October 1 (A Double)

331 B.C. - The Battle of Gaugamela.

Also known as the Battle of Arbela.

Alexander the Great crushed King Darius III's Persian army, even though Darius entered the battle with a 1,000,000 man army (according to ancient historian, Arrian).

Obviously the ancient estimate is terribly inaccurate, but there's little doubt the Persians had at least a 4-1 advantage, which simply meant Alexander had more enemies to kill...Reasonable estimates claim Alexander suffered around 10,000 casualties compared to 140,000 for Darius.

Gaugamela is one of the most decisive and important battles in history, and it's result went a long way towards Alexander becoming the 'Master of the Known World'...A fact which destined the Western world to become Greco/Roman instead of possibly Persian.

1952 - Britain exploded its first atom bomb, at Monte Bello Island, Australia.

Anytime a country solves and figures out how to weaponize the power of the atom it signifies a great event...Maybe not a good one, but definitely a great one.

1800 - The Treaty of San Ildefonso.

A secret treaty between France and Spain:  Spain gave the Louisiana Territory to France...Spain didn't have much of a choice, with Napoleon threatening to take over Spain.

France didn't control the territory for long, though, and sold it to the U.S. in 1803.

1903 - The first World Series began in Boston.

Not the Boston Red Sox.

The Boston Pilgrims v. Pittsburgh Pirates...Eventually won by the Pilgrims, who won 5 of 8 games in the best-of-nine series.

1934 - Adolph Hitler expanded the German army and navy, and created an air force, violating the Treaty of Versailles.

Hitler promised he'd do it, and no one took him seriously...Sadly, this reality continued for the next five years, but by then it was too late to reverse his gains.

Sadly, the civilized world continues to make similar mistakes with madmen in our time.

1939 - Winston Churchill said the USSR "is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma":  WWII.

Churchill is the greatest leader of the 20th Century and he had this description perfectly pegged...The Soviets did nothing to prove otherwise with their bizarre actions in the first years of the war - nor during the rest of or after the war.  Including the Russians in our time.

1942 - The German Army ground to a complete halt within the city of Stalingrad:  WWII.

The great German Army was about to get it's first taste of 'Hell on Earth'...Which they'd been giving the rest of Europe for the past three years.

The battle turned into an artillery and sniper's battle, with both sides looking for any breakout possibility.

Needless to say, it was damn cold pretty soon, and the Germans were extremely unprepared for a prolonged battle in the Russian winter. But at least they had the 'Fat Field Marshal' to count on delivering his promise of supplying the Army from the air...Hahahaha!! If you don't get that, you need to visit this site more often.

The offensive phases of Stalingrad were awesome (Germans in the beginning and Soviets in the end), but this period of stagnant-warfare proved to be a slaughter-house for both sides.

Again, I can't stress how much I recommend you read up on the Battle of Stalingrad.  Simply, the greatest battle in the history of the world.

1949 - Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung raised the first flag of the People's Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing.

There's no way the Communists should have been able to win this battle, but they did.

Fortunately, China proved to be a different kind of communism than the Soviet system...Unfortunately, it proved to be equally deadly - also much heartier and sustaining.

1961 - Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run.

MARIS IS THE REAL SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUN KING!!!

Forget 'Roids Mac,' 'Roids Sammy,' and 'Roids Bonds.'

September 16

335 B.C. - Alexander the Great destroyed every building in Thebes, Egypt, except the temples and the house of the poet Pindar.

Alexander did the world a disservice with this event, but the Greeks/Macedonians were semi-barbaric and brutal...Then again, so are many modern people.

It’s terribly unfortunate much of the ancient world has been destroyed or put to flame, because the puzzle we have left of the ancients is tough to piece together, and much of it has been propagandized by the 'winners.'

1620 - The Mayflower set sail from Southampton, England.

There were other people on the North American continent, but this ship carried the first 'Americans.'

It's important to note, the term 'American' describes an attitude and sense of freedom much more than it describes a people or a region...Which is why even people who hate America would like to become 'Americans.'

1630 - The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.

The original Bostonians would be sick to see the insane, God-hating, Liberal pukes who now reside in their once-great village.

1782 - The Great Seal of the United States was used for first time.

The Great Seal tells a great story, and portrays America in it’s full glory, as it is and should always be…Click on the links below to read about the meaning of each item.

Obverse: On the breast of the American bald eagle is a shield with thirteen vertical white and red stripes beneath a blue chief. In the eagle's right talon is an olive branch, and in his left a bundle of thirteen arrows. In his beak is a scroll inscribed with the motto E Pluribus Unum.

Over the head of the eagle, a golden glory is breaking through a cloud and surrounding a constellation of thirteen stars on an azure field.

Reverse: In the zenith of an unfinished pyramid is an eye in a triangle surrounded with a golden glory. Over the eye are the words Annuit Coeptis. On the base of the pyramid are the numerical letters MDCCLXXVI, and underneath, the motto Novus Ordo Seclorum.

Great Seal of the U.S. Homepage.

1893 - More than 100,000 homesteaders rushed to claim shares of a six-million acre strip between Oklahoma and Kansas opened up by the U.S. government.

The 'Boomers' were off to settle a new and better life...The 'Sooners' already had their plots.

1974 - President Ford offered conditional amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. He said they could come home if they performed up to two years of public service.

1. This offer was far too generous, and they should have either went to jail or not been allowed to come home at all.

2. Carter eliminated the 'two years of public service,' and the Liberal scumbags in the country turned the evaders into celebrities...Hell, one even managed to be elected president:  Bill Clinton.

1997 - Attorney General Janet Reno named Charles La Bella the Justice Department's new lead prosecutor in the campaign fund-raising investigation.

Hahahaha!! I hope you find this as funny as I do...Especially considering Reno's boss was one of the most corrupt 'fund-raisers' ever:  Bill Clinton.

2005 - A 3-day U.N. summit, billed as the largest gathering of world leaders in history, ended and achieved far less than Secretary-General Kofi Annan had hoped.

What a joke! I would have assumed nothing of worth would have gotten done. The fact they got less than hoped for must mean they didn't even get started.

June 13

323 B.C. - Alexander the Great died of fever in Babylon.

Alexander is one of the ten most important people in the history of the world, and it is doubtful anyone has accomplished anywhere near what he did in such a short lifetime: 33-years.

It's too bad he didn't have a chance to consolidate his empire, because his successors (Macedonian generals, the 'Diodachi') were nowhere near as skilled militarily or administratively as Alexander...Who knows how history would have turned out if he had been given the opportunity to live a full life?

1900 - China's Boxer Rebellion against foreigners and Chinese Christians erupted into violence.

The rebellion gets its name from the revolutionaries who started it:  The 'Fists of Righteous Harmony.'

For most of the late 1800’s, every world power picked away at Chinese sovereignty, and the Chinese had enough...I can’t say I blame them, but they were eventually overwhelmed by an international force (U.S., Japan, Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia).

The overall result was the continued weakening of China, which also propped Japan up as the lone Asian power...Unfortunately, within 50-years we paid the price for creating a 'victorious' Japan, and for sticking it to China.

Don't think for a minute they've forgotten this period, either.

1920 - The U.S. Post Office Department ruled children may not be sent by parcel post.

You’d think this ruling would be unnecessary, but there is no limit to human debauchery.

1966 - Miranda v. Arizona: The U.S. Supreme Court declared a suspect must be informed of his rights.

This is a reasonable decision, but no one could have foreseen how lawyers would use it as a tool against justice, instead of as part of it.

1979 - Sioux Indians were awarded $105 million in compensation for the U.S. seizure of the Black Hills in South Dakota.

So we should be even, right? Nah! The ball-busting and extortion will continue forever.

1983 - Pioneer-10, a robotic spacecraft, became the first man-made object to leave the solar system, eleven years after it was launched.

Eleven years to leave our solar system and still nowhere near another one...A huge event for science, and a harsh reality for those with the pipe-dream of finding life outside of our solar system.

1992 - Bill Clinton stirred controversy during an appearance before the Rainbow Coalition by criticizing the rap singer Sister Souljah for making remarks "filled with hatred" toward whites.

Freedom of speech only applies when it meets agendas. Truth-telling isn’t good enough...Clinton should have told these thugs to 'go to Hell.'

1996 - Bush v. Vera:  The U.S. Supreme Court placed greater limits on congressional districts intentionally drawn to get more minorities elected to Congress.

So the Court ruled Affirmative Action for congressmen is unconstitutional...How about for the rest of the country?

May 22 (A Triple)

334 B.C. - The Battle of Granicus: Alexander the Great defeated Persian King Darius III, in modern-day Turkey.

This battle has historical significance for many reasons:

1. It was Alexander's first great victory in his conquest of the Persian Empire.

2. It was the closest Alexander ever came to losing a battle...In fact he almost lost his life.

3. It was the first recorded battle dominated by the strength of cavalry.

4.  It was the beginning of the end of the world's first great dynasty:  The Persian Empire.

1455 - The Battle of St. Albans:  Lancastrians v. Yorkists, beginning England's 30-year War of the Roses.

This battle began a civil war, which wasn't won by either of these 'Roses.'

FYI: The House of Lancaster was symbolized by the 'Red Rose,' and the House of York by the 'White Rose'...Both the Lancasters and Yorks descended from the Plantagenet royal line, which was their basis for claiming the throne

Unfortunately for both, neither ultimately won the war, because it was the House of Tudor - led by Henry VII - which came out the victor...Founding the Tudor Dynasty.

1947 - The 'Truman Doctrine' was enacted when Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.

There have been three great National Defense strategies in U.S. history:

1. The Monroe Doctrine: Keeping Europe from dominating the Western Hemisphere...It was strengthened by the Roosevelt Corollary.

2. The Truman Doctrine: Stopping the spread of Communism.

3. The Bush Doctrine: Attacking international terrorism, and those who support terrorists...People can love or hate Bush, but make no mistake, to this point the Bush Doctrine has been effective - we have taken the war to the Jihadis, giving them less chances to bring it to American soil.

Only time will tell if our current and future leaders keep the Bush Doctrine in play...To their credit, President Obama primarily did (even though many may not have liked it), and so has President Trump.

337 - Constantine 'the Great' died.

Constantine’s life was one of the greatest of all time, because his actions affected so many (during and after his time).

He made Christianity the official religion of the Empire, was one of the last of the great Roman emperors, and the founder of one of the ancient world's greatest cities: Constantinople.

1807 - Former Vice President Aaron Burr was put on trial for treason in Richmond, Virginia. He was acquitted in August.

It’s hard to believe this scoundrel was almost President of the United States, and actually was the V.P.

1863 - Union general Ulysses S. Grant’s second attack on Vicksburg failed and he began a siege of the fort:  U.S. Civil War.

Other than ultimately winning the war, this was the beginning of Grant’s finest hour...The fall of Vicksburg was a crushing blow to the Confederacy because the Union gained control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy between east and west.

It's important to point out this is the greatest siege in the history of the American nation...And the only one of consequence on American soil.

1872 - The Amnesty Act restored civil rights to U.S. Southerners.

As a result of this act, most Southerners were allowed to reclaim their position in American society (property, voting, etc)...An important point in the healing of the torn nation.

1939 - The Pact of Steel:  Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini committed Germany and Italy to a military alliance.

Both would regret their decision to take the other as a partner, which ended with their deaths.
 
1985 - U.S. sailor Michael L. Walker was arrested aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz, two days after his father, John A. Walker Jr., was apprehended; both were later convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.

Both were Navy officers, and both escaped the hangman...What a pathetic lack of justice for two traitorous POS's.

Read more about the Walker Family.