Brain Food for 11/1/09

Thought of the Day - 

Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.
Ann Landers 

This Day in History - 

November 1, 1765

Parliament enacts the Stamp Act

In the face of widespread opposition in the American colonies, Parliament enacts the Stamp Act, a taxation measure designed to raise revenue for British military operations in America.
Defense of the American colonies in the French and Indian War (1754-63) and Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-64) were costly affairs for Great Britain, and Prime Minister George Grenville hoped to recover some of these costs by taxing the colonists. In 1764, the Sugar Act was enacted, putting a high duty on refined sugar. Although resented, the Sugar Act tax was hidden in the cost of import duties, and most colonists accepted it. The Stamp Act, however, was a direct tax on the colonists and led to an uproar in America over an issue that was to be a major cause of the Revolution: taxation without representation.
Passed without debate by Parliament in March 1765, the Stamp Act was designed to force colonists to use special stamped paper in the printing of newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, and playing cards, and to have a stamp embossed on all commercial and legal papers. The stamp itself displayed an image of a Tudor rose framed by the word "America" and the French phrase Honi soit qui mal y pense--"Shame to him who thinks evil of it."
Outrage was immediate. Massachusetts politician Samuel Adams organized the secret Sons of Liberty organization to plan protests against the measure, and the Virginia legislature and other colonial assemblies passed resolutions opposing the act. In October, nine colonies sent representatives to New York to attend a Stamp Act Congress, where resolutions of "rights and grievances" were framed and sent to Parliament and King George III. Despite this opposition, the Stamp Act was enacted on November 1, 1765.
The colonists greeted the arrival of the stamps with violence and economic retaliation. A general boycott of British goods began, and the Sons of Liberty staged attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors in Boston. After months of protest and economic turmoil, and an appeal by Benjamin Franklin before the British House of Commons, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. However, the same day, Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts, asserting that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies.
Parliament would again attempt to force unpopular taxation measures on the American colonies in the late 1760s, leading to a steady deterioration in British-American relations that culminated in the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775.

Brain Food for 10/30/09

Thought of the Day - 

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
P. J. O'Rourke 

This Day in History -

October 30, 1953

Eisenhower approves NSC 162/2

On October 30, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves National Security Council Paper No. 162/2 (NSC 162/2). The top secret document made clear that America's nuclear arsenal must be maintained and expanded to meet the communist threat. It also made clear the connection between military spending and a sound American economy.

The paper began by warning that the Soviet Union already possessed sufficient atomic weapons and delivery capabilities to inflict a "crippling blow to our industrial base and our continued ability to prosecute a war." While in the short-term such action by the Soviets seemed unlikely, this did not mean that the United States could afford to slacken its efforts to stockpile "sufficient atomic weapons." In specific situations, the United States should "make clear to the USSR and Communist China...its intention to react with military force against any aggression by Soviet bloc armed forces." Nuclear weapons should be "as available for use as other weapons."

NSC 162/2 indicated the growing reliance of the United States on its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent to communist aggression during the Eisenhower years. It also suggested that concerns were being raised about the ability of the American economy to support both a booming domestic standard of living and massive military expenditures. Its approval by the President was a definite sign of his so-called "New Look" foreign policy that depended on more cost efficient nuclear weapons to fight the Cold War.

Brain Food for 10/28/09

Thought of the Day -

No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.
Julius Caesar

This Day in History -  

October 28, 1775

British proclamation forbids residents from leaving Boston

The new commander in chief of the British army, Major General Sir William Howe, issues a proclamation to the residents of Boston on this day in 1775. Speaking from British headquarters in Boston, Howe forbade any person from leaving the city and ordered citizens to organize into military companies in order to "contribute all in his power for the preservation of order and good government within the town of Boston."

Almost four months earlier, on July 3, 1775, George Washington had formally taken command of the Continental Army. Washington, a prominent Virginia planter and veteran of the French and Indian War, had been appointed commander in chief by the Continental Congress two weeks before in an attempt to turn the impromptu siege of Boston, instigated by New Englanders enraged by the Battle of Lexington and Concord the previous April into a congressionally organized inter-colonial revolt against parliamentary oppression. The ad hoc siege of Boston enjoyed it greatest moment when New Englanders under the command of Israel Putnam and William Prescott managed to kill 226 and wound 838 members of the world-famous British army before withdrawing their rag-tag force from Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775.

The newly minted General Washington was unimpressed upon meeting his supposed army outside Boston a few weeks after their momentous success. Just as the British had during the French and Indian War, he saw "stupidity" among the enlisted men, who were used to the easy familiarity of being commanded by neighbors in local militias with elected officers. Washington promptly insisted that the officers behave with decorum and the enlisted men with deference. Although he enjoyed some success with this original army, the New Englanders went home to their farms at the end of 1775, and Washington had to start fresh with new recruits in 1776.

The British did not leave Boston until March 27, 1776, after Washington’s successful occupation of Dorchester Heights 13 days earlier, during which he had turned the cannon captured from the British at Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775 upon the British-held city. More afraid of their own cannon than Patriot soldiers, the British departed, thus allowing Bostonians to move freely in and out of their own city for the first time in six months.

Brain Food 10/27/09

Thought of the day - 

A true man hates no one.
Napoleon Bonaparte 

This day in History -  

October 27, 1962

The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war

Complicated and tension-filled negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union finally result in a plan to end the two-week-old Cuban Missile Crisis. A frightening period in which nuclear holocaust seemed imminent began to come to an end.

Since President John F. Kennedy's October 22 address warning the Soviets to cease their reckless program to put nuclear weapons in Cuba and announcing a naval "quarantine" against additional weapons shipments into Cuba, the world held its breath waiting to see whether the two superpowers would come to blows. U.S. armed forces went on alert and the Strategic Air Command went to a Stage 4 alert (one step away from nuclear attack). On October 24, millions waited to see whether Soviet ships bound for Cuba carrying additional missiles would try to break the U.S. naval blockade around the island. At the last minute, the vessels turned around and returned to the Soviet Union.

On October 26, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev responded to the quarantine by sending a long and rather disjointed letter to Kennedy offering a deal: Soviet ships bound for Cuba would "not carry any kind of armaments" if the United States vowed never to invade Cuba. He pleaded, "let us show good sense," and appealed to Kennedy to "weigh well what the aggressive, piratical actions, which you have declared the U.S.A. intends to carry out in international waters, would lead to." He followed this with another letter the next day offering to remove the missiles from Cuba if the United States would remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey.

Kennedy and his officials debated the proper U.S. response to these offers. Attorney General Robert Kennedy ultimately devised an acceptable plan: take up Khrushchev's first offer and ignore the second letter. Although the United States had been considering the removal of the missiles from Turkey for some time, agreeing to the Soviet demand for their removal might give the appearance of weakness. Nevertheless, behind the scenes, Russian diplomats were informed that the missiles in Turkey would be removed after the Soviet missiles in Cuba were taken away. This information was accompanied by a threat: If the Cuban missiles were not removed in two days, the United States would resort to military action. It was now Khrushchev's turn to consider an offer to end the standoff.

Hunting season

Hunting season is upon us whether your quarry may be deer, quail, pheasant, turkey, coyote etc.  I urge you to get a trauma first aid kit at SunflowerAmmo.com before hitting the field.  God forbid you have a hunting accident but they do happen and you should be prepared to save a life.

If you already have a first aid kit you need to upgrade it with QuickClot.

New items added!

We have new knives in stock from SOG, Tool Logic, Ontario, Smith & Wesson, and CKRT.

Brain Food for 10/25/09

Thought of the day - 
The most used phrase in my administration if I were to be President would be "What the hell you mean we're out of missiles?"
Glenn Beck

This Day in History -

October 25, 1774

Congress petitions English king to address grievances

On this day in 1774, the First Continental Congress sends a respectful petition to King George III to inform his majesty that if it had not been for the acts of oppression forced upon the colonies by the British Parliament, the American people would be standing behind British rule.

Despite the anger that the American public felt towards the United Kingdom after the British Parliament established the Coercive Acts—called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists--Congress was still willing to assert its loyalty to the king. In return for this loyalty, Congress asked the king to address and resolve the specific grievances of the colonies. The petition, written by Continental Congressman John Dickinson, laid out what Congress felt was undo oppression of the colonies by the British Parliament. Their grievances mainly had to do with the Coercive Acts, a series of four acts that were established to punish colonists and to restore order in Massachusetts following the Boston Tea Party.

The first of the Coercive Acts was the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston to all colonists until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid. The second, the Massachusetts Government Act, gave the British government total control of town meetings, taking all decisions out of the hands of the colonists. The third, the Administration of Justice Act, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America and the fourth, the Quartering Act, required colonists to house and quarter British troops on demand, including in private homes as a last resort.

The king did not respond to the petition to Congress’ satisfaction and eight months later on July 6, 1775, the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution entitled "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms." Written by John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson, the resolution laid out the reasons for taking up arms and starting a violent revolution against British rule of the colonies.

New Arrivals - Adventure Medical Kits

We just received a great assortment of Adventure medical kits.  You should have a travel medical kit for every vehicle, have a field/trauma  medical kit on every hunting trip and a field trauma kit in your range bag.  Stock up before hunting season.

 

 

 

Brain Food 10/23/09

This list has been posted all over the internet but it is also worth looking at to stimulate your thought process.  The list is the top 100 items to disappear or be sold out when an emergency hits.

We live in the Midwest so our emergencies are tornadoes and winter storms.  It is not uncommon for us to lose power  for up to a week during an ice storm and we live in a metropolitan area  Our family in California would have earthquakes and riots on their emergency list.  You are faced with potential emergencies regardless of where you live.  The emergency list is long but includes tornado, hurricane, earthquake, flood, forest fire, power outage, winter storm, riot, etc.


100 Items to Disappear from Store Shelves during an emergency

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
14. Mini Heater head (Propane) (Without this item, propane won't heat a room.)
15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cook-stoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {"Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Work boots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHT STICKS & torches, "No. 76 Dietz" Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soy sauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soup base
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress's
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens

From a Sarajevo War Survivor:
Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war - death of parents and
friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks.

1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold's.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it's the easiest to do without (unless you're in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a lot of the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs enough heat to "warm", not to cook. It's cheap too, especially if you buy it in
bulk.
6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more valuable as the war continues. Sure, it's great to have a lot of survival guides, but you'll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me, you'll have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you're human can fade pretty fast. I can't tell you how many people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches.

Brain Food for 10/22/09

Thought of the day - 

A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.
Barry Goldwater

This Day in History - 

October 22, 1962

Kennedy announces blockade of Cuba during the Missile Crisis

In a dramatic televised address to the American public, President John F. Kennedy announces that the Soviet Union has placed nuclear weapons in Cuba and, in response, the United States will establish a blockade around the island to prevent any other offensive weapons from entering Castro's state. Kennedy also warned the Soviets that any nuclear attack from Cuba would be construed as an act of war, and that the United States would retaliate in kind.

Kennedy charged the Soviet Union with subterfuge and outright deception in what he referred to as a "clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace." He dismissed Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko's claim that the weapons in Cuba were of a purely defensive nature as "false." Harking back to efforts to contain German, Italian, and Japanese aggression in the 1930s, Kennedy argued that war-like behavior, "if allowed to grow unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war."

The president outlined a plan of action that called for a naval blockade to enforce a "strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba." He also issued a warning to the Soviets that the United States would retaliate against them if there was a nuclear attack from Cuba, and placed the U.S. military in the Western Hemisphere on a heightened state of alert. Kennedy called upon the Organization of American States (an organization formed by the United States and Latin American nations in 1948 to help resolve hemispheric disputes) and the United Nations to help resolve the issue. Finally, he made a personal plea to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to cease his "reckless" course of action. Khrushchev, he stated, "has an opportunity now to move the world back from the abyss of destruction."

The world was now poised at the brink of a nuclear conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. In America, many citizens began building or replenishing bomb shelters, waiting anxiously to see what the Soviet response to Kennedy's speech would be

Brain Food for 10/21/09

Thought of the Day -
Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.


Ronald Reagan



This Day in History -

October 21, 1797




USS Constitution launched

The USS Constitution, a 44-gun U.S. Navy frigate built to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli, is launched in Boston Harbor. The vessel performed commendably during the Barbary conflicts, and in 1805 a peace treaty with Tripoli was signed on the Constitution's deck.



During the War of 1812, the Constitution won its enduring nickname "Old Ironsides" after defeating the British warship GuerriÈre in a furious engagement off the coast of Nova Scotia. Witnesses claimed that the British shots merely bounced off the Constitution's sides, as if the ship were made of iron rather than wood. The success of the Constitution against the supposedly invincible Royal Navy provided a tremendous morale boost for the young American republic.



In 1855, the Constitution retired from active military service, but the famous vessel continued to serve the United States, first as a training ship and later as a touring national landmark. Since 1934, it has been based at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. Over the years, Old Ironsides has enjoyed a number of restorations, the most recent of which was completed in 1997, allowing it to sail for the first time in 116 years. Today, the Constitution is one of the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat.

Price Drops on Ammo!

Federal XM193c 500rd case price reduced to $219 per 500rd case!

Fiocchi 9mm Luger 124gr Hornady XTP/HP 500rd case reduced to $249!

Brain Food for 10/20/09

The thought of the Day - 

It is difficult to make our material condition better by the best law, but it is easy enough to ruin it by bad laws.
Theodore Roosevelt

This day in History -

October 20, 1944

U.S. forces land at Leyte Island in the Philippines

On this day in 1944, more than 100,000 American soldiers land on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, as preparation for the major invasion by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The ensuing battles of Leyte Island proved among the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific and signaled the beginning of the end for the Japanese.
The Japanese had held the Philippines since May 1942, when the awful defeat of American forces led to General MacArthur's departure and General Wainwright's capture. MacArthur was back, as he promised, but his invasion of Luzon required a softening up of the enemy. Thus, the amphibious landing of the American forces at Leyte and the concomitant goal of destroying the Japanese fleet in the gulf was undertaken.
The Japanese anticipated the American landing by launching Operation Sho-Go, an attempt to divert the U.S. 3rd Fleet north and away from the fighting on the island. The Japanese fleet assembled was the largest ocean task force assembled during the war, including seven battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, and 19 destroyers. American submarines and aircraft carriers met the Japanese fleet and the Battle of Leyte Gulf began on October 23.
Meanwhile on Leyte Island, the American troops took on the Japanese garrison, which was composed of 80,000 soldiers. It took 67 days to subdue the island, with extraordinary acts of physical bravery and courage demonstrated on both sides. Even after the Americans had taken control of the island, Japanese soldiers who had been hidden away continued to emerge and fight on, preferring to die than surrender. All told, the Japanese lost more than 55,000 soldiers during the two months of battle and approximately another 25,000 in mopping up operations in early 1945. The U.S. forces lost about 3,500-compared with the Japanese loss of 80,000 total.
The sea battle of Leyte Gulf was the same story. The loss of ships and sailors was horrendous for both sides. The sinking of the American carrier Princeton resulted in the drowning deaths of 500 men. When the Japanese battleship Musashi was destroyed by a massive American aerial attack, more than 1,000 sailors died, including the captain who stood on his bridge and literally went down with his ship. Three days of sea battle saw the destruction of 36 Japanese warships-compared with America's three. It also saw the introduction of the Japanese kamikaze-"divine wind"--suicide bombers. The St. Lo, an American aircraft carrier, was one of the first casualties, when one kamikaze pilot drove his plane straight into its flight deck.
More than 5,000 kamikaze pilots died in this gulf battle-taking down 34 ships. But when all was said and done, the Japanese had not been able to prevent the loss of their biggest and best warships, signaling the virtual end of the Japanese Imperial Fleet. The American victory on land and sea opened the door for General MacArthur's invasion and the recapture of the Philippines.

Brain Food for 10/19/09

Thought of the Day -  

The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because I am one of them.
Barack Obama

This Day in History -

October 19, 1781

Victory at Yorktown

Hopelessly trapped at Yorktown, Virginia, British General Lord Cornwallis surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing an end to the American Revolution.
Lord Cornwallis was one of the most capable British generals of the American Revolution. In 1776, he drove General George Washington's Patriots forces out of New Jersey, and in 1780 he won a stunning victory over General Horatio Gates' Patriot army at Camden, South Carolina. Cornwallis' subsequent invasion of North Carolina was less successful, however, and in April 1781 he led his weary and battered troops toward the Virginia coast, where he could maintain seaborne lines of communication with the large British army of General Henry Clinton in New York City. After conducting a series of raids against towns and plantations in Virginia, Cornwallis settled in the tidewater town of Yorktown in August. The British immediately began fortifying the town and the adjacent promontory of Gloucester Point across the York River.
General George Washington instructed the Marquis de Lafayette, who was in Virginia with an American army of around 5,000 men, to block Cornwallis' escape from Yorktown by land. In the meantime, Washington's 2,500 troops in New York were joined by a French army of 4,000 men under the Count de Rochambeau. Washington and Rochambeau made plans to attack Cornwallis with the assistance of a large French fleet under the Count de Grasse, and on August 21 they crossed the Hudson River to march south to Yorktown. Covering 200 miles in 15 days, the allied force reached the head of Chesapeake Bay in early September.
Meanwhile, a British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves failed to break French naval superiority at the Battle of Virginia Capes on September 5, denying Cornwallis his expected reinforcements. Beginning September 14, de Grasse transported Washington and Rochambeau's men down the Chesapeake to Virginia, where they joined Lafayette and completed the encirclement of Yorktown on September 28. De Grasse landed another 3,000 French troops carried by his fleet. During the first two weeks of October, the 14,000 Franco-American troops gradually overcame the fortified British positions with the aid of de Grasse's warships. A large British fleet carrying 7,000 men set out to rescue Cornwallis, but it was too late.
On October 19, General Cornwallis surrendered 7,087 officers and men, 900 seamen, 144 cannons, 15 galleys, a frigate, and 30 transport ships. Pleading illness, he did not attend the surrender ceremony, but his second-in-command, General Charles O'Hara, carried Cornwallis' sword to the American and French commanders. As the British and Hessian troops marched out to surrender, the British bands played the song "The World Turned Upside Down."
Although the war persisted on the high seas and in other theaters, the Patriot victory at Yorktown effectively ended fighting in the American colonies. Peace negotiations began in 1782, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation after eight years of war.

Brain Food for 10/18/09

Thought for the Day - 

The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.
Thomas Jefferson

This Day in History -

October 18, 1989

East Germany and Hungary move toward democracy

On October 18, 1989, the Iron Curtain nations of East Germany and Hungary take significant steps toward ending the communist domination of their countries to replace it with more democratic politics and free market economies.

In Hungary, the Communist Party had disbanded on October 7. This action was followed by the razing of the barbed wire fence that had for years separated Hungary from Austria. The destruction of the fence effectively marked the end of the Berlin Wall as an impediment to travel between East and West Germany, since East Germans could now simply travel to Hungary, enter Austria, and go on from there to West Germany. Not surprisingly, the Berlin Wall came down shortly thereafter. On October 18, the Hungarian constitution was amended to allow a multiparty political system and free elections (which took place in 1990). Many of the state controls over the economy were removed and Hungary moved toward a limited free market system. Meetings of workers, students, and others across the nation issued statements denouncing past "crimes" committed by the communist regime.

The changes were perhaps even more dramatic in East Germany, where on October 18 the nearly 20-year rule of communist strongman Erich Honecker came to an end. Honecker had been the Communist Party General Secretary in East Germany since 1971, and had ruled as head of state since 1976. With vanishing support from the Soviet Union, the effective end of the Berlin Wall (through Hungary's action), and widespread criticism of his government from the East German population, Honecker fled to the USSR and was replaced by a more reform-minded regime. He later returned to East Germany, where he was tried and convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of East German refugees killed trying to go over the Berlin Wall since its erection in 1961. His sentence was commuted because of his poor health.

Honecker was replaced by Egon Krenz as the Communist Party leader. Krenz enjoyed a good deal of popular support due to his role as a peacemaker in the demonstrations earlier in October. On October 7, only four months after the Tienneman Square massacre in China, Honecker ordered troops to be prepared to open fire on demonstrators in Leipzig. Luckily, Krenz, then in charge of security, arrived in Leipzig two days later to rescind Honecker's order. Krenz's attempt to save the party's image by preventing violence merely allowed the revolution to proceed in a non-violent manner.

The actions in East Germany and Hungary reflected not only the growing dissatisfaction of their citizenry with over 40 years of communist rule, but also the steadily weakening hold of the Soviet Union over its East European satellites.

Brain Food for 10/17/09

Thought of the Day - 

The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.
Theodore Roosevelt

This Day in History - 

October 17, 1777

Americans win more than a battle at Saratoga

British general and playwright John Burgoyne surrenders 5,000 British and Hessian troops to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York, on this day in 1777.

In the summer of 1777, General Burgoyne led an army of 8,000 men south through New York in an effort to join forces with British General Sir William Howe's troops along the Hudson River. After capturing several forts, Burgoyne's force camped near Saratoga while a larger Patriot army under General Gates gathered just four miles away. On September 19, a British advance column marched out and engaged the Patriot force at the Battle of Freeman's Farm, or the First Battle of Saratoga. Failing to break through the American lines, Burgoyne's force retreated. On October 7, another British reconnaissance force was repulsed by an American force under General Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Bemis Heights, also known as the Second Battle of Saratoga.

Gates retreated north to the village of Saratoga with his 5,000 surviving troops. By October 13, some 20,000 Americans had surrounded the British, and four days later Burgoyne was forced to agree to the first large-scale surrender of British forces in the Revolutionary War.

Burgoyne successfully negotiated that his surviving men would be returned to Britain by pledging that they would never again serve in North America. The nearly 6,000-man army was kept in captivity at great expense to the Continental Congress until the end of the war.

Soon after word of the Patriot victory at Saratoga reached France, King Louis XVI agreed to recognize the independence of the United States and French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Count de Vergennes, made arrangements with U.S. Ambassador Benjamin Franklin to begin providing formal French aid to the Patriot cause. This assistance was crucial to the eventual American victory in the Revolutionary War.

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Brain Food for 10/16/09

Quote of the Day - 
The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.
George Washington


This Day in History -

October 16, 1991

Handguns in Texas

On a Wednesday afternoon in Killeen, Texas, George Jo Hennard drives his pickup truck through the plate-glass window of Luby's Cafeteria and begins firing indiscriminately into the crowded restaurant with a semi-automatic pistol. The deranged Hennard killed 22 people and wounded 20, one fatally, before turning the gun on himself.
Present in the restaurant was Suzanna Gratia, who narrowly escaped being shot but whose mother and father were killed. Gratia had her own gun with her that day but had left it locked in her car as required by Texas state law. After recovering from the tragedy, Gratia became a fierce advocate of the right to carry concealed handguns in public places and led a popular movement that resulted in the approval of the Texas Concealed Handgun License Act in 1995. In 1996, she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as Suzanna Gratia-Hupp and continued to be a vocal proponent of the right to bear arms

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National Ammo day is November 19th, 2009

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