| Year | Event
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| 1632 | The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, with only 168 soldiers, wipes out the ruler -- who had 80,000 soldiers at hand -- of the massive Inka empire in Peru. The ruler, Atahuallpa, was captured and held for ransom of a room (22 feet by 17 feet) of gold. After the ransom was paid, Atahuallpa was murdered, for of course, the Spaniards had no further use for him. The Inkas learn, too late, about "civilized" integrity.
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| 1907 | The state of Oklahoma is admitted to the Union.
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| 1989 | Congress secretly votes itself a pay raise of 33% (signed into law 11/30/89) while letting the rest of the country suffer pay cuts as a result of the Gramm-Rudman bill.
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| 1990 | Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Engineering Education Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-589) allegedly promotes excellence in American mathematics, science, and engineering education by creating a national mathematics and science clearinghouse; establishing regional mathematics and science education consortia; establishing three new mathematics, science, and engineering scholarships programs; and creating several other mathematics, science, and engineering education programs.
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| 1993 | "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" becomes law. Says that, "governments should not substantially burden religious exercise without compelling justification". Struck down by Supreme Court on June 25, 1997.
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| 1995 | Former South Korean President Roh Tae Woo, now 62, is arrested on charges of having accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes. Credited with having helped to transform his nation into a democratic republic, the apologetic Woo has been caught by reforms which he himself promoted. Roh's predecessor, Chun Doo Hwan, who ruled from 1980 to 1988, is arrested December 3. (From The People's Chronology)
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| 1998 | The Supreme Court, spurning pleas from 33 states seeking to control campaign spending, refuses to reconsider its much criticized 1976 ruling that declared such limits to be unconstitutional.
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| 2000 | President Clinton (D) visits Vietnam. Business delegations and the leadership of the Veterans of Foreign Wars attend. [Strangely, Cuba, another Communist nation -- who had not killed 50,000 American troops -- was not on his agenda.]
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| 2005 | Today's Example of a Most Interesting Government Purchase: CACI Awarded $17 Million Task Order to Provide Infrastructure Support to U.S. Army Reserve. CACI's role focuses on assessing critical infrastructure programs and procedures that help pinpoint the USARC's vulnerability to terrorist threats. CACI is imminently qualified based on their sleazy performance on other such contracts. Their claim to fame comes for their "torture contract" they had in Iraq.
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