Today is Reformation Day

 

This Day in History: Today is Reformation Day, as it is the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517. This is important as this is viewed as a great victory for freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but the Reformation also immersed Europe in warfare for over a century. The Thirty Years' War killed eight million, and the French Wars of Religion claimed yet another three million lives. Keep in mind that Europe's population was dramatically lower back then...the Protestant wars decimated society.

The Reformation may have broken an often cruel strangle-hold that the Catholic Church had on society, but it replaced it with violent Protestant fundamentalists.

"The strongest case for the Reformation is simply that there was no other path to our modern, tolerant world. European civilization had two choices: Either stay mired in the grip of medieval superstition and tyranny forever; or endure a century-long bloodbath. But this story is grossly overconfident. Despite the Protestant challenge, the Catholic Church utterly prevailed in countries like France, Spain, and Italy. In the 20th-century, though, it was defeated not by rival religions, but by French, Spanish, and Italian apathy. And you can't help but notice: this defeat by apathy was almost perfectly bloodless. If you object, 'None of that could have happened without the Reformation,' I say you underestimate the power of apathy." ~Bryan Caplan

See also: 200 Books on DVDrom on the Dark Side of Christianity
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/10/200-books-on-dvdrom-on-dark-side-of.html

Libertarian Author Rose Wilder Lane on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: American journalist and author Rose Wilder Lane, died on this day in 1968. Rose’s mother was Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the beloved series of Little House on the Prairie books. We now know that Rose had much more to do with the success of those books than has previously been thought. After World War I she traveled the world only to be met by starvation everywhere, so she was initially attracted to Communism. In short time she realized that this ideology only made things worse. She embraced individualism as she found that people who were left alone and freed from government restraints fared better. 

"Rose’s opposition to government intervention strengthened as the years rolled by. She became a strenuous opponent of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Before Pearl Harbor she opposed our entry into the war. During the war, she refused to apply for a ration card, relying on honey for sweetening and canning her own garden fruits and vegetables. She even refused to accept a Social Security number. When a radio commentator asked his listeners for their views on Social Security, she scribbled on a postcard: 'If [American] school teachers say to German [Nazi] children, ‘We believe in Social Security,’ the children will ask, ‘Then why did you fight Germany?’ All these ‘Social Security’ laws are German, instituted by Bismarck and expanded by Hitler. Americans believe in freedom, in not being taxed for their own good and bossed by bureaucrats.'” The local postmaster, reading the message, considered it subversive and notified the FBI which sent a state trooper to investigate. Rose’s response was a newspaper article: 'What Is This—the Gestapo?'" ~Bettina Bien Greaves

Her philosophy on life was detailed in her 1943 book The Discovery Of Freedom which you can download here.

See also: The Encyclopedia Of Libertarianism

The Arpanet & the Myth of the Government-Created Internet on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The first-ever computer-to-computer link was established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet on this day in 1969. There is a persistent myth out there that government invented the internet, ergo, government is helpful and we need it. The government was interested in a network of computers talking to each other and it used funding to support that research. The the private sector was also interested in the same thing. In other words, we would have had an internet with or without the government, and perhaps sooner, as the government locked access to the internet until the 90's. Now think of all the components needed for the internet to work. Where did that come from?: 

"IBM and ATT had major labs and were vitally interested in computers talking to one another as early as the late 1950s and early 1960s. Bell Labs invented UNIX in 1969; it made the internet possible. IBM invented FORTRAN and hard drives in 1956. Bell transmitted packet data over lines in 1958. Texas Instruments invented integrated circuits in 1958. In 1961 Leonard Kleinrock published a paper on packet switching networks. Bell Labs made the first modem in 1961. The mouse was invented in 1963. Digital Equipment Corporation produced the first minicomputer in 1964. In 1965 time sharing at MIT and mail command started. Intel began in 1968. The year 1966 saw the first use of fiber optics to carry telephone signals."~Michael S. Rozeff

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/the-myth-that-government-created-the-internet/

"If the government didn’t invent the Internet, who did? Vinton Cerf developed the TCP/IP protocol, the Internet’s backbone, and Tim Berners-Lee gets credit for hyperlinks. But full credit goes to the company where Mr. Taylor worked after leaving ARPA: Xerox. It was at the Xerox PARC labs in Silicon Valley in the 1970s that the Ethernet was developed to link different computer networks. Researchers there also developed the first personal computer (the Xerox Alto) and the graphical user interface that still drives computer usage today."

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/147177/ima

Would There Be an Internet Without the State?

Peter Hitchens on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: English journalist and author Peter Hitchens was born on this day in 1951. He is also the brother of Christopher Hitchens, one of the New Atheists and author of "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything." Peter Hitchens is a Christian and a member of the Church of England, and he reviewed "God Is Not Great" which led to a public argument between the brothers. In the review, Peter claimed his brother's book made a number of incorrect assertions. 

Lately, Peter Hitchens came out publicly against the government lockdowns in response to the coronavirus. According to Wikipedia:

He has referred to the UK government's Coronavirus lock down policy after 24 March 2020 as "the Great Panic" and was shocked by the enthusiastic embrace of it by the British public. He joined other high profile critics such as Lord Sumption and Toby Young in arguing that the full restrictive lock down after this date would have serious negative consequences as a result of restricting civil liberties, locking down a healthy population, and stalling a healthy economy. He argues that the government should have carried on like Sweden because, “the evidence from Stockholm, which has so far pursued a rational, proportionate, limited policy, still suggests that Sweden will emerge from this less damaged by far than we will.”

He cited examples of what he saw as questionable advice and information that the UK government had taken in the final decision to go into full lock down on 24 March. There were many "dubious statistics”, especially those from Imperial College London given by Neil Ferguson who claimed that there could be up to 500,000 COVID-19 deaths if the government did not impose a full lock down. In his Mail on Sunday blog, Hitchens identified Ferguson as being “one of those largely responsible for the original panic”.

Another "dubious statistic” he sees is that there was an inappropriate recording of cases and deaths relating to the virus. This was a result of a lack of differentiation in the death certificates between someone dying “of” the virus or “with” it. In his Daily Mail article on the 28 March 2020, Hitchens pointed out that when a patient died, hospital staff recorded COVID-19 on the death certificate even when the patient had died of other causes. He argues that the statistics about how deadly the virus had been skewed by not making the distinction between those who die as a direct result of the virus, and those who caught it but would have died anyway, or whose death was related to it but not directly caused by it.

See also: The Price of Panic

Great Barrington Declaration

The Martyrdom of Michael Servetus on This Day in History

 

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This Day in History: Michael Servetus was burned at the stake just outside Geneva on this day in 1553. Servetus was a Spanish theologian, physician, cartographer, and Renaissance humanist. He was the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation, as discussed in Christianismi Restitutio (1553). He was a polymath versed in many sciences: mathematics, astronomy and meteorology, geography, human anatomy, medicine and pharmacology, as well as jurisprudence, translation, poetry and the scholarly study of the Bible in its original languages.

He is renowned in the history of several of these fields, particularly medicine. He participated in the Protestant Reformation, but because he rejected the doctrine of the Trinity, he was condemned as a heretic and had to die. Many men throughout history held similar theological and christological views, such as Milton, John Locke, Isaac Newton and Thomas Jefferson to name but a few, but these men never had to go up against John Calvin. As John Scott Porter wrote in 1853 "the great Reformer [Calvin], who, from a window, beheld him dragged to execution, was so overjoyed at the spectacle that he burst into an irrepressible fit of laughter; and even at the distance of eleven years, in writing to a friend, he avowed and gloried in the deed. “Servetum, canem illum latrantem compescui!”. —“I quelled,” he says, “Servetus, that barking dog!”

Calvin: “Servetus, that barking dog!

See also: The Murder of Michael Servetus by John Calvin, 50 PDF Books on CDrom

The Persecution of Michael Servetus by Charles McRae 1892

Pat Sajak on This Day in History

This Day in History: Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak was born on this day in 1946. I however know him mainly for his humorous tweets, of which there are many:

97% of practicing mediums agree that communication with the dead is real. #SettledSeance

Quiet day at the mall. Then, “Hey, it’s Pat Sajak!!” Confusion, pictures, autographs. I’m almost sorry I yelled.

In order to save our planet, I’m asking everyone in America who’s 73-years-old or older to join me in pledging not to have any more children. #SignThePledge

I used to be in the news business, but I moved into something more credible.

When I had minimum wage jobs, my goal was to better myself, not to better the minimum wage.

No one was recognizing me when I went out wearing a face mask. Had to resort to carrying an 8x10 glossy of myself. Celebrityhood can be challenging.

Surprised to learn that selling vowels is not an essential job.

Thank goodness we have social media during this difficult time to bring us thoughtful and helpful information free of rancor or political agendas.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get much worse, I learn that boneless wings aren’t even wings. They’re just small pieces of white meat chicken. I’m not sure how much more I can take.

I'm so disappointed in my new Peloton Bike. I was able to hang so many more clothes on my old machine.

Every election cycle I get asked to participate in “get out the vote” public service announcements. But I figure if a TV game show host has to convince people to vote, they probably shouldn’t.

Great news! #climatechange is now #glutenfree

Even though I told him it was settled folklore, my young nephew remains a Tooth Fairy denier. (Those kids today!)

To boost career, planning to post, delete & apologize for offensive tweet later. Blaming hackers or prescription drugs.

Please hold. Your call is important to us. Though not important enough to hire a sufficient number of people to answer the phones.

I was walking around my house this morning and I saw myself in a mirror. Now, although I know I’m not a young man, I decided then and there that I had to do something about what I saw. So I’ve had all the mirrors removed. 

German philosopher Max Stirner on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: German philosopher and author Max Stirner was born on this day in 1806. As with other German philosophers of the time, I'm not sure I really liked any of them. He is covered in Charles T. Sprading's book "Liberty and the Great Libertarians" although his "might makes right" philosophy and his repudiation of all moral principles including individual rights scarcely qualifies him as a libertarian in any sense of the word. He did say some great things however, such as “The state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual crime.”

He also said something that people should think about during these lockdowns: "When one is anxious only to live, he easily, in this solicitude, forgets the enjoyment of life. If his only concern is for life, and he thinks 'if I only have my dear life,' he does not apply his full strength to using, i. e. enjoying, life. But how does one use life? In using it up, like the candle, which one uses in burning it up. One uses life, and consequently himself the living one, in consuming it and himself. Enjoyment of life is using life up." In other words, life is more than just mere biological existence, living means enjoying all the things that life has to offer.

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Going Over Niagara Falls in a Barrel on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls without in a barrel on this day in 1901...without dying in the process. She was a 63 year old teacher. Since 1850, more than 5,000 people have gone over Niagara Falls, either intentionally (as stunts or suicide attempts) or accidentally, and only 17 have survived. On average, between 20 and 30 people die going over the falls each year. The majority of deaths are suicides—and most take place from the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, and many are not publicized by officials. There is actually a fine for going over the falls ($10,000 on the Canadian side, and $25,000 on the US side).

David Copperfield and the Niagara Falls

Cartoonist Jack Chick on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: American fundamentalist Christian cartoonist Jack Chick died on this day in 2016. You've probably come across a small pocket-sized religious cartoon, as it is claimed that almost 900 million copies of the cartoons have been printed and sold in 102 languages to missionaries, churches, youth groups and others. I remember in Canada these were usually left on bus seats or phone booths. 

Many of Chick's views were controversial, as he accused Roman Catholics, Freemasons, Muslims, gays and many other groups of murder and conspiracies. He despised Halloween, Harry Potter, The Walking Dead, anime and Dungeons and Dragons. His comics have been described by Robert Ito, in Los Angeles magazine, as "equal parts hate literature and fire-and-brimstone sermonizing." Catholic Answers has called Chick "savagely anti-Catholic", describes Chick's statements about the Catholic Church as "bizarre" and "often grotesque in their arguments."

Chick's other prime targets were: Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Jews, Hindus Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, teenagers, atheists, witches, Commies, Rock music, gluons and gravity, Obelisks, Native Americans and their gods and Family Guy.

Chick was an Independent Baptist who followed a premillennial dispensationalist view of the End Times. He was a believer in the King James Only movement, which posits that every English translation of the Bible more recent than 1611 promotes heresy or immorality.

Curly Howard on This Day in History

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This Day in History: Curly Howard was born on this day in 1903. He is of course best known for his role in the Three Stooges (nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!). He also had a big love for dogs. He would pick up stray dogs and find homes for them in his travels. It is said that he rescued 5000 dogs this way. Curly’s contract with Columbia Pictures included a clause that allowed him to bring his dogs on set. They limited him to two dogs at a time, as they would often walk on set. "To Curly, a canine companion made minimal demands, was always affectionate, cost very little money to care for, and was forever loyal.” (Joan Howard Maurer) Curly died young, at age 48 after a series of strokes.

New Book: The Impersonality of the Holy Ghost by John Marsom 1822

 

Who or what is the Holy Ghost? Is the spirit the 3rd person of the Trinity, or is it merely a divine influence, a power of God? 200 years ago John Marsom explored the topic and produced this little-known, but effective book. His findings will change the way you view the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the one member of the Trinity that gets no respect. Even in the Nicene Creed in 325 A.D. the creed simply ended with a tiny statement of belief "in the Holy Ghost." The Bible is silent on the deity of the Holy Ghost. When pressed, many point to Acts 5 as proof of the deity of the spirit: "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou has not lied unto men, but unto God." ASV

Do you notice that the last part is directed towards Peter when it says, "thou has not lied unto men?" They lied to Peter, who was "filled with holy spirit" Acts 4:8. And when they lied to Peter, they lied to God. Later on, in the same chapter, we have a similar situation in vss 38 and 39 where these words were directed towards Peter and the disciples, "Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown: but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God." Peter and his men were not God, but they represented God, and when something is done against them, it is done against God. That is why the Scofield Study Bible cross-references Acts 5:4 to Scriptures like Numbers 16:11, 1Samuel 8:7 and 1 Thess 4:8 which says, " Therefore he that rejecteth, rejecteth not man, but God, who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you." ASV

As you can see, the strongest proof-text for the deity of the holy ghost evaporates on closer inspection.

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Jim Garrison on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: American lawyer and judge Jim Garrison died on this day in 1992. Garrison is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and he was portrayed by Kevin Costner in the Oliver Stone movie JFK, while Garrison himself actually portrayed Earl Warren. He also played "Judge Jim Garrison" in the 1986 movie The Big Easy, and as such has his own IMDB entry. The movie JFK was originally four and a half hours long. In fact, I remember owning the Director's Cut was 2 VHS tapes long.

Ever since that pivotal day on November 22 1963, JFK conspiracies have become a cottage industry. One of the first books on the topic was Rush to Judgment by Mark Lane, which sold millions of copies. Vincent Bugliosi estimates that over 1,000 books have been written about the Kennedy assassination, at least ninety percent of which are works supporting the view that there was a conspiracy. As a result of this, the Kennedy assassination has been described as "the mother of all conspiracies". Other popular conspiracies are 9/11, the moon landing hoax, the Roswell crash cover-up, Satanic cults, Paul McCartney's death, Princess Diana's murder, flat earth theory, Stephen King shot John Lennon, Kurt Cobain was murdered by Courtney Love, Pro wrestling is real, The "Men in Black" are real, the Titanic was deliberately sunk because Jacob Astor opposed the Federal Reserve which was established a year later, Scientologists rule Hollywood, the world is run by dinosaur-like reptiles, the Mandela effect, Alex Jones is actually Bill Hicks, Elvis is alive, Stevie Wonder isn't really blind, the Masons secretly run everything, CERN is using the LHC to open a portal to hell, and Hitler did not commit suicide in 1945 and escaped to South America. I'm sure I missed several thousand.

Lynyrd Skynyrd on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: A privately-chartered plane crashed in a swamp in Mississippi on this day in 1977, killing three members of rock music group Lynyrd Skynyrd: lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines. Ronnie Van Zant repeatly told people that he would not live to see his 30th birthday. He was 29 years old when the plane crashed. Van Zant was laid to rest wearing his trademark Texas Hatters hat and his favorite fishing pole at his side.

Oh, and the best performance of Sweet Home Alabama is by the Leningrad Cowboys & the Russian Red Army Choir.

1977 was an exceptionally bad year for deaths. That was the year we also lost Elvis Presley, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, T. Rex’s Marc Bolan, Jean Hagen, Groucho Marx, Gummo [Milton] Marx, Freddie Prinze, opera star Maria Callas, novelist Vladimir Nabokov, filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, Paul Desmond (Dave Brubeck Quartet), Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flinstone), Ernst Bloch, Sebastian Cabot, Guy Lombardo, Peter Finch, Matthew Garber, Rocket Scientist Wernher von Braun, and Diana Hyland.

Martin Luther on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Martin Luther became a doctor of theology on this day in 1512. Martin Luther was an important figure in world history as he ushered in the Protestant Reformation by railing against the sale of indulgences and other practices of the Catholic Church in his famous Ninety-Five Theses. At the same time, Luther was a foul-mouthed tyrannical racist drunk, and more so as he got older.

“If we wish to find a scapegoat on whose shoulders we may lay the miseries which Germany has brought upon the world—not, perhaps a very scientific way of writing history—I am more and more convinced that the worst evil genius of that country is not Hitler or Bismarck or Frederick the Great, but Martin Luther.” ~Dean Inge

The English Catholic, Thomas More (1478-1535) called Luther a “buffoon . . . [who will] carry nothing in his mouth other than cesspools, sewers, latrines, poop and dung . . . .” except he didn't use the word POOP.

According to Luther, some of the Pope's teachings were "farts out of his stinking belly.” He could describe certain Roman Catholic institutions and practices with which he heartily disagreed as "an illusion and an evil odour, stinking worse than the devil’s excrement.” 

"I resist the devil, and often it is with a fart that I chase him away.”

Just before he died, Luther told his wife, “I’m like a ripe stool, and the world’s like a gigantic anus, and so we’re about to let go of each other.” 

See also: Martin Luther - Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor by Peter F. Wiener

Alaska on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million (about two cents an acre) on this day in 1867. Here are some interesting facts about Alaska:

John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic "The Thing", although set in Antarctica, was filmed in Alaska.

Alaska has more coastline than the other 49 states combined.

The coldest temperature recored there is -80 F, and Alaska actually reached 100 F in 1915.

Alaska has some weird moose-specific laws. You are not allowed to push a moose from a plane, view a moose from a plane, or give a moose a beer. It is illegal to whisper in someone’s ear while they are moose hunting in Alaska.

Seventeen of the 20 highest mountain peaks in the U.S. are in Alaska.

Alaska has more than 100 volcanoes.

Alaska has the most serial killers.

Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, is the only U.S. capital that is not accessible by road. It can only be reached by plane or boat.

Alaska is the largest state in the union (1/5 of the entire USA and twice the size of Texas).

The Northern Lights can be seen in Fairbanks 243 days a year.

In Alaska, there is approximately 1 bear to every 21 people.

A couple of the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian making Alaska the most western state AND the most eastern state.

I WAS LOST IN ALASKAN WOODS | 10 True Scary Subscriber Horror Stories (Vol. 70)

Frederic Chopin on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Frédéric Chopin died on this day in 1849 at the age of 39. Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for solo piano. FC was so fearful of being buried alive that he asked that his heart be cut out of his chest and preserved elsewhere. His body was buried in Paris, but his heart was laid to rest inside Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. (It was removed by the Germans in 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising, and later returned.)

In history, the body parts of celebrated individuals have had an interesting and lively afterlife. Noted philosopher Rene Descartes' skull traveled Europe posthumously. His remains were exhumed 16 years after his death with the purpose of returning them to his native France. Before the body could be moved one of the guards supervising the exhumation removed Descartes’ skull as a memento and so during the next 150 years, the head made its way throughout the continent, bought and sold like a commodity. 

Albert Einstein's brain was stolen by the doctor conducting his autopsy. John Kennedy's brain was also stolen, and some claim it was stolen by his brother Bobby. Beethoven's ear bones were removed during an autopsy and later stolen by an orderly who allegedly sold them. Galileo's middle finger was snapped off 95 years after his death and was passed around for a few hundred years. Rasputin's penis made it to Paris in the 1920's, and Napoleon's penis made its travels as well, until it was sold to a US doctor in the 70's.

See also: The Science & Appreciation of Classical Music - 175 Books on DVDROM

The Luby's Massacre on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Luby's shooting, also known as the Luby's massacre, took place on this day in 1991, at a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas. The killer, George Hennard, drove his pickup truck through the front window of the restaurant. He quickly shot and killed 23 people, and wounded 27 others. He had a brief shootout with police, refused their orders to surrender, and fatally shot himself. At the time, the shooting was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history.

Suzanna Hupp was in that restaurant that day with her parents. She reached in her purse for her gun, but then realized her gun was 100 yards away in her vehicle because Texas law at the time demanded it. Her parents were both killed. Since then she has lobbied for looser gun control laws that she says could have allowed her to save the 23 victims, including both of her parents. 

About a dozen years or so I remember watching her testimony in congress, and it was one of the most powerful statements in defense of gun rights. Watching her speak changed my mind on guns. (You also get to see a young Chuck Schumer).

The 2008 Stock Market on This Day in History

This Day in History: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 733.08 points, or 7.87% on this day in 2008, making it one of the worst percentage drops in the Dow's history. The worst was on October 19 1987 (-22.61%) and October 1929 had worse drops as well. October has a special place in finance, known as the October effect, and is one of the most feared months in the financial calendar. The 2nd, and 5th worst market drops actually happened earlier this year in March. There was also a -8.72% drop in late 1899. 

Interestingly, two days prior, October 13 2008, had one of the biggest percentage gains in stock market history (+11.08%). 

There is another problem with stock market numbers, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. The new record levels are counted in "nominal" terms. The numbers don't account for inflation. I know that back in 2013 financial experts noticed the high numbers in the stock market, but in reality, when adjusted for inflation, they stated that the market was actually higher in 1999. For instance, in 2013, the Dow could buy 15.35 tons of bananas, but in 1999, the Dow could have bought 38.51 tons of bananas. 

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The Amityville Murders on This Day in History

This Day in History: The Amityville murders trial began on this day in 1975. In the previous year, Ronald DeFeo Jr. walked into his home at 112 Ocean Avenue and shot his parents and four siblings while they were sleeping, which was a strange aspect of the case since the rifle DeFeo used didn’t have a silencer. There was no struggle, and neighbors didn’t hear any gunshots. DeFeo’s attorneys argued that he had been driven to murder by voices in the house telling him to do it. He is presently serving six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life.

Another family bought the house soon after, but ended up abandoning the home and all their belongings one night after a month of alleged paranormal activity. The 1977 Jay Anson book The Amityville Horror was based on this time in the house, and with a blockbuster film to follow (There are a total of 21 Amityville Horror related movies). The book has led to controversy and lawsuits over its truthfulness. 

Four years ago, the Amityville house went on the market for $850,000. If you check the address on google maps, the house is blurred out on street view.

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The Knights Templars on This Day in History

 

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This Day in History: Hundreds of Knights Templars in France are arrested at dawn on Friday the 13th by King Phillip the Fair on this day in 1307. It’s sometimes said the Templars were the world’s first bankers, though they were more accurately the world’s first financial-services company. People who made pilgrimages to Jerusalem would deposit cash at the Temple Church in London, and withdraw it in Jerusalem. Instead of carrying money, he would carry a letter of credit. The Knights Templar were the Western Union of the crusades. This then made them wealthy, which then made them a target of King Phillip the Fair, a man desperate for money. 

"The High Middle Ages in France were brought to a dismal close by King Philip IV. 'Philip the Fair' centralized power by seizing control of the papacy, dramatically increased taxes, debased the French currency, expelled France’s Jewish population, massacred the international bankers known as the Knights Templar, destroyed the country’s independent trade fairs, and plunged France into a crisis with England that shortly after evolved into the disastrous Hundred Years War. The poverty engendered by this royal rampage contributed to the unsanitary urban conditions that were so hospitable to the Black Death that killed over a third of Europe. The towns that had been oases of prosperity had become death traps."~Dan Sanchez

It is believed that the Friday the 13 superstition started on that October dawn in 1307 when the Knights Templars were arrested, tortured and then put to death.

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The Delft Explosion on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Delft Explosion, also known in history as the Delft Thunderclap, occurred on this day 1654. Delft is a city in the province of South Holland, Netherlands, and in 1654 a gunpowder store in the city exploded, destroying much of the city, killing over 100 people and injuring thousands. 

About 30 tonnes of gunpowder were stored in barrels in a magazine  (a place where ammunition and explosives are stored) in a former Clarist convent in the Doelenkwartier district, where the Paardenmarkt is now located. Cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the magazine, opened the store to check a sample of the powder and a huge explosion followed. Luckily, many citizens were away, visiting a market in Schiedam or a fair in The Hague.

Today, the explosion is primarily remembered for killing Rembrandt's most promising pupil, Carel Fabritius, and destroying almost all of his works.

Delft artist Egbert van der Poel painted several pictures of Delft showing the devastation.

The gunpowder store was subsequently re-housed, a 'cannonball's distance away', outside the city.

There was another major gunpowder explosion in Leiden, Netherlands on January 12, 1807 that killed 150 people.

Polaroid Cameras on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Polaroid Corporation filed for federal bankruptcy protection on this day in 2001. Polaroid and Kodak have been having a hard time staying relevant in the world that has passed them by. Of course they're not the only ones. The internet and the digital age has been disruptive for many industries, such as cable television, travel agents, encyclopedias, landlines, print journalism, maps, book stores, video stores, music, stockbrokers, Job recruiters, taxis, record stores, etc. And when was the last time you saw a payphone?

BTW, you can still buy a Polaroid camera.

Filmmaker Ed Wood on This Day in History

 
Plan 9  (Colorized)

This Day in History: Filmmaker Ed Wood was born on this day in 1924. When the Golden Turkey Awards was published in 1980, it declared Ed Wood's movie "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1956) the worst film of all time. This rating then gave Ed Wood's film new life and a new following as a result. There was also an Ed Wood movie in 1994 starring Johnny Depp as a result. Wood's 1953 movie "Glen or Glenda" was also considered one the worst movies of the 1950's. 

Since then many other bad movies have been made, and some that are considered the worst are Gigli (2003), The Room (2003), Epic Movie (2007), I Know Who Killed Me (2007), The Last Airbender (2010), Jack and Jill (2011), That's My Boy (2012) Dirty Grandpa (2016), Cats (2019) etc.  

Today is Leif Erikson Day

 
Who Really Discovered America? - 90 Books on DVDrom (Vikings, Irish, Welsh etc)

This Day in History: Today is Leif Erikson Day, a day held in honor of the first Europeans who have set foot in North America. There are actually many others who have also claimed to be the first discoverers of America, long before Columbus. The Welsh Prince Madoc claimed to have visited in the 1100's and there have been stories among the Creek natives of the "Welsh Indians."

The Irish have also sailed to America in the 6th century (St. Brendan), as well as the Phoenicians previously, the Chinese in the 5th century (there was a supposed discovery that Buddhistic traditions among the Mexican natives, jade ornaments in Nicaragua, and a Chinese symbol on a monument), and the Greeks have claimed the earliest European discovery (Ptolemy) 2300 years ago.

The Chinese Discovery of America

Bank Failures on This Day in History

 

The Case of Banking Crises

This Day in History: The Franklin National Bank collapsed due to fraud and mismanagement on this day in 1974, which was, at the time, the largest bank failure in US history. Now, 46 years later, it does not even rank in the top 30 of bank failures. Some of the bigger bank failures since then have been Washington Mutual (where I had an account), Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust, IndyMac and American Savings and Loan. On the flipside, Canadian banks have been relatively more stable and insulated from economic turmoil in comparison. For one thing, Canada has about 2 dozen banks, while the US may have thousands. Canadian banks have greater freedoms when it comes to investment banking, and the big 5 Canadian banks are exceptionally well managed banks and are far more conservative than their much larger US peers. In fact, it is not uncommon to find Canadian banks break into the US market in one form or another (TD Ameritrade, CIBC, RBC).

See also The History & Mystery of Money & Economics-250 Books on DVDrom

Visit my Econ blog at http://fredericbastiat1850.blogspot.com/

For a list of all of my disks and ebooks (PDF and Amazon) click here

Longer Life Expectancies on This Day in History

 
Julian Simon on Progress

This Day in History: Edgar Allan Poe died on this day in 1849 at age 40. Novelist Anne Brontë also died in 1849 at age 29, and Frédéric Chopin also died in 1849 at age 39. These early deaths were not uncommon for the time. The average lifespan for most of history was between 25-30, much of that attributed to high infant mortality. Half of all children died by the age of 8. After that age you had to contend with diseases (parasites, typhoid, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever etc) constant wars and poor healthcare (doctors only began regularly washing their hands before surgery in the mid-1800s). By 1900 the average life expectancy rose to 48. By 1950 it climbed to 67. Today it is about 78. Over the last 200 years people became more wealthy, and wealth promotes health, and extra wealth funds health research. The poorest countries in the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, have the lowest lifespans.

The First US Train Robbery on This Day in History

 

Watch Reno Bros Documentary

This Day in History: The Reno brothers carried out the first train robbery in U.S. history on this day in 1866. With the economy in the West booming, trains often carried large amounts of cash and precious minerals. The wide-open spaces of the Western frontier also provided train robbers with plenty of isolated areas ideal for stopping trains, as well as plenty of areas where they could hide from the law. Some criminal gangs, like Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, found that robbing trains was so easy and lucrative that railroad owners had to make changes. One of those changes was adding massive safes protected by heavily armed guards. Special boxcars designed to carry guards and their horses were eventually added (the horses were there in case of pursuit). By the late 1800s train robbery was becoming increasingly difficult and dangerous.

The last major train robbery in the US occurred in 1937 by Henry Loftus and Harry Donaldson on the Southern Pacific Railroad's Apache Limited. The two young men were so inept that 20 passengers ganged up on them "punching and kicking them in a frenzy".

See also: Buffalo Bill & the American Wild West, 200 Books on DVDrom
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/buffalo-bill-american-wild-west-200.html

AC/DC Singer Brian Johnson on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Singer Brian Johnson was born on this day in 1947. BJ became the lead singer of AC/DC in 1980 after the death of Bon Scott. His first album with AC/DC, Back in Black, became the second best-selling album of all time according to most estimates. The Guardian ranked the successful transition to Johnson at No. 36 on their list of 50 key events in rock music history.

Did you know that researchers use AC/DC music to help combat cancer?

"Researchers at the University of South Australia have found that playing ‘Thunderstruck’ during chemotherapy treatment is effective at improving the efficiency of the drug. They chose this AC/DC track because it hits all the right notes. Vibrations from the song cause silicon micro particles carrying the chemo drug inside a vacuum to bounce. This results in a polymer coating that prevents the drug from escaping while being administered, improving delivery to cancer cells."

https://www.gold1043.com.au/entertainment/8-weird-facts-about-acdc/

And of course, no one does AC/DC like Pat Boone.

Brian Johnson's Lifestyle

The Coverdale Bible on This Day in History

Old English Bibles to Download, (AV1611, Tyndale, Matthews, Coverdale etc)

This Day in History: The Coverdale Bible was printed on this day in 1535. It was compiled by Myles Coverdale and published in 1535, was the first complete Modern English translation of the Bible (not just the Old Testament or New Testament), and the first complete printed translation into English. Before the King James Bible in 1611 the English speaking world had other Bibles as well, such as the Matthews Bible, the Taverner's Bible (more correctly called "The Most Sacred Bible whiche is the holy scripture, conteyning the old and new testament, translated into English, and newly recognized with great diligence after most faythful exemplars" by Rychard Taverner), the Great Bible (named for its size), the Bishops’ Bible and the Catholic Douay/Rheims Bible. The Bible that was first brought to America on the Mayflower was the Geneva Bible. All English translations of the Bible printed in the sixteenth century included a section or appendix for Apocryphal books (which the Catholics call the Deuterocanonical books) which usually include Baruch, the Prayer of Manasseh, the books of the Maccabees, 1 Esdras & 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the Rest of Esther, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach) the 151st Psalm etc. 

Coverdale Bible Video

These older Bibles were based on late manuscripts of the Greek, and some Bible translators simply translated from the Latin or the German. In the 1800's there were Bible translations that sought to correct that by using older newly found manuscripts, and these included official revisions of the King James (Authorized) Bible, such as the English Revised Version (1881) and the American Standard Version (1901). The public never really embraced these Bibles, still preferring the old King James version.  

See also: The History of the English Bible, 125 PDF Books on DVDrom

This Kindle book is now available on Amazon by clicking here...and it is only 99 cents

The Unification of Germany on This Day in History

 

Buy my book: The Folly of Socialism (40 Chapters) for 99 cents on Amazon

This Day in History: The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was abolished and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany on this day in 1990. This was preceded by the dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall the previous year...a turning point in history. While walls are usually built to keep outsiders at bay, this wall was built to keep people in. They were so deperate to keep people in that the wall did not just have concrete and barbed wire, the 96.3-mile wall came with 302 observation towers, 259 dog runs, 20 bunkers manned by more than 11,000 soldiers, and more than 79 miles of electrified fencing.

Yet, people still tried to leave: "The wall did not stop human flight. Instead, it forced people to be more creative. East Germans climbed over, tunneled under, and flew over. They jumped from windows of buildings along the border—which later were demolished. GDR residents used balloons, built submarines, and created secret compartments in cars. An estimated 100,000 people tried to escape, and some 5,000 made it. Many of those who failed in their lunge for freedom paid a high price. Tens of thousands of East Germans were imprisoned for Republikflucht. Around 200 were killed—no one knows how many for sure—challenging the Berlin Wall. Include those murdered while attempting to cross the border elsewhere, and the death toll probably exceeded 1,000." ~Doug Bandow

There are two great lessons here about Socialism. The leaders know that this system will be unfavorable to the citizens, and the citizens will risk life and limb to escape it.

See also Over 300 PDF/Acrobat Books on 

Socialism, Communism and Economics

See also: 300 Books on DVDrom for Libertarians, Objectivists and Voluntaryists

Singer Don McLean on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Don McLean was born on this day in 1945. McLean is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an 8.5-minute folk rock cultural touchstone about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation. This masterpiece McLean's is an homage inspired partly by the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959, and developments in American youth culture in the subsequent decade. The song popularized the expression "The Day the Music Died" in reference to the crash.

At 8.5 minutes, it also ranks as one of the longest singles of the rock era (second to Guns ‘N Roses “November Rain”). It has since been covered by everyone from Weird Al Yankovic to Madonna.

The song made references to Bob Dylan (the Jester), the Beatles (Sergeants), the Stones, the Byrds, Marx, the Manson Family (Helter Skelter in a summer swelter) and the 1968 Chicago Democratic Party National Convention.

Weird Al

The Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") on This Day in History

 

Today in History: Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") began their high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka on this day in 1964. The maximum operating speed is 320 km/h (200 mph) (on a 387.5 km section of the Tohoku Shinkansen). Test runs have reached 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 603 km/h (375 mph) for SCMaglev trains in April 2015.

Over the Shinkansen's 50-plus-year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there has been not a single passenger fatality or injury due to train accidents, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. 

The word Shinkansen in Japanese means 'new trunk line' or 'new main line', but this word is used to describe both the railway lines the trains run on and the trains themselves. Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed travel.