October 19

202 B.C. – The Battle of Zama:  Rome v. Carthage.

The Battle of Zama is one of the five most important battles in Western history, fought between two of the super-powers of the ancient World, and was the decisive battle of the Second Punic War.

Prior to Zama, Rome was in dire straits, losing just about every battle in Europe against Hannibal...Hannibal kicked the Romans around for years, but had no ability to force a siege of the Roman walls, which made it impossible for him to defeat Rome.

The Romans realized they couldn’t defeat Hannibal in the open battlefield, so they put together an army led by Scipio Africanus to invade Carthage...The Carthaginians were caught completely off-guard, and Hannibal was unable to get back to Zama in time to change the outcome of the battle.

As a result, Carthage was forever weakened, and never powerful enough to threaten Rome again. A fact which destined the West to a Roman Civilization instead of a possible Carthaginian one.

439 - The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, conquered Carthage in North Africa.

North Africa was an important part of the Roman Empire, but the decline of the region began its slide from the West (not just from Rome, but from Western Civilization) with this event...The Vandals and other Germanic people held it for awhile, and the Byzantines for another short period until the Muslims conquered North Africa in the 7th Century - removing North Africa from the sphere of Western Civilization; forever lessening its standing from what it had previously been.

1448 - Ottoman Sultan Murat II defeated Hungarian General Janos Hunyadi at Kosovo, Serbia.

The Ottoman Empire was growing by leaps and bounds, and this victory gave them virtual control of the Balkans, and an invasion route into Central Europe.

That said, the Serbs lost the battle, but never quit fighting the war, which continues to this day.

1453 - The Hundred Years War ended:  England v. France.

The Hundred Years War was actually 116-years long, not 100, and was the result of over 400-years of French, English, Viking, and Norman confrontations.

The result of the war was the end of English territorial claims in France, and is noted as the ‘end of chivalry,’ with the increased use of standing armies, the longbow and gunpowder.

1812 - Napoleon Bonaparte began the retreat of his Grande Armie from Moscow.

The Emperor invaded Russia with 500,000 of his finest troops...He returned to France with around 20,000.

Napoleon was bested by 'General Winter' and the Russian's willingness to suffer, beginning a string of losses for the brilliant commander...Fortunately, the next great European tyrant (Hitler) made the same mistake.

1926 - The Russian Politburo expelled Leon Trotsky and his followers.

Stalin took firm control of the Soviet Union, and tossed his greatest political nemesis out on his ass...Then Uncle Joe spent the next 15-years searching for him all over the globe - for elimination.

1951 - President Truman signed an act formally ending the state of war with Germany:  WWII.

The war ended in 1945, but the state of war ended six years later...This is important to remember in our current and future wars.

2005 - Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent to charges of murder and torture as his long-awaited trial began with the one-time dictator arguing about the legitimacy of the court and scuffling with guards.

Who knows how many Saddam tortured, but we know he killed a million or so...No big deal, I guess.

July 12

1920 - The Panama Canal was officially opened by President Woodrow Wilson.

There had been many attempts to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it took the Americans to get it done...The project began in 1881, and officially opened on this date, but the first ship actually sailed through on January 7, 1914.

I still can't believe Jimmy Carter gave the canal to Panama, who is in the process of ceding informal control of it to China...There will come a day when America will regret this decision in a terrible way.

1290 - Jews were expelled from England.

From the farthest reaches of Eastern Europe (Russia) to Western Europe (England), every European country has either thrown their Jews out or executed them...It is universal, it is timeless, and it is disgusting.

And no, I am not a Jew.

1843 - Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith announced a divine revelation had been given to him sanctioning polygamy among his newly organized religious followers.

There are many issues of contention between the Mormons and 'average Americans,' but this has been by far the most divisive.

That said, what kind of horrible god would want a man to have to suffer through more than one wife at a time? One is more than enough...LOL!

1862 - The U.S. Congress authorized a new award, the U.S. Medal of Honor, often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Medal of Honor is the highest honor an American soldier can receive, and one which has been bestowed upon almost 3,400 of America's finest.

Those who would like to read tributes to these heroes can do so by visiting the Medal of Honor website.

1933 - A new U.S. industrial code was established to fix a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour. This was the first national minimum wage law passed by the U. S. Congress.

Exactly what was the logic in creating wage standards in the middle of a depression?

Minimum wages are bad for business, which is bad for employment!! There is little doubt laws like this helped keep the Great Depression going, and hurt many more people than it helped...But it was a nice thought, which is all that matters in the minds of Liberal idiots.

Also, it's believed an estimated 500,000 blacks were put out of work by this act and others passed at the time...But no one cared about that back then.  Nor now, apparently.

1981 - For the first time, a woman in the United States was ordered to pay alimony to her husband.

What’s good for the gander must be good for the goose!