"Remember, remember the fifth of November ...

... The Gunpowder Treason and Plot
I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot."

Today, King James I discovered a plot by a small band of English Catholics to assassinate himself as well as the members of Parliament. Early this morning, His Royal Highness discovered a room underneath Parliament filled to bursting with kegs of gunpowder and a man by the name of Guido Fawkes posed with fuses and matches.

One of the conspirators mistakenly warned one of his close friends of the impending attack, who then set the wheels in motion to alert the authorities. Had this plot not been uncovered, the results would have been disastrous.

The Catholics planned to blow up the highest echelon of this great nation in order to bring about the end of Protestant rule and to reinstall popery at the head of this government. By God's divine providence, these conspirators have been capture and will face trial.

Hopefully they will be given the punishment they deserve - one so gruesome that it will be remembered for years to come as a reminder that popery is foolish and the King is God's anointed.

However much this plot has stricken fear into the hearts of those loyal to the church and the King, it's intricacy and undetected execution are almost admirable. I wouldn't be surprised if Shakespeare or a future playwright took this concept and spun it into an astoundingly successful storyline.

Not to mention giving British children an excuse to burn things.

Truman Upsets Dewey in Presidential Election - November 2, 1948

In an interesting turn of events, incumbent Harry S Truman defeated Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York for the office of President.

This election was an extremely close contest – Truman eked by Dewey with a little more than 2 million votes, out of a total of almost 49 million cast. However, this election shows more about current practices of the press than it does about the electoral system.

Two issues have presented themselves in this contest: the method of public opinion polling is flawed, and editorial decisions need to be made more carefully.

As a member of the press myself, I am naturally hesitant to criticize my fellow tradesmen. However, given the culmination of poor polling practices in an incredibly embarrassing headline printed by the Chicago Tribune, I am prompted to do so.

The press has a responsibility to report the news to the population as soon as information is available. The operative phrase here is “as soon as information is available,” which, it seems, my colleagues at the Tribune have failed to remember. The headline was determined long before millions of votes had been reported; at the time of publication, it was much too early to determine a clear winner.

I can understand that, given the results the Tribune’s editors had at their fingertips when they made the decision to call the election, as well as the trends reported in the polls over the course of the campaign, it seemed as if they had made a fool-proof decision to scoop all other newspapers across the nation.

However, the American people are a fickle group, and often behave in unpredictable ways. Therefore I believe the editors were behaving irresponsibly when they made the decision to view the early election results as definitive, especially through the lenses of faulty public polls.

It is clear that these polls were biased toward the more affluent, who historically tend to vote Republican, and would therefore support Dewey. In addition, many reports indicate that polls were no longer being conducted a few weeks prior to the election, which means should there have been increasing public support for Truman, it would have been missed.

The press has a responsibility to report accurate, unbiased coverage. By using polls blindly and making editorial decisions quickly instead of carefully, the press has indeed failed the people today.

English Parliament Enacts the Stamp Act - November 1, 1765

Word has come from the Crown that a new tax is to be applied to our American Colonies. The Stamp Act, which was reportedly passed without debate in Parliament, requires a direct tax payable on any paper goods – including newspapers, legal documents, playing cards, and so on.

Apparently Prime Minister George Grenville thinks that he can extort the colonists in order to pay for the war with the French that spilled over onto our land. However, it is inexcusable and illegal for Grenville and his Parliament to authorize a tax on the colonists when there is no colonial representation in either house.

Last year’s imposition of the Sugar Act, which does not even require a direct tax, has already caused a considerable amount of opposition and protest. I shudder to think the reaction the Crown will receive due to this new law, especially from those who have created such a stir already – Mr. Samuel Adams and Mr. James Otis of Massachusetts.

Should Parliament take it upon themselves to pass legislation dealing directly with the affairs of the colonies, it is only fair that the colonists themselves campaign for seats in Parliament. We are, by no means, inferior citizens solely because we reside farther away from His Majesty King George than our English brothers.

Several sources have confirmed Mr. Adams is in the process of establishing an organization with the sole purpose of protesting this atrocious act of Parliament. In addition, some local legislatures, including that of the commonwealth of Virginia, have convened to draft articles of objection, and boycotts are currently being organized.

I encourage each and every loyal subject to participate in these displays of disapproval. This remonstration needs to be more effective than that of the Sugar Act – to indirectly tax is one thing, but directly taxing is an entirely different level of tyranny. The colonists should, and will, fight for their right to reprensentaiton.

Martin Luther Posts 95 Theses - October 31, 1517

Wittenberg, Germany – A document posted on the doors of Wittenberg Palace church today has the town - and the Church - talking.

The Disputation of Dr. Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, already being referred to as the "95 Theses" by townspeople, are a direct attack on His Holiness Pope Leo X and the Roman Catholic Church.

In the document, Dr. Luther debates the Church's newfound practice of offering indulgences for profit and its new policies on purgatory, among other topics. This practice places salvation in the hands of the rich, instead of solely in reach of the pious and faithful.

News of the 95 Theses is already circulating, and Christians are discussing what this means for the future of the church. This reporter sees a storm coming, and it's going to take a miracle to stop it.

Dr. Luther is but one man, but one man can change the world. Many hard-working, pious Catholics have been disturbed by the proclamations of the Church that salvation can be purchased, that penance does not need to be completed, that a certain amount of money can excuse you from thousands of years of purgatory. These Church-sanctioned means of extortion in order to renovate St. Peter's Basilica are putting the rich above the poor, the well-off against the needy, in the eyes of the Lord.

Dr. Luther's proclamation that these practices are reprehensible and show corruption of the Church is strong and fanatical, even bordering on seditious, but needed to be stated. His Holiness Pope Leo X is seen as God's presence on this Earth – it is difficult to question His power. Whether the Church will revise their new indulgence policies remains to be seen, but one can trust that reform of the process is inevitable. Dr. Luther has shown he is willing to take a large step toward rectifying this abhorrent situation; there is little doubt he will stop now.

The Day the Martians Invaded - October 30, 1938

Americans were sent into a panic today when news reports of a Martian invasion hit the airwaves of a CBS radio station.

Although the reports were later proved to be a retelling of H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds, roughly 1.7 million people, especially in the New York/New Jersey area, believed the invasion was actually occurring.

Written by Howard Koch and performed mostly by Orson Welles, the show featured dance music periodically interrupted by news bulletins documenting the landing of a Martian spacecraft in Grovers Mill, N.J. The population dissolved into hysterics as events escalated from sightings of Martians to humans being obliterated by ray guns.

“Reporter” Carl Philips described entities “wriggling out of the shadow like a great snake,” prompting people to pack roads trying to escape from the area, hide in their basements, acquire and locate guns and even wrap wet towels around their heads in an effort to protect themselves from poisonous Martian gasses.

In his defense, Welles argued that it was explicitly stated that the broadcast was a hoax; however, if one missed the beginning of the program, the next indication that the news reported was not real did not come until 40 minutes into the show.

The baseless panic infuriated many. Some even used the show as an example how mass media may one day be used to brainwash the American people. “They have demonstrated more potently than any argument, demonstrated beyond a question of a doubt, the appalling dangers and enormous effectiveness of popular and theatrical demagoguery,” wrote columnist Dorothy Thompson of the New York Tribune.

Sir Walter Raleigh executed - Oct. 29, 1618

Sir Walter Raleigh, former favorite of Queen Elizabeth I and explorer of the New World, was executed today for conspiring against King James I of England.

His beheading was surrounded with controversy and debate; many saw his death as unnecessary and a failing of the judicial system.

Raleigh had been sentenced to death 15 years ago after being implicated in the Main Plot, a conspiracy by English Catholics to remove King James I from the throne and replace him with Arabella Stuart of Spain.

"The justice of England has never been so degraded and injured as by the condemnation of Sir Walter Raleigh," a judge in Raleigh's trial said.

Born in 1552, Raleigh briefly attended Oriel College at Oxford and took part in the suppression of the Desmond Rebellions between 1579 and 1583. As a result, he became a landowner in Ireland, a position he enjoyed for 17 years.

Raleigh soon set his sights on the New World, and although his first attempt at a colony, Roanoke, was met with disaster, his efforts paved the way for subsequent colonies.

In December 1581, Raleigh returned to England after his colonization company was disbanded and quickly became a favorite of the Queen, only to fall out of her favor after developing a secret relationship with one of her ladies-in-waiting, Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton. Raleigh was sentenced to jail and Bess was dismissed from the court. His favor with the Queen was eventually restored, despite the endurance of the marriage.

On July 19, 1603, months after the passing of Queen Elizabeth, Raleigh was tried and convicted of treason against the King. His sentence was commuted and he was released in 1616 to embark on an expedition to the New World to establish a gold-mining colony; however, he was thrown back into the Tower after the mission failed, and his death sentence was reinstated.

He is survived by his wife, Lady Raleigh, and two sons, Walter and Carew. He will be buried in the local church in Beddington, Surrey, his wife's hometown. Lady Raleigh is believed to have requested his head embalmed so she may carry around a part of her husband.