Lest It Be Forgotten

Some things should never be forgotten. U.S. Independence Day, your mom's birthday, to lock your house's or car's doors, to take out the  dog, to feed the fish - but not too much, to tell your kids you love them and show it, to give your spouse true affection and so on. There are a couple of others we should never forget though they were terrible: the Holocaust is one although somehow we seem to forget all the others killed in the camps so remember them too, there were 12 to 13 million. (Over the years, from what I have seen, that number has decreased and I have heard or read that it is now supposedly as low as 11 million; although, the amount of Jewish folks killed has never decreased by much if anything, it is just the amount of non Jews somehow has fallen and that sounds like wokeness to me.)

 

Today is the anniversary of yet another truly horrible event, one that no one alive should be ignorant of and once made aware of it should definitely never forget. August 6 in 1945 - 78 years ago -  was truly the day that Oppenheimer became Death the Destroyer of worlds. On that day, the United States of America bombed Hiroshima, Japan and caused the deaths of about 130,000 people (some immediately, some over several months who died of their wounds and others who died years later due to cancer caused by radiation). Little Boy did its job but not quite awesomely nor fast enough. A few days later on August 9, 1945, the U.S. bombed Nagasaki, another major Japanese city, killing and maiming many more. Fat Man finally brought about the surrender of the once mighty Japan - well that with the entry of the USSR into the war on Japan and the invasion of Manchuria. 

 

Had we waited a few weeks longer, Japan would have likely as surrendered by then but other allied troops would have persihed. While many like to believe that Truman (as in the then the US President) gave the orders to drop the bombs to end the war and save allied lives; I have to wonder if at least the second bomb was more for effect, maybe even the first one too, of warning other nations we had it, we used it, we have more of them. Truman, he was a democrat and throughout my 6 decades plus of living, I have come to believe that democrats are usually the worst of the war mongers out of our political parties in the US and thus I wonder for his reasons for at least the second one. As for the dems, they also seem to be the worst at & of everything and mind you I am an independent unaffiliated with any political party. Years ago, maybe now more than a decade, I left party I was in out of disgust and that was not the Democrat party. They both suck so don't think I said that about the dems because I am of the other major party types. It is merely my opinion that they are the most terrible of the two major parties and that other one of the two is not far behind them. I digress so back to the bombings.

 

Little Boy and Fat Man were the only two atomic (nuclear) bombs ever used in warfare and ever used to purposefully kill  massive amounts of people. Setting off those two bombs led in great part to the defeat of Japan, which surrendered to the allies only days later on August 15. They also undoubtedly saved the lives of many allied troops; yet, as I said I wonder a lot about the need for the second one and sometimes I wonder if we really needed the first one. Whatever you or I make of them, those bombings were nonetheless two of the most horrific events, over the course of only two days, to have ever befallen mankind. More about this at the sources: 

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hiroshima-marks-a-bomb-anniversary-calls-nuclear-deterrence-folly-2023-08-06/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-anniversary-russia-ukraine/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

 

https://www.foxnews.com/world/hiroshima-japan-atomic-bomb-history#

 

My hope is no one ever forgets but the reality is that more and more nations have acquired the knowledge, technology and resources to manufacture modern nuclear weapons that are much more powerful and thus would be much more deadly should they ever be used. None of the nations that have them, including the United States seem to pay much attention to history nor do they seemingly have the foresight to realize what will happen if they unleash a nuclear war in which many nations have nukes. Obviously, Russia has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons and very recently has threatened to use them in the war in the Ukraine or to attack allies of the Ukraine if allied troops are sent there to support them. Yet, world leaders of nations that have nukes frequently talk about disarmament. Then when questioned as to why they have not disarmed their nukes they give the excuse for keeping nukes as being a deterrent against nations who are still armed with them. What a screwy fruit loopy loop of illogical balderdash is that because no one will ever take the first step at nuclear weapons disarmament thinking like that! 

 

I remember something screwy from my history lessons (when real world history was taught and not the woke variety). In those lessons I learned a bit about World War I. The thing about World War I is that it had a couple of names other than WW I; one of which was "The Great War". Then there was the other name for it; that one as imbecilic as the deterrent excuse world leaders of today use to downplay why we have not yet totally disarmed all nuclear weapons.  Yep one of the names for WW I was as lame as the deterrent excuse and it was: "The War To End All Wars". It did not live up to that name.

 

So yeah, I expect sooner or later that a country like Russia, China, North Korea, Pakistan or Iran will launch nukes as a first strike against the US. Then again, who knows, we have a president right now who seems to think he is this guy:

Then again he appears to me to be much more like this one:

 

 

 

So maybe the US will be the one to launch the first strike.

 

Thinking along those lines, some folks think that sooner or later, because of power hungry & demented leaders, Einstein's prediction about the aftermath of WW III will come to pass - that is unless the war mongering attitudes of so called world leaders is changed drastically and their attitudes do not seem to be going in a direction to avoid another WW.  So what was Einstein's prediction:  

 

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." 

 

Einstein was a genius but I am doubtful he got that one quite right. I tend to think that if there ever is a WW III, one in which nukes are used, there will never be a WW IV. That's because there won't be anyone left to fight WW IV except maybe the roaches and rats and even if humans survive, all the sticks will have been burned to ash and the stones melted to slag or vitrified.

If you do not think that the destruction caused by a future nuclear was could be as bad as I think, then go to this article and read it all. It is mind boggling to think that Russia has a bomb, reportedly the strongest one ever, supposedly 2,500 times stronger than the one dropped on Hiroshima. More at https://www.livescience.com/how-many-nuclear-weapons-exist (you may need to cut & paste this one into your browser).

All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Video Makes Me Want To Pick Up A Browning

 If you are interested in firearms history, you likely know that there probably is not a more eminent figure when it comes to firearms patents and models than John Moses Browning. If you'd like to know some of his history, watch this video. It is just under an hour long but I think definitely well worth your time: 

 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

See Yourself As A 1911 Expert?

Do you fancy yourself as an aficionado of the Colt 1911 pistol and its history? Maybe you are and maybe you are not. One thing for sure is that if you do not answer all ten of these questions correctly then you are not because these questions ought to be easy for a real 1911 type. 

I certainly am not a 1911 expert in any regard. I took the quiz and answered 9 out of 10 correctly but that was only do to a few lucky guesses. I pretty much knew the answers to only 5 questions with any amount of certainty.  See the quiz here:

http://www.fflunleashed.com/how-well-do-you-really-know-the-1911/

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - Our First Clues That Democrats Would Be First To Cause Global Warming

On this day in history, unbeknownst to us at the time, the fourth clue that Democrats would be totally responsible for starting Global Warming, aka: Climate Change, was thrown in our faces by Harry Truman. In fact, this fourth clue clearly indicated that they would not only be responsible for starting global warming but that they would continually proceed to find better ways to make our planet nice and toasty warm regardless of the cost to us. On this day in history, January 31, 1950, President Harry Truman announced that the USA would seek to create the hydrogen bomb, aka: The Hell Bomb.

Oh, by the way, if you were wondering what were the first three clues that Democrats would be responsible for Global Warming, they were gifts that President Harry Truman gave to the world and that warmed our planet more than the sun in some places: Trinity, Little Boy, and Fat Man. Funny how the liberal leftist Demoncrats now want to blame man's slash and burn farming techniques of 7,000 years ago but how they don't even mention at all the atomic, hydrogen, and whatever types followed, bombs that have been set off since Harry Truman first starting toasting the earth and its atmosphere with thermonuclear goodness.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - It Was A Very Lucky Day For Carol DaRonch....

...and also a day that provided law enforcement with information they needed to help apprehend a heinous serial killer. On November 8, 1974, 18 year old Carol DaRonch was approached by a man claiming to be a police officer. He told her there had been an attempt to steal her car. She accompanied him into the parking lot of a Murray City mall where she had been shopping and got into that man's car. Suddenly, the man placed handcuffs onto her (reportedly both wound up on the same wrist as she struggled with him) and tried to beat her with a crowbar. DaRonch did exactly what many police departments and leftist civic groups try to deter crime victims from doing - she fought for her life. The result was that she was able to escape from her abductor. It is almost certain that had she not escaped she would have been killed because that man was the serial killer Ted Bundy.



About 9 months later, in Seattle, an officer saw a Volkswagen that was suspicious to him. He pulled over the car and found handcuffs in the back of the car and arrested the driver - Ted Bundy. Based in part on evidence supplied by DaRonch, Bundy was convicted of kidnapping and put in jail and the investigation of him as a suspected serial killer went into overdrive. More here and lots more here.

All the best,
Glenn B

Great Men Come & Go - We Use Their Inventions & Never Know...

...who they were or anything about them. One such man just passed on a few days ago and I thought I would take this moment to share a bit about his life with you. Why? Well you see, chances are good, probably even excellent, that you own or have used or have benefitted from more than just one thing that he created but there is one special thing among all of his inventions that is a household icon in America. It is something that should have made him famous or at least made his name a household name but my bet is that you probably never heard of him before and that is a shame because we all to often do not give credit where credit is due while we enjoy the fruits of another person's labors. We tend to praise the heathens in Hollywood or airheads in sports, or the glamour girls and guys in magazines more so than those who really make a meaningful contribution to our lives.

This man made more than one of those contributions but there is one with which almost every one of us should be familiar - he invented ceramic glass. "What was that?" you say. Let me say it another way - he invented Corning Ware. No, he is not famous for it, nor did he get rich off of it, but even if he invented it by accident, he benefitted us all if only in a way we take for granted possibly on every day of our lives.

I know that my family has had corning ware in the house since at least the early 1960s - my mom used it frequently - she loved it. It was certainly an improvement over its predecessors and since she cooked a lot - we used Corning Ware a lot. She used it to cook and to store foods just as I would guess most people do. My family still uses it today, my wife has a few of their casserole dishes in the kitchen cabinets and you would be able to find one in our fridge after just about any meal has been ended with leftovers remaining. 

By the way, just in case you were wondering, the man's name was S. Donald Stookey. He passed away last Tuesday at age 99. Imagine that, he was on this earth for 99 years and you probably never heard his name before he died even though he invented something as popular as Corning Ware that you have probably used much more than once. He also held 60 other patents some of which were for inventions that improved things like eyeglasses, sunglasses, missile nose cones, color television screens (photosensitive glass), computers and communications. "He received the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan in 1987. In 2010, at age 94, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame" (source). I think he maybe was the Edison of our times, at least when it came to glass.

He was also an avid outdoorsman who fished and hunted with his sons. While you may not think that is even worth mentioning I do for a few reasons. The first is that I know the bond is created between a father and son who fish and hunt together, the second is that America would be a better place if more of us enjoyed those pastimes and the third is that they could have based an episode of Survivor or a similar show on him. You see, he survived a plane crash, in the Arctic, into freezing water with no chance of rescue.  But he made it. He seems to have been quite the man - yet how many of us ever heard of him before? I will admit that I had heard of him before but it surely wasn't much.

If you'd like to read a bit more about him, go to these links:

http://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2014/11/06/corningware-inventor-dies/18600265/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Donald_Stookey

I never met the man but I guess in a way I knew him, still know him, and so do all of us if we have ever used or will use anything that one of his inventions introduced into or improved in our lives. He will be missed if only for the fact that he will no longer be making our lives easier and better by way of any new inventions.

Perhaps, maybe just now and sometime again, when you eat something that was cooked, served or stored in a Corning Ware dish - you will think of him. I am sure I will find myself doing so more than once. My heart felt condolences to his family and loved ones.

A hat tip to New Jovian Thunderbolt for his post where I originally learned about Mr. Stookey's passing.

All the best,
Glenn B

Some Interesting Family History That I Just Learned

I went out to my sisters house a couple or few nights ago, to go through some of my mom's photo albums and other memorabilia with the purpose of taking what I wanted to save. My sister and brother-in-law  split up and finally sold the house and have to get things out of it. Since my mom is in an assisted living facility, she has no room for it so I took virtually all the old photo albums and a few small trinkets that bring back memories.

Among the picture albums, I found some old family papers and old family photos of my maternal grandfather and his family going back two generations before him. I did not know him well, in fact only met him when I maybe was in my mid-teens, more likely in my late teens, maybe even in my young twenties; I am bad on timelines from back then, don't ask why. I visited him fairly often once we found out he lived in our neighborhood, he and my grandmother had parted ways many years before and my mother had not seen him in decades and suddenly there he was close to home. He lived only a few blocks from us. When I visited him, I did some small chores for him and we talked more of current events and jawboned more than talking his history. Anyway, among his photos was an awards brochure from the New York City Sanitation Department in 1943. When I paged through it, I saw he was awarded a medal by then mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia. I read on and found the reason why he got that medal, it was the NYC Dept. of Sanitation Medal of Valor. (Who woulda thunk that someone working for the garbage department could win a medal of valor - but he did - as did four others in that ceremony.) We don't have the medal (unless it is yet to be found) but I do have the certificate he was awarded with it, too bad it is in really bad shape, torn and missing pieces. Anyway I guess I should mention why he was awarded that medal of valor.

On September 6, 1942 (72 years ago yesterday), my maternal grandfather, Robert Oppel, was an oiler on a NYC Dept. of Sanitation tug boat in District 56, Queens. As it ploughed the waters of the East River... Heck, let me tell you verbatim how they said it, back then, using the words from the awards pamphlet:

"About 4PM on September 6, 1942, while working on a tugboat, Robert Oppel heard the screams of an eight-year old boy, who had fallen into the East River. He plunged into the water, swam over to the child and brought him to safety. He rendered first aid treatment pending the arrival of medical assistance."

My mother was 17 soon to be 18 when that happened, my grandfather was no spring chicken at the time. Judging by his photo in the booklet, I would say he was in his late 30s to mid- forties. I am not too sure but I also think he was estranged from the family by then, already for a long time. I  know my mother did not think much of her father especially since he basically abandoned her and her brother and their mom many years before we found him living close to us. Yet, she was proud enough of him to save this stuff and a few other things of his as well as his family photos and some family papers dating back to the mid to late 1800s after he passed on.


That's the photo of him that they used in the
1943 awards pamphlet. As you can see there is
also a photo of a Sanitation Dept. tug boat, I am
guessing the one he served on and of what looks
to be a tug crew (he may be the guy to the left).
Also his Port Security card from 1955.

My mom was also good enough to help take care of him once they were back in touch after all those years of separation. Had she not been of that ilk, I guess I would never have met him, she could just as easily have never introduced me, my brother or sister to him but she did and we all connected. Family bonds meant something back then, to most people, more than they do today to way too many. Even if those bonds were broken they could be mended again or made anew if not mended. Ironic thing is she wound up marrying a bum much worse than her father may have been to her; my father was truly a monster and thankfully left us too, but then again this is not about my father or mother but about something I only found out about my grandfather a couple of days before its 72 anniversary.

I will admit I am pretty awestruck by it. It's not everyday that you learn one of your relatives saved another person's life at peril to his own life. Pretty cool in my book. I'd like to think I'd do likewise in a similar situation. Anyway - a hat tip to Grandpa Oppel - whether he is I heaven looking down on me, or down lower and looking up at me, for whatever else he did or did not do in his lifetime. (All about which I have no clue but I'd like to know. I suppose I likely never will learn any more about his endeavors and adventures, little to no chance of that now but then at least I found out about this.) Oh well, that's it - just something of our family history that peaked my interest from out of the blue almost 72 years to the day from when it happened.

All the best,
Glenn B

Firearms and Today in History...

...are subjects that pop up in my mind now and again. I am, of course, a firearms enthusiast. Yet I am not much of a buff when it comes to firearms in history. Heck, I would rather shoot em that study them; yet I am curious about some of their history. In addition,even though I am not a true general buff, I also enjoy finding out things about history, especially about U.S. history. Now I am about to tell you all about an event that took place on July 11, 1804, and it involves both guns, and U.S. history. It is an event of which every U.S. Citizen should be aware, at least any of us who went through grammar school and paid any attention at all; but my bet is that most people do not know when it happened, or why it happened.

The event was the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. (The photo is supposedly of the actual pistols used in that duel.) This duel took place in Weehawken, NJ despite the fact that both participants were were New Yorkers, and the transgression that led to the duel was a matter relative to New York. My guess is that New York was even so liberal enough back then to have some kind of anti-gun or anti-dueling ordinance, so these guys went to NJ to get the deed done. That is not all that relevant though to the point that they actually were involved in a duel over honor. Can you imagine that. Heck, if you so much as push someone today you would be arrested for something like assault or battery; and how many Americans even care to defend their honor today let alone defend their own country and no I am not belittling anyone in our military, but rather I am belittling those cry baby leftists who pee in their pants over even the thought of aggression or violence to solve a problem).

Do you know why they dueled? Do you know if both fired their weapons? Do you know the intent of each man during the duel? Do you know if either man was killed or wounded? Do you know who won the duel? Do you know what happened to each man after the duel? Do you know if either man was ever an elected official or political leader? If you are at all interested, here is a link to a brief rundown on the subject:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html.

Here is a link to a more detailed depiction of the vent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr-Hamilton_duel

Read the whole Wikipedia depiction, it is fascinating, especially with regard to the mindset of the people back then.

In addition, for the true history buff, or firearms enthusiast, here is a link to an article that suggests that Hamilton (long suspected honorable guy) and Burr (long suspected dishonorable guy) may have actually had opposite roles in this duel:

http://www.aaronburrassociation.org/Smithsonian.htm

Very interesting stuff, to debunk a possible myth about the character of each man, for both the history buff and the firearms enthusiast. The hypothesis in this article is supported by an investigation of facts as opposed to being supported only by anecdotal evidence from friends who attended the duel. I love it. Were they very different than we are today? Make up your own mind on that point; but rest assured that dueling over such an important thing as honor was part of life back then; and while I do not necessarily advocate dueling today, we should not rule out violence as a proper means, of an ordinary man, to reach a worthy end.

All the best,


Glenn B

A History Test For Your Kids...

... or maybe for you. Okay, I was really thinking of giving you another post about 'Today In History', even though I gave you one yesterday; but it appears someone else on my blog roll, The Anarchangel, just did that, and beat me to it. So instead of me getting all too boring through repetition, I have devised a small test for your children. Maybe it is not as much for them, as it is for you to determine just what they may know about history, or in other words what they may have learned at home, on TV, on the Internet, and mostly in school about history. As a matter of fact, maybe it will give you an idea of what you know.

For the test I will use fairly famous historical events, fairly famous names, and the like. The catch is that I will ask questions only about the events or persons who gained fame on this day, and yesterday (since my post about 'today in history' was posted yesterday).

See how good you do, then see how good your kids do; my guess is that anyone should be able to score at least 75%, and that 90% would be more like it, but who am I to say. By the way, just take it for granted the dates are correct, no trick questions about the dates. Here goes:

1) True or False - Colonel Robert E. Lee was offered, and refused, the command of the Union Army on April 18, 1861?

2) Who led the bombing raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942; was it:

a) Lt. Colonel James Doolittle
b) Commander Ernie Pyle
c) Lieutenant Billy Marten
d) Captain James T. Kirk
e) General Paul Tibbets

3) On April 18, 1861, Confederate General Johnson surrendered to Union Army General Sherman. In what war did this take place?

4) Ernie Pyle was:

a) the U.S. Marine who led the charge at Iwo Jima
b) a character, on The Andy Griffith Show, related to Gomer Pyle
c) a famous wartime news photographer killed in WWII
d) the soldier who was slapped by General Patton for cowardice during WWII
e) none of the above

5) Elliot Ness was born on April 19, 1903. For what, in general, is he most known?

6) Who was the president of the United States of America, who on April 19, 1861, ordered the blockade of confederate ports?

7) On April 19, 1943, the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto began an uprising; against what group were they fighting?

8) What famous war began on April 19, 1775?

9) On April 19, 1995, a terrorist killed 168 people, and wounded scores of others, in what U.S. city?

10) On April 19, 1941, Bulgarian troops attacked Macedonia. Was Bulgaria part of the Allied or Axis forces?

11) On April 19, 1587, Sir Francis Drake sailed into Cadiz Spain and sank the Spanish Fleet. Drake was the commander of which fleet:

a) the German
b) the Dutch
c) the American
d) the English
e) a pirate fleet

12) True or False: April 18, 1946, the USA recognizes Tito's government in Romania.

13) April 18, 1906, an earthquake, and the ensuing fire, destroys almost 3/4 of a U.S. city, and kills over 4,000 people. In what city did this take place?

14) The battle of Harper's Ferry took place in what modern day country?

15) On April 18, 1909, Joan of Arc was named a saint in the Catholic religion. From what country was Joan of Arc?

16) April 19, 1977, author Alex Haley receives the Pulitzer Prize for his book 'Roots'. What in general did Haley write about in this book?

17) On April 18, 1946, the predecessor of the United Nations was dissolved. What was the name of that organization?

18) On April 18, 1885, the Sino-Japanese war ended. Which were the two major countries involved in this war?

19) On April 19, 1977, which country launched its first Salyut space station:

a) Russia
b) China
c) India
d) the USSR
e) none of the above

20) On April 19, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur, after being relieved of his far east command by the then president of the United States, quoted this line in his farewell address to Congress: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away". What was the last name of the president who relieved MacArthur of his command?

Have fun. I you do not know the answers, they are all really easy enough to find for yourselves, either through a web search or by scrolling down below. Then again, you knew them all anyhow.

No cheating. Good luck.

All the best,
Glenn B







































1) T
2) a
3) The Civil War
4) c
5) 1930's crime fighter, G-Man, etc...
6) Lincoln
7) The Nazis (The German Army would be acceptable)
8) The American Revolution
9) Oklahoma City
10) Axis
11) The English
12) F
13) San Francisco
14) USA
15) France
16) His ancestory (slavery is not the correct answer)
17) League of nations
18) Russia and Japan
19) The USSR
20) Truman

I hope I got them all in the right order.

Today in History - a Violent Nature Exposed

Today is the anniversary of the last day of my freedom. Yep, if you guessed that it means that tomorrow is my wedding anniversary you are correct – 21 years of marital whatever. I was thinking of writing a rant tomorrow about some of the famous and not so famous events that took place on April 19th, but being that today is that other anniversary, I figured I would do it for April 18th instead. After all, April 19th is well known because it is the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the bloody end of the siege Waco 1993, Connecticut approved the U.S. Bill of rights in 1939 (can you imagine, those liberals), The Warsaw Ghetto uprisings commence against the Nazis in 1943, the last day the earth was free of anything to do with Adolf Hitler (he was born on the 20th in 1889), Elliot Ness was born in 1903, President Lincoln orders a blockade of Confederate ports in 1861, Tadeusz Kosciuszko forces the Russians out of Warsaw in 1794, the American Revolution began when fighting broke out in Lexington, MA.

Okay so that was the 19th, which is tomorrow, so what about today the 18th. Well let’s see, on the 18th of April the following event occurred:

A suicide bomber kills U.S. Marines, and others, at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983

Rhodesia, later known as Zimbabwe gains independence from great Britain in 1980

Ireland removes itself from the British commonwealth in 1949

Ernie Pyle killed by machine gun fire 1945

Yamamoto shot down by American fighter planes in 1943

Doolittle bombs Tokyo in 1942

Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop, ambassador for disarmament in 1934

The really big San Francisco earthquake 1906

Confederate Gen Johnson surrendered to Gen Sherman in North Carolina in 1865

Colonel Robert E. Lee turns down an offer to command the Union Armies in 1861 (can you imagine)

Battle of Harper’s ferry, VA 1861

Battle of Cerro Gordo in which U.S. armed forces rout a much larger Mexican Army in 1847

End of the 1st Seminole War in 1818

Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to warn people of MA of the advance of British Troops 1775

Sudbury, MA attacked by Indians 1676

Sure there were also a lot of other things that happened on this day in history, some good and some bad. There were many things that while worthy of note will never make it into the history books. As for the things I mentioned for both days, there is a common thread, and if you look at any other day throughout recorded history, I am certain you will find this common thread on all the other days of the year, and you will find it in abundance. The commonality is that we as a species are violent – and please note that yes the connection in some of the mentioned events is indirect, but you should be able to figure it out with half a brain.

Please note, much of the info about the above events was gleaned from: http://www.brainyhistory.com/, and http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history. Go to those sites, go to the encyclopedias, go to the history books, watch the History Channel and others, check it out for yourself - we have a violent nature - there is no doubt about it.

Sometimes violence is for the good, sometimes it is for the worse; but regardless of the morality of it, we are indeed prone to violence. In that regard we should all be afforded the liberty to exercise our right to self defense, defense of family, defense of innocents, defense of our property, defense of our Constitution, our flag and the Republic for which it stands. In other words, we should all be able to freely exercise our right to keep and bear arms. This should be a universal right for all mankind. It should be evident to those in the not so free world, that had they the liberty to exercise said right, they might well have been free, and many of their slain countrymen might still be alive today. In fact, it cannot be any more evident than it should be for those living in the USA, or other countries in the free world, that such a right has kept us able to enjoy all of our other liberties and rights time and time again throughout history, including the right to life, while others around the globe who have their liberties stripped from them suffer and perish at the will of armed governments.

The right to keep and bear arms, as in the Second Amendment, to the United States Constitution, found in the Bill of Rights, is our most valuable right. It protects all of our other rights as it also protects us. Instead of helping the United Nations, and other countries in their attempts to strip us of that right as does the anti-gun lobby - we, all of us as free U.S. Citizens, should be pushing for other nations to adopt the liberty for their people to exercise that same right.

All the best,
Glenn B