Today In History; December 23

December 23, 2013

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Good Morning and God Bless To Everyone !!!

Today is December 23, the 357th day of 2013 and there are 8 days left this year and it is a blessed day to be here in the work for our Lord at:

For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!

It is another beautiful day here in Albuquerque where it is presently in the high 20’s and we’re expecting high’s today in the mid to upper 40’s. God’s beautiful sunshine is spreading across the area and we’re expecting pretty much the same weather for the next several days through Christmas.

So, What Happened Today In 1783:

General George Washington Resigns His Commission

On this day in 1783, following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, General George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and retires to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Washington addressed the assembled Congress:

“Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task; which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.

Washington’s willingness to return to civilian life was an essential element in the transformation of the War for Independence into a true revolution. During the war, Congress had granted Washington powers equivalent to those of a dictator and he could have easily taken solitary control of the new nation. Indeed, some political factions wanted Washington to become the new nation’s king. His modesty in declining the offer and resigning his military post at the end of the war fortified the republican foundations of the new nation.

Although he asked nothing for himself, Washington did enter a plea on behalf of his officers:

“While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge, in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished merits of the gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the war. It was impossible the choice of confidential officers to compose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit me, sir, to recommend in particular, those who have continued in the service to the present moment, as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage of Congress.

The patronage Washington requested seemed most pressing as the army had narrowly survived several mutinies and a near-attempted coup the previous autumn. The veteran officers who had helped to keep the army intact desired western lands in thanks for their service. Their claims would constitute a major issue for the new American government as it attempted to organize the settlement of what had been the colonial backcountry.

Washington concluded:

“Having now finished the work assigned to me, I retire from the great theatre of action; and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take any leave of all the employments of public life.”

General Washington’s respite proved extremely brief. He was unanimously elected to the first of two terms as president of the United States in 1788.

Other Memorable Or Interesting Events That Occurred On December 23 In History:

962 – In the Byzantine-Arab Wars, under the command of the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist;

1620 – Following the Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth harbor in present-day Massachusetts, construction of the 1st European settlement in New England begins;

1776 – Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France;

1779 – Benedict Arnold is court-martialed for improper conduct;

1823 – The anonymous poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published. The verse now known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore;

1862 – Confederate President Jefferson Davis declares Union General Benjamin Butler a felon & insists he be captured & executed. Butler was never captured & later served as a U.S. Congressman & Governor of Massachusetts;

1888 – Suffering from severe depression, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh cuts off the lower part of his left ear in Arles, France. Although regarded as an artistic genius today, he only sold one painting during his lifetime;

1893 – Engelbert Humperdinck opera “Haensel und Gretel” is 1st performed in Weimar, Germany;

1913 – Federal Reserve System is created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act;

1928 – The National Broadcasting Company, (NBC), sets up a permanent coast-to-coast network;

1941 – In WWII, American forces on Wake Island in the Pacific surrender to Japanese forces;

1941 – In WWI, British troops overrun Benghazi, Libya;

1944 – General Dwight Eisenhower endorses the finding of a court-martial in the case of Eddie Slovik for desertion & authorizes his execution. It was the 1st such sentence of a U.S. serviceman since the Civil War;

1946 – President Harry S. Truman appoints an amnesty board to review cases of conscientious objectors imprisoned in WWII;

1948 – In Tokyo, Japan, Hideki Tojo, former Japanese chief of the Kwantung Army & six other top Japanese leaders are executed for war crimes, crimes against humanity & genocide of the Chinese people;

1954 – 1st human kidney transplant is performed at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts;

1959 – Chuck Berry is arrested in St. Louis, Missouri on Mann Act charges relating to the transportation of a 14-year-old girl across state lines for allegedly “immoral purposes”;

1962 – Cuba began releasing prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion under an agreement in which Cuba received more than $50 million worth of food & medical supplies;

1968 – The Captain & crew of the intelligence gathering ship, USS Pueblo, are released after 11 months of imprisonment by North Korea;

1972 – In Vietnam, Operation Linebacker II continues despite reports that the East German Embassy & the Hungarian commercial mission had been hit in the 8th day of the operation. There were also rumors that a prisoner of war camp holding American servicemen was hit but that was proved untrue;

1972 – 6.2 earth-quake rocks Managua, Nicaragua killing more than 10,000 & leaves 250,000 homeless;

1982 – The Missouri Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) inform residents of Times Beach, Missouri that their town was contaminated when the chemical dioxin was sprayed on its unpaved roads, and that the town will have to be evacuated and demolished. By February, the federal and state governments had spent $36 million to buy every house in town except one (its owners, lifelong residents of Times Beach, refused to sell). In 1985, the city was officially dis-incorporated;

1986 – After 9 days & 4 minutes, the experimental aircraft Voyager lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California successfully completing the 1st non-stop flight around the globe on one load of fuel;

1987 – Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme serving a life sentence for her assassination attempt on President Ford escapes from Alderson prison. She was recaptured 2 days later;

1997 – Terry Nichols is found guilty of manslaughter in the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing;

2003 – U.S. government announces 1st case of ‘Mad Cow’ disease in the United States which occurred in Washington state;

2009 – “Balloon Boy” hoax parents Richard & Mayumi are sentenced in Fort Collins, Colorado. They received 90 & 20 days in jail respectively in addition to community service. Richard was later ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution.

Now We’re Off To The Fun Stuff:

Today’s Funny Sign:

Today’s Word Of The Day:

An appropriate word today as many of us tend to do this at this time of year: Splurge – means to make a great display in any way. Usually, however, the display comes through expensive or extravagant things.

Today’s Inspiration Music Video:

Little Drummer Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEcCGN7diwU&list=PLC3EBA1294034C625&index=12

Today’s Christmas Light Display: