November 21

1783 - Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis Francois Laurant d'Arlandes made the first flight in a balloon, thus becoming the first men to fly. The pair flew nearly six miles around Paris in 25 minutes reaching an altitude of around 300 feet.

I hate giving the French credit for anything, but they were the first to get a human being off this great big ball we call Earth...An accomplishment which led to much bigger ones.

1806 - The Decree of Berlin: Emperor Napoleon banned all Continental trade with England.

Unfortunately for Napoleon, the Brits were in the process of blocking every European harbor with its superior navy, as well as attacking French merchants in the open seas...Thereby limiting Continental European trade to the continent itself anyway.

That said, neither blockade was very effective and did more to hurt non-combatants than those actually at war.

1938 - Nazi forces occupied western Czechoslovakia (the Sudetenland) and declared its people German citizens:  WWII.

This was the last good chance the Brits and French had to stop the Nazis, and end WWII before it began...Predictably, they chose to 'appease,' just as they had when the Germans reclaimed the Ruhr and overtook Austria, and instead prayed for "peace in our time." The result of such foolishness was tragic.

Less than a year after this ‘last chance’ the Germans attacked all of Europe with the greatest military power ever seen up to that time.

1981 - 400,000 Dutch demonstrated for peace in Amsterdam.

What 'peace' were they demonstrating for? They were demonstrating against President Reagan’s verbal and political assault on the Soviet Union.

If these joker’s had their way the U.S.S.R. would still be in full bloom.

We'll see how peaceful they remain when their country is taken over by Muslims...And exactly how will the Muslims take over?  The Dutch aren't having children, the Muslims are.

1999 - President Clinton called on prosperous nations to spread global wealth by helping poor countries with Internet hookups, cell phones, debt relief and small loans.

I think he must have 'inhaled' before making this statement...Only a Liberal could come up with such foolishness as Internet hookups for starving people without electricity.

The poor need food and clean water more than anything, not 'toys'...Maybe he's planning on them eating them, but I’d think it would be hard on the gut.

Along with basic necessities, they also need decent leaders who will allow them to live freely...Which is the longest of long shots.

2000 - President Clinton agreed not to punish China for exporting missile components to Iran and Pakistan after China promised to end future technological cooperation with countries seeking to develop missile weaponry.

I know it is hard to believe, but the Chinese didn’t keep their promise, and along with Russia, have been a large factor in the evolving nuclear crisis in Iran...Not that our so-called friends in Europe haven't had a hand in the matter, either.

2002 - The Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania joined former Communist states Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia as the next wave of NATO states.

Great!  Lets stomp around in the Ruskie's back yard when they are down...I'm sure this will turn out just fine.

The question these countries should be asking: 'is the U.S. as loyal an ally as they are to the U.S.?'...That question must be very scary.

2003 - The U.S. Air Force conducted a second test of the 'Mother of All Bombs,' officially the Massive Ordnance Air Blast.

Here’s hoping the MOAB is currently being fitted for use with bunker-busting technology, because it may need to be used on Iran’s nuclear facilities...Either that or low-grade nukes.

March 19

2003 - Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched with air strikes on Baghdad, beginning the second Iraq War.

We should all be extremely proud of our brilliant troops, and thankful we had a Commander-in-Chief who was willing to do what was right for America...Even when much of the world didn’t have the stomach to differentiate between good and evil - including many Americans.

Most Americans also didn't want to enter WWII. The result of sitting out the war from 1939-41 was millions of deaths which could have been averted had we entered the war with the British instead of waiting to be dragged in - after being humiliated at Pearl Harbor.

WAR SUCKS!! It is a terrible option, which should never be entered into lightly...That said, I am hopeful we entered the War on Terror before it was forced on us and had the opportunity of causing the death of millions (like WWII).

We will never know the real answer, though, because President Bush went on the offensives instead of waiting for our enemies to continue their assaults on American soil.

Most Americans hate this war, but I bet they prefer the thought of fighting it in Iraq (or anywhere else) to fighting it in their hometown...Oh, and last I checked we haven't suffered another 9/11. Something most Americans were sure would happen by now.

Thankfully, President Obama didn't back entirely away from staying on the offensive.  Hopefully, President Trump won't either...We don't need to have full-scale invasions, or go to war against any single faction, but we do need to keep the pressure on and keep that pressure in the Middle East!

Just as the Romans defeated Carthage by taking the war to Carthage instead of fighting it in Italy, we must never give them the breathing space to bring major operations back to the U.S...Even though, sadly, there will continue to be small ones.

"If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." - Thomas Paine

Interesting to think about, though we'll never know, I bet many who were against this war would have been for it if President Clinton (Bill or Hilary) or Obama would have been president at the time - or Gore...And I have no doubt these presidents would have reacted very similarly to Bush, because the reality is they would have had to - the American people would have demanded it of them.

Another interesting thing to think about is I bet Republicans and Conservatives would have been much more supportive of a Democrat president on this matter than the Democrats and Liberals were to Bush...I have no doubt about this.

721 B.C. - According to Roman historian Ptolemy, Babylonian astronomers noted history's first recorded eclipse of the moon on this date.

Of course there were eclipses prior to this time, but the Babylonians were the first to realize what they were seeing.

That said, I'm also sure other eclipses were noted prior to this one...But such recordings have been lost to history.

1279 - The Battle of Yamen:  China v. Mongols.

The Mongol cavalry had long been the dominant land force in Asia, but in this naval battle they proved they could muster a navy as well...Yamen more or less ended the Song Empire, and the Mongols ruled China for the next hundred years before being kicked out by the Mings.

1942 - President Franklin Roosevelt ordered men between 45-64 to register for non-military service:  WWII.

Look around at the American men in this age-cohort in our time...WHAT A SAD JOKE!!! Can you see this group of Baby-Booming POS’s being called on to help save our nation?

How did we go so quickly from the 'Greatest Generation' to the 'Lost Generation?' We better pray my children's and grand children's generations are up to the task of solving the problems my parent’s generation have caused and left us...You should notice I left out my generation, because it has been a useless disgrace.

Sadly, I'm not sure it's going to happen, because the fruit has kept much too close to the tree.

1945 - Adolf Hitler issued his so-called 'Nero Decree,' ordering the destruction of German facilities which could fall into Allied hands:  WWII.

In the Eastern Theatre of the war, the Ruskies took care of this for them, as they more or less destroyed, looted, raped and pillaged everything they could when entering Germany...And the Germans deserved every bit of it.

Luckily for Western Europe, the civilized troops of the Western Allies didn't act as their Soviet partners did...But then again, Western Europe wasn't brutalized by the Germans nearly like the East was.

1990 - Latvia's political opposition claimed victory in the republic's first free elections in 50-years, and reformers also claimed victories in crucial runoffs held in Russia, Byelorussia and the Ukraine.

50-years my ass...These countries had been under the Russian or German boot for hundreds of years.