May 25

1521 - The Edict of Worms was proclaimed, declaring Martin Luther a "criminal and permitted anyone to kill him without consequences."

This date marks the end of the Diet of Worms (it began on Jan. 28, 1521).

The edict was a pronouncement by Emperor Charles V (along with the Church) against Martin Luther and the rising Protestant Reformation (which had no name at the time)...But Charles didn't kill Luther himself!!!

The irony of the declaration is the fact that regardless of the tough talk, Luther wasn’t killed at the assembly, which made him and his movement stronger, and weakened the Emperor and the Church as a result.

Charles should have executed Luther when he had the chance, but didn’t do so because he didn’t want to upset the German princes...He should have been foresighted enough to realize he would have to fight them eventually, and should have killed Luther before he had the opportunity to escape to their protection.

1787 - The first regular session of the Constitutional Convention was held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for a quorum.

Their original goal wasn’t to create a new Constitution, it was to revise the existing 'Articles of Confederation'...But the brilliant minds of the time knew the current system would never last, and it would have left the young nation at a terrible risk of being reconquered by the Brits or dissolving into open warfare among the 'independent' states.

1935 - Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career.

The end of the career of the greatest sports figure in American history was in sight...It’s a shame he had to hit his last home run in anything other than a Yankee uniform, though.

1961 - President Kennedy asked the nation to work toward putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

This event was JFK’s shining moment. One of only two (along with the Cuban missile Crisis)...I wonder if it would have happened if the cause didn't have his martyrdom to fuel it?

1996 - President Bill Clinton, honoring the men and women who died in military service, used his weekly radio address to defend America's global military role, saying it "is making our people safer and the world more secure."

He said this for his mismanagement of Somalia, and what should have been a European problem in Serbia, but he and his Leftist friends can’t find it in themselves to say it after the world is relieved of Saddam Hussein??

1997 - French voters gave the Leftist opposition the biggest share of votes in a surprising setback for President Jacques Chirac's Conservatives.

Talk about 'relativity!' Chirac is a Lefty by any normal sense of the political spectrum, but in France he’s a Conservative.