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.