On December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives impeaches President Bill Clinton on charges of obstruction of justice and lying under oath to a federal grand jury. The charges stem from the investigation into Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a 21-year old White House intern. The case laid before Congress by independent counsel Kenneth Starr recommended 11 charges, supported by 18 boxes of documented evidence. The House Judiciary Committee narrowed the charges to 3 before sending the case to the House floor. In the GOP controlled House, all but 6 Republicans voted to impeach, joined by 5 Democrats against their fellow Democrat Clinton. On December 19, 1777, the Continental Army under General George Washington enters its winter camp at Valley Forge, 22 miles from British-occupied Philadelphia. Washington chose a site on the west bank of the Schuylkill River that could be effectively defended in the event of a British attack. Roughly 11,000 men will encamp at Valley Forge, and the particularly severe winter ahead will claim hundreds of them from disease. However, the suffering troops were held together by loyalty to the Patriot cause and to General Washington, who stayed with his men. As the winter stretched on, Prussian military adviser Frederick von Steuben kept the soldiers busy with drills and training in modern military strategy. The army that will march out of Valley Forge the following June will be better disciplined and stronger in spirit than when they had entered, and will win a key victory over Cornwallis at Monmouth, New Jersey just nine days later. On December 19, 1843, A Christmas Carol, a novella by Charles Dickens, is published in England. It is the story of miser Ebenezer Scrooge's transformation to a kinder soul following visits from the ghost of his old business partner and the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The story is an immediate success, and will remain one of Dickens' most beloved works.
On December 20, 1860, in a unanimous vote, the South Carolina legislature enacts an ordinance of secession after Abraham Lincoln is elected president, declaring that in Lincoln they detect a perceived "hostility…to the institution of slavery." Within months, other slave-holding states will also secede, forming the Confederated States of America. On December 20, 1946, It's A Wonderful Life premiers in theaters around the country. Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore, director Frank Capra' film is a Christmas fantasy in which a guardian angel shows frustrated businessman George Bailey the impact of his life on his hometown of Bedford Falls. While neither a box office hit or a critics' favorite on its debut, It's A Wonderful Life has become a Christmas classic over the decades. On December 20, 1957, while spending the holidays at Graceland, his newly purchase Tennessee mansion, Elvis Presley receives his draft notice for the United States Army. Thousands of citizens wrote the Army begging that the rock star be given a deferment, or at least an assignment with Special Services, but the 22-year old refused special treatment. After basic training–which included an emergency leave to see his beloved mother, Gladys, before she died in August 1958–Presley sailed to Europe. For the next 18 months, he served in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Division in Friedberg, Germany, where he attained the rank of sergeant.
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. A bomb hidden inside an audio cassette player detonated in the cargo area when the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet. The disaster, which became the subject of Britain’s largest criminal investigation, was believed to be an attack against the United States. One hundred eighty nine of the victims were American. In 1991, following a joint investigation by British authorities and the F.B.I., 2 Libyan intelligence agents were indicted for murder. One was convicted and sentenced to life in prison; the other was acquitted. In 2003, Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing. Pan Am Airlines, which went bankrupt three years after the bombing, sued Libya and later received a $30 million settlement. On December 21, 1945, General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S.15th Army, dies from injuries suffered in a freak car accident 13 days earlier in Luxembourg. He was 60 years old. Patton, having led the 7th Army to victory in Sicily, and then commanded 3rd Army in a brilliant dash across the European continent following D-Day - including a heroic relief of the 101st Airborne besieged at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge - had been assigned command of the administrative 15th Army several months earlier. Ironically, he was scheduled to go on leave 2 days before the accident, and intended to either retire or request state-side duty while on leave. He is buried at the U.S. Army Cemetary in Luxembourg City. On December 21, 2012, the music video for "Gangnam Style" a song by the Korean rapper Psy, becomes the first YouTube video to garner one billion views. Just because I'm posting the link, don't think I am one of the billion.
On December 22, 1808, patrons of the arts in Vienna are enduring a 4-hour concert. Its not going well; its freezing out, and the venue is not heated. The orchestra is struggling as well; at one point, the composer - who is also conducting - stops the performance partway into one passage and start again from the very beginning. Finally, about 2 hours into the program, Ludwig van Beethoven launches into his newest piece, Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67. The “Fifth Symphony” will quickly become a centerpiece of the classical repertoire for orchestras around the world. Today, its opening 4-note phrase is easily the most recognizable piece of music ever written. On December 22, 1978, John Wayne Gacy confesses to police to killing over two dozen boys and young men and burying their bodies under his suburban Chicago home. Gacy was a respected contractor who occasionally dabbled in local politics, even once being photographed with then-First Lady Rosalynn Carter. He was also well known for dressing as a clown to entertain sick children. No one knew he was leading a double life as a sexual predator. Most of his victims were male prostitutes, but some were teenagers who worked for his company. In March 1980, Gacy was convicted of 33 sex-related murders, committed between 1972 and 1978, and given the death penalty. He was put to death by lethal injection in 1994. On December 22, 1984, four young black males surround a fellow New York City subway passenger and ask him for $5. 45-year old Bernhard Goetz gives them lead instead. After wounding three of the unarmed men, Goetz points his gun at 18-year-old Darrell Cabey, who was not wounded but cowering terrified in the subway car, and says, “You don’t look too bad, here’s another.” Goetz then shot Cabey in the back, severing his spinal cord. Three of the youths recovered, but Cabey was paralyzed and suffered permanent brain damage. Goetz fled, but turned himself in to police in New Hampshire nine days later. At trial, Goetz, now being referred to in the media as "The subway vigilante," argued that the men were trying to rob him, while the prosecution maintained that the four young men were merely panhandling. Goetz was cleared of murder and assault charges, but was convicted of illegal gun possession and served 250 days in prison. In April 1996, Darrell Cabey won a civil lawsuit against Goetz and was awarded $43 million by a Bronx jury. Goetz declared bankruptcy soon after the rulings.
While the Charles Bronson in me agrees, the humanitarian says "not so fast my friend" We simply can't have folks killing each other for such simple things. If this were allowed I'd have sent many to their graves and someone surely would have shot my ass by now. Gotta chill
Robbery is not a simple thing. Robbers deserve to be sent straight to Hell without passing go or collecting $200.
