December 25 (A Triple)

1 - The date celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ.

Was Christ born on this date? No. Is Christ the son of God? Personally, I'd say no...Neither of these questions - or my opinion - is of importance, however.

What is important is the life and death of Jesus Christ, and the historical results of his life and death...Results which have been as important as any life and death in history.

336 - The first recorded celebration of Christmas on December 25th took place in Rome.

The ‘birth of Christ’ had been celebrated on various dates for over 200 years, but this is the first sanctioned by the 'Church' on the 25th.

800 - Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans.

The Pope crowned Charlemagne emperor in order to pay back the many times Charles saved him from his enemies in the Vatican, and also from his own family...Charlemagne was also a strong defender of the church, and liked to think of himself as the founder of a new Roman Empire.

There are many who consider Charlemagne as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire, and there are others who consider Otto I the founder in 962...I fall in line with those who look at Otto, because it was he who stabilized the 'Germanic nation,' and made the HRE a consistent functioning institution.

Either way, I hope you aren't foolish enough to think the Holy Roman Empire was either 'Holy,' 'Roman,' or an 'Empire.'

1. 'Holy': Hahahaha! This was a political entity if there ever was one.
2. 'Roman': Hardly. Remember Charlemagne was a Frank and Otto a Saxon (both were Germanic tribes), and the HRE was always ruled by Germans/Austrians in the future.
3. 'Empire': The HRE had a brief period as an empire thanks to it's association with the Spanish Empire (during the reign of Charles V), but other than that, it was a loose confederation of German States...Nothing more, nothing less.

1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned King William I of England.

A great day in the history of what had previously been a backward nation, and what would eventually became one of the greatest empires in world history.

1651 - The General Court of Massachusetts passed a law making the observance of Christmas a penal offense and ordered a fine of five shillings for "observing any such day as Christmas."

During this time, Christmas in the Americas resembled Mardi Gras, and the Massachusetts Puritans wanted nothing to do with such debauchery...As a result it was a long time before Christmas became a mainstream American holiday.

1776 - The Battle of Trenton: American Revolution.  General George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River in a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey.

A 'surprise attack' on a drunken force...It was a minor tactical battle, but an enormous strategic victory because it provided an important psychological lift for the Colonists.

1799 - Napoleon’s new constitution went into effect. It gave him, as First Consul, powers to promulgate laws, nominate senior officials, control finances and conduct negotiations with foreign powers.

A dictator was born, and France began a periods of true greatness...Though not necessarily one of 'goodness.'

1868 - President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion which resulted in the Civil War.

You have to wonder if Lincoln would have done likewise.  I tend to think he would have, because from the beginning of the war his intent was to keep the Union whole...This pardon went a long way towards re-establishing this wholeness - though it pissed off many in the North who felt the South should pay a much greater price then it did.

June 7 (A Triple)

30 [or 33] - The traditional date of the 'Crucifixion of Christ.'

Who knows if this date is correct?  The date isn’t important…What’s important is the significance of Christ’s life and afterlife, which shaped much of the modern Western world.

Sadly, this world is being undone - in large part because it has turned away from Christ.

1494 - The Treaty of Tordesillas: Proclaimed by Pope Alexander VI, the treaty divided the New World between Spain and Portugal.

The Portuguese got a raw deal, because only Brazil was in their sphere in the New World...Not that anyone knew it.

At this time papal declarations still held great authority with the rest of Europe, but within 50-years the Reformation changed this reality - specifically with the Brits, French and Dutch...Who knows how the world would be if they had kept to the treaty?

1981 - Israeli military planes destroyed the Osiraq Nuclear Power Plant in Iraq, a facility designed to make nuclear weapons.

The world denounced Israel for this attack, including the U.S. and President Reagan, but due to this event the world will never know the possibility of Saddam Hussein with a nuke...We should have given the Israelis gifts and thanks, but such was and is the situation of geopolitics.

Those who question if Iraq had a WMD program in 2003 must remember Saddam was working toward a nuke in 1981. Logic tells you 22-years later he had something. Plus he used bio/chem weapons on his own people in the 1990's...The fact we haven't found them should frighten us all.

Thank you Israel!! Any chance you’ll do the same in Iran?

1776 - Richard Henry Lee put forward a resolution to the Continental Congress for a Declaration of Independence, saying "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."

The Patriots were getting bolder by the day, and within a month made the declaration Lee called for...It was inevitable, but at the time such a declaration was almost as revolutionary as Luther’s '95 Thesis.'

1862 - Union General Benjamin Butler hung William Mumford for desecrating the American Flag:  U.S. Civil War.

This was back in the 'good ol days' when national pride and common sense ruled the day. Now-a-days you can piss on, crap on, burn in anger, etc., the flag...But you can’t even look at a Koran with crossed eyes.

How have we gotten here?? Liberalism!!

1948 - Communists completed the takeover of Czechoslovakia with the resignation of President Eduard Benes.

Such was the reality of our WWII alliance with the Soviets...The East was turned over to Uncle Joe, and it took 40+ years before it was able to escape the Communist horror.
 
1996 - The Bill Clinton White House acknowledged it "accidentally" obtained the FBI files of House Speaker Newt Gingrich's press secretary, former Bush chief of staff James A. Baker III and other appointees from Republican administrations, by "an innocent bureaucratic mistake."

Sure it was!! And Vince Foster was an 'accident' too.

1997 - An 18-member presidential commission approved a report saying cloning a human being was "morally unacceptable," but added research using cells of humans and animals should be allowed.

Every part of this statement is justifiable...Unfortunately, the Mengelians are doing everything they can to skirt the cloning issue.

Science is an awesome tool, but must be a function of ethics. Not vice verse.

2000 - U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered the breakup of Microsoft Corporation, declaring the software giant should be split into two because it had "proved untrustworthy in the past."

What a joke!! This case should have never seen its day in court, let alone get to the appellate courts.

Those going after Microsoft should be very leery because if they ever become as 'successful' as they wish, they might be the next target of those looking to take a few notches out of big business.

April 7 (A Quadruple)

30 - By many scholars' reckoning (as well as John the Apostle), Jesus Christ was crucified by Roman troops in Jerusalem.

Is this really the date of Christ's death? Who knows, and who cares - the date isn’t important...The event, followed by Christ's resurrection, and it's influence on human history is what's important

Whether you believe in the Resurrection or not, there is little doubt Christ was crucified...There have been few events with such enormous influence.

1966 - The United States recovered a hydrogen bomb it had lost off the coast of Spain.

Uhhhhhh, how ridiculous is it to ‘lose’ a hydrogen bomb? I wonder how long President Johnson was able to keep this a secret.

Can you imagine if it happened today? The jackals in the media would probably tip off al Qaeda about the general area where the bomb was lost...I can see the area map on CNN pinpointing the 'last known location,' with a big neon sign saying 'Terrorists, look here.'

1978 - President Carter ended U.S. production of the neutron bomb.

Another big thank-you-not to the worst American president of the 20th Century.

So, what is a neutron bomb?  The tactical neutron bomb/enhanced radiation warhead is a nuclear weapon which maximizes damage to people but minimizes damage to buildings and equipment - a specialized thermonuclear weapon which produces a minimal blast but releases large amounts of lethal radiation which can penetrate armor or several feet of earth.

Incredibly, President Bush the Elder ordered the destruction of any neutron bombs the U.S. had already produced...Allegedly.

It's widely believed the Chinese have neutron bombs, and who knows who else does...Nice to know, aye?!?!

Another thing to keep in mind:  Throughout history, countries who have fallen behind the weapons-technology curve have usually been defeated by those who pass them...Sure the U.S. is ahead of everyone else at this time, but this time will not last forever.
 
1994 - Hutu extremists in Rwanda began massacring ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus. In 100-days of killing it's estimated 800,000 were murdered.

That’s an awesome number in such a short time-span (8,000/day). Even Hitler’s Henchmen would be proud of such butchery.

And all this happened under the watchful eye of the World’s Largest Debating Society - Otherwise known as the Circle Jerk Group - Otherwise known as the United Nations.

Reason #4,962,861 we must never wait for the U.N. to give us the 'thumb's up' to protect our national interest - or any interests we deem worthy of protecting...Besides that, they never give us the thumb's up, they give us the middle-finger.

At least President Clinton wasn’t sleeping at the wheel though. He was just too busy getting hummers to care...But, in classic Bill Clinton fashion, he gave a great 'sorry' speech a year later to make up for it all.

1862 - Union forces defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Shilo:  U.S. Civil War.

Since forts Henry and Donaldson, General Grant had been making a name for himself...It was at Shiloh, however, that he first became known to President Lincoln, who was starving for a ‘fighting general.’

1923 - The Workers Party of America officially became a communist party.

Shocking!  Not...It's only a matter of time till their union and Democrat brethren come out of the closet as well.

1939 - Italy invaded Albania.

Mussolini was flexing his muscle...LOL!!

Kicking Albania around was a joke, but it did give Hitler reason to hope Il Duce would have some value...LOL, again!!!

1948 - The World Health Organization was founded.

This is the one and only shining light in the United Nations...The WHO has done an incredible amount of good for the world, and is the only U.N. program worthy of funding with American dollars.

Sadly, even at that it's a massively corrupt agency.

1970 - A U.S. court confirmed it closed the investigation of Senator Ted Kennedy over the car crash in which Mary Jo Kopechne died at Chappaquiddick in 1969.

How the Duke of Chappaquiddick got away with this is beyond me...I guess M.J. Kopechne's life wasn’t worth a damn.

1980 - President Jimmy Carter broke off diplomatic relations with Iran and ordered all Iranian embassy staff out of the country because of the detention of the U.S. embassy hostages in Tehran.

Another brilliant move. NOT!!

The dumb ass should have never allowed the Ayatollah to return, and should have made him pay with his life for holding American citizens hostage.

1984 - The U.S. Census Bureau reported Los Angeles overtook Chicago as the nation's 'second city' in terms of population.

And that didn’t even include the Illegals living in L.A...Phoenix will be next to pass Chicago - but in our time the Illegals will be counted.

1998 - President Bill Clinton held a town meeting in Kansas City regarding the future of Social Security.

Why was Clinton doing this? His cronies have been saying there is nothing wrong with the ‘National Noose’...Hmmm?!?!

2000 - Social Security Earnings Tests ended. Americans age 65-69 are now able to earn as much money as they want without losing Social Security benefits under this bill signed by President Clinton.

I see nothing wrong with this decision - why shouldn't they recoup what they put in? - but do find it funny the Democrats blame Bush for this reality even though it was Bubba who signed it, not Bush.

March 27

30 - Jesus was condemned to be crucified by Pontius Pilate. The date, which is highly uncertain, is said to have been set down on a copper plate discovered in 1810, in the ancient city of Aquileia.

Is it the real date or not? This question has no importance, because the event and the effect of the event is what's important...Something to keep in mind for every event.

And this was an event of monumental importance - regardless of one's religious, or lack of religious, persuasion.

47 B.C. - Ptolemy XII, King of Egypt and brother of Cleopatra, drowned in the Nile, probably with an assist by Julius Caesar, who thereby made Cleopatra queen.

Cleopatra was one of the most influential and important woman in the ancient world.

She wasn’t overly beautiful, in fact she was pretty ugly by modern standards, but was a renown seducer of Rome’s most powerful leaders...Unfortunately for her and her country, she chose the wrong leader to seduce after Caesar’s death, and created a personal death-wish by attaching herself to the star of Marc Antony instead of Octavian - not that Octavian was interested.

1513 - Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida.

The Spanish were far ahead of their European peers in the New World, and the discovery of Florida gave them a head start in the conquest of North America...Luckily they didn't get far into the area of the modern-day U.S., because the areas across the globe which were ruled by Spain have proven to be a mess.

A couple questions I've long pondered:  Did the Spanish ruin these areas, or were the Spanish just unlucky to have landed in ruined areas?  Or was it Catholicism which ruined the areas?

It's an impossible question to answer, but the answer is probably the combination of Spanish Catholicism - along with the fact the Spanish conquered areas with near-Stone Age cultures.

1794 - U.S. President George Washington and Congress authorized the formation of the U.S. Navy.

Six small frigates were the original mandate, but within 150-years this pathetic little band of ships evolved into the greatest naval power in the history of the world.

1802 - The Treaty of Amiens ended the Wars of the French Revolution.

This sounds like a big event, but all it is is a starting point for the Napoleonic Wars...Which were nothing less than a continuation of the Revolution.

1933 - Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.

Four years later they began WWII by invading China.

Japanese encroachment was terribly predictable. It was also logical in the Japanese mind...Japan is such a small nation, with few natural resources, that if it was to become a great nation it had to extend to and through its neighbors.

1940 - Heinrich Himmler ordered the building of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp:  WWII.

Another big day for the ‘Chicken Farmer.’

Has any other man in history ever risen from such a low social status to affect the lives of so many? Maybe his boss (Hitler), Stalin and Mao, but after that, there haven’t been many.

1941 - The U.S. Congress authorized $7 billion in Lend-Lease aid to Russia in fighting Germany, another $6 billion on October 28 and an additional $10 billion on December 15 for Lend-Lease and U.S. armed forces:  WWII.

Of course it was the right thing to do, just as it was the right thing to help Iraq in the 1980’s against Iran...Choosing ‘strange bedfellows’ is a constant balancing act for any decent nation.  The key is to always choose the correct bedfellows.

1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet Premier and First Secretary of the Communist Party.

Nikki had been the major power broker in the USSR since September 1953, but like every dictator he loved the acquisition of titles...Plus, claiming the premiership limited the opportunity of his political enemies, which were numerous.

1997 - Heaven's Gate Suicide:  39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found dead.

I have to admit I encourage this behavior for nuts of all kinds.

2001 - A federal judge ruled the University of Michigan’s affirmative action policy was invalid.

Of course 'Reverse Racism' is wrong...But this country has long gone away from the concept of right an wrong.

The problem is: Why should millions (like myself) be negatively affected because of the actions of those in the past? How is it my poor, pathetic, Scots-Irish ancestors did any wrongs which need to be righted in our current time?