The below article is interesting, in a soothsayer-of-doom sort of way.
This brought to my mind three points:
– Given the statistically significant percentage of American Presidents that have been shot at while in office, isn’t this alone an argument for gun control? – Given that of the three countries (Canada, Mexico, and Japan) that have attacked American soil, two have done so successfully; could one not assume that the “right to bear arms” as a national defense policy has failed? – Given that the US Civil War resulted in 600,000 Americans dying (more American deaths than World War I and World War II combined) isn’t it readily evident that perhaps American society isn’t quite stable enough to handle the widespread propagation of firearms?
-Ian.
>Delivered-To: fork [at] kragen.dnaco [dot] net
>Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 09:16:52 -0800 (PST)
>From: Tom Whore
>To: “Fork (E-mail)”
>Subject: Double zeros on a dime
>Status:
>
>http://dante.neonexus.com/~crowbot/misc/tecumseh.html
>
>n September of 1811, when America was still a young nation, a pair of
>Indian leaders underwent an attempt to unite the Shawnee Indian tribes and
>to rid themself of the curse of white men – alcohol. These two Indians
>were known as the Prophet, and his half brother Tecumseh. The American
>leaders of the time percieved this as a British attempt to stir up Indians
>on their borders (this was a prelude to the war of 1812), and in order to
>stop this potential Indian Union, Congress sent Governer William Henry
>Harrison, who would soon be a US president, to deal with the matter.
>Harrison gathered an army and marched against the Prophet’s town, and in
>the battle of Tippecanoe slaughtered the Shawnees, sacked the Prophet’s
>town, and discredited the Prophet, and in a later battle, killed him.
>Tecumseh joined with the British, and in the war of 1812 fought against
>the Americans, but nothing ever came of his Indian Union. When, in 1840,
>Harrison was elected as president of the US, the aging Tecumseh was
>enraged. He placed a curse on the nemesis who ran a campaign based on
>slaughtering Indians. The curse is said to be placed on every president
>that is elected in a year that ends in 0, and that the president will die
>an untimely and unusual death. Tecumseh then disappeared, leaving no
>trace. 1 month after he was in office, Willam Henry Harrison died of
>pneumonia, the first United States President ever to die in office. 20
>years later, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president, during his
>second term (April 14, 1865), Lincoln was shot by John Wilks Booth. 20
>years later, in 1880, James A. Garfield was elected president, on July 2,
>1881, he was shot at the railroad station. When recovery seemed imminent
>and he seemed recuperating, he suddenly hemmorhaged and died in office,
>September 19, 1881. 20 years later, in 1900, William McKinley was
>re-elected president, on September 1901 he was shot twice by a deranged
>anarchist. He died 8 days later. 20 years later, in 1920, Willam G.
>Harding was elected president, in 1923 he was sitting in the white house
>when he died of a sudden and unexpected heart attack. 20 years later, in
>1940, Franklin Delenor Roosevelt was re-elected president. During his
>third term in 1945, he died of Cerebral Hemmorrhaging. 20 years later, in
>1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president. in 1963 he was shot and
>killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. (Puts a new idea on the conspiracy theory) 20
>years later, in 1980, Ronald Reagan broke the tradition of deaths,
>narrowly surviving an assassination attempt. Will this end the tradition
>of deaths? Incidentally, the assassin, John Hinkley, went insane shortly
>after being incarserated at Danamora state penetentry.