History & Comment for February 25, 2025

A look at historical and current events on this day, comment and humor so dry it would make a camel thirsty. 

Transcript

This is History and Comment for Tuesday the 25th of February 2025.

In 1789, our young country was facing a crisis or maybe a growing pain.   With a new constitution in place and for the moment relations with other world power stable, the issue of how to pay off war debts was at the fore.   The Federal Government did not have enough money to service the war debt and lacked the credit to refinance it.   In a word they were bankrupt.   President George Washington placed the burden on Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton to find a solution that would allow the debts to be paid and the country survive.    Hamilton proposed a series of taxes, that were largely unpopular and sparked an internal skirmish.    He also proposed consolidating the war debt with the Federal Government taking over debts that the States had incurred.   And maybe most controversial was the creation of a national bank.   

The reaction and opinions were diverse and might be considered the genesis of political parties in the United States.     No one came up with a better solution than Hamilton,  but they did not like his.  Typical politics.  No one was more opposed to Hamilton than Thomas Jefferson.   

On the issue of assuming the States debt,  Jefferson argued that this would be a great transfer of money from the farmers and tradesmen to  wealthy speculaors.  During the war,  the army might buy a stock of grain and give the farmer a promissory note that the State would pay at a future date.   The farmers, cash strapped, had been willing to sell the notes for a fraction of their later value to folks with cash.   The plan would have guaranteed the notes at face value, resulting in a large profit for the speculators.   

Hamilton’s push for a national bank was also adamantly opposed by Jefferson and his followers.    The bill had passed congress earlier in February and was sitting on the Presidents desk.   Washington was not clear in his mind what the best course of action was.   He asked Jefferson and Madison to present their arguments against the actions and they did so in writing.  He then asked Hamilton to give his response to the objections.    After weighting the various points on this day in 1791 he signs the bill.     In general the concepts were not popular with the people and will propel Jefferson and his cacaus to power for the next decade.    Jefferson will repeal or allow most of Hamilton’s effort to expire including the national bank.   

Samuel Colt is granted patent number 9430X for an improvement in Fire Arms on this day in 1836.  The patent makes 8 claims. Number 6 is a principal of locking and turning the cylinder.   Legal Begals might note the cylinder concept is not called out as unique in the patent granted on this day.  But the title on the four drawing sheets is Revolving Gun.   

Adolf Hitler was Austrian by birth, but fought in the Germany army in WW I and entered Germany politics in the 1920s.  After serving time for an successful uprising and treason,  Austria did not want to allow him to return.  In 1925, he renounces this Austrian citizenship and resided in Germany, but could not hold office and could be subject to deportation.   On this day in 1932,  deep in German Politics he obtains German Citizenship.   This allows him to run for Reichs President in the 1932 election.  He does not win, but holds enough power in the legislature that supporter persuade the President to appoint him Chancellor.  When the President died in office in 1934,  Hitler slides into power.  

Television Producer and Writer Larry Gelbart was born in 1928.   Gelbart was a member of the Armed Force Radio during WW II. If you know your trivia,  he was the creator and producer of the Television Series MASH.

The USS Ranger, CV-4,  or the fourth Aircraft Carrier is launched in 1933.  This is the first Carrier designed from the Keel up as a Carrier.   This was the seventh time the name Ranger had been applied to a Navy Ship.  Two others were laid down but never completed.   There was a later Carrier named Range, designated CVA-61.   61, was the first carrier laid down, with an angle deck design.  

There are several dates, usually years apart in the construction of a ship.  The day it is ordered.   The day it is laid down is when the first assembly is placed in the shipway for final assembly.    Launched is the day when the ship is named and floated out of the ship way.  Even though the name or at least hull number was assigned when laid down.  A few times names and hull numbers have been exchanged.  The USS Hancock was one example.   The John Hancock Company raised funds for a war-time ship.   The effort took less time than expected and the hull for the Hancock was not ready, so a ship further along in the process got the name Hancock.  

When the Navy takes possession of the vessel it is acquired.  The next date is the Commissioning, that day she will receive a full crew and become part of the active fleet.   

Beatle George Harrison was born in 1943.  Harrison, had a minor part in writing for the band, however he did have a signifcant influence overall.   The groups embrace of Eastern Philosophies might be attributed to Harrison.  

In 1956,  the Skillet in Russia called the Pot black.   Premier Khrushchev denounces Stalin.   Of all of the Soviet Leaders over the past 110 years give or take, none have been realty nice guys.   Stalin was certainly the most ruthless.  Their concepts are counter to those in the west.   Vladimir Putin, wants to recreate the old Soviet Union and has managed to get himself continuously reelected as President.   But he holds far more power than does our President in terms of his relationship with their version of Parliament.  He was susposed to be term limited and you can see how that has worked.   

Much of the world manipulates elections in ways we consider unreasonable and unjust.   Sadly, it takes a very disipled Government to maintain the high standards we tout.    We have caved to human nature.  No! it is not Trump’s fault.  At least directly. 

Actor Sean Astin is 54 today.   Astin grew up in a Hollywood family.  He has a long resume from Goonie, to the lead in the film Rudy and a large part in the LOTR series as Samwise Gamge.

The Soviet lead Warsaw Pact is disbanded in 1991.   The Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955 to counter NATO or the Western Block.   Each was an agreement of mutual support should any member be attacked by a country in the opposing block.   

Maybe I should come up with a name for the daily meme comment.      There was a Graphic that pondered what would happen if all of mankind could united?   Well, that question was first raised in Genesis Chapter 11.  The previous chapter list the decendents of Noah, then 11,  goes into the events at Babel.   The area is in present day Southern Iraq. 

Let’s look at Chapter 11,  It takes a break at the end of naming the decendent of Ham,  to insert a sidebar.   The people had been given a mandate to spread out and repopulate the Earth after the flood. They instead said they would build a city and tower to reach unto the heavens.    Verses 5 and 6, say the LORD visited them and said,  “the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”

I’m of the opinion that the Bible can be considered History when it claims to be.   God is never surprised and never says, Oops!.    That concept is one that we cannot comprehend, but I think the fact remains.  None the less the narrative, supports the meme.  God inserted diverse languages and I would suggest a serious amount of distrust of those who are different than our group.    

I really like the version of the story as presented in the kids radio program, Adventures in Odsessy.   Episode: The Tower.  Of course like any dramatization of Bible events it includes a large amount of creative license.  

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