March 1

1781 - The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress. They remained the United States system of government until March 4, 1789.

I’m sure many Americans have no idea what the Articles Confederation are, because the modern-day school system has completely dumbed-down the public - on purpose.

You should read up on this original system of government, because it is the precursor to the U.S. Constitution. It was a flawed system, but guided the young country through its first years as an independent nation.

752 B.C. - The Romans celebrated their first triumph after defeating Caenina.

A great event?  Nope.  But having a date for any event in the ancient world is worth noting.

That said, there is an interesting fact attached to this triumph:  After defeating the Caenina the Romans abducted countless women from their neighbors - the Rape of the Sabine Women.

Many think the story is mythology, but those who know history should know better than to doubt how brutal human beings are.

1692 - The Salem Witch Trials began.

Three girls were accused of witch craft in Salem Village, Massachusetts.

Interestingly, 'witch trials' weren't limited to Salem or even the Americas, and much of Europe was caught up in a religious frenzy - these trials were a product of this frenzy.

1780 - Pennsylvania became the first American state to abolish slavery.

It is too bad the Framers couldn’t have abolished slavery from the beginning, but they had to deal with the reality of their times, and the Constitution would have never been passed if abolishing slavery was included in the document.

History is cruel, and the cruel reality was the foundation of the American nation had to be solidified before some of the nation's wrongs could be rectified.

1886 - The Battle of Adowa began in Ethiopia between the forces of Emperor Menelik II and Italian troops sent to enforce Italy's claim of colonial rule. The result was a crushing defeat for Italy, which later agreed to recognize Ethiopian independence.

Of course this isn’t a big event in history, but it is shocking to see such a pathetic nation as Ethiopia stomping on Italy...Oh, how the once-mighty Romans have fallen.

1985 - The Pentagon accepted the theory that an atomic war would block the sun, causing a 'nuclear winter.'

The nuclear ‘gloom & doomers’ are a bunch of idiots - or liars...Of course nuclear power is awesome and can kill millions of people, but the power of the Earth (a bit player in the solar system) is almost infinite compared to any damage man can do to it.

Anyone who hasn't been indoctrinated by Liberalism with a simple grasp of physics and calculus can figure out this reality...And yes, many brilliant physicists believe in 'gloom & doom,' because the disease of Liberalism has overrun their common sense.

1991 - President GHW Bush said "we've kicked the Vietnam Syndrome once and for all," following the allied victory in the Persian Gulf War.

I’m sure this statement is a sad one for Liberals, and they love nothing more than the possibility of 'creating' another Vietnam Syndrome - their ultimate goal in our current war against the Islamists...And make no mistake, it was Liberals who intentionally created the problem of 'Vietnam Syndrome.'

2002 - Operation Anaconda began:  The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

Only time will tell if the operation was worth it...The fact we are leaving Afghanistan no better than we found it is a scary thought, however.

The fact we found a massive mineral deposit and are leaving it for the Chinese is almost as sad.

February 29 (Leap Day)

A year that is evenly divisible by 100 is not a leap year unless it also is evenly divisible by 400.

Explanation: The time required for Earth to make one lap around the sun - to go from vernal equinox to vernal equinox - is approximately 365.2422 days. Because the period of 365 days that our calendar assigns to the basic year falls approximately 0.2422 of a day short of the time it actually takes to orbit the sun, the calendar adds one day to every fourth year. This quadrennial 'leap year' causes the average duration of a year to be approximately 365.2500 days. Because this quadrennial adjustment overshoots its goal by approximately 0.0078 of one day, the calendar 'skips' the quadrennial adjustment at the turn of each century. This centennial 're-adjustment' causes the average duration of a year - over the long run - to be approximately 365.2400 days. Because this centennial readjustment overshoots its goal by approximately 0.0022 of one day, the calendar 'un-skips' the centennial re-adjustment once every four centuries. This quadricentennial "re-re-adjustment" causes the average duration of a year - over the very long run - to be approximately 365.2425 days. All of this has the effect of reducing the difference between our calendar and our actual orbit around the sun to approximately 0.0003 of a day - about 26 seconds.

Original web page

45 B.C. - The first Leap Day was proclaimed by Julius Caesar.

FYI.

1504 - Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the New World, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.

They should have killed him in 1492...And they should have killed him here.

The Western Hemisphere's aboriginal population didn't know Rule #1 of Invasions - Kill them on the beach - and paid the ultimate price for not following it...It cost them their culture, civilization and millions of lives.

Such is the brutality of history...It'll happen to all of our people in due time, as well.

February 28 (A Triple)

202 BC - The Han Dynasty was founded by Chinese Emperor Gaozu.

The Han Dynasty was a high point in Chinese history, a time when China was by far the most powerful and civilized nation on earth...It was also during the Han period that the West first started trading with China over the Silk Road.

1933 – German President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler invoked Article 48 of the Wiemar Constitution, which permitted the suspension of civil liberties in a time of national emergency. This 'Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State' abrogated the following constitutional protections: Free expression of opinion, freedom of the press, right of assembly and association, right to privacy of postal and electronic communications, protection against unlawful searches and seizures, individual property rights, states' right of self-government. A supplemental decree created the SA (Storm Troops) and SS (Special Security) federal police agencies.

Prior to invading Poland, this is the single most important day in the history of Nazi Germany...Hindenburg handed Hitler the power he wanted, and Der Fuhrer took full advantage of it. All that was left was for Hindenburg to die and Hitler to pass the Enabling Act.

It only took one day after the 'Reichstag's Fire' for Hitler to capitalize on his plan to control Germany, and HELL WAS DEFINITELY BEING STIRRED UP...Hell to the tune of a 12-year period like never before in the history of mankind!!

1953 - Cambridge University scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the chemical structure of DNA:  The 'double helix.'

The concept of DNA had been around since the 1800's, but it wasn't until this discovery that it was understood to be the twisted structure we all know now.

Obviously, this discovery has led to many scientific marvels.  Hopefully the marvels continue to be used for the good of mankind...Instead of weaponized against us, as so often happens.

1574 - The first burning of heretics by the Inquisition in the New World occurred.

This is a reminder any religion can be barbaric in the hands of the wrong leaders, with the wrong message...I bang on Islam like no other, but Christianity had its period of brutality as well.

Luckily Christianity had a Reformation...Islam is long overdue for such a reformation.

1993 - A gun battle erupted at a compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to serve warrants on the Branch Davidians; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began.

What a fiasco! Maybe it was a good thing Bill Clinton left our international enemies for Bush to handle...Considering the mess he made of Waco and Ruby Ridge I can only wonder how badly he would have botched an invasion of Iraq.

Oh yeah, I forgot, we know exactly how it would have turned out: SOMALIA!!

Nice C-in-C we had back then. And to think we almost had another in Al Gore or John Kerry...We're just beginning to find out what a mess we have in Obama.

I know which I prefer, but I should ask the question: Do you prefer machismo mofo's like Reagan and Bush, or panty-wastes like Clinton and Obama?

Truthfully, it won't matter what we prefer.  History will sort it out.

1994 - President Bill Clinton's 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' policy for gays became official military policy.

Very nice...If gays didn’t insist on breaking the 'Don’t Tell' portion of the policy it might have actually worked.

1995 - U.S. Marines entered Somalia to protect retreating U.N. peacekeepers.

Why is the U.S. constantly having to save the U.N.? At least Clinton didn’t send our Marines there unprotected, to die, however...Not this time anyway.

2003 - The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stood by its ruling that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was unconstitutional because of the words "under God."

The Ninth Circuit is a joke...Thank "GOD" the Supreme Court spanks it around like an abused stepchild.

February 27

1933 - The Reichstag Fire: The Nazis blamed communists for setting fire to the nation's parliament building (the Reichstag), and used the fire as a pretext for suspending civil liberties throughout Germany.

The actual pyro was most likely the Fat Field Marshall (Goering), but an unwitting communist sympathizer took the blame.

The Nazis were notoriously bad liars when it came to creating incidences, but as ridiculous as the event was it played a significant role in 'enabling' Hitler to end the Reichstag and become Germany’s Fuhrer.

If you don't know why I underlined 'enabling' you need to make sure you return on March 23rd...For that matter, you need to return every day.

1991 - President GHW Bush declared "Kuwait is liberated, Iraq's army is defeated," and announced the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight.

What a bunch of empirical SOB’s the Americans were for invading Iraq!

Iraq never did anything to harm the U.S.!

We were friends with Iraq in the 1980’s!

We found WMD, but Saddam never planned on using them! Except on the Kurds, of course.

I could go on all day, pretending to be an anti-war, hate-America jackass...Oh, wait a minute. This was the war the Democrats supposedly supported. Supposedly is the key word, of course, because when you go back in time and look at the votes the same jackals who voted against the 2003 Iraq War voted against this one.

1998 - The teenage leader of a cult of self-professed vampires was sentenced to die in the electric chair for the beating deaths of a Florida couple. In 1996, Rod Ferrell inducted 15-year-old Heather Wendorf into his vampire clan then bludgeoned her parents to death with a crow bar.

How nice of the ACLU(seless) and a bunch of other execution-hating clowns fighting to save this 'vampire' from Ol’ Sparky...And they succeeded. His sentence was changed from 'The Chair' to life in prison.

Talk about a 'War on Women'...Make that 'Girls.'

OH, AND WE ALSO GET TO PAY FOR THIS POS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE!!

February 26

1848 - Karl Marx and Frederich Engels published 'The Communist Manifesto.'

The communist Bible was born...Lenin was the first to put it into play, Stalin and Mao perfected it.

In Marx’s defense he would have been shocked and disgusted by all of these characters (as well as every other communist leader)...Unfortunately these types of leaders have proven to be the reality of communism, which alone proves its insanity, because it leads to a few questions: Does communism create dictators? Is a dictator necessary for communism to survive?

History has proven the answer to both to be YES!

747 B.C. – The Era of Nabonassar began.

This was a calendar system created by Ptolemy to describe his astrological findings...It has many flaws, and needs many corrections to correlate with the modern-day calendar, which is why there are so many dates in ancient history so difficult to pinpoint, and are disputed by historians.

As a result there are very few ancient events noted with a specific date. They are usually noted simply by their year, and when we are lucky with their month and year - both are often dubious at best.

This event isn't as great as those listed below, but it is important to history because of the chaos it creates for accurate record collection...Which drives me nuts!

1815 - Napoleon left his exile on the Island of Elba, intending to return to France.

Was Napoleon Houdini or what? It is unimaginable how the Brits allowed him to escape.

1848 - The Second French Republic was proclaimed.

France has gone through constitutional systems like a Russian goes through Vodka...They are on their fifth system since the French Revolution, none of which were worth a damn.

So the next time you hear someone speak of the brilliance of French politics, make sure you ask them why France has gone through five constitutions since the U.S. Constitution was founded...The U.S. has had one in this same period.

By the way, I was probably a little unfair with the crack above about Russian drunks, and I'd like to amend the statement to: '...like a German army goes through France.'

1924 - The 'Beer Hall Putsch Trial' began, in Munich.

How were Hitler and his pals allowed to serve out short sentences for trying to overthrow the German government? This little bastard should have been dead by 1925.

Not applying proper justice, allowing him to live, cost Germany - and the world - tremendously.

1935 - Germany announced the establishment of the Luftwaffe, led by Herman Goering.

The Luftwaffe was an excellent air force, but the world should be thrilled the 'Fat Field Marshal' was its leader...It is hard to believe any legitimate German officer could have screwed up German air strategy the way Goering did, and it's debatable if the Brits could have overcome 'The Blitz' if anyone other than Goering was it's leader.

1942 - Werner Heisenberg informed the Nazis about the possibility of creating nuclear weapons:  WWII.

Can you imagine if Hitler had been able to keep his head, and not throw out or kill all German-Jewish scientists? They would have surely had an atomic bomb before 1945, and would’ve found a way to get them on the V-1 and V-2.

I’m pretty certain the little psychopath would have launched them, too.

1951 - The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, limiting U.S. presidents to two terms of office.

You'd think this would be unnecessary, and all presidents would follow the unwritten precedent set by Washington...But the egomaniacal FDR forced it to paper by running for four terms.

1992 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that sexually harassed students may sue to collect monetary damages from their schools and school officials.

How is this defined? The Supremes shouldn’t be passing such judgments without being more precise in the offense’s definition...Once again, this leaves much room for 'lawyerly misdeeds.'

1999 - President Bill Clinton, outlining foreign policy goals for the final two years of his administration, urged continued American engagement in the quest for peace and freedom abroad.

Sounds similar to what President Bush said in his 2005 State of the Union Address...But the world knew Billy was blowing as much smoke as Monica was blowing in general.

1993 - A bomb exploded in the parking garage of New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

I’m sure some have forgotten this incident, but we must always remember 9/11/01 was not an indiscriminate attack by a few nuts...It was part of a long-term strategy, which included 2/26/93.

There will be more.

1997 - Democratic fund-raisers "explicitly sold invitations to White House coffees with President Clinton." Clinton even authorized overnight stays in the Lincoln bedroom in exchange for generous contributions to the Democratic Party.

To say Clinton whored out the White House isn’t a stretch, and Heaven only knows what 'generous contributions' the Chinese gave him to get our military secrets.

2003 - French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin warned that waging war against Iraq now would split the international community and "be perceived as precipitous and illegitimate."

The fact the French sat out the eventual invasion of Iraq is proof enough to me of its legitimacy...Had they entered I would have wondered what their angle was, and began to doubt its goals. Without them, I had no doubt it was a good thing.

A few years later we found out exactly why the French (as well as other NATO members) didn't want to take out Saddam Hussein: 'Oil for food bribes.'

February 25

**FYI: On the Julian Calendar (used in the European world from 45 B.C.-1500’s), February 25 was Leap Day.**
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1793 - The department heads of the U.S. government met with President Washington at his home for the first cabinet meeting on record.

A brilliant assortment of minds were in this first cabinet, and just as our first president was our greatest, Washington's cabinet was one of our most impressive as well.

John Adams (Vice-President), Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State), Edmund Randolph (Attorney General), Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury), Henry Knox (Secretary of War), Samuel Osgood (Postmaster General).

Unfortunately, we haven't always been so blessed with such genius.

493 - Negotiations opened between the Roman Army, besieged at Ravenna, and the Ostrogoths.

The traditional date (unofficial) for the end of the Empire is 476, but many Roman forces tried to keep it alive (or revive it)...Plus the Byzantines were constantly sending more troops in attempts to reclaim 'their Roman lands.'

Which is why it's important to remember events, not dates.

"If you want certainty, go into mathematics. Don’t go into ancient history." - Hershel Shanks

1570 – Elizabeth I, Queen of England, was excommunicated by Pope Pius V.

The Queen was a Protestant, so I’m pretty sure she couldn't have cared less...What this was was a political move by the Papacy in an attempt to get the English people to turn on their queen.

It didn't work.

1870 - Hiram R. Revels became the first black member of the U.S. Senate when he was sworn in to serve out Jefferson Davis' term.

Oh by the way, Senator Revels was a Republican...For those keeping score at home.

I wonder how ol’ Jeff Davis felt about being replaced by a black man?

1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was declared in effect, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes.

Too bad they weren’t foresighted enough to put limits on the amount the government could steal from the people...There's no way they could have foreseen socialists taking over the government, though.

1956 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev harshly criticized the late Joseph Stalin as a demigod and tyrant in a speech before a Communist Party congress in Moscow.

The key to this event was that he criticized the "LATE" Uncle Joe. If he wanted to be a big man he should have done it while Stalin was alive...Which would have made Nikki a dead man, of course.

1961 - Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston, becoming the heavyweight boxing champion.

Prior to the fight most believed Clay would get his head handed to him, because Liston was considered a monster...But Clay proved to be the far superior fighter, and eventually went on the be "The Greatest."

He is better known as Muhammad Ali.

1972 - Germany gave in to ransom demands from Arab terrorist hijackers of a jumbo jet and paid $5 million for the release of its passengers.

Nice precedent to set...They’ve been paying this same kind of ransom on a much larger, geopolitical, stage since this time.

1976 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled states may ban the hiring of illegal aliens.

Hmmmm! So why don’t they??

1987 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an affirmative action program in Alabama providing for the promotion of an equal numbers of black and white state troopers.

This sounds nice doesn’t it? But lets look at the facts: Whites in Alabama = 3.1 million, blacks in Alabama = 1.1 million.

So there is a 3-1 ratio of whites to blacks in Alabama, but they have to promote blacks at a 1-1 ratio?

Please tell me how this isn’t discrimination against whites, and an undeniable form of ‘Reverse Racism’...It's a sad joke, as well as bad for the country as a whole and blacks in particular.

1992 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled prison guards who use unnecessary force against inmates may be violating the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment even if they inflict no serious injuries.

Of course using 'unnecessary force' is wrong, but the question is: What is 'unnecessary force'?  I can't imagine the hell prison guards go through, and the reality is this ruling is extremely generalized and is a breeding ground for ‘lawyerly misdeeds.’

1998 - Switzerland's first legal brothel opened in Zurich. Thirty prostitutes set up shop at the Petite Fleur Bordelo. The women were self-employed, paid $138 a day to rent a room, could charge what they wanted for services, depending on what was on offer and what the market would bear.

What kind of Lunatic Fringe do the Swiss live in? One where the majority of their country is socialist, but their whores get to operate in the most capitalist sense imaginable?

February 24

1868 - The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.  Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.

1. Many think Nixon was the first impeached president, but this is incorrect. He resigned before he was impeached.

2. Some think Clinton was the first to be impeached...Obviously Johnson beat him to it.

3. Most Americans don’t understand the impeachment process, and think impeachment equals termination from office...The House can impeach, but it takes the Senate to convict and terminate a President’s position.

The Liberal education-thought-police (American KVCh) has bastardized our school systems to the point that we have a bunch of Americans with no understanding of history or civics, and it has been done intentionally...Which is why you must read my blog posts every day.

*For those wondering what the KVCh was.  It was a re-education department in the Soviet Union:  Kulturno-vospitatelnaya chast (Cultural Education Department)...In other words, a propaganda and brain-washing organ.

American Liberals would love nothing more than to be able to establish such a tool...Not that T.V., the movies and our piss-poor education system haven't done a pretty good job of it.

1510 - Pope Julius II excommunicated Venice.

No there wasn't some guy named 'Venice,' the pope was so arrogant he excommunicated the entire republic of Venice...Such was the insanity of the Papacy at this time.  Which is part of the reason the Reformation soon followed.

1582 - Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull outlining his calendar reforms, which led to the Gregorian Calendar  the calendar in general use today.

There have been many calendar reforms throughout history, and each was made to correct mistakes in previous systems...Unfortunately, these reforms have also created chaos for historians trying to be precise in dating events. Which is why the important thing to remember about history is events and their results, not their exact dates.

1914 - Weeks v. United States: the U.S. Supreme Court gave birth to the 'exclusionary rule': "Evidence seized illegally by the police is excluded."

No doubt this was created to help legitimate victims, but has been twisted to include the exclusion of necessary and proper investigative police work...And Red-Diaper-Doper-Baby-Lawyers (MS) love it.

1920 - A group of Germans organized the National Socialist Party, forerunner of the Nazi party later led by Adolf Hitler.

Incredibly, within 13-years they had their Fuhrer...Within 20-years they ruled most of Europe.

1933 - The League of Nations told the Japanese to pull out of Manchuria.

Japan acted as anyone given an order by the modern-day League of Nations (the U.N.) does...They laughed as loud as they could and flipped them the bird.

Nothing has changed, and history continues to repeat itself...Can you imagine the Hell-hole the world would be without the U.S.? Who else could have saved the world in WWII (Europe and E. Asia), ended Soviet Communism, etc., etc?

THE FRENCH?!?!?! HAHAHAHA!!

1961 - President Kennedy accepted "sole responsibility" for the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

Of course the CIA screwed up the operation, but Kennedy was man enough to accept his role as Commander-in-Chief.

That said, it's disgusting communist Cuba sits offshore from Florida, and the 'Bay of Pigs' invasion should have been followed up with as many more invasions as it took to end Castro’s reign...This should go for every communist country in the Western Hemisphere.

1989 - A 150,000,000-year old fossil egg containing the oldest known dinosaur embryo was discovered in Utah.

I’m surprised a Mengelian hasn’t tried to mix this DNA with a human to make a Humano-Saurus Rex...Bunch of moral degenerates.

1994 - Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders labeled smoking an "adolescent addiction," and accused the tobacco industry of trying to convince teenagers that cigarettes will make them sexy and successful.

And then she went on a campaign to legalize marijuana...Such is the insanity of Liberalism.

1997 - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met in Beijing with Chinese officials, telling them to improve their country's record on human rights, or face condemnation by the United States and its allies.

I bet the Chinese were scared to death at the prospect of ‘Halfbright’ threatening 'condemnation.'

February 23

1954 - The first mass inoculation of children against polio, with the Salk vaccine, began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

DO VACCINES WORK??

Prior to 1954, the U.S. had an annual rate of polio infection between 13,000-20,000 cases per year. 1952 was the highest reported with over 58,000 cases of polio.

IN 2017 THERE WERE ONLY A HANDFUL OF CASES OF POLIO WORLDWIDE...OF COURSE VACCINES WORK!!

Go to the 'Polio History Timeline' for a brief view of the success of this vaccine...A success-story repeated by many other vaccines as well.

303 - Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered the general persecution of Christians.

Constantine couldn’t come quickly enough for the Christians...In an ironic twist, the Roman Church later performed similar persecutions in the various Inquisitions.

1778 - Baron von Steuben joined the Continental Army at Valley Forge:  American Revolutionary War.

Von Steuben was a European mercenary, and his arrival marks a huge improvement in the discipline and order of Colonial forces...The Colonials were never a very reliable group, but von Steuben was an excellent instructor, which gave Washington a semi-professional force to fight with.

1836 - The Battle of the Alamo: The fort was besieged by Mexican President Santa Anna, and the entire garrison was eventually killed.

This was a fantastic victory for Santa Anna, but was purely tactical, and the Texans had the last laugh.

1847 - The Battle of Buena Vista:  Mexican-American War. Forces led by Zachary Taylor defeated the Mexicans, led by Santa Anna.

This battle didn’t end the Mexican-American War, but it signaled the beginning of the end.

Santa Anna attacked Taylor with over 14,000 troops, compared to Taylor’s 5,000. The battle began poorly for the Americans, but ended in a route, propelling General Taylor to the presidency two years later.

1919 - Benito Mussolini created the Italian Fascist Party.

Wooo Hoo! The man who would recreate the Roman Empire!! What a joke...Without the help of Hitler, the 'Paperboy' would have been able to conquer little more than parts of semi-barbaric Africa.

1926 - U.S. President Calvin Coolidge opposed a large air force, believing it would be a menace to world peace.

I love President Coolidge, but this was a terribly, shortsighted comment...No nation can deny the march of technology, unless it is looking to commit national suicide, that is.

1942 - The first shelling of the U.S. mainland during World War II occurred when a Japanese submarine fired 25 shells on an oil refinery in Ellwood, California.

Most Americans don't realized the Japanese hit the mainland. They used these shells, balloon drops, and held portions of Alaska as well...All the more reason to call on the Atom Bombs in 1945.

Hell, if the Japanese had an atom bomb they surely would have used it on a raid such as this one...And they were trying to get one.

1945 - U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, and raised the American flag. A larger flag was then brought in to replace the first - the second flag-raising was captured in the famous picture taken by Joe Rosenthal:  WWII.

You must get to D.C./Virgina to see the Iwo Jima Memorial...It is unbelievably powerful.

1991 - President GHW Bush announced the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun. (Because of the time difference, it was already the early morning of Feb. 24 in the Persian Gulf.)

The first Persian Gulf was was a brilliantly performed mission, but Bush made the mistake of limiting the objective of the mission after being pressured to quit the task prior to finishing off Saddam Hussein.

The job eventually fell to his son, who proved up to the task of not only taking on Saddam, but also taking on world opinion...Papa Bush was a good man, but he didn’t have the nerve and moral clarity of his son.

Unfortunately, W. fell into the trap of thinking he could bring Western Civilization to the Iraqis - in the form of democracy...This mistake cost him, America and the Iraqis terribly.

1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced they succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named 'Dolly.'

Very nice...Just what the world needs, Dr. Frankenstein’s and Mengele’s playing God.

February 22

1980 - In a stunning upset, the United States Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets 4-3.

I try to not make too many sports references in my history posts, but this is the greatest single event in the history of American sports...It was also at a time when the United States had been reeling under the pathetic leadership of Jimmy Carter, and the Cold War was at an all time high.

I was a 9-year old boy, and still remember sitting in my dad's living room watching the game on a black-and-white TV, listening to Al Michaels:  "Do you believe in miracles?!  YES!"

It's almost impossible to state how unlikely the American victory against this Soviet team was.  Not only had the Ruskies kicked them around various times during the year, but the Soviets also beat up on an NHL all-star team prior to the Olympics...The Soviet team was a machine, maybe one of the greatest hockey teams ever put together.  The American team was a group of college kids scrapped together with little expectation of reaching the medal round, let alone challenging the mighty Soviet juggernaut.

What most Americans don't realize is this victory didn't earn the U.S. team the gold medal - it was a semifinal match...The Americans had to defeat the Finns for the gold medal, which they did by a score of 4-2.

I'm not too proud to admit I still cry when watching a replay of the event, or the movie 'Miracle.'

I hope you will take the couple minutes it takes to watch the two videos in each hyperlink.

1819 - Spain ceded the Florida Territory to the United States.

America’s Manifest Destiny was getting closer to completion.

1856 - The first national meeting of the Republican Party took place in Pittsburgh.

Lets take a quick look back at the first 150-years of Republican history:

- Which party ended slavery? (R) Lincoln and the strict abolitionist Republican congress.

- Which party entered and won the Spanish-American War, winning much land, prestige, and naval bases for the U.S? (R) McKinley - really it was Teddy, but McKinley was prez.

- Which party busted the nations Trusts (monopolies)? (R) Teddy Roosevelt and Taft.

- Which party put politics aside and helped win WWII? Unlike the Democrat Party, which always puts politics ahead of anything else? (R).

- Which party ended the Korean and Vietnam Wars? (R) Ike and Nixon.

- Which party had the higher proportion of its members vote for the 60’s Civil Rights Acts? (R)...The Dems had many more Robert ‘KKK’ Byrd’s than the Republicans.

- Which party put the dagger in the Soviet Union? (R) Nixon, Reagan and Bush.

- Which party put an end to Saddam Hussein and put its foot on the throat’s of the Jihadists? (R) G.W. Bush...Too bad the (D) who followed him let up.

Just a reminder!

1902 - A fist-fight broke out in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Benjamin Tillman suffered a bloody nose for accusing Sen. John McLaurin of bias on the Philippine tariff issue.

Those foolish enough to think modern-day politics is 'more contemptuous than ever' need to review history...American politics has always been messy, and always will be.

Democracy in a free nation (never forget not all 'democratic' nations are free) is ugly, but much better than any other system:

"Politics is the continuation of War by other means." - Pero
"War is the continuation of Politics by other means." - Clausewitz

1942 - President Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines:  WWII.

There are many opinions about MacArthur, but Roosevelt was correct to get him out of an impossible situation in the Philippines...MacArthur was a megalomaniac, but he was also the most able American general in the Pacific Theatre, and it was important to keep him in the fight instead of in a Japanese POW camp.

1997 - A new welfare law in the U.S. removed tens of thousands of people off of food stamps. The new law stated that adults under age 50 without children or jobs could only receive food stamps for three months in any three year period. The law authorized states to contract with private companies to provide welfare services.

What a novel idea: MAKE BUMS WORK!!! And yes, anyone who is capable but unwilling to work (even crappy jobs) is a bum.

Incredibly, President Obama re-instituted the program of perpetual, generational welfare...And expanded it!

2004 - An Islamic state in Nigeria, which is at the heart of a spreading Africa polio outbreak, declared it would not relent on its boycott of a mass vaccination program it called a U.S. plot to spread AIDS and infertility among Muslims.

Nice logic...I’m pretty sure Allah won’t be sparing them from the disease, so they better get on-board. Or don’t!

February 21

1916 - The Battle of Verdun began (7:12 a.m., French time):  WWI.

Verdun was the longest, bloodiest battle of WWI, and one of the biggest battles in history...There were over 700,000 German and French casualties, with almost 300,000 deaths, in this standoff, where 'trench warfare' proved its ultimate uselessness against modern weaponry - particularly against long-range artillery, rifles and machine guns.

This battle was also one of the last times the French put up a good fight...When the Germans came calling in 1939 they surely didn’t give such a valiant effort.

1431 - England began the trial of Joan of Arc, on charges of witchcraft.

It was awfully nice of the French to turn their ‘savior’ and national hero over to the English.

1613 - Michael Romanov, son of the Patriarch of Moscow, was elected Russian Tsar.

The Romanovs were one of the most successful European monarchical dynasties, ruling Russia until 1917 when the Commies took over.

1940 - The Germans began construction of a concentration camp at Auschwitz:  WWII.

What a glorious day for mankind...The Goth finally re-emerged in the Germans and all Hell was breaking loose.

Civilization held the Germans at bay for almost 2,000 years, but their base instincts finally got the best of them, and the Jews, Roma, Poles, etc., were in the process of feeling their wrath.

1965 - Former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X, was shot to death in New York by assassins identified as Black Muslims.

Good riddance...Blacks were finally starting to make some political headway, and the last thing they needed was a fighting war to erupt. Malcolm could have brought this on eventually, which would have been catastrophic for the Civil Rights Movement.

Blacks have gotten much more through the process of politics and economics then they ever could have with the sword.

Of interesting note: Norman 3X Butler (Abdul Aziz), one of the three men convicted of killing Malcolm, was paroled in 1985 and in 1998 was appointed by Louis Farrakhan to head a Harlem mosque.

1972 - President Nixon began his historic visit to China. The first American president to visit China and the first president to visit a country not officially recognized by the United States.

This was Nixon's shining moment, and had he not gone all 'Tricky Dick' it would have propelled him to the heights of some of our greatest presidents...But he couldn't help himself.

Also, it's important to note how important Nixon's visit was in the fall of the Soviet Union, because the Ruskies feared China more than they did the U.S., and the fear of a Sino-American alliance drove them crazy.

February 20

1809 - U.S. v. Peters: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal government has more power than any individual state.

In our time, this opinion is pretty self-evident, but at the time it was revolutionary...Within 51-years the Southern states decided to put this ruling to the ultimate test - and lost big.

Something modern-day states might want to keep in mind when threatening to secede because they don't like the will of their fellow citizens.

1936 - Switzerland barred all Nazis from entering the country.

Except those with gold bars and artwork, of course.

1938 - Hitler demanded self-determination for Germans in Austria and Czechoslovakia with his quest for Lebensraum ('living space').

This was a nice excuse for Hitler to invade these two countries and begin the war he was hoping for...But he had no idea his European peers would drop their pants and hand these lands over to him.

Poor guy. I guess he had to attack Poland before they were willing to fight...And even at that, the Frenchies did little more than roll over like a cheap whore for Der Fuhrer.

1943 - The Battle of Kasserine Pass: WWII.  German troops of the Afrika Korps broke through the Kasserine Pass, defeating U.S. forces.

Rommel gave the Americans a pretty thorough 'ass-whoopin' at this battle, but it was an excellent tune-up for the many battles which followed. Luckily, there were very few which went this way after this point.

1997 – Lt. Kelly J. Flinn faced a court-martial on charges of adultery, conduct unbecoming an officer, failure to obey a lawful order, making a false official statement and failure to obey the Air Force regulation on fraternization.

Lt. Flinn was rightly charged, and I’m sure the Liberal Jackals had a field-day attacking this soldier...WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE U.S. MILITARY WAS SHOOTING HIS SEMEN ALL OVER THE OVAL OFFICE, AND 'MAKING FALSE OFFICIAL STATEMENTS' AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY!

If Clinton could do it, why couldn’t Flinn? I guess the Lieutenant didn’t have enough rank to get away with it.

Actually, the answer is the U.S. Military is a job Americans expect excellence and decency from, but Presidents, Senators and Congressmen are generally accepted to be shitheads and liars...Nice system we have.

February 19

1945 - The Battle of Iwo Jima began: WWII.  Over 60,000 U.S. Marines went ashore at Iwo Jima, where they began a month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces. The 36-day battle took the lives of 7,000 Americans and about 20,000 of 22,000 Japanese defenders.

25% of the U.S. Marines who received the Medal of Honor in WWII received theirs as a result of heroics in this battle:

"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue." - Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

If you ever get the chance, go to the Iwo Jima Memorial (just outside Arlington National Cemetery). Looking into the eyes of the soldiers in the statue is absolutely breathtaking, awe-inspiring and heart-breaking...I'm not too proud to admit tearing up at this magnificent monument.

197 - The Battle of Lugdunum.  Roman Civil War:  Emperor Septimius Severus defeated Claudius Albinus.

Lugdunum is considered the largest and most bloody civil war battle in Roman history.

The barbarians, pestilence, constant war, failing economy, etc., etc., were all reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, but the fact there was no routine 'peaceful' means of leadership transition was as big as any...Of course there were emperors who took office without fighting to gain it, but just as often succession was a simple matter of who could overthrow the previous emperor or win a civil war.

This is the historical norm for most countries throughout all of human history...Any modern states which have managed to have peaceful political transitions are truly rare.

1674 - The Treaty of Westminster was signed, ending the Anglo-Dutch War. Under its terms, New Netherlands became British.

New Netherlands later became New York, and the Dutch were all but eliminated as a New World power.

1800 - Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself First Consul of the newly established French dictatorship.

The modern-day Caesar was soon calling himself Emperor.

1807 - Aaron Burr became the first Vice President of the United States to be arrested; charged with treason for planning an expedition to invade Mexico.

Burr was an absolute nut, and it’s hard to imagine the damage he could have done if the House voted for him to break the tie in the 1800 Presidential Election instead of Thomas Jefferson.

1859 - Daniel E. Sickles, N.Y. congressman, was acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. This was the first time this defense was successfully used. He shot the D.C. district attorney for having an affair with his wife. Sickles pleaded temporary insanity and the sanctity of a man’s home and beat the murder rap.

Murder is an 'insane' act, so of course he was insane...This was a terrible precedent, and one the 'Red Diaper, Doper Babies' love to run out as a defense for their pathetic clients.

1861 - Russian Tsar Alexander II abolished serfdom.

A nice first step, but the Russian people were a long way from freedom...Sadly, they will have to cross the threshold from absolutism to Communism through their current post-Communist state to get there.

1918 - A decree was issued by the Soviet Central Executive Committee abolishing all private ownership of land, water and natural resources in Russia.

A giant leap for the Hell State, which more or less ended private property rights...Sounds like the wishful thinking of some American Democrats.

1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, giving the U.S. military the power to relocate and intern "any and all persons." The order was used to detain some 110,000 Japanese-Americans, most of them U.S.-born citizens:  WWII.

This is black-eye on American history, but it was the correct thing to do. Sooner or later, we will have to do something similar again...Mark my words.

1977 - President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino ('Tokyo Rose').

I don’t care how old she was, it is always a bad decision to free traitors...She should have been executed a long time before this date.

February 18

1405 - Emir al Kebir Timur 'i-Leng' (Tamerlane) died while leading an expedition to China.

How can one person be known by so many names? Timur - also known as Temur, Taimur, Timur Lenk, Timur i Leng, Tamerlane, Tamburlaine, or Taimur-e-Lang, which translates to Timur the Lame.

No matter what he was called, this Turko-Mongol was a fantastic leader, and one of the few to go down in history with 'the Great' after his name - a well earned title.

1536 - France and the Ottoman Empire signed a trade and military alliance against the Holy Roman Empire.

It's important to remember the Ottomans held large chunks of Eastern Europe and were major players in the European power structure...It's also important to remember the French have always been willing to take on any allies - even Muslims who wanted to crush Christian Europe.

1546 - Martin Luther, German Augustinian Friar and leader of the Protestant Reformation, died.

Luther is one of the twenty most important people in history...Anyone could have taken on the Church, but very few could have survived its attacks, and almost none could have won.

1861 – Jefferson Davis was inaugurated the Confederacy’s provisional president at a ceremony held in Montgomery, Ala...“All we ask is to be left alone,” Davis stated.

Thankfully President Lincoln was at the helm...If a man of lesser qualities had been president, the America we know today would be a much different place.

1932 - Japan declared Manchurian independence from China.

How nice of the Japanese...In reality, Japan placed a puppet in charge of Manchuria and held it for themselves, but the headline is nice.

1962 - Robert F. Kennedy said U.S. troops would stay in Vietnam until Communism was defeated.

Or until peaceniks flooded his party and forced the defeat of our proud military.

I have no doubt the war would have went differently if JFK hadn’t been assassinated...If nothing else, a reasonably Conservative leader would have been Commander-in-Chief, instead of LBJ.

1979 - Snow fell in the Sahara Desert.

Global Cooling at its finest.

1985 - General William C. Westmoreland and CBS reached an out-of-court settlement in Westmoreland's $120 million libel suit from a CBS News documentary, 'The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception.'

You’d think CBS would have learned, but they obviously haven’t and continue to put out 'hate-the-military propaganda.'

1998 - President Bill Clinton's foreign policy team encountered jeers during a town meeting at Ohio State University while trying to defend the administration's threat to bomb Iraq into compliance with U.N. weapons edicts. "One, two, three, four, we don't want your racist war," shouted some of the handful of hecklers at The Ohio State University in Columbus, catching Secretary of State Madeleine Albright off guard and drowning out what she was trying to say.

This puts a big challenge to the 'Bombs with (D) = Good, Bombs with (R) = Bad' theory.

That said, I’m sure Halfbright was 'caught off guard,' because she had no reason to think 'her people' would turn on her.

February 17

1801 - The U.S. House of Representatives chose Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United States. Aaron Burr, who tied with Jefferson in the Electoral College, became Vice President.

Burr was a true American scoundrel, and it was an enormous blessing for the nation that Jefferson was chosen by the House...It's hard to imagine such a great man as Jefferson being passed over for Burr, but due to a glitch in the Electoral College counting system it could have happened.

Also, this event is a reminder the 2000 Election wasn’t the first time the Presidency was in question, and was by no means a 'Constitutional Crisis'...If anything it was an opportunity for the Constitution to prove itself.

1947 - The 'Voice of America' began broadcasting to the Soviet Union.

It would be a good idea to do likewise in the Middle East, instead of leaving the information void to be filled by Islamic propagandists...Nah!

1993 - President Bill Clinton addressed a joint session of Congress, asking Americans to accept one of the biggest tax increases in history as part of a plan to curb massive budget deficits and stimulate the economy.

How on Earth did he come to the conclusion a 'tax increase' would in any way 'stimulate the economy?'...The way to stimulate the economy is to lower tax rates, and significantly lower government spending.

Clinton was lucky he had the Republican Congress and 'Computer Revolution' at his back, and also that he didn't bother to spend money on the military (which came back to bite us after 9/11/01). Unfortunately, the result of this luck was the Democrats didn't properly learn the lesson of 'taxing to stimulate'...We re-learned this lesson under Barack Obama instead.

1995 - A Federal judge allowed a lawsuit claiming U.S. tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive and manipulated its levels to keep its customers addicted.

I have no doubt this is correct...Yet the same government continues to subsidize tobacco companies.

1998 - President Bill Clinton, preparing Americans for possible air strikes against Iraq, said military force is never the first answer "but sometimes it's the only answer."

It would have been nice for Bubba to acknowledge Bush reached this point...Nah, that wouldn't have fit into the 'Bush is the Devil' theme the Democrats played for eight years.

Also, I thought Liberals always say "war is never the answer.”

2003 - European Union leaders declared their solidarity with the United States, warning Saddam Hussein that Iraq faced one "last chance" to disarm peacefully but calling war a last resort.

Nothing but a bunch of talk, in the hope of covering their own bribes and scandals.

February 16

1808 - The Peninsular War began when Napoleon ordered a large French force into Spain under the pretext of sending reinforcements to the French army occupying Portugal.

Napoleon met his end at Waterloo in 1815, and his invasion of Russia in 1812 was a complete disaster, but the Peninsular War played as big a role as the other two in the emperor’s eventual downfall.

The Spanish fought a guerrilla war against Napoleon, and never won a large battle, but instead forced him to fight a war of attrition...Also, the Peninsular campaign is where the Duke of Wellington perfected the tactics he used to defeat the emperor seven years later.

There are many similarities between the Peninsular War and the WWII Allied attacks on Germany’s ‘soft underbelly’ (North Africa and Italy). Both were used:
- As a training ground for green troops and commanders.
- To soften the tyrant’s (Napoleon and Hitler) allies.
- To string out enemy troops from the far west of Europe to the far east.
- And equally important, both allowed the Brits (and U.S. in WWII) to buy time while their Eastern allies took the brunt of the Imperial and German assaults - largely at the hands of the Ruskies in both cases.

600 - Pope Gregory the Great decreed "God bless You" as the religiously correct response to a sneeze.

I bet you’ve been wondering where this came from.

1804 - The U.S. frigate Philadelphia, captured and held by Barbary pirates at Tripoli during the Tripolitan War, was set fire to and destroyed by a small group of men led by Stephen Decatur.

For those of who didn’t understand the line in the Marine Corp Hymn: “...to the shores of Tripoli” - Now you know.

1862 - About 14,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered at Fort Donelson, Tenn., earning Gen. Ulysses S. Grant the nickname 'Unconditional Surrender Grant.'

Grant wasn’t a military genius by any means, but he was a fighter. Sadly it took Lincoln a few more years to realize Grant was the commander he was looking for...Amazingly, in our time a general like Grant would be run out of the military for being 'too tough,' 'indiscriminate with the use of his troops,' 'a butcher,' 'a drunk,' or for not being 'Politically Correct.'

Thank God for men like Grant; Pershing, Patton, etc.!!! Our nation is at risk because our military has become 'too nice' - and too feminine - figuratively and literally...Someday our armed services will have to revert to their natural roots, which is to 'break stuff and kill people' in the process of protecting our nation.

Unfortunately, it's likely many troops (and probably civilians) will pay the price for our current stupidity on the way to re-learning this ancient knowledge.

1923 - Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen.

An incredible find...But it was nothing compared to what the ancient grave diggers found with most of the other pharaohs.

Tut was a boy king, and a very unimportant figure compared to most of ancient Egypt's rulers...Yet Carter found a true treasure trove.  Imagine what the powerful pharaohs were buried with.

1951 - Joseph Stalin contended the U.N. was becoming the weapon of aggressive war.

Against who??? This is the ultimate ‘pot calling the kettle black.’

2005 - The Kyoto Protocol took effect.

What a joke.  The Global Warmers got their global law, and it has done nothing...No one who signed the deal has bothered to follow through.

The world just wanted the U.S. to agree to it, which is never has, in order to chop the world's superpower down a few notches - and to dip its hands in her coffers.

February 15

1898 - The U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing two officers and 258 crew members:  Spanish-American War.

Did the Spanish blow up the ship? Maybe, maybe not...Either way, the result was the U.S. soon declared war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War, which set America on a course of future greatness.

It's hard to believe the whole war was put together by a spunky 'Undersecretary', who would have never had so much power if the 'Secretary' wasn't such a pathetic loser...No one remembers who the 'Secretary of the Navy' was (John Davis Long).  Everyone has heard of the 'Undersecretary of the Navy':  Teddy Roosevelt.

That said, the Spanish-American War also put the final nail in the coffin of what was formerly a strong and proud Spanish Empire...And it's just as well, because being a European weakling allowed Spain to stay out of WWI and WWII.

1944 - Allied forces heavily bombed the monastery atop Monte Cassino in Italy:  WWII.

The U.S. has been ripped for destroying the monastery - by the same fools who hate religion and wish the USSR were still around.

General Clark felt it was the only way to break the German lines, which were using the monastery as a fortress, and he did what he thought was best...He was correct, even though it turned out the monastery's rubble created serious impediments to the Allied advance.  If nothing else, the Allied troops passed a mental obstacle.

1950 - Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung signed a mutual defense treaty in Moscow.

What a dynamic duo...I think it’s safe to say, never in history have two men with so much blood on their hands been in the same place at one time.

1987 - ABC broadcast the first segment of 'Amerika,' a controversial miniseries about a Soviet takeover of the United States which was criticized by some as potentially damaging to superpower relations.

Forget 'superpower relations,' ABC was wishful thinking...SOB’s.

1989 - The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ended.

It's hard to believe this is where the likes of Osama bin Laden got started, but at the time there was no doubt the U.S. was supporting the right side.

2011 - Protests against Muammar al-Gaddafi's rule in Libya began.

Much like the Soviet-Afghanistan war, it's likely we'll find we supported a future enemy...The difference is, Gaddafi wasn't nearly the enemy the USSR was.

Getting rid of him has proven much more disastrous than when he was around.

It also played a large roll in Hillary Clinton losing the 2016 Presidential Election.

February 14 (A Double)

1803 - Marbury v. Madison: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall ruled any act of Congress which conflicts with the Constitution is null and void. This decision established the Court as the ultimate interpreter of the U.S. Constitution.

This ruling was nothing short of an ‘invisible revolution’ within the great document...It is nowhere to be found in the Constitution, but has long been the absolute rule, for better or worse.

"[T]he germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal judiciary: an irresponsible body, working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little to-day and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction until all shall be usurped from the States, and the government of all be consolidated into one. To this I am opposed." - Thomas Jefferson

Like I said, an invisible revolution.  One which has been going on from the beginning of the nation's founding...For better and worse.

1928 - Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered the mold penicillin has an antibiotic effect.

This is one of the greatest discoveries of all time - medical or otherwise, and the results of this event have been awesome...It's impossible to calculate, but it can easily be assumed millions (billions??) of people have been saved by this discovery?

Try to imagine how many times you’ve taken penicillin, then multiply that by the billions of people on the planet over the past 90-years...That is awesome, and is why Fleming’s discovery belongs with the greatest of all time.

44 B.C. - Julius Caesar was honored with the title of ‘Dictator of Rome for Life.’

An impressive title, but one he only had for 29-days...The 'life' part got in the way of his grand plans.

1496 - Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.

"There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it 'From Your Valentine.' Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him." - Original author unknown

1349 - 2,000 Jews were burned at the stake in Strasbourg, Germany.

I bet you thought the Nazi’s were the first Germans to toast Jews...Nah, it’s been a national pastime for centuries.

1918 - Warsaw demonstrators protested the transfer of Polish territory to the Ukraine.

I bet the Poles were really happy when Ukraine entered the Soviet Union...Then when the Nazi’s came in to 'liberate' them from the Ruskies; and vice verse.

1949 - The United States charged the U.S.S.R. with interning up to 14-million in labor camps.

14-million is probably a low estimate.

I recommend you read 'The Gulag Archipelago,' by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (the most important book of the 20th Century, but terribly difficult to read)...Or 'Gulag: A History,' by Anna Applebaum (the best English history of the Gulag, and much easier to read.)

1956 - The 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party opened, and Nikita Khruschev denounced the policies of Joseph Stalin.

This would have been much more impressive had he done it while Uncle Joe was alive...Nikki would’ve had his neck snapped had he done so, but it would have been brave.

1991 - Two San Francisco men became the first couple to register as 'domestic partners' under a new city ordinance.

Lovely.

February 13

1945 - Allied planes began bombing the German city of Dresden:  WWII.

Those who know WWII history know this was a fantastic three day bombing raid, and is often debated by the 'Hate-America' crowd as an unnecessary taking of lives and destruction of a city.

Of course the Allies lit up Dresden, and more or less destroyed the city...SO WHAT!!! The Germans had it coming, and were lucky the atom bomb wasn’t available.

How can anyone feel sorry for the land of the Holocaust, Leningrad, Stalingrad, The Blitz, Mengele, etc., etc.?  How can anyone be foolish enough to believe in the 'innocent German theory' - that it was all Hitler's fault?

The German people brought Hitler to power.  The German people also willingly swallowed his poison pills...The only way to make sure the German nation was defeated, was to crush the German Army, kill Hitler and his leading henchmen, and make the German people suffer to a point they'd never want to fight a war of aggression, enslavement and extermination again.

In other words, the Allies had to make sure they didn't repeat the mistakes of WWI, and had to DEFEAT Germany to a point it knew it had been defeated!

American leaders at the time knew this.  It would be nice if those in our current time would relearn this ancient knowledge:  If you go to war, you fight to win - convincingly...And, you better be willing to lose it all if you are defeated.

1570 - The Massacre of Novgorod ended.

Ivan proved just how 'Terrible' he could be, torturing and killing up to 60,000 who he claimed were going to defect to Poland and turn against Russia.

1865 - The Confederate States of America approved the recruitment of slaves as soldiers, as long as the approval of their owners was granted:  U.S. Civil War.

What a bizarre concept: Fighting to ensure your own enslavement...In reality, the slaves were pressed into service and didn’t fight well if at all.

1920 - The League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.

Neutrality = Playing all sides...Check Swiss bank records and art galleries, and you’ll see just how 'neutral' Switzerland has been since this time.

1936 - The first U.S. Social Security checks were put in the mail.

Do you hear that huge gasping for breath? It’s America struggling to breathe with the National Noose around its neck...Sooner or later the neck will snap and the body will die.

1942 - Hitler canceled Operation Seeloew (Sealion), the proposed invasion of Britain:  WWII.

Thankfully Hitler was too impatient to attack the Soviets (1941), or he may have actually had a chance of successfully invading Britain...Also, had the Japanese not attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbor who knows how long it would have taken FDR to get America into the war.

The invasion of Russia and the American entrance into the war drastically altered Hitler’s plans, and eventually doomed the 1000-Year Reich to the status of being the 12-Year Reich.

1961 - The Soviets fired a rocket from Sputnik V to Venus.

Those Ruskies have always had impressive rocketry.

1998 - President Bill Clinton forcefully sought to persuade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to permit U.N. inspectors to search his country for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons but said Washington could not "walk away" if he did not. "I hope and I pray that he will permit qualified, honest, nonpolitical, technically competent inspectors to have access to those sites which have been forbidden."

This is absolutely comical considering Clinton’s lack of action after his big talk. His idea of a 'Big Stick' was swinging a wiffle-ball bat (or his pecker) in the wind...Unfortunately for Saddam, G.W. Bush carried a much bigger club, and wasn't afraid to use it.

2007 - North Korea agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program in exchange for millions of dollars in aid. The agreement reached in Beijing said North Korea would close its nuclear plants within 60 days in return for aid and other inducements. North Korean state media said the pact required only a temporary suspension of the country's nuclear facilities.

Another promise to get rid of nukes, millions more dollars down the toilet, and another middle-finger for the U.S. from North Korea...The Kim family of nut-jobs continual 'middle-finger' at the U.S. would be funny if it weren't so serious.

February 12 (A Special Double in Peroville)

1940 - The U.S.S.R. signed a trade treaty with Germany to aid against the British blockade:  WWII.

The Ruskies were more than willing to stick it to Britain, and everyone else, prior to Barbarossa...In fact, the German invasions of Poland and France probably wouldn't have happened without the Ruskies helping them with supply - and much more in the case of Poland.

Yet Stalin had the gall to bitch and cry that the Allies were too slow to invade the Continent...He made deals with the Devil, and the Soviet Union got run through Hell in return.

Deservedly run through Hell.

1994 - My first child (Holly) was born...She will never know how much I love her.

I was off serving my country, and unable to see my little girl for the first couple weeks of her life, but I've never been prouder than becoming a daddy...I can still visualize the 'little girl' outfit I hung on the door of my locker - I also had a 'little boy' outfit, since we didn't know which it would be.

She's not a little girl any longer, but she'll always be my little sweetheart.  My crazy little sweetheart.

I hope I've done well by her.

Happy birthday, baby.

1554 - Lady Jane Grey, who'd claimed the throne of England for nine days, was beheaded with her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, after being charged with treason.

It takes some big cajones for a 16-year old to claim any crown, but it was really her husband who pushed her into the decision...Too bad their necks weren’t as strong as their desires.

1797 - The German national anthem, 'Deutschland uber alles,' was written by Haydn. He didn't write it for Germany - the Germans took the melody for their own after Haydn composed it as a national anthem for Austria.

It wasn’t long before the Germans started claiming much more than just Austria’s national anthem.

1892 - President Lincoln's birthday was declared a national holiday.

BUT IT ISN’T ANYMORE!!! What a joke that the second greatest president in American history is no longer acknowledged by name, instead his holiday has been incorporated into President’s Day.

You’d think Liberals would want to respect this great man, but he was a 'white guy,’ so he’s off the calendar...It'll be interesting to see how long it takes (not if) Liberals try to get President Obama his own day.

1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.

Exactly which color are they advancing? They have done little for blacks, and seem to be more involved with 'Reds' than anything else.

1912 – Pu Yi, last emperor of the Manchu (Chi’ing) Dynasty in China, renounced his throne following the establishment of a republic under Sun Yat-sen.

In China 'renounced' must be synonymous with 'saved his neck,' because he surely didn’t give up his crown out of niceness...Pu's lucky Sun was a much nicer guy than Lenin, however, because the Bolsheviks wouldn’t have given him the option of living.

1998 - The American Medical Association called for a voluntary five-year moratorium on human cloning, rather than the outright ban President Clinton backed. The AMA said it supported research which is important to human health, urging Congress not to interfere with current human, animal or cellular cloning research not directly aimed at producing a human being.

The American Mengelian Association didn’t want ethics to get in the way of science...It's pretty bad when Bill Clinton has higher moral standards than so-called 'care givers.'

1999 – The U.S. Senate acquitted President Bill Clinton. The votes on perjury were 45 guilty, 55 not guilty. The votes on obstruction of justice were 50 guilty, 50 not guilty.

It’s just as well because if Gore had replaced Clinton he would have surely won the 2000 election - as a martyr.

February 11 (A Double)

1945 - President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement.

I’m a Conservative ‘hawk,’ but it is foolish for anyone to claim FDR 'gave up Eastern Europe and Berlin' to the Soviets at Yalta...We weren't going to war with the Soviets to save Eastern Europe, and were not going to beat the Ruskies to Berlin.

Sure Roosevelt was on his deathbed, but he did not betray anyone, and wasn’t swindled by Stalin.

Plus, from the very beginning of the war, the Western allies main goal was to defeat Germany and contain them in the future - at the time, 50-years was a pipe dream...The Soviets were a strong force on the Eastern flank, and to this day the Germans are still cowed from their resounding defeat - proving the 50-year goal to be much more achievable than anyone could have hoped for.

The one ‘mistake’ FDR did made at Yalta was pushing so hard to get Soviet involvement in the Japanese theatre of battle. It was completely unnecessary at this point of the war, and proved terribly costly because it was Uncle Joe’s excuse to openly intervene in China and Korea.

1979 - Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15-years of exile.

Thank you Jimmy Carter...This should have been stopped before it began, but he didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to assassinate the 'Lenin of the Middle East.' We will continue to pay dearly for this mistake, because this joke-of-a-president was unwilling to take care of the situation while it was possible at a minimal cost.

660 B.C. - Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu Tenno.

Of course this date is mythical, but it's a great story, for a great culture and people...Here’s hoping they are our perpetual allies, because their genius and national discipline would combine to make a terrible foe - again!

1650 - Rene Descartes died.

Many will say: 'Who cares?' (myself included)...The reason this event is memorable is because most historians link his death with the end of the Renaissance Period.

1847 - Thomas Alva Edison was born.

Thankfully this genius was born long before the days of mass abortion.

I wonder how many Edison’s, Einstein’s, Da Vinci’s, Newton’s, etc., have been executed in the womb during the Prenatal Holocaust? Odds are, at least a few with such brilliance are killed off in the 45,000,000 abortions per year worldwide.

1904 - President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed strict neutrality for the U.S. in the Russo-Japanese War.

This war was so short it wouldn’t have mattered if T.R. proclaimed our alliance with either, because by the time we would have gotten there the war would have been over.

1943 - General Dwight Eisenhower was selected Supreme Allied Commander of all Allied armies in Europe:  WWII.

Ike was the perfect ‘political-general’ for the difficult task of invading the Continent with a multi-national force...He didn’t have the tactical genius of Patton or the strategic and logistical genius of Marshall (who outranked him), but it is doubtful any other general could have molded such a perfect Allied force.

1975 - Margaret Thatcher became the first female leader of a British political party when she was elected leader of the Conservatives.

The 'Iron Lady' was a great leader, and proved to be the third most important person in the downfall of the USSR...After President Reagan and Pope John Paul II.