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.

January 26

1699 - The Treaty of Carlowitz was signed: Venice, Poland, Austria and the Ottoman Empire.

This wasn't the end of the Ottoman Empire by any stretch, but it was the beginning of the end for the Ottomans as a great power in Central and Southeast European affairs...It was also a strengthening of the Habsburg monarchy in these same regions.

We can never know for certain, but I'm betting the people in these parts of Europe hated their new Austrian overlords as much as the Turks.

1340 - English King Edward III proclaimed himself King of France.

Never forget, the English kings at this time were successors of William the Conqueror - Duke of Normandy - and felt they had a rightful claim to much of France...Edward felt it was all of France.

The French put an end to this silliness, however by winning the Hundred Years' War:  1337-1453.

1784 - In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the choice of the eagle as the symbol of America. His personal preference was the turkey.

I like Ol’ Ben, but am so glad we don’t have a damn turkey for our national symbol.

1934 - Nazi Germany and Poland signed a ten-year non-aggression pact.

Amazingly the Nazi’s actually got half way through this agreement before they broke it...I don’t think anyone else got nearly this far.

1942 - The first American Expeditionary Force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland:  WWII.

Our troops went out to save the world...I have often wondered if the Euros would have sent their troops to the Western Hemisphere to do the same. I doubt it.

1943 - Soviet troops defeated all but 12,000 Germans trapped at Stalingrad, and freed three of the main railways:  WWII.

Hitler should've never insisted on capturing Stalingrad (or Leningrad). There was no need to invest this city, and it made much more sense to reduced it to rubble and push on...Stalingrad would have died on its own over time due to starvation, disease or chaos. Forcing the city to fight for its survival allowed Stalin to keep the city of his name alive, and eventually led to the destruction of the German 6th Army.

1998 - President Bill Clinton forcefully, and with anger, denied having an affair with a White House intern, telling reporters, "I want to say one thing to the American people...I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." Clinton also said he "never told anybody to lie."

What a joker, and not for the BlewClinsky Affair.

Historically, Clinton’s presidency will be defined by the debasement of American society, and the global proliferation of nuclear and missile material and technology (China, N. Korea, Pakistan, and who knows who else)...And lets not forget he passed on a chance to apprehend Bin Laden, who was all but handed over to him by Sudan. But Billy didn't think it was necessary to accept this gift.

1999 - German Chancellor Schroeder abandoned an ambitious timetable for the planned shutdown of nuclear power plants.

I will never understand why the Germans are insisting on destroying their nuclear power plant structure…Nuclear power is the way of the future, and it is also extremely clean for the environment.

I guess they’d rather burn dirty coal and oil for power, and remain dependant of the Ruskies and Middle East for their energy demands...Or maybe they're looking at re-enlisting the Jews as a cheap energy source.

January 15

1929 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

A group of 62 nations agreed to outlaw war, which was incredibly successful...What a pathetic JOKE!

1931: Japan invaded Manchuria.

1935: Italy invaded Ethiopia.

1936: The Spanish Civil War began...Many of Europe's players got involved as a tune-up for WWII.

1937: Japan invaded China.

1938: Germany took Austria (peacefully, hahaha), as well as the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia (peacefully as well...Thanks Nev!).

1939: Germany and the U.S.S.R. invaded Poland - then Western Europe...Europe went to war - sort of.

1939: The U.S.S.R. invaded Finland.

1941: Italy invaded Greece.

1941: Germany invaded the U.S.S.R...The European war became total.

1941: Japan attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbor...The Pacific was now aflame.

I could do this all day, over the entire globe - FOR ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.

The sad reality is fighting and war are part of the human condition. Always have been, always will be.

Promises of peace are a joke...There is only one way to have peace, and that is to be strong enough to thoroughly destroy your enemies, and having the will to use such force as needed.

Ultimate strength, and the willingness to use it is the only deterrence to those who threaten peace - which is just about everyone.

588 B.C. - Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II began a siege against Jerusalem.

The event isn't great, but the fact it is in the ancient period and is recorded is great...These kind of events are so rare they can't be taken for granted.

1535 - Henry VIII declared himself head of the English Church.

Although he was a buffoon, Henry proved to be the third most important person in the Reformation period, after Luther and Charles V...His decision to leave the Catholic Church forever separated England from the Continent, and led it down a path of greatness only matched by the Romans and Americans in the Western World.

1559 - England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth was one of England's greatest monarchs, and one of the most important women in the history of the world.

1870 - The Democrat Party was represented as a donkey in a cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly.

The Donkey was created as a representation of the Democrats kicking around the Republicans...That said, the Democrats ended up with the perfect character representing its party and ideas: The Jackass.

1919 - Peasants in Central Russia rose against the Bolsheviks.

Those who don't understand the Russian Revolution may think the Russian Communists were supposed to be for the 'peasants,' but Lenin had no intention of following Marx's ideas...Instead he tilted towards the city workers and intelligentsia.

The entire communist movement was a joke from the beginning, but Lenin and the Ruskies bastardized it to a point of simply being a 'Political Philosophy from Hell.'

1945 - The Soviet Red Army liberated the Krakow-Plaszow Concentration Camp:  WWII.

Lets not make the mistake of ever buying into sentences mixing the words 'liberate' and 'Soviet/Red Army.'

What a treat this must have been for the Jews and Poles to go from being enslaved, abused and killed by the Nazis, to being enslaved, abused and killed by the Soviets.

1951 - The U.S. Supreme Court curbed freedom of speech, ruling "clear and present danger" of incitement to riot was cause for arrest.

This took a ruling by the Supremes???? I guess 'common sense' has never been common.

1989 - NATO, the Warsaw Pact and twelve other European countries adopted a human rights and security agreement in Vienna, Austria.

Blah, blah, blah...Wasted words, and a complete waste of time.

See Kellogg-Briand at the top.

2004 - Amnesty International said more than 400 prisoners had been hanged since 1991 in Singapore, mostly for drug offenses.

Anytime you see 'Amnesty International' you know it is going to be a line of B.S...And this one is right up to par.

Singapore should be proud of itself for executing scumbags with drug offenses...We'd be much better off here in the U.S. if we did likewise. Instead we go limp on the issue, and have chosen to accept an enormous drug problem, along with all the problems drugs contribute to.

January 7 (A Double)

1789 - The first nationwide U.S. presidential election was held. The electors unanimously picked George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President.

Two better men couldn't have been chosen for the position of President and V.P...It's doubtful anyone will ever surpass Washington in importance in American history, and although Adams was no Washington he was more than up to the task of succeeding Washington eight years later.

Our nation would never have survived without these early leaders, and it's been said a million times: "America has always been blessed with the right man, in the right place, at the right time." - Orignial Author Unknown

Unfortunately, this axiom isn't a guarantee.

1971 - DDT was outlawed by a U.S. Court of Appeals.

It takes a lot for an event to share a day with Washington, but the long term suffering and death caused by this decision puts it right up there in importance.

DDT kills a lot of insects, birds and small animals...But not using it has led to the death of tens of millions of HUMANS.

I'm sure the people of Africa, South America and Asia would rather see animals and bugs die from DDT than their family members from Yellow Fever and other diseases.

I'm also sure it's coincidental (not racist, of course) that Liberals across the planet have chosen to protect the furry little creatures of the world instead of its most destitute people - often 'people of color'...Sure!

49 B.C. - The Roman Senate declared Julius Caesar a public enemy, unless he would disband his army.

Caesar scoffed at this pitiful order...The Republic was on its last legs, and Caesar soon cut them off.

1558 - The Duke de Guise captured Calais for France.

Calais was one of England's last Continental properties, and after hearing the news of the loss Queen Mary I reportedly said: "When I am dead and opened, you shall find 'Calais' lying in my heart."

I'd say getting off the Continent was a blessing for the English, because it forced them to look inward and turn away from the decadence of Europe.

1807 - Responding to Napoleon Bonaparte's attempted blockade of the British Isles, the British blockaded Continental Europe.

Neither the Brit nor French 'blockades' were very successful, and Europe continued to be bled out until Britain was able to put together a strong enough alliance to finally defeat the Emperor.

1934 - Six-thousand pastors in Berlin defied the Nazis insisting they would not be muzzled.

These pastors were brave - they were also out-gunned.

1935 - Fascist Italy and France agreed to protect Austria against Nazi German encroachment.

France has been Germany's whipping-boy since 1870. What made them think they could stop Hitler from taking his homeland?

Italy?  Hahahaha!  Actually, it's pretty sad to think Musso was going be of any help to anyone - other than to Hitler, that is.

1945 - British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery gave a press conference where he all but claimed complete credit for saving the Allied cause in the Battle of the Bulge:  WWII.

Montgomery is a favorite target of ridicule for American historians (myself included), but it is foolish to deny he was a good general...As Churchill rightly noted: "Before Monty the Germans never lost a battle, but after Monty they never won one."

The unstated coincidence is the U.S. entered the war soon after Monty took command in Africa.

For the Field Marshal to make any claim for the success at the Battle of the Bulge was a complete farce, though...If anything, his waste of time at 'Market Garden' made the Battle of the Bulge possible for the Germans, and slowed down the effort in the West so much the Ruskies were able to get to Berlin first.

1951 - Hostile demonstrations welcomed Dwight Eisenhower to Paris during talks on European defense strategy.
Hostile towards Ike?  The man who led the effort to save them from their German overlords?  Par for the course for the Frenchies.

Some have fallen for the Liberal propaganda that France has always been our friend (prior to G.W. Bush, that is)...Think again.

The French have never been our friends:

1. Sure they helped in the Revolutionary War, but they did so to spite Britain, not because they were supporters of liberty or the American colonists.

2. They sold us the Louisiana Territory, but had no choice. France was at war all over Europe and couldn't hold on to its American prize even if they wanted to...Plus, after their defeat in Haiti, Napoleon had to scrap his plans of invading the U.S. But that's not something taught in public school. Hell, it's not even taught in American universities.

3. The French gave us the Statue of Liberty; sort of...A group of French citizens gave it to 'the American people' in France's name, but the French government could have cared less.

4. In WWI, France treated our troops like dogs, and didn't want them there other than as fodder against the Hun.

5. In WWII, France rolled over like a cheap whore for the Germans, and hate the fact the U.S. and Brits saved it from becoming a nation of bars of soap and lampshades.

Etc., etc., etc...They were self-serving bastards then, just as they were in 1951 (not even six years after being liberated), just as they are today.

1953 - President Truman announced in his State of the Union Address, the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.

This monster has been tested but never used in anger. I wonder who will be the lucky 'first' recipient? Will it be the U.S.?

Who really knows what our enemies have?  Or what our 'friends' will eventually sell to our enemies.

1999 - For only the second time in history, an impeached American president (Bill Clinton) went on trial before the Senate.

The House did its job properly, and so did the Senate...He should have been impeached by the House, and acquitted by the Senate.  I hope you follow this logic.

The threat of impeachment should be held over every public official, and wielded like a hammer...For too long our presidents, representatives, senators, judges, and bureaucrats have acted without fear of repercussion. The Constitution has specific means for protecting the 'people' from these officials and it is Congress' duty to use impeachment as needed to protect the people.

Unfortunately, many government officials have long since ended the promise of working for and protecting the people, and now simply work for and protect themselves and their friends.

December 17

1903 - Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first successful controlled flight in a powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, on the beach at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

The world shrank considerably with this event...The ability to overcome time and space is a huge factor in civilian and military life. Travel was sped up by an incredible amount, and as a result the enormity of the planet was cut down more than a little.

The ability to pull off such genius is one of the many things which separates humans from every other living thing on earth.

546 - Totila, King of the Ostrogoths, captured Rome.

The Goths claimed Rome when the Empire fell, but the East Roman Empire (Byzantine) rightfully felt they were the true holders of the Roman tradition...Unfortunately for these ‘Romans,’ they couldn’t hold the Goths out of Rome, and were eventually run out themselves.

That said, it's a joke to think of anyone ruling Rome at this time as anything close to ruling the Empire - which had ceased to exist in reality around a hundred years earlier.

1526 - Ferdinand Hapsburg, of Austria, was elected King of Bohemia - establishing the Kingdom of Austria-Hungary.

The Hapbsurgs had been consolidating power for years (through political marriages), and uniting the Austrian and Hungarian nations was a major issue...It also re-started a period of non-stop European wars over control of Central Europe.  And more important, it led to a European fight about Hapsburg control of Spain and its possessions - most important of which were the the Netherlands, South and Central America

1538 - Pope Paul III excommunicated England's King Henry VIII for the second time.

Another in a long line of events which pushed England away from the Continent...A blessing for the English, and later, American people.

1777 - France formally recognized American independence, and agreed to send the new nation money, troops and ships.

France had its own strategic issues in mind with this act, which was more an act against Britain than for the U.S...That said, receiving French help was instrumental in the American victory.

Little did the French know, they'd soon have their own revolution coming their way.

1927 - U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg suggested a worldwide pact renouncing war.

What an idiotic Utopian.

"Sometimes war is the only answer.” – Dennis Prager

War is part of the human condition.  Always has been.  Always will be.

1944 - The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of holding Japanese-Americans in internment camps, allowing 'evacuees' to return home:  WWII.

Japanese Internment was terrible, but necessary...National Security is every nation’s top priority, and it's unfortunate that civil liberties are often stomped on, but the other option isn’t acceptable.

Sadly, it will happen again someday - with Muslims.

FYI:  I made that statement long before Donald Trump became a presidential contender.

1957 - The United States successfully test-fired the 'Atlas' intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.

An extension of the U.S. Military’s policy of ‘Global Reach, Global Power’...And a truly awesome power it is.

November 11

1918 - Armistice Day: Fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.

After four brutal years, WWI ended on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month."

So, what did WWI accomplish? It:
1. Destroyed the 'old order of things' (especially in Germany, Russia, Austria, and Turkey)...Which has had massive consequences.
2. Ushered in the advent of the Communist Hell State...Starting with Russia.
3. Saw the beginning of America's international influence on a large scale.
4. Was the beginning of total, unrestricted warfare...Involving civilians as participants and casualties in exponential numbers.
5. Resulted in the death of over 15,000,000 people (8.6 million military, and 6.4 million civilians).
6. Created a perfect petri-dish for the 1918-19 Spanish Flu, which killed over 20,000,000 people.
7. Ended without a clear-cut victor...Germany wasn't 'defeated,' and hardly lost a battle on German soil.

Of all the disasters of WWI, it is the last one which cost humanity the most.

Germany quit the war, but wasn't defeated, and many Germans at the time believed they should resume the battle as soon as they could to reestablish their historic place in the world...And to put an end to the unreasonable reparations forced on them, which killed the German economy.

As a result, what WWI really accomplished was:
1. The founding of Leninim/Stalinism.
2. The founding of Nazism.
3. The resumption of WWI with an even greater and more horrific evil in WWII.

So, we must recognize and honor the end of WWI, but also should look back with disdain on those who didn't bring it to a proper end...Which caused the Armistice to be nothing but a cease-fire between 1918 and 1937-in-Asia/1939-in-Europe.

1215 - The Fourth Lateran Council was convened by Pope Innocent III.

It was here that the Church first defined 'transubstantiation': The Eucharist changing invisibly into the body (bread) and blood (wine) of Christ.

The Council also attempted to define papal primacy over secular leaders, which had been, and continued to be, a huge problem between the various European kings and the Pope.

On a side note, the Council also determined Jews and Muslims should wear clothes to enable them to be distinguished from Christians...Very nice.

1620 - The Mayflower Compact was signed: An agreement by 41 Pilgrims calling for a "body politick” designed to guarantee "just and equal" laws.

The Pilgrims felt they landed in a world outside that owned by the London Company, therefore they were outside the reach of British rule...They soon found this wasn't the case in the eyes of the British crown, though.

The importance of the Compact is it provided for the basis of all governments in what eventually became the thirteen American colonies.

1921 - President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

1923 - The Eternal Flame was lit at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

I hope you will someday be able to visit this amazing site...There have been few moments in my life more powerful than the two days I spent at Arlington, and even fewer than the time I spent at the Tomb.

1972 - The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Bihn to the South Vietnamese army, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

In other words, we turned tail and left the South Vietnamese to be slaughtered by their northern brothers.

"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it." - General Douglas MacArthur

1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin told U.S. senators in a letter that Americans had been held in prison camps after World War II and some were "summarily executed," but that others were still living in his country voluntarily.

No one should be shocked by this statement, but not being shocked doesn't take away the sting of its reality.

1995 - The European Union's 15 member-states decided to pull their envoys out of Lagos to show their anger at Nigeria's execution of human rights leaders.

I'm sure the Nigerians were really upset by this action...Scared, too.

1998 - President Clinton ordered warships, planes and troops to the Persian Gulf as he laid out his case for a possible attack on Iraq. Iraq, meanwhile, showed no sign of backing down from its refusal to deal with U.N. weapons inspectors.

Clinton should have taken care of this problem during his administration, but didn't have the testicular fortitude to do it...Instead he 'spoke loudly, and carried a wiffle-ball bat.'

Keep this in mind the next time you think about voting for a peacenick Commander-in-Chief.

Question: I thought Billy and his Democrat pals have been saying there was no need to worry about Iraq? Hmmmmmm.

2004 - Yasir Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, died in Paris.

HAPPY YASIR's DEAD DAY!!! WoooooooooooooHoooooooooooo!

Good riddance to dead murderers...I hope he suffered terribly, and wish it lasted longer.

I also hope he's getting his '72 Virgins' in Allahville...Of course, I'm of the opinion the 72 are gorillas, and they do the devirginizing.

November 1

1952 - The U.S. exploded the world's first hydrogen bomb, at Eniwetok Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean.

20 tons of TNT, and 1000 times larger than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan...Definitely a huge event in history.

We better all hope testing is as far as it goes, and one of these monsters is never used in anger.

82 B.C. - The Battle of the Porta Collina (Colline Gate).

The Roman Republic was fighting for its life, and after an extended civil war, Sulla emerged from this battle, capturing Rome and assuming the title of dictator...A title which had a much different meaning at that time than during ours.

1755 - An earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, killed 60,000 people (about 2/3 of the population).

A terrible event for sure, but this isn't what I find interesting about the headline.

In 1755 Lisbon had just under 100,000 people...250 years later this city has over 3,500,000 people. An increase of 3500%!!!

1861 - General George B. McClellan was promoted to General-in-Chief of the Union Armies:  U.S. Civil War.

McClellan was a favorite of the ‘Eastern elite,’ and had a great reputation as a military commander. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the testicular fortitude to put the worlds largest and best equipped army to use...And make no mistake, at this point in history this army was exactly what I stated - huge, equipped, but with poor leadership and green troops.

McClellan spent a great amount of time planning battles instead of fighting them, and didn’t have the instincts it took to crush the Confederates when he had his chances in 1861-62...In other words McClellan was the Civil War's version of post-El Alamein Monty in WWII.

1871 - Gustav Mahler wrote he had become a vegetarian, saying he thought it would regenerate the human race if everybody stopped eating meat.

I wish people like this would stop eating all together.

1918 - The Habsburg monarchy of Austria-Hungary was dissolved.

This kingdom was also known as the Dual Monarchy or the K.U.K. Monarchy = 'Kaiserlich und Königlich.' German for 'Imperial and Royal.'

The dissolution of Austria-Hungary was long overdue, and good for both Austria and Hungary...That said, had it not been for the former strength of the Habsburg, it's likely most of Europe would be praying to Allah.

1922 - Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey became a republic.

The land of modern-day Turkey has always been one of immense importance, and continues to be...It's too bad in its current form it's much closer to its Ottoman than its Byzantine roots.

1936 - In a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.

The Paperboy almost had it right...He should have said 'asses' instead of axis.

1990 - President GHW Bush accused Iraqi forces of engaging in "barbarism" and "brutality," adding "I don't believe that Adolf Hitler ever participated in anything of that nature."

GHW Bush is a good man, but this was an absolutely ignorant comment.

There are few people in the history of the world who's actions can be compared to the barbarism and brutality of Hitler...The Iraqis may have been his peers, though not in quantity, but they were in no way his superior when it comes to either barbarism or brutality.

1993 - The Maastricht Treaty was enacted, establishing the European Union.

What a colossal joke!!!

Since the fall of Rome, Europeans have been hoping for a united Europe...And since this same time have failed.

The continent is made up of so many dissimilar people, and the history of warfare among them has been awesome. Brutally awesome.

It will never happen, And proof of the failure is the fact it is 2017 and there is no European constitution, because they can't work one out to everyone's satisfaction...If anything, it's much more likely the EU will collapse, the euro will fail, and traditional European states will splinter.

October 25 (A Double)

1415 – The Battle of Agincourt.

This is one of the most decisive battles of the Hundred Years War - a complete English route of the French.

The French greatly outnumbered the English (at least 2-1), but the English had the dominant weapon of the time: The longbow...Amazingly, the English suffered around 500 casualties compared to over 5,000 for the French.

From this point till the Battle of Orleans (1428-29) England dominated France, but was unable to force a conclusion to the war...It took a woman (Joan of Arc) to turn the tide in the favor of the French and bring an end to this seemingly endless war.
 
1556 - Charles V abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor.

Charles’ empire was one of the largest in history (Holy Roman Empire, Spain and most of South and Central America, much of Italy, the Netherlands, etc.)...It was also one of the most tumultuous in history, as well, which is why he resigned at such a young age (56).

His abdication saw the split of the Habsburg lands between the Austrian and Spanish branches, and severed the Netherlands from the German lands, giving it to Spain...This was the final reward for Spanish loyalty, and final slap for the troubles the Germans caused him.

But , this switch was bad for both Austria and Spain.

Spain spent the better part of the next century unsuccessfully fighting to keep the Low Countries.

The Austrians and Holy Roman Empire lost the most important part of its economy (trade, banks, ports, etc), and was weakened militarily by not having the Dutch Navy at it's disposal...All of which more or less ruined it's influence in the West, and limited it to Central and Eastern Europe.

As a result the Dutch were the only winners in Charles' decision, because there was no way the Spanish could ultimately control the Netherlands as effectively as the Germans could (not with France between them, and England supporting them), which eventually resulted in Dutch independence.

2137 B.C. - Ho and Hsi, Chinese royal astronomers, were beheaded after failing to accurately predict an eclipse of the sun, which caused panic in the streets of China.

How sad...The Chinese should have known it wasn’t the astronomers fault, and there was no way Bush could have gotten FEMA out fast enough to stop the 'panic in the streets.'

1854 - The 'Charge of the Light Brigade': Crimean War.

Britain's Lord Cardigan led a cavalry attack against the Russians at Balaclava, one of the most heroic episodes in British military history.

'Heroic' and stupid...670 British cavalrymen attacked a heavily fortified Russian position and were wiped out. They met no objective, except death - and mythological status.

1917 (November 7 on the new-style calendar) - In Russia, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power.

This event will be detailed in November, but is noted here to help explain why this part of the Revolution is often referred to as the 'November Revolution' as well as the 'October Revolution.'

Changes in calendar systems always cause problems with dating, but it is the event, not the date which is important...Anyone who tells you otherwise is a fool.

1923 - The Teapot Dome scandal came to public attention when Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, revealed the findings of the past 18-months of investigation. His case resulted in the conviction of Harry F. Sinclair of Mammoth Oil, and later Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, the first cabinet member in American history to go to jail. The scandal, named for the Teapot Dome oil reserves in Wyoming, involved Fall secretly leasing naval oil reserve lands to private companies.

This was a terrible scandal in its day, but would be nothing compared to the shenanigans going on in both parties today.

1932 - Mussolini promised to remain dictator of Italy for 30-years.

He didn’t even make it half way...At least he didn’t promise a '1000 year Reich' like his lunatic pal Adolph.

1994 - Susan Smith reported to police that her two young boys had been taken in a carjacking. Nine days later, she confessed she rolled the car into a lake, drowning the children.

This sick bitch committed the ultimate crime: She killed her children!!! And she won’t be executed!! Instead she was given a life sentence, with a shot at parole in 2025.

I guess performing 'post-term abortions' isn’t a crime worthy of the death penalty...Which is only logical since we allow 'pre-term abortions.'

It makes me sick that this woman is still alive, and we should hope 'Shanks' becomes her cell-mate sometime between now and 2025.

October 24 (A Double)

1648 - The Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years War.

The 30 Years War was one of the greatest of the general wars in Europe, and did much to create the foundation for some of the other great wars to follow.

The treaty took a large chunk out of the Holy Roman and Habsburg empires - which largely overlapped...As a result the map of Europe was redrawn, and Westphalia is considered the major turning point in the modernization of the European state system - for better or worse.

It's possible we are witnessing a type of 30 Years War occurring in the Middle East...One which will be just as destructive and meaningful.

1882 - Dr. Robert Koch discovered the germ which causes tuberculosis.

The 'Consumption' (TB) is one of the greatest killers in the history of mankind, and during Koch's time was the world's greatest killer...Koch's find led to the discovery of treatment options for those suffering from TB.

Much of the civilized world has seen the virtual disappearance of tuberculosis, but it is ever-present in Russia, Africa, Asia, and South America...Unfortunately, this monster is beginning to show signs of escaping treatment and finding it's way back into prominence in the West, due to over-treatment (leading to germ mutation) and unchecked immigration - better known as unchecked, state-sponsored stupidity.

1147- Lisbon was captured from the Moors by Alfonso I, King of Portugal.

The Portuguese kicked out the Muslim Horde, and spent the next 300-years helping their Spanish cousins do likewise.

1795 - The Third Partition of Poland: Between Austria, Prussia and Russia.

The Poles have long suffered the sting of history, having settled their homeland in the region between the beasts of the German and Russian people. Unfortunately, this partition wasn't its last, nor anywhere near as horrific as its next - WWII between the Nazis and Soviets.

Those who wonder why the Poles have become one of America's most loyal allies need look no farther than the first sentence in my comment above.

1973 - The Yom Kippur War ended.

The Arabs states are lucky the U.S. persuaded Israel to stop their counter-offensive, because they were only 65 miles from Cairo and 26 from Damascus.

1987 - Thirty years after it was expelled for refusing to answer allegations of corruption, the Teamsters Union was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO by a vote of the labor federation's executive council.

Of course the Teamsters were and ARE 'corrupt', but how bad must they have been to be booted from the 'corrupt' AFL-CIO?

1993 - Two George Washington University researchers who cloned non-viable human embryos told a news conference that science was still far from duplicating human beings, but they urged ethicists to prepare for the future.

'Far' as in decades away...And yes, the 'ethical' problems with succeeding are astronomical.

But I'm sure the Frankensteinians will continue their quest to produce a human...While at the same time, their brothers in 'science' are looking for ways to kill as many humans as possible - born and unborn.

1998 - Officials from the United States, China and North and South Korea seeking a permanent peace for the divided Korean peninsula announced they removed the last obstacles to full-blown talks.

Uhhhhh, the 'last obstacle' is the Kim family and their cronies...Who have been anything but removed from the process.

October 18

768 - Charlemagne and his brother Carloman were crowned co-rulers of the Franks.

Within three years Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks, and before his death collected many other titles, including: King of the Lombards, and Emperor of the Romans...Don't confuse the last title with that of the emperors of the Roman Empire or the Holy Roman Empire, because none of the three were the same.

Charlemagne’s importance in European history is immeasurable:  He greatly furthered the spread of Christianity, helped halt the Muslim advance in Western Europe, and is also considered one of the founders of both the French and German nations...His greatest contribution to Europe, however, was a pre-Renaissance enlightenment - as the first great European leader to revive the spirit of the Romans, bringing a little light to the Dark Ages.

1016 - The Battle of Assandun: The Danes defeated the Saxons.

Danish king, Canute defeated Edmund Ironside, and took possession of half of England (Edmund kept the other half)...Within the year Edmund died, and Canute claimed all of England.

1469 - Isabella of Castile married Ferdinand II of Aragon, uniting almost all the Christian dominions of Spain under one monarchy.

23-years later all of Spain united as a Christian dominion under one monarchy.

That said, it's important to remember Spain was ruled by Muslims for 700 years...Longer than the current Christian run.

Equally important, though much less acknowledged and understood, Spain was ruled by Germans (Visigoths) between the Roman and Muslim periods.

1685 - The Edict of Fontainebeau: Louis XIV nullified the Edict of Nantes, which was signed by King Henry IV in 1598, giving the Huguenots religious liberty, civil rights and security. By revoking the Edict of Nantes, Louis XIV abrogated their religious liberties.

This decision by Louis was disastrous for France, even though it didn’t result in a renewal of the French wars of religion...What did happen was many French Protestants migrated from France to other parts of Europe and the Americas.

1748 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the War of Austrian Succession.

This war was known as King George's War in America.

The treaty didn’t do much, except return the conquests of the war to their pre-war masters, and set the stage for the next European war.

1867 - The United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

'Seward’s Folly' my ass...This was a stroke of genius.

Forget the oil, try to imagine Uncle Joe or Vlad with a foothold in North America.

1993 - Two defendants were acquitted of most of the felony charges in the beating of trucker Reginald Denny and other motorists at the start of the 1992 Los Angeles riots; the jury did convict Damian Williams of simple mayhem, and Henry Watson of simple assault.

The world watched these thugs beat Denny on live TV, but the jury found them not guilty...What a travesty of justice.

Rule #1 of Riots: Don’t go out in them.
Rule #2 of Riots: If you must go out in them, carry many guns and be willing to use them.

1996 - Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang was relieved of his duties following days of attacks by the Republicans over what they called improper and possibly illegal contributions.

'Improper'? I’d say so! Any time a foreign nation (China; a communist nation to boot) is pouring money into an American candidate’s coffers (Bill Clinton) there is a problem.

1997 - A monument honoring American servicewomen was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery.

Although I find it disgusting that we have women in the military (feel free to ask why, the reason isn't sexist), they are there and as such deserve this monument.

October 15

1529 - The Ottoman Turks, led by Suleiman, abandoned the siege of Vienna.

The importance of the Habsburgs (rulers of the Austrian Empire - among many other holdings) can’t be minimized when it comes to stopping the spread of Islam. There was no other power to stop the onslaught from East to West, and had the Habsburgs not been such staunch defenders it’s likely much of Europe would be speaking Arabic at this time.

1582 – The Gregorian calendar was adopted in Catholic countries.

Ten days disappeared from the calendar...It’s funny to note, many Europeans thought this was nothing but a tax-collection scheme.

1892 - The U.S. government convinced the Crow Indians to give up 1.8 million acres of their reservation for 50 cents per acre.

Sounds like a rip-off, but it’s much more than most Indians got.

Again, I must repeat Rule #1 of invasions: Do not let the defenders off the beach...This rule held absolutely true for the Crow and every other conquered population. As it always has, and will.

1914 - The Clayton Antitrust Act became law.

This law was passed to eliminate monopolistic policies, and put limits on big-business...Worked very well didn’t it?

1923 - The N.Y. Yankees won their first World Series.

It wouldn’t be their last, with the Bombers founding the greatest dynasty in the history of American sports.

1946 - Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering poisoned himself hours before he was scheduled to be executed.

What a complete miscarriage of justice...The Fat Field Marshal had to die, but it shouldn’t have been at his own hands.

The executioner was cheated and so was justice.

1964 - It was announced Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He was succeeded as Premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as Communist Party Secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev.

Nikki proved to be the last competent Soviet leader (an oxymoron in its own right), and the Evil Empire began a slow period of deterioration from this point on.

1966 - The Endangered Species Preservation Act became law, and the Fish and Wildlife service initially listed 78 species as being 'endangered.' The number of 'endangered species' grew greatly over the following years to a count of 984 in the U.S., as of September 2002.

We protect animals, but we've had no problem executing over 45,000,000 UNBORN BABIES in the past 40-years...Nice set of principles we have.

September 21

1949 - The People's Republic of China was proclaimed by its Communist leaders.

The West almost fell off its chair, and the global balance of power took a sudden shift...Luckily for the world, the U.S. was so far ahead of everyone else militarily and economically this shift didn’t completely flip the balance of power.  Plus the two main commie countries (the USSR and  China) have never trusted each other, and probably never will - no matter how much they may currently pretend otherwise.

454 - Aetius, Roman Supreme Army Commander, was murdered on the order of Valentinian III, Emperor of the West.

The Empire was on it’s last legs, yet the emperor thought it prudent to kill his best general.

Aetius is often called the “last of the Romans,” and was the only Roman who ever defeated Attila, which is why Valentinian killed him...He feared Aetius overthrowing him as emperor.

1348 - Jews in Zurich Switzerland were accused of poisoning wells.

The belief was Jews were causing the Bubonic Plague through the water supply...Just another case of the long standing European tradition of: 'If in doubt blame the Jews.'

1529 - Turks under Suleiman I laid siege to Vienna.

The Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs have often been reviled by historians, but they played a huge roll in keeping the Muslim Horde out of Central and Western Europe...They were attacked repeatedly by the Ottomans, but Vienna never fell, and the Ottomans never got past Eastern Europe.

1780 – Major General Benedict Arnold gave British Major John Andre the plans to West Point: American Revolutionary War.

Arnold was one of America's first great heroes, as the victor at the Battle of Saratoga - the turning-point of the Revolutionary War.

But he was a traitor, indeed, and had his plan succeeded there is some doubt the Revolution could have sustained itself...West Point held the key to the Hudson River Valley (an incredibly important strategic region), and would have split the Continentals in two.

Somehow Arnold felt he could justify his decision, in a letter to George Washington: "love to my country actuates my present conduct, however it may appear inconsistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of any man's actions."

What a crock of crap...It's too bad he escaped to England and avoided a proper execution at the hands of his former troops.

1893 - The first successful American-made, gasoline-operated motor-car appeared on the streets of Springfield, Massachusetts. It was designed and built by Charles and Frank Duryea.

I bet you thought Henry Ford invented the automobile.

Unfortunately our education system doesn’t bother with details...Ford may have perfected the assembly system to mass produce the automobile, but in no way did he invent the car itself.

1904 - Exiled Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph died of a 'broken heart.'

Give me a break! The 'Noble Savages' were nothing more than the modern-day Phrygians, Hittites, Sumerians, Ancient Egyptians, etc...And I never hear anyone cry for these extinct cultures.

Trust me, all of 'our people' and civilizations will eventually disappear to the trash-heap of history...It is the way of the world, it is natural, and it will be a truth for as long as humans are animals - which will be forever.

1941 - The German Army cut off the Crimean Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union: WWII.
The War in the East European Theatre was awesome...The longest fronts, bloodiest battles, massive use of tanks and aircraft, horrific suffering and heroism among the civilian population, and an overall battle of annihilation were just some of the factors in the greatest war in the history of the world.

And I hope you understand when I say 'awesome' and 'greatest,' I’m talking about size, scope and importance.

1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Was that a Democrat or a Republican who put the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court? Of course it was a Republican - Reagan.

That said, she wasn't a very good choice...Unless you are a Liberal, that is.

1992 - President GHW Bush addressed the U.N. General Assembly, offering U.S. support to strengthen international peacekeeping.

Bush was at the end of his presidency, and Bubba used this pledge to lead some of the most inept military missions in U.S. history...Somalia and the Balkans in particular.

Luckily, Somalia is of little consequence, and the Russians were too weak after the fall of the Soviet Union to support their Serbian cousins.

September 10

1823 - Simon Bolivar, leader in the wars for independence against Spain in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, was named President of Peru, with dictatorial powers.

Bolivar was the great leader of the South American independence movement, and took his ‘natural place' as the new overlord of the region.

I hope you understand the importance of what I just said...Compare it to that of the American Revolution.

George Washington could have easily set himself up as King of the United States (and many were surprised he didn’t), but instead this great man chose to set the new nation on a greater path...Bolivar wasn't out of the norm - Washington was.

1349 - Jews who survived a massacre in Constance, Germany were burned to death.

'If at first you don't succeed...'

I bet you thought the Holocaust started with Nazi Germany.

1547 - The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, Edinburgh: The Scots were defeated by the English, in a battle sparked by English demands that Edward VI, aged 10, should marry Mary Queen of Scots, aged 5.

Nice...Who in their right mind would force two children to marry?? Or go to war, when it didn’t happen?

1813 – The Battle of Lake Erie: War of 1812.

After defeating the British in this War of 1812 naval battle, Commodore Oliver H. Perry sent the famous message, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours."

Also of note, this was the first defeat for a modern British naval squadron.

1861 – The Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Virginia: U.S. Civil War.

The Confederates were forced to fall back in this battle, which was important because the ‘Virginians’ of this area were against seceding from the Union...And these ‘Virginians’ soon became the new state of West Virginia.

1913 - The Lincoln Highway opened, becoming the first paved coast-to-coast highway in the United States. It is now known as U.S. 30.

The beginning of the interstate highway system.

1914 - The Battle of the Marne ended: WWI.

The German offensive was stopped, and it took three more years before either side in the West saw an open battlefield again...Trench warfare became the mode of battle, and resulted in mass slaughter from the air, artillery and disease.

1919 - New York City welcomed home General John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who'd served in the U.S. First Division during World War I.

Back in the day, when the military was universally looked at as ‘good guys’...Instead of the current situation Liberals have created - of hating the military.

1919 - The Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed by the victorious Allied powers and Austria. Parts of pre-war German Austria were ceded to Italy and Czechoslovakia, and Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany.

This treaty was one of the many seeds of WWII...Hitler used it as an excuse to claim much of Czechoslovakia, and as a means of recovering German and Austrian lands.

He completely ignored the 'forbidden' part of uniting Austria and Germany...As an Austrian himself, how could he not?

1952 - West Germany offered Israel $540 million in compensation for Nazi atrocities.

Lets do the math, again: $540,000,000 for 9,000,000 dead Jews = $60 per dead Jew...Even by 1950's money standards that seems a little low.

1979 - Four Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned for a 1954 attack on the U.S. House of Representatives and a 1950 attempt on the life of President Truman were granted clemency by President Carter.

1. Why weren’t they executed?

2. What in the Hell did Carter let them out for?

1993 - First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out at what she called "stand pat, negative, nay-saying" opponents of health reform in an address to state legislators.

Americans didn't want to hear Hillary's scheme. What we had wasn't perfect; what she wanted was even worse...Even worse than hers is ObamaCare - a system which has done nothing but confuse the issue.

September 3

1939 (11:15 a.m.) - Britain's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced the declaration of war against Germany.

The Brits were soon joined by France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada...But not the U.S. - something to keep in mind when we call on our allies in times of need.

Too bad the Brits and French gave Hitler six years to build up...If Chamberlain had any honor he would have put the "peace in our time" declaration in his mouth and choked to death on it.

Needless to say, the war was on, and Hell on Earth was about to begin...Hell to the tune of an estimated 60-80 million deaths.

590 - Gregory I ('the Great') was consecrated as pope. Regarded as the father of the medieval papacy and last of four Latin 'Doctors of the Church,' he was the first pope to aspire to secular power, the man for whom the Gregorian Chant is named, and one of the main organizers of Roman liturgy and its music. He was also one of the prime promoters of monasticism.

Not many people are recognized with 'the Great' after their name, but Gregory definitely fits the model...I highly recommend you read about him and the effects he had on the Church.

1658 - Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, died.

No one is positive what the Lord Protector died of, but most believe he was poisoned or had malaria...I tend to think some Royalists got him.

Either way, Cromwell left only a useless son to succeed him, and the monarchy was reestablished shortly after his death.

A fun tid-bit: Cromwell's body was exhumed from the grave in 1661, and he was executed posthumously...And to make his point very clear, the king had Cromwell's dead body hung then drawn-and-quartered.

1683 - Turkish troops broke through the defenses of Vienna.

Another in the centuries old Muslim attempt to crack Central Europe...Thankfully the Austrian Habsburgs were strong enough to keep them at bay, because had they not there were few other forces strong enough to keep Islam from swallowing up the entire continent.

1752 - This day never happened, nor the next 10, in England.

After England adopted the Gregorian Calendar, 11 days were erased...Many English people rioted, thinking the government stole 11 days of their lives.

1783 - The Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the seven year American Revolutionary War and recognizing U.S. independence from Britain.

The colonies earned their freedom by kicking out the world's greatest power.

Next came the hard part, creating a new nation out of a hodge-podge of people...And then they had to fight the Brits again in the War of 1812 to prove they were worthy of being a sovereign country.

1954 - The U.S. Espionage and Sabotage Act of 1954 was signed, legislating the death penalty for peacetime sabotage.

Sounds like a natural idea to me. Why should a country be held hostage by those who wish to do it harm? Internationally or domestically?

Any chance we can start enforcing this law?

1994 - China and Russia proclaimed an end to any lingering hostilities, pledging they would no longer target nuclear missiles or use force against each other.

Sure.  Such trustworthy deal-makers the Chinese and Ruskies are...Especially considering the extent of land the Russians have in the east - most of which is barely inhabited.  A landmass which a country with over a billion people and limited natural resources might find useful.

August 6

1945 (8:15 EDT) - The United States dropped an atomic bomb (named 'Little Boy') on Hiroshima, Japan, killing an estimated 140,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.

Poor Japan...Not!

"WAR IS ALL HELL" - Gen. William T. Sherman

Japan brought war to the U.S., so the U.S. brought Hell to Japan.

Let’s review a few FACTS:

1. The Japanese began the war, not the U.S...In fact, Japan started the entire World War in 1937 when it invaded China.

2. The Japanese were beaten and asked to surrender many times, but refused to do so.

3. If the U.S. had invaded Japan, instead of forcing them to surrender with the atom bombs, the death and destruction of the Japanese people and homeland would have been many, many times worse than that caused by the A-bombs.

4. If we hadn’t dropped the bombs, the Soviets were on the march to join the battle, and would have destroyed the Japanese in the north. As a result, Japan would have been split up like Germany, and later Korea.

5. If the war hadn’t ended with this quick-hit, the Japanese may have finished their plans to drop dirty-bombs on the West Coast of the U.S. (make sure you check back on Sept. 22).

6. The race for nuclear weapons was already on...The Germans and Japanese would have gotten there eventually had the Allies not destroyed their war making capability - the Soviets were already collecting German scientists to get theirs. The U.S. dropping atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki didn't start an arms race. An arms race had been on for decades - actually for all of human history.

So please, don’t buy into Liberal BS and revisionist writing of history. Dropping the atomic bombs on Japan saved lives (MILLIONS OF LIVES), as well as Japanese culture, and was the absolute proper thing to do.

258 – Bishop of Rome Sixtus II was beheaded while celebrating services in a cemetery.

The Roman world was a dangerous place to be a Christian during this time, and remained so until Constantine became emperor.

1787 - The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began to debate the articles contained in a draft of the United States Constitution.

This group of men created one of the most important non-religious documents in the history of the world...Lucky for our young nation, we had the right men in the right place at the right time.

Will we always be so lucky?  It seems like our luck ran out decades ago.

1806 - The Holy Roman Empire ended when Francis II renounced the crown and became Francis I, Emperor of Austria.

This is an understatement, because it should say the HRE was forcefully dissolved by Napoleon.

FYI:  Most are familiar with the '3rd Reich' = Nazi Germany...The HRE was the '1st Reich' and Imperial Germany (1871-1918) was the '2nd Reich.'

1890 - Convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in the electric chair when he was put to death at Auburn State Prison in New York.

Ol’ Sparky was de-virginized...I wish he was used as often as a cheap whore.

1918 - The Second Battle of the Marne ended:  WWI.

The Marne was one of WWI’s major battles, with almost 300,000 casualties between the two sides...The major importance of the battle is it was the last large-scale German attack on the Western Front.

1942 - Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, telling lawmakers despite Nazi occupation, her people's motto remained, "No surrender.":  WWII.

She should have stayed in Holland and died fighting instead of running away, leaving her people to be butchered by the Nazi dogs...But that’s not the European way.

1944 - The Nazis began the deportation of 70,000 Jews to Auschwitz, from Lodz, Poland:  WWII.

Another big day for the Nazi butchers...But only for the butchers, because I’m sure the Wehrmacht and German people didn’t know anything about it. Riiiiiiight.

1994 - In Wedowee, Alabama, an apparent arson fire destroyed Randolph County High Schools, which had been the focus of tensions over the principle's stand against interracial dating.

We all know the song: “Sweet home Alabama...In Birmingham they love the Governor"...Referencing Governor Wallace, a first class racist - lets not forget he was a Democrat by the way.

2005 - Iran rejected Europe's proposal for ending the standoff over Teheran's nuclear program, saying it was "unacceptable" because it did not give the country the right to enrich uranium.

Ten years later the shell game came to an end...Not with the Iranians forgoing a nuclear program, but with the West trying to stop them.

The Iranians may have put off getting a nuclear weapon (for 10 years - hahaha), but they have not dropped the idea...Our leaders simply kicked the can down the road to our children - like every other problem we have.

2006 - Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Iran would expand uranium enrichment, in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution giving the Islamic Republic until Aug. 31 to halt the activity or face the threat of political and economic sanctions.

Of course Iran did...And will continue to do so until it either has its weapon or has its production facilities destroyed by someone with some serious testicular fortitude.

July 28

1914 - Austria declared war on Serbia, marking the start of World War I.

The First World War, the Great War, the War of the Nations and the War to End All Wars...The first three of those names are reasonable, but the last one is a cruel joke.

Sadly, WWI led to over 15,000,000 civilian and battle deaths...Even more sadly, it didn’t come to a conclusive finish, and another 40,000,000+ deaths and the destruction of most of Europe and much of Asia followed in the 1930's and 1940's.

As a result, the peace treaty which ended the war was nothing more than the establishment of a ‘phony peace’ and a path towards WWII.

1588 - The Spanish Armada set sail to overthrow England's Queen Elizabeth I.

Two days till one of the most important naval battles in history...And it didn’t turn out well for the Grande y Felicissima Armada - "large and most fortunate fleet".

1794 - Maximilien Robespierre was guillotined. Known as 'The Incorruptible,' he launched the French Revolution's 'Reign of Terror.'

I guess this is a perfect example of the old saying: "Those who live by the sword (guillotine), die by the sword (guillotine)."

1866 - The metric system was authorized for the standardization of weights and measures throughout the United States.

I’m a traditionalist, but the metric system is so superior to the U.S. Customary Unit System...Any time a system of 10’s can be used it should, and our current system is almost impossible to memorize.

For once I will give it to the Euros - we should change 100%.

1868 - The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, establishing citizenship for American blacks and guaranteeing due process of law, was ratified.

The 14th is one of the most important Amendments, even though many question its legitimacy because it was forced on the Southern states as a prerequisite to rejoin the Union...Such are the spoils of war. The Southerners made their bed, and this was a condition of getting out of it.

Unfortunately,  much legal gymnastics has been done by the Left to pursue their radical agenda through the bastardization of this amendment.

1931 - The U.S. Congress established 'The Star-Spangled Banner' as the national anthem.

What a brilliant song:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

I’m sure you are familiar with this portion of the song, but there are three other parts...Click here to see the lyrics, hear the tune and read a history of the Star Spangled Banner.

1943 - President Franklin Roosevelt announced the end of coffee rationing:  WWII.

Whoa!!! Can you imagine if the president did this in our time? I can already see the ACLU(seless) running wild, complaining about civil rights being trampled on.

Psychos.

1945 - The U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations Charter.

The U.N. is the most corrupt, unethical, crooked entity in the world, and the U.S. is it's major benefactor...Which makes us guilty by association.

1995 - A jury in Union, South Carolina, rejected the death penalty for Susan Smith, sentencing her instead to life in prison for drowning her two young sons. She will be eligible for parole after 30-years.

1. This mother strapped her kids into a car, locked the doors and rolled them into a lake to die by asphyxiation due to drowning...Is there a worse way to die?

2. Senator Ted Kennedy (the Duke of Chappaquiddick Bay) did more or less the same thing (only one victim, though), but received little more than a few months probation...Mrs. Smith should have appealed to get double what Teddy got.

3. Had Susan Smith executed her children before they were born there would have been no consequences for her...So she decided to perform a post-term abortion?!?! Either way you have dead kids, but who are we to deny her the 'right to choose' to kill them?

All kidding aside, THIS PATHETIC BITCH KILLED HER CHILDREN!!! The worst crime imaginable...And she didn't even do it in a quick, 'humane' way. They suffered and had to think through their deaths and wonder why their MOMMY was doing it to them.

Susan Smith deserved the death penalty, and justice was screwed by the decision to give her life in prison - with an opportunity for parole.

Here's hoping justice is eventually served at the hands of a shank-wielding bull dyke in the pen.

July 23

1532 - A Turkish invasion forced Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to agree to peace with his Protestant enemies.

The role of the Turks in the success of the Protestant Reformation isn’t given enough credit for the success of the Reformation...If Charles didn’t have to fight constant battles with the Ottomans - guarding his eastern flank - it is much less likely he would have been outmaneuvered (politically, economically, and militarily) by his European enemies.

1914 - Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin.

The tinder-box was about to blow and the world soon witnessed the greatest war to that time.

1979 - Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, who overthrew the Shah of Iran and made the country a theocracy, laid down the law on music. He said, "Music is no different from opium. Music affects the human mind in a way that makes people think of nothing but music and sensual matters."

What a bizarre edict, but nothing out of the norm for this bizarre man. Plus, it was almost directly from the Koran itself.

Unfortunately, Khomeini's importance on the Islamist movement is huge, and the world is paying dearly for allowing such a man - and ideology - to take power in Iran.

1990 - President GHW Bush announced his choice of Judge David Souter of New Hampshire to succeed retiring Justice William J. Brennan on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ugh!!! Bush had good intentions, but Souter turned out to be one of the most Liberal voices on the Supreme Court...Which is why it's important to remember the Rule of Good Intentions:  'The Road to Hell is Paved With Good Intentions.'

June 28 (A Triple)

1519 - King Charles I, of Spain was elected Holy Roman Emperor - where he became better known as Charles V.

Charles inherited Spain and its New World possessions, the Netherlands, parts of France and Italy, and was given control of the Germans states as emperor...His possessions matched any great leader in European history, but his reign proved to be as tumultuous as any as well.

The Reformation broke much of Charles' power in the Austro-Germanic lands, and constant wars with France, the Turks, and in his own lands made him one of the least powerful of the great sovereigns in history.

1914 - Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sofia, were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist :  The event which triggered World War I.

1919 - The Treaty of Versailles:  Officially ended WWI.

The Great War began on this day (virtually), and ended on it as well...Too bad the factors which started it weren’t eliminated, and the victors who set the terms of the treaty weren’t foresighted enough to see the war hadn’t ended...Germany surrendered, but Germany was not defeated. This fact would haunt the world in less than 20-years.

As such, Versailles was a holding-point, not an end-point, and was nothing more than a stop-gap between WWI and WWII.

1945 - The Polish Provisional Government of National Unity was set up by the Soviets.

The poor Poles...They went from their Nazi overlord to an equally terrible Soviet master.

This is exactly why the Poles are currently one of America’s best allies. They know they are sandwiched between the German and Russian beasts and only American cover can guarantee their independence and safety...It is an alliance of existential need for the Poles, but one they also must be very leery about the U.S. upholding.

1978 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the University of California at Davis Medical School to admit Allan Bakke, a white man who argued he'd been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.

If Mr. Bakke has recourse against 'affirmative racism' then we all should...And if we all do, then the program itself must be wrong. This is so obvious it’s painful.

1989 - China's new Communist Party chief, Jiang Zemin, said the Beijing government would show no mercy to leaders of the pro-democracy movement, which he termed a "counter-revolutionary rebellion."

Duh! Dictators don’t go away willingly, and communism is nothing more than a dictatorship with a party name.

1991 - In Detroit, a white woman was attacked by a group of black women at a downtown fireworks display in an incident captured on amateur video.

This wasn't a hate-crime by the way, because it is less of a crime for blacks to assault whites...So much for the concept of being 'equal in the eye of the law.'

1993 - The U.S. Supreme Court kept alive a 'racial gerrymandering' case, saying congressional districts designed to benefit racial minorities may violate white voter's rights.

How is this any different than 'affirmative racism?' It isn’t...And of course it 'violates white voter’s rights' - It invalidates their votes.

2000 - Seven months after being cast adrift in the Florida Straits, Elian Gonzalez was returned to his native Cuba.

Elian’s mother gave her life to get her child out of Cuba - in exchange for a chance at freedom for herself and her child - but Bill Clinton and 'James' Reno decided to return him to Castroville...I will never understand the logic behind this one, but I learned to be surprised by nothing during the Clinton years.

2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts can bar homosexuals from serving as troop leaders.

I can't be the only one who finds it interesting that the same Liberals who rage about priests molesting boys (correctly) are also the same people who demand the Boy Scouts open their arms to gay scout leaders...Hmmm??

2004 - The United States transferred some power back to the Iraqis, two days earlier than planned.

What a train wreck.  The Iraqis don't want anything we have to offer...We should have whacked Saddam and his henchmen and left the Iraqis to rebuild their nation.

May 30

1814 – The Treaty of Paris (one of many) was signed, ending the war between France and the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Sweden and Prussia. It also enforced the abdication of Napoleon I.

This treaty ended the French Revolution and returned the French borders to their 1792 extent.

That said, even though many consider the end of the Revolution to be when Napoleon was crowned Emperor, the reality is Napoleon was a product of the Revolution and his reign should be considered part of it.

Unfortunately, the treaty may have ended the French Revolution, but it didn't end the Napoleonic Wars, because the Euro's didn't have the emperor executed, and another Peace of Paris was required in 1815 after they finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo...Incredibly, they didn't execute him there either.

1431 - Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon, after being convicted of high treason against God by an ecclesiastical court.

Nice of the French to hand her over to the English after she saved their ass...The French king was afraid of her 'power,' and figured it'd be easier to do away with Joan.

Oddly enough, this war was one of the few they won against the English/Brits in the next 500+ years...Could it be they've been cursed for betraying 'The Maid?'

1539 - Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed on the coast of Florida.

From this discovery came the Spanish claim to North America, which they believed the Treaty of Tordesilla guaranteed them, anyway...Unfortunately for Spain, the Brits, French, and later United States, had no use for Papal or Spanish declarations.

1868 - The first 'Decoration Day' (Memorial Day) observance occurred in Columbus, MS.

A well deserved day, and one we should all take time to embrace...Freedom isn't free!!! It never has been, and never will be.

1913 - The First Balkan War ended with the Treaty of London.

Much of Southeastern Europe won its freedom from the Turks in this war, which presented a challenge to the ever-weakening Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As such, the result of the Balkan War was to create increased tension between the Empire and Russia - semi-protector of the newly independent nations...Which played a huge role in the beginning of WWI a year later.

1922 - The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated by Chief Justice William Howard Taft.

This is an incredibly powerful monument, with the great man seated and flanked by the inscriptions of the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address...Above Lincoln's head is the dedication:

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.

1943 - American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu, Alaska from the Japanese:  WWII.

I'm amazed many Americans don't know the Japanese had a foothold on part of North America during WWII.

Japan held the Aleutians for a very short time, but proved they could get a landing force to the continent, and had they not been discovered could have wreaked havoc with chemical and biological weapons from this range...And they were very close to having such weapons.

1958 - Unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflict were buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

I highly recommend you go to Arlington and take some time to walk its grounds...Beware of the largeness of the grounds, however, because the maps don't do justice to the enormity of it.

And make sure you take the walk to the Iwo Jima Memorial, as well.

1994 - The U.N. Security Council warned North Korea to stop refueling a nuclear reactor and allow U.N. monitors to perform full inspections.

WOW!!! I bet the North Koreans almost pee'd themselves when the Circle Jerk Group made this declaration.

As we know, there are no monitors in North Korea, Bill Clinton gave them the 'nuclear farm' in exchange for peace (ha ha), and the Kims are constantly waiving the middle finger and their new toys at the world.

Obviously, the U.N. warning meant nothing to North Korea...And why should they worry? The U.N. is a paper tiger and the U.S. is terrified of China next door.

1997 - Child molester Jesse K. Timmendequas was convicted in Trenton, New Jersey, of raping and strangling a seven year old neighbor, Megan Kanka, whose 1994 murder inspired 'Megan's Law,' requiring communities to be notified when sex offenders move in. Timmendequas was later sentenced to death.

Megan's Law is a fantastic tool, but a much better method of protecting the public would be to execute all sex offenders.

1. They'd be dead (duh!).

2. This would put fear in the mind of those who might otherwise become predators...And yes, I do believe they can control themselves.

Anyone who argues they can't control themselves, must agree option '1' is the best way, because if they can't be controlled they should be terminated. Unless those who argue against execution don't mind setting these 'uncontrollable freaks' loose on the public, that is.

3. They'd be dead (DUH!!!).