July 8 (A Double)

371 B.C. - The Battle of Leuctra: Thebes defeated Sparta.

The Spartans ended the Peloponnesian War in 404 B.C. as the undisputed master of Greece, but winning the war was ruinous for Sparta.

1.  It sapped the once great strength of the Spartans, which lost much of its manpower in winning the war.

2.  After winning the war, Sparta did something it had never done before:  It attempted to be not just the Greek hegemon, but also to establish an empire.

3.  In its attempt to dominate the Greeks, Sparta created many enemies...Just as Athens had done - a reality which helped Athens lose the Peloponnesian War.

4. As a result of creating new enemies, Sparta lost Messenia - its source of manpower and helots (slaves)...Without these helots, the Spartans had to produce for themselves, and couldn't continue to be exclusively devoted to the military.

There were other reasons why Sparta fell, but ultimately, the Battle of Leuctra finished off Spartan hegemony in Greece, and more or less ended Spartan influence in Greece because they chose to live mostly in isolation from this point on.

452 - Pope Leo I convinced Atilla the Hun not to attack Rome.

The Pope stopped Attila!!!! One of the great turning-points in world history.

1. Attila could have crushed Leo and the dilapidated city.

2. There is little the Roman Emperor or his army's could have done to stop Attila...But the Pope did. No one knows what Leo said to Attila, but it must have been powerful for the 'Scourge of God' to turn tail on the order of the Pope.

This event set the stage for the strengthening of the Church, and the enormous power the Papacy achieved after the fall of the western portion of the Roman Empire.

1776 - Colonel John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia:  American Revolutionary War.

The colonel put his life in extreme danger with this act, but the people wanted to hear what he had to say...As they should, considering its one of the greatest non-religious document in history.

1800 - Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gave the first cowpox vaccination, to his son, to prevent smallpox.

Jenner created the vaccine, but it was Waterhouse who proved is efficacy. And he did it on his own family...I'm pretty sure the FDA would frown on this today.

1835 - The Liberty Bell cracked while being rung during the funeral of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall in Philadelphia.

I tend to think it cracked as a symbol of Justice Marshall cracking the nation, as a result of him over-empowering the Supreme Court...The Framers of the Constitution never planned on giving the Court such power, and Marshall couldn't have foreseen the havoc the future Court would wreak.

1838 - Arabs attacked the Jewish community of Safed.

I thought the Arabs/Muslims loved the Jews before they created the state of Israel...THE BIG LIE!! But many fools believe it.

1947 - Demolition work began in New York City to make way for the new permanent headquarters of the United Nations.

Oh, for a return of those same demolition crews to this same sight.

1991 - Reversing earlier denials, Iraq disclosed for the first time it was carrying out a nuclear weapons program, including the production of enriched uranium.

No way! The Iraqi's lied??? I'm so NOT shocked.

Yet the U.N. and European jerkoffs all wanted to continue being lied to, rather than take on the problem...I wonder why?

BRIBES!!!

1994 - Kim Il Sung, North Korean dictator since 1948, died at age 82.

Il Sung was a butcher and a nut, but he was pretty normal compared to his mentally ill son, Kim Jong Il.  And a lot more sane than his grandson, Kim Jong Un.

Paranoids with nukes and missiles to deliver them are a scary thing...Thanks a lot Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Madalyn Halfbright.