Good Morning & God Bless To Every One !
Today is March 22, the 81st day of 2014 and there are 284 days left this year where it is another Blessed Day in the pleasure of our service for our Lord here at:
For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!
Once again, I must apologize for not getting the ‘history’ post out yesterday my friends. Had much of it set and ready to throw together but had to go to an early doctor’s appointment which was to only take a little of my time. That appointment turned into going to get x-ray’s done, followed by going to get some blood work done and then back to the doctor’s office which was all followed by having to go pick up some new prescriptions. By the time I had any idea what was going on it was late afternoon with still much to do at home. While I know I needn’t apologize, I am cuz that’s the way I work. So, let’s get off to today’s post!
So, What Happened Today In 1820?
United States Naval hero, Stephen Decatur, is killed in a duel
U.S. Navy officer Stephen Decatur, hero of the Barbary Wars, is mortally wounded in a duel with disgraced Navy Commodore James Barron at Bladensburg, Maryland. Although once friends, Decatur sat on the court-martial that suspended Barron from the Navy for five years in 1808 and later opposed his reinstatement, leading to a fatal quarrel between the two men.
Born in Maryland in 1779, Stephen Decatur was reared in the traditions of the sea and in 1798 joined the United States Navy as a midshipman aboard the new frigate, United States. That year, he saw action in the so-called quasi-war with France and in 1799 was commissioned a lieutenant. Five years later, during the Tripolitan War, he became the most lauded American naval hero since John Paul Jones.
In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson ordered U.S. Navy vessels to the Mediterranean Sea in protest of continuing raids against U.S. ships by pirates from the Barbary states–Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripolitania. Sustained action began in June 1803, and in October the U.S. frigate Philadelphia ran aground near Tripoli and was captured by Tripolitan gunboats. The Americans feared that the well-constructed warship would be used as a model for building future Tripolitan frigates, and on February 16, 1804, Stephen Decatur led a daring expedition into Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured vessel.
After disguising himself and his men as Maltese sailors, Decatur’s force sailed into Tripoli harbor and boarded the Philadelphia, which was guarded by Tripolitans who were quickly overpowered by the Americans. After setting fire to the frigate, Decatur and his men escaped without the loss of a single American. The Philadelphia subsequently exploded when its gunpowder reserve was lit by the spreading fire. Famed British Admiral Horatio Nelson hailed the exploit as the “most bold and daring act of the age,” and Decatur was promoted to captain. In August 1804, Decatur returned to Tripoli Harbor as part of a larger American offensive and emerged as a hero again during the Battle of the Gunboats, which saw hand-to-hand combat between the Americans and the Tripolitans.
In 1807, Commodore James Barron, who fought alongside Decatur in the Tripolitan War, aroused considerable controversy when he failed to resist a British attack on his flagship, the Chesapeake. Decatur sat on the court-martial that passed a verdict expelling Barron from the Navy for five years. This began the dispute between Decatur and Barron that would end 13 years later on the dueling grounds in Maryland.
In the War of 1812, Decatur distinguished himself again when, as commander of the USS United States, he captured the British ship of war Macedonian off the Madeira Islands. Barron, meanwhile, was overseas when his Navy expulsion ended in 1813 and did not return to the United States to fight in the ongoing war with England. This led to fresh criticism of Barron from Decatur, who later used his influence to prevent Barron’s reinstatement in the Navy.
In June 1815, Decatur returned to the Mediterranean to lead U.S. forces in the Algerian War, the second Barbary conflict. By December, Decatur forced the dey (military ruler) of Algiers to sign a peace treaty that ended American tribute to Algeria. Upon his return to the United States, he was honored at a banquet in which he made a very famous toast: “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!”
Appointed to the Navy Board of Commissioners, Decatur arrived in Washington in 1816, where he became a prominent citizen and lived a satisfying life politically, economically, and socially. In 1818, however, dark clouds began to gather when he vocally opposed Barron’s reinstatement into the Navy. The already strained relations between the two men deteriorated, and in March 1820 Decatur agreed to Barron’s request to meet for a duel. Dueling, though generally frowned on, was still acceptable among Navy men. On March 22, at Bladensburg in Maryland, Decatur and Barron lifted their guns, fired, and each man hit his target. Decatur died several hours later in Washington, and the nation mourned the loss of the great naval hero. Barron recovered from his wounds and was reinstated into the Navy in 1821 with diminished rank.
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On March 22 In History:
1312 – Pope Clement V issued a papal bull ordering dissolution of the Order of the Knights Templar;
1622 – Indians attack a group of colonists in the James River area of Virginia, killing 350 residents;
1630 – The first legislation prohibiting gambling is enacted in Boston;
1719 – Frederick William abolishes serfdom on crown property in Prussia;
1765 – In an effort to raise funds to pay off debts and defend the vast new American territories won from the French in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), the British government passes the Stamp Act on this day in 1765. The legislation levied a direct tax on all materials printed for commercial and legal use in the colonies, from newspapers and pamphlets to playing cards and dice. The Stamp Act was repealed a year later;
1790 – Thomas Jefferson becomes the first United States Secretary of State;
1817 – Future Confederate General Braxton Bragg is born in Warrenton, North Carolina. Bragg commanded the Army of Tennessee for 17 months, leading them to several defeats and losing most of the state of Tennessee to the Yankees;
1859 – Quito, Ecuador, the site of many powerful earthquakes through the years, suffers one of its worst when a tremor kills 5,000 people and destroys some of the most famous buildings in South America. Following this disaster, Quito was not hit again by a major earthquake until August 1949, when a tremor south of the city killed 6,000 and left 100,000 people homeless;
1871 – William Holden of North Carolina becomes the first governor removed by impeachment;
1903 – Niagera Falls runs out of water because of a drought;
1904 – The first color photograph is published in the London Daily Illustrated Mirror;
1933 – During Prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure to make wine and beer containing up to 3.2 percent alcohol legal. This law levies a federal tax on all alcoholic beverages to raise revenue for the federal government and gives individual states the option to further regulate the sale and distribution of beer and wine. FDR considered the new law “of the highest importance” for its potential to generate much-needed federal funds and included it in a sweeping set of New Deal policies designed to vault the U.S. economy out of the Great Depression. The Beer and Wine Revenue act was followed, in December 1933, by the passage of the 21st Amendment, which officially ended Prohibition;
1934 – The first Masters Tournament opened under the title “Augusta National Invitation Tournament,” which was won three days later by Horton Smith;
1942 – During World War II, Sir Stanford Cripps, British statesman, arrives in India for talks with Mohandas Gandhi on Indian independence, in what will become known as the Cripps Mission;
1945 – Representatives from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen meet in Cairo to establish the Arab League, a regional organization of Arab states. Formed to foster economic growth in the region, resolve disputes between its members, and coordinate political aims, members of the Arab League formed a council, with each state receiving one vote. When the State of Israel was created in 1948, the league countries jointly attacked but were repulsed by the Israelis. Two years later, Arab League nations signed a mutual defense treaty. Fifteen more Arab nations eventually joined the organization, which established a common market in 1965;
1946 – First U.S. built rocket to leave the Earth’s atmosphere reaches a 50-mile height;
1947 – During the (first) Cold War, in response to public fears and Congressional investigations into communism in the United States, President Harry S. Truman issues an executive decree establishing a sweeping loyalty investigation of federal employees;
1954 – The first shopping mall in the United States opened in Southfield, Michigan;
1965 – During the Vietnam War, the State Department acknowledges that the United States had supplied the South Vietnamese armed forces with a “non-lethal gas which disables temporarily” for use “in tactical situations in which the Viet Cong intermingle with or take refuge among non-combatants, rather than use artillery or aerial bombardment.” This announcement triggered a storm of criticism worldwide. The North Vietnamese and the Soviets loudly protested the introduction of “poison gas” into the war. Secretary of State Dean Rusk insisted at a news conference on March 24 that the United States was “not embarking upon gas warfare,” but was merely employing “a gas which has been commonly adopted by the police forces of the world as riot-control agents.”;
1968 – In the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson announces the appointment of Gen. William Westmoreland as Army Chief of Staff; Gen. Creighton Abrams replaced him as commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. One of the war’s most controversial figures, General Westmoreland was given many honors when the fighting was going well, but when the war turned sour, many Americans blamed him for problems in Vietnam. Negative feeling about Westmoreland grew particularly strong following the Tet Offensive of 1968;
1983 – The Pentagon awards a production contract worth more than $1 billion to AM General Corporation to develop 55,000 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV). Nicknamed the Humvee and designed to transport troops and cargo, the wide, rugged vehicles entered the spotlight when they were used by the American military during the 1989 invasion of Panama and the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s;
1990 – A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, finds Captain Hazelwood not guilty in the Valdez oil spill;
2004 – Terry Nichols went on trial for his life in the Oklahoma City bombing. Nichols was already serving a life sentence for his conviction on federal charges, was found guilty of 161 state murder charges, but was again spared the death penalty when the jury couldn’t agree on his sentence;
2007 – In a long-anticipated challenge to Web sites like the popular video-sharing site YouTube, two entertainment giants–News Corporation and NBC Universal–announce a high-stakes Internet venture on this day in 2007. According to the terms of the deal, News Corporation, owned by the Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., would begin distributing their own programming on popular Web sites such as America Online (AOL), Yahoo, MySpace and Microsoft’s Internet portal, MSN. News Corp. and NBC also planned to make video of TV shows and movies available on a separate Web site;
2009 – The Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska began erupting, it took about six months to settle down;
2011 – In South Dakota, Governor Dennis Daugaard signs an abortion bill that requires women to undertake counseling and wait 72 hours, the longest period in the U.S.;
2013 – It was one year ago Today!
Now, Off To The Fun Stuff!!!
Today’s ‘Bet Ya Can’t Find Me Now’ Picture:
Today’s Founder’s Quote:
“God who gave us life gave us Liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
– Thomas Jefferson (1774)
Today’s Quote For The Day:
“Among individuals, as among nations, peace is the respect of others’ rights.”
– Benito Juarez, Mexican statesman (1806-1872)
Today’s ‘Impeccable Timing’ Picture:
Today’s Fact Of The Day:
The pipistrelle bat weighs less than two pennies and is only as long as a person’s little finger. Yet it can eat 3,000 insects in one night.
Today’s Thought For The Day:
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Today’s ‘Happiness Is’ Picture:
Today’s Word For The Day:
Pernicious (per·ni·cious) adj Having a harmful effect, particularly in a gradual or subtle way. “The hostile takeover will have a pernicious effect on the business.”
Today’s Motivational Thought For The Day:
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.
– David Brinkley
Today’s ‘Adorable Baby’ Picture:
Today’s ‘Annoying Animals’ Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uxVkedSU3_c
Today’s ‘Daily Motivator’:
Life is as it is in this moment, and it’s powerful to be able to accept that. Yet just because you accept what is, here and now, doesn’t mean you must be resigned to letting it stay that way. Accept and embrace the reality of what is. Then take it and make it the best it can be.
Today’s Trivia:
Casanova traveled with a custom-made portable bath made for two.
Today’s ‘It’s A Dog’s Life’ Picture:
Today’s ‘Least We Forget’ Music Video:
Duty Called – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3FYUXyCQ1no
Today’s ‘Clever Words For Clever People’:
ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby’s to work at McDonald’s!
Today’s ‘Crazy Law’:
In Portland, Maine – It’s unlawful to tickle a woman’s chin with a feather duster.
Today’s ‘AWE of GOD’ Picture:
Barron Falls, Cairns, Australia
Today’s Inspirational Music Video:
I’ve Always Loved You – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=06khEqzGEsc
Today’s Verse & Prayer:
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
– Ephesians 6:10-11
Strengthen me, O God, that I may stand against my foe and triumph by the power of your Spirit so that I may bring honor and glory to my conquering Savior who will return one day and take me home in victory. In the name of the victorious Rider on the White Horse I pray. Amen
Today’s Funny Church Sign:
Until Tomorrow – America, Bless GOD!!!