America
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Lady Liberty’s Modern Day Visitors
There have been throngs of eager visitors, since The Statue of Liberty’s reopening Thursday. Cleanup is complete from Hurricane Sandy’s torrential wrath on Liberty Island. Sandy inflicted destruction on nearby structures, thankfully sparing the Lady, America’s gift from France, representing our celebration of liberty in a country based on democracy. The Lady Liberty arrived in a dismantled 350 pieces to New York Harbor on June 17, 1885. Statue of Liberty arrives. (2013). The History Channel website. Retrieved 2:22, July 4, 2013, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/statue-of-liberty-arrives. Read the NY Times Article : Crowds Line Up to See Storm Survivor, Statue of Liberty
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Woody Guthrie’s Only Novel Published Posthumously
Though primarily a song writer and essayist, Oklahoma’s folk hero Woody Guthrie also managed to write a work of fiction about the historic Dust Bowl. The book “House of Earth” was released Febuary 5, 2013, decades after Woody’s death on October 3, 1967. According to Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, “He always wrote to be heard.” The historian Douglas Brinkley and actor Johnny Depp are helping to make his wish “to be heard” an even greater reality than already seen through his songs and essays. Brinkley, while working on a biography of Bob Dylan, came across the unpublished novel in his research and made the decision to pursue bringing the work to life from…
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The History of Money
The objects of value that have served as forms of currency, have gone through considerable change over the past 10,000 years. We began with a barter system, where traded services and resources resulted in an agreed upon exchange of mutual advantage. In fact, individuals, organizations, and governments still prefer to use the barter system of exchange in some cases. In 9000 – 6000 B.C with agricultural based communities, cattle and other livestock (sheep, camels, etc.) are the first and oldest forms of money. The use of grain and other vegetable or plant products became standard forms of barter in many cultures. The first use of cowries, the shells of a…
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First Veterans Day Proclamation
On October 8th, 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation. It was on June 4, 1926, that Congress passed a resolution to observe the anniversary of the end of World War I, Nov. 11, 1918. In 1938, before the holiday was known as Veterans Day, Congress made Nov. 11 a legal holiday called Armistice Day.
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Veterans Affairs Goal of Updating IT Infrastructures
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs’, Eric. K. Shinseki, message for Veterans Day 2012 can be viewed on the VA website. In his message he talks about the VA “renewing our country’s historic covenant with its Veterans”. He spoke about how, with 21st century technology and a committed workforce, the VA is dedicated to making strides in its efficiency of providing benefits for those who have served in the armed forces. An article on the Rock Hill Herald Online states that Nelson Enterprise Technology Services (NETS), has been awarded a contract having a start day of Oct. 15, 2012. The NETS job is the modernization of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs large IT infrastructures. It is a huge undertaking in that the…
