315 years ago on this date in 1695, a window tax was imposed in Britain, which, surprisingly enough, resulted in many windows being bricked up.

Also on this date, 235 years ago in 1775, the British repulsed an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec; Montgomery was killed in the battle.

55 years ago on this date in 1955, General Motors became the first US corporation to earn more than one billion dollars in a single year.

50 years ago on this date in 1960, the farthing coin, which had been in use in Great Britain since the 13th century, ceased to be legal tender.

December 31 ...

In 1687 the first Huguenots set sail from France for the Cape of Good Hope, where they would later create the South African wine industry with the vines they took with them on the voyage. In 1695 a window tax was imposed in Britain, which, surprisingly enough, resulted in many windows being bricked up. In 1775 the British repulsed an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec; Montgomery was killed in the battle. In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union. In 1879 Thomas Edison gave his first public demonstration of incandescent lighting to an audience in Menlo Park, NJ. In 1891 New York's new Immigration Depot was opened at Ellis Island. In 1929 Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played Auld Lang Syne as a New Year's Eve song for the first time. In 1946 President Harry Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II. In 1955 General Motors became the first US corporation to earn more than one billion dollars in a single year. In 1960 the farthing coin, which had been in use in Great Britain since the 13th century, ceased to be legal tender. In 1961 the Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid. In 1979 at year end oil prices were 88% higher than at the start of 1979. In 1999 Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was designated acting president.

Iowahawk unearths important documents related to Ezra Klein.

That makes two. Chicagoans should be so proud.

From NBC Chicago's Ward Room:

A day after Danny Davis warned Clinton to stay out of the mayor's race, Carol Moseley Braun -- his former ambassador to New Zealand -- is also cheesed off about Clinton's plans to campaign for Rahm Emanuel.

"Bill Clinton is an outsider parachuting in to support another outsider. Rahm's residency status continues to be challenged in court. It's not yet clear that he will be on the ballot. At the same time former president Clinton risks his legacy and the great respect that he has enjoyed among African Americans by coming to Chicago to endorse Rahm Emanuel who is running for mayor against two black candidates.

"Clinton should remember New Hampshire where he called Barack Obama's opposition to the war in Iraq 'a fairy tale.' He was wrong.

"Clinton should remember South Carolina where he played the race card painting Obama as 'the black candidate.' Again he was wrong. Bill Clinton will be wrong again if he gets involved in the Chicago mayoral contest. He should stay home and avoid the cold."

This column speaks for itself.

Former Washington Post columnist and current director of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, Colman McCarthy:

To oppose ROTC, as I have since my college days in the 1960s, when my school enticed too many of my classmates into joining, is not to be anti-soldier. I admire those who join armies, whether America's or the Taliban's: for their discipline, for their loyalty to their buddies and to their principles, for their sacrifices to be away from home. In recent years, I've had several Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans in my college classes. If only the peace movement were as populated by people of such resolve and daring.

ROTC and its warrior ethic taint the intellectual purity of a school, if by purity we mean trying to rise above the foul idea that nations can kill and destroy their way to peace. If a school such as Harvard does sell out to the military, let it at least be honest and add a sign at its Cambridge front portal: Harvard, a Pentagon Annex.

Ezra Klein is a Washington Post columnist...

From Heritage.

December 30 ...

In 1853 the US bought about 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase. In 1865 author and poet Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India. In 1879 Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance was first performed, at Paignton, Devon, England. In 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed. In 1924 Edwin Hubble announced his discovery of the existence of other galactic systems. In 1936 rhe United Auto Workers union staged its first sit-down strike, at the Fisher Body Plant in Flint, MI. In 1944 King George II of Greece proclaimed a regency to rule his country, virtually renouncing the throne. In 1947 King Michael of Romania abdicated in favor of a Communist Republic, claiming he was forced from his throne. In 1953 the first color TV sets went on sale for about $1,175. In 1972 the US halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam. In 1978 Ohio State University fired head football coach Woody Hayes, one day after Hayes punched Clemson University player Charlie Bauman during the Gator Bowl after Bauman had intercepted an Ohio State pass. In 1980 The Wonderful World of Disney was cancelled by NBC after more than 25 years on the TV; it was the longest-running series in prime-time television history. In 1993 Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations. In 1997 more than 400 people were massacred in four villages in the single worst incident during Algeria's insurgency.

As if you need another one! (via Instapundit)

The New York Obeserver's David Freedlander reports: (emphasis added)

In a wide-ranging interview before he prepares to leave the House of Representatives, Hudson Valley Congressman John Hall warned that the nation could quickly descend into Fascism if more is not done to curb the influence of corporate money in politics.

Speaking about the Citizen's United decision, which allowed unregulated flow of cash into campaign coffers, Hall said, "I learned when I was in social studies class in school that corporate ownership or corporate control of government is called Fascism. So that's really the question -- is that the destination if this court decision goes unchecked?"

Hall said that the flow of corporate dollars is why he and the Democrats lost control of Congress.

"The country was bought," he said. "The extremist, most recent two appointees to the Supreme Court, who claimed in their confirmation hearings before the Senate that they would not be activist judges, made a very activist decision in that it overturned more than a century of precedent. And as a result there were millions of extra dollars thrown into this race."

Remarkable.

Censored lawmaker Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) shows his contempt for Tea Party activists.

From a transcript from Real Clear Politics:

"The teabaggers set the standards as to what you're going to fund and not fund and what taxes you're going to have and not have," Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) said on MSNBC.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

CNBC's Jeff Cox reports, in part:

... [Pimco's bond investor Bill Gross] suggests avoiding entities with big budget shortfalls like Illinois...

Here's the video:

From an Examiner editorial:

Americans can give thanks in this Christmas season for an end to the reckless and destructive 111th Congress. This is the Congress that passed Obamacare, against the wishes of a substantial majority of the public, on Christmas Eve of last year. In the dead of night, Democratic lawmakers stuffed the monstrous 2,700-page bill with special-interest goodies and political payoffs like the "Cornhusker Kickback" and the "Louisiana Purchase." As we have learned since, most members were still ignorant of the bill's contents three months later, when it gained final passage in the House. No surprise that its immediate results -- both intended and unintended -- have been almost uniformly bad.

Similarly, odds are that not one member of the 111th Congress actually read the so-called "cap-and-trade" bill before it passed the House in June 2009. Even a speed-reader could not have digested House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman's last-second, 309-page amendment, which read as clear as mud: "Page 14, strike lines 1 through 3 and insert the following. ..." It was filed after 1:30 a.m. just before the vote on final passage. There is also serious doubt that any member of Congress understood the 2,000-page financial reform bill that Congress passed this summer. One of its two main sponsors, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., remarked, "No one will know until this is actually in place how it works. But we believe we've done something that has been needed for a long time. ..."

And Democrats wonder why Gallup found this Congress to be the least popular in the history of its polls?

840 years ago on this date in 1170, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights acting on Henry II's orders.

Also on this date, 120 years ago in 1890, the US Seventh Cavalry killed over 400 men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek, SD, in the last major conflict between American Indians and US troops.

December 29 ...

In 1170 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights acting on Henry II's orders. In 1813 the British burned Buffalo, NY, during the War of 1812. In 1837 Canadian militiamen destroyed the Caroline, a US steamboat docked at Buffalo, NY. In 1845 President James Polk and signed legislation making Texas the 28th state of the United States. In 1848 President James Polk turned on the first gas light at the White House. In 1890 the US Seventh Cavalry killed over 400 men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek, SD, in the last major conflict between American Indians and US troops. In 1934 Japan renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. In 1936 Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke was born. In 1940 Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London. In 1952 the first transistorized hearing aid was offered for sale by Sonotone Corporation. In 1972 following 36 years of publication, the last weekly issue of LIFE magazine hit the newsstands; the magazine later became a monthly publication. In 1996 the Guatemalan government and leaders of the leftist Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union signed a peace accord in Guatemala City, ending a civil war that had lasted 36 years. In 1998 Khmer Rouge leaders 'apologized' for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed 1 million lives.