Some Provocative Thoughts By the Late Great Carl Sagan

 

Bust of Carl Sagan

For some time now, I have been collecting quotes by noted scientist, author and television personality, the late Carl Sagan.  

Here's the thing: I did not really know what to do with these collected quotes. I mean, they were not just interesting, but fascinating. Extremely thought-provoking, as almost everything that this man said tended to be.

It occurred to me that the best thing to do with these quotes was to share them here. And so that is what I am opting to do. Hopefully from here on out, whenever I come across a really great quote by Sagan, it will be shared here.

At least, that is the goal.

Below are some quotes which I recently came across from Carl Sagan, complete with the original source where they can be found. They include his philosophy on science, dreams, evolution and genetic engineering, and a prediction for the future which, I think we can see now, proved to be eerily accurate regarding our own times. 

Take a look:

“Avoidable human misery is more often caused not so much by stupidity as by ignorance, particularly our ignorance about ourselves. I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudoscience and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive. Where have we heard it before? Whenever our ethnic or national prejudices are aroused, in times of scarcity, during challenges to national self-esteem or nerve, when we agonize about our diminished cosmic place and purpose, or when fanaticism is bubbling up around us—then, habits of thought familiar from ages past reach for the controls. The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir.” 

― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

"Science" is only a Latin word for "knowledge." And it's hard for me to believe that anyone is opposed to knowledge. I think that science works by a careful balance of two apparently contradictory impulses. One, a synthetic, holistic, hypothesis-spinning capability, which some people believe is localized in the right hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, and an analytic, skeptical, scrutinizing capability, which some people believe is localized in the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. And it is only the mix of these two, the generating of creative hypotheses and the scrupulous rejection of those that do not correspond to the facts, that permits science or any other human activity, I believe, to make progress." 

~ Carl Sagan ; The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God 

"We are the product of 4.5 billion years of fortuitous, slow, biological evolution. There is no reason to think that the evolutionary process has stopped. Man is a transitional animal. He is not the climax of creation. The Earth and the Sun have life expectancies of many more billions of years. The future development of man will likely be a cooperative arrangement among controlled biological evolution, genetic engineering, and an intimate partnership between organisms and intelligent machines. But no one is in a position to make accurate predictions of this future evolution. All that is clear is that we cannot remain static." 

~ Carl Sagan ; The Cosmic Connection

"In the previous chapter, I proposed that a major aspect of the dream state might be the unleashing, at night, of R-complex processes that had been largely repressed by the neocortex during the day. But I mentioned that the important symbolic content of dreams showed significant neocortical involvement, although the \ frequently reported impairments in reading, writing, arithmetic and verbal recall suffered in dreams were striking. 

"In addition to the symbolic content of dreams, other aspects of dream imagery point to a neocortical presence in the dream process. For example, I have many times experienced dreams in which the denouement or critical "plot surprise" was possible only because of clues-apparently unimportant-inserted much earlier into the dream content. The entire plot development of the dream must have been in my mind at the time the dream began. (Incidentally, the time taken for dream events has been shown by Dement to be approximately equal to the time the same events would have taken in real life.) While the content of many dreams seems haphazard, others are remarkably well structured; these dreams have a remarkable resemblance to drama."

~ Carl Sagan, The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence (1977)

Weekend Humor From a Recent Onion Headline: Department Of Labor Cracks Down On People Getting Paid For Work

Didn't really do the usual, lighthearted humor thing this past weekend, admittedly.

So thought it might be nice for a bit of levity early this Monday morning.

Some of the real headlines these days almost feel like spoof headlines.

And while this particular headline from The Onion is indeed spoof, it is beginning to feel like something which we might actually see in the not so distant future. I still remember when former presidential candidate Scott Walker (that was his name, right?) blasted Americans for being too lazy and actively thought about getting rid of weekends. If I remember, that was even part of the platform that he was running on. 

Glad that he faded away, although what we got instead (King Con Don) is arguably worse still.

Anyway, this headline from the Onion felt worth sharing. Because it's funny in a not so funny kind of way, since it feels like, increasingly, this is bordering on the truth. I would not be surprised if we have somewhat similar headlines (maybe about Americans being paid too much or receiving too generous benefits) in the near future.

Take a look:

Department Of Labor Cracks Down On People Getting Paid For Work  Published by The Onion:  June 4, 2026:

Corruption Charges Levied Against 162 Million Americans Accused Of Accepting Money For Services  

https://theonion.com/department-of-labor-cracks-down-on-people-getting-paid-for-work/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSUiVpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF3akhmNndCMVpKeE1Zek9Ec3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmp1SZFOPEJpossEvkOwzuVX5C0hX72UET8d5p1UqYkWKBKVt10lRmULL10c_aem_BXKK6uMM5GAf7x6jAiI-jg

Department Of Labor Cracks Down On People Getting Paid For Work - The Onion

July 27 - This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

• On this day in 432, St Celestine ended his reign as the Catholic Pope. 

• The first Battle of Bouvines was fought on this day in France, when King Philip Augustus of France defeated John of England and Emperor Otto IV. 

The Treaty of San-Germano between Emperor Frederik II & Pope Gregory IX was signed on this day in 1230. On this day in 1245, Frederick II was deposed by a council at Lyons after they found him guilty of sacrilege. On this day in 1280, Sogen Mugaku, the founder of the Engakuji temple, arrived in Japan from China. On this day in 1298, Albert (Albrecht) I, the son of Rudolf of Habsburg, was crowned King of the Germans. Danish King Waldemar IV destroyed Visby, Gotland, in present day Sweden on this day in 1360. Copernicus was formally installed as Canon of Frauenberg Cathedral on this day in 1501. 

• The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reached Japan on this day in 1549. On this day in 1563, the French army recaptured Le Havre from the English. Here's a little historical fact with dire health implications: it was on this day in 1586 that Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first tobacco to England from Virginia. Prince Frederik Henry captured the castle of Gennep on this day in 1641. On this day in 1643, Oliver Cromwell defeated Royalist forces at the Battle of Gainsborough. On this day in 1655,  Jews of New Amsterdam (modern day New York) petitioned for a Jewish cemetery. The Netherlands & Brandenburg signed a military treaty on this day in 1655. 

• Parliament confirmed the Navigation Act on this day in 1661. The British Parliament passed a second Navigation Act, which required all goods bound for the colonies be sent in British ships from British ports. On this day in 1689, Battle of Killicrankie was fought, when Jacobite Scottish Highlanders under Viscount Dundee defeated the royal government forces under General MacKay. 

• On this day in 1694, the Bank of England received a royal charter as a commercial institution. 

• Russia & the Ottoman Empire signed a peace treaty on this day in 1713. 

• The Russians defeated the Swedish fleet in the Battle at Hango (Hangut) on this day in 1714. On this day in 1714, English Queen Anne fired premier Robert Haley. The second important victory of the Russian Navy came on this day in 1720 during the Battle of Grengam. On this day in 1775, Benjamin Rush began his service as the first Surgeon General of the Continental Army. The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in New England to help the rebellious American colonists fight the British on this day in 1777. 

• In 1784 on this day, "Courier De L’Amerique" became the first French newspaper to be published in the United States. It was printed in Philadelphia, PA. 

On this day in 1778, the British and French fleets fought to a standoff in the first Battle of Ushant. On this day in 1789, Congress established the Department of Foreign Affairs, which later came to be known as the State Department. 

Bust of the "Incorruptible" French Revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre

• The Coup of Thermidor and the Fall of Robespierre in Paris came on this day in 1794. Robespierre is largely considered to have been the main architect of "The Terror" during the French Revolution. 

One year later on this day in 1795, Spain & France signed a peace treaty. On this day in 1804, the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. With this amendment Electors were directed to vote for a President and for a Vice-President rather than for two choices for President. 

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

The Battle at Talavera was fought on this day in 1809, with the British and Spanish armies fighting against the French army of Napoleon. 

On this day in 1816, US troops destroyed Fort Apalachicola, a Seminole fort, to punish Indians for harboring runaway slaves. 

Le Drapeau Tricolore (Tricour Flag) which was a product of the French Revolution, and which remains the national flag of France to this day.

• On this day in 1830, another Revolution broke out in Paris, opposing the laws of Charles X. 

• The city of Adelaide, South Australia, was founded on this day in 1836. The US Mint opened on this day in 1837 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chartist riots broke out in Birmingham England, on this day in 1839. A fire destroyed the US mint at Charlotte, North Carolina on this day in 1844. The Battle of Mathias Point, Virginia was fought on this day in 1861, resulting in Rebel forces repelling a Federal landing. The Battle of St Augustine Springs, in the New Mexico Territory, was fought on this day in 1861, and Confederate troops occupied Fort Fillmore, New Mexico, on that day. Union General George McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac from McDowell on this day in 1861. 

A massive hurricane hit Canton, China, and caused massive destruction, killing 40,000 on this day in 1862. 

The Steamer "Golden Gate" burned & sank off the west coast of Mexico on this day in 1862. 

The Battle of Darbytown, Virginia, was fought on this day in 1864 (Deep Bottom, Newmarket Road) (Strawberry Plains). On this day in 1865, Welsh settlers arrived at Chubut in Argentina. On this day in 1866, 1866 - Cyrus Field successfully completed the Atlantic Cable. It was an underwater telegraph from North America to Europe (it was 1,686 miles long). A P Abourne patented a process for refining coconut oil on this day in 1880. 

The Battle of Maiwand, at which Dr Watson was wounded, broke out on this day in 1880. Philip Pratt unveiled the first electric automobile on this day in 1888. 

Titus van Wyck succeeded M de Savornin Lohman as Governor of Suriname on this day in 1891. The Dutch government of Pierson/Goeman Borgesius resigned on this day in 1897. The Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Dancing Men" was supposed to have begun on this day in 1898. 

On this day in 1909, aviator Orville Wright set a record for the longest airplane flight. He was testing the first Army airplane and kept it in the air for 1 hour 12 minutes and 40 seconds. 

On this day in 1914. British troops invaded Dublin, Ireland, and began to disarm Irish rebels on this day in 1914. Felix Manalo registered the Iglesia ni Cristo with the Filipino government. 

The Allies reached the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele on this day in 1917. On this day in 1918, the Socony 200 was launched. It was the first concrete barge in the United States (New York) and was used to carry oil. There was a race riot in Chicago on this day in 1919, with 15 whites & 23 blacks killed, and 500 injured. In 1920 on this day, a radio compass used for the first time for aircraft navigation. On this day in 1921, Canadian biochemist Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and associates announced the discovery of the hormone insulin at the University of Toronto. On this day in 1922, the International Geographical Union formed in Brussels. The VIIIth Olympic games closed in Paris on this day in 1924. On this day in 1931, Chilean President Carlos Ibáñez was forced out. In 1931 on tis day, grasshoppers in Iowa, Nebraska & South Dakota destroyed thousands of acres of crops. On tuis day in 1932,  Paul Gorgoulov, the assassin of French president Doumer, was sentenced to death. The French Socialist/Communist Party of People's Front formed on this day in 1934. 

Massive floods at Yangtzee Jiang & Hoangh, killed 145,000 on this day in 1935. Billboard magazine started publishing bestseller charts on this day in 1940

Also on this day in 1940, Bugs Bunny made his official debut in the Warner Brothers animated cartoon "A Wild Hare." 

The German army entered Ukraine on this day in 1941. 

Japanese forces landed in Indo-China on this day in 1941. 772 British bombers attacked Hamburg on this day in 1943. On this day in 1944, the first British jet fighter was used in combat (Gloster Meteor). 

The Soviet Army freed Majdanek concentration camp on this day in 1944. 

American forces liberated Guam from the Japanese in 1944. On that same day, American troops occupied Le Mesnil-Herman/Hill 183 Normandy. On this day in 1947, the World Water Ski Organization was founded in Geneva, Switzerland. Otto Skorzeny escaped an anti-Nazi camp at Darmstadt on this day in 1948. The first jet-propelled airline (De Havilland Comet) flew on this day in 1949. 

Bust of American President Harry Truman

• On this day in 1950, President Harry Truman promised aid to Taiwan. 

It was on this day in 1953 that North Korea & the United Nations signed an armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. It was signed at Panmunjon, Korea. On this day in 1953, the Vatican disallowed priest holiday work in factories. An armistice was signed on this day in 1954, dividing Vietnam into two countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. 

The Allied occupation (four countries) of Austria ended on this day in 1955. 

On this day in 1955, an Israeli passenger plane was shot down above Bulgaria, with 58 killed. 

On this day in 1962, the Mariner 2 was launched to Venus on a flyby mission. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC (picture taken during visit in 2013)

Statue of Martin Luther King Jr in Denver, Colorado

• On this day in 1962, clergyman and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed in Albany Georgia. 

General Amin al-Hafez became the President of Syria on this day in 1963. The conflict in Southeast Asia escalated when President Lyndon Johnson sent an additional 5,000 advisers to South Vietnam on this day in 1964. On this day in 1965 in the United States, the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act was signed into law by President Johnson. The law required health warnings on all cigarette packages about the effects of smoking. Also on this day in 1965, Pierre Harmel formed a govrnment in Belgium. On this day in 1967, President Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to study the causes of the urban violence in the wake of recent rioting. Also on this day in 1967,  Arabs Federation Premier Hoesein Al Bayoomi resigned. There was a race riot on this day in 1968. Pioneer 10 was launched on this day in 1969. On this day in 1974, the U.S. Congress by a vote of 27-11 voted for impeachment procedures for obstruction of justice against President Nixon. 

On this day in 1976, an 8.2 Tangshan earthquake in China killed an estimated 240,000 people. 

On this day in 1976, Japanese ex-Premier Tanaka was arrested (Lockheed Affair). 

 Ran into this image of John Lennon, and just thought it was cool, as well as appropriate for the day, given that Paul McCartney was in town. 

• John Lennon was granted a green card for permanent residence in the United States on this day in 1977. 

On this day in 1980, the deposed Shah of Iran, Muhammad Riza Pahlavi, died in a hospital near Cairo, Egypt. Also on this day in 1980, a Palestinian terrorist threw a hand grenade at Jewish children in Antwerp, killing one person. 

In 1982 on this day, Indian Prime Mnister Indira Gandhi had the first visit to the United States in almost 11 years. On this day in 1987, John Demjanjuk, the accused Nazi "Ivan the Terrible," testified in Israel. 

The first expedited salvaging of the wreckage of the Titanic was begun by RMS Titanic, Inc. On this day in 1988, General Sein Lwin succeeded Ne Win as President of Burma. 

In 1993 on this day, the Mafia bombed historical buildings in Rome, Milan, and Vatican City, killing five. 

On this day in 1995, the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in Washington, DC, by President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam. It was on this day in 1996 that a bomb exploded at the Atlanta Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring 110 people. 

The Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria occurred on this day in 1997,  with about 50 people killed. In 1999 on this day, Space Shuttle Discovery completed a five-day mission commanded by Air Force Col. Eileen Collins. It was the first shuttle mission to be commanded by a woman. 

In 2002 on this day,  a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashed during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 85 and injuring more than 100 others. It was the largest air show disaster in history. On this day in 2003, it was reported by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) that there was no monster in Loch Ness. The investigation used 600 separate sonar beams and satellite navigation technology to trawl the loch. Reports of sightings of the "Loch Ness Monster" began in the 6th century. 

In 2005 on this day, STS-114: NASA grounded the Space shuttle, pending an investigation of the external tank's continued foam-shedding problem. During ascent, the external tank of the Space Shuttle Discovery shed a piece of foam slightly smaller than the piece that caused the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; this foam did not strike the spacecraft. On this day in 2006, the Federal Republic of Germany was deemed guilty in the loss of Bashkirian 2937 and DHL Flight 611, because it was illegal to outsource flight surveillance.Finally, on this day in 2007, two news helicopters from Phoenix, Arizona television stations KNXV and KTVK collided over Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix while covering a police chase. There were no survivors. It was the first known incidence of two news helicopters colliding in mid-air, and the worst civil aviation incident in Phoenix history.   

Also, something more of a pleasant memory to me than anything else, it was on this day in history, back in 1990, that the last ever Citroen 2CV, one of my personal favorite cars of all time, rolled off a factory line in Portugal. This car was France's answer to the Volkswagon Beetle, and has a funny history in it's own right (perhaps I will get more into that in some future blog entry). It is an oddly charming looking car, with a distinctive shape. It looked old, even antique. The main idea was that it was a small, affordable car, and it had some really cool advantages. In particular, it was simple (which is what helped to make it financially viable), and so easy to fix as a result. As the name suggests, it only had two horsepower, but it was a car, and it had the advantage of being easily converted into a makeshift convertible. These cars used to be all over the place in France, among other places - as common as the Volkswagon Beetle. But all good things come to an end, and the last one was made in Portugal in 1990.

A picture of a Citroen 2CV driving on the streets of Paris.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jul27.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Trump (Jokingly?) Announces His 2028 Re-Election Campaign

This is a picture of a magnet that was being sold at Strand's Book Store in New York City a few years ago. No, I did not buy it, but I liked it and took a picture, which I am sharing here now. 

Sometimes, it seems funny to me how people interpret things. Let me start off illustrating this point on a light not. I am a Giants fan, as far as the NFL is concerned. But I am also a realist. Not all fans are. Not even close. And some fans will take it as you hating the team if you do not systematically predict that your favorite team is going all the way this year. "How can you call yourself a fan?"

Well, gee, I hope that they win. But they can't win every year, right? And maybe right now, I am enough of a realist to recognize that they need some real work to improve the lineup. Then they have to take real steps towards that goal. Like, say, qualifying for the playoffs. Maybe then we can start talking about what their actual chances are of winning it all will be.

That seems to me to be a new thing. Not even sure when it really happened, but it did happen. We mistook what we wanted to happen for what surely, inevitably would happen. Even when the reality will not nearly be so kind, and harsh reality will often slap us awake. At least until we get back to some comfortable sleep, which we collectively seem to have a remarkable capacity to return to, over and over again.

Somehow, I found the same thing was true in politics. Back in 2004, it seemed pretty obvious to me that the United States was going to re-elect George W. Bush. I thought it was just being a realist. Certainly, it was not what I wanted to happen, but it nevertheless seemed inevitable.

Yet, some people who, like me, did not like Bush were stupefied. 

"Wait. I thought you didn't like Bush? I thought you were opposed to the war in Iraq, and all of that?"

It dumbfounded me. 

"I am," I would say, then reminded them that it was not because I did not want something to happen that it necessarily meant that it was not going to happen. It's called having a grip on reality. After all, despite the utter nonsense that the Bush administration had done, and despite his approval ratings going significantly down, they never dipped down low enough that it seemed to me that he actually would not win the next election. It almost seemed like the nation hesitated to commit to admitting that this guy really had not been good for the country, and that it was time for a new direction, for near leadership. 

That largely fell on deaf ears. Nobody outright said this, but it sure appeared to me like these people seemed dubious that I could simultaneously dislike everything that George W. Bush stood for while also predicting that he would win the 2004 election. 

Perhaps I was conditioned that way. After all, I had grown up in a fairly liberal household while living in a very conservative suburban town during the Reagan/Bush years, seeing the damage that trickle-down economics and union-bashing and excessive military industrial complex spending and staggering corporate scandals was doing to the country, yet seeing election after election still somehow going their way. Usually with landslide wins, for that matter.

So I half-expected someone like Trump to come along and win the White House. 

Don't get me wrong: I didn't actually expect it to be Donald Trump. Hell, he was such a useless, worse than worthless, narcissistic and transparently greedy and decadent scam artist that I had assumed everyone could and would see through him. No, I expected someone more like the fictional Greg Stillson, or something more like that. Certainly, Americans had not plummeted to such depths that they would actually put an imbecile, a clown like Donald Trump into the Oval Office.

Well, I was wrong about that one, obviously. 

However, once we did elect him, it seemed to me more important than ever to have a clear head about these things. To recognize the danger that this man truly poses to our democracy, and to meet it head on. Not to veer off into wishful thinking or denial about what his ascension to power actually means or actually might bring to this country. So I never had a problem seeing that Trump was the kind of guy who would not easily ever give up power once he was given it. That meant that we might never really get rid of him, that he would just somehow stick around.

Yet, it seemed frankly astonishing to me how many people resisted this fairly obvious truth. 

People made faces, dismissing the idea. Nobody really accused me of secretly supporting Trump, as they did in 2004 when I kept saying that I thought Bush would win. However, they also clearly did not take my opinion that he would run again and again - and win again and again, one way or another, fairly or not - seriously at all. Most people dismissed it as if I had made all of this up. As if Trump's naked ambition and lack of limits was all in my head. 

Still, I never questioned that this is exactly what he would do for a moment. It seemed clear as day to me that this was what was going to happen. Other people said that the American people would never go for it. Most people - including supposed experts and pundits - seemed to suggest that it was unlikely that Trump would actually ever get back into the White House after Biden won the 2020 election, even though it seemed equally obvious to me that he actually likely would by blaming Biden for the inevitable inflation and gas price hikes following the end of the pandemic shutdown. 

Then just days ago, it seemed to me that Trump finally revealed to one and all his naked ambition. He donned a "Trump 2028" MAGA hat. Once again, he said in a seemingly half-joking manner that he would be running for the White House yet again.

I say half-joking, because with Trump, he always makes things sound like a joke. Until they no longer are jokes. Remember how he also "joked" about being "president for life?" How he claimed everyone knew that he was joking when he said that it was a good idea, one which this country might do well to look into? 

Now let's be frank: it also seems clear as day to me that he is not joking. That people slapping the "joke" label on this are either fooling themselves, or trying to comfort others, or both. Or perhaps, in some cases, they are Trump supporters and secretly want to see him win again. But this is one of those cases where, frankly, I feel like saying what I have been wanting to say for a long time.

Hate to say I told you so, but, well....

He is not joking. Not in the slightest. He admitted as much before. And while the White House Correspondent's Dinner is usually a time of relative levity for presidents regardless of party affiliation, this is one "joke" which this president is dead serious about. 

Believe it. He will be running again in 2028. And let's be clear on another point: he has a very good chance of winning. I don't care what the poll numbers show right now, or how headlines scream that they are in the toilet. Didn't he already tell everyone, plain as day, that they will never have to vote again? I believed immediately after the 2024 election that he had won, fair and square. Didn't like it, but that was how I felt. Now, both Elon Musk and Trump himself have made suggestions and comments that cast doubt on that. But it won't change a thing. It doesn't matter. It's like Trump's seemingly obvious guilt regarding the Epstein List, which he clearly is on. Spoiler alert: it won't catch up with him. If ever there was one man who was a clear example of being above the law, this is the man. 

While his many detractors and political opponents are gearing up for what they feel is his inevitable fall from power, he is now openly talking about running again in 2028. And I myself should make it clear that I am not kidding that he will have a real chance at winning. In fact, the Democrats would have to hope that his poll numbers really are in the tank by that point to have a real chance at taking back the White House, because that is what it would take. 

Now, he is basically saying as much, in ways that we all fully understand what he is saying. That much he made clear just a few nights ago.

No, I am not going to bother rehashing Trump's White House Correspondent's Dinner speech, or dissect it, or anything like that.

In fact, I literally heard not one word of it. That was because it was on when I arrived at work, but the volume was turned almost all the way down, as it normally is. Truth be told, frankly, when it comes to Trump, that's generally the way that I prefer it. Better than hearing all of his nonsensical lies and propaganda, which I feel have done staggering damage to the country and, indeed, the entire world by this point.

However, there was one thing that Trump did which caught my attention. Right at the end, he donned a "Trump 2028" hat.

And yeah, I know that this is a night which is supposed to be about joking. So it can be allegedly taken with a grain of salt.

But I have said here repeatedly that I think Trump is serious about running again in 2028. Frankly, not only do I think he will, I don't think Trump's own ego - or his own narrow selfish interests - will allow himself not to run.

He will find some MAGA moron in Congress to endorse the idea, and the Congress will likely debate it. And for now, the Republicans are still in the majority.

No, I don't think that this is all a joke by Trump. If it is, it is a joke in the same way that him joking about being "president for life" or becoming a dictator is a joke. He will pass it off as a joke as a backup plan, and to deflect criticism. In fact, I suspect that he is deadly serious about running again. That is why he cannot bring himself to endorse a successor. In his mind's eye, I don't think that he can accept anyone running things after him. Period.

And it's not like he has not been pretty clear about his ambitions to be president for life in the past or somehow remained quiet about his intention to run for yet another term. Here is documentation from Newsweek about just how often he has made mention of it. This should serve as proof that he is dead serious about this. Take a look (see link below to see the Newsweek article for yourself):

May 18th 2024 - First mention of it at an NRA convention, even before he had officially won a second term.

November 13, 2024 He "joked" about this before House Republicans just days after the 2024 election.

January 25, 2025 - "Three times or four times" he would serve, he declared at a Las Vegas rally.

January 27, 2025 - Said it during a Republican retreat in Miami.

February 6, 2025 - Talked about how "they claim I can't run again." When have you ever know this man to follow any kinds of laws or rules? He clearly believes that he is above the law, or at least an exception to it. 

February 20, 2025 - Black History Month event, asked "Should I run again?" which prompted the assembled crowd to chant "four more years."

March 30, 2025 - During an NBC interview, Trump made clear that he was not joking about running for another term, claiming that there were certain methods that could be followed which would allow him to run again.

March 30, 2025 - Follow up on Air Force One. He said that he did not want to focus on a third term, but then suggested that "many people" were urging him to run again. 

April 28, 2025 - The Atlantic asked him about serving beyond two terms, to which he responded: "Maybe I'm just trying to shatter."

August 18, 2025 - Trump met with the Ukrainian President and joked that a future war would mean "no more elections."

October 27, 2025 - Again aboard Air Force One, Trump claimed that he would "love" to serve yet another term.

February 6, 2026 - Said "I don't know. That would be interesting" after being asked by NBA News about serving a possible third term. 

May 4, 2026 - During a White House Small Business Summit, Trump "joked" about finally leaving the White House "eight or nine years from now"

May 21, 2026 - Addressing the Coast Guard Academy while discussing ice breaker ships, Trump quipped that "maybe I'll be here in '32. I don't know."

July 24, 2026 - During the rescheduled White House Correspondent's Dinner following the fake assassination attem.....errr, um, the attempted assassination the first time around, Trump announced his intention to run for a "fourth term"

For a very long time now, many people - both on the left and on the right - have wondered why Trump seems not to be willing to openly endorse either Vance or Rubio or someone else for the 2028 election. They really seemed to wonder why he was so reluctant. How it could be that Trump just will not show which of these men he feels can carry on his legacy.

And it made me want to take a pillow and scream into it. After all, the real reason is, to me, so damn obvious and right in front of their faces, but they refuse to see it. Or perhaps to face the reality of it, because then you have to face the actual real danger of it. The real reason that he did not endorse either man was because he saw no need to. After all, he fully intends to run again in 2028. Why endorse someone else, or even pay them serious compliments, when that might detract from your own intentions of running again? After all, he already made clear that he is not joking about running again. 

So that's why he refuses to really assign anyone else to a clear-cut position of leadership right behind him. In his mind's eye, I am sure that absolutely nobody is worthy of leading except for him. That is why he intends to grace us all with his eternally great and wonderful and divine presence in the White House for yet another four years, and another four years after that, and another four years.....

You see where I'm going? For as long as he survives, he intends to be the sitting President of the United States. President for life, literally.

Still don't believe me?

Fine. Just don't say that you weren't warned.

It's kind of funny. When he first won the Republican nomination, I wondered how the Republicans could ruin their chances in the election with such a clown. But a part of me was worried that he had a real chance. Much like the 2004 election, when everyone hemmed and hawed and remained on the fence about Bush's failed leadership, everyone seemed hesitant to fully rule Trump out. Eventually, he won. I knew he was going to win starting on Halloween of that year, when I saw Trump bumper stickers and flags everywhere in my old hometown.

Then I wondered what it was that people saw in this man. He seemed such an odd fit, such an obvious clown. 

In time, it came to me. In fact, he is in some ways the perfect man for these times. The perfect figure for what this country has allowed itself to become. Quite literally, he is the face and voice of the Ugly American, and all of his disgustingly xenophobic and blindly nationalist and blatantly self-interested mannerisms. This is who we are now, collectively. This is what we have become. This is who represents us on the international stage. 

We fool ourselves into believing that it's not as bad as it actually is. Trump opponents fool themselves with believing that he will lose the upcoming election, or that he will surely go to jail, or that his health is about to fail him, or that he will somehow be ousted. And Trump supporters fool themselves by believing that he actually cares about them, or that he truly has wonderful and inspired leadership. They trick themselves into believing that he means says what he means and means what he says, and does what he promises. Meanwhile, the national debt keeps growing. In just six years (not even), Trump now accounts for well over 25% of that national debt which, by the way, he promised to fully pay off in eight years. We have overextended ourselves militarily all around the world, and under Trump, we now have lost alliances and trust and respect. 

In short, we are a nation quite clearly in decline. At least if you look at the facts, look at the reality of where we are. Where we have collectively put ourselves. For a nation to put it's collective trust in a man like Trump is a reflection of our decline. Not only is this man not an answer, he has no real answers for any of our actual problems. In fact, he is actively making them worse. 

Now, I have come to accept the reality that Trump is likely our national downfall. To me, he is like one of the decadent emperors of ancient Rome, once it becomes clear that it was spiraling downward, heading towards collapse. That is where we are headed. And it feels like there is no stopping it now. So of course Trump will likely be the one to see us buried under his naked ambition and greed and blatant corruption. Could it have been anybody else, other than this pathetic, needy, small man? Who else could have managed to somehow cast his own shadow over an entire nation of well over 340 million people? Who else could make us collectively seem a reflection of him, narrow and self-obsessed and helplessly, drunkenly heading towards our own downfall? 

Yes, it took me a while to catch on. But now I see it. It could only have been Donald Trump. Who else? Is there another man who could have led us so effortlessly from an admittedly flawed democracy to a dictatorship? Who else could have taken the virtues of American liberty and relative freedom and turned it into an oligarchy, bloated and corrupt and swaggering drunkenly on it's own power before the entire rest of the world?

And so long as we are losing our democracy, who else but Trump could possibly decide that the term limits simply do not apply to him? That he will be the exception, as he has been throughout his entire, pathetic, ultra-privileged and whiny little life?

Maybe I myself have fallen into despair about the state of the country. But I will admit that if there's an end to all of this that does not inevitably lead to disaster, I just don't see it. Long have I believed that things in this country will not improve until we are seriously hurting and no longer have the luxury of indulging in celebrity worship and frivolities. And yes, I now believe that Trump was inevitable. That it was his destiny - remains his destiny - to bring us there as a nation. To that end, he remains very committed. And this fate now feels inescapable.

Here is my prediction: Trump will run again in 2028, and he will win. And this country will continue to fall, continue to fail spectacularly in almost every way with Trump cashing in - literally - the entire time. For now, enough Americans feel that this all still falls under the realm of relative normality. Many still feel that Trump is some sort of an aberration, that the United States will return back to normal once he is inevitably gone.

For me, it seems the opposite is true. Trump was the inevitable outcome of our collective choices going back many decades now. And he is as inescapable as the outcome of those choices have always been. Hell, he is the outcome of those choices and will remain such for the foreseeable future. 

Just don't say you weren't warned.

List of Times Trump Has Joked About Running in 2028 by Sam Stevenson Associate News Editor, July 25, 2026:

https://www.newsweek.com/list-donald-trump-joke-running-2028-12243915

List of Times Trump Has Joked About Running in 2028 - Newsweek

Movie Review: Invictus (2009)

So I saw this movie, Invictus, many years ago. Don't believe that I saw it in the movie theater, but I did see it not too long after it came out.

However, it did not leave quite as much of an impression with me that time the way that it managed to do this time around. 

Invictus is a 2009 movie which was directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon plays South Africa national team star and captain Francois Pienaar. The events which this film portrays took place in the mid-nineties, while South Africa was still largely transitioning from the oppressive white minority rule of apartheid to a multiracial democracy. 

Perhaps things were different this time around because I actually recognized some of the places portrayed in this movie from having been there. Somehow, it felt more real, more urgent. Or perhaps my mindset was not quite as in tune, for whatever the reason, the first time viewing this movie.

However, this time around was indeed different. This time, I really appreciated the performance as well as the story it was trying to tell. Also, the circumstances under which this true story actually took place, for that matter.

Okay, so let's talk about it in greater detail.

Before I go on, of course, there should be the standard warning to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this movie already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning. 

So are we ready to talk in more detail about this movie? 

Let me just say that both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were solid in these roles. There might be one thing to point out, however. It felt to me that at times, Morgan Freeman suddenly sounded a lot less like Mandela and a lot more like...well, Morgan Freeman, complete with the American accent. A relatively minor criticism, but it did catch my attention. 

Otherwise, they were both solid in these roles. 

Alright, so yes, this movie is set in South Africa just as it is beginning to transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy. The very first scene takes place in February of 1990, on the very day when Mandela was released from prison. It shows privileged white kids - Afrikaners - playing rugby on a lush field of green grass. Across the street, there are black children playing football (or soccer) on a field that looks a lot less green, and more like a dusty and rough plot of land. Both of these games (or practices?) are stopped as the Mandela motorcade passes by. The reactions from both sides are radically different, of course. The black children run enthusiastically towards the motorcade and show their love and adoration for Madiba. Meanwhile, the Afrikaners are considerably less enthusiastic, with the coach outright telling his young players that this is the day when the country went to the dogs.

Thus, the stage is set for a lot of the friction which exists for the duration of the film.

So the movie briefly touches on the historical transition from apartheid to Mandela's inauguration. It shows him feeling quite overwhelmed with all of the problems he is facing as head of the nation, as well as dealing with some family issues much closer to home. We catch a glimpse of a more human version of Mandela than the monumental figure in history that has become more the stuff of legend than of anyone on a human scale. 

Mandela is clearly trying to appeal to other countries, to open up business relations with South Africa. To generate revenue and improve South Africa's image around the world. There is one major opportunity for the country: the upcoming Rugby World Cup, which South Africa will soon host in 1995.

Now, here is where things begin to get a little bit more involved. You have to understand the reality of the situation as it then existed, with Mandela as a man, with South Africa as a country still working on reforming and exorcising past demons, and with the rugby team struggling. Mandela repeatedly states in this movie that South Africa was a nation in need of a miracle. Indeed, hosting the rugby World Cup tournament seemed likely all of the miracle it would get. Winning the championship given their own struggles, and given the strength of some of the sides which would be playing in the '95 World Cup seemed to be quite a stretch. 

Until well into 1994, South Africa was still under the control of the white minority government from the apartheid era. While South Africa had been in transition away from apartheid since 1990, the first popular government elected by a multiracial election in April of 1994 brought the first majority black government rule in the nation's history. While it certainly could have been worse, there were tensions and fears across the spectrum. Many whites feared retaliation and retribution, by blacks, while many blacks and other minorities still viewed whites through the lens of the oppression which was still quite recent and raw. 

How did rugby enter into the equation?

Well, the racial divide was quite visible with sports, as well. The black majority favored football/soccer as their favorite sport. But among whites - particularly Afrikaners - the most popular sport was rugby. The Springboks were the beloved national team, with their distinctive green and gold colors. During the anti-apartheid struggle, blacks - including Nelson Mandela - would tend to root against the Springboks, pulling instead for whoever happened to be playing against them. Those attitudes were not simply going to change right away. 

Early in the movie, we see a council representing the new black majority government moving to change the name and colors of the rugby team permanently and immediately. Afrikaners would no longer be able to root for or watch their beloved Springboks. At least, that was how the vote was going, until Nelson Mandela showed up in person. He warned that this was petty revenge, trying to take away an institution which was particularly and truly beloved by the Afrikaners. Mandela was taking a political risk, as this was not a particularly popular opinion. Many blacks indeed wanted some revenge against whites - and again, especially Afrikaners - in any way that they could. Also, it seemed like Mandela was suddenly defending Afrikaners, a position many simply did not understand. But Mandela's argument was that the white minority were also South Africans, and past divisions should be left in the past if all South Africans were to feel welcome in the new "Rainbow nation."

So the Springboks name and colors would be preserved. One of the major things which Afrikaners truly loved would continue unaltered. However, there were still questions. First of all, would the Springboks be competitive? Secondly, even if they fared well in the tournament, could they actually gain the support of South Africa behind them, being predominately Afrikaner?

Nelson Mandela clearly wanted it to happen. He had reversed his course from actively rooting against the Springboks. Now, he saw them as possibly a unifying force for the new South Africa. While soccer might be the most popular sport (by far) among the black majority, the South African  soccer team was not especially good or going to bring glory to the country. But the rugby team traditionally had been very good, and could potentially fare well against international competition.

However, the early results were disappointing losses. The Springboks just did not look good with less than a year to go before the upcoming World Cup tournament. Mandela met with the captain, Francois Pienaar, in Pretoria. He talked about leadership and inspiring those around him to be better, to dig in deeper and produce better results. After the meeting, we see Pienaar almost unable to speak after the meeting. When asked what Mandela had wanted to speak to him about, Pienaar remained quiet, then hesitantly said that he believed Mandela wanted the Springboks to win the World Cup.  

The movie keeps going back and forth between the challenges which Mandela faces, both personal and political, while also watching a "Rocky" kind of inspirational story of the Springboks, who slowly but surely, at the behest of Mandela and Pienaar, try to build inroads to being accepted by all of South Africa. We see them working hard to become the fittest team of the World Cup tournament, but we also see them visiting poor townships and getting black youths a little more acclimated with rugby, and of course pulling for the national team. 

Once the World Cup tournament begins, South Africa has to start with a tough game right off the bat. They face Australia, but a win there would help them win their group and clear a workable path to the World Cup Final. Mandela seems increasingly obsessed with how the Springboks are doing, and the challenges that they might or will face. Once they get past Australia, they work their way through the group state and into elimination rounds. Indeed, they do qualify for the Final. 

Unfortunately for them, they have the toughest test yet waiting for them in that game. The All-Blacks of New Zealand are considered by some to be the finest rugby team in history at that point. They set the record for highest score ever produced in a World Cup tournament just days earlier. Now, South Africa had the considerable task of not just slowing them down, but of somehow managing to defeat them.

That's a very tall order. 

Of course, South Africa somehow does slow down the All-Blacks. It is a low scoring affair, a back and forth kind of a game that goes into extra time. Then, somehow, South Africa manages to just squeak by with the win.

It is all over. Just like that, the South African rugby team has pulled off one of the huge upsets and miracles in modern sports history. 

And remember, this is not just a Hollywood movie. It is a depiction of events which actually happened! This particular South African miracle was real. 

Personally, I felt that this was a very good and inspiring movie. Morgan Freeman is solid as Mandela, save for some of those slips with his American accent suddenly, inexplicably returning from time to time. Meanwhile, Matt Damon also is solid as the largely quiet Francois Pienaar. It gives us a glimpse into South Africa during that country's greatest chapter of massive reform during modern times. And it does so largely without lecturing or anything like that. You really do get a feel for what the transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy might have looked like from the inside, especially in the world of sports.

Highly recommended. 

July 26th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Wow! What a fascinating day in history this was! British officer James Wolfe defeated the French at Louisbourg, taking the fortified city for the British. One year later, the French left Toconderoga on this day in history. The US Postal Service was established by the Second Contiental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin serving as the first Postmaster, and Bolivar and San Martin met secretly on this day in history. Liberia declared it's independence on this day in 1847 and, exactly one year later, the first convention advocating equal rights for women in the United States began at Seneca Falls! Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal" premiered in Beirut. It was on this day that the Axis powers decided to intervene in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Nine years later on this day, with Germany defeated and laying in ruins, the Declaration of Potsdam demanded Japan's unconditional surrender. Churchill resigned as British Prime Minister on this day in 1945. Fidel Castro began a rebellion against Felgenico Batista, which became known as the "26th of July Movement". Maldives achieved independence from Great Britain. President George H. W. Bush signed the "Americans With Disabilities Act". And it was on this day in 2005 that Mumbai, India received 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within a 24 hour span, essentially crippling the city for days.

Here are some more things that happened, in greater detail:

• The Battle of Siffin was fought on this day in 657. Also, the Battle at Pliska was fought on this day in history in 811, when the Bulgarians under their monarch Krum defeated the Byzantines. 

In 920 on this day, there was a rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at Pamplona. 

The Inquisition formed on this day in 1267 in Rome under Pope Clement IV. 

• On this day in 1309, Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V. 

In the Wars of the Roses on this day in 1469, the Battle of Edgecote Moor was fought between the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of King Edward IV. 

On this day in 1497, "Edward IV's son" Perkin Warbeck's army landed in Cork. Alonso de Ojeda discovered Curacao Island on this day in 1499. 

Francisco Pizarro received a royal charter for the west coast of South America on this day in 1519. 

James V was declared fit to govern by the Scottish Parliament on this day in 1524. 

On this day in 1529, Francisco Pizarro was appointed as the Governor of Peru. 

On this day in 1576, Muitende Spanish troops conquered Aalst. Francis Drake left San Francisco to cross the Pacific Ocean on this day in 1579. 

John Hawkins became a knight on this day in 1588. 

Rembrandt declared that he was insolvent on this day in 1656. 

On this day in 1663, France annexed Venaissin. England and Netherlands signed a treaty and sent an ultimatum to France on this day in 1678. 

The Battle at Hastenbeck was fought on this day in 1757, when the French army defeated the Duke of Cumberland. 

On this day in 1758, British officer James Wolfe defeated the French and conquered Louisbourg, taking the fortified city in Nova Scotia for the British. One year later on this day in 1759, the French left Ticonderoga. 

On this day in 1760, Austrian troops occupied Fort Glatz Silezie. 

 

Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in the rotunda of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. This statue was sculpted by James Earle Fraser between 1932 and 1938, and it was dedicated in 1938.

Altered picture that I took of the Benjamin Franklin Memorial in Philadelphia some years ago. 

The US Postal Service was established on this day in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, with Benjamin Franklin serving as the first Postmaster. 

An image of the iconic "We the People" wording of the Constitution.

• New York officially became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution on this day in 1787, thus becoming the 11th state of the United States.

• In 1790 on this day, the United States passed the Assumption Bill, making the national government responsible for state debts. 

• On this day in 1803, the Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opened in South London. 

• On this day in 1805, Naples/Calabria was struck by a major Earthquake, killing approximately 26,000. 

Statue of Simón Bolívar, el “Libertador de América” in New York City, by Central Park

 

Statue of José de San Martín (Central Park, New York), who is considered a national hero and a liberator in Chile (as well as Peru and Argentina). 

• Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin met secretly on this day in history in 1822. 

• There were riots on this day in 1826 in Vilnus, Lithuanian, which resulted in the death of many Jews. 

British Botanist Charles Darwin

• On this day in 1832, the HMS Beagle anchored in Montevideo, Uruguay. 

• The first sugar cane plantation in Hawaii was begun on this day in 1835. 

• Liberia declared it's independence from the American Colonization Society on this day in 1847, becoming Africa's first republic. 

Exactly one year later on this day in 1848, the first convention advocating equal rights for women in the United States began at Seneca Falls, New York. 

On this day in 1858, Baron Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jew elected to the British Parliament. The Battle of Salineville, in Ohio, was fought on this day in 1863, when John Hunt Morgan & 364 troops ultimately surrendered. There was a riot at McCook's to Lovejoy Station and Stoneman's to Macon on this day in 1864 in Georgia. Also on this day in 1864, the Battle at Ezra Chapel (Church), Georgia was fought, resulting in Hood's Third Sortie.  

Patrick Francis Healy became the first black awarded a PhD atLouvain, Belgium, on this day in 1865. On this day in 1878 in California, the poet and American West outlaw calling himself "Black Bart" made his last clean getaway after stealing a safe box from a Wells Fargo stagecoach. He found that the empty box had a taunting poem inside. On this day in 1881, French marines occupied the Tunisian harbor city of Sfax. 

Monuments to Thomas Edison at Menlo Park in Edison,  NJ 

Also on this day in 1881, Thomas Edison and Patrick Kenny executed a patent application for a facsimile telegraph (U.S. Pat. 479,184). 

Picture of a bust of German composer Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal" premiered in Beirut on this day in 1882. 

The first Esperanto book was published on this day in 1887. 

Henry James' "American," premiered in London on this day in 1891 

France annexed Tahiti on this day in 1891. 

On this day in 1908, the Department of Justice under United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issued an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner, which was later to be known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

On this day in 1914, Austria-Hungary condemned the Serbian ultimatum. 

Also on this day in 1914, the German Chief of Staff General von Moltke gave an ultimatum on Belgium. 

On this day in 1926, the National Bar Association was incorporated. 

Flag of Spain

It was on this day in 1936 that the Axis powers decided to intervene in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. One year later on this day came the end of the Battle of Brunete in the Spanish Civil War. '

On this day in 1944 during World War II, Soviet troops arrived at Weichsel, the United States Army'soffensive at St-Lo/2nd Armour division occupied St Gilles, and the first German V-2 rocket hit Great Britain. 

One year later on this day in 1945, with Germany defeated and laying in ruins, the Declaration of Potsdam the United States, Great Britain, and China demanded Japan's unconditional surrender, which Japan ignored. 

Statue of soldier, author and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London

Also on that same day in 1945, Churchill resigned as British Prime Minister after Labour won in a landslide general election, with Clement Attlee becoming Prime Minister. 

Bust of American President Harry Truman

On this day in 1947, President Truman signed The National Security Act, which created the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

On this day in 1948, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order Number 9981 directing "equality of treatment & opportunity" in armed forces, effectively ordering the desegregation of all US forces. The KNIL (Royal Dutch East Indies Army) united on this day in 1950. On this day in 1951, Netherlands ended the state of war with Germany. King Farouk I of Egypt abdicated on this day [Black Saturday] in 1952 in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Argentina's first lady, Eva Perón, died on this day in 1952 in Buenos Aires at age 33. 

On this day in 1953, Fidel Castro was part of a group of rebelling anti-Batistas who unsuccessfully attacked an army barracks, marking the beginning of a rebellion against the regime of Felgenico Batista, which became known as the "26th of July Movement". Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser seized the Suez Canal on tis day in 1956. The USSR launched the first intercontinental multistage ballistic missile on this day in 1957. Also on this day in 1957, Carlos Castillo Armas, the dictator of Guatemala, was assassinated. The Italian government of Fanfani formed on this day in 1960. 

The Maria Oeljanov, which was the first airship with nuclear missiles, arrived in Cuba on this day in 1962. 

Skopje, in Yugoslavia, was partially destroyed on this day in 1963, with over a thousand reported dead. 

On that same day in 1963, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development voted to admit Japan. 

• On this day in 1964, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa was convicted of fraud & conspiracy. The Republic of Maldives gained independence from Great Britain on this day in 1965, known since as their National Day. On this day in 1966, Lord Gardiner issued the Practice Statement in the House of Lords stating that the House was not bound to follow its own previous precedent. 

    

John Lennon and Paul McCartney completed the song "Hey Jude" on this day in 1968. 

Sharon Sites Adams, 39, became the first woman to solo sail the Pacific on this day in 1969. 

• Light flashes were seen on Jupiter's moon Io on this day in 1983. 

• President George H. W. Bush signed the "Americans With Disabilities Act" on this day in 1990. A Boeing 737-500 crashed in South Korea on this day in 1993, killing 66. 

• On that same day in 1993, the Mars Observer took the first photo of Mars, from 5 billion kilometers away. 

• Cambodia's Red Khmer launched a surprise attack on a train on this day in 1994, killing 13. 

• The Turkish air force bombed Kurds in the struggle in Iraq, on this day in 1994, killing 70. AT&T and British Telecommunications PLC announced that they were forming a joint venture to combine international operations and develop a new Internet system on this day in 1998. And it was on this day in 2005 that Mumbai, India received 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within a 24 hour span, essentially crippling the city for days.  Here are some more things that happened, in greater detail: 

Picture of the space shuttle at Expo Park in Los Angeles, California

• Also on this day in 2005, the Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission - Launch of Discovery, which was NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003. 

• Samir Geagea, the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader, was released on this day in 2005 after spending 11 years in a solitary confinement. His release came after the end of the Syrian occupation to Lebanon. 

• At least 200 people are killed in a day of violence in Syria on this day in 2012. 

• An insurgent attack killed 19 people and destroyed a helicopter at Baqubah, Iraq, on this day in 2012. 

• Finally, on this day in 2012, North Korea was hit by Tropical Storm Khanun, killing 88 people and leaving 60,000 people homeless

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jul26.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

http://www.on-this-day.com/cgi-bin/otd/beatlesotd/beatlesotd.pl