November 3 in History

On this date in history... In the Caribbean, Columbus first sighted the island of Dominica. However, it was already 1493, so nobody really cared... The Continental Army was disbanded, leaving the US without a standing army. Which was frankly, a Bad Idea... In Italy, Garibaldi is defeated at the Battle of Mentana, and the pope continues to rule Rome. For a couple more years... Panama seceded from Colombia, thus allowing Roosevelt the Elder to build the Panama Canal for less money. I'm guessing TR shrugged his shoulders and looked innocent when it was announced... Chevy- er, Chevrolet- first got into the car business, trying to compete with Henry Ford and his Model T. Apparently, they still haven't mastered the business side of things, though in fairness they could probably build a car that's better in every way than the Model T. Well, except for the Cruze... The US introduces an income tax.  Thank God, because the one thing the US government continues to need is more money from the people!...Poland declared her independence from Russia.  That's the good news.  The bad news?  It lasted all of 20 years.  But if you look at Poland on a map and notice the eastern and western neighbors, I guess 20 years is about all you can hope for.  (Current version, btw is over 20, so I hope I'm not jinxing them)... In 1957, the Godless Commies in the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 into space, carrying Laika the Dog.  It didn't end well for poor Laika, as you can no doubt imagine... Washington D.C. residents were first allowed to vote in a presidential election on this date.  I bet I know how that went, and I think the place would be better off if they couldn't vote on anything.  But that's democracy for you!...

Hey remember when Columbus spotted Dominica?  Turns out the people there have bigger reasons to celebrate on this date:  It's also the day they became independent of Great Britain.  A mere 485 years later (if my math is correct, and I majored in History so don't count on it).  Still, 485 years is good, right?  Maybe they should have rebelled like the North American colonies did, and it might have been cut down to under 300.  Suck on that, Dominica! USA! USA!... And in Lebanon, an article claims that the US has been engaged in weapons deals with Iran, trying to get some hostages released.  But it's such an asinine idea that there's no way it could be true.    I suspect that soon Oliver North will make his first appearance in the news.  Oh joy...  Happy independence day also to the Federated States of Micronesia.  They got their freedom from America.  And it was a lot sooner than 485 years too.   Suck on that, Dominica!  USA! USA! (Looks for map to see where the hell the Federated States of Micronesia is/are, and then shrugs in indifference)... And in 1997, the US imposed economic sanctions against Sudan for human rights abuses.  Since they're still ongoing, I guess that was a good plan.  And if memory serves, Sudan was later elected to the UN Human Rights Group, which tells you exactly how much that entire clusterfudge is worth.

Next up, birthday time!