A day late but… November 29th

His death went unnoticed, as he died the same day John F. Kennedy was shot, but his works are some of the most widely read in English literature.

Originally an agnostic, he served in World War I and became a professor at Oxford and Cambridge.
He credits his Catholic friend and fellow writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of “Lord of the Rings,” as being instrumental in bringing him to faith in Christ. Among his most notable books are: The Screwtape Letters; Miracles; The Problem of Pain; Abolition of Man; and The Chronicles of Narnia, which include The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe.

His name was C.S. Lewis, born this day, November 29, 1898.

Over 200 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and continue to sell at a rate of a million copies a year, even forty years after his death.

In his book “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis wrote: “The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but a baby, and before that a fetus in a woman’s body.”

www.AmericanMinute.com

November 19th

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Thus began the Gettysburg Address, delivered this day, November 19, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln on the field where 50,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in a three day battle.

This ten-sentence speech ends with the words: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The American Minute

This day, November 12, 1620, was the Pilgrims’ first full day in America.

It took over two months for the one hundred and three of them, cramped between decks on the tiny Mayflower, to cross the freezing North Atlantic.

They had intended to sail to Jamestown, but were blown off course by violent storms and landed at Plymouth Rock.

Governor William Bradford wrote: “Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean,
and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth.”

From: American Minute

It’s fitting to remember this on election day.

After defeating the British, General George Washington resigned and returned to farming at Mount Vernon.

On this day, November 2, 1783, he issued his Farewell Orders to his troops. “Before the Comdr in Chief takes his final leave,” he wrote, “he wishes…a slight review of the past…. The singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving; while the…perseverance of the Armies of the U. States, through almost every possible suffering…for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle.”

Once political enemies they became close friends, and died yesterday, July 4th in the year 1826. An awe swept America as these two men, at distance of 700 hundred miles from each other, died on the same day exactly 50 years since they both signed the Declaration of Independence. Their names: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
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President John Quincy Adams, in an Executive Order, stated: "A coincidence…so wonderful gives confidence…that the patriotic efforts of these…men were Heaven directed, and furnishes a new…hope that the prosperity of these States is under the special protection of a kind Providence."

In his Second Annual Message to Congress, 1826, President John Quincy Adams stated: "Since your last meeting at this place, the fiftieth anniversary of the day when our independence was declared…two of the principal actors in that solemn scene – the hand that penned the ever-memorable Declaration and the voice that sustained it in debate – were by one summons, at the distance of 700 miles from each other, called before the Judge of All to account for their deeds done upon earth."

From: www.American Minute.com

The Declaration of Independence was approved this day, July 4, 1776.

John Hancock, the first to sign, said: “the price on my head has just doubled.”

Benjamin Franklin signed saying “We must hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately.”

Of the fifty-six signers: 17 lost their fortunes, 12 had their homes destroyed, 9 fought and died, 5 were arrested as traitors, and 2 lost sons in the War.

As Samuel Adams signed, he said: “We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.”

Paul Johnson, arguably one the best living historians, writes on the risks of D Day, and the necessity of historical perspective in wartime — including the war in Iraq.

BY PAUL JOHNSON
Thursday, June 3, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

LONDON–To launch a large-scale opposed landing across many miles of water is the most hazardous of all military operations. Nothing before or since has ever been mounted on the scale of Operation Overlord, though the U.S. invasion of Iraq after the 9/11 outrage employed more firepower. The D-Day landing that began June 6, 1944, involved three services, airborne and glider troops, submarine landing, undercover agents and saboteurs, and an astonishing array of technological gimmicks.

It was the most carefully planned operation in history, and it had to be. So many things could go wrong. Churchill had learned from the bitter experience of Gallipoli 30 years before how easily a big invasion could be pinned down on a narrow beachhead and never break out of it. That nearly ended his political career. The Dieppe rehearsal showed the risks we were taking and the real possibility of a catastrophe. In Italy, we had had another near-disaster at Anzio.

Read the entire article on the Wall Street Opinion Journal website.

Athens Daily (Kathimerini), May 27, 2004
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100012_27/05/2004_43277

CAIRO (AP) – A Polish archaeological mission has discovered material evidence of the vibrant academic life of ancient Egypt, unearthing 13 lecture halls believed to be part of the ancient University of Alexandria.

This is the oldest university ever found in the world, Grzegory Majderek, head of the Polish mission told The Associated Press yesterday.

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