Matthew Waddell

App State '20 Poli Sci (Public Admin). P⚡️R Alum. US Army 88A 🇺🇸

[Matthew Waddell @WaddleWaddell]

In honor of #WGK9Salute , here is a photo of my pup for your pleasure. @worldoftanks @WoTBlitz

[Ausarchosaur @ausar_the]

I find it ironic that this guy posted a pic of construction workers finding fossils, because this is something that's actually happened. Multiple times.

[caesararum, BS, DOGS @caesararum]

i was the youngest in my family

there came a day where I was excited to do a thing: carve a pumpkin, dye eggs, go trick-or-treating, and I looked around and no one else in my family cared to participate in the "tradition"

uniformly, these were the last times I did the things

[Tim Pool @Timcast]

New meme format just dropped

[Morbid Knowledge @MorbidKnowledge]

Robert Gould Shaw, a distinguished American officer during the American Civil War, served in the Union Army and led the first all-black unit.

Upon his death, Confederates did not return his body. Instead, they placed him in a mass grave alongside his men.

This act was intended as an insult for his leadership of black soldiers.

Nevertheless, his father openly expressed pride in the knowledge that his son had been buried alongside his troops. He stated:

"We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers. ... We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies, among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company. What a body-guard he has!"

[The Cultural Tutor @culturaltutor]

This photo is 113 years old.

It was taken by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, an early pioneer of colour photography.

If you've ever wondered what the world used to look like, Prokudin-Gorsky's photos will show you...

[The Cultural Tutor @culturaltutor]

The past was not the grim and colourless era we see often see in in cinema or television, and peasants did not all wear drab and filthy rags.

[IGN @IGN]

Legendary actor Carl Weathers, star of The Mandalorian, the Rocky franchise, Predator, and many, many more movies and TV shows has died at 76.

[Watauga Democrat @WataugaDemocrat]

A woman allegedly chewed through a Boone Police patrol vehicle seat after she was arrested for simple assault on Jan. 2.

https://t.co/IXjPIHxaNQ

[Sofia Akel @sofiaakel]

This cafe just kicked out a teenager who was sat reading her book because she didn't buy anything.

She left too quickly for me to offer to get her something, but this is heartbreaking. Young people barely have anywhere to go relax, hang out, or just read a book without cost.

[Ian Miles @ianmiles]

What specific region in your country would you be willing to give up?

[Dillon Rogers @TafferKing451]

So, after Baldur’s Gate 3 became an inconceivably huge success for Larian, EA/BioWare’s response was to fire a whole swathe of devs who were responsible for not just the earlier Dragon Age games but also the earlier Baldur’s Gate games?

Just amazing. Impressive, even.

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

Ukrainian refugees and their Polish friends celebrating Ukrainian Independence Day today at the Royal Castle Square in Warsaw’s Old Town.

🇵🇱🇺🇦

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

Erdogan delivers speech on Ukraine’s Independence Day

His key points:

1. Crimea belongs to Ukraine
2. Russia must release the Tatar (Turkic-speaking) leaders it has imprisoned in Crimea
3. Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected
4. Turkish support for UA will continue

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

“Country singer Dolly Parton wrote the songs "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" on the same night.
When the first song was at the top of the charts in 1974, Elvis wanted to record his own version of the song. Dolly was interested until Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' manager, said that it was standard procedure that when the king of rock and roll covered a song - half of the rights to that song would go to him in the future.

She refused it.

"I said, 'I'm really, really sorry' and cried all night. It was terrible for me, on the one hand, it's Elvis. People told me: "You are crazy." It's Elvis Presley...' but I just couldn't do it. Something told me in my heart not to do it and I didn't. I know he would rock with that song. But I couldn't. And then Whitney Houston came along with her version and I made enough money from the rights to buy Dollywood."

She grew up in severe poverty and no one famous has done more for the education of the poor than her.

In 1990, the percentage of students who did not graduate from high school in her hometown was over 30%. She introduced the "Buddy Program", where all high school graduates received a nice sum when they graduated. It wasn't just a waste of money, she personally came and explained the concept to them - everyone should find a buddy, and whoever doesn't succeed she will find one for them. Everyone had to sign that they will graduate and do everything in their power to ensure that their buddy also graduates. She taught young people about friendship and helping.

The number of school dropouts dropped to below 6% and has remained so until today.

When 900 families lost their homes in the 2016 fires, she paid each family $1,000 for the next five months. When she came to the bank to finish the paperwork, she gave each family another $5,000 to find. A total of nine million dollars.

Also, her work - Imagination Library from 1995, was inspired by her realization that young people in rural areas and poor families already fall behind when they start school and that this prevents them from pursuing higher education. The goal of her program was for every child in her district to receive one book, once a month, from birth to school, completely free of charge, without any conditions. It started as an initiative in her hometown and has spread to a huge number of countries around the world.

By 2018, over 100 million books were distributed in this way.

She is also known for her witty statements, at the beginning of her career she said:

“I'm not offended by jokes about stupid blondes because I know I'm not stupid... and I'm not really blonde either.”

Anonymous

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

Lithuania celebrates Statehood Day today, marking the coronation of King Mindaugas 770 years ago.

His state was centred around Vilnius, but soon expanded into what is Belarus today

2 centuries later, Lithuania stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea and almost to Moscow

🇱🇹

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

BREAKING:

The Kalinouski Regiment, made up of Belarusian volunteer soldiers fighting against the Russian Army in Ukraine, will make a public announcement to the Belarusian people at 5 pm today.

The traditional white-red-white flag will soon return to Belarus.

Free Belarus!

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

Police in Turkey have successfully recovered an ancient Bible believed to be around a thousand years old. The sacred text, discovered in the city of Tokat, central Turkey, is written in the ancient Assyriac language. The invaluable manuscript was retrieved following an attempt by smugglers to sell it to undercover officers.

The origin of the Bible remains unknown, although it is written in the ancient Assyriac language. While its cover is reportedly damaged, its remaining 51 pages feature intricate images and religious motifs crafted in gold leaf. Among its contents are depictions of Jesus Christ and various other figures from biblical lore.

According to reports, a series of operations were launched in Tokat's city center and the neighboring Turhal district. As a result, ten individuals were apprehended, and additional valuable items such as jewelry and ancient coins were seized. The Bible itself was promptly delivered to a museum. Scholars and historians anticipate that this ancient tome will provide invaluable insights into the development of Christianity during past centuries.

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

In May of 1861, 9 year old John Lincoln "Johnny" Clem ran away from his home in Newark, Ohio, to join the Union Army, but found the Army was not interested in signing on a 9 year old boy when the commander of the 3rd Ohio Regiment told him he "wasn't enlisting infants," and turned him down.

Clem tried the 22nd Michigan Regiment next, and its commander told him the same. Determined, Clem tagged after the regiment, acted out the role of a drummer boy, and was allowed to remain. Though still not regularly enrolled, he performed camp duties and received a soldier's pay of $13 a month, a sum collected and donated by the regiment's officers.

The next April, at Shiloh, Clem's drum was smashed by an artillery round and he became a minor news item as "Johnny Shiloh, The Smallest Drummer". A year later, at the Battle Of Chickamauga, he rode an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size. In one of the Union retreats a Confederate officer ran after the cannon Clem rode with, and yelled, "Surrender you damned little Yankee!" Johnny shot him dead. This pluck won for Clem national attention and the name "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga."

Clem stayed with the Army through the war, served as a courier, and was wounded twice. Between Shiloh and Chickamauga he was regularly enrolled in the service, began receiving his own pay, and was soon-after promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was only 12 years old. After the Civil War he tried to enter West Point but was turned down because of his slim education.

A personal appeal to President Ulysses S. Grant, his commanding general at Shiloh, won him a 2nd Lieutenant's appointment in the Regular Army on 18 December 1871, and in 1903 he attained the rank of Colonel and served as Assistant Quartermaster General. He retired from the Army as a Major General in 1916, having served an astounding 55 years.
General Clem died in San Antonio, Texas on 13 May 1937, exactly 3 months shy of his 86th birthday, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.