Florida Presidential Primary Day

YAY!  Silly season is almost over.  No more political flyers stuffing my mailbox, robocalls interrupting my evenings, and spam filling my inbox – at least until the general election campaign starts.

Floridians began going to the polls in early voting a few days ago, but the contest ends when the voting booths close tonight.  If you live in the sunshine state and have a photo I.D., get your butt down to the polls.  If you don’t, I don’t want to hear your b****ing about who the eventual nominee is.

This election will eventually boil down to 2 candidates; one that will turn America away from the path of  soft socialism,unconstitutional power grabs, nanny-state paternalism, and international appeasement or Barack Hussein Obama II.  In November you will have the choice to vote for a return to American values and Constitutional principles or you vote for what we have now.

Lost and Found – January 31st Edition

What to remember about January 31st…

• 1606  Guy Fawkes, chief conspirator in the “Gunpowder Plot” to blow up parliament and the king, jumps to his death on the way to his execution
• 1752  Founding Father, lawmaker, and “Penman of the Constitution”  Gouverneur Morris is born in New York City (d. 1816)
• 1865  13th Amendment to the Constitution in passed by Congress; it will be ratified and adopted by December; outlaws slavery in America
• 1915  Germany attempts 1st large-scale use of chemical weapons on the battlefield; freezing temperatures and wind render poison gas ineffective – this time
• 1945  Private Eddie Slovik becomes 1st and only U.S. soldier executed for desertion during WWII; Civil War was last time deserters executed
• 1950  President Truman announces that U.S. will develop a new generation of atomic weapons now that Soviets have the bomb; hydrogen bomb is coming
• 1958  NASA successfully launches its 1st satellite into orbit; Explorer 1
• 1971  NASA launches Apollo 14 from Cape Canaveral beginning 3rd mission to land men on the Moon; Shepard, Roosa, and Mitchell aboard
• 1995  President Clinton authorizes $20 billion loan to Mexico in attempt to prevent economic collapse that could impact U.S. markets
• 2001  Libyan terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is convicted by Scottish court for role in 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270; “terminally ill” and facing imminent death he is released on compassionate grounds in 2009; still alive as of this writing

Lost and Found – January 30th Edition

What to remember about January 30th…

• 1703  In Japan the Forty-seven Ronin avenge the death of their master in an attack that took 2-years to plan and execute
• 1781  Maryland is 13th and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, does so only after Virginia gives up claims to western lands
• 1835  Deranged Richard Lawrence is 1st to attempt to assassinate an American president; Andrew Jackson escapes injury when attackers pistols misfire
• 1862  America’s 1st “ironclad” warship USS Monitor is commissioned
• 1882  Future 32nd President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt is born in Hyde Park, New York (d. 1945)
• 1933  German president Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler to be chancellor
• 1945  While evacuating civilians during operation Hannibal, German transport ship MV Wilhelm Gustav is sunk by Soviet submarine, over 9000 civilians die
• 1945  126 American Army Rangers and Filipino scouts rescue almost 500 POW’s from Japanese prison camp in Raid at Cabanatuan
• 1948  Political and spiritual leader of Indian independence movement Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi assassinated by Hindu fanatic (b. 1869)
• 1956  Home of Martin Luther King Jr. is bombed in response to Bus Boycott
• 1968  Massive surprise attacks across the country mark beginning of the Tet Offensive; ultimately a failure for North Vietnam, public loses confidence in President Lyndon Johnson’s promises of rapid resolution of Vietnam conflict
• 1972  British soldiers shoot 30 unarmed protesters in Londonderry, Northern Ireland killing 13; “Bloody Sunday” leads to IRA bombing campaign
• 2006  Civil rights activist and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Coretta Scott King dies (b. 1927)

Lost and Found – January 29th Edition

What to remember about January 29th…

• 1843  Future 25th President William McKinley is born Miles, Ohio (d. 1901); succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt after his assassination
• 1845  Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven” is 1st published
• 1861  Kansas enters the Union as the 34th state; slave-free state
• 1886  Karl Benz, founder of Mercedes-Benz, patents the 1st successful gasoline powered automobile
• 1891  Last monarch of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani ascends to the throne
• 1936  Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York inducts 1st members: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson
• 1954  American actress, talk show host, and philanthropist Orpah Gail “Oprah” Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Mississippi
• 1991  Battle of Khafji is 1st major ground engagement of the Persian Gulf War; Iraqi forces invade Saudi Arabia but are beaten off by coalition forces
• 1998  Bomb explodes at abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama; Centennial Olympic Park bomber Eric Robert Rudolf kills 1 and wounds 2
• 2002  President George W. Bush makes “Axis of Evil” State of the Union Address; declares Iraq, Iran, and North Korea major threats to world security

Requesting a little feedback.

(Bumped up)

Thank you all for the great input on my daily “Lost and Found” history posts.  Putting them is a great learning tool for me as much as it is informational (and sometimes entertaining) for you.

Generally I do the post around 6 or 7am and then share it with all of you.  Lately though I have had some emails about the timing of my posting.  There have been several folks that say they miss the post because it isn’t out early enough.  others say that they like to see it in their morning mail.

It wouldn’t be hard for me to get one day ahead and set the posts to appear at a specific time (I do this when I travel).  So, please take a moment and answer the poll below.  Thanks for your input.

Lost and Found – January 28th Edition

What to remember about January 28th…

• 1777  British General Burgoyne develops plan to invade colonies and cut New England off from the south; poor planning leads to Patriot victory at Saratoga
• 1902  Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded with gift of $10 million from Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie
• 1915  German cruiser sinks unarmed American freighter because they fail to jettison “contraband” cargo of wheat bound for England
• 1915  President Wilson signs act merging Revenue Cutter Service with Life-Saving Service to create the modern United States Coast Guard
• 1959  Football great Vince Lombardi is signed to coach the Green Bay Packers
• 1973  Cease-fire goes into effect in Vietnam as U.S. pulls out
• 1980  USCGC Blackthorn collides with tanker Capricorn in Tampa Bay; though lightly damaged, entangled Blackthorn capsizes and 23 of 50 aboard are killed
• 1985  45 pop music icons gather in one studio to record “We Are The World”; charity album will raise millions to alleviate African famine
• 1986  NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73-seconds after launch, astronauts Jarvis, McAuliffe, McNair, Onizuka, Resnik, Smith, and Scobee are all killed

Warbirds – P-38 Lightning

To honor the anniversary of the first flight of the P-38 Lightning on January 27, 1939 we present to you some great footage in this new edition of Warbirds. This iconic aircraft emerged from United States Army Air Corps specifications drawn up in 1937. It was designated an “interceptor” to bypass the bureaucratic restriction of less than 500lbs of armament in pursuit aircraft. USAAF ordered an initial 55 aircraft in 1939 with the initial lightnings deployed with the 1st Fighter Group’s 27th Pursuit Squadron in July 1941. The first Lightnings to see service in WWII were unarmed F-4 photo reconnaissance version with the 8th Photographic Squadron in Australia. Armed P-38’s began operating in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska in May 1942. At the end of a 1000 mile patrol in August, a pair of Lightnings of the 343rd Fighter Group, 11th Air Force encountered and downed a pair of Japanese H6K “Mavis” flying boats. These were the 1st kills recorded for the aircraft nicknamed by the Japanese “two planes, one pilot”. In the European theater, P-38 Lightnings earned a fearsome reputation among Axis aircrews.  After 26 P-38’s destroyed 31 aircraft near Tunis in April 1943, it earned the nickname “fork-tailed devil” from German aircrews.

Over the course of its operational life, over 10,000 P-38’s were built.  It was the only American aircraft to serve continuously from start to finish of World War II.  Over 100 pilots became aces piloting this plane with several earning the Medal of Honor.  Her most famous mission is considered to be the interception of the transport and escorts of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto; resulting in his death.  Over a dozen working examples of this famous Warbird remain airworthy today and can often be seen at air shows.  If you get the chance to see one in action, you wont be disappointed.

Without further ado, here is some great video.

Lost and Found – January 27th Edition

What to remember about January 27th…

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

• 1756  Musical prodigy and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is born in Austria (d. 1791)
• 1776  Expedition of Colonel Henry Knox finishes 3-month trek through frozen countryside with 60-tons of captured British artillery
• 1785  Georgia incorporates 1st state-funded university; it is first named Franklin College and will become University of Georgia
• 1862  President Lincoln attempts to command Union forces into action by issuing General War Order No. 1; finds tactics better left to the soldiers
• 1888  33 explorers, geographers, scientists, soldiers, and teachers meet in Washington, D.C. to found the National Geographic Society
• 1939  1st flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter-bomber
• 1943  Over 90 bombers strike U-Boat construction yards; first attack by American aircraft on Germany
• 1967  Fire aboard NASA’s Apollo 1 spacecraft during simulation kills astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chafee
• 1973  Paris Peace Accords are signed; President Nixon’s promise fulfilled as American participation in Vietnam War officially ends
• 1998  First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appears on “Today” show and declares “vast right-wing conspiracy” behind her husband’s impeachment

Lost and Found – January 26th Edition

What to remember about January 26th…

• 1784  Benjamin Franklin writes letter to his daughter Sarah stating his displeasure at choice of Bald Eagle as American symbol; turkey was his preference
• 1788  First fleet carrying convict settlers arrives in Australia to establish penal colony; celebrated as Australia Day
• 1837  Michigan enters the Union as 26th state
• 1861  Louisiana secedes from the Union
• 1870  Virginia rejoins the Union
• 1945  Army 2nd Lt. Audie Murphy is wounded (again) while guarding the retreat of his outnumbered troops; will be awarded Medal of Honor
• 1945  Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland and take control of the network of Nazi concentration camps and uncover evidence of atrocities
• 1950  India becomes an independent nation and worlds largest democracy as constitution goes into effect; celebrated as Republic Day
• 1961  Janet G. Travell becomes physician to President Kennedy; 1st woman to hold this post
• 1970  U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Everett Alvarez, Jr. spends 2000th day as a POW in Vietnam; will not be released until 1973; longest held U.S. POW in history
• 1980  U.S. Olympic Committee votes to ask IOC to move or cancel Moscow Olympics in response to invasion of Afghanistan
• 1998  President Bill Clinton goes on TV and denies having “sexual relations” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky
• 2005  Condoleezza Rice is appointed Secretary of State by President George Bush; highest cabinet post ever held by an African-American woman

State of the Union Address – Deja Vu

No matter how many times and in how many ways he says the same things, President Obama won’t acknowledge that his administration is a failure (Hat tip to Rush Limbaugh for predicting this one).  We’ve heard Obama’s tired promises and platitudes over and over and over again.  Let’s roll the tape, shall we?

For a translation (into reality) of the President’s remarks last night, read below…