March 11

1942 - As Japanese forces continued to advance in the Pacific during World War II, General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia, vowing: "I shall return."

Other than Teddy Roosevelt, I have read more about 'The General' than any other American figure, and am still amazed he didn’t commit suicide or throw himself into the front lines after being ordered out of the Philippines by FDR. Of course, it was a good thing for the American war effort, but I am very surprised he left Corregidor alive...He was a chivalrous man, and it had to kill him to leave his troops to the fate of their Japanese captors.

As it turned out, returning to the Philippines was unnecessary, but it was important to MacArthur...As C-in-C, Roosevelt should have forced MacArthur to skip the Philippines, but politically there was no way Roosevelt could have kept him from fulfilling his vow.

537 - Goths laid siege to Rome.

Ho, Hum...Germanic (Goth, Vandal, etc.) raids on Rome had become a normal occurrence long before this date, and the West Roman Empire as a political entity was long gone by this time anyway.

1861 - The Confederate States of America adopted its constitution:  U.S. Civil War.

Thankfully our modern-day Liberal idiots weren't around at this time, because I don't think they would have stomached what it took to bring the South back into the Union...Sometimes war is the only answer.

1862 - President Lincoln confined George B. McClellan's command to the Army of the Potomac:  U.S. Civil War.

He should have fired him for refusal to use his forces to destroy the Confederates...McClellan would have made a great Quartermaster, and may have even been a 'brilliant' strategist, but he didn't have the guts to put his plans into effect in a timely manner, nor the killer instincts to be a battlefield commander.

1918 - The first cases of the Spanish flu were reported in the U.S.

WWI was coming to an end, but the world was hardly done dying...In the U.S., alone, over 600,000 died from this flu.  Tens of millions died worldwide.

1930 - William Howard Taft became the first President of the United States buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Those who haven’t been there must go...Two of the most solemn days of my life were spent at Arlington, and few things have touched me more.

1935 - Hermann Goering officially created the Luftwaffe: the German Air Force.

Congratulations to the Fat Field Marshal...We should all be glad he was in charge of this unit, because his mistakes in the Battle of Britain were the undoing of the Luftwaffe, and also led Hitler to the decision of invading Russia since he couldn't invest Britain.

Oh by the way, Goering also botched the air offensive in the Soviet Union, as well.

1941 - The U.S. Congress passed the Lend-Lease Bill, enabling Britain to borrow money to buy additional food and arms:  World War II.

How nice...The U.S. should have just entered the war, instead of waiting to be dragged in by the Japanese.

FDR's greatest flaw: He was a politician first, a statesman last...Luckily he was a great war leader once he committed to the fight.

1990 - The Lithuanian parliament voted to break away from the Soviet Union and restore the republic's independence.

This was a great year for ‘freedom,’ with the Soviets beginning to show signs of their downfall, which unknowingly began years before 1990.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT REAGAN!!

1993 - North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in a harsh rebuff of Western demands to open suspected nuclear weapons development sites for inspection.

As an incentive to play nice, Clinton gave them nuclear reactors...Uhhhhh?

1998 - The International Astronomical Union issued an alert, saying a mile-wide asteroid could zip very close to Earth on October 26th, 2028, possibly colliding with it. They said the asteroid, which had not been seen before, would pass as close as 30,000 miles to the Earth. Dr. Brian Marsden of the International Astronomical Union said: "Even if it were on a path to hit Earth, technology might be available by then capable of deflecting the asteroid." (But the next day, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said "there was no chance the asteroid will hit Earth.")

Lets pretend they knew for sure the asteroid WOULD hit Earth:

Do you think it would be a good idea to have everyone worry about it for the next 30-years? Of course not. They’d keep it quiet and try to find a way to destroy it.

So, is this what they realized the day after, or is it really not going to hit the Earth...The year 2028 may be very interesting.

August 24 (A Quadruple)

79 - Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae in volcanic ash, killing an estimated 20,000 people.

The power of the planet showed its ugly face…Earth is truly a 'Mother,' and over time will destroy, recycle and recreate us all - creating another world. As it has many, many times in the past.

410 - Rome was overrun by the Visigoths, an event often used to symbolize the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The 'Fall of Rome' is a difficult issue, and those who pay attention probably think I’ve repeated this matter over and over, on different events...Which is partially true.

There was no defining event signifying the end of the Empire, but a series of events which brought it down...378 should be marked as the beginning of the end (Battle of Adrianople), and 410 should be seen as the end of the beginning.

From 400-476 Rome was invaded by a succession of varying groups (Vandals, Suevis, Alans, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Franks, Huns, etc., etc.)

It’s a miracle Rome lasted in any form till 476, the date most historians use for the fall of the Western Empire, not 410...By the way, remember the Empire wasn't destroyed at all in the 400's, because it continued in the east (ruled from Constantinople) for another thousand plus years - a fact which adds even more confusion.

1572 - The Massacre of St. Bartholomew (August 23 and 24) killed as many as 50,000 Huguenots in Paris and its provinces. Urged on by the queen mother, Catherine de' Medici, Catholics disemboweled the young king's adviser Gaspard, Admiral de Coligny, and threw him from his window still alive. Pope Gregory XIII and all the Catholic powers congratulated Catherine, and the Pope commanded that bonfires be lit to celebrate the massacre, which he called "better than 50 Battles of Lepanto."

So much for the Religion of Peace...Ooops. Wrong religion.

But in reality, the Church of the Middle Ages was much closer to that of modern-day Islam in its behavior than modern day Christianity.

If you don't get the Battle of Lepanto reference you aren't paying attention...But you can find it here.

1968 - France became the world's fifth thermonuclear power, exploding a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

Just what the world needed. I'm sure they'll hand over their nukes to the next invader they roll over for...Bunch of Vichy pukes.

1349 - Blamed for the plague, 6,000 Jews were killed in Mainz.

If in doubt blame it on the Jews...Some things never change.

1524 - The Peasant's War began.

This war was an outpouring of the peasant class (most of the populace) in the Holy Roman Empire (German states), and a natural result of the general 'protestation' against the Church.

1814 - British troops under General Robert Ross captured Washington, D.C., which they set fire to in retaliation for the American burning of the parliament building in York (Toronto), capital of Upper Canada:  War of 1812.

A little ‘tit-for-tat’...It’s terrible most Americans don’t understand the importance of the War of 1812, but it must be looked at as a continuation of the American Revolution, and an absolute statement of the young nation’s ability to defend its sovereignty, interests and citizens against the European colonial powers.

1894 - The U.S. Congress passed the first graduated income tax law, which was declared unconstitutional the next year.

UNCONSTITUTIONAL IS RIGHT!!!! Until the Leftist lawyers took over the courts that is.

1954 - The Communist Control Act went into effect, virtually outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

No one bothered to tell the Democrats.

1966 - The U.S. Congress passed the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act. The intent of the original act was to protect owners of animals but by subsequent amendments and enforcement, the intent has shifted to protecting the animals.

What’s really insane is the same clowns who push to protect animals are the same fools who push to do as many abortions and Mengelian science projects as possible.

”Lunatic Fringe, we all know you’re out there…” - Red Ryder

1970 - A bomb planted by anti-war extremists exploded at the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison, killing 33-year-old researcher Robert Fassnacht.

Bunch of John Kerry, Jane Fonda, Bill Clinton SOB’s.

Acts like this should be looked at as an act of sedition, and put down with the most harsh methods imaginable...But the Democrats won’t allow it, because it is their 'base' and kindred of spirit.  A fact we are seeing almost daily from ANTIFA.

1989 - Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose from baseball for life after having been caught gambling.

Pete Rose was, and should have been, banned 'for life'...When he dies he should go in the Hall of Fame, as should Joe Jackson (who’s been dead for quite awhile). Both were given 'lifetime bans,' but should be in the Hall after they die.

That said, which is worse: Rose betting, or the cheating bastards who took steroids?  To me the answer isn't even close - the cheaters effected the game much more.

1991 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as head of the Communist Party, culminating a stunning Kremlin shakeup which followed the failed coup by hard-liners.

Who could have ever foreseen the USSR dying a quiet death...Lenin and Stalin had to be rolling over in Hell.

1999 - President Bill Clinton declared a war on tobacco, taking aim at teen smoking with new limits on the cigarette industry.

Sounds logical too me...Smoking is a terrible habit.

But how can the government 'go to war with tobacco' yet continue to subsidize the industry??? I guess the economy is more important than health...Which is fine, but we should be honest about the issue.

Another logical question for the illogical smoking crusaders:  How can they go to war against tobacco yet want to legalize drugs?

August 14

1281 - The 'Divine Wind' sunk an invading Mongol fleet off of Japan.

The 'Divine Wind' was a typhoon, which saved Japan from a likely Mongol onslaught, because there was little doubt if the Mongols reached land they would have conquered Japan...And every enemy who bothered to fight the Mongols paid dearly for not just giving up.

The invasion force consisted of 281 ships and 150,000 men, and after 50+ days of fighting they were getting the upper hand on the Japanese before the typhoon hit...Only a miracle could save Japan.

It is interesting to know, the Japanese do not call the WWII suicide-bombers by the name of Kamikaze's = 'Divine Wind'...The relationship is a loose English translation.

410 - Visigoth King Alaric sacked Rome.

Rome was on it's last leg, and accelerated the problems with the Goths (and all the other Barbarians) by allowing them in their ranks.

This 'sacking' can be directly related to this matter, because Alaric was trained by Roman General Stilicho - a Goth.

Ironically, it was Stilicho who was sent out to put down the Gothic force...After thinking it through, however, the Romans decided to recall Stilicho, and had him executed. Thereby killing their best leader, and the man who knew Alaric best.

Such was the Western portion of the Empire in the 400's...A shell of its former self, and barely clinging to its very existence.

1848 - The Oregon Territory was established.

The northern border of the U.S. was finally delineated, and a major source of contention between the U.S. and Britain was put to rest.

1900 - International forces entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreigners.

I can't say I blame China for wanting to overthrow these foreigners, but China had no chance of success...Just about every world power was in the fight against it - powers with modern technology on their side.

Unfortunately, the only one who ultimately profited from this battle was Japan, who used this event as one more step towards its domination of the Far East.

Even worse, the Chinese haven't forgotten the way it was treated by the West during this time, and it has a long memory...There's little doubt they will be looking for a little payback as soon as they can.

1935 - The U.S. Congress passed the Social Security Act and President Franklin Roosevelt immediately signed it into law.

Social Security was created as a means to provide 'Aid to Dependent Children' (now Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC]), unemployment insurance, and pension plans for the elderly."

A nice idea, and one which has become the National Noose around the neck of every living - and unborn - American.

1945 - Japanese Imperial Guards attempted a coup, which was put down:  WWII.

Even after 2+ years of continuous ass kickings, including two atomic bombs, many Japanese leaders didn't want to surrender...Thankfully these nuts were crushed.

1945 – President Truman announced Japan accepted terms for unconditional surrender, setting the stage for the end of WWII.

August 15th is considered VJ Day, but it was still the 14th in North America at the time of the Japanese surrender...It was August 15th in Japan.

1973 - The U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt, marking the official end to 12-years of American combat in Southeast Asia:  Vietnam War.

I can't do this one...Hopefully we learned from our mistakes and never again fight a war without the objective of winning.

Sadly, the same Liberal scum who forced us to lose in Vietnam made a goal of 'stealing defeat from the jaws of victory' in Iraq, and due to sheer incompetence by Obama have gotten a double in Afghanistan. Make that a triple in Syria.  Make that a quadruple in Libya, make that...Ugh!!!!

1997 - Convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for his part in the 1995 explosion which killed 168 people.

On June 11, 2001, this SOB was executed. Good riddance to murderous scum.

2000 - On the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, President Bill Clinton offered an embarrassing triumphant review of his years in office, and exhorted delegates to propel Al Gore on the road to succeed him.

Gotta love Bubba turning Al's party into a Bill Clinton love fest...Imagine what he would have done if Hillary had won in 2016.  For that matter, imagine the 'Ode to Obama' Obama will give himself as well.

2003 - The largest blackout in North American history hit the northeast.

Picture of the Cause of the Blackout...Warning: Rated R.

August 9 (A 5'er)

480 B.C. - The Battle of Thermopylae ended (began August 7 - though some calendar systems list it as September 8-10).

The Persians won the battle and should have won the war, which would have drastically altered the history of the West...But the Persians had no way of knowing what waited for them at 'The Hot Gates' - Leonidas and the prowess of Sparta, 300 Lacedaemonians strong.

The Persian Empire was history's first great empire, by far the strongest nation in the Middle/Near East and Europe at the time, and invaded Greece with the intention of conquest through the weight of an estimated million man fighting force...Defending the Thermopylae Pass against this invading force the Spartans fought with an estimated strength of 3000 men (300 Spartans and 2700 allies).

Needless to say, the Persians didn't have a million troops but they had far more than the Spartans, and there was no way the Spartans could overcome such odds in this battle, but they did enough to help Greece win the war...At the Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartans put up one of the greatest defensive holding battles in history, which gave the Greeks enough time - and will - to mount a nationwide defensive force and also eliminated the best Persian troops:  The Immortals.

This battle is one of the classics of all time, and I can't tell you how much I recommend you read 'Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae' and see the movie '300'.

48 B.C. - The Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar defeated Pompey.

Caesar chased Pompey all over the Mediterranean world, and was on the verge of crushing his force...Pompey was lucky to escape to Egypt after this battle, but his days were numbered and it didn't take long for the Egyptians to murder him in order to win favor with Caesar.

378 - The Battle of Adrianople: Visigoth Calvary crushed a Roman Army.

The Roman Empire was in a steady state of decline, but at this battle the empire showed it was in it's death-throws.

The Visigoths annihilated the Roman force in the battle, which had the effect of forever opening the eastern portion of the Roman Empire to a tidal wave of Goths, Huns, Vandals, Franks, etc. - barbarian invaders.

1945 (11:02 am, local time) - The United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people:  WWII.

The 'Fat Man' hit Nagasaki, forcing the Japanese Empire to finally consider capitulating to the overwhelming force of the U.S...A force which they brought on themselves. Please keep this in mind.

Also keep in mind the horrendous damage and loss of life which would have happened had the U.S. invaded Japan instead of ending the war with the atom bombs: MacArthur and Nimitz would have bombed the hell out of Japan Proper from the sea and air, and then sent in the artillery and infantry to finish the war...A reality which would have caused millions of Japanese deaths, and also completely destroyed the infrastructure and historical landmarks of Japan as well.

Oh, and the Ruskies would have swooped in from the north, looking for a little payback for the loss of their navy in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)...Never minimize the importance of this in the mind of the Japanese decision to surrender.

1974 - President Richard Nixon formally resigned as President of the United States. Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th president.

Nixon is a disgrace, and it's too bad because he was on the verge of being one of America's better presidents...But he let his fears and emotions get the best of him, and vowed to never be cheated again as he was in 1960 by John F. Kennedy and the mob.

What's really sad is Nixon didn't need to pull 'tricks', because there was no way he was going to lose the election in 1972.

Luckily, Ford was a good man who was able to keep the pieces together for the shaken nation...Even though he was the lamest of lame duck presidents in history.

1378 - The election of Urban VI as Pope was declared null when the College of Cardinals declared him a lawless, anti-Christian, devil.

Papal politics has always been brutal, but never as bad as during the Middle Ages...Urban wasn't the first scoundrel-pope, and also wasn't the last.

1790 - The 'Columbia' returned to Boston Harbor after a three-year voyage, becoming the first ship to carry the American Flag around the world.

The new nation was trumpeting its existence, but hadn't yet proved it could last over time...Luckily, the success of the Columbia has been matched by the brilliance and greatness of the future United States of America.

1842 - The Webster-Ashburton Treaty between the U.S. and Britain was signed, establishing the boundary between the U.S. and Canada from Maine to the Great Lakes.

Prior to this time, the U.S. and British contested the divide between Canada and the U.S...I often wonder if Canadians secretly wish the line could have been further north, or if it had become part of the U.S. itself?

March 15

44 B.C. - The 'Ides of March': Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate by a group of conspirators led by Cimber, Casca, Cassius, and Marcus Junius Brutus.

The Roman Republic had been in a steady process of collapse, and Caesar was on the verge of ending it.  The senators who assassinated Caesar thought killing him might save the once mighty republic - at least that was their claim...In reality, they simply wanted a bigger role in the nation's power structure.

Their hopes were crushed, however, because the great man's death simply led to another civil war, and the accession of Augustus.  Which ultimately ended the 'Republic' and created the 'Empire.'

493 - Odoacer the Barbarian, King of Italy, was killed by Theodoric the Ostrogoth (another barbarian).

Odoacer put an end to the succession of Roman emperors, but truth be told he had hopes of claiming the imperial title himself.

Unfortunately for Odoacer, the multitude of Germanic tribes were in no mood to be ruled by anyone and required many years before a semblance of order was re-established in Italy...Theordoric was the ruler who finally got things under control.

1781 - The Battle of Guilford Court House: American Revolution.

The Brits had been pursuing a different strategy of taking the war to the south, in an attempt to pick up colonies believed to be more loyal to the crown than those in the north...And the strategy worked for awhile.

At Guilford Court House, the Brits technically won the battle, but it was 'Pyrrhic':  "Another such victory would ruin the British Army." - Charles James Fox (British Whig Party Leader)

1869 - The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team.

A great game was in its early years, and this first pro team set the stage for the foundation of the 'major leagues':  The American League and National League, which eventually combined to make Major League Baseball.

1912 - Pitcher Cy Young retired from baseball with 511 wins.

He also retired with 316 losses.

It's unlikely anyone will catch Young's record for wins or losses.  Actually, it's almost an impossibility, because it would require 25-years of 20 wins per year in an era when few pitchers win 20 in any year.  It would also take 20-years of 15 losses per year, which would be impossible because a pitcher who kept losing 15 games per year would never make it 20 years in the league.

The second winningest pitcher ever is Walter Johnson with 417, and the modern-era pitcher with the most is Greg Maddux with 355 - neither got close to Young...So, his marks are probably the safest records in all American sports.

For that matter, it's unlikely anyone will even get to Johnson's 400 wins.

1916 - President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 U.S. troops under General Pershing into Mexico to capture revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, who had staged several cross-border raids.

Can you imagine if the modern press was around back then? They would have blasted President Wilson for not doing enough to catch Pancho, who was never captured.

It takes an incredible amount of luck to catch one man on the run in a foreign land (his own land), where the populace will defend and hide him...As we found out with Bin Laden.

1917 – Nicholas II, last Czar of Russia, was forced to abdicate his throne (March 2, Old Style Calendar).

Nikki and his family were lucky three days earlier the Mensheviks abolished the death penalty...The Bolsheviks wouldn't have given him such a break.

Those unfamiliar with the Revolution should know it wasn’t until September 1917 that Lenin and the Bolsheviks began taking control of the Revolution. The Mensheviks were the ones who saved the Czar, but Lenin made sure the ‘Last Czar’ would shortly be dead.

1928 - Benito Mussolini altered the Italian electoral system:  He abolished the right to choose.

That would be funny if it wasn't.

1944 - The German-held Italian town of Monte Cassino was devastated by Allied bombs:  WWII.

War is Hell, and nothing should be off-limits when it comes to victoriously ending a war...Especially if an objective is vital and will save the lives of American troops.

I find it humorous, and completely disingenuous, to hear the same jackasses who cry about the destruction of this monastery complaining about the evils of religion...They don’t care about Monte Cassino, they just want to bitch about the use of force.

1988 - Paul Simon defeated Jesse Jackson in the Illinois Democratic primary.

Hahaha! Jesse couldn’t even beat a ‘pop-singer’ in his own home-state...Alright, he didn’t lose to ‘that’ Paul Simon, but what’s the difference?

1993 - Searchers found the body of the sixth and last missing victim of the World Trade Center bombing in New York.

We often say we will ‘never forget 9/11/01’, but most have long forgotten the first attempt on the WTC...Americans are a people of short memories, and our enemies are counting on our historical negligence.

Have you forgotten??  I'm sure the Jihadis haven't.