Mat has the golden plate
and he’s a squirt-wirt-wirt.
Harrison would gain around 4 times the amount of electoral votes that Van buren w3ould get. Tippecanoe’s age would turn out to be a factor after all, since he would only serve as president 32 days, leaving Tyler unofficially in charge, until it was made official.
1918 – President Wilson heads to Europe.
…He was actually the first US president to do so. He landed in Brest, France, and headed to Versailles to serve as American delegate to the peace conference seeking an official end to World War I. In the streets, hundreds of thousands of people lined up and cheered The Professor.
In Western Europe, Wilson was seen as a savior. He got the same response when he went to London and Rome as well. The Paris Peace Conference was attended by Wilson, British Prime Minister Lloyd George, French premier Georges Clemenceau, and Italian Premier Vittorio Orlando. They were known as the Big Four. The treaty called for stiff war reparations from Germany, mainly money and land. Wilson would be given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920 for his efforts. He understood that suffocating Germany would only lead to another war.
1941 – NY Times reports a siege on Japan. The article reminded Americans that japan is facing international economic siege and she is very vulnerable. If there was ever a country that needed to live on terms of peaceful trade with the rest of the world, it is Japan. Meanwhile, Eleanor Roosevelt was giving a speech on Recent Immigration and National Defense, where she assured the audience that if Americans got involved in this war, that aliens with good records need have no anxiety about being placed in U.S. concentration camps should this country declare war against their homelands. Members of the audience who were Italian, Japanese, or German were happy to hear that.
On November 2, 2007, Foxy Knoxy’s 21-year-old roommate, Meredith Kercher, was found fatally stabbed in their place they shared with a couple other people. It appeared her Italian boyfriend; Raffaele Sollecito was in on it too. Because I guess the only thing more fun than group sex is group sex with bloody knives.
The story made international headlines as Amanda was tried, convicted, and then later acquitted in an Italian court. Not so fast. Foxy Knoxy wasn’t off the hook just yet. The case would go all the way up to Italy’s court of appeals, the Court of Cassation in March 2013 where she would have to stand trial for Kercher’s murder once again. Knox and Sollecito were found guilty this time around in February 2014. Sollecito would get 25 years in prison, Knox 28 years. A year later, the Supreme Court of Italy overturned her and Sollecito’s convictions, and they were exonerated.
1997 – Latrell Sprewell is suspended. 4-time All Star point guard, Sprewell played for the golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves. He helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals and was instrumental in getting the T-Wolves to the western conference finals.
On December 4, 1997 during practice, Sprewell choked Golden state coach P.J. Carlesimo after Carlesimo told him to put a little mustard on a pass. Other players pulled Sprewell away, but 20 minutes later he hit his coach and was suspended for 68 games. “Captain Spree should remain a landlubber”
In 2005 Sprewell blew his career after refusing a $27M three-year deal from the Timberwolves. Why, 27M? That wouldn’t be enough to feed his children! I guess he was feeding them more than just cereal and beans and rice. Since then, he’s made headlines for grounding his million dollar yacht, having two of his homes foreclosed upon, and being prohibited from seeing his children. Guess h doesn’t have to worry about feeding them that expensive caviar and lobster every night anymore.
1995 – Commodore Theater becomes historically significant in Virginia.
Opening its doors in 1945, this theater held 1,000 patrons for thirty years until it shut down for restoration. You know, some extra bathrooms, remodeled balconies, and with the help of George Lucas’s THX Group at Lucasfilms, the Commodore got a phat new Dolby sound system. Good times, patrons have enjoyed a nice steak, bucket of popcorn, a beer and the live performances ever since.