March 4

1519 - Hernando Cortes landed in Mexico.

Cortes landed with around 600 troops and 20 horses, and took on the most powerful nation in the New World - with a population of millions.

There is no way the Spaniard should have been able to defeat such an empire, but Cortes' force of will and audacity, along with an incredible amount of luck, technology, horses, native enemies the Aztecs had abused for years, and smallpox, allowed him to perform the Alexandrian task of conquering the Aztecs...I'd argue what Cortes accomplished was even more amazing than what Alexander the Great did - regardless of how it happened.

That said, had the Aztecs followed the 'First Rule of Invasions':  Kill them on the beach - their civilization might still be around. But they didn't, and paid the ultimate price for their mistake.

1238 - Battle of the Sit River:  Russia vs. Mongols.

The Mongols thoroughly crushed the Russians in this battle, which effectively ended Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian unified resistance; at least as an organized force.

As a result, these lands were subjected to two centuries of Mongol domination.  A fact which forever changed the culture, psychology and biological makeup of the region.

1776 - George Washington's colonial forces occupied Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts:  American Revolutionary War.

Overnight the Continentals secretly manned the heights, building defensive structures and lining cannon to defend Boston Harbor...On March 17th the British accepted their position was untenable and retreated.

This 'battle' was one of the early 'victories' in the Revolution and was of enormous strategic value to the Continentals:  "The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army could do in months." - British General William Howe

1789 - The U.S. Constitution went into effect when the first federal Congress met in New York.

The most perfect government system ever created took effect - a low threshold to pass, but still.

Obviously it has flaws, and required revisions, but the fact it contains a means for doing so is part of its greatness.

1801 - Thomas Jefferson became the first U.S. President inaugurated in Washington D.C.

There's a trivia question most Americans won't get correct, because they would assume George Washington was the first...Washington's first inauguration was in New York City, and his second in Philadelphia.  John Adams was also inaugurated in Philadelphia, but he was the first to live in the White House, when the federal government moved to D.C. in 1800.

1849 - Senator David Atchison was President of the United States - at least he claimed to be for one day.

This date was supposed to be inauguration day for President-Elect Zachary Taylor, but it was a Sunday and Taylor wasn't sworn in (quite a different time back then when it came to religion)...Sen. Atchison was the President Pro Tempore, and as such believed it was his duty to assume the title of President to assure continuity of the government.

Another trivia question I'm pretty certain only a handful of Americans would know.

1917 - Jeanette Rankin (Montana) was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives and became the first woman to serve in Congress.

How odd that a woman was elected to a federal office before women were allowed to vote in federal elections...That said, lets not get too excited about Rep. Rankin. She voted against U.S. entry in WWI, and was the only representative to vote against entering WWII after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:

"Small use it will be to save democracy for the race, if we cannot save the race for democracy." - J. Rankin.

Ugh! She would fit in perfectly with our current peacenik jackasses.

1997 - Declaring the creation of life "a miracle that reaches beyond laboratory science," President Bill Clinton barred spending federal money on human cloning.

I must admit I didn’t think he had this amount of decency in him...On the same note, why wouldn’t he have the same opinion on the destruction of life in the womb? Particularly in the case of Partial Birth Abortions?

2009 - The International Criminal Court issued and arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.

Of course Bashir is a 'bad man.'  So what has the ICC done about it?  Last I checked he's still in power ...Also, why Bashir?  Or even the rest of those on the ICC list of 'war criminals and crimes against humanity?'  There are so many bad actors in the world, the list could be much larger, but the reality is the list is political and about power.  Those on the list are 'small' compared to those who belong on it.

And even if the list is legit, what is the ICC going to do about it?  Nada!

February 18

1405 - Emir al Kebir Timur 'i-Leng' (Tamerlane) died while leading an expedition to China.

How can one person be known by so many names? Timur - also known as Temur, Taimur, Timur Lenk, Timur i Leng, Tamerlane, Tamburlaine, or Taimur-e-Lang, which translates to Timur the Lame.

No matter what he was called, this Turko-Mongol was a fantastic leader, and one of the few to go down in history with 'the Great' after his name - a well earned title.

1536 - France and the Ottoman Empire signed a trade and military alliance against the Holy Roman Empire.

It's important to remember the Ottomans held large chunks of Eastern Europe and were major players in the European power structure...It's also important to remember the French have always been willing to take on any allies - even Muslims who wanted to crush Christian Europe.

1546 - Martin Luther, German Augustinian Friar and leader of the Protestant Reformation, died.

Luther is one of the twenty most important people in history...Anyone could have taken on the Church, but very few could have survived its attacks, and almost none could have won.

1861 – Jefferson Davis was inaugurated the Confederacy’s provisional president at a ceremony held in Montgomery, Ala...“All we ask is to be left alone,” Davis stated.

Thankfully President Lincoln was at the helm...If a man of lesser qualities had been president, the America we know today would be a much different place.

1932 - Japan declared Manchurian independence from China.

How nice of the Japanese...In reality, Japan placed a puppet in charge of Manchuria and held it for themselves, but the headline is nice.

1962 - Robert F. Kennedy said U.S. troops would stay in Vietnam until Communism was defeated.

Or until peaceniks flooded his party and forced the defeat of our proud military.

I have no doubt the war would have went differently if JFK hadn’t been assassinated...If nothing else, a reasonably Conservative leader would have been Commander-in-Chief, instead of LBJ.

1979 - Snow fell in the Sahara Desert.

Global Cooling at its finest.

1985 - General William C. Westmoreland and CBS reached an out-of-court settlement in Westmoreland's $120 million libel suit from a CBS News documentary, 'The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception.'

You’d think CBS would have learned, but they obviously haven’t and continue to put out 'hate-the-military propaganda.'

1998 - President Bill Clinton's foreign policy team encountered jeers during a town meeting at Ohio State University while trying to defend the administration's threat to bomb Iraq into compliance with U.N. weapons edicts. "One, two, three, four, we don't want your racist war," shouted some of the handful of hecklers at The Ohio State University in Columbus, catching Secretary of State Madeleine Albright off guard and drowning out what she was trying to say.

This puts a big challenge to the 'Bombs with (D) = Good, Bombs with (R) = Bad' theory.

That said, I’m sure Halfbright was 'caught off guard,' because she had no reason to think 'her people' would turn on her.

February 10

1258 - Huegu (Hulega Khan), Mongol leader and grandson of Genghis Khan, seized Baghdad following a four day assault. Mongol invaders from Central Asia took over Baghdad and ended the Abbasid-Seljuk Empire. Some 200,000-800,000 people were killed and looting lasted 17 days.

1. There’s a huge difference between 200,000 and 800,000 people.

2. Even the democidal butchers of the 20th Century (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc) would be envious of that many executions in a 17-day span...Especially considering they pulled it off without modern methods of killing.

3. The Abbasid's were the last of the Arab rulers in the Middle east until the end of WWII.

1763 - The Treaty of Paris ended the French-Indian War.  France ceded Canada, and all its territories in North America east of the Mississippi River to England.

Too bad the Brits didn’t kick all the Frenchies out of Canada when they took it over.

1933 - Adolph Hitler proclaimed the end of Marxism.

In a twist of fate, it was the Marxist-Leninist-Stalinists who put the final dagger in Hitlerism.

1942 - The first World War II Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to 2nd Lt. Alexander Ramsey for his heroism at the Battle of Bataan.

Ramsey is just one of the hundreds of thousands of heroes from WWII...It’s hard to imagine what the world would have been like without them, but it's possible the Nazi and Japanese Empires might still be haunting the world.

2005 - North Korea announced for the first time it has nuclear arms and rejected moves to restart disarmament talks anytime soon, saying it needs the weapons as protection against an increasingly hostile United States.

Thanks for announcing what every one's known for years, Dr. Ill.

January 23 (A Triple)

1368 - Emperor Hongwu established the Ming Dynasty in China.

This event ended Mongol rule in China, re-establishing Chinese rule by Chinese. It also set China on a path towards what some historians have called "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history."

1556 - The deadliest earthquake on record killed 830,000 in Shensi, China.

830,000 dead in one earthquake!  That is truly awesome - in a horrible way...How horrible?  It is more deaths than the U.S. lost in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the various Persian Gulf/Wars on Terror combined.

1922 - The first successful test on a human patient with diabetes occurred when insulin was administered to dangerously ill Leonard Thompson.

Thankfully this happened in the 1920’s instead of today, and an unknown amount of human-beings have been able to live normal and decent lives as a result.

If it happened today, the manufacturer would have to jump though hoops to get it to the patients in need:

1. Pass exceedingly difficult FDA requirements. Including the normal process of testing, lobbying and payoffs.

2. Who knows if patients would even be able to get the new drug, because the cost would be astronomical - covering the cost of discovery, production, liability, testing, profit, and the cost to American taxpayers subsidizing it for the rest of the world.

3. A few patients would surely have negative reactions to the medicine, and the legal battles would cause the drug to be pulled from the market, even though its benefits to millions far outweigh the negative affects to a few.

Sadly, this is the reality of new medications in the U.S...Even more sad, it's not much of a stretch to believe there are many life-saving medications currently sitting on shelves waiting for their chance to help people while bureaucrats decide if they can be put on the market and for manufacturers to decide if it is profitable enough to put on the market.

638 - The first day of the Islamic calendar.

Congratulations.

1516 - Ferdinand II of Aragon died and was succeeded as King of Spain by his grandson Charles V.

The Habsburg lines were united (Holy Roman Empire/Austria and Spain/New World), and the rest of Europe let out a collective moan.

It had been over 700-years since one European ruler held such a vast amount of territory (Charlemagne), and the other powers could not allow this...As a result Charles had very few, if any, years of peace during his reign.

1668 - The Triple Alliance was founded:  Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden.

This was a defensive alliance against France, and was absolutely necessary with the 'Sun King' looking outwards towards new lands to dominate.

1793 - The Second Partition of Poland:  Prussia and Russia divided Lithuania and Poland.

I can’t think of any nation as geographically unlucky as Poland, sandwiched between the Russian and German beasts.

1812 - A 7.8 earthquake struck New Madrid, Missouri.

The New Madrid Fault Line is a monster, and the center of the U.S. is captive to it's reawakening...A reawakening which, if history proves correct, will likely make this 7.8 look small.

1948 - The Soviets refused U.N. entry into North Korea to administer elections.

From the very beginning the U.N. was a corrupt ‘Paper Tiger’ with no teeth...This should have been the day the U.S. withdrew from the Circle-Jerk Group.

1989 - The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a Richmond, Virginia program requiring 30% of the city’s public works funds be set aside for 'minority-owned' construction firms.

What kind of ‘Reverse Racism' plan was this? I don’t know for certain, but I’d be willing to bet 30% of the city’s construction firms aren't owned by minorities, yet they thought they should get 30% of the contracts?

I’d also be willing to bet this had more to do with lining the pockets of a few minority owned companies (fraud), than to being a civil rights program.

1991 - Iraqi forces in Kuwait deliberately created a huge oil spill in the Persian Gulf.

This was a small act compared to what they later did, but Liberals would still prefer Saddam over President Bush...Even the EnviroNuts who 'supposedly' care about such things as oil spills.

2002 - John Walker Lindh, a U.S.-born Taliban fighter, was returned to the United States to face criminal charges that he conspired to kill fellow Americans.

What kind of message is sent that this POS wasn’t executed as a traitor?

2002 - The U.N. sent famine relief to Zimbabwe.

I’m sure ‘The Beast’ (President Mugabe) made sure all of this 'relief' went to the starving Zimbabwean people...Sure.

December 6

1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, abolishing slavery.

It was overdue, and never would have happened without the Civil War...Never forget hundreds of thousands of white Americans died to keep the Union whole, and to bring about the freedom of their black brothers and sisters.

"Sometimes war is the only answer." - Dennis Prager

Keep this in mind every time you hear Liberals say otherwise.

1240 - Mongols under Batu Kahn occupied and destroyed Kiev, Russia.

FYI: The Mongols were also called Tartars and Tatars...If you’ve ever seen an old map or globe with much of Central Asia (including Russia) labeled as Tartary or Tartaria, this is why.

1812 - The majority of Napoleon Bonaparte's Grand Armeé staggered into Vilna, Lithuania, ending the failed Russian campaign.

What a disaster. After entering Russia with over 650,000 troops, the emperor returned to Paris with less than 10,000.

Like Hitler a century later, Napoleon took on much more than he could handle by invading Russia, and paid for it with the loss of his empire within three years.

1876 - The U.S. Electoral College picked Rutherford B. Hayes as president, although Tilden won the popular election. A questionable vote count in Florida ended and Hayes was ahead by 924 votes. The Democrat attorney general validated the Tilden electors.

Florida politics has always been interesting...Dirty and cheating politics isn't new, and isn't limited to any specific place, however.

1904 - Theodore Roosevelt confirmed the Monroe Doctrine with the pronouncement of the Roosevelt Corollary.

Teddy was the best. Here’s how he viewed American suzerainty over the Western Hemisphere:  Roosevelt proclaimed the United States, because it was a "civilized nation," had the right to stop "chronic wrongdoing" throughout the Western Hemisphere.

"Any country whose people conduct themselves well can count upon our hearty friendship. Chronic wrongdoing, however,...may force the United States to exercise an international police power."

1912 - China voted for universal human rights.

This is one of the funniest (and saddest) things I’ve ever read in my life...China is a long way from anything even close to acknowledging 'human rights.'

1917 - Former Czar Nicholas II and family were imprisoned by the Bolsheviks.

They weren't prisoners for long; instead they became dead...The Communists couldn't run the risk of a return of the Czar. Which is exactly what any good revolutionary would have done.

1924 - The U.S. Border Patrol was organized.

Any chance it can start patrolling? I don't blame the agents, I blame the politicians who've put restraints on the agents.

Again, can we please start patrolling the border?

1938 - France and Germany signed a treaty of friendship.

Hitler must have used all these treaties as toilet paper, and the French paid the price of appeasement and choosing bad 'friends' in less than a year.

1956 - Nelson Mandela and 156 others were jailed in South Africa on political charges.

South African apartheid was brutal and wrong, but it is mythology for anyone to see Mandela as anything other than an African Communist...Not a Stalinist or Maoist, but in the Marxist Utopian mold.

1991 - Senator Ted Kennedy, testifying at the trial of his nephew, William Kennedy Smith, denied hearing screams on the night Patricia Bowman said she was raped by Smith at the Kennedy estate in West Palm Beach, Florida.

That fat, drunk, bastard didn’t hear Mary Joe Kopeckne’s screams either, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen...So much for this ‘murderer’ being a legitimate witness.

2006 - Somalian Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, an Islamic courts official in Bulo Burto, said residents who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded.

Religion of peace? Or, religion of pieces?

September 8

1380 – The Battle of Kulikovo.

Also called the Battle of the Snipes Field.

According to Russian legend, the Russians defeat the Tatars in this battle, even though they were outnumbered 150,000 to 300,000 troops...The real numbers are probably closer to 80,000 to 125,000, but there is no doubt the Russians were greatly outnumbered.

The importance of the battle is it marks the beginning of the end of Mongol (Tatar) control of Russia.

1664 - The settlement of New Amsterdam was seized from Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant by the English.

This area shortly change its name to one we all know: New York - after falling from Dutch to English control.

But make no mistake, New York has kept many of the characteristics of a Dutch town. Some good, some bad.

1847 – The Battle of Molino del Rey: Mexican-American War.

General Winfield Scott defeated the Mexican army in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

1892 - The original 'Pledge of Allegiance' was written on this date.

The history of 'The Pledge' is an interesting one...Go here to read a Short History of The Pledge .

1926 - The League of Nations assembly voted unanimously to admit Germany as a member.

How nice...Hitler ripped Germany out of The League soon enough, though.

1935 - Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long was shot by Dr. Carl Austin Weiss Jr., while attending a session of the state House of Representatives in Baton Rouge; he died two days later.

The 'Kingfish' was an incredibly powerful Democrat senator, and a legitimate threat to FDR...Hmmmmm. Take that how you will.

1939 - President Franklin Roosevelt declared a "limited national emergency" due to war in Europe:  WWII.

94% of Americans wanted to stay out of the war - something to keep in mind in all of our current foreign policy problems.

Sadly, FDR was a politician, not a statesman. He knew the U.S. had to get in the war (and would eventually be dragged in), but didn’t have the testicular fortitude to do what had to be done at the expense of pissing off the electorate.

So, while the Nazi’s ran amok in Europe for two years, America watched from the sidelines as millions died...Oh, and at the same time the Japanese trashed China and grew stronger.

1941 - The entire Jewish community of Meretsch, Lithuania, was exterminated:  WWII.

WooHoo! Another big day for the ‘master race’...Psychos.

1943 - General Eisenhower announced the unconditional surrender of Italy:  WWII.

Italy the nation surrendered, but Italy the territory still had to be fought for...The Germans had no intention of giving it up without a fight.

1944 - Russian troops reached Bulgaria, and Bulgaria promptly declared war on Germany:  WWII.

Bulgaria’s nothing more than the eastern version of the Italians...Which is barely better than being French.

1945 - Hideki Tojo, Japanese Prime Minister during most of World War II, attempted suicide rather than face a war crimes tribunal.

He failed...And justice was served when the hangman got him on December 23, 1948.

1968 - Saundra Williams won the first Miss Black America pageant.

Imagine if there was a Miss 'White' America pageant...All Hell would break loose in Race-Baiterville, USA.

1974 - President Ford granted Richard Nixon an unconditional pardon for all federal crimes he may have committed while in office.

Stinking Nixon!!! He had the opportunity, ability and public support to be one of our better presidents...Instead he was paranoid, sent the nation into a period of confusion, and crushed the Republican Party.

If nothing else, we should never forgive him for bringing Jimmy Carter to the presidency.

1998 - Mark McGwire's 62nd home run broke Roger Maris' record of 61 homers set in 1961.

'Big Mac' (also known as 'Roids Mac') is a disgrace, and should come out and admit he ‘juiced.’

He should also request that Maris’s record be reinstated...Ooops. Another ‘roid monster’ (Bonds) topped 'Big Roids' record.

Here’s hoping none of them get in the Hall of Fame.

August 30

1932 - Hermann Goring was elected Chairman of the German Reichstag.

The Nazi strategy of conquering Germany through the ballot-box and constitutional means was truly brilliant.  Even if it wasn't necessarily pursued through peaceful means.

As a result of the Nazis capturing control of the Reichstag, Goring was in the process of dominating the legislative branch, and Hitler the executive. It wasn't long before the charade ended, and they assumed absolute power.

THE NAZIS WERE VOTED IN!!!!!  And took power through legal means.

An amazing fact, which must always be remembered, because under the proper conditions it could happen again...It could happen in the U.S., too.

30 B.C. (Debated date, often listed as August 31) – Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, committed suicide by letting a poisonous snake bite her breast.

Cleopatra was a master politician, and even though she was quite ugly, was able to use the power of seduction to keep Rome at bay for many years...Both Caesar and Mark Antony fell under her spell, but she made the mistake of not choosing the man who eventually won the Roman civil war:  Octavian - soon to be Augustus, Emperor of Rome.

FYI: I hope you know Cleopatra was a Greek/Macedonian, not Egyptian...She descended from the Ptolemaic Dynasty, the Macedonian rulers who succeeded Alexander the Great in Egypt.

She also wasn't Muslim...I shouldn't have to say it, but I'm afraid the insanity of the American education system requires me to.

1146 - European leaders outlawed the crossbow intending to end war for all time.

Ending war has long been a hope, and has been nothing more than a Utopian pipe-dream.

As long as human-beings exist on the planet there will be war...By nature we are animals. It just happens to be that we are animals with the capacity to fight and kill on a much grander scale than any other animal.

1363 - The Battle of Lake Poyang.

Mongol control over China was faltering, and in this great battle - one of the largest naval battles in history - the Mongols took a thorough beating...One of many on the way towards losing their enormous empire in the coming decades.

1941 - The Siege of Leningrad began when Nazi forces cut off the last rail link between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union:  WWII.

This siege was part of the overall battle, and signaled the isolation of Leningrad from the rest of the Soviet Union.

The Germans decimated Leningrad, and the city should have died. Almost a million Soviets did...In fact, more Soviets died in this single battle than Americans died in World War I and II combined.

How the city held out for 2 ½ years is amazing, and a testament to a people with an unconquerable will…I highly recommend you read 'The 900 Days'.

1963 - The 'Hot Line' communication link between Washington and Moscow went into operation.

This is an early warning system in case of an accidental missile launch...Question is, if it ever had to be used would either side believe it was an accident? And how would they react?

1982 - PLO leader Yasir Arafat bid an emotional farewell to Beirut and left for Greece. Carrying a large olive branch, Arafat began his last day in Beirut with a farewell courtesy call on the headquarters of the People's Socialist Party.

Check out this ‘great man of peace’ walking around with an olive branch...Arafat was nothing more than a 'Hitler in a headdress,' and I hope his ’72 virgins’ are goats - male goats.

1995 - NATO forces pounded the Bosnian Serbs with artillery and air attacks in hopes of bludgeoning them into serious peace talks.

How come we never hear from Liberals about Clinton's indiscriminate bombing of 'innocent civilians' in Bosnia and Serbia?? Hmmmm???

Oh, I forgot: Bombs with (R) = Bad, Bombs with (D) = Good...As we've seen with Obama.

1997 - Americans (and others in the Western Hemisphere) learned of the deaths of Princess Diana, her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, in a car crash in a Paris traffic tunnel. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived. (Because of the time difference, it was the morning of August 31st in Paris when Diana was pronounced dead.)

This event was the second most overblown media event in my lifetime...After O.J., of course.

I feel sorry for these three deaths, but the media coverage was a complete joke.

August 18 (A Double)

1227 - Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan died.

Genghis Khan is one of the greatest rulers in world history, even though he was one of the most brutal tyrants in history as well.

Uniting the various Mongol tribes was impressive, but Genghis left his mark over most of the Asian world and much of Eastern Europe...At the time of his death, the Mongol Empire was still growing, and it's important to note his successors built on his creation, which eventually became the largest land-based empire in the history of the world:  From Poland to Iran in the west, and Russia's Arctic shores to Vietnam in the east.

Oh, and there's also a claim that 1/8 of the people on the world carry his genetic makeup...A truly incredible thing to quantify.

1920 - Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the final state needed to obtain the three-quarters of the states necessary to amend the Constitution.

There's no denying the Founding Fathers made mistakes, most of which were impossible to make right during 'their time'...Women's rights and ending slavery were two problems of note, but the time wasn't right to correct these problems - the Constitution would have never been ratified if either of these two issues had been part of it.  And the young nation would have been in a perilous position.

This is why they put the amendment process in the Constitution...It was a brilliant and foresighted way of admitting the document's flaws, and allowed for the hope that progress could be made over time.

The concepts of the 19th Amendment should have been part of the 14th, which granted voting rights to all male citizens...Try to imagine the anger women had that voting rights were granted to black men, but not them. This was a real problem. Of course it was racist, but women were definitely shafted in the deal.

The 19th Amendment righted this wrong: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

1587 - Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be born on American soil, on what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

The first of millions.

1914 - President Wilson issued his 'Proclamation of Neutrality,' aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.

There are many who think we should have stayed out of 'Europe’s War,' but it was a mistake for Wilson to do so.

Had the U.S. been in it from the start the Germans would have been thoroughly routed, and the post-WWI world would have been shaped by a legitimate defeat of Germany. Instead, the war ended with the Germans losing, but not defeated, which resulted in a pissed off German nation...The end result of which was Hitler and WWII.

1924 - France began removing troops from the Ruhr.

The French and Belgians occupied the Ruhr region as a means of punishing Germany for its inability to pay WWI reparations...The Germans rightly saw this as a humiliating act, which was just another in the many events leading to the creation of the Nazi State.

1961 - Construction of the Berlin Wall was completed.

East and West Germany were divided, and Berlin was the focal-point...30 long years followed, and the damage done during this time still hasn’t been healed.

1991 - Soviet hard-liners launched a coup aimed at toppling President Mikhail Gorbachev, who was vacationing in the Crimea.

The Soviet Union was collapsing, but the Commies made one last attempt to maintain control...I remember watching these events unfold, wondering if the 'hard-liners' had a chance at overturning change and continuing the existence of the Soviet Hell State.

August 14

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

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

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

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

410 - Visigoth King Alaric sacked Rome.

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

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

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

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

1848 - The Oregon Territory was established.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 31

1916 - The Battle of Jutland:  WWI.  Britain v. Germany.

Jutland was the largest naval battle of WWI.

Both sides claim victory in the battle, but there was no conclusive winner or loser - even though the Brits lost more men and ships...The reality is the British could sustain naval losses much easier than the Germans, and since the battle was more-or-less a draw the strategic results of the battle favored the British.

As a result of the Battle of Jutland the Germans refused to fight the Brits in a large scale, open, naval battle for the remainder of the war.  Instead they changed their strategy to small battles and U-boat attacks...It also left British domination of the North Sea intact, ultimately protecting its naval base at Scapa Flow.

1279 B.C. - Rameses II, 'the Great' became Pharaoh of Egypt.

Rameses was the greatest ruler in Ancient Egypt, and truly deserves the title of 'the Great.'

He ruled for 66-years, secured Egypt's north and south borders - against the Hittites and Nubians - expanded the empire, and was a massive city and monument builder.

Unfortunately for the Egyptians, their history is littered with far more useless leaders than Rameses...A fact which ultimately doomed this great civilization.

455 - Petronius Maximus, West Roman emperor, was torn to pieces by a Roman mob.

Being Emperor had its positives - it also had its negatives. The constant threat of assassination was one of the negatives...Needless to say, the Roman Empire was in it's last years.

1162 - Genghis Khan, founder of the united Mongol nation, was born.

The 'Great Khan' was a giant figure in history, and his accomplishments have shaped 800-years of history throughout all of Asia and much of Europe...Genghis' effect was direct in Asia and Eastern Europe, but Western Europe was affected as well by the push of new people from east to west who were looking to escape the Mongols.

It's also important to note the Mongols were a significant force in keeping the Muslims from conquering all of Central and Eastern Europe...Much more of a factor than the various European crusader wars.

There's also the claim that 1 in 10 human beings carry his DNA - a claim which seems impossible, but is one which may be possible considering the amount of women he and his successors raped.

1578 - The Catacombs of Rome were discovered, by accident.

The 'Underground City' of ancient Rome (25-65 ft underground) is one of the most bizarre stories in the ancient world...What’s bizarre about them is they have been misrepresented since being rediscovered in 1578.

Many stories have been 'made up' about the catacombs as a place of escaping persecution (Christians, criminals, debtors, etc.). This is untrue however. Of course some may have sought them out as a place to hide, but in general the catacombs are what they were designed to be: An underground burial site.

1864 - The Battle of Cold Harbor began (ended June 12):  U.S. Civil War.

Grant had no problem putting his men in battle, but this was one he should have walked away from:

"One attack I always regretted ordering...At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." - Gen. Grant

Union Troops/Casualties: 108,000/13,000
Confederate Troops/Casualties: 62,000/2,500

It was so bad, Union troops new they were being led into a blood-bath and pinned their names to their back...They did so because they knew after the battle ‘no one would recognize their front’.

1889 - The Johnstown Flood:  Heavy rains caused the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20-million tons of water into Johnstown, Pa. Over 2,200 people were killed and the town was nearly destroyed.

This is one of the great disasters in U.S. history, and one of the biggest stories in the post-Civil War 19th Century era.

Much has been made of the men who used the lake behind the dam (Lake Conemaugh), but the accident was just that...Unfortunately the owners of the lake were the Carnegie's, Mellon’s, Frick’s, Pitcairn’s, etc, and the incident was turned into an abuse of wealth at the expense of the common man. This was not the case, and the incident was simply a terrible accident.

1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held its first conference.

Maybe its me, but it seems the only 'color' they choose to 'advance' is black...And since the death of the 1950-60's Civil Rights leaders, the NAACP has become little more than a group of complainers with more work put towards graft than advancing anyone other than themselves.

1962 - Former Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel.

A fitting end to one of Hitler’s leading henchmen...It's too bad all of them didn't die at the end of the rope - or worse.

1977 - The trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed.

This is an awesome engineering project, which crosses 600 rivers and streams, two mountain ranges, and allows for earthquakes.

The pipeline has been much maligned by EnvironMENTALISTS, but is much cleaner than the other options of transporting the product.

As a result of the pipeline, the U.S. receives up to 20% of its yearly oil supply from Alaska...We could easily increase this amount if we opened up ANWAR and other oil fields, and let the pipes flow, but the MENTALists would rather we be dependent on our enemies in the Middle East than be self-sufficient.

1993 - President Bill Clinton paid a Memorial Day visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where some in the crowd jeered him for his efforts to avoid military service; Clinton exhorted his critics to remember that "disagreement is freedom's privilege."

What a disgrace to have such a dishonorable man as Commander-in-Chief...Bill would have done better to keep his mouth shut on this issue.

Also, Clinton and his Lefty pals never seem to agree with 'disagreement' when it comes from the Right...They surely don't believe it is their 'privilege.'

1994 - The United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.

I’m sure we've pointed some at other targets, but anyone who believes all our missiles were taken off the Ruskies is a moron.

1999 - During a Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery, President Bill Clinton asked Americans to reconsider their ambivalence about Kosovo, saying it is "a very small province in a small country. But it is a big test of what we believe in."

Why did the Democrats 'believe in' sending our military to Serbia (which had never been a threat to the U.S.), but belligerently refused to support our efforts in Iraq?

Again: Bombs with (D) = Good. Bombs with (R) = Bad.

Even more important, attacking Serbia was a terrible affront to the Russians...A matter we are still dealing with today.  Something we should always remember when we go out and play in our enemy's back yard.

May 5

1260 - Kublai Khan became ruler of the Mongol Empire.
 
Kublai was Genghis Khan's grandson, and proved to be one of the greatest Mongol leaders; ruling until 1294, and founding the Yuan Dynasty in China...That said, his insistence on consolidating his rule in Mongolia and China was one of the reasons for the dissolution of the Mongol Empire - which became splintered from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe.
 
It's unfortunate most Westerners - myself included - are ignorant about the Mongol Empire, but one thing most of us are familiar with is Marco Polo's travels to China...Marco was a guest at Kublai Khan's court.

614 - The Persians captured Jerusalem and seized the 'True Cross.'

"According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. According to medieval legend, the True Cross was built from the Tree of Jesse (father of King David), which became identified with the Tree of Knowledge that had grown in the Garden of Eden."

You can imagine Christians were pissed to have this fall to the Persians...I hope you also know Islam was in its infancy, and Persia certainly wasn’t a Muslim nation at this time.

1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St. Helena.

He went to the island in 1815 (for a second time)...How was he not executed? These Euro’s are pathetic.

1862 - The Battle of Puebla: Mexican forces loyal to Benito Juarez defeated French troops sent by Napoleon III.

What a pathetic event for the French...But not surprising considering the ridiculous state of the French military after the fall of Napoleon.

- 1870 = Prussian debacle.
- 1914-18 = WWI (didn’t lose, but surely didn’t win).
- 1941 = Rolled over like a cheap whore for the Germans.
- 1954 = Whipped by the Vietnamese at Dien Bien Phu (FYI: The U.S. wasn’t beaten in Nam, it quit - which is actually worse.)

No wonder the Frenchies wanted no part of the war in Iraq. Besides the bribes of course.

By the way, Cinco de Mayo is proof we have too many illegals in the U.S....Think I'm wrong? Then name me a Canadian national holiday celebrated in any fashion in the U.S.

1864 - The Battle of the Wilderness began:  American Civil War. General Lee had just over 60,000 men against Grant's 100,000 men, but the Confederates heavily defeated the Federal troops who lost over 17,000 men.

Lee won the battle, but like every battle from 1864-65 he couldn’t afford the losses associated with his 'victory.'

Grant may have lost 17,000, but at the end of the battle he still had 83,000 troops, more than Lee started with, which was Grants overall strategy...It was costly but as long as Grant was willing to do put his men into battle, Lincoln knew he couldn’t fail in the long run.

1892 - The U.S. Congress passed the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act, which required Chinese in the United States to be registered, or face deportation.

How horrible to single the Chinese out like this...We need a Foreigner Exclusion Act, which requires all foreigners to be registered or be deported.

Every American is registered at birth (Birth Certificate and SS#), so why is it unreasonable to expect every non-American to be registered as well?

1893 - The 'Panic of 1893' hit the New York Stock Exchange.

You mean there were recessions and depressions before 1929 and 2008?  How long were they?  Were they as long as the Great Depression and Great Recession?  Of course not...Because they weren't 'fixed' by government intervention.

1912 - The first issue of the Soviet Communist Party newspaper 'Pravda' was published.

I’m sure the LA and NY Times, along with other American Commie rags, celebrate this day like no other.

1925 - Biology teacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution in violation of Tennessee state laws.

In less than 100 years we went from one extreme to another. Now a teacher would be fired for teaching anything other than evolution...The sooner we get to a happy medium of teaching both, the better we will be.

1932 - Japan and China signed a peace treaty.

Such is the value of paper...Japan invaded Manchuria in September 1931 and this treaty was little more than a stop-gap until they looked to take more of China.

1936 - Italian troops under Field Marshal Badoglio took Addis Ababa in Ethiopia (Abyssinia).

The grand Italian Army was flexing its muscle by conquering the great world power of Ethiopia...What a joke.

Amazingly this conquest impressed Hitler, who believed Italy would be a strong ally.

1942 - Sales of sugar resumed in the United States under a rationing program:  WWII.

How un-American for sugar to be withheld from any citizen...I can’t believe the ACLU didn’t step in and fight for the right to make as much Kool-Aid as we wanted.

A different time. A better time. A pre-psycho Liberal America.

1945 - In the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children.

They bombed the American mainland!!! Imagine if we hadn’t dropped the A-Bombs and they had been successful in their atomic or bio/chem program...These balloons were tests to see if it could be done.

1987 - The U.S. government began a year-long amnesty program, offering citizenship to illegal immigrants who met certain conditions.

It was supposed to be a 'year long'...The offer of citizenship ended, but the illegal immigrants have never quit coming. In fact they are coming more than ever in the hope another 'offer' will eventually come.

I hate to admit it, but Reagan really blew it on this one.

1994 - Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism, a day after the sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Clinton, who considered the punishment too harsh.

We’d have a lot less crime here in the U.S. if we’d be a little more harsh...Funny though, Clinton didn’t think lighting up Waco was too harsh. Hmmm!

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.