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When Reykjavik Nearly Ended the Cold War
When Reykjavik Nearly Ended the Cold War In October 1986, two men stood on the edge of history inside a white house on a cold Icelandic shore. Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood optimist turned Cold War warrior, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the reformer from a crumbling empire, met to discuss what no leaders had dared: a world…
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“I Don’t Care What the Facts Are”: When America Shot Down a Plane and Bragged About It
“I Don’t Care What the Facts Are”: When America Shot Down a Plane and Bragged About It On July 3, 1988, a tragedy occurred in the skies above the Persian Gulf that still reverberates through international relations today. Iran Air Flight 655, a commercial Airbus A300 carrying 290 people, was shot down by the United…
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“Tear Down This Wall”: Reagan’s Cold War Challenge That Echoed Through History
On This Day in Political History: “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall” On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and delivered what would become one of the most powerful speeches of the 20th century. With the graffiti-covered Berlin Wall behind him, he faced the looming symbol of…
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On This Day: Barack Obama Clinches the Democratic Nomination
On This Day: Barack Obama Clinches the Democratic Nomination On June 3, 2008, the arc of American politics took a sharp turn toward history. Senator Barack Obama officially clinched the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, becoming the first African American in American history to lead a major party’s presidential ticket. His victory…
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From Silence to Scrutiny: How “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Still Echoes in Today’s Military
From “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to Today: The Military’s Ongoing Identity Crisis On May 27, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to begin dismantling a policy that had shaped military culture for nearly twenty years — the infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” With bipartisan support, lawmakers moved to allow LGBTQ+ individuals to serve openly…
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On This Day: The Sedition Act of 1918
When Free Speech Was Put on Trial The Sedition Act of 1918 marked one of the most aggressive assaults on free speech in American history. On May 21, 1918, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this legislation, which added to the Espionage Act and criminalized dissent during wartime. Far from targeting only traitors or spies,…
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The Boston Marathon Bomber and the Verdict Heard ‘Round the World
The Boston Marathon Bomber and the Verdict Heard ‘Round the World On April 15, 2013, the finish line of the Boston Marathon transformed into a war zone. What should have been a celebration of perseverance turned into a scene of carnage when two homemade bombs detonated, killing three people and injuring over 260. But it…
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May 11, 1961: How JFK Quietly Escalated the Vietnam War
May 11, 1961: How JFK Quietly Escalated the Vietnam War On May 11, 1961, a well-dressed man with perfect hair and a haunted conscience signed off on a quiet little thing—just 400 Special Forces troops and 100 military advisers to South Vietnam. “A modest step,” he might’ve called it. But as history tends to do,…
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Mandela’s Moment and Washington’s Reckoning
On This Day in American Politics: Mandela’s Moment and Washington’s Reckoning On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa’s first Black president—an iconic moment celebrated around the world. In America, the inauguration triggered both reflection and discomfort, as U.S. politicians confronted their own history of ambivalence toward apartheid. What did it…
Because at Political Rift, the past isn’t dead — it’s still cracking the foundations of power today.