Dave Does History

In 44bce, the world was stunned on the Ides of March as a group of Roman Senators mercilessly attacked and murdered the sitting roman Dictator, Julius Cæsar. Over the next two thousand years, the story achieved legendary status in literature, theater and film. We watch as Elizabeth Taylor weeps over his death. Shakespeare brings us Marc Anthony’s rhetorical masterpiece, “Friends! Romans, Country m...

Some Technical Notes from today’s episode: (1) Dave has had zero sleep. He was up all night for a family activity. (2) The WMMB computer failed, necessitating the show be done by telephone rather than the normal method via computer. (3) Bill and Dave decided to leave their off air discussions on the podcast version. This is unusual but the conversations were germane to the subject (which...

Last week President Joe Biden was asked about his read of China’s intention vis-à-vis Russian and Ukraine. He said that he did not see” China helping Russia with weapons and/or ammunition. This was, of course, after his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said that China was planning to do exactly that. And China, said that they were not considering it. Then for good measure Blinken threatened to...

On February 21, 1945, the newly upgraded aircraft carrier USS Saratoga was supporting the landings on Iwo Jima. The night before she was detached with a small escort to bomb Japanese forces on Chichi Jima. The next day is overcast with very low cloud cover. Out of the low clouds screamed six Japanese planes, who manage to hit the Sara’s forward end, causing heavy damage and killing one hundred and...

Look, nothing happens in a vacuum. Whether it’s a Papal Bull that results in the eradication of cats that seems to lead to millions of human deaths, or a grain shortage in the middle of a violent revolution that leads to a Economist and Reverend watching what is going on and coming up with what will become one of the most impactful theories in human history…

The first American Civil War was every bit as vicious and hate-filled as the second. And… like the second, it eventually resulted in amending the US Constitutional to try and make things better. It all started when the state of Georgia decided that it wasn’t going to pay the guy who sold their militia supplies during the war. It led to an intense debate during ratification over the concept of Stat...

In January of  1944, the Allies thought that they had found a way to crack the Gustav Line south of Rome. The bloody battles in Italy had the Allies stalled and desperate to move around the entrenched Nazi forces. From December of 1943 to June of 1944, almost 100,000 allied soldiers were casualties. Most of them, from two assaults intended to break the Gustav Line. On January 22nd, the Allies...

Some months back a caller asked me what I thought was the “worst” Constitutional Amendment. He postulated that it was the 17th, which moved the election of US Senators from the State Legislature to the popular vote of a given State. Look, from a purely strict constructionist viewpoint – which by the by – NOBODY holds – every amendment from the progressive era has been “devastating.” Some more than...

Before the middle of the 19th century, the most famous American in the world was Benjamin Franklin. He was – as most people know – a scientist, an inventor, a printer, a writer, a socialite, a diplomat, a fashion icon and a humorist. Today we celebrate his birthday, with some of the things that you might not know about the man who some call “the First American…”

In many ways, the United States always resembled republican Rome. By the last half of the first century bce, the republic was teetering on the edge. Corrupt politics,  mounting debt to fund foreign wars, societal breakdowns that left long held traditional values in disrespect and disregard left the every day Roman wondering if the world had gone completely mad? As we look around our nation to...

George Santos is the most infamous man in America today. In case you’ve been under a rock, he was just elected to Congress, but… it turns out that HE LIED ON HIS CV! In more than two centuries of congressional candidates running to serve the nation out of a sense of duty and honor, this has NEVER EVER , happened before! Right?

It’s a cold snowy day up here in the Pacific Northwest. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s spend it talking history! Some months ago we had a caller to BML complaining that “only three or four guys actually did anything” with regard to the Revolution and the Constitution. It’s a common misconception, but why we think that way is a bigger question. Is it simply ignorance, or is it something… else? Ther...

NOTE: iHeart had computer issues this morning, forcing the show to be done via telephone with the attendant reduced audio quality. One week after the assassination of President Kennedy, now President Lyndon Johnson issued an Executive Order which announced the formation of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy. It would carry the nickname “the Warren Commission,” and...

November 22nd, 1963, was a seminal day in American history. Every American alive that day can tell you about their own experience of it, and even those born long after can – and do – discuss and debate it. For myself, November 22nd represented a trajectory change in my own future and passions. The day led directly to my own career behind a microphone, which continues to this day. for others it rep...

Back in August when we left the story, the US Navy had just suffered its worst ever blue water defeat. More than a thousand Allied sailors were dead. Four Heavy Cruisers had been lost, with a fifth disabled. The Navy, along with the American public, had been stunned by the loss, less than a year after the disaster at Pearl Harbor. Just three months later, on the night of November 13/14, 1942, the...

Happy Election Day! Although it is a midterm election, which are every bit as important as the Presidential Elections, we’re going to take a look at the Top 5 Most Heated Presidential Elections in the history of our country…

One November 1, 1765, the Stamp Act, passed by Parliament and given assent by King George III, took effect in Colonial America. For most Americans of that day, it was an intolerable action that violated the basic principle of “No taxation without representation.” Americans really weren’t as upset by the tax as they were about the the control over it. They were being compelled by Britain to pay for...

At 2:30am on October 25, 1944, USS Tang, one of the highest scoring US Submarines in the war, launched the final torpedo of her patrol. After attacking a convoy all through the previous evening, she was hoping to finish off one last ship before turning for home with a broom lashed to her periscopes. The real horror of war is how many things can go wrong. usually with deadly consequences. As that l...

If you ask one hundred Americans, who is the best American citizen of ALL time? I’ve never done that, but my guess is the overwhelming answer would be George Washington. There is an almost worshipful quality that we take towards him, perhaps with some justification, as we have painted his deification onto the ceiling of our Capitol Dome . We have a corporate memory of him that fits both our need f...

The weirdest thing about the current hatred of Columbus Day is that there shouldn’t even be a “Columbus Day.” What do I mean? He was an absolute boss when it came to being the Admiral of the Sea. He did something that hadn’t been done and he did it over and again. He brought glory and honor to his nation and his Monarch. But… and I cannot stress this enough… he would have no idea what we are talki...

You have often heard Bill Mick complain about GOP Republicans who give fire and brimstone conservatism speeches while running for office, and then turn into “do-nothings” once in office. He is, of course, not alone, nor is he wrong to express such sentiments. But is it anything actually new when it comes to specifically the GOP? Today we fear today the slide into progressive socialism as a result...

Among the founders of the nation stand many from Boston. For all the firebrands, the one who seemed more determined than any other to win American liberty was Sam Adams. No… he was not a brewer. Yes, he did make malt – one of the main ingredients in beer, but he left the brewing to those who would honor his name later as they created their beverage in Boston. Sam Adams was a skilled speaker and pu...

So… what exactly IS history? It’s an important question, perhaps even more so than “Why study history?” Like so many thing, if we do not understand WHAT we are studying, how can we have any realistic idea of HOW to interpret it? Let’s take a look at two recent events, a Supreme Court case, the firing of a high school football coach in Bremerton, WA.  And the biggest “news story” in the countr...

We have – today – an almost scriptural reverence for the founding document of the United States government, the Constitution. To listen to most conservatives speak of the Framers is almost like going to church. They were, it seems, infallible. In fact, at least one painting in our own Capitol building portrays one Framer as being apotheosized. But this week in 1787, the true feelings were more tha...

It has been long established that the President has plenary powers when it comes to the foreign affairs of the nation. Wide latitude and power has been generally understood to be within the purview of the executive, as the Constitution is less than precise as to who exactly does what – other than advising and consenting on treaties. Like many things though, that was not always the case. For much o...