January 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 - The Christian Era began.

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

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

404 - The last gladiator competition in Rome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

December 24

1942 - The first powered flight of a V-1 cruise missile:  WWII.

This was the forefather of every modern rocket...Imagine if Hitler hadn’t shipped out or killed all of his Jewish scientists, and they invented the atomic bomb before the Americans? Which was very possible.

There is little doubt the Mad Corporal would have loaded them on the V-1’s and V-2’s...If the Germans had the time to perfect these weapons, the world would be a much different (more horrible) place than it is today.

1144 – Muslim forces re-captured much of the territory originally taken by the Christian Crusaders. This resulted in the Pope calling for a second Crusade.

The Perpetual War...I bet they never thought it would still be going almost 900-years later.

1814 - The War of 1812 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

America firmly established its independence in this ‘second Revolutionary War’...Unfortunately for the Brits, word didn’t reach the South before American forces could wipe out their force in New Orleans.

Ok, this is popular mythology...The Brits in New Orleans knew perfectly well of the war's status, but the British government hoped to pull out a victory in the battle, which would have given them a stronger position to bargain or restart the war from.

In my point of view the Battle of New Orleans was a nice little way of saying ‘Don’t return, ya limey bastards.’

1865 - Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, called the Ku Klux Klan.

A terrible organization, but an almost natural offshoot of the period...And my favorite Civil War general (for his skill and battlefield innovations, not viewpoints) soon became its first Grand Wizard: Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Oh by the way, these KKK clowns were primarily Democrats - Just as they were in the 20th Century, as well...Now they are just a couple hands full of nutters with no clout at all.

1943 - President Franklin Roosevelt appointed General Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of Allied forces for 'Operation Overlord':  WWII.

Ike was the perfect 'political general'...No other commander could have pulled off the European invasion as well.

Per normal, America was graced with the presence of ‘the right man, in the right place, at the right time.’

1946 – U.S. General MacNarney granted 800,000 'minor Nazis' amnesty.

We had a choice:  Remove all the Nazi's or leave Germany to be run by inexperienced leaders.  Under normal circumstances going with the new blood might have been the better choice, but circumstances were anything but normal...Never forget the Russian bear was in a feeding frenzy at this time, and we didn't have the luxury of allowing Germany to suffer as long as they deserved.

It's too bad we didn't follow these methods after removing Sadaam Hussein from power in Iraq...Things likely would have progressed much better if we had.

1968 - The 'Apollo Eight' astronauts (Lovell, Anders and Borman), orbiting the moon 250,000 miles from home, reading verses from their bible and transmitted a message to all of mankind calling for "peace on earth."

Oh my GOD! Liberal ‘separation of church and state’ nuts must have had spontaneous strokes and heart attacks.

2003 - Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf agreed to step down as head of the armed forces by the end of 2004, part of a deal with the hard line Islamic opposition to end a long standoff which had stalled the nation's return to democracy. Musharraf also agreed to scale back some of the special powers he decreed himself after taking power in a 1999 military coup.

Never forget this is a country with nuclear weapons and advanced delivery systems...With millions of radical Islamists chomping at the bit trying to take control of them.

They can hide behind the facade of democracy, but the reality is the world cannot afford to allow a fundamentalist Pakistani leadership to evolve...Which is why we play patty-cake with the Paki Military and their crazy Taliban creation.

November 19

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

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

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

Copy of the text:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a mess this treaty created.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 12 (A Double)

1927 - Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union, and Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

The Man of Steel finally jumped out of the shadows of Lenin and Trotsky...Both were much more brilliant than he was, and both knew he was a menace to the Party and the Soviet people as a whole.

But Stalin was more ruthless than either, and it was Uncle Joe who perfected the Communist Hell State...It was also Stalin who had the most success at spreading the virus of communism across the planet.

To be fair, it was also Stalin who saved the USSR from being enslaved and eliminated by the Germans in WWII...Even though he originally partnered with the Krauts, and then bungled the first months of the German invasion.

1941 - The German Army's drive to take Moscow was halted on the city's outskirts:  World War II.

The moment they stopped was the moment they lost the war...The Russian Autumn slowed the Germans down, and the Russian Winter did its part in keeping them from ever restarting in earnest - Hitler should have learned from Napoleon's similar failure.

As a result, what started as a German route of the USSR ended up a Soviet route of Germany.

1892 - The first professional football game was played:  The Allegheny Athletic Association v. the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.

Not a huge event, but as a lover of the game it is personally important...My blog, my list.

1921 - Representatives of nine nations gathered for the start of the Washington Conference for Limitation of Armaments.

HAHAHAHAHA!

The U.S., U.K., and Japan were the main nations involved, and at the end of the conference each agreed to limit its naval war-making capability...The U.S. and Brits generally lived up to the agreement, but the Japanese didn't - one of the many reasons the Japanese fared so well at the beginning of WWII against the U.S. and U.K.

1933 - Nazis receive 92% of the vote in a national election.

To make sure everyone has a proper perspective on this vote it is important to point out Hitler had control of the country by this time.

96% of the German people showed up to vote, and almost all voted for the Nazi's. Which means the Nazi's were overwhelmingly elected to lead the German state. Not that the German people had much choice...There were non-Nazi candidates on the ballots, but voting for anything but a Nazi was all but a death sentence. Which is why voting isn't the only thing that matter in elections. Often times, it is just as important to know who is administering and counting the votes.

1948 - Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.

Tojo was found guilty of the following crimes:

1. Waging wars of aggression, and war or wars in violation of international law.
2. Waging unprovoked war against China.
3. Waging aggressive war against the United States.
4. Waging aggressive war against the British Commonwealth.
5. Waging aggressive war against the Netherlands (Indonesia).
6. Waging aggressive war against France (Indochina).
7. Ordering, authorizing, and permitting inhumane treatment of prisoners of war and others.

All of which were deserved, and he was executed on December 23, 1948.

1970 - In East Pakistan a cyclone and tidal wave hit several districts, causing the death of at least 200,000 people.

200,000 people!!! All because Bush didn't get FEMA out to the area fast enough....And why did he have to send a cyclone to that part of the world anyway??

Alright, it wasn't GW Bush's fault...It was Global Warming - during a period when the pseudo-scientific EnvironMentalists thought we were going to enter a new Ice Age.

How about this:  Mother Nature is simply 'a mother', and we are all bit players in her game.

1991 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev stated he didn't believe U.S. warnings that a revolt was brewing before hard-liners staged a coup.

He soon found out how wrong he was.

1998 - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley filed a $433 million lawsuit against the firearms industry, declaring it created a public nuisance by flooding the streets with weapons deliberately marketed to criminals.

Daley would know as well as anyone what it's like to 'market to criminals.'

The 'Tobacco Industry' was raped by such a lawsuits, and Daley managed to piss away Chicago's portion of the booty...So he went big game hunting against the gun industry.

August 15 (A Double)

1096 - The First Crusade set out for Jerusalem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1914 - The Panama Canal opened.

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

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

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

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

1961 - East Germany began building the Berlin Wall.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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