Good Morning & God Bless To Every One !
Today is May 4, the 124th day of 2014 and there are 241 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 !!!
Let’s start with – 
Sorry to miss you yesterday folks. I feel bad for not getting my post out but there are some days that the side effects from the cancer, chemo & radiation just override doing anything else other than trying to recover and yesterday was just one of those days. Doing a little better today, so here we go!
Now here is a guy who certainly had his eye on issues of the future:
“The greater the number of laws and enactments, the more thieves and robbers there will be.”
– Lao-tzu (low dzu), Chinese Philosopher (c.604-531 B.C.)
So, What Happened Today In 1776?
Rhode Island declares it’s independence from ‘The Crown’
During the American Revolution, Rhode Island, the colony founded by the most radical religious dissenters from the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony, becomes the first North American colony to renounce its allegiance to King George III, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Ironically, Rhode Island would be the last state to ratify the new American Constitution more than 14 years later on May 29, 1790.
Rhode Island served as a mercantile center of the transatlantic slave trade in the 18th century. West Indian molasses became rum in Rhode Island distilleries, which was then traded on the West African coast for slaves. After taking their human cargo across the notorious middle passage from Africa across the Atlantic to the Caribbean islands, Rhode Island merchants would then sell those who survived the boats’ wretched conditions and rough ocean crossing to West Indian plantation owners for use as slaves in exchange for a fresh shipment of molasses.
Desire to protect this lucrative triangle trade led Rhode Islanders to bristle at British attempts to tighten their control over their colonies’ commerce, beginning with the Sugar Act of 1764, which tightened trade regulations and raised the duty on molasses. Two major incidents involving Rhode Islanders took place during the ensuing colonial protests of British regulation in the late 1760s and early 1770s. On June 10, 1768, British customs officials confiscated John Hancock’s sloop Liberty because it had previously been used to smuggle Madeira wine, inciting a riot in the streets of Boston. Four years later, near Providence, the British customs boat Gaspee ran aground, and Rhode Islanders, angered by continued British attempts to tax them in ways they perceived as unfair, boarded and burned it, wounding the ship’s captain.
Rhode Island mercantile strength caused almost as much trouble for the new American nation as it had the old British empire. Because it had independent wealth and trade coming through the two vibrant ports of Providence and Newport, Rhode Island was the only small state that could theoretically survive independent of the proposed federal union in 1787. The state had no desire to lose income in the form of import duties to the new federal government. As a result, Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution in 1790, when it was finally confronted with the prospect of the greater financial impositions it would suffer being treated as a foreign country from the United States.
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On May 4 In History:
1471 – In England, the Yorkists defeat the Landcastians at the battle of Tewkesbury;
1626 – American Indians sell Manhattan Island for $24 in cloth and buttons;
1715 – A French manufacturer debuts the first folding umbrella;
1864 – During the American Civil War, the Union Army of the Potomac embarks on the biggest campaign of the war and crosses the Rapidan River in Virginia, precipitating an epic showdown that eventually decides the war. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant became commander of all the Union forces and devised a plan to destroy the two major remaining Confederate armies: Joseph Johnston’s Army of the Tennessee, which was guarding the approaches to Atlanta, and Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Grant sent William T. Sherman to take on Johnston, and then rode along with the Army of the Potomac, which was still under the command of George Meade, to confront Lee. Although there was no combat on this day, the stage was set for the epic duel between Grant and Lee. In the dense environs of the Wilderness, the superior numbers of the Union army were minimized. Lee attacked the following day—the first salvo in the biggest campaign of the war. The fighting lasted into June as the two armies waltzed to the east of Richmond, Virginia, ending in Petersburg, where they settled into trenches and faced off for nearly nine months;
1864 – Swarthmore College in suburban Philadelphia was chartered;
1865 – Former President of the United States Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. His funeral train had traveled through 180 cities and seven states before reaching Springfield. At each stop, mourners paid their respects to Lincoln, who had been assassinated on April 14. Lincoln’s son Willie, who died at age 11 from typhoid fever in 1862 and had originally been buried in Washington while Lincoln was serving as president, was interred next to his father in the family plot that same day;
1886 – What begins as a peaceful labor protest in Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois turns into a riot, leaving more than 100 wounded and 8 police officers dead. After Chicago authorities arrested and detained nearly every anarchist and socialist in town, eight men, who were either speakers in or organizers of the protest, were charged with murder. Seven of the eight defendants received death sentences. On November 11, 1887, four of the defendants were hanged. One man, also scheduled for execution, killed himself the day before. Governor John Atgeld pardoned the remaining three defendants in 1893, after they had served seven years in prison;
1932 – Mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island;
1942 – During World War II, the Battle of the Coral Sea continues which was fought during May 4 to 8 in 1942. It was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater between the Imperail Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first naval battle in which aircraft carriers engaged each other as well as the first in which neither side’s ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. Although both sides lost several ships, the battle was considered a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies for several reasons. The battle marked the first time since the start of the war that a major Japanese advance had been checked by the Allies and more importantly, the Japanese fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku were damaged or depleted of their aircraft complement and were unable to participate in the decisive Battle of Midway which took place the next month. (Named after this battle was the USS Coral Sea which was my first ship that I was stationed on during my navy career and served on during the Vietnam War which is pictured here):
USS Coral Sea, Attack Aircraft Carrier, (CVA-43)
1942 – During World War II, the United States begins food rationing;
1945 – At the end of World War II, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov informs U.S. Secretary of State Stettinius that the Red Army has arrested 16 Polish peace negotiators who had met with a Soviet army colonel near Warsaw back in March. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill learns of the Soviet double-cross, he reacts in alarm, stating, “There is no doubt that the publication in detail of this event…would produce a primary change in the entire structure of world forces.” Churchill, fearing that the Russian forces were already beginning to exact retribution for losses suffered during the war (the Polish negotiators had been charged with “causing the death of 200 Red Army officers”), sent a telegram to President Harry Truman to express his concern that Russian demands of reparations from Germany, and the possibility of ongoing Russian occupation of Central and Eastern Europe, “constitutes an event in the history of Europe to which there has been no parallel.” Churchill clearly foresaw the “Iron Curtain” beginning to drop. Consequently, he sent a “holding force” to Denmark to cut off any farther westward advance by Soviet troops as the (first) Cold war begins;
1956 – When a music critic wants to indicate that a song lacks lyrical sophistication, he or she will often refer to its lyrics as being of the “moon in June” sort. It’s a label left over from the Tin Pan Alley era, when even great composers like Irving Berlin churned out a hundred uninspired Moon/June tunes for every highly original classic like “Blues Skies” or “Puttin’ On The Ritz.” If rock and roll has an equivalent in the area of clichéd lyrics, it is probably “Baby” and “Maybe”—a rhyming pair made most famous in the smoldering early-rock classic “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” which was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee by the rockabilly legend Gene Vincent on this day. You can listen by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_5593-skQ;
1961 – In the Vietnam War, at a press conference, Secretary of State Dean Rusk reports that Viet Cong forces have grown to 12,000 men and that they had killed or kidnapped more than 3,000 persons in 1960. While declaring that the United States would supply South Vietnam with any possible help, he refused to say whether the United States would intervene militarily. At a press conference the next day, President John F. Kennedy said that consideration was being given to the use of United States forces. Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, did eventually commit more than 500,000 American troops to the war;
1970 – During the Vietnam War, at Kent State University, 100 National Guardsmen fire their rifles into a group of students, killing four and wounding 11. This incident occurred in the aftermath of President Richard Nixon’s April 30 announcement that U.S. and South Vietnamese forces had been ordered to execute an “incursion” into Cambodia to destroy North Vietnamese bases there. In protest, a wave of demonstrations and disturbances erupted on college campuses across the country. President Nixon issued a statement deploring the Kent State deaths, but said that the incident should serve as a reminder that, “When dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy.” The shooting sparked hundreds of protests and college shutdowns, as well as a march on Washington, D.C., by 100,000 people. The National Student Association and former Vietnam Moratorium Committee leaders called for a national university strike of indefinite duration, beginning immediately, to protest the war. At least 100 colleges and universities pledged to strike. The presidents of 37 universities signed a letter urging President Nixon to show more clearly his determination to end the war;
1977 – British journalist David Frost interviews former President Richard Nixon where he answered questions regarding the Watergate scandal and his resignation, admitting that he had let the American people down through his role in the 1972 Watergate burglary and cover-up. The ensuing investigation exposed rampant corruption in his administration and led to his resignation in 1974. Obstruction of justice was one of the impeachment charges made against him by Congress in 1974. In a 2002 interview with Larry King, Frost characterized the former president as impersonal and lonely. He so wanted to be great said Frost, but he was a sad man at the end. Richard Nixon died in 1994. (Imagine that, a president who could admit he was wrong and resigned!!!);
1979 – Margaret Thatcher, leader of the Conservative Party, is sworn in as Britain’s first female prime minister. The Oxford-educated chemist and lawyer was sworn in the day after the Conservatives won a 44-seat majority in general parliamentary elections. Thatcher’s three consecutive terms in office marked the longest continuous tenure of a British prime minister since 1827. In 1992, she was made a baroness and took a seat in the House of Lords. In later years, Thatcher worked as a consultant, served as the chancellor of the College of William and Mary and wrote her memoirs, as well as other books on politics. She continued to work with the Thatcher Foundation, which she created to foster the ideals of democracy, free trade and cooperation among nations. Though she stopped appearing in public after suffering a series of small strokes in the early 2000s, her influence remained strong. Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87;
1980 – During the (first) Cold War, Josip Broz Tito, communist leader of Yugoslavia since 1945, passes away at the age of 88 in Belgrade. During his 35-year rule, Tito guided Yugoslavia along a pathway that combined dogmatic allegiance to Marxism with an independent, and often combative, relationship with the Soviet Union. President Harry S. Truman and his advisors saw in Tito an opportunity to drive a wedge into the supposedly monolithic communist bloc and encourage other communist regimes to break free from Soviet domination. If the Americans expected Tito to deviate from his Marxist ideology, however, they were sadly mistaken. Until his death in 1980, Tito remained a steadfast communist, albeit one who charted an independent course from the Soviet Union;
1982 – During the Falklands War between Great Britain and Argentina, the destroyer HMS Sheffield was hit by an air launched Exocet missile, caught fire and had to be abandoned. Despite this setback, Britain’s Sea Harriers armed with effective AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles inflicted such losses on the Argentines that their air attacks failed to stop the British amphibious landings;
HMS Sheffield, British Destroyer, (D80)
1989 – Fired White House aide Oliver North was convicted of shredding documents and two other crimes and acquitted of nine other charges stemming from the Iran-Contra affair, however, the three convictions were later overturned on appeal;
1990 – Jesse Tafero is executed in Florida after his electric chair malfunctions three times, causing flames to leap from his head. Tafero’s death sparked a new debate on humane methods of execution. Several states ceased use of the electric chair and adopted lethal injection as their means of capital punishment;
1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reached agreement in Cairo on the first stage of Palestinian self-rule. The agreement was made in accordance with the Oslo Accords, signed in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 1993. This was the first direct, face-to-face agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and it acknowledged Israel’s right to exist;
2002 – An EAS Airline plane crashes into the town of Kano, Nigeria, killing 148 people. The Nigerian BAC 1-11-500 aircraft exploded in a densely populated section of the northern Nigerian city. The Executive Airline Services twin-engine plane took off from Kano at about 1:30 p.m. with 76 people on board headed for Lagos. Witnesses on the ground saw that the plane immediately showed signs of distress before plunging toward the ground. It then ripped through a working-class neighborhood, shearing off the roofs of dozens of homes and a couple of mosques. About three full blocks of structures were destroyed;
2004 – The United States walked out of a United Nations meeting to protest its decision minutes later to give Sudan a third term on the Human Rights Commission;
2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7m wide EF-5 tornado with winds of 205MPH killing 11 people. Estimates state that 95% of the town was totally destroyed;
2009 – Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Georgia., underwent the nation’s first double-hand transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center;
2009 – President Barack Obama promised to crack down on companies “that ship jobs overseas” and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. (Maybe we should ‘crack down’ on the taxes and policies that drive these companies overseas instead!);
2010 – An auction at Christie’s in New York sets a record for the most expensive work of art sold at auction when it sells Pablo Picasso’s ‘Nude, Green Leaves and Bust’ for $106 million;
2013 – It was one year ago Today!!!
Today’s Inexplicable Sign, (worrisome!)
We should all
As a thought
Humility is not our culture’s most valued asset or most desired character quality. But, humility is what is demanded — not so much because it’s commanded (though that would be enough), but because we’ve “earned” our need of it. Every year brings another wave of major failures in morality, character, and spirituality. Even on our best days, we all fall short of God’s holiness. Rather than progressing culturally, we find ourselves slipping. Our need to approach God with humility is “earned”! So let’s be humble and call upon the Lord, throwing off our sin and seeking after him!
Brings a verse
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
– 2 Chronicles 7:14
That brings a prayer
Almighty God, your deeds are awesome, your faithfulness is overwhelming, and your mercy and grace are such blessings. Yet I come to you knowing that you hear me, despite the incredible distance between you and me, between your worth and holiness and my lack. I confess that I, and my culture and country around me, have made a mess of what you so wonderfully blessed us with. I come humbling asking that you reassert yourself in our nation at this time in clearly recognizable ways. I ask this in faith through Jesus’ name. Amen
Until the next time – America, Bless GOD!!!
