MARCH 12 — 1947 Truman Doctrine announced; 2005 Monty Reed breaks record for greatest distance travelled with an exoskeleton; 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act; 1972 Creedence Clearwater split up
MARCH 12
1947 – Truman Doctrine is announced.
With this doctrine, President Harry S. Truman would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external and internal authoritarian forces. According to the Office of the Historian, The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in faraway conflicts. It would aid Greece and Turkey in order to slow down communist domination of the two nations. Many Historians today believe this marked the official beginning of the Cold War.
Since the end of WWII, rebels in Greece had been staging a coup against the government, and in Turkey, the strategic area of the Dardanelles was being threatened by the Soviet Union. This was Truman’s big chance to take a stand against communism.
2005 Reed breaks record for greatest distance travelled with exoskeleton.
Kinda like Robocop. 40-year old Monty Reed, who had lost his legs in a parachuting accident in Europe while serving in the U.S. Army, became completely crippled. After the accident, he stayed with his father and worked odd jobs in a laying down position since he could not sit for longer than 15 minutes.
Getting influence by the movie Starship Troopers, Reed decided to make an exoskeleton that could help him walk. Reed, a devout Christian, had no doubt that God would help him out with this contraption, and his faith did not let him down. During Seattle’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2005, Reed became the first person to run 3.4 miles in 95 minutes using his Lifesuit prototype. Works for him! He joined University of Washington rehab physician Steven Steins to make it happen, though Steins will admit its a couple prototypes away from being practical for other patients.
But it was good enough for Monty Reed, on this day in 2005 as he crossed the finish line with the help of something that looked like scuba gear and a backpack with funny looking wires.
20 years from now when we look at how bionics changes the world, we can thank Monty for his initial porotype, the LifeSuit. Monty Reed everybody, like a boss!
2003 – Natilie Maines sets fire to to her band’s career, and the Dixie Chicks backlash begins
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The comment took place at the Shepher’s Bush Empire in London when she said onstage to a huge British audience in regards to her opinion of the Iraq War: Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas Maines, Maguire, and Robison’s home state].”
And just like that, one of America’s most beloved bands became the most hated band. They were expelled from radio, giant piles of their cd’s were bulldozed, and a band member’s house was vandalized.
President Bush said, The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say. The shouldn’t have their feelings hurt just because some people don’t want to buy their records when they speak out. Meanwhile, Toby Keith performed in front of a backdrop that showed a gigantic picture of Natalie Maines next to Saddam Hussein. Things weren’t looking good for the band. No problem, they’ll bounce back, right?
Wrong.
As of 2013 according to a CNN poll, many former Dixie Chick fans still weren’t receptive to the band and a third answered in the negative when asked if the band should be forgiven.
1882 – The Chinese Exclusion Act.
We can thank President Chester Arthur for this embarrassing one. It was the first major law restricting immigrants based on a certain ethnic group to become United States citizens.
After the gold rush, Chinese immigrants came to California by the boatloads and became laborers getting paid little more than what a slave would earn at the time. Even though the Chinese helped to build America’s first transcontinental railroad, they were seen by Anglos as inferior. The law was designed to last ten years, then was extended to twenty years, then extended permanently. Not until 1943 when American needed China’s help against Japan during WWII was the law repealed entirely. I know how appallingly racist that law sounds, but back in those days that’s just how things were.
I don’t know what else to tell ya.
1972, Creedence Clearwater Revival split up
Following the failure of their most recent album, ‘Mardi Gras’. After limited success as a solo act and some legal hassles with Fantasy Records, John Fogarty would have two big hits in 1985, ‘Center Field’ and ‘Rock and Roll Girls’. John’s brother Tom Fogarty died in September, 1990 and the surviving members have been touring as Creedence Clearwater Revisited.