January 20 (A Triple)

1265 - The first English Parliament, the Commons and the House of Lords, was called into session by the Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort.

This marks the beginning of a pseudo-democratic system in England, established in order to decide the methods of government administration and collecting taxes...The 'Montfort Parliament' wasn’t the same as the modern British Parliament, but its importance is huge because it's the forefather to the current English-speaking governmental systems across the globe (UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc).

1942 - The Wannsee Conference.  Nazi officials decided on the 'Final Solution,' calling for the extermination of Europe's Jews:  WWII.

What a glorious day for the Reich, and all of humanity's Jew-hating psychotics for that matter.

What else would you expect from the Hitlers, Himmlers, Eichmanns and Heydrichs of the world? And hey, what’s six-million Jews? If they could have, they would've killed every last one of them and then went on to the Poles, Russians, Roma, Magyrars, French, Belgians, etc., etc.

2009 - Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States.

It would be idiotic to deny the importance of the first black man elected U.S. President, because it is a fantastic event in the history of this great nation...An event which could only happen in the United States of America - a nation which has never been perfect, but has always been the most fair on earth.

Sadly, Obama's inauguration also saw another barrier broken down: Barack Obama is the first truly 'Leftist President' in U.S. history...He won't be the last - nor the worst.

1320 - Wladislaw I, also known as Wladislaw the Short, was crowned King of Poland. In defeating the Knights of the Teutonic Order, he created strong foundations for one Polish nation.

Unfortunately for the Polish people Wladislaw was one of the few strong, competent rulers in their history...It's even more unfortunate the Polish nation was sandwiched between the much stronger Germans and Russians who over time brutalized and carved up their country.

1801 - John Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United States.

Marshall is a huge figure in American History, but sadly I'm willing to bet most Americans have no clue of his importance...They also have no clue of the danger he created in a strong court.

1920 - The American Civil Liberties Union was organized.

I just can’t do it. My children need their father and my heart might give out if I did.

1941- President Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated for a third term.

1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn into office for his fourth term.

I’m a Conservative, but I’m not a Roosevelt-basher. In fact, I am quite fond of FDR and believe he was a great war-time president.

That said, what an arrogant bastard. No American should have ever been president longer than Washington, who set the two-term standard...It was legal, but legal isn’t always right.

1946 - The Central Intelligence Group, later to become the Central Intelligence Agency, was established by President Truman.

The CIA has a shady reputation, but what can be expected from an organization who’s job is to spy and lie? It is a necessary evil, and has done much to protect America. Sure there have been rogue agents, and the CIA isn’t ‘lily white,’ but most of the problems of the agency are a factor of politics, which is always ugly.

1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th U.S. President. As part of his brief address he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

1. What happened to the Democrat Party? It has completely turned Kennedy’s famous phrase upside down...They've become the party of 'Ask what your country can do for you, not what you can do for your country.'

2. Why didn’t JFK give credit to Marcus Tullius Cicero for this quote?  Cicero proclaimed it almost 2,000 years before Kennedy - in Rome.

1995 - The United States announced it was easing the trade embargo in effect against North Korea since the Korean War.

Nice decision President Bill Clinton...In exchange we received many thanks from Dr. Ill.