January 29

1877 - An Electoral Commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, was established by Congress to settle the issue of Democrat Samuel Tilden for president against Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Under the terms of the Tilden-Hayes Election Compromise, Hayes became U.S. President and the Republicans agreed to remove the last Federal troops from Southern territory, ending the Civil War Reconstruction Period. On election night, 1876, it was clear Tilden won the popular vote, but it was also clear that votes in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Oregon were fraudulent because of voter intimidation. Republicans knew if the electoral votes from these four states were thrown out, Hayes would win. As a result, the country hovered near civil war as both Democrats and Republicans claimed victory.

Many Americans wrongly believe the 2000 election was the first with 'irregularities'...I hope you don’t, because there have been many ‘contested’ America elections.

Politics is messy, and you must always remember 'electoral politics' is a superior replacement to 'battlefield politics' - civil war...The transfer and acceptance of power is always ugly, but doing so in a peaceful, free, democratic fashion is much better than the deadly alternative.

There is no 'third way.'

1936 - The first players were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame:  Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson.

Blasts from the past, and still some of the best names in the history of the game...Ruth is the best known in our time, but it's important to note many felt Cobb was the better player in 'their' time - Cobb received 98% of the votes and Ruth 95%.

1984 - The Soviets issued a formal complaint against alleged U.S. arms treaty violations.

Of course we were in violation; so were the Soviets...And so have been, and always will be, any nation ever to 'agree' to arms limitations. Only a Utopian idiot would think otherwise.

1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin unveiled an ambitious plan to cut nuclear weapons spending and said his republic's weapons would no longer be aimed at any U.S. targets.

See the above comment from 1984...That said, the Russians had to cut back spending, because they were dead broke.

1999 - Chinese police were ordered to arrest people posting anti-government remarks on computer networks.

Their American Democrat brethren must be so jealous of the Chi-Coms.  If only they could squash Conservative speech, or any type of opposition...Sort of like what happened with the Obama administration using the IRS and NSA as a battering ram.

2002 - In his State of the Union address, President Bush labeled Iraq, Iran and North Korea an "Axis of Evil."

Bush wasn't eloquent, but he was correct about these three countries...And they aren't alone.