"U" is For "Urban"

 

"U" is For Urban"

    Okay, I didn’t expect to do so, but I’m going to write a second post about a pope.  The first was about Pope Gregory (for the letter “G”).

    I would have preferred a little more variety here, but (like “X”), the letter “U” didn’t give me a whole lot of options.  I suppose I could have gone with “Caliph Uthman,” but after so many letters, I was getting tired of presenting vague characters of history.

"Not a little hurtful, to be honest."

    Anyway....

    Pope Urban II, originally known as “Odo of Chatillon” or “Odo de Lagery,” was born in, no surprise, France around the year 1035.

Pope Urban II

Pope Suburban I

    Sidebar, your honor?  Google is a wonderful thing.  When I asked “How many popes have been named Urban?”, I learned that there were eight of them.  The last, Urban VIII, died in 1644.

    After presenting a dozen French pastries to the College of Cardinals, he became pope and ruler of the Papal States on March 12, 1088, where he remained until his death on July 29, 1095.

It varied, of course, but you get the picture

    NOTE:  For those who don’t know, the papacy is a lifetime gig.  Like the Supreme Court.  And lead singer for the Rolling Stones.

    As pope, he is known for his conflicts against what was known as the Antipope, Clement III, infighting among various Christian nations who couldn’t agree on whether mead was “Less filling” or “Tasted Great,” and a Turkish incursion into Anatolia.

Also known as "Turkey."
Note:  already used "The More You Know," but, once again, you get the picture.

    But, what he is best known is his leadership during the Council of Clermont, when he demanded clean rest rooms.  And for Christians throughout the world (and by “Christians,” I mean “Catholic”) for a holy crusade to toss the infidel Muslims from the Holy Land.

"That's right, we were saying 'infidel' long before 'infidel' became cool."

    If they did this holy service, Urban II promised forgiveness for their sins, fresh underwear,

"AND A BUCKET OF MUD BLESSED BY SAINT PETER HIMSELF!"

    Somehow, he was able to convince enough of the devout (imagine if there had been social media back then.  People would still be bitching) to head on over to the Middle East   

Where killing each other is the national sport.

to wage the first of about seven (or eight-I don’t feel like looking it up) crusades.

    I swear the Crusades had more sequels than Rocky movies.

    The First Crusade would, by the way, be the most successful one.

Meanwhile, during the Fifth Crusade...
"Okay, let's go kill us some infidels!  Who's with me?  Fellas?  Fellas??"

    They even occupied Jerusalem.

    Twelve days before Pope Urban II died.

    After which he was bathed in a bucket of holy mud.

    Remember, this is the Middle Ages we’re talking about.

"T" is For "Truman"

 

"T" is For "Truman"

    Lissa, on my post about Joan of Arc, made the comment that, finally, it was someone she had heard of.  While the whole point of my theme for this year's challenge is to highlight those from history who may not be as well known, I decided to go with someone a little more familiar (than the "S" guy).  So, this one's for you, Lissa.

    Harry S Truman was the 34^th vice-president of the United States until April 12, 1945 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died.  Then he became the 33^rd president.

"I think it's just gas." 
"Motherfu..."

    Now, mind you, some vice-presidents turned out to be great presidents.

    Some, not so much...

   

In my opinion, Truman falls in the former category.

    Harry Truman was born in Lamar Missouri on May 8, 1884.

    FUN FACT:  The “S” in Truman’s name is not an abbreviation for anything.  Rather, it is an homage to both of his grandfathers.  So, it’s not improper to omit the period altogether, something Truman himself did.

    Anyway, Truman was selected as FDR’s running mate in 1944 because many of the poohbahs in the Democratic party felt that POTUS would not live for the entire term.  The present VP, Wallace, was deemed too extreme so Truman would sit better with the establishment.

So, it's been a concern in the past

    Unfortunately, FDR had little over a year in office before he crapped out and Truman was sworn in.

"Winston, new guy.  New guy, Winston.  New Guy only has letter for middle name. 
Is frikkin' crazy or what?"

    Of course, the war in Europe was just about over, so that was good for Harry.  However, the Japanese remained a formidable foe.  After the Allies mapped out a strategy during the Potsdam Conference which declared the final defeat of the Empire the priority

    Truman authorized dropping two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    NOTE:  Yes, he kept the existence of nukes a secret.  Didn’t you pay attention in school?

People debate whether this was the right call to this day. 
Not here, though.  Another post for another day.

      Japan surrendered, Godzilla was born, and the United States built a few bases.

    Truman is known for his bulldog determination and martialing of the Marshall Plan (see what I did there?) and creation of what’s known as the Truman Doctrine, which essentially set the foundation of the forming of NATO.

    He won reelection as president in his own right in 1948 over  Republican Thomas Dewey.

"Psych!"

"FAKE NEWS!!!"

  It was during this term in office that the Korean Conflict started seeing the initial deployment of NATO troops and giving Alan Alda a great idea for a TV series.  

    It was during this “police action” that Truman fired noted narcissist and loudmouth, General Douglas MacArthur, thus reinforcing the concept of civilian control over the military.

"Old soldiers never die.  They also never shut their pieholes."

    In the 1952 election, Harry Truman returned to Missouri with his wife Bess (who he married June 28, 1919, after serving on active duty with the Army).  

Bess was no Jackie O, that's for sure.

"That's more than a little cruel, don'tcha think?"

But she was no Eleanor, either.

"Thank you for that."

      He left with little fanfare.

    In other words, to paraphrase Doug, “Truman didn’t die.  He just faded away.”

    Until he did die on December 26, 1972, in Kansas City.    

    Missouri.

    Because Kansas City, Kansas. Sucks.

    Oh boy, here comes the hate mail.

"Dear Penwasser bastard,
You suck.
Screw you,
Mayor 
Kansas City, Kansas."

     

       

"S" is For "Shenzong"

 

"S" is For "Shenzong"  

"Motherfu...I can't see my feet."

"Same."

"Same."

  Emperor Shenzong of Song 

Roy Chen of Dance

was the sixth emperor of China’s Song Dynasty.

    Born as a baby on May 25, 1048, he began his reign in 1067 and ruled until April 1, 1085 when he died of an unspecified illness.

"Which may or may not have been Chinese Monkey Pox."

Meanwhile, for some perspective...Europe in the 11th century...

    The Song Dynasty would last until the last few years of the 13^th century when it was replaced by the...oh, hell, that would mean even more research. His original personal name was Zhoa Zhongzhen, but he changed it to Zhoa Xu when he acceded to the throne.

    NOTE:  Yeah, like you, I don’t really know where “Shenzong” came from, either, but I’m pressing on.  But, in a pinch, the names he used both prior and during his rule would have been perfect for ‘X’ or ‘Z.’ So, there’s that.

    Anyway, whatever his name was, he was best known for supporting the programs of one of his councilors, Wang Anshi, in what was uncreatively called the “New Policy.”

"He said 'Wang'."

    These new policies concentrated on improving the lives of the peasant class and the unemployed.  As a result, each peasant was given a rock to make soup and the unemployed were given jobs collecting rocks.  Results were mixed.

    Shenzong was also motivated to expand Song territory, and solving fiscal, bureaucratic, and military problems throughout various reform programs.

"I'd also like to know where all the rocks went."

    He championed military incursions against Western Xia forces in the Qing prefecture (look at the map).  Initially, Song forces did quite well until they attempted to subdue the Xia city of Yongle in 1082.

Xixia.  Western Xia with a stutter.

    For various reasons (which I’m sure would be self-evident if I bothered to look them up), Song forces were rebuffed (after first being buffed) and they withdrew back to their territory.

    As a result, the Xia remained strong and would persist as a thorn in the side of the Song for years to come.

    Shenzong took the defeat quite seriously.  Scholars have pointed out that this pretty much destroyed his rule as he withdrew into seclusion and made paper origami ducks and watched Jackie Chan puppet shows.

    A broken man, he died (like I said above.  Kindly pay attention).

    Hopefully, he went to whatever kind of paradise he believed in because he went with a Song and a Prayer.

"R" is For "Robespierre"

 

"R" is For "Robespierre"

    Maximilien Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre (holy crap! Imagine that birthday cake) was born on May 6, 1758 as a baby and died a little shorter on July 28, 1794, when he ticked off the wrong people.

    NOTE:  We’ll get to that.

"Five names, though.  How do you like them apples, bitches?"

    Robespierre was a French lawyer, statesman, and one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution, an internal spasm which began in 1789 and would last until 1799.

    Quite a few of the beliefs he held sound pretty reasonable to me:  he believed in voting rights of all men (sorry, ladies, I would have argued for you) and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard.

Or crossing guard

    Further, he advocated for the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defense, the abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and that a nice dinner wine be served at every meal.  Well, he was French, you know.

His advocacy for the right to arm bears was deemed dangerous. 
And silly.

    A radical Jacobin, he was elected Deputy to the National Convention in September, 1793.  The following year, he was appointed member of the Committee of Public Safety.

    While there, he argued for measures which collectively became known as the Reign of Terror.

    We pause for a brief moment to discuss what the Reign of Terror was:  shortly after formation of the First Republic (there would be more, mainly because they couldn’t make up their minds), a series of massacres and public executions.  This was in responsive to Federalist revolts, anticlerical sentiments, 

"Anticlerical.  Does that mean what I think it d...uh,oh."

and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety.

Believe it or not, this method of execution was considered merciful. 
If gruesome.

    It lasted from September 5, 1793 until July 27, 1794.

    HINT:  We’ll see that date again.

    As Robespierre guided the terror effort, some of the others on the Committee of Public Safety began to get nervous.  They started to wonder if they would be next to fall under the blade of Robespierre’s guillotine.  I mean, if nothing else, what would they do with their hats?

    So, following a speech on the 26^th of July, Robespierre was arrested on 9 Thermidor (must have been one sucky speech).  The following day, he along with 90 others, was executed without trial.

"It's like those French have a different word for everything!"

    The following day he, along with 90 others (who, apparently drew the short straw), was executed without a trial.

"Shave and a haircut, two bits.  What?  Not funny? 
No wonder we're cutting your head off, Monsieur No Sense of Humor."

    Even though the Reign of Terror was over (see? I told you you'd see that date again), troubles for France wouldn’t be over for quite some time.  In addition to Napoleon,

Starring Joaquin Phoenix

 they had to perfect the art of surrender.

And watch Jerry Lewis movies