On This Day in History

c/o Rutgers University

The first one all year. . .

1777 — Henry Clay was born in Hanover County, Virginia. Both a Senator and three-time Speaker of the House of Representatives, Clay was a strong proponent of the “American System” that benefited industry to a great extent. Styled “The Great Compromiser” and “The Western Star,” a Congressional panel in 1957 named Clay as one of the five all-time greatest Senators (along with John C. Calhoun, Robert La Follette, Robert Taft and Daniel Webster).

He died of tuberculosis in Washington, D.C. in 1852. Clay was 75-years-old. Subsequently he was the first person to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol.

1861 — Beginning at 4:30 a.m., Confederate forces commenced their bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina. Although the Union garrison returned fire, they were significantly outgunned and, after 34 hours, Major Robert Anderson agreed to evacuate.

Amazingly there was no loss of life on either side during the engagement, although a gun explosion during the surrender ceremonies two days later resulted in two Union deaths. The War Between the States had officially begun.

1908 — Robert Lee Scott, Jr. was born in Waynesboro, Georgia. He is best known for his book God is My Co-Pilot, a memoir about his time as a member of the 1st American Volunteer Group (“The Flying Tigers”) during World War II.

Scott shot down down 13 Japanese aircraft en route to becoming one of our earliest fighter aces of the War. He served in the United States Army Air Forces for 25 years and retired a Brigadier General in 1957. He died in his native Georgia in 2006. General Scott was 97-years-old.

1934 — The strongest surface wind gust ever recorded (to that point in history) is measured at 231 mph on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. The record stood for 62 years until a 253 mph gust was recorded at Australia's Barrow Island during Cyclone Olivia in 1996.

1945 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt died just months after winning an unprecedented fourth term. Our 32nd President, and perhaps the last liberal Democrat for whom I may ever hold a modicum of lasting respect, was a relatively young 63-years-old.

1961 — Russian (Soviet) cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to perform a manned orbital flight. His time in space lasted just under two hours.

1981 — The Space Shuttle Columbia launches in NASA’s first shuttle mission (STS-1) from the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The shuttle itself suffered an untimely demise shortly before the conclusion of its 28th mission (STS-107) on February 1, 2003.

1987 — The lovely and vivacious Brooklyn Decker was born in Kettering, Ohio. But the Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl is a Carolina girl at heart.

1989 — Sugar Ray Robinson, the undisputed best pound-for-pound boxer of all-time, died in Culver City, California. He compiled a 173-19-6 (108 KO, 2 NC) record over a career that spanned a quarter-century, including an almost unbelievable tally at one point of 128-1-2. He was 67-years-old.

1999 — President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit. Scandalous, impeached, and ultimately disbarred, good ol’ Bill sure was fun.

2002 — Religion of Peace: Just seven months after 9/11, a female suicide bomber from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade detonated a bomb at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda open-air market, killing seven and wounding 104.


Information initially obtained from Wikipedia; confirmed and revised (when necessary) through various sources.

Editorial Sketch(es) of the Week: Duplicity at home and abroad



© Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune

© Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner

Sunday’s Quote: Conviction and fortitude

c/o Thy Black Man

There’s a lot to like about Allen West. Anything but a typical politician, this 22-year Army veteran has spoken frankly about Islam and the War on Terrorism more than once. His most recent statement is no exception.

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“I want to extend my sincere condolences to the families of the Army Colonel and Major who were killed by Afghanistan security forces over this ‘burning Koran’ episode. If we had resolute leadership, including in the White House, we would have explained that these Islamic terrorist enemy combatants being detained at the Parwan facility had used the Koran to write jihadist messages to pass to others. In doing so, they violated their own cultural practice and defiled the Koran. Furthermore, they turned the Koran into contraband. Therefore, Islamic cultural practice and Parwan detention facility procedures support burning the ‘contraband’. Instead here we go again, offering apology after apology and promising to ‘hold those responsible accountable’. Responsible for what?

“When tolerance becomes a one-way street it leads to cultural suicide. This time it immediately led to the deaths of two American Warriors. America is awaiting the apology from President Hamid Karzai.”

~ Rep. Allen B. West (R-FL, 22nd congressional district); February 27, 2012

Iconic Shot: Wellington College

© Richard Peat

Located on a 400 acre estate in southeast England, not far from Windsor Castle, is Wellington College, a selective co-educational public school in the same G-20 vein as Eton College, Phillips Academy and Harvard-Westlake.

The school is also a national monument to Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), the Duke of Wellington. A Christian and Tory Conservative, the Irish-born commander of the Seventh Coalition defeated Napoléon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The triumph ended the Napoleonic Wars and ushered the era of Pax Britannica during which the British Empire enjoyed uncontested European hegemony while the continent itself enjoyed near-constant peace for 100 years.

From disheartened to righteously fortified

About two years ago, not long after his infamous bow to Emperor Akihito, a Japanese reporter asked President Obama if the U.S. was right for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

That's an interesting (read: loaded) question. Let’s review.

In an attack that was intended to intimidate the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire was planning against Europe, and ultimately the United States, Japanese aircraft carriers launched over 350 fighters, bombers and torpedo planes on the morning of December 7, 1941 in an assault on the Hawaiian island of Oahu that was nothing short of devastating.

In all, the Japanese smashed, wrecked and demolished three cruisers, three destroyers and 188 aircraft. All eight battleships docked at Pearl Harbor were also damaged, half of which were sunk. Six of the eight, however, were raised (when necessary), repaired and returned to service during the War.  Yet the greatest cost was paid in blood, as 1,282 Americans were wounded and 2,402 of our finest were killed.

Instead of ducking the aggressor, we knuckled up. FDR informed the Allied powers that America was officially all-in. The Stars and Stripes jumped into the fire, kicked more than our share of Axis ass (at no small cost by any measure) and led the drive to bring this worldwide struggle to an end nearly four brutal years later, sending Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan to the guillotine.

I don’t exactly recall how Obama responded to the reporter. I’m sure our President – who’s developed a reputation for apologizing on behalf of the nation he represents – offered an answer that was both nice and diplomatic. But for those who feel such questions and apologies have become redundant, it seems the American response to the events that occurred 70 years ago today require no justification at all.


Picture credit: The battleship U.S.S. West Virginia is engulfed in flames after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago today; c/o The National Archives via AFP/Getty Images and USA Today

Sunday's Quote: As our heritage erodes. . .

The Founders of our Nation were mostly Christian. Those who have sought to maintain the establishing principles responsible for developing our country were, and remain, mostly Christian as well. A mandate to endorse and defend such philosophical values is more than implied. It is also necessitated amid this era of inclusivity that has provided an asylum for those who conform to an opposing set of standards that are unambiguously dissimilar from that which distinguishes America from all the rest. Yet concessions (in the name of tolerance) are rapidly becoming the norm. Case in point –

In an effort to embrace all "Earth-based" religions, a Stonehenge-like worship center has been built at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that serves as a de facto place of worship for this year's 10 Hindu, 11 Muslim, 16 Buddhist and 43 atheist cadets among the 4,300 enrollees. The reason: "We're here to accommodate all religions, period," says Chaplain Maj. Darren Duncan, branch chief of cadet faith communities at the academy.

Major Duncan’s limp-wristed statement, however altruistic, signals a continued shift away from the convictions of the majority, as neither Freedom of Religion, nor the First Amendment, were ever intended to make more room than necessary for those who play by a different set of rules.

Our first President sets the record straight:

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“I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large; and, particularly, for their brethren who have served in the Geld; and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific [sic] temper of the mind, which were the characteristicks [sic] of the divine Author of our blessed religion; without a humble imitation of whose example, in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.”
– from George Washington’s Circular Letter to States; June 8, 1783


Picture credit: "George Washington at Valley Forge" by Joseph Christian Leyendecker; featured on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, February 23, 1935

Editorial Sketch of the Week: A (belated) Veterans Day salute

© Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle

I've always liked cats

A couple of pics featured recently on The Chive:

Just Thinking Out Loud (Again): On the international tip

c/o The Guardian

So, the Chinese got their hands on a Russian hand-me-down and converted it into an aircraft carrier.  I also hear they've developed a new missile that's been called a "carrier killer."  (Taiwan recently developed one of its own, which is aimed squarely at China.)

All of that is nice, but know this – the United States has more boats and high-speed explosive projectiles than our potential aggressors on the other side of the Pacific will ever be able to handle.  Indeed America and the Allies took communist Russia down and we'll take them down, too.  So be nice China, or you'll never see another dime of that $1 trillion we owe you.

© Joel Goodman, via Mother Jones

It's good to see the looting that's occurred during the London riots has been perpetrated by individuals of every race and background.  This isn't multiculturalism at its finest by any means, but at least the masses can come together for something.

And yes, I'm kidding.  More or less.

Sunday's Quote: The wisdom of the past (and how it can impact our future)

Picture by Carl Mydans, c/o LIFE

In my lifetime, a scant 35 years, the United States has digressed from being the greatest creditor nation in the world to, as you have no doubt heard, the most prolific debtor nation in history.  So like it or not, perhaps the worst possible news is all but official: communist China is now the top dog (oh God I hope to be wrong about that).  And we only have ourselves, and more specifically, our so-called leaders, to blame.

Standard & Poor's federal credit relegation isn't necessarily a sign of the apocalypse by any means, but it could very well be an indicator of things to come.  A couple of notable Americans, born 131 years ago almost to the day, offer their astute insight into the palpable and growing concern among those of us who, for the first time, cannot speak about the future of our country with complete certainty:

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"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out . . . without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos.  Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable."
– H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), journalist, satirist and all-around critic

"History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.  There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster."
– Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), simply one of the most important military figures in our nation's history

Editorial Sketch of the Week: Misplaced priorities

© Graham Sale, from his “Men in Hats” series

Sunday's Quote: When conspiracy theories cease being theoretical

Whether it's through a picture, a quote, or an audio/video clip of some kind, I sometimes find it better to have the pros do the talking for me.  So for today's Quote, I have radio host Michael Savage offer a quick four-minute lecture about one of the more unexpected elements in Obama's massive heath care overhaul (with evidence).  You just might be shocked:

Sunday's Quote: Even if they're not perfect . . .

c/o History.com's Teddy Roosevelt gallery

There was a time, not that long ago, when a man could speak of his hero without having to also concern himself with making the immediate transition to defend his exemplar of choice in lieu of those who grudgingly object.  As if the belligerent is on some sort of mission, such disputes have become more common amid this often stomach-turning age of antipathy.  Still the irony comes, by and large, when such individuals reveal his/her own personal group of idols, most of whom ordinarily represent the antithesis of those who personify the spirit of Americana.

Here's an example from my own personal set of esteemed paradigms:

Theodore Roosevelt was our 26th President.  But unlike most of the 18 men who followed, the man who disliked being called "Teddy" was considerably more than a politician.  Descended from two uncles who served in the Confederate army, Roosevelt was a northerner by birth and a devoted student of natural history from his adolescence who grew from a frail youngster into the definition of masculinity.

Both an author and a soldier, Roosevelt became more famously identified as a "Rough Rider" and a "Bull Moose."  Likewise a Judo brown belt under Yamashita Yoshiaki and a steadfast supporter of the Boy Scouts – now considered prejudiced in the eyes of some – who pursued "the strenuous life" almost to his dying day, each notable achievement in his life of public service was indicative of the Big Stick diplomacy he advocated that ultimately etched his countenance alongside Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln on Mount Rushmore.

Though it's easy to forget that he is the first American to win a Nobel Prize, even fewer seem to recall that Roosevelt once spoke for a full 90 minutes after he was shot – literally shot in the chest earlier that same day – by a would-be assassin.  To paraphrase the man himself, it takes a lot more than a silly little bullet to kill a Bull Moose.

In over 60 years, various surveys and scholars have yet to rank TR lower than seventh all-time among the elite fraternity of men who have held the highest office in the land.  A devout Christian, Roosevelt's brand of progressivism differs noticeably from the kind employed by liberal Democrats today.  In fact most contemporary progressives would object (as I do) to the picture of Roosevelt above, as there is rarely a legitimate reason to kill a vulnerable animal in the wild.

Imperfections notwithstanding, the best of those who shaped our exceptional nation remain worthy of acclaim because of what they exemplify and inspire.  Those who object only succeed in exposing their own biases held in the deepest recesses of their misguided convictions.

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"They wouldn't be heroes if they were infallible, in fact they wouldn't be heroes if they weren't miserable wretched dogs, the pariahs of the earth, besides which the only reason to build up an idol is to tear it down again."

– Lester Bangs (1948-1982), music critic, journalist and author

In observance of Memorial Day

"Thank you" doesn't really say enough...

Original source unknown

Just Thinking Out Loud: One down, many more still to go

Our allied soldiers can overwhelm all the terrorists in the world.  Certainly no other assemblage of warriors has ever executed such a challenging task with more precision and valor.  Yet their painstaking efforts will go for naught if civilized nations insist upon circumnavigating both the initial source and the resulting philosophy of what produces the abundance of likeminded extremists who have been a relentless thorn in the side of peaceable societies for well over a millennia.

There's no need for a lengthy diatribe.  Put simply, we will chase our tails ad infinitum until the international community and its leaders become bold enough to confess, finally and collectively, that tolerating those who refuse peace and assimilation is a formula for continued upheaval and ultimate conquest.

Enjoy Hell, Osama.  You earned it.

Osama's final status update

Iconic Shot(s): Justice is served

Authorized by Vice Admiral William H. McRaven, a former SEAL and commander of the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command, and in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency via direct order of President Obama, an indeterminate number of elite soldiers from the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group – formerly SEAL Team Six – dropped into Abbottabad, Pakistan yesterday and bestowed a particular brand of justice that Osama bin Laden has deserved for well over a decade.

Obviously the maneuver was a remarkable success.  Our warriors suffered no casualties, bin Laden's lifeless body has already been disposed at sea, and America's role as de facto international police force, for better or worse, has never been more fortified.  Of course the War on Terrorism is far from over, but for the moment our world is a better place now that the Saudi-born founder of Al-Qaeda is burning in Hell.

Spirits among my fellow Americans haven't beeen this uplifted and unified in quite some time.  The following pictures from the UK's Daily Mail, per the Associated Press, speak volumes.

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On This Day in History: A particularly blood-stained date

Pulitzer-winning shot by Charles Porter

1775 – The first engagements of the American Revolution begin at the Battles of Lexington and Concord throughout Middlesex County, Massachusetts.  Colonialists earned victory on this day, but the War itself would not be decided for another eight years.

1861 – One week after the Battle of Fort Sumter, a group of secessionists and Southern sympathizers in Baltimore, Maryland attack the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment as they traveled en route to Washington, DC.  The ensuing riot resulted in 16 deaths, including 12 civilians.

1951 – Eight days after being relieved of command by President Truman, General Douglas MacArthur addressed a joint session of Congress with his famous Old Soldiers Never Die speech.

1961 – In an attempt to overthrow the regime implemented by Fidel Castro, the Bay of Pigs invasion of southern Cuba is quelled in three days.  Fifty years later, Cuba is all but in ruins.

1971 – Charles Manson was sentenced to death for his role in the Tate-LaBianca murders.  The ruling was commuted to life imprisonment a year later when the Supreme Court of California temporarily eliminated the state's death penalty.  Manson is currently incarcerated at Corcoran State Prison in central California.

1987 – The Simpsons premiered as a short cartoon on The Tracy Ullman Show.  I remember like it was yesterday.

1993 – Ending a siege that lasted for over seven weeks, the Mount Carmel Center – home of the Branch Davidian sect near Waco, Texas – burns to the ground, killing all 80 people inside.  Four ATF agents were also killed throughout the incident.

1995 – Said to be seeking vengeance against the federal government for its handling of the siege in Waco, among other raids, Timothy McVeigh carried out the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring 450.  At the time it was the deadliest act of terrorism ever committed on American soil.

Eventually convicted of 11 federal offenses, McVeigh was executed on June 11, 2001 – exactly three months prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Did You Know (or Care): Martial Arts

The belt system used in most martial arts is relatively new.  For centuries, students were only given a white belt.  Through years of training the white belt would become soiled with dirt, grime and blood, becoming darker in the process, eventually becoming a black belt.

Although considered a racially insensitive term here in America, Sambo is an abbreviation of the Russian term Samozaschita Bez Oruzhiya, which means "self-defense without a weapon."  Developed for the Russian military, Sambo was heavily influenced by Judo and indigenous Russian wrestling.  It also features a military-inspired uniform, including belt loops on the fighting jacket.

Its most well-known practitioner is Fedor Emelianenko, a mixed martial artist nicknamed "The Last Emperor" who did not suffer a legimate loss for nearly 10 years.

Source: Taekwondo-Network.com

A century-and-a-half ago today...

On April 12, 1861 at 4:30 a.m., approximately 500 soldiers representing the seven States of the newly formed Confederacy, by command of General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and continued their bombardment for 34 hours.  Over 600,000 of America’s finest would die in the four-year insurrection that followed.

Worldwide more than 200 civil wars have been fought in just the past two centuries.  Poor people rising up to fight, suffer and die so the more prominent minority could keep their slaves would be the first campaign of its kind in the history of the world – and this is exactly what many have been commanded to believe of their regional kinfolk and defenders for generations.

Of course those who wished to keep their slaves absolutely existed.  The perspective of many among the wealthy and politicos is clear.  But how does one enliven such an appreciable uprising of mostly underprivileged, non-slave-holding Southerners who knowingly faced impossible odds to draw arms against their brethren of the North for the sake of maintaining an institution that was perpetuated by a mere 6% of the populace (according to the 1860 U.S. census)?

Abraham Lincoln, who did not amend his long-held stance on human servitude until it became more politically expedient, called for 75,000 volunteers soon after the Stars and Bars had been raised over Fort Sumter, almost instantly triggering the unforeseen secession of four additional states to join the Confederacy, including Tennessee, which had initially voted by a considerable 4-to-1 margin to remain with the Union.  So why the sudden change of heart?

Make no mistake, both sides are responsible for reinterpreting facts to support their own conclusions.  Yet from the lowest enlisted soldier, to the highest ranking and most renowned generals, an ambition to keep an entire race of people in shackles is noticeably absent in their correspondence.  Dismiss that as spin if you like, as the debate itself all too often centers more on demonization than comprehensive veracity.  As a direct consequence, advocating a broader understanding of a matter such as this is frequently rejected without a second thought.

Fatefully perhaps, some of that blame falls on the unrestrained Southerner who flew the Banner for motives that were never typified by Lee and Jackson.  That said, individuals and groups who fly a flag to exhibit a disdain of anyone do not require a symbolism of any kind to demonstrate their brand of contempt.  Truly such people would hate without it.  In fact, if the Confederate States and all its relics had never existed, they would still hate.

And let us be especially honest about this.  America currently has a bevy of racially-based issues throughout New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit and Los Angeles, among other metropolitan areas.  Yet it is the former Confederate nation that is hit with the inclusive liability of all racial matters while virtually all others are given a pass.

The duality of being both Southern and American can be a burden, but it's anything but a curse.  So I ask the nay-sayers: Is it easier to reject this sentiment as a neo-Confederate fantasy, or is it simply too inconvenient, or problematic, to consider the possibility that maybe the unpleasantness of the time wasn't entirely about you?

Later in life, General Beauregard – "The Hero of Fort Sumter" and the fifth-most senior general in the Confederate army – declined offers from both Egypt and Romania to take command of their respective armies, saying "I prefer to live here, poor and forgotten, than to be endowed with honor and riches in a foreign country."  If a more definitive statement about love of home and region has ever been made, I have not seen it.  In the end, perhaps those dastardly Southerners were merely culpable of loving the Southland just a little more than you.