May 1 (A Quadruple of Sports Events)

1951 - Mickey Mantle hit his first Major League home run.
 
'The Mick' was the greatest of the many 'mythological' athletes of my childhood...It's too bad his knees failed him - and he failed himself as an alcoholic - because it's almost impossible to imagine how good he could have been.

1983 - Nolan Ryan became the all time strike out king with his 3,508th strike out.
 
'The Ryan Express' was a legend in his own right, but part of what makes this record so special is he took it from 'The Big Train':  Walter Johnson.
 
Ryan went on to crush the record, with 5,714 career strikeouts.  To put this number in perspective, only three other pitchers have ever had 4,000 strikeouts - and none have over 5,000.

1991 - Ricky Henderson broke the Major League record for stolen bases with his 939th steal.
 
Another great baseball event!  To put Henderson's stolen base record into perspective, no other player has even 1,000 stolen bases...Rick 'The Quick' had over 1,400.
 
Ricky Henderson was one of the truly great players in history, even though he is often overlooked:  The all time leader in unintentional-walks, stolen bases and runs scored - records Ty Cobb held when he retired...In other words he was the perfect lead-off hitter.  If he wanted to he probably could have been a perfect hitter in any part of the lineup.

A truly amazing athlete.  With his speed, power and instincts, I bet he would have been a devastating running back in the NFL.
 
1991 - Nolan Ryan threw his seventh no hitter.
 
Sandy Koufax is the only other pitcher with four, and only three others have even three no-hitters...Oh by the way, Ryan threw this seventh no-hitter at the age of 44.  WOW!

1045 - Pope Benedict IX sold the papacy to John Gratianus - Gregory VI.

This was an extremely ugly event in the History of the Papacy, but not unlike many others during the Dark/Middle Ages.

1328 - The Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton:  Ended the Scottish wars of independence.

The Scots put up a mighty fight against the English, and with this treaty they were recognized as an independent state.

1654 - "Under penalty of death, no Irish man, woman, or child, was to let himself, herself, itself be found east of the River Shannon."...An Order from the English Parliament.

The Irish were generally treated like crap by the English, and given little respect as a people.

"The Irish were often referred to as 'Negroes turned inside out and Negroes as smoked Irish.'" - Art McDonald

1707 – The Act of Union: Scotland and England were joined together under the name of Great Britain.

After a thousand years of battle, the final unification was rather peacefully accomplished.

The two nations had been ruled by the same king for over a hundred years, but maintained separate Parliaments, and a semblance of independence from one another...This act ended the two parliaments, creating one for the entire country, and firmly established the permanency of the united rule of the two lands.

Maybe permanent isn't the best word to use.

1898 - Commodore George Dewey gave the command, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley," as an American naval force destroyed a Spanish fleet in Manila Bay:  Spanish-American War.

This battle marks the birth of the modern American Navy...It also marks a final humiliation for the once proud Spanish Navy.

Amazingly, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt sent Dewey to the East with this very intention long before the Spanish-American War began...Many have called him a war monger, but 'prophet of America's overseas manifest destiny' would be more appropriate.

1945 - Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels committed suicide in his Berlin bunker:  WWII.

I wonder if Dan Rather and his 'Old Media' buddies cry on this day?...Oh well. Good riddance to dead propagandameisters.

1948 - North Korea proclaimed itself the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

It's almost humorous when commie countries put either of the words 'Democratic' or 'People's' in their names...The Koreans had the gall to put both.

1960 - The Soviet Union shot down an American U2 spy plane flown by Francis Gary Powers, who was captured.

The Soviet’s had been complaining about U.S. spying for years. With this event they had proof…Plus they showed the ability to shoot down one of our most advanced, high-flying planes.

A great day for the Ruskies; definitely not for the U.S.

1961 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared the country a socialist nation and abolished elections.

Sounds like a 'People’s Democratic' Republic to me.

1990 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and other Kremlin leaders were jeered by thousands of people during the annual May Day parade in Red Square.

The end of the Hell-State was coming sooner than anyone could imagine.

1995 - President Bill Clinton defended his choice for Surgeon General, Henry Foster, as a "pro-life, pro-choice doctor."

I don’t know how Bubba did it, but no one should ever get away with the amount of BS-speak he did.

2003 - President G.W. Bush made a speech aboard an aircraft carrier proclaiming “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”

As it turns out, Bush would have been better off skipping this stunt and his statement.

April 30 (A Triple)

1789 - George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States.

Washington was much more than the ‘right man, in the right place, at the right time’...He was probably the ONLY man who could have orchestrated the uniting of the states into a federal republic.

So, not only was he the man who led the battle to escape British rule, but he was the man who forged the Union...As such, he is 'The Great Man' in American history.

1803 - The Louisiana Purchase:  The United States more than doubled its land area after obtaining all French territory west of the Mississippi River for $15 Million.

1. Talk about a steal. This $15 million has multiplied in worth many times over...In many more ways than just economically.

2. Napoleon accepted he couldn’t invade the U.S., and would likely not be able to hold his American lands for much longer anyway.

3. The Brits were pissed at what looked like an American alliance with the French. And during America's first century the French were much more trustworthy than the Brits when it came to American sovereignty...Even if it mostly was because the French couldn't get here with much of a force.

1945 - Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun.

Very few human being (maybe two or three) have ever deserved to die more than Hitler, but it would have been nice to see 'The Madman' swinging from a lamp-post like his Italian friend: Mussolini.

311 - Galerius Valerius Maximianus issued an edict legally recognizing Christians in the Roman Empire.

Legal but loathed, which was the norm in the Empire until Constantine made Christianity the preferred religion.

711 - The Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula began with the invasion of Gibraltar by Tariq ibn-Ziyad.

This conquest was rapid, and the region of Spain and Portugal was part of the Islamic Empire for over 700 years.

It's important to remember this, because Muslims believe any land which is or has been Muslim must always be Muslim...There is little doubt in my mind they will attempt to return in due-time.

1492 - Spain announced the expulsion of all Jews in its kingdom.

1563 - Jews were expelled from France by order of Charles VI.

A double for my Jewish friends...And I bet many thought it was the Germans who first practiced anti-Semitism in Europe.

I guess the Spanish and French should be commended for not exterminating them, though...Such are the low standards of decency in Euroville.

1943 - The Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp for Jews was established:  WWII.

The final resting place of approximately 50,000 Jews.
 
1961 - Fidel Castro received the Lenin-Peace Prize.

This is classic...I’m sure Fidel was thrilled with such an honor, however.

1975 - South Vietnam unconditionally surrendered to North Vietnam.

A tragedy was on the verge of unfolding, with the U.S. leaving the South Vietnamese to the whim of the North...Which led to hundreds of thousands of executions.

At least in Korea we stuck around to protect the South and saved them from the horrors of Communism, but in Vietnam we turned tail and ran...A terrible mark on our history.

1994 - 100,000 men, women and children fleeing ethnic slaughter in Rwanda crossed into neighboring Tanzania.

No one cared to stop the slaughter...The U.N. sat on its thumbs, and who knows what our illustrious president was doing with his hands at the time.

1999 - President Bill Clinton declared May 1 to be 'National Law Day.'

What in the Hell does this mean??? Especially from a man who did so much to skirt the law.

April 29

1975 - Operation Frequent Wind:  Vietnam War.
 
We've all seen pictures and video of American helicopters evacuating its embassy personnel and 'at risk' Vietnamese from the rooftops at the end of the Vietnam War...This was Operation Frequent Wind.

It was the final act of U.S. involvement in the war...It was also a final American humiliation.

Humiliating for non-Liberal Americans, that is...For Liberals, it was a day to rejoice over America's humiliation.

1863 - The Battle of Chancellorsville began:  U.S. Civil War.

Chancellorsville was General Lee's masterpiece - it was also another Union debacle - but proved to be a battle the Confederates couldn't afford to win...The Union had over 17,000 casualties compared to the Confederates 13,000, but the Union also had over 133,000 troops at the battle compared to 66,000 Confederate troops.

The fact the Confederates continued to win battles but couldn't get a decisive, strategic victory doomed them to defeat...If nothing else, they were going to run out of troops and materiel faster than the Union.

And then there was the matter of a 'Stone wall' going down in this battle.

1918 - Germany's last large offensive on the Western Front ended:  World War I.

The war ended in half a year, but the killing machine churned out plenty of death in this six month period.

1945 - American troops liberated 32,000 prisoners from the Dachau Concentration Camp:  WWII.

32,000 were saved, but at least that many were killed...Thankfully American troops were the ‘liberators’ instead of the Soviets, which would have simply given the prisoners a new master.

1945 - The German Army-in-Italy unconditionally surrendered to the Allies:  WWII.

The entire German house-of-cards was crumbling, and the '12 Year Reich' was on its last leg.

1992 - Rioting claimed 54 lives and caused $1 billion in damage erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.

Rodney got what he deserved for resisting arrest, and these fools destroyed their own city...Bunch of jackasses.

1997 - The Chemical Weapons Convention became international law:  A worldwide treaty to ban chemical weapons.

What a joke!! I bet it’s safe to estimate at least 50 countries are currently breaking this ban...Including the U.S.

2004 - Sixty Minutes II divulged American soldiers, male and female, abused Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.

The Horror!!!

The media made a fiasco out of nothing, and in the process took joy in humiliating the U.S. military...What else is new?!?!

April 28

1932 - The first yellow fever vaccine was announced.

VACCINES WORK!!  Just look at the pre-vaccine era data.

Unless you’d rather see millions of people afflicted with the many diseases currently protecting the 'human world' from the 'germ world'...Sure some people are killed and maimed by vaccines, but nowhere near as many as those who’ve been protected from the debilitating and deadly germs they defend against.

The question of 'vaccinating vs. not vaccinating' isn’t even a logical debate...And the idea they aren't needed anymore because the world has been eradicated of the horrors of vaccine preventable diseases is disproved anywhere vaccines have low rates.

What is a smart argument is: Can we continue to stay ahead of the germs or will they eventually claim their superiority over man and his magic - modern medicine?

I'm betting germs make a huge comeback at some point, because the germ world changes much faster than the human world...And the germ world doesn't have maniacs contesting its change.

585 B.C. - A war between Lydia and Media ended due to a solar eclipse.

Lydia and Media were in present day Turkey and Iran.

Both probably figured their gods were being overpowered by their opponents gods, and decided they better give up before they were destroyed by the same power which put the sun out.

1686 - The first volume of Isaac Newton's 'Principia Mathamatica' ('Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy') was published in Latin. His discovery of differential and integral calculus is presented here. Below are Newton’s Laws of Motion, which obliterated the Aristotelian concept of inertia.

1. Every physical body continues in its state of rest , unless it is compelled to change that state by a force or forces impressed upon it.

2. A change of motion is proportional to the force impressed upon the body and is made in the direction of the straight line in which the force is impressed.

3. To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.

Book Three of the Principia opens with two pages headed 'Rules of Reasoning in Philosophy.' There are four rules as follows:

1. We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain the appearances. (A restatement of Ockham’s Razor: “What can be done with fewer is done in vain with more.”)

2. Therefore to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes.

3. The qualities of bodies which are found to belong to all bodies within the reach of our experiments, are to be esteemed the universal qualities of bodies whatsoever.

4. In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true notwithstanding any contrary hypothesis that may be imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur, by which they may either be made more accurate, or liable to exceptions.

It’s a slow day, so why not...There are few things as impressive as the mind of this 'Genius of all Geniuses.'

1902 (at exactly 10:40 AM) - The one billionth second since January 1, Year Zero.

As counted on the Gregorian Calendar.

Just an interesting stat, and a great example of how large a billion of anything is.

1914 - W.H. Carrier patented the air conditioner.

I live in Phoenix (Land of the 120 Degree Summer Day), so in my mind this is by far one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind.

1939 - Hitler proclaimed the German-Polish non-aggression pact was still in effect:  WWII.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Not in a funny way, but in an absolutely ridiculous and sad way.

1945 - Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee the country: WWII.

(By the way, many texts list him as killed on April 29, but the real date was the 28th).
 
YES!!! Justice was served, and the Italian people were completely justified in stringing Il Duce up and beating his dead corpse to a pulp.

It’s too bad his buddy, Hitler, escaped the Russian mob, which would have made Mussolini’s departure look like playtime compared to what they would have done to ‘The Madman.'

1952 - The Japanese Peace Treaty was signed, formally ending WWII in the Pacific.

Seven years after the war ended...Such is the case when the victors are decent enough to rebuild a country and a nation.

No country in the history of the world had ever done such a thing, which is one of the many things separating the U.S. from any other country in history.

April 27

1861 - President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

Did the President violate the Constitution by arresting and holding 13,000 assumed ‘secessionists’ and ‘Copperhead Democrats’? Yes and no...And he should be thanked for doing so, because America was at war, the worst kind of war - A civil war, and drastic times called for drastic measures.

During this time Congress wasn’t in session and wasn't returning until July. In this situation Lincoln took the responsibility of assuming all powers not delegated in the Constitution, including the power to suspend habeas corpus.

Lincoln rightfully believed it was worth it 'to violate this portion of the Constitution to save the Constitution as a whole'...The Great Man took the bull by the horns and placed the future of the Union in his own hands. We should all be thankful the right man was in the right place at this horrible time.

1509 - Pope Julius II excommunicated the Italian state of Venice.

WOW!! That seams like a little bit of overkill to excommunicate a whole country...Papal politics were brutal during this time, and it was actions like this which led to the Reformation.

1521 - Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

Most 'know' Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe, but many don’t 'know' he did no such thing...Magellan’s crew completed the journey, the famous captain only made it part of the way.

1773 - The British Parliament passed the Tea Act.

The Adams boys and other Patriots didn't take this too well...As a result, eight months later the American colonists passed their own act:  The Boston Tea Party.

1937 - The first Social Security payment was made.

UGH!!! The ‘National Noose’ was first fitted around the collective necks of the American people...It is starting to get very tight.

So, what's the answer to this problem?  Create new entitlement programs, of course.

1940 - Heinrich Himmler ordered the establishment of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp:  WWII.

Himmler's SS perfected the ‘Final Solution’ here, and over a million Jews met their maker in this Hell-hole...Incredibly, this is where 1/15th of the world’s entire pre-war Jewish population died!!

1945 - The Allies rejected peace offers by German SS Chief Heinrich Himmler, insisting on unconditional surrender:  WWII.

The ‘Chicken Farmer’ was looking for a way to save his ass.

Other than Hitler, no Nazi deserved death more than Himmler and there was no way the Allies were going to negotiate with him...Plus the Russian ring of fire around Berlin was on the verge of bringing an unconditional surrender anyway.

1983 - President Reagan appeared before Congress to urge members to embrace his arms and economic program for Central America, saying the United States had a duty to save the region from the Leftist revolution.

Reagan was absolutely correct about the situation in Central America, and he was an enormous force in the destruction of the Soviet Union...But why did he allow Cuba to remain Communist? I will never understand this.

April 26

1986 - The world's worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl Plant in the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in the number-four reactor sent radioactivity into the atmosphere.  At least 31 Soviets died immediately.

It’s amazing this event hadn’t happened before or since...Especially with the Ruskies.

Oh by the way, it will eventually happen again...We are lucky it didn't happen after the 2011 Japanese Earthquake, which is still a structural mess.

That said, this event should be encouraging, because even the inept Soviets were able to keep this plant from exploding and devastating a whole city or region - even more than it did.

1865 - John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, was surrounded by federal troops near Bowling Green, Virginia. Booth was killed even though ordered to be taken alive.

The troops can’t be blamed for killing him, but it would have been nice to see what he had to say.

1945 - The Battle of Bautzen:  WWII.

This was it for the Nazis - their last successful Army operation of the war...It had been downhill for a long time for them, but from here on it was more or a less a mop-up operation for the Western allies and the Soviets.

1961 : Roger Maris hit his first home run of the year.

He ended with 61, passing the mighty Babe!

The record would probably still stand if not for the cheating Roid Monsters.

1983 - A national commission released a scathing report on the state of American education, calling for sweeping measures to combat what it called a "rising tide of mediocrity" in schools.

Mediocrity would be an improvement!!

Sadly, nothing has changed since the time of this report.  Instead we’ve graduated many generations of morons, and fallen even further by creating a 'rising tide of degeneracy and ignorance' in schools...A perfect example of what happens when Liberalism takes over anything - and make no mistake, they control almost 100% of the American education system.

Just imaging when Liberals get similar control of the health care system...Control they will acquire through the votes of the morons they've pushed through the education system.

2000 - Vermont Governor Howard Dean signed the nation's first bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.

Very nice...I have no doubt we'll keep cascading down the slippery slope to polyamorous unions, as well as even more perverse 'unions.'

April 25

1859 - Ground was broken for the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

The canal was a great project, creating a direct waterway between Europe and Asia...Prior to the Suez Canal, trade between the East and west required sea trips around Africa, or overland transport between the two continents. Both were dangerous, and cost much in the form of money and human lives to get through/around.

Amazingly, this canal-link wasn’t the first in the area. As early as 1900 B.C. the Egyptians linked the Nile with the Red Sea, a canal which was in various states of use (and disuse) until around 700 A.D.

1507 - Martin Waldeseemueller named America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.

The name 'America' is a thing of beauty, but the New World should have been named Columbia after Christopher Columbus.

1792 - Execution by guillotine was used for the first time, to execute Nicolas J. Pelletier.

The first of many...In a little over a year the guillotine became a favorite tool for the French Revolution's ‘Reign of Terror.'
 
1862 - The Battle of New Orleans ended.  U.S. Admiral David Farragut occupied New Orleans:  U.S. Civil War.

The Civil War was far from over, and at this time the Confederates were routinely whipping the Union troops, but this event more or less was the doom of the Confederacy...New Orleans was the only great port in Southern hands, and it was their lifeline to European and South American supply.  It was also their last hope for European support.

As a result of capturing New Orleans, the Union was able to strangle the South and convince the Brits, French, etc., to mind their own business...As such, the Battle of New Orleans is one of the great turning points of the U.S. Civil War.

1928 - Buddy, a German Shepherd, became the first guide dog for the blind.

This is a minor event for most of us, but an immeasurable one for anyone requiring the services of such dogs.

1904 - New York Yankees pitcher Jack Chesbro won the first of his 41 wins for the year.

This is one of the few sports records which will likely stand for all time...If for no other reason, pitchers don't even get 40 starts per year anymore - even if they were to go undefeated they'd still be short of the record.

For those who are baseball junkies, the all time record for wins in a season by a pitcher is actually 59, by Old Hoss Radbourn in 1884...But this was before the rules and regulations of modern baseball were truly defined - anything before 1900 is considered before the modern era.

1945 - The Soviet Red Army completely surrounded Berlin:  WWII.

The war was all but over, but there were still plenty of lives to be lost.

1945 - U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting which dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany's defenses:  WWII.

A great symbolic event, but in reality it was nothing more than the beginning of the Cold War.

April 24

1877 - Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

The Russian's had been sparring with the Ottomans since the time of Peter the Great, and by this time the Turks were a shell of their former greatness.

Russia put together a coalition of Christian nations in the Balkans against their longtime nemesis in the region, and when the war ended in 1878 and much of the region established at least a portion of freedom from Ottoman rule...The real winner, however, was Russia - who gained much territory in the Caucasus and firmly solidified itself as the hegemon of the Slav/Orthodox Christian world.

The Turks lost big, but were able to hold onto a semblance of their empire for another 40-years...It would be a brutal 40-years.

1184 B.C. (traditional date) - The Greeks entered Troy using the Trojan Horse.

Trickery has always been involved in military maneuvers, and the Greeks were masters...Partially because they were brighter than most of their opponents, but also because they were almost always out-manned by their opponents and had to use deception and technology to overcome numbers.

1558 - Mary Queen of Scots, aged 16, married the Dauphin of France, the future Francis II.

This was going to be a problem. Scotland was a Protestant nation, and Mary was Catholic. Marrying a Frenchman was bad enough, but the fact he was also a Catholic was too much for the Scots to bear...And then she had to deal with her English friends to the south.

Needless to say, Mary’s reign was rocky and ended messy, with her execution at the order of another strong woman - Queen Elizabeth I.

1877 - Federal troops moved out of New Orleans, ending the North's military occupation of the South following the Civil War.

The war ended in 1865, and the occupation ended in 1877...Keep this in mind:  Winning wars is often easier than winning the peace.  And sometimes keeping a war footing is necessary to enforce peace.  The Romans couldn't enforce the Pax Romana without their Legions, and the U.S. can't continue the Pax Americana without its various forces, either

1915 - Armenian Martyr's Day:  The Turkish massacre of Armenians began.

Like most of the minority population in the Ottoman Empire - which was actually the majority but had no power - the Armenians were brutalized by the Turks...That said, this event saw the murder of an estimated 600,000-1.5 million Armenians, and should be noted along with the other barbaric tragedies of the 20th Century.

1961 - President John Kennedy accepted "sole responsibility" for the Bay of Pigs.

He was ultimately responsible for it...And should have immediately begun making new plans for a full-scale invasion of Cuba.

There is no excuse for a having a communist nation 100 miles off of American shores. Every U.S. president since this time has failed on this issue, and every American should be disgusted with this fact.

1980 - The United States launched an abortive attempt to free the American hostages in Iran, a mission which resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.

Jimmy Carter was (is) a joke, and he sent these eight troops to their death with no hope of success...It's fair to say this was Carter's 'Bay of Pigs,' and it failed as miserably as his hero's plan.

You either use the military or you don’t, and when you choose to do so you must do it completely with full force...The hostages should have been saved and the Ayatollah should have been assassinated.

But this is what you get when you vote for Liberals/Democrats as Commander-in-Chief.

April 23

1994 - Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermin National Accelerator Laboratory discovered the subatomic particle called the 'top quark.'

It’s a slow day, so why not.

Anyone who's totally bored should follow the link, and you will find your life isn’t nearly as boring as you think. Give it a look: Top Quarks.

If you understand it, please feel free to enlighten me.

1938 - Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia demanded self-government.

Hitler smiled from ear-to-ear with this declaration, which was of his making by the way...And Chamberlain started crapping his pants.

1945 - The Russian Army liberated the Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrueck concentration camps:  WWII.

I state it over and over, but it's important to remember this truth: NEVER FALL INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING THE SOVIETS EVER LIBERATED ANYTHING!

These lands just transferred from one overlord to the next.

1986 - President Reagan, addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the recent raid on Libya showed "no one can kill Americans and brag about it."

Such a brilliant statement, and one which drives Liberals crazy(er)...We should all wish to be protected with such vigor.

Heaven knows the poor Americans Obama let die in Benghazi would have liked to have had such protection.

April 22

1864 - By an act of Congress, the phrase "In God We Trust" was authorized to be stamped on all U.S. coins.

This is a very important event and I’m going to use it to state the importance of the four great motto's on our dollar bills and coins...Most people think nothing of them, but they are the basis of our nation (pull out a dollar and follow along).

E Pluribus Unum = “Out of many, one”
Originally signified the union of the thirteen colonies, but has equal importance for the many people (nationalities, religions, etc) who have formed the nation...Unfortunately, modern-day Liberals have completely bastardized this motto, and have changed it from being "Out of many, one" to being 'Out of many, many.'

Novus Ordo Seclorum = “A New Order of the Ages”
America was separating itself from the Old World (particularly Europe), and an American Civilization was being established with the clear intent of being different and better than the old.

Annuit Coeptis = “Providence Has Favored Our Undertaking”
Our Civilization is blessed by God, but also given the responsibility of evolving to His liking.

In God We Trust = We trust God to look over our well-being.

I hope you understand each of these four great motto's are part and parcel, and our nation cannot continue to be great without the inclusion of each in our national makeup. In fact it is likely American Civilization will cease to exist if we deviate from these four distinctly American statements printed on every dollar bill...A path of destruction we have already started walking along.

Also, please don't read this and assume I'm a religious nutter. I'm not Christian, not Jewish, not Hindu, not Buddhist, certainly not Jihadi, nor any other established religion...I am an American who loves this great country, which was founded on Judeo-Christian principles - warts and all.

1418 – The Council of Constance ended.

This council ended the Great Schism, re-uniting the Catholic Church...I hope you understand the Schism, but if not we’ll get there on the day of the breakup.

1529 - The Treaty of Saragossa was signed, dividing Spanish and Portuguese interests in the Pacific Ocean (the Eastern Hemisphere). Portugal regained control of the Moluccas in return for compensation.

Saragossa is much less well known than its sister-treaty, the Treaty of Tordesilla (1494), but was very important at the time...History proved unkind to the Portuguese with both treaties, however.

With Tordesilla they received everything south of Brazil (which isn't much, but no one knew it at the time), and Spain everything north of it (South, Central and North America).

With Saragossa the Portuguese received a good deal, but didn’t profit much because Spain soon swallowed up Portugal itself.

1889 - At twelve noon, the U.S. government opened nearly two million acres of Oklahoma land to settlement, inaugurating a furious land rush.

The 'Boomers' were let loose...They were beaten to the punch by many 'Sooners,' however.

1915 - During the Second Battle of Ypres, German forces became the first to use poison gas on the Western Front:  WWI.

It’s shocking they didn’t use gas in WWII, but after using it in WWI they realized the danger to their own troops as well...Or, maybe they saved it all for the Jews.

1930 - The United States, Britain, France, Italy and Japan signed the London Naval Treaty, regulating submarine warfare and limited shipbuilding.

What a joke!! Each of these countries cheated, and in a few years the Germans resumed production as well.

1954 - The Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began.

It turns out McCarthy was correct when it came to much of Hollywood and the State Department (see the Venona Papers)...He overshot his mark by attacking the Army, however.

1970 - Millions of Americans concerned about the environment observed the first 'Earth Day.'

What a pathetic excuse for a bunch of beatniks to get together and smoke a 'fatty.'

1990 - Millions of Americans joined in a worldwide 20th anniversary celebration of the first Earth Day.

Wow! I bet they brought the 'Purple People Eater Bong' this time.

1993 - The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, D.C., to honor the victims of Nazi extermination.

I’ve been there and highly recommend it for everyone. Be prepared to feel emotions you have never experienced, because the proof of pure evil is overwhelming...And no, I'm not Jewish.

Walking through a real 'boxcar' (used to transfer humans like cattle), seeing a huge box of 'children’s shoes' (slaughtered), another box of 'gold fillings' (ripped from the mouth's of the dead), the many stories handwritten by survivors, etc., etc., etc...It's a heart-wrenching museum and will move any decent human-being in unimaginable ways.

1995 - At least 2,000 refugees were massacred by Rwandan troops at a camp in Kibeho.

This was a drop in the bucket for what ended up an African Holocaust...And where was the U.N. during this time? Circle jerking, per normal!

2000 - Armed immigration agents took Elian Gonzalez from the Miami home of his relatives to reunite him with his father.

This event was one of the most Gestapo-like acts I’ve ever seen in this county. How in the world did Bill Clinton and James Reno come to the conclusion this child needed to be ripped away from his American family and returned to Cuba? Remember his mother gave her life in an attempt to get him out of Cuba, and to the U.S. as a refugee.

Decency was never one of Clinton’s strong-suits, however, and we got what we asked for by voting for a man with such pathetic character flaws.

April 21

735 B.C. - According to Roman historian Varro, Romulus founded the city of Rome.

Of course this date is mythology, but who cares...The story is great, and the Republic/Empire centered on this city was the greatest in the history of the Western world.

The U.S. has done more good than any nation (by a large margin), and is a very close second to Rome in Western history, but must exist and be great for a few more hundred years before it can jump ahead of Rome in overall greatness and importance...This is hard to admit, but is true.

43 B.C. - The Battle of Mutina:  Mark Antony was defeated by Octavian's Republican forces.

From a tactical perspective, Antony didn't lose the battle because he was able to escape encirclement and fight another day...From a strategic perspective, Octavian won the battle because from this point forward he was the acknowledged leader of the Republic - even though the civil war was nowhere near over.

1526 - The Battle of Panipat.

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur crushed the Lodi Empire, in North India, which established the beginning of the Mughal Empire...Also of note in this battle, it was one of the first on record which involved gunpowder firearms and field artillery.

I am embarrassed to admit my knowledge of the Mughals isn't nearly what it should be, but I do know enough to know they were from Central Asia, descending from Genghis Khan, were superior warriors and engineers, and took India to heights never seen before or after.

1649 - The Maryland Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act, guaranteeing freedom of worship for all Christians.

This was the first law of its kind (not just in America, but the entire world)...It wasn’t perfect, and didn’t guarantee absolute freedom of worship, but is important because it was the basis of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution - as it was intended, that is.  Not as it has been interpreted by modern Liberals.

Read the text: Maryland Toleration Act.

1836 - An army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring the independence of Texas. 900 Texans caught 1,200 Mexicans taking a siesta, and the entire confrontation took only 18-minutes.

There would be no more Alamo’s and the Republic of Texas was soon to be a reality…I hope you knew Texas had a period of independence prior to joining the U.S.

1898 - The U.S. declared war on Spain.

"The war of the United States with Spain was very brief. Its results were many, startling, and of world-wide meaning." - Henry Cabot Lodge

It is incredible how Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt played this event - setting the stage for the future American Empire...And yes, I know most Americans don't understand it is an empire.  Trust me the rest of the world knows it is.

1918 - Baron Manfred von Richthofen, German ace known as the 'Red Baron,' was killed in action during World War I. He is credited with shooting down 80 Allied planes.

Richthofen was an awesome pilot, who was considered the 'Ace of Aces' in WWI. A few interesting tid-bits:

1. When the Red Baron was shot down, his dead body was recovered by the Brits...They had such high respect for him they buried him with full military honors.

2. Richthofen’s wing man was Herman Goering, who eventually succeeded him as commander of the famous Jagdgeschwader 1 (Fighter Wing 1)...He later became the 'Fat Field Marshal,' as Reichsmarshal of the Third Reich.

1956 - Elvis Presley's first hit record 'Heartbreak Hotel' became #1 on the music charts.

Elvis was truly a meteoric figure in American pop-culture - as is proven by his continuing popularity over 60 years after his first hit...There have been few bigger icons, and in the music business only the Beatles and Michael Jackson have been even close to Elvis Presley in popularity.

1998 - Astronomers announced in Washington they discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away, the clearest evidence yet of worlds forming beyond our solar system.

We are not alone...And I have no problem fitting this finding into the 'Evolution from Creation' theory.

April 20

1792 - France declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars.

This began a 23-year period of Hell on the European continent...From the Revolution, to the Terror, to Napoleon's empire.

It's important to understand the Revolution didn't end with the founding of Napoleon’s reign, which is often taught in history classes...Napoleon was a son of the Revolution, and his rule was a continuation of it - even if he took it off the rails - or put it back on, depending on how you look at things.

It's also important to recognize the enormous difference between the American and French Revolutions...The American Revolution was about liberty, which created a great nation. The French Revolution was about equality, which created anarchy.

I hope you understand the difference between liberty and equality...It is not only what made these two revolutions different, but is also one of the biggest differences between Europe and the U.S. - as well as American Conservatives and Liberals.

1861 - Robert E. Lee resigned from the U.S. Army.

How was he allowed to walk away? Lincoln knew Lee was one of the U.S.'s best generals, and he also knew Lee was going to head the Confederate's Virginia forces. He should have ordered his arrest...Instead we got to fight Lee's brilliance for the next four years.

Limiting brutality and attempting decency are fine, but chivalry during a time of war is absolutely stupid.

1889 - Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.

He didn’t have horns, but the Devil has never spawned a better son.

1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.

Marie Curie is by far the most brilliant woman in history, and is also the most important woman of the 20th Century.

1934 - Heinrich Himmler became Head of the Prussian Secret State Police.

The 'Chicken Farmer' was getting stronger...A giant step towards becoming the second most powerful man in the Reich.

1940 - RCA demonstrated its new electron microscope.

This is a case where smaller is definitely greater. The ability to look deeper into even the smallest of items opens up the world immensely...We will never reach the infinite, but there is no reason to settle on the finite.

1976 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled federal courts could order low-cost housing for minorities in a city's white suburbs to ease racial segregation.

Which is exactly why many in the suburbs have moved out to the exurbs - blacks, whites or otherwise.

1977 - The U.S. Supreme Court said car owners could refuse to display state mottoes on license plates, such as New Hampshire's 'Live Free or Die.'

Who cares?!?!  Why the SCOTUS wastes precious time on garbage like this is beside me.

1999 - The Columbine Massacre:  Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

What a terrible wake-up call to a nation which had put it’s children in harm’s way...It's amazing this hadn’t happened before, but not amazing it happened.

Children have been forced to grow up too fast, left alone for too long, and too many have been mentally and emotionally neglected for generations.

So who is to blame? We have no one to blame but ourselves for accepting the idiocy of Liberalism when it comes to raising children.

2010 - The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded killing 11 people.

Better known as the BP Oil Spill.

The rig sank and massive amounts of oil broke free from its casing - spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm 100% for drilling - on and off land - but the drilling companies have a responsibility to do it in the cleanest way possible...I have no doubt shortcuts are taken on a regular basis, and the companies should be forced to comply with the laws.

Luckily, the ocean has an immense capability to clean itself.  Hopefully, the world learned much from this event - morally and technologically.

April 19

1775 - The Battle of Lexington: The 'Shot Heard Round the World' began the American Revolutionary War, at Lexington, Massachusetts. Eight Minutemen were killed and ten wounded in an exchange of musket fire with British Redcoats.

This is the day the 'Old World Order' started to fall apart.

American independence took many years, but the glimmer of hope it gave the rest of the colonial world was unmistakable...It also woke up the liberals (small 'l' by the way) throughout Europe who soon shook up the Continent as well.

"What a glorious morning this is!" - Samuel Adams

1529 - A 'protestation' against a decree of the Diet of the German Empire was published, from which event came the term 'Protestants.'

This is important to note, because the Reformation wasn’t just a 'protestation' against the Roman Catholic Church. It was equally a rebellion against the Holy Roman Empire.

By the way, there is no such thing as the 'Protestant Church'...All of the Christians who left the Roman Catholic Church - Lutherans, Calvinists, etc. - simply became Protestants because of their protest against the RCC and HRE.

That said, it's important to remember all of the various Protestant branches, along with the Catholics, were and are Christians.

1587 - English admiral Sir Francis Drake entered Cadiz harbor and sank the Spanish fleet, an action he referred to as "singeing the king of Spain's beard."

Elizabeth and her Navy was pushing its luck with the most powerful nation in Europe...There are many reasons for the 1588 Spanish Armada and the attempted invasion of England, the actions of the English Navy - who were nothing short of pirates - in the Caribbean were some of the largest.

1933 - The United States went off the gold standard.

It probably had to happen, but it’s hard to debate the long-term damage caused by doing so. There have been very few politicians who ever look at the long-term, however.

1943 - Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but futile battle against Nazi forces:  WWII.

The modern-day Mosada!!! These Jews had as little chance of winning as their ancient kin, but the fight was brilliant and kept a spark of hope in a people who had little reason to expect Earthly hope of any kind.

1986 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched and burned American flags in Britain, West Germany, Italy and Sweden to protest the U.S. air raid on Libya.

Nothing has changed...Those who think recent squabbles with Europe are something new either have short memories or no clue.

If you have no clue, don’t blame yourself. It’s the fault of those who either didn't teach you history or those who intentionally taught you false history...To make up for all those years just come to this blog everyday. Over the span of the year you will learn more than you ever imagined.

1993 - The 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound, near Waco, Texas, ended when fire destroyed the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; dozens of people, including David Koresh, were killed.

A little overkill don’t ya think? It seemed like this was Bill Clinton and James Reno’s ‘M.O.’ however...Remember ‘Ruby Ridge’ and ‘Elian Gonzalez’???

Can you imaging if president's G.W. Bush or Trump did anything even close? Woo Hoo! The Libs would be hooting mad...They'd have called them Nazis even though it was their president's attorney general who acted like the Head of the Gestapo.

1995 - A truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, and injuring 500.

This bombing should have been a wake up call to the reality of ‘Domestic Terrorism’ as well as international...Unfortunately the greatest enabler of terrorism by any name is the American people who are too stupid, lazy and content to either protect themselves or allow law enforcement to do its job to protect them.

1996 - President Bill Clinton, visiting Russia, paid tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Russians who died in the Nazi siege of Leningrad, and to the victims of the Oklahoma bombing as well.

The Battle of Leningrad was a brutal event, and normally having an American president there would be a good thing. But it was completely inappropriate in this year, because Clinton should have been in Oklahoma City instead of it being an 'oh by the way.'

2000 - President Bill Clinton knelt among 168 empty chairs memorializing each victim of the Oklahoma City bombing and declared the site "sacred ground" in the soul of America during a fifth-anniversary dedication ceremony.

Four years too late, dumbass!

April 18

1942 - An air squadron from the USS Hornet, led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities:  WWII.

'Doolittle’s Raid' had absolutely zero tactical value, but strategically it was very important.

Prior to this raid, the Japanese homeland hadn’t been hit by any of its adversaries and the Japanese people felt invincible...Doolittle proved them wrong, and gave a little taste of what was to come in the next few years.

The raid also did wonders for American morale, which needed a victory of any kind to prove the war was winnable.

1775 - American patriot Paul Revere began his famed ride through the Massachusetts countryside, crying out "The British are coming!" to rally the Minutemen.

The pseudo-war shortly came to an end and the full-blown American Revolution was about to begin...It's also important to know Revere didn't 'ride' alone - he was partnered with William Dawes in his famous ride.

1906 - A devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires, which killed over 3,000 people. It lasted 48-seconds and registered 8.25 on the Richter Scale, qualifying as America's worst earthquake.

The death total was horrific, and another 250,000 were also left homeless - over 75% of the city was destroyed.

Such is the threat of the San Andreas Fault...The planet will eventually consume us all, but those who live in it’s angriest areas live under the constant threat of the Earth showing its power.

1946 - The League of Nations went out of business. All of its assets were handed over to the United Nations.

One POS fell to the ash-heap of history, only to be succeeded by an even more ridiculous entity.

1955 - Physicist Albert Einstein died.

In the entire history of mankind few have been as brilliant as Einstein...Want to think of a scary thought? Try to imagine the world if Hitler allowed Germany's Jewish scientists - including Einstein - to live in Germany unharmed.  Even worse, try to imagine if he cultivated their genius for his designs before wanting to kill them.

1978 - The U.S. Senate voted 68-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on Dec. 31, 1999.

This might eventually go down as the biggest blunder in the entire Jimmy Carter Presidency - which says a lot...The fact the Canal is falling more and more under Chinese control should also be a scary prospect to every American.

1985 - Amid controversy over his plans to visit a German military cemetery, President Reagan told news editors in Washington the German soldiers had been "victims of the Nazis just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps."

Reagan probably could have kept this one to himself...There is no doubt what he said is partially true, and he wasn't looking to upset anyone, but it is very difficult to get to this point.

1989 - Thousands of Chinese students demanding democracy tried to storm Communist Party headquarters in Beijing.

China has an awesome history of revolutions, but this small effort stood no chance...We’ll soon see how poorly it ended.

April 17 (A Triple)

1492 - A contract was signed by Christopher Columbus and a representative of Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia - specifically India.

A huge event. Especially considering the Portuguese laughed him out of their court, as did the rest of Europe.

Of course Columbus found anything but Asia. What he did find, however, changed the world - and enriched Spain unlike any Western nation since Rome.

1824 - Russia abandoned all North American claims south of 54' 40'.

It’s a good thing this was an official act of the Russian nation, because the Soviets laid claim to any previous Russian lands which weren’t formally abdicated.

Try to imagine Stalin making a claim on any part of North America.  I'm pretty sure this would have been a problem...I'm also sure our friend Vlad Putin might be making hay in our current day, as well.

1895 - The Treaty of Shimonoseki: Ended the Sino-Japanese War.

China was beaten badly in this war, and the peace terms reflected it...Korea was freed from Chinese rule - though it's hard to consider being virtually handed over to Japan as being free, and Japan received many naval ports as well as an opening to five of China’s exclusive trade ports - routes of future invasion.

The Japanese Empire was growing up, and becoming more and more bold...The Russians were the next to feel their sting, then the U.S.

1521 - Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

Excommunication was a serious penalty during this time...No Last Rites and no Heaven, and he was more or less kicked out of the European 'Community of Man.'

So, Luther founded his own community.

1951 - Mickey Mantle hit a home run measured a distance of 565 feet.

That's almost two football fields in length!

Mickey was truly a monster, and it's too bad his knees and booze kept him from being the player he should have been...He was one of  the best ever, but he should have been even better.

1961 - About 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.

1. It must be noted Kennedy was a strong anti-Communist and defender of the American homeland.

2. It must also be noted this invasion had honorable objectives, and it’s unacceptable others haven’t been attempted to depose a communist leader less than 100 miles off the American coast.

3. The plan was pathetic, and Kennedy dropped the ball by allowing the CIA to run it without military support.

4. The most disgraceful part of the episode is Kennedy crapped himself when it went bad, and turned tail.

1975 - The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penn, Cambodia.

This ended the Cambodian civil war and led to a period of absolute hell for the Cambodians...The Khmer Rouge was a communist organization unlike any before or after, and for the short period of time it ruled it proved to be maybe the most bizarre and deadly (in relative population terms) - which is quite an achievement considering the history of other communist countries.

April 16

1917 - After years in exile, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia, beginning the Bolshevik period of the Russian Revolution.

Most think Lenin started the Russian Revolution, but he didn't...Lenin was on the sidelines trying to return (traveling from Switzerland to Russia was extremely difficult due to WWI), and of all the future Soviet leaders Leon Trotsky had the largest role in the beginning stages.

That said, Lenin's arrival was the beginning of the end for the Mensheviks and any hopes the Czar had of reclaiming power...It also meant the Russians would soon be exiting WWI.

1876 - Reynolds v. United States:  The U.S. Supreme Court decided freedom of religion has its limits. In particular, the idea that polygamy is immoral is based on the Christian Bible. Basically the court said, you can have any belief you want but the state retains the option of determining if you can practice your belief.

That was then; this is now...And the now is on the verge of becoming a free-for-all.

Polygamy will be the next fight in the battle to destroy traditional relationships - not just marriage...Unless the Pedophile, Necrophiliac, Bestial or Robo crowd beat the polygamists to the punch that is.

1939 - Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin requested a Russo-French-British anti-Nazi pact.

Stalin could see the writing on the wall, and was looking for the best deal prior to the run-up to WWII...He didn't want to get in bed with Hitler if he could trust the Brits and French to ally with him against Germany, but he couldn't get such a deal.

Instead he gave in to Hitler and not only made the war possible, he helped start it in Poland and Finland.

1944 - The U.S. began planning 'Operation Olympic': The invasion of Japan.

Any time you hear Liberals cry about the U.S. using the Atom Bombs on Japan remind them this invasion was the other option...Which would have been much worse than the combined destruction of the Atom Bombs - thoroughly destroying Japan and it's culture, as well as killing many, many millions of people.

And let's not forget, just like the Germans, the Japanese brought all of these problems on themselves.

1945 - The Soviet Red Army began the Battle of Berlin:  WWII.

This was the final, deciding, battle between Nazism and Communism..It was a case where there was no ‘good guy’ in the battle, but it is likely (though debatable) the ‘lesser of two evils’ eventually won.

Needless to say, the Germans paid a terrible price in this battle for the tremendous suffering they brought on the Soviets in the previous four years.

1947 - Financier and presidential confidant Bernard M. Baruch said in a speech: "Let us not be deceived – we are today in the midst of a cold war."

There were plenty of periods where it was 'hot' as well.

April 15 (A Triple)

1865 - President Abraham Lincoln died, and V.P. Andrew Johnson became the nation's 17th president.

The great leader was dead...He was replaced by a good man, but a below-average leader - and a poor president.

The nation suffered as a result of this change, especially the South, where many were so happy to see Lincoln die. They would have been much better off with Lincoln in charge of Reconstruction, because he may have been able to keep the 'Radical Reconstructionists' in Congress from being as harsh as they were...Maybe.

But we weren't able to find out, and it wasn’t to be.

1923 - Insulin became generally available for diabetics.

There is no way to quantify the value of this event...In America alone there are over 18 million diabetics, and who knows how many either are or will become insulin dependent.

Thankfully insulin was discovered in an age of sanity instead of now, because it would likely never make it past the FDA, would be taken off the market due to side effects, or have an insane cost.

1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first black player to play Major League Baseball - for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

JACKIE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY!!! And is the second most important black American - second only to President Obama.

This is no slight on MLK, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, etc. It is what it is, and sports plays an enormous role in American culture - Jackie Robinson should be acknowledged as such...Also, I hope you understand, even though I'm not a fan of Obama's politics there is no way to deny his place in American history.

1861 - President Lincoln sent Congress a message recognizing a state of war with the Southern states and calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers:  U.S. Civil War.

He knew it was coming, but couldn’t believe it when the war started...Bush was stunned for 30 minutes when 9/11 hit, but Lincoln was for two days before he went into action. Can you imagine if the Liberal Lapdog Media were around during the time of the Civil War?

And by the way, 75,000 proved to be a terribly shortsighted number.

1945 - British and Canadian troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. The troops discovered 28,000 women, 12,000 men and another 13,000 unburied bodies:  WWII.

The Holocaust didn’t happen!! How can any human being believe this crap?

It's a good thing the Allies took many pictures, and the Nazi's kept such grand records of their crimes.

1998 - Pol Pot died at age 73, evading prosecution for the deaths of two million Cambodians.

Pol Pot was a butcher, but only a minor member of the 20th Century Mega-Murderer's Club, though his total is almost more impressive because his were 'earned' by using much less sophisticated killing tools (clubs, knifes, etc.):

USSR = 61,900,000
Communist China = 35,200,000 (may actually be around 80,000,000)
Nazi Germany = 20,900,000
Nationalist China 10,000,000
Imperial Japan, 5,900,000
Mao’s Pre-takeover Soviets in China = 3,400,000
Cambodia (Pol Pot) = 2,000,000

It's important to note, the USSR and Germany kept pretty good records of their killing stats, but China, Japan and Cambodia's numbers may be much higher than listed.

I highly recommend you read about all the 20th Century's Democidal Nuts.

April 14

1865 - President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington:  U.S. Civil War.

Lincoln was one of the greatest President's in U.S. history, and his death was a terrible loss for the entire nation - North and South...Ironically, there is little doubt the South suffered more in the Reconstruction period than was necessary, because Lincoln wasn’t around to smooth over the process.  Instead the South had to face the wrath of the North for much longer as a result of the hardliners in Congress who used the martyrdom of Lincoln to forward their goals.

The great man died the next day.

74 - After two years of defending the Fortress of Masada, the Jews committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Roman 10th Legion.

Suicide is a serious issue for the Jewish people, but the defenders of Masada fought the good fight for two year against overwhelming odds, and eventually would have been slaughtered if they continued to fight...Surrender was an option, but it is very likely the Romans would have executed them anyway.

Masada is one of the great siege-defense battles in history (even if unsuccessful), and the defenders were right to die on their terms rather than that of the Romans.

1775 - The Society for the 'Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage,' was founded in Philadelphia. It was the first American abolition society, and was organized by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.

Most of the great men of this time knew slavery was wrong - even those who had them themselves...Unfortunately, they also knew the American Revolution, and later the re-founding of the new nation under the Constitution, would not have occurred if ending slavery had been on the agenda.

Reality dictated slavery had to be accepted for the time being, which is horrible but it should not be a mark against these great men.

"Don’t hate the good, because it’s not the better." - Hugh Hewitt

1861 - The Confederate flag was raised over Fort Sumter, South Carolina, when Union troops surrendered the fort in the early days of the Civil War.

An early loss, in what became a long, terrible conflagration...One which was worth fighting, and had to occur eventually.

1912 - The British liner 'Titanic' collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and began sinking. Rescue ships picked up 706 survivors while 1,517 went down with the ship the following morning.

The 'Unsinkable Titanic' proved no match for the power of nature.

1945 - American planes firebombed Tokyo and damaged the Japanese Imperial Palace:  WWII.

This and other raids on Tokyo were an awesome display of power and destruction...Yet the Japanese refused to surrender.

The Japanese people are lucky they gave up after the two 'Atom Bombs,' because these types of raids would have become a regular occurrence if MacArthur and Nimitz were forced to invade Japan Proper.

1985 - Geraldo Rivera broke into the long sealed vault of racketeer Al Capone during a live TV special, only to find nondescript broken bottles.

Pretty typical reporting for Gerald.

1986 - Americans got first word of the U.S. air raid on Libya (because of the time difference, it was the early morning of April 15th where the attack occurred.) U.S. warplanes struck Libya in the biggest U.S. air strike since the Vietnam War. Libya claimed 40 of its people were killed.

It's too bad 41 weren't killed...That said, Qa'Daffy' got the point real quick not to mess around with Ronald Reagan.

1993 - A U.S. government-funded study said only 1.1 percent of men identified themselves as exclusively homosexual, a finding disputed by gay activists.

I’m sure this number is low, but have no doubt it isn’t very low.

The gay myth has been blown so out of proportion it is almost entirely unbelievable...The Gay Mob would do much better to be realistic about their numbers than to hyper-inflate them and lose all credibility.

1995 - The United Nations Security Council gave permission to Iraq, still under sanctions for its invasion of Kuwait, to sell $2 billion dollars worth of oil to buy food, medicine and other supplies. Iraq rejected the offer.

Saddam knew even bigger bribes would follow if he waited them out.

April 13

1960 - France became the world's fourth nuclear power, with an atom bomb test in the Sahara Desert.

Welcome to the club, France. This definitely put them in the realm of being a world power again...Lets just hope they don't hand them over to the Krauts when they come rolling in again.  Nor to the Islamists, who will out-breed them over time.

1775 - Lord Fredrick North extended the 'New England Restraining Act' to South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, forbidding trade with any country other than Britain and Ireland.

I’m sure you can imagine the Colonist’s opinion of this declaration...They were mad as Hell, and getting ready for a fight.

1970 - Apollo 13 announced, "Houston, we've had a problem.” It was four-fifths of the way to the moon, and crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst.

There is no way these astronauts should have been able to return home...Those who proposed the route around the moon - alternative circumlunar option - were genius, and the astronauts who pulled it off had balls of steel.

Commander Lovell, Pilot Swigert, Pilot Haise and NASA performed a miracle plotting and performing their return, which most predicted would end horrifically...Such is the American spirit, and the skill of our brilliant space program.

That said, we must never forget space isn’t man’s home, and even though it is the last stop in America’s Manifest Destiny it's a place filled with limitless peril as well as possibilities...That is, if we - as a nation - still have the guts the men who performed this miracle did.

Sadly, I'm not sure we do.

April 12 (A Double)

1861 - The American Civil War began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

Lincoln would have loved to have crushed the Confederates in the month of April, but he didn’t have the forces (much of the U.S. Army was from the South and remained with the Confederacy), nor did he have adequate leadership...This was the reality of the time, which resulted in a four year war instead of a short one.

1945 - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and was succeeded by Vice President Harry S Truman.

As far as the war effort went this was a positive for the U.S., even though the Germans and Japanese saw it as a possible ray of hope for themselves...They couldn't understand the U.S. isn't defined by its leader, and thought the war might have turned in their favor, which was wishful and stupid thinking.

FDR’s health was horrible, and he should never have run for a fourth term - nor a third to be honest. Luckily he chose Truman as his V.P., a man with the testicular fortitude to do what was necessary to end the war, including pulling the trigger on the 'Atom Bombs.'

1204 - The Fourth Crusaders captured Constantinople and mercilessly sacked it.

Most don’t understand this event, because they weren't properly taught history...Which is why you must come here every day.

At the time, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, a Christian city, not an Islamic city - it is Istanbul, Turkey, today.

Why did the Crusaders sack it? Pure greed and blood lust. There was no logical, logistical, tactical or strategic reason. They simply did it because they could - and it was an opportunity to take a few shots at the Orthodox Patriarch and Byzantine Emperor.

1782 - The Battle of Saints: The British Navy won its only naval engagement against the Colonists in the American Revolution, off the coast of Dominica.

The war was all but over, but the Brits figured they might as well give the Americans a going away present.

1864 - The Fort Pillow Massacre: General Nathan Bedford Forrest's men slaughtered black Union troops:  U.S. Civil War.

General Forrest was one of the most brilliant Civil War commanders, and one of the most bizarre - he's also one of my favorite to study...He was a slave trader, an untrained soldier who entered the war as a volunteer, the most feared commander by the Union, and the most hated by his own Confederate leaders.

He was also the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

All that said, the Fort Pillow Massacre has as many versions to the story as there were participants in the event, and I’d advise you to read up on NBF and the battle.

1935 - Germany prohibited the publishing of 'non-Aryan' writers.

Why these clowns decided on the term 'Aryan' instead of Germanic or Nordic is beyond me.

Aryan = An English word derived from the Vedic Sanskrit and Avestan term arya, meaning 'noble' or 'lord.' In the 19th century, the term was often used to refer to what we now call the Proto-Indo-Europeans. More accurately, and more modernly, Aryan refers to the Indo-Iranian language sub-family, or to its Indian sub-branch known as Indo-Aryan (Iranian).

I highly doubt this was Hitler's aim...But no one ever accused the Nazi’s of historical accuracy.

1944 - The U.S. Twentieth Air Force was activated to begin the strategic bombing of Japan:  WWII.

By this time Japan was pretty much neutered, having few planes or ships to protect herself from the American onslaught...Japan could have surrendered, which would have ended it's suffering.

Instead they refused to capitulate, and forced the U.S. to destroy it...Never forget, they brought their suffering on themselves by attacking Pearl Harbor and refusing to give up.

1955 - Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was termed "safe, effective and potent" by the University of Michigan Polio Vaccine Evaluation Center.

How many millions of people owe their life, or at least their quality of life, to the genius of Dr. Salk? The number is uncountable, which is why he should be acknowledged as one of the century's great men.