January 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 - The Christian Era began.

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

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

404 - The last gladiator competition in Rome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 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 19

1863 - President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:  U.S. Civil War.

In less than 300 words, Lincoln delivered the greatest speech in American history - which included the history of the past and hopes for the future of the young American nation...It was a perfect wartime propaganda speech, and at the same time a speech for the ages which will have meaning to every American generation.

The U.S. has three great texts:  The Declaration of Independence (the Anvil of Freedom), the U.S. Constitution (the Forge of Union), and the Gettysburg Address (the monumental statement of the Civil War which proved the Declaration and Constitution would stand.)

Copy of the text:

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

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

The history of the Vandals is usually forgotten in the post-Roman world, but they controlled North Africa for many years, and weren’t just a crazed group who pillaged Rome...Even though they are forever linked with such by the creation of the term 'vandalism.'

It's also important to realize how important North Africa was to the Western world at this time...Which it remained until it was conquered by the Muslims.

1521 - The Battle of Milan: Emperor Charles V's Spanish, German, and Papal troops beat France and occupied Milan.

Just another day in the world the of 16th century Habsburg-Valois wars for the supremacy of the European continent.

1874 - William Marcy 'Boss' Tweed, of Tammany Hall was convicted of defrauding New York City of $6 million and sentenced to 12-years imprisonment.

This conviction was long overdue for the king of all election fixers.

Tammany Hall was a creation of Aaron Burr (former VP, and overall POS) as a measure to control New York City politics. It was the most successful ‘machine’ in American history and should be held in high regard by every cheating Democrat.

1919 - The U.S. Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 55-39 against, short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification.

What a mess this treaty created.

1. The League of Nations was every bit as bad as the U.N. is.

2. The French insisted on raping the Germans through reparations.

3. The document was a complete sham, and simply acted as a passing-through point between WWI and WWII.

1942 - Soviet forces began a massive counter-offensive at the Battle of Stalingrad:  WWII.

Stalingrad was one of the most brutal battles in the history of the world, and the turning-point of WWII in the East European Theatre...At the time, the Germans held over 90% of Stalingrad, but the situation was about to turn very quickly, and this offensive was the beginning of the end for the German Army.

It was also the beginning for what became the awesome Soviet Army.

1945 - The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials began (ended October 1, 1946):  WWII.

Many Nazi’s met justice in these trials. That said, it’s too bad more weren’t caught and executed...Luckily the World Court hadn’t been founded at this time or the SOB’s would have been slapped on the wrist and sent on their merry way.

2005 - India and Pakistan opened their disputed border in Kashmir for the first time in 58-years, a temporary measure to allow divided families to check on each other after the region's devastating earthquake.

2006 - India successfully test-fired a medium-range nuclear-capable missile, days after its rival Pakistan launched a similar missile.

No one knows how the situation between India and Pakistan is going to end, but the fact both have nukes with missiles capable of easily reaching each other, as well as religio-cultural systems which are completely contradictory, should lead a logical person to figure it might end poorly.

November 5

1940 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected U.S. President for a historic third time, defeating Wendell Wilkie.

George Washington established the precedent of presidents serving no more than two terms, because he believed the nation needed a constant inflow of new leadership to remain vibrant - and honest.

The egomaniac FDR thought otherwise...No president should have stayed in office longer than two terms. FDR not only did three, he did four.

1556 - The Battle of Panipat.

Mughal ruler, Akhbar the Great routed the Hindus under Hemu by turning their elephants in the Hindu revolt. The result of this battle was the end of a period of Afghan rule in India.

1775 - Commodore Esek Hopkins was named Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy:  American Revolutionary War.

The Colonial fleet was a rag-tag group, but managed to do enough to hassle the Brits and force them out of strategic positions, which helped Washington's army.

1862 - Ambrose Burnside replaced General McClellan as head of the U.S. Army of the Potomac:  U.S. Civil War.

Lincoln replaced one incompetent commander with another.

How incompetent was Burnside? So much so, he asked Lincoln to change his mind and choose another commander...Lincoln refused, and the general went on to prove his incompetence at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

1912 - Woodrow Wilson was elected President of the United States.

Not a big event, but Wilson is the answer to an interesting election fact: Wilson is the only president to defeat two former presidents (Taft and Theodore Roosevelt) in one election.

He is also the first truly Liberal American president.

1914 - Britain, France, and Russia declared war on Turkey: WWI.

I hope you know the European powers weren’t the only ones in WWI...The Ottoman Empire was a pathetic mess, but required a final whipping before it disappeared from history.

1996 - California's Proposition 209 passed. Also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative, CCRI passed by a 10% margin.

A 10% majority is a significant voting total, and the people of California raised their voice by punching their ballots...A great day for the people, who stood up and said discrimination against any people (including whites) was unacceptable.

It didn't take long for the lawyers to get involved, though, with a lawsuit filed in less than 24 hours of the proposition passing.

So much for the "will of the people." Liberals much prefer the "will of the courts"...Liberal courts that is.

September 19

1777 - The First Battle of Saratoga: American Revolutionary War.

Saratoga was a series of battles, which lasted from September 19 to October 17, and is considered by many to be the great turning point in the Revolutionary War.

It was also one of its most decisive battles. Of British General Burgoyne's 10,000 troops, the Americans killed or captured around 7,600...The American force lost less than 900.

1356 - The Battle of Poitiers: An English army led by the 'Black Prince' defeated King John II of France at the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years War.

This was one of the three great English victories in the 100 Years War, but wasn't enough to finish the French off.

FYI: I hope you know the 100 Year's War wasn't really 100-years, but was 116-years long: 1337-1453.

1737 - In India’s Bay of Bengal a cyclone destroyed 20,000 ships. It was estimated more than 300,000 people died in the densely populated area called the Sundarbans. Later research indicated the population of Calcutta at the time to be around 20,000, and the estimated number of deaths was revised down to about 3,000.

1. That’s a huge revision of the death toll, from 300,000 to about 3,000...Dan Rather must have been reporting the story.

2. From 1737 to today, Calcutta went from being a city of 'around 20,000' people to over 4,500,000...That's truly amazing.

What I really want to know is how did such a massive cyclone occur before the advent of Man-Made Global Warming?  Hmmmmmmm????

1863 - The Battle of Chickamauga began (ended September 20): American Civil War.

Chickamauga was the worst Union defeat in the Western Theatre of the Civil War, and one of the few battles in the war where the Confederates outnumbered the Union force...The Confederates also had superior leadership in this battle, which was normal during this time of the war.

Technically, Bragg and Longstreet were the commanding generals for the Confederates, but it was Nathan Bedford Forrest who stole the show...I highly recommend you read about this man, who was one of the most brilliant Confederate field commanders, and also the most despised - by both sides.

Thankfully, the Confederates hated him so much they never properly used him against the Union.

1870 - Germans laid siege to Paris, as two Prussian armies began a 135-day siege, which caused the collapse of the French Second Empire:  Franco-Prussian War.

The Prussians were flexing their muscle, and beginning a 75-year pattern of Germans kicking the French around...The still do it by the way.  They just use Euros as their weaponry, instead of bullets and bombs.

1918 - American troops of the Allied North Russia Expeditionary Force clashed with Soviet forces near town of Seltso.

How many of you knew the U.S. sent troops to fight in the Russian Civil War? I’m sure not many...Go here for a short read about the American Polar Bears.

August 15 (A Double)

1096 - The First Crusade set out for Jerusalem.

A Battle of Civilizations was about to begin...A battle which neither side won, and neither side lost - to this day.

The West won many battles, but couldn’t invest and control the Middle East...On the flip side, Islam was kept at bay by the Crusaders, and was never able to conquer Central Europe.

1945 - V.J. Day: Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally, ending WWII. In a recorded radio message, Emperor Hirohito called upon the Japanese people to "bear the unbearable" and lay down their arms.

Don't forget WWII started in 1937 with Japan invading China, not in 1939 with the Germans invading Poland...And please don't feel sorry for the Japanese or Germans, regardless of how revisionist historians play games with the history of the war. Both deserved the ass kicking they received - and then some.

That said, almost 60,000,000 people were killed as a result of this war, and the world was turned upside down...Sadly, there will eventually be a third, and who knows what the damage and outcome will be. 

636 - The Battle at Yarmuk: Islamic forces beat a Byzantine army and gained control of Syria.

Islam was on the march, and the Byzantines were in the process of a long decline...A deadly reality for the Western world.

778 - Charlemagne's rear guard, returning from Spain, was attacked by Muslim Basques.

This headline is confusing if you don't understand Spain was a Muslim country at this time...If you come here daily you should already know this, though, and Charlemagne and the Franks were the only force which kept Islam from sweeping through Western Europe.

Of note in this battle is the death of Roland, Charlemagne’s 'right hand,' whose death was a terrible blow to the great king...It was also an event which put Charlemagne on the offensive, keeping Islam isolated in Spain.

I highly recommend you read The Song of Roland, one of the greatest books of the Middle Ages, and a great story for all time.

1620 - The Mayflower set sail from Southampton with 102 Pilgrims.

These Puritans could have met the same fate as the settlers at Roanoke (probably should have), but they were destined to survive...And a great nation emerged from their founding.

1914 - The Panama Canal opened.

The Canal is an awesome engineering achievement, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and should be put right up  with any of the ‘Wonders of the World’...Ancient or modern

1947- The Indian Independence Bill created the two independent states of India and Pakistan, after some 200-years of British rule.

Two nations with awesome and terrible potential...Both have proven nuclear capability and both border some of the world’s hot spots:  China, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.

Oh, and they have ancient hatred for each other, for various ethnic and religious reasons - with nukes and missiles to deliver them...Both will be major players on the world stage in the 21nd Century - for better or worse.

1961 - East Germany began building the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall was a terrible monument to the reality of the Cold War...I wasn't alive when it went up, but remember the day 'The Wall' came down, and still get tears in my eyes at the event of it falling.

1971 - President Nixon announced a plan to help the economy recover from the costs of the Vietnam and Cold Wars - freezing wages and rents for 90-days.

Oh goody, the government threw itself even more into the lives of the American people - specifically the economy...So, how'd that work out?

The Down Jones went up!  For one day...Followed by a dismal economy for a decade...Genius!!!

That said, it's predictable, and should be a warning to our overlords to quit trying to 'help'.

2001 - Astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own.

We are not alone...We have no understanding of the enormity and power of the universe, and must admit we (Earth) are but one of what is possibly millions of planets with life on them (or not). The more we search, the more we will find.

2005 - Israel began to pull out from the Gaza Strip.

This is working out great for the Israelis...Not! As predicted by anyone willing to admit the truth about the Palestinians.

July 9

1868 - The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, defining U.S. citizenship. It took effect on July 28, 1868.

The main point of this amendment is all people born in the United States are citizens, and therefore granted equal protection under the law regardless of race. This includes the protection of their right to vote.

It's unfortunate this wasn't included in the original Constitution, and also that it didn't include women, but the 13th and 14th Amendments were a giant leap forward, and prove the brilliance of the Founders who created a method for righting wrongs in the original document.

Unfortunately, the amendment left a lot of wiggle room when it comes to defining citizenship for those born in the country to those who entered it illegally...The people of the 19th Century never could have understood the levels of legal wrangling 20th and 21st Century liberals would take the amendment to, however.

Not that Liberals have stopped at citizenship when it comes to bastardizing the 14th Amendment.

1497 - Vasco Da Gama set sail to find a sea route to India.

At the time, Da Gama’s discovery was considered a much bigger find than Columbus’...This was a short lived perception, however.

1595 - Johannes Kepler discovered the perfect geometric solid "construction of the universe."

I can't impress on you the importance of Kepler, even though he's a distant afterthought compared to Newton and Einstein.

1934 - Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler took command of the German concentration camp system.

The Chicken Farmer got a major promotion...It's hard to believe anyone could have done such a demonic job, which made him Hitler's perfect henchman.

1960 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev threatened nuclear attack if the United States invaded Cuba attempting to oust the communist government of Cuba.

Thankfully he was bluffing, because Kennedy tested Nikki's threat in 1961 with the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Obviously, Khrushchev didn't launch nukes, but he had to be cracking up at the poor showing of the Americans and their Cuban allies against Castro's pathetic force.

June 6

1944 - 'D-Day': The Allied invasion of Europe took place when forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France:  WWII.

There was almost another year of fighting, but with this event the end was in sight.

The Germans had to keep the Allies from establishing a beachhead or face the reality of a full-scale two front war in the Reich - Germany Proper - something they were able to avoid in WWI...The Russians were already pushing them west, and it wasn't long before the Americans and Brits were able to start sending the Germans east as well, creating a vise from which the Nazis could not emerge victorious.

The fight was brutal and millions of lives were lost in this final year, but the success of the 'D-Day' landings put the final day of fighting closer into sight.

1978 - California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, calling for major cuts in property taxes.

Proposition 13 became article 13A of the California State Constitution, limiting the real estate tax on a parcel of property to 1% of its purchase price, forever, until the property is resold.

This was huge in California, but also had a national effect, because other states took a similar stance...It also did much to propel Ronald Reagan to the Republican nomination and eventual presidential election success in 1980.

The tax has also had a limiting effect on the amount the state can collect in property taxes; a fact Liberals cry about...The reality is no matter how much the state collects, if they don't get control of spending they will never have enough - a reality we are in the process of watching at every level of American government.

1985 - Authorities in Brazil exhumed a body later identified as the remains of Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious Nazi 'Angel of Death.'

It’s a shame the doc escaped a just death at Nuremberg or at the hands of the Israelis...It's also a shame there have been so many Mengele wannabe's since his time.

1998 - The U.N. Security Council demanded, in a unanimous vote, that India and Pakistan refrain from further nuclear tests and sign nuclear control agreements.

Or what??? What was the U.N. going to do if they refused to bow down?

That said, no one should be shocked to wake up one morning and find these two have launched on each other.

May 18 (A Double)

1974 - India became a nuclear power when its first atomic bomb successfully exploded in the Rajasthan Desert.

The 'Smiling Buddha' exploded and India became the sixth nation to join the most exclusive club on Earth...Sadly, I can easily see India being the next country to take an atomic hit - from members of the 'Religion of Piece,' of course - Pakistan in particular.
 
1980 - The 9,677-foot Mt. St. Helens volcano in Washington state, quiet for 93 years, exploded. The volcanic blast was five hundred times more powerful than the atomic bomb which leveled Hiroshima. Steam and ash erupted more than eleven miles into the sky and darkened skies in a 160-mile radius. Forest fires erupted around the volcano and burned out of control, took 1,300 feet off the top of the mountain and left 57 people dead or missing.

Nature truly is a “mother.”

1291 - The Mameluke Sultan of Egypt and his son took the last Christian stronghold of Acre, breaking the hold of Christians in the Holy Land.

The Crusades were doomed to failure, even though they continued for a while longer...The logistics of fighting battles a continent away were miserable, and holding and maintaining them was even more cumbersome.

Plus, the European Christians were never united enough to stop fighting each other while fighting the Muslims.

1896 - 'Plessy v. Ferguson: The U.S. Supreme Court endorsed the concept of "separate but equal" racial segregation.

This is the same branch of government Liberals claim has always been the beacon of hope for the republic...By the way, it was the Dems who pushed to continue slavery and segregation as well.

1908 - The motto "In God We Trust" was made mandatory on all United States coins.

How long till the ACLU(seless) goes after this as a 'separation of church and state' issue? Bunch of communist jackals.

1933 - The Tennessee Valley Authority was created. It's purpose was to control Tennessee River floods, institute a reforestation program on lands in the valley and provide rural electrification.

Of all FDR’s New Deal programs this is the one that has had the most positive effect...But it wasn't created to 'control floods.' It was founded to create jobs, and compared to the ridiculous government stimulus programs in our time it was genius.

1944 - Allied forces finally occupied Monte Cassino in Italy after a four-month struggle which claimed about 20,000 lives:  WWII.

A hard fought victory, and one that had to be won, even if the monastery needed to be destroyed...The Germans had to be routed out of Italy and forced to surrender or retreat to Germany, and couldn't be bypassed allowing them to have forces at our back on the way to Germany.

1944 - In the Soviet Union, the expulsion of more than 200,000 Tartars from the Crimea began after the Tartars were accused of collaborating with the Germans:  WWII.

They may or may not have been helping the Krauts, but the reality of the situation is Stalin was looking for any excuse to remove an impediment to his power, and used expulsion, the Gulag, and famine as his tools of choice.

1964 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to deprive naturalized citizens of U.S. citizenship if they return to their country of birth for more than three years.

Why did they come here to establish citizenship if they didn’t want to be here? To get free stuff of course.

1965 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Head Start Bill into law.

What a waste of time...This program is in its 52nd year, and American school children are worse off than they’ve ever been.

If the government spent nearly as much money and time keeping families together and executing criminals and child abusers, children would have an infinitely better chance of succeeding - in school and life - by having steady homes and safe places to study and live....But that was never the goal.

Like most Liberal programs the goal was getting more people sucked into government give-away programs to make them dependent on Democrat politicians.  Politicians who used these dependents to gain more and more personal power.

A truly genius political scheme.  A truly terrible scheme to be caught in for those who fall prey to it.

1983 - The U.S. Senate approved a major revision of the nation's immigration laws giving millions of illegal aliens already in the United States the opportunity to gain legal status under an amnesty program.

UGHHHH!!!! We are asking for our own demise...Say what you will, but the Germanic tribes overran Rome after centuries of ‘legal’ migrations. We will all be dead when it happens, but the U.S. is following the same path.

April 21

735 B.C. - According to Roman historian Varro, Romulus founded the city of Rome.

Of course this date is mythology, but who cares...The story is great, and the Republic/Empire centered on this city was the greatest in the history of the Western world.

The U.S. has done more good than any nation (by a large margin), and is a very close second to Rome in Western history, but must exist and be great for a few more hundred years before it can jump ahead of Rome in overall greatness and importance...This is hard to admit, but is true.

43 B.C. - The Battle of Mutina:  Mark Antony was defeated by Octavian's Republican forces.

From a tactical perspective, Antony didn't lose the battle because he was able to escape encirclement and fight another day...From a strategic perspective, Octavian won the battle because from this point forward he was the acknowledged leader of the Republic - even though the civil war was nowhere near over.

1526 - The Battle of Panipat.

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur crushed the Lodi Empire, in North India, which established the beginning of the Mughal Empire...Also of note in this battle, it was one of the first on record which involved gunpowder firearms and field artillery.

I am embarrassed to admit my knowledge of the Mughals isn't nearly what it should be, but I do know enough to know they were from Central Asia, descending from Genghis Khan, were superior warriors and engineers, and took India to heights never seen before or after.

1649 - The Maryland Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act, guaranteeing freedom of worship for all Christians.

This was the first law of its kind (not just in America, but the entire world)...It wasn’t perfect, and didn’t guarantee absolute freedom of worship, but is important because it was the basis of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution - as it was intended, that is.  Not as it has been interpreted by modern Liberals.

Read the text: Maryland Toleration Act.

1836 - An army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring the independence of Texas. 900 Texans caught 1,200 Mexicans taking a siesta, and the entire confrontation took only 18-minutes.

There would be no more Alamo’s and the Republic of Texas was soon to be a reality…I hope you knew Texas had a period of independence prior to joining the U.S.

1898 - The U.S. declared war on Spain.

"The war of the United States with Spain was very brief. Its results were many, startling, and of world-wide meaning." - Henry Cabot Lodge

It is incredible how Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt played this event - setting the stage for the future American Empire...And yes, I know most Americans don't understand it is an empire.  Trust me the rest of the world knows it is.

1918 - Baron Manfred von Richthofen, German ace known as the 'Red Baron,' was killed in action during World War I. He is credited with shooting down 80 Allied planes.

Richthofen was an awesome pilot, who was considered the 'Ace of Aces' in WWI. A few interesting tid-bits:

1. When the Red Baron was shot down, his dead body was recovered by the Brits...They had such high respect for him they buried him with full military honors.

2. Richthofen’s wing man was Herman Goering, who eventually succeeded him as commander of the famous Jagdgeschwader 1 (Fighter Wing 1)...He later became the 'Fat Field Marshal,' as Reichsmarshal of the Third Reich.

1956 - Elvis Presley's first hit record 'Heartbreak Hotel' became #1 on the music charts.

Elvis was truly a meteoric figure in American pop-culture - as is proven by his continuing popularity over 60 years after his first hit...There have been few bigger icons, and in the music business only the Beatles and Michael Jackson have been even close to Elvis Presley in popularity.

1998 - Astronomers announced in Washington they discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away, the clearest evidence yet of worlds forming beyond our solar system.

We are not alone...And I have no problem fitting this finding into the 'Evolution from Creation' theory.

April 8

1974 - Hank Aaron hit the 715th home run of his career, breaking Babe Ruth's record.

Sporting events are rarely worth noting as 'great events in history,' but this was the most storied record in all of American sports - the record every sports fan was aware of:  714 Home Runs by 'The Babe'...An amazing accomplishment, achieved by one of the most overlooked players in baseball history - but definitely one of the best.

Sadly, Aaron's Home Run record (755) was surpassed by a steroid-taking maggot.

I never expected him to do the right thing, but Barry Bonds should have retired the day he came one home run short of passing Aaron's record of 755 home runs...This would have made Bonds a hero, and helped erase any vindictiveness baseball fans have towards him - and his whole generation of players. But it wasn't to be, and one of the game's biggest cheaters passed one of its greatest and most classy players.

563 B.C. (traditional date) - Siddhartha Gautama was born in the India-Nepal area.

Gautama is better known as Buddha.

I wish I could tell you more about him or Buddhism, but I can't...What I can tell you is Buddhism is one of the worlds great religions.

1943 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all wages and prices to be frozen at their present levels:  WWII.

This was a drastic measure, and one I would say is highly unconstitutional 99.9% of the time...The 0.1% would be reserved for wartime, which was exactly what FDR was dealing with when making this decision.

1946 – The League of Nations met for the last time, to officially dissolve.

The end of a pathetic organization...Unfortunately a new, bigger, more corrupt and pathetic model followed it: the U.N.

1952 - President Truman nationalized American steel mills in order to avert a threatened strike.

During this time the U.S. was at war with Korea, but this war was not similar to the situation listed above with FDR...It wasn't the same, because the country was in no imminent peril.

The Supreme Court correctly overruled him a couple months later.