To Arms! To Arms!

Following the dismissal of Jacques Necker on July 11, 1789 the people of Paris began to fear for the lives of their representatives in the Third Estate. Having no arms with which to protect themselves, they resolved to storm the Bastille (a prison and arms depository). This is considered the third step of the French Revolution. (First, the nobility refused to pay higher taxes to finance the American War of Independence. Second, the Third Estate were forced out of their chambers and made the Tennis Court Oath.) The storming of the Bastille led to the Third Estate drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man - a pivotal document by any historian's standard.

July 14, now known as Bastille Day or the "Fête Nationale" in France, is a French national holiday which celebrates the uprising of the French people against classes which oppressed them politically and economically. It should be noted that without the arms within the Bastille, the people of Paris, and their uprising, would have been easily squashed by the French military. What if they did not secure these arms? Would the revolution have been successful? More to the point, how will the modern citizen revolt against his or her government if their government follows the pattern of almost every government in world history?

Disappearance of the Neanderthal?

What happened to this descendant of homo-erectus?
1. Neanderthals evolved to a separate species which became extinct and were replaced by early modern humans traveling from Africa.
2. Neanderthals was a contemporary subspecies which incidentally bred with Homo sapiens and disappeared through absorption.
3. Neanderthals never split from Homo sapiens and most of their populations transformed into anatomically modern humans between 50-30 thousand years ago.

I have not done alot of research on this topic but it interests me. So I want to know what you think?

On this day...

On this day in 1804, the most famous duel in American history happened. Vice-president Aaron Burr and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton exchanged pistol shots in New Jersey. The confrontation started at a dinner party the two men were at, Mr. Hamilton had been discrediting the Vice-president while he was running for Governor of New York against a family member of Hamilton's. There were only two witnesses to the duel in which Hamilton was fatally wounded and died the next day. The intentions of the two men are disputed to this day. Monuments of the duel exist in New Jersey today although the originals, must consisting of busts of Hamilton, have been vandalized since 1841. This duel was fought at a time when dueling was being outlawed in the northern US.

The Spirit of the Age

Welcome to a brave new world.
Our first video, Zeitgeist, has some politics, history, and more.
It has served as an awakening to many people, and I felt that it would be a fitting first post.
At the very least, it should provide some light for those still inside the cave.
Drop a comment if you have something to say.