February 1

1790 - The U.S. Supreme Court convened in New York City for its first session.

This is one of the greatest judicial bodies in the history of the world, and one which will continue to be so as long as it remembers its job is to ensure the constitutionality of items coming from the Executive and Legislative Branches - including at the lower levels in the states.

The problem is when the Supremes determine they need to replace the duties of the President and Congress - acting as 'super legislators'...The other problem is the President and Congress have too often ceded their responsibilities to the Supremes in order to avoid having to make politically difficult decisions.

"Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role." - Chief Justice John Roberts

1327 - Edward III was crowned King of England.

Edward was only a teenage boy at the time - the country was effectively ruled by his mother Isabella and her lover Roger - but he proved more than up to the task of ruling the country when he came of age...Edward was one of England's greatest kings, ruling for over 50 years, and establishing the island nation as one of Europe's great powers.

1669 - French king Louis XIV limited freedom of religion.

Of course he did.  That's what tyrants - and Liberals - do...As if there's a difference between the two.

1918 - Russia adopted the Gregorian Calendar.

It was about time...I wonder what the Ruskie people thought about losing 13 days, because out of nowhere it went from being February 1 to February 14.

1923 - Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist Voluntary Militia.

The 'Paperboy' was picking up steam, and out of this rabble of humanity came a bunch of thugs who made Benito a dictator.

1933 - The German Parliament dissolved.

Shocking, just a few days after Hitler became Chancellor.

1943 - One of America's most highly decorated military units of World War II, the 442d Regimental Combat Team, made up almost entirely of Japanese-Americans, was authorized.

This unit was awesome, and proved to America they weren’t Japanese or hyphenated Americans (Japanese-Americans)...They were Americans first.

We should offer the same kind of unit to fight in the War on Terror. I’m not as certain this would end as well, however.

1951 - The U.N. condemned China as an aggressor in the Korean War.

Lotta good that did.  Especially since the only ones who cower over U.N. declarations are the pansies in the West.

1958 - Egypt and Syria announced plans to merge into the United Arab Republic.

Now that would be a power-player in the Middle East.  But it was destined to failure...Either on its own, or at the hands of the Israelis, who could never have allowed it to work out.

2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven person crew perished upon re-entry from their 16-day mission.

This was a terrible event, but it's amazing it hasn’t happened more often...Man was not made to leave Earth, and every time we jump off this ball we run the risk of such accidents.

That said, we must continue.

December 28

1950 - Advancing Chinese troops crossed the 38th Parallel, dividing line between North and South Korea, to help the communist North Koreans:  Korean War.

It was extremely cold in North Korea at this time, but with this event the war got hotter than ever...And the tide of the war changed.

MacArthur had completely righted the war and it was turning into a route, but the entry of China and its million-man-army put the Americans in an impossible situation because they didn't have anywhere near the amount of men and materiel needed to force the Chinese out of Korea...At least, not without using the atom bomb.

As such, the history of the Far East changed with this event...Not only did it seal the fate of the Koreans, but it showed the world that the American military wasn't omnipotent - nor was it willing to use its atomic weapons again.

It also showed China was ready to reemerge from about 200-years of being kicked around by the West and Japan.

856 - Vikings attacked and burned Paris.

I wonder if this is when the Franks became French? It was less than 50-years after Charlemagne's death, yet this once mighty group of people had already become a bunch of pansies.

1688 - William of Orange made a triumphant march into London as James II fled.

A bloodless coup occurred and the Glorious Revolution began a new, great, period in English history.

1945 - The U.S. Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States.

I say the Pledge to my Flag every day, and there are few things which bring more joy to my life...I will never understand how anyone can have a problem with ‘pledging allegiance’ to this great nation through any of its symbols.

1971 - The U.S. Justice Department sued Mississippi officials for ignoring the ballots of blacks.

The same should be done for election fraud of any kind...Especially in the case of illegal alien or multiple voters.

Never forget any fraudulent vote is a counter-vote to a legit vote in its opposition...Which is exactly why the Dems push so hard to restrict voter ID card requirements - they need the fraudulent votes.

1995 - President Clinton vetoed a $265 billion defense bill, saying it would waste money on an unneeded missile defense system.

Just another step in Bubba’s 'reign of destruction against the U.S. Military'...And a waste of time in what has become necessary anyway.  Too bad we were put back a decade.

2000 - Iran and Russia announced an expanded military and security partnership.

We know how things are going to end up in Iran (they're going to get their atomic weapon), but Russia is a wild card. And the Ruskies are really playing with fire, because it is equally as likely for the Iranians to turn on them as they are to remain partners.

You would think the Ruskies would have learned the danger of making deals with the Devil after their experience with Hitler...I guess not.

December 16 (A Quadruple)

1653 - Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

After emerging victorious in the English Civil War, Cromwell took control of the British nation as Dictator...He was an excellent military commander and banned the monarchy, but an average civil administrator as Lord Protector and left a weak successor, who was quickly replaced by King Charles II.

An interesting note on Cromwell: Charles II hated him so much he had Cromwell’s dead body dug up in 1661 and gave him a 'posthumous execution,' then a public hanging and finally had him drawn and quartered.

1689 - The English Parliament adopted a Bill of Rights after the Glorious Revolution.

Don't mistake this Bill of Rights with the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

This bill of rights gave some minor rights to the English people, but was primarily a political document acknowledging the succession of William and Mary as King and Queen, and then deciding the line of succession. It also stated the English monarchy could never be placed in the hands of a Roman Catholic.

The most important part of the Bill, however, was a huge one - giving Parliament political supremacy over the monarch.

1773 - The Boston Tea Party: Around 50 American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped 342 chests of tea overboard into Boston harbor to protest tea taxes.

The 'Sons of Liberty,' led by Samuel Adams, dressed as Mohawk Indians, fired one of the first shots of the soon-to-come American Revolution with this act of defiance.

The question I have is:  What happened to the Bostonians? They went from being the original anti-tax, small-government Americans, to becoming the degenerate, pseudo-communist, People’s Republic of Massachusetts...A sad ending for the home of our first Patriots.

1944 - The Battle of the Bulge began: WWII.  German forces broke through the allied lines in the rugged Ardennes region, taking U.S. troops by surprise.

This was the last gasp of Hitler and the German Army in WWII, and it started with a bang...It ended with a whimper, as Patton rolled up the German offensive.

The saddest part of the battle is it slowed the Western Allies down just long enough to allow the Ruskies to take Berlin - Hitler's last abuse of the German people...Maybe they deserved it, however, for putting such a madman in place.

1950 - In the wake of the massive Chinese intervention in the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman declared a state of emergency, proclaiming "Communist imperialism" threatened the world's people. Truman called upon the American people to help construct an "arsenal of freedom."

Truman would have done well to think of this problem from the beginning of the Korean War...If he wanted to stop the spread of Communism he had the ability to do so, instead he took the French way out, refusing to fight an offensive war, and our troops suffered as a result.

Unfortunately, he passed this characteristic on to every succeeding American president.

1969 - The British House of Commons approved the permanent abolition of the death penalty.

How can they be against aborting the lives of hard-core criminals, but for executing innocent unborn children?

1998 - President Clinton ordered a sustained series of missile strikes against Iraq forces in response to Saddam Hussein's continued defiance of U.N. weapons inspectors.

The Democrats loved it when Clinton tossed bombs at Hussein, which had little if any effect...And the Republicans stood by his decision to do so as well.

Amazingly, the Democrats couldn’t stand behind Bush when he decided to do what Clinton didn’t have the stomach for, but had to be done - removing Saddam from the world.

1991 - The U.N. General Assembly rescinded its 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism by a vote of 111-to-25.

I’d imagine if this vote was retaken today, it would be much closer to the one in 1975 than in 1991.

1997 - A Pentagon-appointed panel concluded the Army, Navy and Air Force should segregate male and female recruits in their earliest phases of basic training.

Women do not belong in the military, and this is just one of the many reasons...That said, if women are going to be in the military they should not be segregated in basic training or anywhere else.

The military is an extremely complex unit which can’t function at its optimum unless it is completely integrated, and there should be no segregation based on sex, race, etc...Every troop (man or woman) must be 100% combat effective and completely integrated into the military system, or they shouldn’t be there.

National Defense should always supersede 'Social Engineering'...Unfortunately, Liberals in this country feel the opposite is true, and most Conservatives are afraid of being called sexists and refuse to take them on.

2006 - Iran's president said his country was ready to transfer nuclear technology to neighboring countries.

Amazingly, too many in the West assume Ahmadinejad was barking at the moon...You'd think the lessons of the 20th century would have wizened them up, but I guess not.

November 30

30 BC - Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, committed suicide.

After Caesar's death, Cleopatra had to pick a Roman ally to keep her crown, but the queen hitched herself to the wrong star, choosing to take Marc Antony as her lover instead of Octavian. Not that he wanted her...She is lucky she killed herself, however, because it would have been worse had the future Emperor gotten hold of her.

Off topic, but on subject: I hope you know Cleopatra was a Greek/Macedonian, not an Egyptian - from the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which was founded by Ptolemy I Soter - one of Alexander the Great's generals.

1016 - Edmund II, Ironsides, King of the Saxons, died. 

Edmund's death meant the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England, since Canute, King of Denmark, succeeded him adding England to his kingdom.

Canute ruled for almost 20-years, and England floundered around for another 30 until Norman prince William the Conqueror came in and ended successful invasions of the British Isles forever.

1216 - Pope Innocent III ordered Jews to wear a special badge.

Sounds like Der Fuhrer 700+ years later.

1485 - Henry VII was crowned King of England.

Henry was the victor of the English Civil War (War of the Roses), founder of the Tudor Dynasty, and father of the monarchic mess that was 16th Century England...He was also a financial genius, who put England on track towards empire.

1554 - Roman Catholicism was briefly restored to England as the official state religion, under the reign of Mary Tudor - daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Better known as 'Bloody Mary,' the Queen was an absolute Catholic, and a proponent of close English ties with the Continent - particularly Spain. Neither endeared her to the English people...As a result, Mary burned at least 300 Protestant leaders at the stake, and generally made life miserable for her English subjects.

1804 - The impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, accused of political bias, began.

Unfortunately, Chase was acquitted, because his guilt is undeniable.

The importance of this event is to remember Congress has the power to 'check' the Judiciary, and must do so if a justice is acting outside the scope of their position.

It's too bad the current group in Congress doesn't have the testicular fortitude to hold our current judges to the same standard...Hint: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

1948 - The division of Berlin was complete and the Soviets installed a Communist government in the Soviet sector.

40+ years of suffering followed for the East Germans.

Had the U.S. entered WWII in 1939-40 we would have beaten the Ruskies to Germany...Instead FDR chose politics over statesmanship, and kept the U.S. out of the war until we were drawn in by the Japanese in 1941.

Much suffering (including our own) was the result.

1950 - President Truman declared the United States would use the atom bomb to get peace in Korea:  Korean War.

Big talk, but no boom! A big mistake...I'm not going to say he should have used an atomic bomb on the Chinese (not going to say he shouldn't have either), but he shouldn't have said he'd do it if he couldn't pull the trigger.

1995 - It was reported global warming over the last 100-years was measured to be one degree Fahrenheit.

One stinking degree. What a bunch of pseudo-scientific psychos...Either that or anarchists with a political ax to grind.

November 26 (A Triple)

43 B.C. - Octavian, Antony and Lepidus formed Rome's 'Second Triumvirate.'

The Lex Titia (a Roman law) established these three as ‘Triumvirs for the Organization of the People.”

Lepidus was a longtime friend of Julius Caesar’s, Antony was Rome’s greatest general (Caesar’s chief of staff), and Octavian was Caesar’s adopted son and designated successor...All three tried to sell this agreement as a 'partnership,' but the reality of the situation was a new civil war was on, and the Republic was soon to become the Empire - an empire led by the man presumed to be the weakest of the Triumvirs - Octavian, soon to be known as Augustus.

1095 - Pope Urban urged the faithful to wrest the Holy Land from the Muslims, heralding the start of the Crusades.

Forget popular propaganda, which states the West brutally invaded the Islamic world...From the time of Muhammad, Islam has been a religion of conquest.

Truth be told, the various warlords of the West weren't much better than their Muslim enemies, but they didn't intend to destroy Western Civilization...The Crusades never accomplished what their proclaimed intent was (capturing and holding the Holy Land), but they were successful in one important way: The Crusaders kept Islam from conquering most or even all of Europe.

1950 - China entered the Korean conflict, launching a counter-offensive by sending troops across the Yalu River.

It was mighty cold in Korea, but with this action the Korean War got much hotter.

The U.S. and South Korean forces were on the verge of finishing off the North Koreans, but this event changed the nature of the war...If caused Truman to flinch, led to the downfall of MacArthur, and sadly resulted in at least a partial victory for the North Koreans and the permanence of another Hell State.

That said, we should be proud of defending South Korea, because in doing so we saved who-knows-how-many millions of lives on the Korean Peninsula, and also slowed down the Communist advance in Asia.

885 - Danish Vikings attacked Paris and were paid by the Frankish king Charles the Fat not to destroy the city, as they had in 845 and 856.

Charlemagne must have been rolling over in his grave at seeing how far his empire had fallen.

Too bad the Vikings only came to pillage. They could have added some much needed lifeblood to the Frenchies had they conquered, stayed and changed the genetic composition of these maggots...Luckily, they at least took over the area which eventually became Normandy.

1789 - George Washington proclaimed this a National Thanksgiving Day in honor of the new Constitution. He made it clear the day should be one of prayer and giving thanks to God, to be celebrated by all the religious denominations.

So much for the myth of ‘separation of church and state’...This is the biggest of all the Liberal lies, and is widely believed, because it is the one most fiercely propagandized.

The Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom, not freedom ‘from’ religion, and our Founders always made a point of thanking God for the blessing and glory of the nation He gave them.

1863 - The first modern Thanksgivings was held following the October 3 proclamation of President Lincoln to assign the last Thursday in November for this purpose.

Like Washington, Lincoln knew this country is blessed, and wanted to have a holiday to acknowledge it.

1865 - Alice in Wonderland was published.

Thanks to our Leftist friends, we are now living in it...Hopefully we'll be able to climb out of the 'rabbit-hole' someday - though it's impossible if we don't stop digging.

1938 - Poland renewed a non-aggression pact with the USSR to provide protection against a German invasion.

Treaties with Hitler and Stalin were as useless as toilet paper, and within a year the Soviets joined their Germans ‘allies,’ invading Poland from the east.

I hope you remember the Soviets were Germany's ally at the beginning of WWII...Which is why they deserved the ass kicking they received in 1941-42.

1939 - The Soviet Union blamed Finland for an artillery attack on its border:  WWII.

Nice excuse to invade Finland.

The Winter War began, and the Ruskies performed miserably...But it was a nice prep for the big show, coming soon in the form of Operation Barbarossa: the German invasion of the USSR.

1941 – A Japanese task force left for Pearl Harbor: Admiral Chuichi Nagumo led the Japanese First Air Fleet, an aircraft carrier strike force, toward Pearl Harbor, with the understanding that should "negotiations with the United States reach a successful conclusion, the task force will immediately put about and return to the homeland":  WWII.

We all know how this ended...It ended with the destruction of Japan and Germany, and the creation of the world’s greatest superpower.

As much as we wanted to stay out of WWII, the reality was the U.S. had to enter it. Not so much for our sake, but for the sake of civilization and humanity...We should have entered much earlier.

Keep this in mind in our current wars against the Islamists...Also keep in mind, being in the war isn't enough - we must crush them as we did the Japanese and Germans in order to bring them to heel.

1941 - Congress adopted a joint resolution, permanently setting the date of Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

Like Washington and Lincoln, Congress knew this country is blessed, and wanted to have a permanent holiday to acknowledge it.

1997 - In a small but symbolic step, the United States and North Korea held high-level discussions at the State Department for the first time.

It certainly was 'small,' and may have even been 'symbolic,' but like much of the Clinton years, it was useless and produced no fruit...Unless the goal was to supply Dr. Ill with nukes, of course.

1997 - Rep. Joe Knollenberg announced he intended to introduce a bill in the next session that would allow citizens to install toilets with the original size of 3.5 gallons per flush instead of the presently federally mandated 1.6 gallons per flush.

If I want a high powered shitter, I should be able to have one...Why do I need the shit-heads in D.C. to give their approval?

That would be funny if it weren't so damn true.

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 8 (Another Huge Day)

Another day of huge events...As such each will be highlighted in blue.
----------------------------
641 - Alexandria, Egypt, fell to Islam.

Alexandria was one of the greatest cities in the ancient world, but he Byzantines had no chance of holding it against the Muslim Horde...Unfortunately it will never reclaim its former greatness - not as long as it's held by barbarians who seems to 'advance in reverse', that is.

General Amr Ibn al-As's letter to Caliph Omar: "I have taken the city, which contains' 4,000 palaces, 4,000 baths, 12,000 dealers in fresh oil, 12,000 gardeners, 40,000 Jews who pay tribute, 400 theatres or places of amusement."

Needless to say, the great city has remained in Muslim hands for almost 1,400 years, and probably will for another 1,400.

1519 - Cortes entered Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztecs.

Rule #1 of Invasions: "Do not allow the invader off the beach"...And surely don’t meet and play nice with them.

Not understanding this rule cost the Aztecs - and the rest of the original Americans - their civilizations.

1864 - Abraham Lincoln was elected to his second term as U.S. President.

Thankfully George McClellan didn’t win the election, after running on a platform to 'end the war'...Which would have resulted in an untenable situation between the U.S.A. and C.S.A.

1917 - The Council of People's Commissars was established as the new government of Russia, and named Lenin as Chairman, Trotsky as Foreign Commissar and Stalin as Commissar of Nationalities.

An awesome triumvirate! Lenin and Trotsky were the brains, Stalin and Trotsky the muscle.

You should notice Trotsky made both lists...But his muscle was nowhere near that of Stalin’s, which is why Stalin became Lenin’s eventual successor.

1923 – The Beer-Hall Putsch: Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power with a failed coup in Munich.

This was a pathetic attempt, with little more than a rag-tag group of Nazi’s...But it was a turning-point in Nazi history. A turning-point because Hitler wasn’t killed in the battle, or given a death sentence for trying to overthrow the government. Instead it showed he had to take over Germany at the ballot-box. Amazingly, he did just that in less than 10-years.

FYI: This battle is also where the brilliant, strong, energetic, Herman Goering began his decline towards becoming a pathetic, fat, degenerate...Goering was shot in the groin, which led him to pain medication addiction - as well as further addictions - obesity and megalomania.

1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to create jobs for more than four million unemployed Americans.

1. Creating jobs isn’t the government’s function.

2. Creating these artificial jobs didn’t work worth a damn...The Depression wasn’t halted by one single minute due to FDR's New Deal schemes.

3. The New Deal probably stagnated the economy and caused the Depression to last longer than it should have lasted.

All of which are something to keep in mind in future recessions...Sadly, it's not something the government will ever learn - because the people will never learn that it's not the job of the government, and will force the government into such poor choices.

1942 - Operation Torch began:  WWII.

This was the first large-scale action for the Americans in WWII, who landed with a combined 400,000 man Allied force...And it’s important to note this invasion was in French North Africa, against the combined German and Vichy France forces.

The Western Allies attacked Hitler’s 'Soft Underbelly,' which allowed them to eliminate the Vichy SOBs, end any chance of the Nazi’s taking the Middle Eastern oil fields, and was a much better training-ground for American troops than the European meat-grinder would have been.

Plus, it allowed the Soviets to absorb the majority of the German blow in 1942-43...Sorry Uncle Joe, you double-crossing bastard.

1942 - Hitler proclaimed the fall of Stalingrad:  WWII.

Nostradamus he was not...Instead Stalingrad became the site of Germany’s worst loss - a true 'Kessel.'

Hitler was a political genius, but militarily he was a complete moron...Thankfully!

1950 – The first jet-plane battle in history took place:  Korean War.

USAF Lieutenant Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15, and a new age in warfare began.

1956 – The U.N. demanded the USSR leave Hungary; a demand which was ignored.

Hahahaha! I hope I’m not the only one who finds humor in the Circle Jerk Group’s demands…They can’t even make demands on countries like Haiti, let alone the world’s superpowers. Well, except the weak-kneed U.S., that is.

1960 - Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon for the presidency in a cliffhanger.

'Cliffhanger' = Mob voter fraud?

Hmmmmmmm. I can’t find that definition in any of my dictionaries.

Make no mistake, this election in 1960 greatly influenced the Nixon team's problems in the 1972 election.

1994 - Midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while at the same time gaining control of the House for the first time in 40-years.

It only took 2-years for Clinton to piss off enough people to lose the House and Senate...Which is part of the reason his presidency had any success.

I hope you understand the second part of that statement...Obama was forced into the same Congressional situation, but unlike Clinton he didn't learn the lessons.  Which is why his presidency was a constant battle, because he chose to 'RULE' against the will of the people.

1994 - California voters approved Proposition 187, designed to deny education and social services and non-emergency health care to illegal aliens.

Voters passed the initiative by a 59% to 41% margin...But the courts immediately blocked the new law, and have tied up the measure to this day.

So much for the 'will of the people'...It's funny how Liberals are all for denying 'democracy' when it doesn't fit their needs, but cling to it when it does.  Funny in a sick way, that is.

1997 - Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, the most ambitious construction project in modern China's history.

This is an awesome project, matching that of any in the history of the world.

My favorite part is the Chinese government more or less telling people in the way of the new water-flow to 'get out of the way or become part of the project'...Such is the value of life when you hit the billion people mark. Or in Communist countries.

September 14

1829 - The Peace of Adrianople: Ended the Russo-Turkish War.

The Ottoman Empire was on its death-bed and was forced to give much to the Russians.  Including:  access to the mouth of the Danube and additional territory on the Black Sea, opened the Dardanelles to all commercial vessels, granted autonomy to Serbia, promised autonomy for Greece, and allowed Russia to occupy Moldavia and Walachia until Turkey paid a large indemnity.

Needless to say, the Ottomans were falling apart, and the Russian Empire was growing in every direction...And the rest of Europe was getting very nervous about both facts.

1812 - Napoleon’s invasion of Russia reached its climax when the Grande Armee entered Moscow.

Napoleon thought he had a great victory, but entered the city only to find the enemy capital deserted and burning - set afire by the few Russians who remained...It burned until September 19 and much of it was destroyed.

The Russians went into a slash and burn defensive mode, and planned on forcing Napoleon to spend the winter in Russia, without food, winter clothing or shelter - and to the ravages of disease...Which were the eventual reasons for the Grande Armee’s downfall.

Napoleon's invasion was just one of many instances of Russian 'strategic depth' and willingness to suffer...Two of the many reasons such a backward nation has been able to keep its independence from its much more prosperous and advanced Western peer-powers.

1901 - President McKinley died in Buffalo, New York, of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him as President.

It's a terrible event anytime a president is assassinated...Luckily, the U.S. had the right man, in the right place, at the right time in Teddy Roosevelt.

1930 - The National Socialist (Nazi) Party won a stunning election triumph, becoming the second largest party in the Reichstag (parliament).

Again, it’s important to note the Nazi’s were elected to power...Sure they used force during these elections (as did every party involved), but for the most part they were put in power by the German people.

1940 - Congress passed the Selective Service Act, providing for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history.

Yet FDR had no intent of the U.S. entering WWII, or knowledge of a pending attack...Uh, huh!

1950 - On the heels of the landing at Inchon, the U.S. Eight Army and South Korean allies broke out of the Pusan Perimeter:  Korean War.

Inchon was General MacArthur’s masterpiece - his most brilliant tactical battle...There were few in the military who thought he could pull off the landing, and President Truman only gave him the go because he was afraid of the public relations nightmare of taking the general on.

MacArthur was one of the most brilliant military minds in American history, and is one of my five favorite American characters to read about, but it’s too bad he made the mistake of challenging Truman at every step in the Korean War...It was a mistake which cost him his job - deservedly.

1959 - The Soviet space probe 'Luna Two' became the first man-made object to reach the moon as it crashed onto the lunar surface.

The Soviets were the first to successfully launch a rocket at the Moon, but never put a human there.

1960 - Representatives of oil-producing countries finished a meeting in Baghdad which led to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Congratulations to them...They will only dominate the market as long as U.S. politicians (pushed by insane EnvironMentalists) and Russian incompetence allow them to.

1983 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted, 416-0, in favor of a resolution condemning the Soviet Union for shooting down a Korean jetliner on Sept. 1, calling it a "cold-blooded, barbarous attack."

Whoa, whoa, whoa!! I can’t believe there wasn’t at least one Democrat to vote against this resolution...There were no Rep. Barbara Lee’s around???

1986 - President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, appeared together on radio and television to appeal for a ''national crusade'' against drug abuse.

If we really wanted to stop 'drug abuse' we’d shut the damn southern border.

But then again that would be an answer to other 'if we really wanted to stop it' issues...You know, things like Illegal Immigration, terrorism, destruction of our health care and education systems, etc.

Unfortunately, we’ve never gotten completely serious about any of these problems.

1998 - President Bill Clinton, struggling to regain his footing from the Monica Lewinsky scandal, pledged during a speech in New York to work with America's allies to deal with the "biggest financial challenge facing the world in a half-century."

Re-read that, and skip the BlewClinsky BS.

Bill was talking about the upcoming financial problem...The one which lead to the 2000 and 2008 recessions. The same ones he and his cronies blame on Bush, even though they knew it was coming long before Bush was elected.

Bunch of duplicitous SOB's.

2005 - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to world leaders marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nations to help restore confidence in the world body. He also said that U.N. members had failed to achieve the profound reform the global organization needed on its 60th anniversary.

Hard to restore confidence in what has always been a failed group...The sooner this entity joins the League of Nations in the dustbin of history the better.

September 6 (A Triple)

394 - Battle of the River Frigidus.

Theodosius was the emperor of the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, and in this battle he defeated Eugenius, emperor of the western portion...As a result, Theodosius re-united the entire Roman Empire. He was the last to do so, and the empire split for good shortly after his reign.

Another important result of this battle was Theodosius was a Christian and Eugenius a pagan. Eugenius's defeat is seen as a final victory in the empire for Christianity over paganism.

1522 - One of the five ships which set out on Ferdinand Magellan's trip around the world made it back to Spain. Only 15 of the original 265 men who began the trip survived.  Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

Magellan was one of the ‘astronauts’ of his time. Too bad he didn’t finish the trip, like the other 95% of his crew...As captain of the fleet, though, Magellan receives credit for circumnavigating the globe, but it was really his lieutenant, Juan Sebastian Del Cano, who captained the final leg of the journey.

1566 - Suleiman 'the Lawgiver (also called 'the Magnificent') died.

Suleiman was a 'magnificent' ruler and the Ottoman Empire reached its greatest strength and size during his reign: Stretching from Vienna to Yemen and Aden, from Persia to Oran, and his navy dominated the Mediterranean Sea, which put him within arms reach of much of Europe, Asia and North Africa.

Here’s what Suleiman had to say about himself: “I, who am Sultan of the Sultans of East and West, fortunate lord of the domains of the Romans, Persians, and Arabs, Hero of creation, Neriman of the earth and time, Padishah and Sultan of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, of the extolled Kaaba and Medina the illustrious and Jerusalem of the noble, of the throne of Egypt and the province of Yemen, Aden, and San'a, of Baghdad and Basra and Lhasa and Ctesiphon, of the lands of Algiers and Azerbaijan, of the region of the Kipshaks and the lands of the Tartars, of Kurdistan and Luristan and all Rumelia, Anatolia and Karaman, of Wallachia and Moldavia and Hungary and many kingdoms and lands besides; the Sultan Suleyman Khan, son of the Sultan Selim Khan.”

That's fantastic!!  Needless to say, Suleiman thought very highly of himself; something which was as much a reality as a figment of his imagination.

Note:  You may have noticed he claimed to rule the "domains of the Romans"...This is true, but it wasn't Rome he was talking about; it was Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine portion of the Roman Empire.

1776 - The first submarine attack occurred when an American sub attacked the British warship Eagle in New York harbor:  American Revolutionary War.

Calling this vessel a 'submarine' is a stretch, but it was a submersible boat...More like a can in the water than a modern sub, though.

1901 - President William McKinley was shot while attending a reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, by anarchist Leon Czolgosz.

McKinley died eight days later, becoming the third American President to be assassinated.

The death of a president is a terrible event for the nation to recover from, but the U.S. was lucky to have a worthy successor in the person of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt....Looking back, this is easy to identify but at the time many were horrified by the reality of the 'roughneck Roosevelt' becoming president.

Luckily, the U.S. has almost always been blessed with the 'right man at the right time,' and a better leader could not have been asked for, because Roosevelt proved to be one of the greatest presidents in American history...The most conservative Liberal president ever, and the most liberal Conservative president ever.

I hope you understand what I mean by this, and the differentiation between the capital and lower case C/c and L/l.

1941 - Jews six years of age and older were ordered to wear yellow Stars of David in Nazi-occupied areas:  WWII.

Making it easier to identify them prior to processing and extermination.

1943 - The United States asked the Chinese Nationalists to join with the Communists to present a common front against the Japanese:  WWII.

This would have been nice, but in reality the only 'common front' they established was the one between each other.

1953 - Operation Big Switch: The last American and Korean prisoners were exchanged - the final official act of the Korean War.

The last American reached 'Freedom Village,' and the Korean War came to an unofficial end.

This war was the first America didn’t win, but we didn’t lose either. Ties are disgraceful to many Americans, but the millions of South Koreans who have lived in relative peace and freedom for the past 50-years are proof that ties are better than losses.

I highly recommend you read this excerpt from “Chicken Soup for the Veteran’s Soul: Freedom Village”.

1995 - Baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr., broke Lou Gehrig's iron man record by playing in his 2,131st straight game.

I love Cal, and he was one of my favorite players when I was a boy...That said, had I been Cal I would have tied the record, not broken it.

The beauty of the record isn’t the number of games played. The beauty of the record is it was Lou Gehrig’s record, and I would have wanted my name right next to the ‘Iron Horse’, not on top of it...But that’s just me.

August 17

1945 - Korea was divided at the 38th parallel with the U.S. occupying the southern area.

This is a terrible day for Koreans (North and South), and a turning-point in the history of the world because it set the stage for the Cold War becoming very 'hot' within a couple years...It is also exactly what would have happened in Japan had the war continued much past the Atom Bombs.

1590 - John White, leader of 117 colonists sent in 1587 to Roanoke Island (North Carolina) to establish a colony, returned from a trip to England to find the settlement deserted. No trace of the settlers was ever found.

It's reasonable to assume they were devoured by the Indians, who were smart enough at this time to annihilate the invaders before they could do likewise to them.

Unfortunately for the Indians, they weren’t as staunch with every European landing in the New World, and were overrun by a stronger people...Such is the true history of the world.

1812 - The Battle of Smolensk: Napoleon's army defeated the Russians during their retreat to Moscow.

Smolensk was a victory for Napoleon, but it was also a reality check...The reality was the Emperor was seeing the beginning of the destruction of his supply lines, which ultimately lead to a complete debacle and elimination of his Grand Armee.

1896 - A prospecting party discovered gold in Alaska, a finding which started the Klondike gold rush.

The Russians have to be kicking themselves for selling Alaska to the U.S....So much for the 'folly' of Seward’s Folly, which has paid for itself over and over not only in gold but also in oil.

Also, the Canadians can’t be too pleased the Brits didn’t make this purchase instead of the Americans.

1917 - Italy declared war on Germany and Turkey:  WWI

Gotta love the Italians; waiting till the war was more or less decided to take a side...I guess it's better than the route they took in WWII.

1962 - East German border guards shot and mortally wounded Peter Fechter, who was attempting to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector.

Peter wasn't the first or last shot at this wall, but this event does give a good opportunity to ask a question: How many West Germans tried to cross to the East?

The answer to this question is the ultimate tell-tale sign of the failure of Communism.

1982 - The U.S. and China signed the 'U.S.-PRC Joint Communique': The U.S. agreed it "recognized the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China."

It’s unfortunate, but the truth of the situation is in this part of the text: 'Taiwan is part of China'...Look at a map and tell me how this island can possibly be anything but part of China.

1987 - Rudolf Hess, last surviving member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at a Berlin hospital near Spandau Prison at age 93, having apparently committed suicide by strangling himself with an electrical cord.

Hess lived 42-years too long...It’s disgusting Hitler’s Henchmen weren’t all executed after the war, and were allowed to live any longer than their leader.

July 27

1953 - After two years and 17-days of truce negotiations, an end was declared to the war in Korea.

60-years later and we still face off across the DMZ with the North Koreans...An armistice may have been proclaimed but peace has never been established.

It is an absolute disgrace this war continues to live up to it’s infamous nickname: The Forgotten War...It was the first battle of the Cold War, and should be remembered and memorialized as such.

Many don’t understand the Korean War, but the three most important facts of the war are:

1. Japan was never infiltrated or invaded by the Communists, because the American presence was maintained on the Asian Mainland - at South Korea.

2. Almost 50,000,000 South Koreans currently live in peace instead of under the domination of the North Korean Hell State, due to the efforts of our brave soldiers...South Korea is also a fully functional member of the free nations of the world, and a fantastic trading partner.

3.  North Korea is one of the world's most awful places, because it is not only a communist nation, but a communist nation in the Stalinist-mold.

Unfortunately, many Americans have allowed the memory of the Korean War to fade away...This must never happen - which is why its memorial is so important.
 
1995 - The Korean War Veterans' Memorial was dedicated in Washington D.C. by President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam.

This is by far the most outstanding and powerful war memorial in D.C...Yes, even more than the WWII or Vietnam memorials - and this is meant with no disrespect.

The 19 Soldiers, the Pool of Remembrance, and the 'ghost wall' (with over 2,000 sandblasted photographs) are awesome, but it is the inscriptions on the floor which caught my attention...The ground-level inscriptions were overwhelming, and I stood there with tears in my eyes thinking of the fight we fought for. One in particular caught my attention; because as Americans it stated what we are:

"OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET."

If that isn't America, I don't know what is.


1861 - Union General George B. McClellan was put in command of the Army of the Potomac:  U.S. Civil War.

McClellan was the golden-boy of the U.S. Army, but proved to be a disaster as Commander of the Army of the Potomac.

He took the field with the largest and most modern army in the world, but didn’t have the testicular fortitude to take the battle to the Confederates...McClellan's failure in 1861 was ridiculous, and the war should have ended in this first year. But it wasn't to be.

As a result, the war lasted four years, cost the nation over 500,000 deaths, destroyed the infrastructure of the South, and tore at the delicate emotional fabric of our young nation...Such is the importance of having the right man in the right place at the right time - IE:  Washington, Greene, Grant, Marshall, Ike, MacArthur, etc.

June 27

1709 - The Battle of Poltava:  The Great Northern War - Russia v. Sweden.

Modern people have little understanding of how weak Russia was prior to Peter the Great...Nor how powerful Sweden was during this same time.

Russia was a land of semi-barbarians, who were much closer to their Asian neighbors than the Euros...Sweden was one of the great European powers of the age, just behind France, Britain and the Habsburgs.

Poltava didn't end the Great Northern War, but it was the beginning of the end for the Swedes...It was also the beginning of greatness for the Russians - who were lucky to have a genius at the helm in Peter the Great; even if he was brutal.

1776 - Thomas Hickey, one of George Washington's guards, was convicted of plotting to deliver George Washington to the British, becoming the first person to be executed by the U.S. Army:  American Revolutionary War.

I’m sure Hickey thought himself an honorable Brit, but thankfully he didn’t succeed...Obviously, the Brits knew the value of the 'Irreplaceable Man.'

1844 - Mormon leader Joseph Smith, and his brother Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

This act convinced the Mormons they needed to find a ‘land of their own’...Soon after, they elected another strong leader (Brigham Young), who set them out to find their ‘Zion.’

1929 - German President von Hindenburg refused to pay Germany's war debt for World War I.

The French should have let this go, instead they created the perfect conditions for a strongman to arise in Germany...That strongman - Hitler - took control four years later and was soon knocking on France’s door for a little payback.

1950 - President Truman ordered the U.S. Navy and Air Force into the Korean conflict following a call from the United Nations Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.

With this order, Truman committed to involvement in the Korean War, which was the right thing to do for America and the world...Unfortunately, he wasn’t as wise in his handling of the war.

Truman should have treated this as a war, the natural outgrowth of WWII (the Cold War), and destroyed the North Koreans, Chinese and any other third party who chose to enter the fray. Fighting a 'holding war' or a 'police action' was tragic, and a trap we should never have fallen into.

Sadly, we repeated this act of stupidity in Vietnam. And are doing so again at this very time in Afghanistan and 'SyRaq.'

1986 - The World Court ruled the U.S. broke international law by aiding Nicaraguan rebels.

Screw 'The Hague,' and all its Leftist, America haters...If the world wants the U.S. to be its policeman, it better damn well expect it to also be the judge and jury.

2000 - President Robert Mugabe's ruling party was assured a majority in Zimbabwe's new parliament despite historic gains by the opposition.

Congratulations to the people of Zimbabwe! Nothing could be finer for them than another period of rule by 'The Beast'...Not that there was any chance in Hell he was going to relinquish power if he lost the election.

June 25 (A Double)

1513 - The Confession of Augsburg: The distinct break between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Other than Luther’s '95 Thesis,' the Confession of Augsburg is the most important document in the Reformation period, outlining the differences and disagreements between what became modern Protestantism and Catholicism...A status which still exists 500-years later.

1950 - North Korean forces invaded South Korea, claiming it was defending itself.

The Korean War began, and the U.S. was caught completely by surprise...Five days earlier Secretary of State Dean Acheson told Congress 'war was unlikely,' even though the CIA predicted in March there would be an invasion in June.

Obviously the CIA was correct, and the North gave the South an early beating...It took until July 5 before the U.S. first met the North Korean enemy.

Many Americans look at the 'Korean Conflict' as a loss, and to a point they are correct. On the other hand, the people of South Korea were saved from the dread of Communism and an American presence has remained in the Far East since this time, which must be looked at as a huge positive...Either way, the Cold War became extremely HOT on this day.

1139 - The Battle of Ourique: Alfonso I defeated the Moors.

This battle reestablished Portuguese independence from its Muslim masters...It took Spain another 300+ years to earn such independence.

Interestingly, Alfonso’s troops had to kill five Moorish kings, which is noted on Portugal's national coat of arms, containing five standards and five escudets.

1798 - The Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 empowered the U.S. President to deport any alien he found dangerous to the peace and safety of the nation.

The Founders were so much smarter than we are...They knew the danger of allowing the 'enemy within' to fester, but we are stupid enough to do just that and lose everything the Patriots fought for.

1876 - The Battle of Little Big Horn: General George Custer and his force of 208 men were annihilated by Chief Sitting Bull's Sioux warriors at Little Big Horn, in Montana.

A big day for the Indians, and a bad one for the U.S. Army...It was a rare occasion, and one which didn't happen again.

The end result of the slaughter was the Army’s realization it needed to put more troops in the field - not to turn tail...Again, thankfully our forebears weren’t a bunch of pansies, because if this happened in a battle today Liberals would be crying to 'bring the boys home.'

1940 - Hitler toured Paris: the Eiffel Tower, Tomb of Napoleon, and the Opera:  WWII.

How nice of the French to invite Der Fuhrer in for a field trip.

1942 - General Dwight Eisenhower was appointed Commander of U.S. troops in Europe:  WWII.

Ike was a brilliant political general, and no one could have molded the Allied forces as well as he did...Monty and Patton alone would have been too much for a lesser leader to handle, but Eisenhower not only controlled these two, but also the rest of the multinational force (U.S., Brit, Poles, French, Canadian, Australian, etc.)

1943 - The Crematory III at Birkenau was finished:  WWII.

WooHoo! Another big day for the Nazi psychopaths.

1981 - The U.S. Supreme Court decided male-only draft registration was constitutional.

This is a correct decision, but the Court should have taken the next logical step and declared it was constitutional to have a 'male-only' military...Either that or require women to be draft eligible.

1990 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in its first 'right-to-die' decision, ruled family members can be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives who have not made their wishes known conclusively.

As a 'right to die' person, I think this is a good decision...Assuming the person's wishes are completely understood by those who need to know.

1996 - At the Al-Khobar Towers, where U.S. Troops in Saudi Arabia were housed, a tanker truck exploded, killing 19 U.S. military personnel.

Just another step on the way to 9/11/01...We should have seen it coming, and we should have attacked them before 2001.

April 11 (A Double)

1689 - The 'Glorious Revolution': William and Mary were crowned joint sovereigns of Great Britain.

The real importance of this 'revolution' was the political arrangement consolidating power in Parliament, which from here began taking power from the monarchy.

It was also nice this 'revolution' was relatively bloodless.

1961 - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space, and also the first to orbit the earth in a spacecraft.

An amazing accomplishment for man, and an embarrassing one for America...That said, if the U.S. had been willing to simply launch astronauts up in the air (as the Soviets were) we would have beaten the Ruskies at every step in the 'Space Race.'

1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht: Ended the War of Spanish Succession.

Another in a seemingly never ending series of European wars...The French and Spanish kings agreed to renounce their claims on each other’s thrones, but the overall winner was Britain - the norm for all of these wars.

1783 - After receiving a copy of the provisional treaty on March 13, the U.S. Congress proclaimed a formal end to hostilities with Great Britain.

The American Revolution was officially over.

Unfortunately, the Brits didn’t accept the situation, and started planning the reconquest of its former colonies before the ink dried on this document...It took the War of 1812 for the Americans to prove they could defend their new nation, and put an end to any British hopes of reclaiming its former colonies.

1814 - Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as Emperor of France and was banished to the island of Elba.

This sentence alone shows what a bunch of morons Euros are. There is no way Napoleon should have been sentenced to anything other than death...Even worse, he was put in a place he was able to escape from and returned to wreak havoc on those who gave him such a ‘polite’ sentence.

1933 - Hermann Goering became Premier of Prussia.

The ‘Fat Field-Marshal’ is by far my favorite Nazi (you know what I mean), and had a bizarre need to collect titles...For most, being Premier of Prussia would be enough, but Goering eventually collected over 50 titles.

1945 - American soldiers liberated the notorious Nazi Buchenwald Concentration Camp:  WWII.

It’s a good thing Ike insisted on getting these camps on film and documented in any way possible, because it is almost unbelievable any people could be so bestial towards another.

Amazingly, there are plenty of people who don’t believe it happened (regardless of the evidence), or simply choose to minimize the significance of what happened...Which makes them every bit as pathetic as those who ordered, allowed, and committed the crimes of the Holocaust.

1951 - President Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his command in the Far East:  Korean War.

What a terrible moment for a great man...Not a perfect man, nor a perfect general.  But even his detractors have to admit he was the 'right man at the right time' in WWII and rebuilding Japan.

But he overstepped his authority in Korea.

'The General' was right in his assessment of the situation and what could have been done, but those who believe in the American System must always bow to the reality of civilian control of the military...It was set up this way for a reason, and must not only be accepted, it must be honored.

1979 - Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was overthrown.

Amin was a brutal dictator who tortured and killed 300,000-500,000 people...Incredibly, he was small potatoes compared to some of the 20th Century's other democidal dictators.

1996 - Forty-three African nations signed the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty.

Which likely means all 43 of them would give anything to produce one, and are surely trying to do so.

2007 - Iran announced it successfully enriched uranium.

Great...At this point, it's a small event.  Over time it may jump up the ladder.