January 24 (A Triple)

661 - Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib, son-in-law of Mohamed, was assassinated and his followers (Shiites) broke from the majority Muslim group (Sunni).

Most Westerners have no idea there is a split in Islam. What are the differences between the Sunnis and the Shiites? There are many, but here are three:

1. They differ on the semantics of who was the first Caliph - Abu Bakr or Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

2. The line of descent was broken with Ali’s death. The Shiites were the followers of Ali, and broke with the the majority (Sunni).

3. The Shiites are primarily Persian, and the Sunni primarily Arab - at least in the Middle East, anyway...The race issues between the Persians (Iranians) and Arabs have always been a problem - Turks, Kurds, etc., add to the mix as well.

Their differences are racial, political, fierce, and remain to this day.

That said, it's important to understand over half of the world's Muslims don't live in the Middle East (India, Indonesia, Europe, US, etc.), and almost all of these are Sunni.

1848 - Gold was discovered in California by James Wilson Marshall, at his partner Johann August Sutter's sawmill, on the South Fork of the American River, near Coloma, California.

In 1848 there were only about 20,000 non-Indians in the region, but by the end of 1849 there were over 100,000. This number doubled in 1850, and 150-years later the region constitutes the largest state in the U.S, with an economy larger than most 'countries.'...I'd say this fact alone makes this a huge event.

1958 - After warming to 100 million degrees, two light atoms were bashed together to create a heavier atom, resulting in the first man-made nuclear fusion.

WOW!!!!! The product of such brilliance can be almost limitless...But unthinkable horrors can also come from this brilliance, as well.

Science can be great: Vaccines, pace makers, communication and transportation technology, etc, etc., etc...And science can be horrific: Groningen Protocols, Eugenics, Dr. Mengele's, genetically created rats without heads, partial birth abortions, etc.

The balance between science and ethics is extremely important...Unfortunately, we live in an age of almost limitless scientific discovery, and equally limitless ethical debauchery.

41 - Shortly after declaring himself a god, Roman Emperor Gaius 'Caligula' Germanicus was assassinated by two Praetorian tribunes.

Caligula is one of the most interesting of the Roman Emperors, and also one of the worst. The general consensus among historians is he was so because he was insane...It also didn't help he was made a virtual sex-slave as a child by the previous emperor.

1076 - The Synod of Worms:  Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV forced Pope Gregory VII to abdicate his position.

More proof the Papacy is as much a political organization as a religious one...This isn't a rip; it just is.

1722 - Czar Peter the Great capped his reforms in Russia with the 'Table of Rank,' which decreed a commoner could climb on merit to the highest positions.

This was nice in theory, but the reality in Russia was there were two classes: Nobility and Serfs...And even most of the nobility were little more than serfs.

1919 - Grand Prince Pavel Alexandrovich, son of Czar Alexander II, and Grand Princess Nikolai Mikhailovich, Georgy Mikhailovitch and Dmitry Konstantinovich, nephews of the czar, were executed at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Lenin didn’t screw around when it came to possible enemies, and the Russian nobility paid a heavy price for its position...Some would say they had it coming for the misery they caused the Russian people for so many centuries - the Bolsheviks certainly saw it this way.

1931 - The League of Nations rebuked Poland for the mistreatment of a German minority in Upper Silesia.

This is almost hysterical considering the way the Germans treated the Poles for centuries, and how they would treat them from 1939-45.

1943 - Hitler ordered Nazi troops at Stalingrad to fight to the death:  WWII.

Many fulfilled his order, but in the end Field Marshal von Paulus defied it, becoming the first field marshal in German history to surrender in battle rather than die fighting or taking his own life.

1965 - Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.

Churchill is one of the greatest leaders in British history, and the most important ‘sane’ leader of the 20th Century.

It’s amazing Britain survived from 1939-42 on her own against the German onslaught (nice of the French to roll over, and the Americans to turn their backs on the Brits like they did)...The force of Churchill’s will and personality were the main elements of its survival - a survival which saved civilization.

1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws denying welfare benefits to people who resided in a state for less than a year.

You'd think this would be common sense, but Democrats think otherwise.

1972 - Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered on Guam, having spent 28-years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on.

The real ‘Last Samurai’...I wonder why he didn't get a clue when he didn’t encounter any enemies for over 10,000 days?

1994 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that protesters who block access to abortion clinics, or in other ways conspire to stop women from having abortions, may be sued under federal anti-racketeering statutes.

I’m surprised some nutty ACLU lawyer hasn’t tried to sue a church for preaching against abortions, thereby 'conspiring to stop women from having abortions'...This is exactly how they contort and distort the law.

2003 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security became a cabinet department.

This department was long overdue.

Many are concerned with the size of government, and I am one of them...That said, I have no problem with the enlargement of the military or any department aimed at protecting our nation.

If we want to downsize government (and we should), there are many places to look. National Security is not one.