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 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 1

1356 - The Pope published the 'Golden Bull' ('Bulla Aurea').

This was a very important document, which more or less acted as a ‘semi-constitution’ for the Holy Roman Empire. It stated each emperor would be chosen by election, the right of voting being vested in electoral princes (electors).

The reality of the electoral process was much more messy than this great edict wished, however, setting the stage for 500-years of political intrigue and wars for control of Central Europe...Lands which were in a perpetual state of infighting until Napoleon broke them in the early 1800's, and the German Empire was created in 1870.

5777 B.C. - Origin of the Solar Cycle.

4713 B.C. - Origin of the Julian Period.

45 B.C. - The Julian Calendar was introduced.

1 - The Christian Era began.

Different calendars throughout history are a source of much confusion among historians - as should be expected considering there are at least 30 different calendar systems in use in our day...Imagine trying to figure out exact dating on any of these, let alone extinct calendar systems.

On this blog, I do my best to use the accepted dates in the Western world...Which is where the initials A.D. come from - 'anno Domini' = 'in the year of our Lord.'

404 - The last gladiator competition in Rome.

I can't lie, I would have watched and enjoyed these games.

1610 - Simon Marius, a German astronomer, discovered the moons of Jupiter.

Marius should have officially reported this finding; instead Galileo claimed the finding on July 1 of the same year.

1863 - The Emancipation Proclamation, declared the previous September by Abraham Lincoln, took effect. It declared freedom for slaves in all areas of the Confederacy still in rebellion against the Union.

The North had very little control of the South at this time, which means there was no effective way of putting this proclamation into force...That said, the proclamation was an excellent political tool for Lincoln, as well as an additional battle-cry for the North.

1902 - The first Rose Bowl game.  Michigan crushed Stanford, 49-0.

The 'grand-daddy of them all' started a fantastic tradition of college football bowl games.

1906 - The British Parliament curtailed immigration for the insane, impoverished, criminal and diseased.

You'd think this would be common sense.  You'd think the U.S. would have a similar policy...And then you'd remember immigration has become more a tool to control the native population than one to help it - from both American political parties.

1912 - The Chinese Republic was founded by Sun Yat-sen.

China has never had anything near a republic, and certainly nothing resembling a democracy.  That said, Chinese civilization has been as successful as any in the history of mankind and I am not here to say they do it wrong.

1920 - The League of Nations convened for the first time.

This worked just about as well as the U.N. has.

1920 - The 'Great Raid of the Red Scare': 'Radicals' were arrested in 33 U.S. cities.

They could round up many more 'Reds' if they'd just go to each city's modern-day DNC headquarters.

1934 - Germany passed the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring."

It wasn't long till they started considering anyone who wasn't German to be 'diseased.'

1946 - Japanese Emperor Hirohito rejected the notion the emperor is a living god and the notion the Japanese are superior to other races and destined to govern the world.

A thorough 'whoopin' will do this to most people bent on conquest and subjugation...It's usually the only thing which works - something all freedom-loving people must always keep in mind.
 
1949 - The U.N. brokered a cease-fire in Kashmir granting it the right to vote on whether to remain in India or join Pakistan.

No vote has taken place, and the cease-fire is in constant danger of dissolving...A reality made even more dangerous by the fact India and Pakistan are nuclear powers.

1959 - Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista.

It's a disgrace President Eisenhower let this happen right off the shores of the U.S...It's an even bigger disgrace no succeeding president has righted this wrong.  And even worse that President Obama embraced the Castros.

1986 - Soviet television aired a five-minute greeting from President Reagan, and Americans got the same from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the first such exchange between the superpowers.

The iron fist of the Soviet Union was loosening.  It wasn't long until it completely crumbled.

1993 - Czechoslovakia dissolved, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia were formed.

As Liberalism takes over American popular culture, the memory of Ronald Reagan may shrink, but the people of Eastern Europe will long remember him for bringing down the Soviet Union and her hold on her neighbors.  This 'Velvet Revolution' has been the most successful of the previous communist nations.

1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.

Free trade is always good for the U.S...As long as it is 'fair' trade.  And as long as the deal isn't just a means to smuggle more foreigners in.

1999 - President Fidel Castro, marking 40-years as Cuba's leader, portrayed his Socialist nation as a defender of humanity against rapacious capitalism.

You'd think with such magnanimity Americans would be fleeing to Cuba, instead of vice verse.

2002 - Euro banknotes and coins became the legal tender in 12 EU states.

The Euro will ultimately fail without a united Europe, which will never happen.  Sadly, this process of failing is in the process of occurring.

November 29

799 - Charlemagne returned Pope Leo III to Rome.

So, why was he ‘returning?’ The previous Pope’s family tried to disfigure Leo to make him unfit for the papacy, wanting another family member to become Pope - and Leo fled to Charlemagne for help...Papal politics has always been ugly.

As a gift for protecting him, Leo crowned Charlemagne 'Emperor of the Romans' in 800...It wasn't just a gift to the King of the Franks - it was a way for Leo to guarantee his own safety.

That said, please don't mistake this as anything close to the Roman Empire...If anything, it was a path towards the Holy Roman Empire.

If you don't understand the differences you must come back to this blog more often.

1782 - Britain signed an agreement recognizing U.S. independence:  American Revolutionary War.

As if they had any choice.

1803 - Spain ceded her claims on the Louisiana Territory to France.

This sounds magnanimous enough, but in reality Napoleon controlled Spain and took the territory...It didn’t take him long to realize the territory was impossible to hold which led the Emperor to sell it to the U.S. - not as a gift to the U.S., but for the money and as a thorn in the side of the Brits.

1812 - The last elements of Napoleon Bonaparte's Grand Armee retreated across the Beresina River in Russia.

What a mess. One of history’s greatest fighting forces was all but annihilated by the Russian Winter...Napoleon regrouped to fight another day, but was never able to compensate for the loss of this fighting force.

1947 - The U.N. General Assembly passed Resolution 181, granting the Jewish people a homeland in ‘Palestine.’

This makes for nice mythology doesn’t it? The reality is the Jews fought for every inch of Israel, and will have to fight to hold it for all of time - if they choose to keep it, that is...The U.N. gave them nothing, and surely hasn’t helped them defend it.

1949 – The Nationalist regime of China left for Formosa.

Those who don’t know: Formosa = Taiwan...Which is why the Chinese lay claim to it, and will eventually have it. It’s amazing they don’t already.

1989 - The Czechs ended the Communist Party's 40-year monopoly on power. The revolution in Czechoslovakia was called the 'Velvet Revolution' because it occurred with little violence.

This was the beginning of the end for the various Communist nations in Eastern Europe, and the reason for the lack of ‘violence’ is because of the will and determination of Ronald Reagan...Along with the decay of the Soviet Union.

Reagan's policies put the Soviets in a position where they were unable to force themselves on their neighbors, because they could barely hold on at home.

1991 - The chairman of the Soviet Union's State Bank said his institution halted all payments to the national government because it had run out of money.

They bled the population economically (physically, mentally, and emotionally as well) and there was nothing left to take...The same will eventually happen in the non-communist countries which do the same to their people - including the U.S.

1996 - A U.N. court sentenced Bosnian Serb army soldier Drazen Erdemovic to ten years in prison for his role in the massacre of 1,200 Muslims; the first international war crimes sentence since World War II.

Not that they were good guys, but one has to wonder: Why the Serbs?

The U.N. allowed such mass murderers as Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Mihn, Yasser Arafat, Papa and Baby Doc, Saddam Hussein (till G.W), etc, etc., to go without being tried for ‘war crimes’ or ‘crimes against humanity’...So why the Serbs??

2005 - The Vatican published its long-awaited document on gays in the clergy, saying men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies should not be ordained but those with a "transitory problem" could be if they had overcome them for three years.

This is how the Church got in trouble with gays banging little boys in the first place: by allowing them in the seminary schools and not throwing them out when they were discovered...Which is why the Catholic Church deserves most of the disdain they have received on the matter of molestation. They have allowed it to happen by allowing gay priests to stay in their posts.

November 21

1783 - Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis Francois Laurant d'Arlandes made the first flight in a balloon, thus becoming the first men to fly. The pair flew nearly six miles around Paris in 25 minutes reaching an altitude of around 300 feet.

I hate giving the French credit for anything, but they were the first to get a human being off this great big ball we call Earth...An accomplishment which led to much bigger ones.

1806 - The Decree of Berlin: Emperor Napoleon banned all Continental trade with England.

Unfortunately for Napoleon, the Brits were in the process of blocking every European harbor with its superior navy, as well as attacking French merchants in the open seas...Thereby limiting Continental European trade to the continent itself anyway.

That said, neither blockade was very effective and did more to hurt non-combatants than those actually at war.

1938 - Nazi forces occupied western Czechoslovakia (the Sudetenland) and declared its people German citizens:  WWII.

This was the last good chance the Brits and French had to stop the Nazis, and end WWII before it began...Predictably, they chose to 'appease,' just as they had when the Germans reclaimed the Ruhr and overtook Austria, and instead prayed for "peace in our time." The result of such foolishness was tragic.

Less than a year after this ‘last chance’ the Germans attacked all of Europe with the greatest military power ever seen up to that time.

1981 - 400,000 Dutch demonstrated for peace in Amsterdam.

What 'peace' were they demonstrating for? They were demonstrating against President Reagan’s verbal and political assault on the Soviet Union.

If these joker’s had their way the U.S.S.R. would still be in full bloom.

We'll see how peaceful they remain when their country is taken over by Muslims...And exactly how will the Muslims take over?  The Dutch aren't having children, the Muslims are.

1999 - President Clinton called on prosperous nations to spread global wealth by helping poor countries with Internet hookups, cell phones, debt relief and small loans.

I think he must have 'inhaled' before making this statement...Only a Liberal could come up with such foolishness as Internet hookups for starving people without electricity.

The poor need food and clean water more than anything, not 'toys'...Maybe he's planning on them eating them, but I’d think it would be hard on the gut.

Along with basic necessities, they also need decent leaders who will allow them to live freely...Which is the longest of long shots.

2000 - President Clinton agreed not to punish China for exporting missile components to Iran and Pakistan after China promised to end future technological cooperation with countries seeking to develop missile weaponry.

I know it is hard to believe, but the Chinese didn’t keep their promise, and along with Russia, have been a large factor in the evolving nuclear crisis in Iran...Not that our so-called friends in Europe haven't had a hand in the matter, either.

2002 - The Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania joined former Communist states Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia as the next wave of NATO states.

Great!  Lets stomp around in the Ruskie's back yard when they are down...I'm sure this will turn out just fine.

The question these countries should be asking: 'is the U.S. as loyal an ally as they are to the U.S.?'...That question must be very scary.

2003 - The U.S. Air Force conducted a second test of the 'Mother of All Bombs,' officially the Massive Ordnance Air Blast.

Here’s hoping the MOAB is currently being fitted for use with bunker-busting technology, because it may need to be used on Iran’s nuclear facilities...Either that or low-grade nukes.

October 6

1973 – The Yom Kippur War began: Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday.

Also known as the Ramadan War or the October War.

The Arabs (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, etc) attempted another surprise attack on Israel, and soon suffered another beating...Had it not been for the U.S. reigning in the Israelis the outcome would have been much worse for the pathetic Arab invaders.

This war has many important aspects, including:

1. The Arab insistence on trying to end the Israeli nation.

2. The absolutely ridiculous state of the Arab nations militarily, and also the fierceness of the Israeli military.

3. The sorry nature of Soviet weapon technology (Arab) compared to U.S. technology (Israel)...And make no mistake, the 20th Century Arab-Israeli Wars were the Middle Eastern theatre of the Cold War.

105 - The Battle of Arausio.

The Cimbri and Teutones gave the Romans a thorough whooping.

The Germanic tribes had over 200,000 troops, compared to 80,000 for the Romans, and the Romans suffered approximately 120,000 casualties (almost all of its military units, along with its civilian host).

Lucky for the Empire, instead of attacking Rome the Cimbri decided to march on the Averni tribe...The Empire was in dire straits after this battle, and it is debatable if Rome could have fought off a concerted attack of the imperial city.

877 - French King Charles 'the Bald' died and was succeeded by Louis 'the Stammerer.'

Charles was the last of the strong Frankish kings, and his death ‘unofficially’ marks the beginning of the Frenchification - opposed to Frankification - of the nation...In other words the Franks slowly became pansies.

1939 - In an address to the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler denied having any intention of war against France and Britain:  WWII.

I’m sure Der Fuhrer was planning on living up to his promise, because Chamberlain proclaimed “peace in our time” a year earlier...Bunch of damn fools.

1943 - Heinrich Himmler demanded the acceleration of the 'Final Solution':  WWII.

1. The S.S. wasn’t killing Jews fast enough.

2. The ‘Chicken Farmer’ wanted to get started on the systemic annihilation of the Gypsies, Poles, Ruskies, etc.

3. The war was beginning to go very badly for the Krauts, and they figured they may as well raise Hell for as long as they could.

1944 - Soviet troops entered Hungary and Czechoslovakia:  WWII.

Liberators!! That would be funny if it weren’t so sad...These two countries simply swapped one beast for another.

1949 - Japanese-American broadcaster, Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose), was sentenced to 10-years in prison and fined $10,000 for treason during WWII.

How does treason during wartime not equal the death penalty???

1991 - The Cable News Network obtained and aired a video-tape made in Beirut, Lebanon, of American hostage Terry Anderson, who quoted his captors as saying they would have "very good news."

Question: Why is CNN in bed with the Islamists?? They have sold their soul to these SOB’s, just to get stories...Which has come to light since the most recent Iraq War.

I have no doubt they would have gladly filmed Anderson being beheaded, and done nothing about it...Which makes them nothing more than 'Al Jazeera of the West.'

Along with being the Kings of Fake News.

1994 - In an address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, South African President Nelson Mandela warned against the lure of isolationism, saying the post-Cold War focus of the United States should be on eliminating tyranny, instability and poverty.

1. Who gives a damn what this Communist wanted?

2. When the U.S. does as Mandela asked, we get crapped on by the rest of the world…Iraq fits each of his three problems to solve (tyranny, instability, poverty), but the effort was made by a Republican president so it was no good. Hmmmmmmmm?

1997 - In a blow to both Democrats and Republicans, President Bill Clinton used a line-item veto to kill 38 military construction projects.

Imagine that. Bill Clinton sticking it to the military...And then we wonder why the military was short of manpower, supply and training when we need them after 9/11/01.

Oh I forgot, it was Bush’s fault...Riiiiiiiight.

September 25

1396 - The last great Christian crusade, led jointly by John the Fearless of Nevers and King Sigismund of Hungary, ended in disaster at the hands of Sultan Bajazet I’s Ottoman army at Nicopolis.

The Crusades died a whimpering death, but did perform the vital function of keeping the Muslim Horde tied up in the Middle East and North Africa.

From the 8th-11th Centuries the Muslims swept through much of South and Southwest Asia, and were on the march towards Europe...The Crusaders failed in their goal to reclaim the Holy Land, but succeeded in a much more important (and unintentional) way by saving Central and Western Europe from Islam's ravages.

1066 - The Battle of Stamford Bridge: England's Saxon King Harold defeated an invading Norwegian force.

Harold marched his troops out to defeat the Norwegians...And defeat them he did.

Little did he know, however, there was another invader coming from the south - An invasion led by William, Duke of Normandy...Soon to be known as William the Conqueror.

1513 - Spanish explorer Vasco Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama, becoming the first known European to see the Pacific Ocean.

The westward path to the Orient was discovered, and the link between the Atlantic and the Pacific became an obsession for many for the next 400-years.

FYI: It was the same isthmus Balboa crossed which ultimately served as the mechanism for uniting the two great oceans, with the construction of the Panama Canal.

1555 - The Peace of Augsburg: Lutheranism was recognized in Germany.

This was a peace treaty signed by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the princes of the Shmalkaldic League (the Lutheran Princes).

The treaty was a bitter pill for Charles and the Catholic Church, and a final realization he couldn't keep the forces of Lutheranism at bay...The result was the official recognition of the Lutheran religion in the Empire.

"Cuius regio, eius religio": "He who rules, his religion," or "in the Princes land, the Princes religion."

In other words: The various lands of the Empire would be Catholic or Lutheran as determined by the religion of that land's ruler.

1789 - The first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.

The fact there would be amendments to the new Constitution was known before the great document even had time to dry...It would have never been ratified without this knowledge.

We all know of the first 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights), but I admit I have no idea what the proposed 11th and 12th were???

1818 - The first blood transfusion using human blood (instead of animal blood) was performed in London at Guy's Hospital.

This was a huge advance in medical technology...It's hard to believe any transfusions from animal blood were successful.

1890 - Mormon president Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto formally renouncing the practice of polygamy.

Make no mistake, the Mormons didn't want to make this concession...They had little choice.

At the time Utah was a semi-autonomous territory within the U.S., but was being faced with a couple of choices, neither of which were palatable to the Mormon populace.

1. End polygamy, and retain a little power as a territory and later a state in the Union.

2. Continue on its path and be annihilated by federal troops.

There was no third option, and the one they chose allowed them to maintain a semblance of autonomy.

1938 - President Franklin Roosevelt urged negotiations between Hitler and Czech President Benes over the Sudetenland.

This turned out well...And the Czechs had no say in the eventual 'negotiations.'

1954 - François Duvalier ('Papa Doc') was elected President of Haiti.

By no means was Papa Doc even close to the 20th Century's Mega-Deka Murderers, but he was a very established democidal nut...Killing around 30,000 on the tiny island of Haiti.

That said, it is quite possible Duvalier was the most bizarre character of the 20th Century (a huge honor considering his peers), and a self-proclaimed Voodoo practitioner...If you like reading about insaniacs, I recommend you check out Papa and Baby Doc.

1974 - Scientists warned the continued use of aerosol sprays would cause ozone depletion, leading to increased risk of skin cancer and global weather changes.

This was during a time when many scientists were warning of 'Global Cooling'...Check it out: Newsweek, April 28, 1975.

Bunch of Gloom-n-Dooming idiots.

Guess what? I guarantee the Earth will go through periods of cooling and warming...And will do so with or without man's help.

1993 - Three U.S. soldiers in Somalia were killed when their helicopter was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade.

I'm sure our Commander-in-Chief had great intentions, but what was our military doing in Somalia without a legitimate plan?

Also, why is it Democrat presidents can use the military to do whatever bogus operations they want, but George Bush deposed of one of the world's most dangerous dictators and Liberals went nuts?

Hmmmmm??

September 12

490 B.C. (Exact date is unknown, but it is assumed to be sometime between September 10-12) - The Battle of Marathon.  Athenian and Plataean hoplites commanded by General Miltiades drove back a Persian invasion force under General Datis.

Marathon is one of the most famous battles in history, and one which could have changed history had the Persians won...Instead the Athenians won, keeping the Greeks free from Persian rule, and reaping the glory of defeating the great empire.

The Athenians had approximately 10,000 troops, to the Persians 20,000+...Amazingly, the Athenians lost less than 200 troops, compared to over 6,000 for the Persians.

It must be noted, the Spartans missed out on the battle because they were too slow to understand the dire straits the Greeks were in. This lack of effort to show up in time for the battle was a terribly humiliating fact for the Spartans, and a rare case where the Athenians claimed hegemony in the Greek world...A fact which lead to the Pelopponesian War between Athens and Sparta - where the Spartans reclaimed their traditional role.

1814 - A British fleet under Sir Alexander Cochrane began the bombardment of Fort McHenry, the last American defense before Baltimore. As the sun rose the next day, Lawyer Francis Scott Key was amazed to see the American Flag still flying over the battered fort. This experience inspired Key to write the lyrics to 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' which he adapted to the tune of a well-known British drinking song:  War of 1812.

The Brits weren't necessarily trying to reclaim their former colonies, but they did want to let them know they were still under their thumb...The new nation wasn’t about to allow it to happen, though.

Because of this fact 'The Star-Spangled Banner' is a brilliant song, and one we can easily sing with passion and pride.

1918 - U.S. forces, led by General John J. Pershing, launched an attack on the German-occupied St. Mihiel salient north of Verdun, France:  WWI.

This was the first American battle in World War I, and they showed well..It wasn't long before the Axis surrendered, but had the Americans been in the war in 1914 it would have never lasted this long.

1919 - Adolf Hitler joined the German Worker’s Party.

Soon to become the National Socialist German Workers Party...Better known as the Nazi Party.

Oh, did you catch that 'socialist' thingy?

1938 - Adolf Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.

Hitler was looking for a fight and used this issue to get one...Instead the French and Brits simply handed him the Sudetenland.

Der Fuhrer was disappointed and disgusted to have this event end in peace, yet elated to see the pansies in the West show their true color: YELLOW!!

1943 - German paratroopers rescued Benito Mussolini from the hotel where he was being held by the Italian government:  WWII.

The Italians had to wait another year-and-a-half to hang Il Duce from a lamp-post.

1944 - U.S. Army troops entered Germany for the first time in World War II.

The route was on, and the only question left was who would get to Berlin first, the U.S. or the Soviets...Sadly it was the Ruskies.

1983 - The Soviet Union vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution deploring the shooting down of a Korean jetliner by a Soviet jet fighter on Sept. 1.

You didn’t read that wrong. The Soviets vetoed the plan to denounce themselves...Such is the ridiculousness of the United Nations.

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.

June 9

1938 - China breached the Yellow River dykes to stop the Japanese invasion:  WWII.  840,000 died.

Over 840,000 deaths! That's an enormous sacrifice, and an awesome event...As a point of reference, the U.S. suffered around 400,000 deaths in all of WWII.

Most Americans have no idea WWII started in 1937 between Japan and China. Sadly, most Americans probably think WWII started with the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor...The fact China was willing, able, and needed to sacrifice almost a million people to stop the Japanese is proof the 'Great War' was on.

68 - Roman Emperor Nero died.

The story of Nero fiddling as Rome burned is myth, but I’m quite certain few Romans cried when they heard of his suicide.

1863 - The Battle of Brandy Station:  U.S. Civil War.

The importance of this battle is it was the largest cavalry battle ever fought in North America, and one of the first where the Union stood toe-to-toe with the Confederates...It was fought at the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg, and both sides lost an equal amount of cavalry troops, but the Union was the eventual victor of the larger battle.

1864 - The U.S. 1st Tennessee Cavalry attacked buck-naked across the Chattahoochee River, in Roswell, Georgia:  U.S. Civil War.

This attack occurred at the beginning of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, but I can’t tell you why the group decided to attack 'naked'...Anyone with information on this event is encouraged to comment or email me.

1940 - Norway surrendered to the Nazis:  WWII.

The Norwegians should be proud...They lasted almost as long as the French.

1942 (June 9-10) - Nazis rounded up and killed all the male inhabitants of Lidice, Czechoslovakia in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich:  WWII.

"Just five days after Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich's death, ten truckloads of the Security Police came and quickly surrounded the village. No one was allowed to leave the village; a 12 year old boy and a peasant woman were shot as they tried to escape. All the men and boys over 16 years old, 172 in all, were rounded up and locked in a barn. They were then shot the next day in groups of ten, which lasted from dawn until 4 in the afternoon. 19 men who were working in the mines during the shooting were also rounded up and sent to Prague where they were killed." - Read more about Heydrich

The Butcher of Prague, The Blond Beast and Der Henker (German for 'the hangman') was dead, and I’m sure the populace of Lidice happily traded the deaths listed above in exchange for Heydrich’s death...Especially considering the reality is the Nazis had the Czechs marked to meet the same fate as the Jews - which Heydrich would have efficiently carried out.

1943 - The U.S. Congress passed an act authorizing employers to withhold income tax payments from salary checks.

Taxes have always been cumbersome, but this act perfected the practice of the government extorting money from its citizens.

1963 - President Kennedy named Winston Churchill an honorary U.S. citizen.

As the “Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave,” I can’t think of anyone who has deserved such an honor more than Churchill: The most important freedom fighter of the 20th Century, and definitely one of the bravest as well.

An interesting side note: I'm not sure why Churchill isn't considered a natural born citizen since his mother was an American from New York???

1996 - White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, appeared on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' and said it was wrong for an investigator to have obtained secret FBI files on 341 people, including prominent Republicans. President Clinton agreed with Panetta that an apology was called for.

Can you imagine the feeding-frenzy the media would have if a Republican president did this. The jackals would be howling...But Clinton got a pass, per normal.

And our current president's administration is outdoing all of our previous leaders when it comes to snooping on the American people...He'll get a little bit of criticism, but like Clinton he'll get a pass as well.

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 23

1994 - Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermin National Accelerator Laboratory discovered the subatomic particle called the 'top quark.'

It’s a slow day, so why not.

Anyone who's totally bored should follow the link, and you will find your life isn’t nearly as boring as you think. Give it a look: Top Quarks.

If you understand it, please feel free to enlighten me.

1938 - Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia demanded self-government.

Hitler smiled from ear-to-ear with this declaration, which was of his making by the way...And Chamberlain started crapping his pants.

1945 - The Russian Army liberated the Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrueck concentration camps:  WWII.

I state it over and over, but it's important to remember this truth: NEVER FALL INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING THE SOVIETS EVER LIBERATED ANYTHING!

These lands just transferred from one overlord to the next.

1986 - President Reagan, addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the recent raid on Libya showed "no one can kill Americans and brag about it."

Such a brilliant statement, and one which drives Liberals crazy(er)...We should all wish to be protected with such vigor.

Heaven knows the poor Americans Obama let die in Benghazi would have liked to have had such protection.

March 14

1999 - Bill Clinton's administration conceded the Chinese gained technology stolen from a federal nuclear weapons lab, but insisted the government responded decisively.

Yet Americans obsessed over blowjobs and blue dresses.

Forget Bill's sex, ethics and morals problems. His obliteration of the U.S. military and intelligence gathering communities was the greatest reason why the Clinton legacy should be that of shame...He was a scoundrel on many counts but his handling of national security (China, North Korea and ignoring the Islamists - along with hollowing out the military) was pathetic.  A reality we continue to pay for decades later.

1883 - German political philosopher Karl Marx died in London. He published, with Friedrich Engels, the 'Communist Manifesto.'

Few deaths warrant notice, but Marxist thought played an enormous role in 20th Century politics...And continues to this day.

Incredibly, Americans continue giving it a long look.

1939 - The Republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved and soon occupied by Germany.

Hitler had to be amazed he could get away with this with no repercussion from his European ‘enemies’...In fact, he was perturbed, and realized he had to invade the Poles in order to pull the French and Brits into his hoped for war.

1945 - The heaviest conventional bomb of World War II, the 22,000-pound 'Grand Slam,' was dropped by the Royal Air Force's Dambuster Squadron on the Bielefeld railway viaduct in Germany.

Too bad they didn’t have more.

This big-fella wouldn’t even make a dent compared to the bombs we have nowadays - nuclear or conventional.

1983 - The Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed for the first time ever to cut prices hoping to regain control over the world oil market.

Just imagine what OPEC will have to do if the Russians figure out how to properly drill in Siberia, and if the U.S. ever pulls its head out of its ass and starts fulfilling it's full energy producing potential.