March 4

1519 - Hernando Cortes landed in Mexico.

Cortes landed with around 600 troops and 20 horses, and took on the most powerful nation in the New World - with a population of millions.

There is no way the Spaniard should have been able to defeat such an empire, but Cortes' force of will and audacity, along with an incredible amount of luck, technology, horses, native enemies the Aztecs had abused for years, and smallpox, allowed him to perform the Alexandrian task of conquering the Aztecs...I'd argue what Cortes accomplished was even more amazing than what Alexander the Great did - regardless of how it happened.

That said, had the Aztecs followed the 'First Rule of Invasions':  Kill them on the beach - their civilization might still be around. But they didn't, and paid the ultimate price for their mistake.

1238 - Battle of the Sit River:  Russia vs. Mongols.

The Mongols thoroughly crushed the Russians in this battle, which effectively ended Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian unified resistance; at least as an organized force.

As a result, these lands were subjected to two centuries of Mongol domination.  A fact which forever changed the culture, psychology and biological makeup of the region.

1776 - George Washington's colonial forces occupied Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts:  American Revolutionary War.

Overnight the Continentals secretly manned the heights, building defensive structures and lining cannon to defend Boston Harbor...On March 17th the British accepted their position was untenable and retreated.

This 'battle' was one of the early 'victories' in the Revolution and was of enormous strategic value to the Continentals:  "The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army could do in months." - British General William Howe

1789 - The U.S. Constitution went into effect when the first federal Congress met in New York.

The most perfect government system ever created took effect - a low threshold to pass, but still.

Obviously it has flaws, and required revisions, but the fact it contains a means for doing so is part of its greatness.

1801 - Thomas Jefferson became the first U.S. President inaugurated in Washington D.C.

There's a trivia question most Americans won't get correct, because they would assume George Washington was the first...Washington's first inauguration was in New York City, and his second in Philadelphia.  John Adams was also inaugurated in Philadelphia, but he was the first to live in the White House, when the federal government moved to D.C. in 1800.

1849 - Senator David Atchison was President of the United States - at least he claimed to be for one day.

This date was supposed to be inauguration day for President-Elect Zachary Taylor, but it was a Sunday and Taylor wasn't sworn in (quite a different time back then when it came to religion)...Sen. Atchison was the President Pro Tempore, and as such believed it was his duty to assume the title of President to assure continuity of the government.

Another trivia question I'm pretty certain only a handful of Americans would know.

1917 - Jeanette Rankin (Montana) was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives and became the first woman to serve in Congress.

How odd that a woman was elected to a federal office before women were allowed to vote in federal elections...That said, lets not get too excited about Rep. Rankin. She voted against U.S. entry in WWI, and was the only representative to vote against entering WWII after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:

"Small use it will be to save democracy for the race, if we cannot save the race for democracy." - J. Rankin.

Ugh! She would fit in perfectly with our current peacenik jackasses.

1997 - Declaring the creation of life "a miracle that reaches beyond laboratory science," President Bill Clinton barred spending federal money on human cloning.

I must admit I didn’t think he had this amount of decency in him...On the same note, why wouldn’t he have the same opinion on the destruction of life in the womb? Particularly in the case of Partial Birth Abortions?

2009 - The International Criminal Court issued and arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.

Of course Bashir is a 'bad man.'  So what has the ICC done about it?  Last I checked he's still in power ...Also, why Bashir?  Or even the rest of those on the ICC list of 'war criminals and crimes against humanity?'  There are so many bad actors in the world, the list could be much larger, but the reality is the list is political and about power.  Those on the list are 'small' compared to those who belong on it.

And even if the list is legit, what is the ICC going to do about it?  Nada!

November 8 (Another Huge Day)

Another day of huge events...As such each will be highlighted in blue.
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641 - Alexandria, Egypt, fell to Islam.

Alexandria was one of the greatest cities in the ancient world, but he Byzantines had no chance of holding it against the Muslim Horde...Unfortunately it will never reclaim its former greatness - not as long as it's held by barbarians who seems to 'advance in reverse', that is.

General Amr Ibn al-As's letter to Caliph Omar: "I have taken the city, which contains' 4,000 palaces, 4,000 baths, 12,000 dealers in fresh oil, 12,000 gardeners, 40,000 Jews who pay tribute, 400 theatres or places of amusement."

Needless to say, the great city has remained in Muslim hands for almost 1,400 years, and probably will for another 1,400.

1519 - Cortes entered Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztecs.

Rule #1 of Invasions: "Do not allow the invader off the beach"...And surely don’t meet and play nice with them.

Not understanding this rule cost the Aztecs - and the rest of the original Americans - their civilizations.

1864 - Abraham Lincoln was elected to his second term as U.S. President.

Thankfully George McClellan didn’t win the election, after running on a platform to 'end the war'...Which would have resulted in an untenable situation between the U.S.A. and C.S.A.

1917 - The Council of People's Commissars was established as the new government of Russia, and named Lenin as Chairman, Trotsky as Foreign Commissar and Stalin as Commissar of Nationalities.

An awesome triumvirate! Lenin and Trotsky were the brains, Stalin and Trotsky the muscle.

You should notice Trotsky made both lists...But his muscle was nowhere near that of Stalin’s, which is why Stalin became Lenin’s eventual successor.

1923 – The Beer-Hall Putsch: Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power with a failed coup in Munich.

This was a pathetic attempt, with little more than a rag-tag group of Nazi’s...But it was a turning-point in Nazi history. A turning-point because Hitler wasn’t killed in the battle, or given a death sentence for trying to overthrow the government. Instead it showed he had to take over Germany at the ballot-box. Amazingly, he did just that in less than 10-years.

FYI: This battle is also where the brilliant, strong, energetic, Herman Goering began his decline towards becoming a pathetic, fat, degenerate...Goering was shot in the groin, which led him to pain medication addiction - as well as further addictions - obesity and megalomania.

1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to create jobs for more than four million unemployed Americans.

1. Creating jobs isn’t the government’s function.

2. Creating these artificial jobs didn’t work worth a damn...The Depression wasn’t halted by one single minute due to FDR's New Deal schemes.

3. The New Deal probably stagnated the economy and caused the Depression to last longer than it should have lasted.

All of which are something to keep in mind in future recessions...Sadly, it's not something the government will ever learn - because the people will never learn that it's not the job of the government, and will force the government into such poor choices.

1942 - Operation Torch began:  WWII.

This was the first large-scale action for the Americans in WWII, who landed with a combined 400,000 man Allied force...And it’s important to note this invasion was in French North Africa, against the combined German and Vichy France forces.

The Western Allies attacked Hitler’s 'Soft Underbelly,' which allowed them to eliminate the Vichy SOBs, end any chance of the Nazi’s taking the Middle Eastern oil fields, and was a much better training-ground for American troops than the European meat-grinder would have been.

Plus, it allowed the Soviets to absorb the majority of the German blow in 1942-43...Sorry Uncle Joe, you double-crossing bastard.

1942 - Hitler proclaimed the fall of Stalingrad:  WWII.

Nostradamus he was not...Instead Stalingrad became the site of Germany’s worst loss - a true 'Kessel.'

Hitler was a political genius, but militarily he was a complete moron...Thankfully!

1950 – The first jet-plane battle in history took place:  Korean War.

USAF Lieutenant Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15, and a new age in warfare began.

1956 – The U.N. demanded the USSR leave Hungary; a demand which was ignored.

Hahahaha! I hope I’m not the only one who finds humor in the Circle Jerk Group’s demands…They can’t even make demands on countries like Haiti, let alone the world’s superpowers. Well, except the weak-kneed U.S., that is.

1960 - Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon for the presidency in a cliffhanger.

'Cliffhanger' = Mob voter fraud?

Hmmmmmmm. I can’t find that definition in any of my dictionaries.

Make no mistake, this election in 1960 greatly influenced the Nixon team's problems in the 1972 election.

1994 - Midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while at the same time gaining control of the House for the first time in 40-years.

It only took 2-years for Clinton to piss off enough people to lose the House and Senate...Which is part of the reason his presidency had any success.

I hope you understand the second part of that statement...Obama was forced into the same Congressional situation, but unlike Clinton he didn't learn the lessons.  Which is why his presidency was a constant battle, because he chose to 'RULE' against the will of the people.

1994 - California voters approved Proposition 187, designed to deny education and social services and non-emergency health care to illegal aliens.

Voters passed the initiative by a 59% to 41% margin...But the courts immediately blocked the new law, and have tied up the measure to this day.

So much for the 'will of the people'...It's funny how Liberals are all for denying 'democracy' when it doesn't fit their needs, but cling to it when it does.  Funny in a sick way, that is.

1997 - Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, the most ambitious construction project in modern China's history.

This is an awesome project, matching that of any in the history of the world.

My favorite part is the Chinese government more or less telling people in the way of the new water-flow to 'get out of the way or become part of the project'...Such is the value of life when you hit the billion people mark. Or in Communist countries.

August 13 (A Triple...But I'm Making Note of a Special Fourth)

1521 - Hernando Cortes, Spanish conqueror, captured and destroyed Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) after a three month siege.

Firepower, cavalry, disease, superstition and neighboring Indian tribes who detested the Aztecs (probably the most important factor) were more than enough for Cortes and his meager band of Spaniards to overwhelm the greatest nation in the New World...It's a story beyond belief - maybe the most incredible conquest ever - one which changed the world.

Read more about Cortes.

1898 - The Spanish-American War ended.

This war was America's coming out party, and also the end of Spain's once great role on the international stage...It's ironic it is also the date which saw Spain's greatest conquest: Cortes against the Aztecs.

1961 - Berlin was divided when East Germany closed the Brandenburg Gate, sealing off the border between the city's eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later work began on the Berlin Wall.

The Cold War got much 'hotter' on this day...And millions of East Germans saw their slight chance at a decent life disappear.

1995 - Baseball great Mickey Mantle died of cancer.

I am too young to have seen him play, but as a child I read extensively about 'The Mick' and watched re-runs of 'Home Run Derby.'  He was my first hero...I admit to crying when I saw the news of his liver cancer, and even more on this day of his death.

Mickey was an awesome baseball player who was the strongest and the fastest, a switch-hitter, a Hall of Famer, a Triple Crown winner, a 3-time MVP, a 16-time All Star, a champion. He was almost mythological in my young mind, and the ballplayer I most often pretended to be when hitting balls against the wall or catching flies in the outfield.

"That boy hits baseballs over buildings. He runs as fast as Ty Cobb." - Casey Stengel

I'm glad I didn't know of his flaws when I was a child, and wish we could return to a better time when our heroes could be just that - HEROES!

Unfortunately, we live in a time where heroes are created then destroyed by the media, and I feel sorry for the children of our current day. There is no such thing as childhood innocence, and they are made to grow up much too fast in a world with the cruelest of realities...I admit I long for a better time, a time when a boy could be a boy.

1932 - Adolf Hitler rejected the post of Vice-Chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."

Unfortunately the Austrian Madman soon got it 'all'...And the world got Hell.

March 18

1940 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini held a meeting at the Brenner Pass during which the Italian dictator agreed to join in Germany's war against France and Britain:  WWII.

Poor bastards...Both of them.

Hitler’s fondness for Il Duce was a huge mistake for the Reich (one of many), and he ended up spending much of the war saving Italian troops, and Mussolini himself, from their own bungling...Mussolini's belief in the inevitability of Germany conquering Europe cost Italy terribly, and Il Duce his life.

37 - The Roman Senate annulled Tiberius’ will and proclaimed Caligula emperor.

Caligula was a truly bizarre character. Unfortunately there is very little legitimate history about him, because he was notorious for creating a personal mythology, and those who wrote about him after he died were incredibly hostile towards him.

What is known is most of his family died while he was a child (under less than kind circumstances), which surely affected his adult life...What is also known is the ancient writers claim he was insane, and he made a mess of the Empire.

Oh, and the fact Tiberius locked him up in what should be considered nothing short of a pedophile playpen when he was a boy may have had something to do with his craziness.

1325 (according to legend) - Tenochtitlan, Aztec capital, was founded.

Within 100-years the Aztecs became the greatest civilization in South/Central America...In less than 200 they were more or less gone.

Such is the brutality of history.

1938 - The Nazi Weapons Law was passed. A new, tough, gun control law, revising several earlier versions, ensuring only Nazis and their friends could own or carry weapons, especially handguns.

Makes you wonder what Liberals are up to with their selective interpretation of the Constitution, specifically choosing to ignore the Second Amendment: “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

1963 - Gideon v. Wainwright:  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled indigent defendants must be offered free legal counsel in all criminal prosecutions.

Notice this doesn’t say 'all defendants,' it says 'indigent defendants.'

2004 - A 100-foot in diameter asteroid passed within 26,500 miles of Earth, the closest-ever on record by a space rock.

Those who’ve been to Meteor Crater (Winslow, AZ), have see the destructive force of meteorites, “which hit with a force of 2.5 megatonnes of TNT, or more than 150 Hiroshima atom bombs - but even more energy was dissipated in an atmospheric blast.”

It’s hard to imagine what an asteroid would do, because they are much bigger than meteorites.