THE SHORTEST WAR OF ALL TIMES< IN GOD WE TRUST AND A TALE OF HENRY THE VIII!

IN GOD WE TRUST USED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THIS DATE

We hear about the longest war ever fought, but never the shortest. Well, here is an image of the shortest war in United States history. It was the Spanish American War and it lasted only ten weeks. This is a picture of Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders advancing at the the Battle of San Juan Hill! Yes, today the first shot of that war was fired by Americans boarding a Spanish ship off of Key West. The war was caused by a great insurrection in Cuba that the Spanish were unable to stop or control. America was convinced that this insurrection was a danger to our freedom here (sound familiar?) Of course, the sinking of the battleship Maine was the catalyst for this war. But believe it or not, we went in and solved Cuba's insurrection (occupying it for four years) and then giving it its independence just four years later. We got Puerto Rico, Guam and St. Thomas in the bargain. Amazing warfare that got results. Too bad we didn't learn a few lessons from that war! Today is also a unique day in another way. For on this date in 1894 we first put the words on a US coin. It was the penny! I was amused at the fact there actually was a two penny coin minted with a plan for a three cent coin-- ( and you think you have enough coins in your pocket now! )Teddy Roosevelt was adamantly opposed in using that phrase and was calling it irreverent! Oh well, Teddy wasn't right about everything! Also Henry the VII became King of England today in 1509 and the story of how another religion was born is simply delicious reading. If you though politics were a power today, you would be shocked at how they worked five hundred years ago. Henry only became king at all, because his older brother, the then Prince of Wales died unexpectedly. He was married to Catherine of Aragon first. Henry's father (Henry the 7Th) wanted an alliance between Spain and England in the worst way. Henry the VIII was obliged to marry his brother's widow-- that was Catherine. But his brother had been frail and the marriage had never been consummated. OK-- that means the Pope didn't have to give a dispensation. Yes, believe it or not, back then in 1509, one could not marry a brother's widow without official dispensation by the Vatican. The nasty word called "protocol" comes to mind. My friends the Sherman Brothers wrote a song about it called "Protoccoligoricaly Correct" -- {"Protocol-- above all-- makes a kingdom rise or fall!"} Henry then meets Anne Boleyn and the rest is history. Cold day here on this Sunday in Los Angeles but I do have the day off! Oh yes: one more thing: Happy 70th birthday to Jack Nicholson.