January 24 (A Triple)

661 - Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib, son-in-law of Mohamed, was assassinated and his followers (Shiites) broke from the majority Muslim group (Sunni).

Most Westerners have no idea there is a split in Islam. What are the differences between the Sunnis and the Shiites? There are many, but here are three:

1. They differ on the semantics of who was the first Caliph - Abu Bakr or Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

2. The line of descent was broken with Ali’s death. The Shiites were the followers of Ali, and broke with the the majority (Sunni).

3. The Shiites are primarily Persian, and the Sunni primarily Arab - at least in the Middle East, anyway...The race issues between the Persians (Iranians) and Arabs have always been a problem - Turks, Kurds, etc., add to the mix as well.

Their differences are racial, political, fierce, and remain to this day.

That said, it's important to understand over half of the world's Muslims don't live in the Middle East (India, Indonesia, Europe, US, etc.), and almost all of these are Sunni.

1848 - Gold was discovered in California by James Wilson Marshall, at his partner Johann August Sutter's sawmill, on the South Fork of the American River, near Coloma, California.

In 1848 there were only about 20,000 non-Indians in the region, but by the end of 1849 there were over 100,000. This number doubled in 1850, and 150-years later the region constitutes the largest state in the U.S, with an economy larger than most 'countries.'...I'd say this fact alone makes this a huge event.

1958 - After warming to 100 million degrees, two light atoms were bashed together to create a heavier atom, resulting in the first man-made nuclear fusion.

WOW!!!!! The product of such brilliance can be almost limitless...But unthinkable horrors can also come from this brilliance, as well.

Science can be great: Vaccines, pace makers, communication and transportation technology, etc, etc., etc...And science can be horrific: Groningen Protocols, Eugenics, Dr. Mengele's, genetically created rats without heads, partial birth abortions, etc.

The balance between science and ethics is extremely important...Unfortunately, we live in an age of almost limitless scientific discovery, and equally limitless ethical debauchery.

41 - Shortly after declaring himself a god, Roman Emperor Gaius 'Caligula' Germanicus was assassinated by two Praetorian tribunes.

Caligula is one of the most interesting of the Roman Emperors, and also one of the worst. The general consensus among historians is he was so because he was insane...It also didn't help he was made a virtual sex-slave as a child by the previous emperor.

1076 - The Synod of Worms:  Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV forced Pope Gregory VII to abdicate his position.

More proof the Papacy is as much a political organization as a religious one...This isn't a rip; it just is.

1722 - Czar Peter the Great capped his reforms in Russia with the 'Table of Rank,' which decreed a commoner could climb on merit to the highest positions.

This was nice in theory, but the reality in Russia was there were two classes: Nobility and Serfs...And even most of the nobility were little more than serfs.

1919 - Grand Prince Pavel Alexandrovich, son of Czar Alexander II, and Grand Princess Nikolai Mikhailovich, Georgy Mikhailovitch and Dmitry Konstantinovich, nephews of the czar, were executed at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Lenin didn’t screw around when it came to possible enemies, and the Russian nobility paid a heavy price for its position...Some would say they had it coming for the misery they caused the Russian people for so many centuries - the Bolsheviks certainly saw it this way.

1931 - The League of Nations rebuked Poland for the mistreatment of a German minority in Upper Silesia.

This is almost hysterical considering the way the Germans treated the Poles for centuries, and how they would treat them from 1939-45.

1943 - Hitler ordered Nazi troops at Stalingrad to fight to the death:  WWII.

Many fulfilled his order, but in the end Field Marshal von Paulus defied it, becoming the first field marshal in German history to surrender in battle rather than die fighting or taking his own life.

1965 - Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.

Churchill is one of the greatest leaders in British history, and the most important ‘sane’ leader of the 20th Century.

It’s amazing Britain survived from 1939-42 on her own against the German onslaught (nice of the French to roll over, and the Americans to turn their backs on the Brits like they did)...The force of Churchill’s will and personality were the main elements of its survival - a survival which saved civilization.

1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws denying welfare benefits to people who resided in a state for less than a year.

You'd think this would be common sense, but Democrats think otherwise.

1972 - Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered on Guam, having spent 28-years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on.

The real ‘Last Samurai’...I wonder why he didn't get a clue when he didn’t encounter any enemies for over 10,000 days?

1994 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that protesters who block access to abortion clinics, or in other ways conspire to stop women from having abortions, may be sued under federal anti-racketeering statutes.

I’m surprised some nutty ACLU lawyer hasn’t tried to sue a church for preaching against abortions, thereby 'conspiring to stop women from having abortions'...This is exactly how they contort and distort the law.

2003 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security became a cabinet department.

This department was long overdue.

Many are concerned with the size of government, and I am one of them...That said, I have no problem with the enlargement of the military or any department aimed at protecting our nation.

If we want to downsize government (and we should), there are many places to look. National Security is not one.

January 10

49 B.C. - Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and invaded Italy, beginning a civil war after being ordered to disband his army three days earlier.

"Alea iacta est!" = “The die is cast.”

Caesar is one of the ten most important people in history, and this day began the path towards his crowning achievement...It was also the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic, which was soon to become the Roman Empire.

1776 - Propagandist Thomas Paine anonymously published 'Common Sense,' a scathing attack on King George III's reign over the American colonies and a call for complete independence.

"O! ye that love mankind! Ye that dare opposed not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the Old World is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted around the globe...O! receive the fugitive and prepare in time an asylum for mankind." - T. Paine

Within a year over 500,000 copies of 'Common Sense' were purchased in the Colonies, which proved to be as much a spark for the American Revolution as anything.

Paine was a great man, and a Patriot of the first order...I can’t even express how proud I’d be to be called a modern-day Thomas Paine, who was known as a 'poison pen' during his time.

I admit to stealing this for my 'Blogger name,' and you’ll soon see where the 'Pero' part comes from.

1847 - General Stephen Kearny and Commodore Robert Stockton retook Los Angeles in the last California battle of the Mexican War.

Mexico lost the war, but has never given up the battle of reclaiming its former territory...The Mexican Reconquista has long been underway, and the re-population of the Southwest U.S. is more of a Mexican success than anyone wants to acknowledge.

1901 - Oil was discovered in Texas - at Spindletop Hill, in Beaumont.

A huge state was soon to become an economic monster.

1920 - The League of Nations came into being when the Treaty of Versailles went into effect. The United States did NOT join the League.

The League was an abortion from its very first day, and the U.S. was smart enough to stay out ...We will see this intelligence reversed shortly.

1928 - The Soviet Union ordered the exile of Leon Trotsky.

It's amazing Trotsky wasn’t simply assassinated...Most of Uncle Joe’s rivals met a much quicker death.  Not that Joe didn't eventually kill him.

For those who don’t know, Trotsky was called 'Pero' by Lenin, for his writing ability (Pero = Pen, in Russian)...Although I am no admirer of Trotsky, I admit to stealing this for part of my 'Blog name.'

1944 - The G.I. Bill of Rights was passed by the U.S. Congress. The bill, formally known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was intended to smooth demobilization for America's almost 16 million servicemen and women.

This is a small token of what this country owes its brave troops.

Unfortunately, some of our current troops joined the military with the intention of doing so ‘just to collect on the benefits’...The reality of the job was not in their minds, and now they are bitching about being called on as warriors.

Luckily, most of our troops are not like these, and joined the military to defend our great nation.

1946 - The League of Nations was officially superseded by the United Nations when the first meeting of the General Assembly began in London.

The U.S. stayed out of the League (rightly), but didn’t have the foresight to stay out of the U.N...Which has proven to be every bit as corrupt and useless as its evil mother.

1967 – PBS (the Public Broadcasting System) began as a 70-station network.

Why is the federal government funding a Liberal propaganda network?

I have no problem with Lefty networks, like CBS, CNN, MSNBC, etc., because they are at least privately funded...The fact PBS is paid for by the American taxpayer is completely absurd.

2003 - North Korea announced it was pulling out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

As if it was following the declaration anyway...Every country should pull out of it (including the U.S), and just do what they are doing.

The next global war will occur in due time anyway, and treaties with participants who refuse to follow them are useless.

January 5

1919 - The German Workers Party - later known as the National Socialist (Nazi) Party - was formed in Germany.

It isn’t amazing Germany fell under the spell of Hitler and his nutty Nazis.  It could happen again; it could happen anywhere - including in the U.S., because people in general are want for a strongman...What's amazing is how so many psychopaths were able to gather in one place and function as well as they did. It would have been much more natural for them to cannibalize one another much faster than they did.

1066 - English King Edward the Confessor died.

Edward died without a son, and allegedly promised the English crown to Norman duke, William...But before he died, he named another man as his successor - Earl of Essex Harold.

Harold became King on January 6, but William never forgot the 'promise' Edward made.  And it wasn't long until William came to stake claim to that promise.

1349 - Jews were massacred at Nuremberg during Black Death riots.

'The Jews poisoned the wells, causing the Plague'...People in the Middle Ages were scientifically ignorant, and it's always been easy to blame the Jews for just about anything - not just in Germany, either.

1781 - A British naval expedition, led by Benedict Arnold - infamous American traitor - burned Richmond, Virginia:  American Revolutionary War.

Arnold was one of the true heroes of the American Revolution, but he was a narcissist who didn't feel he received 'enough love' from Washington and the political leadership, so he turned.  It's too bad, because had he stayed the course, Arnold would have went down in American history below only George Washington and Nathaniel Greene as military leaders in the War for Independence.

1896 - German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays.

The Germans were far ahead of the rest of the world scientifically at this time, and continued its domination throughout WWII...Sadly, they made far too much use of this genius destroying their neighbors and themselves, instead of creating such things as medical x-ray technology.

1945 – The 'House Un-American Activities Committee' (HUAC) became a permanent House committee.

With the modern-day Benedict Arnold's running around, it would be nice to see Congress revive this long-since-dead, 'permanent House committee.'

1948 - Alfred Kinsey's 'Sexual Behavior in the Human Male' was published.

How many little boys were raped by Kinsey's subjects in order to get his deviant research? I'm sure a few little girls were 'test subjects,' too.

1993 - The state of Washington executed Westley Allan Dodd, an admitted child sex-killer, in America's first legal hanging since 1965.

All sexual predators should face execution...I guarantee if we killed enough of them the level of sexual crimes would drop.

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.

December 24

1942 - The first powered flight of a V-1 cruise missile:  WWII.

This was the forefather of every modern rocket...Imagine if Hitler hadn’t shipped out or killed all of his Jewish scientists, and they invented the atomic bomb before the Americans? Which was very possible.

There is little doubt the Mad Corporal would have loaded them on the V-1’s and V-2’s...If the Germans had the time to perfect these weapons, the world would be a much different (more horrible) place than it is today.

1144 – Muslim forces re-captured much of the territory originally taken by the Christian Crusaders. This resulted in the Pope calling for a second Crusade.

The Perpetual War...I bet they never thought it would still be going almost 900-years later.

1814 - The War of 1812 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

America firmly established its independence in this ‘second Revolutionary War’...Unfortunately for the Brits, word didn’t reach the South before American forces could wipe out their force in New Orleans.

Ok, this is popular mythology...The Brits in New Orleans knew perfectly well of the war's status, but the British government hoped to pull out a victory in the battle, which would have given them a stronger position to bargain or restart the war from.

In my point of view the Battle of New Orleans was a nice little way of saying ‘Don’t return, ya limey bastards.’

1865 - Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, called the Ku Klux Klan.

A terrible organization, but an almost natural offshoot of the period...And my favorite Civil War general (for his skill and battlefield innovations, not viewpoints) soon became its first Grand Wizard: Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Oh by the way, these KKK clowns were primarily Democrats - Just as they were in the 20th Century, as well...Now they are just a couple hands full of nutters with no clout at all.

1943 - President Franklin Roosevelt appointed General Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of Allied forces for 'Operation Overlord':  WWII.

Ike was the perfect 'political general'...No other commander could have pulled off the European invasion as well.

Per normal, America was graced with the presence of ‘the right man, in the right place, at the right time.’

1946 – U.S. General MacNarney granted 800,000 'minor Nazis' amnesty.

We had a choice:  Remove all the Nazi's or leave Germany to be run by inexperienced leaders.  Under normal circumstances going with the new blood might have been the better choice, but circumstances were anything but normal...Never forget the Russian bear was in a feeding frenzy at this time, and we didn't have the luxury of allowing Germany to suffer as long as they deserved.

It's too bad we didn't follow these methods after removing Sadaam Hussein from power in Iraq...Things likely would have progressed much better if we had.

1968 - The 'Apollo Eight' astronauts (Lovell, Anders and Borman), orbiting the moon 250,000 miles from home, reading verses from their bible and transmitted a message to all of mankind calling for "peace on earth."

Oh my GOD! Liberal ‘separation of church and state’ nuts must have had spontaneous strokes and heart attacks.

2003 - Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf agreed to step down as head of the armed forces by the end of 2004, part of a deal with the hard line Islamic opposition to end a long standoff which had stalled the nation's return to democracy. Musharraf also agreed to scale back some of the special powers he decreed himself after taking power in a 1999 military coup.

Never forget this is a country with nuclear weapons and advanced delivery systems...With millions of radical Islamists chomping at the bit trying to take control of them.

They can hide behind the facade of democracy, but the reality is the world cannot afford to allow a fundamentalist Pakistani leadership to evolve...Which is why we play patty-cake with the Paki Military and their crazy Taliban creation.

December 13

2003 - American forces captured Saddam Hussein who was hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.

This was great news, but I'm still amazed he was captured and not killed...Thankfully, Saddam met the hangman on December 30, 2006, which is how every despot on should meet his end.

Go here to watch the SOB die...Yes, it is the real deal.  The video and audio quality are not great, but the outcome is.

1577 - English Captain Sir Francis Drake set out with five ships on a nearly three-year journey which took him around the world.

Drake was a great explorer, and an even better pirate, looting the Spanish many times...Truly one of the astronauts of his time.

1636 - America's first permanent militia regiments, among the oldest continuing units in history, were organized by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

This event is considered the birthday of the U.S. National Guard...Happy 381st Birthday.

1863 - The Battle of Fredericksburg: U.S. Civil War.  Confederate forces dealt Union troops a major defeat, which ended at Marye’s Heights with the bloody slaughter of Union troops.

The Union had over 120,000 troops, led by General Burnside, against Lee’s 78,000 Confederate troops...In this debacle, Burnside proved he had no business commanding such a large force - which he tried to persuade President Lincoln of prior to the battle, by the way.

The Confederates left the battle with a victory and about 5,000 casualties, compared to over 12,500 for the Union force.

1998 - Puerto Rican voters rejected statehood by a vote of 50.2% to 46.5%. The winning option was none of the above, but was interpreted as a decision to remain a commonwealth within the U.S. with local autonomy.

They’d much rather continue sucking at the nipple of the American cow without the responsibility that comes with being an American state - or even an independent State.

2000 - George W. Bush claimed the presidency five weeks after Election Day, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court shut down further recounts of disputed ballots in Florida. Democrat Al Gore conceded, delivering a call for national unity.

After tearing apart the nation, Al Gore called for national unity...And then proceeded to take ‘pot-shots’ at Bush at every opportunity he could.

What a POS!

2004 - The U.N. restricted its humanitarian operations in Sudan's troubled South Darfur area following a shooting that killed two aid workers.

What a sad joke! How can anyone put any stock in the U.N. if it proves itself to be useless even in Third World toilets?

The problem with the U.N. is stated in the headline: The U.N. loses two people and it turns tail.

Solving tough problems requires tough people...The U.N. is a panty-waste organization, which is why it can't handle tough problems.

December 11

1941 - Germany declared war on the United States, bringing America, which had been neutral, into the European conflict.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor surprised even Germany. Although Hitler made an oral agreement with his Axis partner Japan that Germany would join a war against the United States, he was uncertain as to how the war would be engaged. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor answered that question.

On December 8, Japanese Ambassador Oshima went to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop to nail the Germans down on a formal declaration of war against America. Von Ribbentrop stalled for time; he knew Germany was under no obligation to do this under the terms of the Tripartite Pact, which promised help if Japan was attacked, but not if Japan was the aggressor. Von Ribbentrop feared the addition of another antagonist, the United States, would overwhelm the German war effort. But Hitler thought otherwise.

Nice guess Adolph.

The Allies were lucky this nut took over control of the German armed forces, dragging them down with the 'Fuhrer Principle' (all major, and many minor, decisions could only be made by the Austrian Corporal)...It would have been much more difficult to defeat Germany had their military people been in charge with the ability to make reasonable tactical and strategic decisions.

Also, why didn't the U.S. declare war on Germany on Dec. 8 (as it did with Japan)?...I wonder if we would have stayed out had Hitler not jumped the gun. Hmmm!

1620 - 103 'Mayflower Pilgrims' landed at Plymouth Rock.

They left England searching for religious freedom...And must be rolling over in their graves seeing what is going on in modern-day America, with Liberals trying to destroy religion in America.

1972 - Challenger, the Lunar Lander for Apollo 17, touched down on the Moon's surface. It was the last time man visited the Moon. The last two to walk on the surface of the moon were Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan.

We must return...Our Manifest Destiny did not end at the Pacific Ocean.

2006 - The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it granted the U.S. and Russia a five-year extension to the 2007 deadline for destroying their chemical weapon stockpiles. The Chemicals Weapons Convention which went into effect in April 1997. Extensions were also granted to India and Libya as well as one country that requested anonymity.

Call me a skeptic, but I highly doubt any country which had/has chemical weapons is fulfilling their agreement on this matter...Including the U.S.

December 5

1861 – The Gatling-gun was patented.

This invention, along with the ever increasing power and accuracy of rifles and artillery, forever changed military tactics...Unfortunately, these tactics changed much slower than the machines did, and the standard battle formations of 18th-19th century Europe created nothing but killing fields for this new technology.

As a result, wars became more and more costly in human life, and battles more and more lengthy because the infantry was forced to hide in dugouts and trenches - resulting in defensive battles instead of offensive ones...The greatest example of this slaughter was WWI.

1492 - Columbus discovered Hispaniola (Haiti).

Columbus had no intention of discovering the 'New World,' and was really looking for a new route to the Far East and India...That said, when he discovered Hispaniola, he actually thought he had found Japan (Cipango).

1496 - King Manuel I ordered the expulsion of all Jews from Portugal.

Four years after the Catholic Kings, in Spain, did the exact same thing...I guess it was better than the Hitlerian option.

1848 - President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in California, leading to the 'gold rush' of 1848 and 1949.

Gold was found, and the American West has never been the same...Who would have ever thought the ‘gold rushers’ would lead to the trannies and degenerate psychopaths in the modern People’s Republic of California?

1904 - The Battle of Port Arthur: The Japanese destroyed a Russian fleet off the Korean coast.

Not that the Russian Navy was a great power, but the Japanese opened the world’s eyes to the fact it was well on the way to becoming one...It also sharpened it's surprise tactics, which were used in 1941 at Pearl Harbor.

1933 - 'Prohibition' came to an end in the U.S. when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment.

The 18th Amendment was fool-hearted, because it attempted to change the culture...This is why we should be very careful when it comes to drug laws:  If they are slackened, drugs will become as much a part of the culture as alcohol is, and it will be impossible to put the genie back in the bottle.

1936 - The Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR and Kirghiz SSR became constituent republics of the Soviet Union.

Welcome to the Hell State.

1936 - A new constitution in the Soviet Union promised universal suffrage, but the Communist Party remained the only legal political party.

How nice, everyone could vote, but they all had to vote for the same party...Our modern-day Democrat Party would have us take up this idea as well.

1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO under its first president, George Meany.

Another ‘alphabet organization’ with more in common with the USSR than the USA...Kind of like CBS, NBC, NEA, PETA, NAMBLA, etc.

1988 - The Space Shuttle Atlantis launched the world's first nuclear war fighting satellite.

I hope we have launched many more since...I'm sure our enemies would/will if they could/can.

November 27

1520 - Ferdinand Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean - the first European to do so.

The captain was on his way to circumnavigate the globe. Unfortunately, he and most of his crew lost their lives in the Philippines...It was up to his subordinates to finish the trip, but as the captain of the voyage Magellan has been historically credited with the achievement.

511 - Clovis, King of the Franks, died and his kingdom was divided between his four sons.

Clovis, the first Christian king in post-Roman Gaul, did much to unite the various Frankish bands (Salians, Ripurians, etc.), and kept the Visigoths from conquering Gaul...Unfortunately for the Franks, the practice of their kings dividing their holdings among their sons did much to undo their greatness because it fractured their kingdoms into ever smaller lands.

1817 - U.S. soldiers attacked a Florida Indian village, beginning the Seminole War.

The Seminoles fought harder and longer than any other Indian group, and there is a good reason: The Seminoles had been accepting escaped black slaves into their tribe, an act of theft in the minds of Southern slave owners...They knew they couldn’t surrender, because their leaders would be tried for stealing the slaves.  Tried and killed.

1942 - The French Navy at Toulon scuttled its ships and submarines to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis:  WWII.

This naval group was very honorable, but there were many others who simply abandoned their posts...Luckily the Brits destroyed most of the French navy before the Germans could get at it. A fact the French still cry about.

1945 - General George C. Marshall was named special U.S. envoy to China to try to end hostilities between the Nationalists and the Communists.

This was one of Marshall’s few failures...Not that he had any chance of succeeding.

1971 - Soviet Mars 2 became the first spacecraft to crash land on Mars.

The Soviet space program was very good at crash landing, and it is no wonder they beat the U.S. to so many space goals - because the U.S. wasn’t willing to kill off its astronauts or ruin its rockets just to beat the Ruskies.

1995 - President Bill Clinton presented his case for sending 20,000 U.S. troops on a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia, saying: "in the choice between peace and war, America must choose peace."

Clinton was absolutely right, because many times ‘peace’ is bought with ‘war,’ but he is a lying SOB...If he really believed in this statement then why does he complain about Bush invading Iraq?

And, what 'peace' was he choosing by humiliating the Russians in their sphere of influence, during a time of weakness?  A question we are having to answer in our current time.  A question we should think very long and hard about in the future - specifically in North Korea when it comes to China.

1996 - A federal judge blocked enforcement of a California initiative to dismantle affirmative action, saying civil rights groups had a "strong probability" of proving it unconstitutional.

Exactly where in the Constitution does it state minorities and women have more rights than whites and men? I’ve read the document over and over and have yet to find this portion...I’ve also never seen the portion stating anything about ‘separation of church and state.’

I must be missing it. Or maybe both concepts can only be found in the Hegelian version of the Constitution.

2003 - President George W. Bush secretly flew to Iraq to spend Thanksgiving with the troops.

Just one of the many reason why the troops loved him...And another reason the Democrats hate him.

That said, he probably should have skipped this one.

November 20

1497 - Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, en route to discovering a water route to India.

At the time this was a much bigger find than Columbus discovering the New World. In fact India and China were Columbus’ real goal.

The trade route to India established Portugal as one of Europe’s great powers, but its star only lasted as long as the opinion that da Gama’s discovery was more important than Columbus’ - which wasn't for very long.

1521 - Arabs attributed a shortage of water in Jerusalem to Jews making wine.

I thought the Arabs started blaming the Jews for everything after the creation of Israel (400+ years later)...So much for that piece of popular fiction.

1815 - With the Second Peace of Paris, Napoleon was involuntarily exiled to St. Helena.

This time the Brits made sure there would be no escape...How Napoleon escaped the hangman I’ll never know.

1950 - U.S. troops pushed to the Yalu River, within five miles of Manchuria:  Korean War.

China was getting close, Truman was about to lose sphincter control, and General MacArthur was about to get fired.

We had victory in our hands, but backed off. Could we have completely destroyed the North Koreans and Chinese? Probably. Would going forward and pushing the Chinese have started WWIII? Probably not.  But, it would have resulted in an awful lot of American deaths.

I say Truman made the right decision to back off...Including not putting much thought into using our new Atomic Bombs, as well.

1959 - The United Nations issued its 'Declaration of the Rights of the Child.'

They’ve since 'unofficially' declared the 'Lack of Rights of the Unborn Child.'

1962 - President John F. Kennedy agreed to lift the American blockade of Cuba after the USSR agreed to remove bombers from Cuba, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The good ol’ days for the Democrats, a time when they were pro-America and anti-Communist...Oh how things have changed.

1975 - An interim report by the U.S. Senate revealed the Central Intelligence Agency had plotted to kill foreign leaders, including Fidel Castro of Cuba and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo.

And this is a bad thing for what reason? Both are/were minor Stalins, and it would have been a gift to their countries (and humanity) to take them out.

1999 - A day after violent anti-American protests in Greece, President Clinton sought to heal old wounds by acknowledging the United States failed its "obligation to support democracy" when it backed the Greek's harsh military junta during the Cold War.

Hey Bill, of course our first option shouldn't be to support 'military juntas,' but our other option was Communists!!!! Which is why he was upset about our support.

November 13

1995 - Seven people, including five Americans, were killed when a bomb exploded at a military training facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Six years before 9/11/01, and what did we do to punish those who killed our troops? NOTHING!!! Because Clinton didn't have the stones to take appropriate action.

Instead he twiddled his thumbs (among other things), and allowed the Islamists to grow more and more bold...We suffered other hits between this time and 9/11/01, and he did little more than after this attack. So, who can blame the Jihadis for thinking they could kill Americans with no recourse?

Luckily when they tried their luck with G.W. Bush they were given a much different answer. And it's no surprise we haven't been hit again - at least not in a big way...Unfortunately, this may change with any future presidents, if they are more in the Bill Clinton mold.

1789 - Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

No truer words have ever been spoken...Except maybe an equal truth in our time:

"Nothing is certain, except death, more debt and taxes." - Author Unknown

1806 - Pike's Peak was discovered, but not climbed, by Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike during an expedition to locate the source of the Mississippi.

Peak is a strange character, and one who's famous name far exceeds his deeds or worth.

The Army sent him to the West because he was such a pain in the ass. The Army brass couldn't stand him and would have been just as happy had he perished in the Rockies.

Plus, Pike never made it up the mountain which is named for him. He tried many times, but never made it. He did make it back East to tell his version of the discovery, however.

1835 - Texans officially proclaimed independence from Mexico, calling itself the Lone Star Republic.

Texas is one of two states which was formerly an independent nation...Along with Hawaii.

Many think Utah was, but it wasn't...Utah was semi-autonomous, but never independent of the U.S.

1913 - The first modern elastic brassiere was patented by Mary Phelps Jacob. She initially made the brassiere from two handkerchiefs, a piece of ribbon and a piece of cord.

I bet many of you've been wondering about this fact...You never know what you're going to be treated to here, so you better keep coming back.

1930 - The first revolving milk platform was used. It could milk 1680 cows in seven hours.

This devise allowed machines to do the work of humans, and sped up the process greatly. Which allowed for mass production of milk and milk products to flourish.

1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt lowered the draft age from 21 to 18.

In a time of war, you do what is necessary.

1956 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation on interstate buses is unconstitutional.

This decision was the fruit of Rosa Parks efforts...Sadly, legal doesn't mean reality, and it was many years before the problem of transportation and blacks was finally ended.

1993 - President Clinton used his weekly radio address to make a pitch for the North American Free Trade Agreement, then flew to Memphis, Tennessee, where he delivered an anti-crime speech to black ministers at the Temple Church of God in Christ.

NAFTA is nothing but a scheme to get 'Illegal Aliens' in the country, and I wish the Democrats in Congress won this battle...But they didn't.

Also, what's with Clinton giving speeches in a church? Personally, I have no problem with it, but I can't believe the 'separation of church and state Nazi's' didn't go insane over this...Try to imagine if a Republican gave the exact same speech in a church. All Hell would break loose in Liberalville.

2001 - President George W. Bush issued an executive order establishing military tribunals for the trial and potential execution of any person he labeled an “enemy combatant.” He dictated that people classified as enemy combatants “shall not be privileged to seek any remedy...directly or indirectly...in any court of the United States.”

Imprison them, question them, question them some more, torture and question them one last time, then execute them...Bush's order was much too lenient for my taste.

October 12

1492 - Believing he reached India, Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present-day Bahamas.

History changed with this event, adding a whole 'new world' to the geography of the known world, and a massive new territory for the genius of Western Civilization to conquer, settle, exploit and populate.

Some may look at this as a terrible thing, but it is what it is, which is nothing more than the natural evolution of mankind: The spread and conquest of man over space, distance and one another.

539 B.C. - Persian ruler Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon.

Cyrus founded the dynasty which created the world's first truly great empire, and was the greatest power in history until Alexander the Great and the Romans came along:  "At its greatest extent, the empire included the modern territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, all significant population centers of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya, Turkey, Thrace and Macedonia, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, much of Central Asia, Afghanistan, northern Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and parts of Oman and the UAE." - Wikipedia

1518 - Martin Luther was summoned before the Diet of Augsburg, where he refused to recant his protestation against the Church.

Luther snubbed the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, and it’s amazing he survived this meeting.

Both Charles and the Pope would regret the decision not to kill him, because Luther's life ensured the survival of the Reformation (which didn't have a name at the time) and empowered the German princes who supported and protected Luther.

1862 - J.E.B. Stuart completed his 'second ride around McClellan':  U.S. Civil War.

General McClellan had one of the largest and best trained, though terribly green, forces in the world, but didn’t have the testicular fortitude to put it to use...The fact that Lee, Stonewall, Stuart, etc., made him look incompetent is no surprise.

Unfortunately, it took years before Lincoln found his 'fighting general' - Grant...McClellan was just the first of many without a clue how to fight a winning war.

1960 - Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev began banging his shoe on a desktop at a U.N. General Assembly meeting.

Nikki was quite the dramatist, but he certainly wasn't a nut...Not compared to other nutters of the time, that is.

1973 - President Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald Ford for the vice presidency to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned in disgrace two days earlier.

Nixon picked a good man...Which was necessary, because he knew his ass was about to be strung up as well.

1999 - NBA Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain died at the age of 63.

I still don’t know how 'The Stilt' managed to have his way with 10,000 fillies (allegedly)...It’s amazing he lived to 63 at that rate.

2000 - The USS Cole was attacked by Islamists in Yemen, killing 17 U.S. sailors.

I thought the Jihadists ‘loved the U.S.’ before G.W. Bush? Hmmmm.

Oh well, at least our bold Commander-in-Chief (Clinton) taught them a lesson...Ooops. I forgot, he did nothing, except embolden them.

October 9

1000 - Leif Ericson landed in North America, discovering 'Vinland' (possibly New England).

Ericson is one of the great astronauts of his time...And like the lunar explorers of our time he was unable to settle and colonize the land he found.

It took almost 500-years for the problem of the 'New World' to be solved...Makes you wonder if we can do the same with the Moon 500-years from our time?

I'm noting this as a significant event, because of the feat more than its significance. But, it's important to keep this event in perspective, because Ericson's discovery was hardly important at all...He showed up, he left, and nothing came of his discovery. That's it.

1936 - The first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles.

Gotta love the City of Angels stealing it’s water from Northern California and it’s electricity from Nevada...Without doing such, there would be no Los Angeles, however.

1975 - Andrei Sakharov, Soviet bomb-maker, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sakharov was a giant in the Soviet sciences, and played a role in their atomic and hydrogen bomb programs.

Like many of the nuclear scientists of the 50's-70's (worldwide), Sakharov became an opponent of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and wanted to put the genie back in the bottle...A genie he helped bring out of the bottle.

1989 - The official Soviet news agency Tass reported an unidentified flying object, complete with a trio of tall aliens, visited a park in the city of Voronezh.

It was really the ghosts of the 'Holy Trinity of the Communist State' (Marx, Lenin and Stalin), not UFO’s.

October 7 (A Double)

1571 – The Battle of Lepanto: The Ottomans were defeated by the Holy League.

The Holy League was a  loosely allied force of the Papacy (Pope Pius V), Spain, Venice, Genoa, Savoy, Naples, and the Knights of Malta.  The Ottoman Turks were the dominant force in the Islamic world and the Mediterranean sea basin...As such this was the greatest naval battle in history between Christian and Muslim forces.

Lepanto is one of the most significant naval battles in history, one of the final naval clashes between ‘galleys,’ and the last gasp of the Ottoman Empire as a legitimate threat to Western Europe...It took centuries, but from this point forward the Christian world began rolling back the forces of Islam, reclaiming Europe, and even conquering much of the Islamic world.

1949 - The Republic of East Germany was formed.

The Soviets drew the demarcation line between ‘democracy’ and ‘communism’ at Berlin, and East Germany was its great wall to keep the West out...Even more important, it was the wall which kept the people of Eastern Europe 'in' - in slavery.

On many levels the Soviets can’t be blamed for doing so, after being invaded by Germany twice in the previous 50-years and losing 20-30 million people as a result of these invasions...And let's not forget that Napoleon also devastated Russia in the 1800's, as well.

Also, it was a division the Germans brought on themselves, and one the West was unable to undo for 50 years…It took the virtual collapse of the Soviet Empire for Germany to be reunited, but to this day the division is felt and the country still isn't fully repaired.

1492 - Christopher Columbus missed Florida after changing course due to a false cry of "land ho."

This is a ‘mislanding’ of great consequence...Had Columbus landed in North America the greatness of the Spanish Empire would have taken over the northern part of the Western Hemisphere, and who knows if the Brits would have been able to root them out.

As a result the New World would have a different look and who knows how history would be different...Needless to say there would not be a United States of America, because part of this country's greatness is in its territory and the English systems which were built on the territory.

1765 - Delegates from nine of the American colonies met in New York to discuss the Stamp Act Crisis and colonial response to it. This 'Stamp Act Congress' went on to draft resolutions (Declaration of Rights) condemning the Stamp and Sugar Acts, trial without jury, and taxation without representation as contrary to their rights as Englishmen.

The Colonists were getting sick of their meddling sovereign, and the Brits were getting sick of their undisciplined, ‘disloyal’ colonists...As such, the stage was being set for war, and a change in the world order.

1993 - President Clinton ordered more troops, heavy armor and naval firepower to Somalia, but also announced he would pull out all Americans by the end of March 1994.

1. He sent more 'power' but didn’t allow the troops on the ground to use this power.

2. Setting a date for 'pulling out' is stupid, because it gives the enemy a date to shoot for, and avoid battle until the date is up...But this is the Democrat modus operandi, as was seen in their demands for a 'pull out' date in Iraq and Afghanistan - with even worse results.

1994 - President Clinton ordered Army troops on alert and dispatched an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf after Iraqi troops were spotted moving south toward Kuwait.

Saddam played Clinton like a yo-yo, jerking him up and down as he pleased - not in a Monica-way, either...It was sickening how he allowed Hussein to act with impunity, but Clinton had no clue what it meant to be Commander-in-Chief. A fact America continues to pay dearly for.

2001 - Operation Enduring Freedom began. The United States launched its attack in Afghanistan to crush the Taliban and al Qaeda members responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks.

I love the Democrat and European lie that they were in favor of attacking Afghanistan, but not Iraq…Truth is, they didn’t approve of attacking Afghanistan until deciding to use it as a political tool against attacking Iraq.

September 26

1414 - The export of gunpowder from England was prohibited.

Every era has seen the hope of banning weapons technology and keeping them in the hands of those who have them...And every era has seen these efforts fail.

War is a constant in the human condition, and the human desire to procure the means of making war are stronger than those to stop war.
 
The Clausewitz-Pero Corollary
Clausewitz: “War is the continuation of Politics by other means."
Pero: “Politics is the continuation of War by other means.”

Clausewitz was correct, but he had the ordering wrong.  War came first, and is a natural human instinct...Politics is the civilized method of warfare. Even when it is barely civil.

1371 - The Battle of Maritsa.

Another in the long process of the Turks overwhelming the Balkans, defeating the Serbians.

Had it not been for the Crusaders and the Habsburg Empire, the Ottomans might have overwhelmed all of Europe.

1580 - Sir Francis Drake returned to England with a shipload of loot from the Spanish after the first successful circumnavigation of the globe by an Englishman.

Drake was a great naval commander...And an even greater pirate.

1789 - Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's first Secretary of State; John Jay the first Chief Justice of the United States; Samuel Osgood the first Postmaster-General; and Edmund Jennings Randolph the first Attorney General.

The young nation was evolving, and luckily had many brilliant, fertile minds to choose from.

Thank God the modern-day idiots weren't around back then, or the ‘American Experiment’ would have blown up in the lab.

1913 - The first boat was raised in the locks of the Panama Canal.

The world shrunk with this event...No longer would commerce have to travel to the tip of South America (a terribly dangerous trip, due to weather patterns) to get to and from Europe and Africa to the U.S. West Coast or the Orient.

This event also greatly reduced the importance of the South American countries bypassed due to the Canal crossing (Brazil, Chile, etc.)

1941 - Nazis slaughtered about 34,000 Jews in Kiev:  WWII.

34,000 in 24 hours = 1,400+/hour = 23+/minute.

An impressive day for the 'Master Race Killing Machine'...Especially considering this was before the 'Final Solution' perfected the gassing/oven technique.

1960 - The first televised debate between presidential candidates Richard Nixon and John Kennedy took place.

Kennedy looked and sounded great...Nixon looked like a sweaty corpse, and sounded like Hell.

Needless to say, this event went a long way in JFK getting elected...That and the Mob, of course.

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 23

1806 - The Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis from the Pacific Northwest.

This ended the greatest, and most important, adventure in American history!! Yes, it was larger than going to the Moon.

One, the results of the Lewis and Clark expedition have had at least as much of an impact on the U.S. as the lunar trips.

Two, most thought the Moon shots would succeed.  Very few thought Lewis and Clark would make it back.

Again, I recommend you read Undaunted Courage.

1122 - The Concordat of Worms: Pope Callistus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V ended the Investiture Controversy.

They may have officially ended the 'controversy,' but the problem didn’t end with this edict.

The battle between the secular and spiritual leaders of Europe (primarily the Holy Roman Empire and France vs. the Pope) raged for hundreds of years, with the Papacy holding the majority of power till this time...But Europe’s princes and kings were tired of constant infringement of their lands and people, and were in the process of overturning this perceived wrong.

1667 - Slaves in Virginia were banned from obtaining their freedom by converting to Christianity.

There’s no doubt America has some dark moments.  This was one, and it took 200+ years and the death of hundreds of thousands of white Americans for it to be righted.

1779 - American warship ‘Bon Homme Richard’ defeated the HMS Serapis:  American Revolutionary War.

This was a minor battle, but one of great American lore. The British captain called out for Captain John Paul Jones to surrender: Jones’ reply: "I have not yet begun to fight!"...Fight he did, eventually defeating the Serapis.

1805 - Lieutenant Zebulon Pike paid $2,000 to buy from the Sioux a nine square mile tract at the mouth of the Minnesota River, which became Fort Snelling.

Another minor event, but Pike is an interesting fellow...His name is widely known, but most don’t know he was sent West by the Army because the Army leadership couldn’t stand him.

They sent him out to get rid of him, and I’m sure some hoped he’d meet his end at the hands of the Spanish or the Indians.

1932 - Hijaz and Nejd and other districts were merged to form the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

We’ll all eventually regret the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire in the 'Peace to End All Peace'...The world was much safer with the Middle East dirt-farmers controlled by the Ottomans.

1942 - Auschwitz began experimental gas executions:  WWII.

WoooHoo!! Another great day for the Hitlerian monsters.

1950 - The U.S. Congress adopted the McCarran Internal Security Act, which became law over President Truman's veto. This act called for the registration of the communist-front and communist-action groups. It also called for the internment of suspected subversives with no trials in a national emergency, presumably in concentration camps which providing for registration of communists. It was later ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sounds logical to me, and completely illogical of the SCOTUS, but what else is new?

If we don't quit “get(ting) stuck on stupid,” we’ll someday swing from the rope of freedom we extend to our enemies.

Maybe sooner than anyone can imagine - American Jihadis.

1952 - Republican vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon went on television to deliver what came to be known as the 'Checkers speech' as he refuted allegations of improper campaign financing.

Nixon came off much better in this debate than he did eight years later against Kennedy...But then again, he looked like a nervous, sweaty, corpse in the 1960 debate.

1957 - President Eisenhower used troops to integrate Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Lets play another guessing game: Ike was a Democrat president or a Republican president?...Of course he was a Republican.

1987 - Delaware Senator Joseph Biden withdrew from the Democratic presidential race following questions about his use of borrowed quotations and the portrayal of his academic record.

In other words, 'Slow Joe was a plagiarizing POS!!! Yet he was re-elected to the Senate for 18 years and eventually became Vice President of the United States...This tells you as much about Delaware and the U.S. as it does about Joey.

1991 - U.N. weapons inspectors in Baghdad discovered documents detailing Iraq's secret nuclear weapons program.

They had WMD's then, and they did when we invaded in 2003...Heaven knows where Hussein hid them, or who he gave them too, but anyone who truly thinks they just disappeared is a complete moron.

1997 - The U.S. Senate Finance Committee opened hearings into reports of alleged abuses by the Internal Revenue Service.

No way!! I refuse to believe this was (still is) true.

September 20 (A Triple)

480 B.C. – The Battle of Salamis.

One of the most famous naval battles in history, which more or less ended the Persian Wars between the Greeks and Persia.

The Athenians, who dominated the Delian League, won the battle, and after the battles of Marathon and Salamis felt it was their turn to be the Greek hegemon...Unfortunately for the Athenians, the Spartans had other plans and within 40-years the Peloponnesian War began.

I know most don't know it, but the Athenians had a very small window of dominance in Greece...Most of Classical Greek history is dominated by the Spartans. If you didn't know this it's not your fault the Liberal education establishment doesn't teach history as it actually happened. It will be your fault if you refuse to return to these posts on a daily basis, however.

451 - The Battle of Chalons-sur-Marne: A Roman victory over Attila the Hun.

This battle is also known as the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, or simply the Battle of Chalons...In modern-day France.

Chalons was the one time the Romans (with the help of the Visigoths) got the best of the 'Scourge of God'...But it was the last win of any note for the once proud Romans - not just against Attila.

The non-stop succession of invasions and battles were catching up with Rome, and this victory did little more than force Attila into Italy...Lucky for Rome, Attila had no way of successfully taking on the great city's walls.  So, instead he ravaged the rest of the Italy.

622 - Mohammad's Hegira.

The 'Prophet' completed his migration from Mecca to Yathrib, a city he renamed to Madinat Al-Nabi ("city of the Prophet") or Al Madinah Al Munawara ("the enlightened city" or "the radiant city")...Most know this city by its short form, Medina, which simply means "city."

1519 - Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. He was killed en route, but one of his ships eventually circumnavigated the world.

The captain made it about half way around the globe, dying in the Philippines, and only about 1/10th of his fleet completed the journey.

'Going to the Moon' is dangerous work, and expeditions such as this in the 16th Century were nothing short of shooting for the stars.

1806 - Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed the French village of La Charette on their return trip, the first white settlement they saw in more than two years.

Speaking of astronauts of their time. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was America’s first great exploration...And it should have failed, but Jefferson picked the perfect captain in Lewis, who picked the perfect co-captain in Clark.

I highly recommend you read: Undaunted Courage. Of all Stephen Ambrose’s brilliant books, this is the one I recommend most, even though his specialty is WWII.

1862 - Prussian minister Otto von Bismarck stated Germany needed "Blood and Iron."

Over the next 80+ years the Germans did just as Bismark said: Producing much 'iron' and even more 'blood'...Europe should have known better than to allow the awakening of the Goth in the Germans, and paid dearly for not stomping on them when they had a chance.

1870 - Italian troops took control of the Papal States, leading to the unification of Italy.

The secular power of the Pope had been fading for years, and truth be told this was a good thing for the Catholic Church...It allowed the Church to look inward, and focus on its true path, instead of being a power-hungry, political whore.

1962 - Black student James Meredith was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett.

Multiple choice question: Was Governor 'Racist' Ross Barnett a Republican or a Democrat?? Of course he was a Democrat.

1963 - In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, President Kennedy proposed a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition to the moon.

Thankfully the Ruskies declined the offer.

1973 - In the so-called 'Battle of the Sexes,' tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets.

What a joke...Riggs was old and decrepit.  But reality wasn't the goal - propaganda was.

1984 - A suicide car bomber attacked the U.S. embassy annex in northern Beirut, killing twelve.

I thought Democrats have been saying the Islamists didn’t start hating the U.S. until George Bush took office? Hmmm!

1990 - Demanding equal time, Iraq asked U.S. TV networks to broadcast a message by President Saddam Hussein in response to President Bush's videotaped address to the Iraqi people.

Saddam knew what a bunch of jokers he was dealing with...Bunch of duplicitous SOB’s.

1996 - President Bill Clinton announced the signing of a bill outlawing homosexual marriages, but said it should not be used as an excuse for discrimination, violence or intimidation against gays and lesbians. (The actual signing came a little after midnight.)

Clinton signed the 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA), making it the law of the land...And he was right in his comment.

But the GLBTTBNPR? crowd continued to fight the fight, and shopped the issue from one Liberal judge to the next, until they got their way with the SCOTUS.

Time will tell how this social experiment turns out.

1998 - After 2,632 consecutive games, Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles sat out a game against the New York Yankees, ending a 16-year run.

Cal is one of my favorite players, but he should have stopped at 2,130 and tied Gehrig...'The Streak' was great because it was Gehrig’s, and Ripken would have stood taller had he stood next to the Iron Horse than he does being on top of him.

September 7

1901 - The Boxer Rebellion, an attempt in China to drive out all foreigners, ended with the signing of the Peking Protocol.

China agreed to pay an indemnity to the European powers, lower tariffs on imports, and accept a strengthening of European protection of its representatives and interests...In other words, the Chinese agreed to continue taking it in the shorts from the European powers and Japan.
 
I have no doubt there will be a period of payback in the future.

1502 - Amerigo Vespucci returned from the New World to Lisbon, Portugal.

I love the name America, but it’s a shame Columbus wasn’t properly recognized.

By the way, the New World was originally named ‘Americus' until the map-makers decided to follow Europe’s lead and gave the new land a female name.

1714 - The Treaty of Baden was signed between the Holy Roman Empire and France, ending the War of Spanish Succession.

Like many European treaties, this one did little more than set the board for the next war...It did a little more than others, though, because it gave Alsace to France. A territory which the French and Germans fought over till the end of World War II.

As usual, the only real winner in this scrap was Great Britain.

1812 - The Battle at Borodino.

Napoleon showed his brilliance, but Borodino was a battle he couldn’t afford to fight, even though he won...It was a Phyrric victory which cost him in the end, and hastened his retreat from Russian.

1813 - The earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname 'Uncle Sam' occurred in the Troy Post.

Unfortunately, too many Americans actually think of the U.S. as their family...But not as an uncle - as their mommy and daddy.

1888 - An incubator was used for the first time on a premature infant when Edith Eleanor McLean became the first baby to be placed in an incubator. She weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces.

This is a fantastic use of medical technology, and it’s impossible to count how many lives have been saved by such devices.

1940 - Nazi Germany began its initial 'blitz' on London:  WWII.

The Blitz was a strategic bombing campaign against London, as part of the overall Battle of Britain...It lasted in earnest for 57 continuous nights, but continued in part through 1945.

1977 - The Panama Canal Treaty and Neutrality Act, calling for the U.S. to eventually turn over control of the waterway to Panama, was signed.

Thanks a lot President Carter...The world was much safer with the U.S. controlling the Canal, rather than China. Which is where it is headed.

1979 - The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) made its cable TV debut.

At the time, this was Heaven on Earth for sports-freaks like myself...Unfortunately, it's become much less entertaining as time goes on.

1993 - Dr. Joycelyn Elders was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Surgeon General.

HOW IN THE HELL DID WE HAVE A U.S. SURGEON GENERAL WHO WAS FRIENDLY TOWARD PEDOPHILIA? This is repulsive, but perfectly in line with the degeneracy of the Clinton Administration.

Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself: Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex. (Foreword by Dr. Joycelyn Elders).