Today in History

I guess I should have posted this first, but I thought I'd try something new and at the same time, on one subject in particular, correct the record for a lot of people.

First off, and this is the topic I'd like to set the record straight on, is this is the 131st anniversary of the Battle of Little Big Horn between the Sioux Indian nation and the 7th Calvary led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. Everyone assumes that Custer was this rouge soldier that defied the rules and went on a rampage slaughtering innocent women and children. On the contrary, Custer was a national hero for years after the Civil War and was one of the main reasons the North won it. It was he and his strategy, along with his superior skills in battle, that was able to defeat the forces of Jeb Stuart at the Battle of Gettysburg, thus turning the tide for the Union. In fact it was President Ulysses S. Grant that handed the flag of the Union to Custer at the surrender ceremonies, to honor the Brigadier General (all high-ranking officers were busted down due to the expansion of the army out west) for his efforts and accomplishments, despite the fact that Grant was not a fan of Custer personally, to say the least.

It wasn't until the unresearched liberal movie, "Little Big Man" starring Dustin Hoffman (that little weasel) that came out in 1970 that made him what he is today in the hearts and minds of the uninformed and uneducated. The fact is, any and all malfeasance committed by Custer was not only misrepresented, but was on orders of his immediate superiors, if not from President Grant himself. What most people don't know is that Custer himself was not all that pleased with the treatment of the natives, especially after the treaties he made with them. He was most certainly opposed to the disease-riddled blankets given to the indians as well as spoiled food, such as rotten vegetables and especially bad meat. He is on record protesting as much for anyone willing to research it.

Many re-creations have been made about Little Big Horn and the events leading up to it, most of them pure fiction, Hollywood-style. Aside from the aforementioned Hoffman fiasco, there is also the television movie, "Son of the Morning Star" which although was more historically accurate that "Little Big Man" was not altogether solid. However, the one re-enactment than boiled my lobster the most was an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" starring Jane Seymour. In one scene the U.S. Calvary rode into town and the citizens began to throw rotten tomatoes and lettuce at Custer and his men. This is so inane it's almost laughable if it wasn't so insulting. The fact is when you live in a expansion town in the old west, surrounded by savages, and contrary to popular liberal belief, that's exactly what the indians of the time were, you were damn glad when you saw government representatives come to town, especially the army and in particular a division of the army led by the hero of the Civil War. Pathetic. His whole story really needs to be corrected and updated.

Also on this day...
-in 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.
-In 1788, the state of Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.
-In 1942, some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.
-In 1951, the first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a 55-minute special from New York to four other cities.
-In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
-In 1967, the Beatles performed their new song "All You Need Is Love" during a live international telecast.
-In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.
This is another state of affairs I must comment on. Now, let me be clear; I don't condone the cover-up of Nixon on the Watergate front, but I do not believe he was "a crook" as he himself stated. For those who don't know, he was not the worst president in history. Yes, he deserved to be impeached for lying to the American people (much like Clinton, but unlike Slick Willy, Nixon at least had the good fortitude to resign) but he also opened up China for business and he stopped four different wars in Africa. No president has done the same since. But as for Dean, do any of you know, despite the usual love-offerings of the liberal press heaped upon whistle-blowers, that when Nixon wanted to come clean over Watergate (which he had nothing to do with before the fact) Dean was the one who persuaded him to do otherwise, stating in effect that "the American people would not understand and would hate you."
Then to save his own backside, he ratted out Nixon. And Dean is a media darling to this day.
-Oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau died in Paris at age 87.
-One year ago: Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, after tunneling under the border and attacking a military post, killing two other soldiers. An al-Qaida-linked group posted a Web video showing the killings of three Russian Embassy workers who'd been abducted in Iraq; a statement from the group said a fourth worker had also been slain.

This was kind of interesting and fun for me. Maybe I'll do this more often.