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Today’s post is in honor of Army Sgt. Tyler N. Holtz, who was killed on this day in 2011 in Afghanistan’s Wardak province by enemy small-arms fire. The 22-year-old native of Dana Point, Calif. was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and was serving his fourth tour in Afghanistan. Holtz was assigned to 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. 1780: Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold learns that British spy Maj. John André has been captured, along with the evidence that would expose Arnold’s secret plot to turn West Point over to the British. He flees to the...

Every September 17, we celebrate Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution by the delegates who were still in town, that fall day in 1787 following the Constitutional Convention. Over the past century, however, there have been more and more complaints about it. We have been told that this clause or that was unfair, that this point was dated and this other point was misguided. All in the interest of numbing the populace, so people wouldn’t mind when the Constitution was violated. After all, if a politician violates a sacred oath, that’s a sin against his constituents,...

Former Secretary of State and loser to Trump in the 2016 presidential election Hillary Clinton called reports that President Trump had spoken with a Ukrainian leader "collusion with a foreign power to help him win an election." Her charge was sparked by an unconfirmed report that Trump has suggested that Ukraine "take a look at a boast by then Vice-President Joe Biden that his threat to cancel US aid to Ukraine persuaded that government to drop an investigation into a questionable business deal between Biden's son and a Ukrainian company. While it is plausible to posit that evidence of corruption...

At a time when taxpayer and foreign-government spending at Trump Organization properties is fueling political battles, a U.S. Marine Corps reserve unit stationed in South Florida hopes to hold an annual ball at a venue that could profit the commander-in-chief. The unit is planning a gala to celebrate the 244th anniversary of the Marines’ founding at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach on Nov. 16, according to a posting on the events website Evensi. “It’s a work in progress,” said a Marine who picked up the phone late Thursday at the drill center of the 4th Air Naval...

GROESBEEK, NETHERLANDS 09.18.2019 - Dutch re-enactors, dressed as Soldiers of 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, parachute out of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden and begin the ceremony to present the Military Order of William to WWII veterans in Groesbeek, the Netherlands, Sept. 18th, 2019. This event is just one of the many events commemorating the largest airborne operation in history, Operation Market Garden, which was aimed at liberating the Netherlands and gaining a foothold into Nazi Germany by crossing the Maas, Waal, and ultimately the Rhine River. To this day,...

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Today's post is in honor of Sgt. Richard W. Perry, who was one of four "E" Company Marines killed on this date in 1966 during Operation PRAIRIE in the Republic of Vietnam's Quang Tri province. Perry, 24-years-old from Marion, Ark., had recently re-enlisted and was assigned to 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. 1777: The Battle of Freeman's Farm — the first engagement in the Battle of Saratoga — opens between Continental forces under the command of Gen. Horatio Gates and British forces under Gen. John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne. The Brits carry...

September 6th & 7th. Today, our Framers put the finishing touches to Article II. At this moment, so very late in the summer, the fatigued Framers still faced a critical question, “which body of Congress shall elect the President in the event of no majoritarian winner of the EC?” Delegate Hugh Williamson (NC) suggested the entire Congress, voting by state, and not per capita. Sherman immediately cut in to motion the House of Representatives, instead of the Senate or the entire Congress voting by state delegations, one vote per state. It passed 10-1. Having established the workings of the EC...

Today’s post is in honor of Spc. Chazray C. Clark, who was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on this day in 2011. The 24-year-old native of Ecorse, Mich. was assigned to 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. 1862: A day after the bloody Battle of Antietam, Gen. George B. McClellan blows yet another opportunity to capture Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, perhaps ending the Civil War. While Lee abandons his invasion of Maryland and turns south, McClellan allows the significantly outnumbered Confederates...

The triumph of the Convention of 1787 is that in raising a standard to which the wise and honest could repair, it also raised one that met the threefold test of legitimacy, popularity, and viability. One reason the Convention was able to strike the right balance between the urge to lead the people and the need to obey them, and between the urge to be noble and the need to be practical, was the disposition of most delegates to be “whole men” on stern principles and “halfway men” on negotiable details. Another was the way in which it worked with...

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) says the Bill of Rights in the Constitution “does more harm than good in today’s society. When I see how people are abusing the Second Amendment. No telling what they’d do with the First Amendment. I think there would be a strong support against the Bill of Rights. I run into people every day who would like to see so much of those guarantees uprooted.” The whip said he was “pleased to see such overwhelming support for severely restricting the right to bear arms from all of our Democratic presidential candidates. This unanimity stems...

Scientific studies indicate that a tomb that, according to legend, held Jesus Christ’s body dates back nearly 1,700 years. It is unknown whether the tomb ever really kept Jesus ‘ body. The limestone bed dates back to nearly 300 years after Jesus ‘ death. In addition, several other sites claim to hold the “tomb of Jesus.”

Subtitle: September 5th. George Mason prefers the government of Prussia. As we know, the Convention adjourned on September 17th and forwarded the draft Constitution to Congress. At this late stage, delegates were rapidly filling-in the Constitution’s various powers and limits. It’s all the more amazing they still squirmed over how to elect a President. Tempers flared. In their quest to craft a suitable presidential election mode, the delegates failed once again; they ended the day where they began: The executive power of the U. S. shall be vested in a single person. His stile shall be "The President of the...

Country music has been having an identity crisis since it crawled out of the cradle. Call it diffuse or call it elastic, but it has always run on two tracks: one was rough and one was slick, one rooted in tradition, the other more modern. Think about that serendipitous August in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, when, two days apart, both Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family auditioned for the Victor Talking Machine Company (which would ultimately become RCA Records). Ralph Peer, the record company’s producer and talent scout, immediately signed both acts. That was a big week for country...

Long, long ago… in the early middle ages in fact… the English monarchy established the concept of sanctuary in English law. In those days, if an accused criminal was being chased down by the police, he could run into the first church he could find, grab hold of one corner of the altar, and claim sanctuary, gaining protection from the law for an extensive period of time. Other countries have had variations on the concept, but this English method is the best known. For over a thousand years, up until the English Civil War in fact, this was the law...

September 13th and 14th mark the anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812, remembered primarily for the unsuccessful British bombardment of Fort McHenry and Francis Scott Key's penning the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner" while interned on a British warship. President James Madison had declared war on Great Britain in June 1812 in response to interference with American shipping and the impressment of U.S. merchant seamen during the Napoleonic wars, as well as the British stirring up the Indians of the Ohio Valley to resist American settlement. Following an abortive American invasion of southern Canada, the...

Today's post is in honor of Staff Sgt. William R. Squier, Jr. who was killed by enemy small-arms fire on this date in 1969 in Binh Thuan province, Republic of Vietnam. The 20-year-old native of Brownell, Ks. had been in Vietnam for 17 months and was assigned to "C" Company Rangers, 75th Infantry. 1814: Unable to break the strong American defensive lines around Baltimore after a series of attacks, British troops return to their ships. Meanwhile, Vice Adm. Alexander Cochrane's fleet begins a 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry, which guards the entrance to Baltimore harbor. The ships fire their cannons...

In the mysterious burial site called the “Russian Atlantis” AN extraordinarily 2,137 years-old “iPhone” was excavated from the tomb of a young lady. After a large, man-made reservoir in Siberia was drain during the summer, the tomb of the old fashionista – nicknamed Natasha by archeologists – was discovered.

Today’s post is in honor of four 1st Battalion, 2d Infantry Regiment soldiers killed in action east of Loc Ninh, Republic of Vietnam on this day in 1968. Lost were 1st Lt. Lester L. Wood (24 years old, from Dallas), 1st Lt. James A. Smith (22, Blackfoot, Idaho), Staff Sgt. Larry R. Sims (23, Rolling Hills, Ill.), and Pfc. Phillip L. Tank (20, Ecorse, Mich.). 1847: “From the halls of Montezuma…” Gen. Winfield Scott’s army of Marines and soldiers begin their attack on the castle Chapultepec, sitting 200 feet above in Mexico City. During the battle, 90 percent of Marine...

September 14th will mark the 205th anniversary of the writing of America’s National Anthem. It is observed as "Star Spangled Banner Day.” This episode shines the spotlight—and perhaps some of the rocket’s red glare—on the Star Spangled Banner, to highlight just how extraordinary this anthem is in both history and substance. The show features an interview with Marc Ferris, author of the book "Star Spangled Banner: The Unlikely Story of America's National Anthem.” And it suggests that the Banner is a small but not insignificant part of the way God blessed America.