January 25

1787 - Shays' Rebellion suffered a setback when debt-ridden farmers, led by Captain Daniel Shays, failed to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts.

The after affect of the American Revolution was a recession, and many farmers fell on hard times. Unfortunately, most of the states were unable to handle these kinds of problems, and the federal government had little-to-no power to handle anything...I hope you know there was a period between the end of the Revolution and the Constitution, and this was a time where the federal government was virtually powerless.

As a result, Shay’s Rebellion was a major catalyst to the creation of the U.S. Constitution, because the wise-men of the time recognized the problems associated with the Articles of Confederation and the uselessness of its structure.

1863 - Union General Joseph Hooker replaced General Burnside as commander of the Army of Potomac:  U.S. Civil War.

Just another general on the books, as Lincoln continued his search for a 'winning general'...Luckily, he was getting close, but Hooker was not the one.

1902 - Russia abolished the death penalty.

That’s a good one.

1932 - The U.S.S.R. signed a non-aggression pact with Poland.

Another good one.

1971 - General Idi Amin Dada overthrew the Ugandan government.

Amin was a brutal guy, but I do love his official title:  'His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Alhaji Dr. Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, CBE.'

He may have had great titles (Heaven knows what those initials stand for?), but he's nothing compared to some of the 20th Century's mega-murderers.

1993 - President Bill Clinton appointed his wife, Hillary, to head a committee on health-care reform.

Nice way to start your term Bill...This move was wildly unpopular, not just because Hillary led it, but because most American’s didn’t want anything to do with a Canadian or Euro-style health care system.

And most Americans still don't...One of the many reasons President Trump is now in office.

1999 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 2000 Census could not use statistical sampling to enhance its accuracy.

That's another way of saying the census takers have to actually count everyone, and can't just assume they are there.

Some may say 'Who cares, it's just a census?' We should all care about the reliability of census information, because this is how representation in the House of Representatives and Electoral Votes are divided up...It also determines how the federal government distributes funds.

As you can imagine, both parties would be willing to 'fudge' a little here and there in their strongholds - or more importantly in areas held by a small majority.

1999 - In Zimbabwe, three Supreme Court justices wrote President Mugabe a letter asking that he confirm the army has no power to arrest civilians and the government will not tolerate torture.

You know its bad when the judicial branch is 'asking' the executive branch to 'confirm' they haven’t gone, or plan on going, nuts...The Beast (Mugabe) is a real treat.

2011 - The Egyptian version of the Arab Spring began.

How exciting!  And how deflating that it ended in a Muslim Brotherhood takeover...Not that it wasn't predictable.

What was unexpected was the military having the guts to toss the Brotherhood out - not that they are doing much to help the Egyptian people...Instead, the reality is Egypt is in the process of returning to the system it had before the Arab Spring began.  A reality which means Egypt is at least a reliable American proxy again.

Such is the reality of the Middle East.

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.

January 4

1923 - Vladimir Lenin's 'Political Testament' called for the removal of Joseph Stalin.

Lenin knew Stalin was bad news, and foresaw the Stalin-Trotsky battles to come: "Stalin is too rude, and this fault, entirely supportable in relations among us Communists, becomes insupportable in the office of General Secretary. Therefore, I propose to the comrades to find a way to remove Stalin from that position and appoint to it another man who in all respects differs from Stalin only in superiority - namely, more patient, more loyal, more polite and more attentive to comrades, less capricious, etc. This circumstance may seem an insignificant trifle, but I think that from the point of view of preventing a split and from the point of view of the relation between Stalin and Trotsky which I discussed above, it is not a trifle, or it is such a trifle as may acquire a decisive significance.” - V.I. Lenin

Of course, Lenin was correct in his assessment, but he wasn't able to keep the 'Man of Steel' from claiming power after his death. Such is the cruelty of history...Not that Trotsky would have been a treat.

1648 - The English House of Commons declared itself sovereign.

This is the difference between England and the U.S.:  In the U.S. the American people are sovereign. 

1847 - Samuel Colt sold his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government.

Firearm production was just getting ramped up - perfect timing for the upcoming civil war.

1865 - The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters.

Where did it open?  10-12 Broad - near Wall Street.

1894 - France ratified the Duple Alliance with Russia.

One more step in a chain of alliances leading to WWI.

1935 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed in his State of the Union message the federal government would provide jobs for 3.5 million Americans on welfare.

Most Conservatives look at FDR as the ‘Father of American Liberalism,’ but this is unfair - it was actually President Wilson...That said, FDR never intended to establish a pathway to inter-generational welfare, and simply was looking for a way out of the Depression.

Not that he wasn't a Liberal.

1939 - Hermann Goering appointed Reinhard Heydrich as Head of Jewish Emigration.

'Emigration', aye?  The Nazis had a special way of creating distorted titles.

Words can be funny.  They can also be cruel.

1965 - President Lyndon Johnson outlined the goals of the 'Great Society' in his State of the Union Address.

'Great Society' = U-T-O-P-I-A-N  I-D-I-O-C-Y!!!

1994 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen announced a plan to drive most gun dealers out of business by proposing sharp increases in licensing fees and stricter controls on people who buy and sell weapons.

There's an old saying: “Those who burn books will eventually burn people." - Unknown

An addendum to that statement goes as such: “Those who ban guns will eventually burn books, and then burn people." - Poison Pero

1998 - Administration officials said President Bill Clinton would ask Congress to help him overhaul the Social Security pension system by the end of 1999. Clinton wanted to move on the issue quickly, expecting once the presidential election got into full swing there would be little chance to pass legislation to save the system.

I thought there isn't a problem with the Social Security system. This is what the Democrats said when G.W. Bush wanted to fix it...It's also the lie Obama pawned off on the people, as well.

Will Trump take it on?  Doubtful...If for no other reason, he knows it's an unwinnable battle.

2002 - Sergeant First Class Nathan Ross Chapman, U.S. Army Special Forces, was killed by small-arms fire during an ambush in eastern Afghanistan.  He was the first American military death from enemy fire in the war against terrorism.

Thank you for your service Sergeant Chapman...You and your companions are truly America’s finest, and your efforts are appreciated.

2002 - Zimbabwe released a report on its state of affairs: $54 million in short term food aid was needed to ward off widespread starvation in Zimbabwe. The AIDS epidemic, called 'Nkondombera' (a Shona word for “no condom”) was claiming over 2,000 people per week. Inflation was running at over 100% per month, and unemployment was estimated at 50%.

Just more of the same in Africa: A continent on the verge of implosion.

2007 - Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House.

Nice accomplishment, horrible Speaker.

December 31

406 - Vandals, Alans and Sueves invaded Roman Gaul.

Time for a history lesson (I'm not sure where the following reference comes from; probably one of my old reference books - but I don't want to have anyone think it is all my own.)

The Alans or Alani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike pastoralists of mixed backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian Language
- The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by early Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus put on the eastern boundary of Scythia beyond the Tanais (Don River). They were Iranian people akin to the Scythians (Saka).
- Scythia was an area in Eurasia inhabited in ancient times by an Iranian people known as Scythians. The location and extent of Scythia varied over time from the Altai region where Mongolia, China, Russia and Kazakhstan come together to the lower Danube River area and Bulgaria. Saka are Asian Scythians.

The Sueves, Suebi or Suevi were a Germanic people whose origin was near the Baltic Sea.
- The term Germanic peoples or Germanic tribes applies to the ancient Germanic peoples of Europe. The Germanic tribes spoke mutually intelligible dialectics and shared a common mythology and story telling, for instance Beowulf and the Volsunga Saga.

The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe who entered the late Roman Empire, and created a state in North Africa, centered on the city of Carthage. The Vandals probably gave their name to the province of Andalusia (originally, Vandalusia), in Spain, where they temporarily settled before pushing on to Africa.

Needless to say, by this time the Roman Empire was in its death throes, and these were just three of the many barbarian tribes in the process of overrunning it.

1775 - George Washington ordered recruiting officers to accept free blacks into the army.

How sad...Blacks were good enough to fight for America's independence, but not to receive it themselves.

Such is the cruelty of history...Luckily, hundreds of thousands of white Americans fought to right this injustice less than 100 years later.

1946 - President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

The war had been over for a year, but the killing was nowhere near ended...Winning the peace is often as hard as winning the war.

1964 - Syrian-based al-Fatah guerrillas of Yasser Arafat launched their first raid on Israel with the aim of provoking a retaliation and sparking an Arab war against Israel.

50-years later and nothing has changed...How the Israelis have survived, surrounded by the Islamic horde, is a miracle.

The question is, can they continue; or, how long can they continue?

1987 - Robert Mugabe was sworn in as Zimbabwe's first executive president.

Mugabe may be called President by the jackasses at the U.N., but here in Peroville he is nothing more than a butcher...But then again, the rest of the world accepted Saddam Hussein as well.

In the eyes of the U.N., Mugabes and Saddams are good, but George Bush is bad...Which is why the U.N. is nothing more than a Circle Jerk Group.

1998 - Europe's leaders proclaimed a new era when eleven nations merged currencies to create the euro, a shared money they said would boost business, underpin unity and strengthen their role in world affairs.

Many Americans are worried about how well the Euro has performed against the Dollar, but the Dollar is 'tried & true,' and the Euro is the monetary system of a group of people who will never stay together...Sure the Euro was hot for a decent period of the early 21st Century, but long term I'd put my money on the Dollar.

1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation and handed power over to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

His status in our time is iffy, but history will be kind to Yeltsin - it will take awhile, however...It will be interesting to see about Putin.  So far he has proven to be a chameleon, but like most Russian strongmen I'm betting he comes out ok - by Russian standards.

2002 - U.S. executions for the year rose from 66 to 71, with 33 in Texas.

Of course this doesn't include fetal executions: 2001 = over 1,300,00, 2002 = over 1,300,000.
Every one of the 66 and 71 executions noted above was protested against by Leftist idiots, but I doubt if any of the 2,600,000 innocent BABIES were.

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.