Thoughts and Ramblings
Thursday, May 20, 2004
In The News
• U.S. troops raid Chalabi's house in Iraq
• Israel convicts Palestinian uprising leader
• U.S. to investigate Iraqi inmate's death
• Hastert lectures McCain on war, sacrifice
• SBC, union brace for four-day strike
• Source: Stanford coach headed to NBA
• Markets: Dow 0.0% · Nasdaq 0.1%
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 20, 1861, the capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, Ala., to Richmond, Va.
On this date:
In 1506, Christopher Columbus died in poverty in Spain.
In 1861, North Carolina voted to secede from the Union.
In 1902, the United States ended its three-year military presence in Cuba as the Republic of Cuba was established under its first elected president, Tomas Estrada Palma.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, N.Y., aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France.
In 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland for Ireland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
In 1939, regular transatlantic air service began as a Pan American Airways plane, the Yankee Clipper, took off from Port Washington, N.Y., bound for Europe.
In 1942, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded " Kalamazoo" at Victor Studios in Hollywood.
In 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in U.S. marshals to restore order.
In 1969, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, referred to as "Hamburger Hill" by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.
In 1989, comedian Gilda Radner died in Los Angeles at age 42.
Years ago...
Ten years ago: Tributes poured in following the death of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. President Clinton said of the former first lady: "She captivated our nation and the world with her intelligence, her elegance and her grace."
Five years ago: An armed 15-year-old boy opened fire at Heritage High School in Conyers, Ga., wounding six students. NATO warplanes hammered Belgrade and its suburbs, leaving a hospital in smoldering ruins, three patients dead and the nearby homes of three European ambassadors damaged.
One year ago: The Bush administration, concerned that a wave of attacks overseas could spread to the United States, raised the terrorism alert level to orange. The United States banned all beef imports from Canada after a lone case of mad cow disease was discovered in the heart of Canada's cattle country.
Today's Birthdays: Actor James McEachin is 74. Actor Anthony Zerbe is 68. Actor David Proval is 62. Singer Joe Cocker is 60. Singer-actress Cher is 58. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 55. Musician Warren Cann is 52. Actor Dean Butler is 48. Ron Reagan is 46. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go's) is 46. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 45. Actor John Billingsley ("Enterprise") is 44. Actor Tony Goldwyn is 44. Singer Susan Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 44. Singer Nick Heyward is 43. Actress Mindy Cohn is 38. Rock musician Tom Gorman (Belly) is 38. Rapper Busta Rhymes is 32. Actress Angela Goethals is 27. Rhythm and blues singer Naturi Naughton is 20.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Today's Highlight in History:
Ten years ago, on May 19, 1994, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64.
On this date:
In 1643, delegates from four New England colonies met in Boston to form a confederation.
In 1906, the Federated Boys' Clubs, forerunner of the Boys' Clubs of America, were organized.
In 1935, T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in England from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash.
In 1943, in an address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged his country's full support in the war against Japan.
In 1954, 50 years ago, American composer Charles Ives died in New York.
In 1958, the United States and Canada formally established the North American Air Defense Command.
In 1962, during a Democratic fund-raiser at New York's Madison Square Garden, actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" for guest-of-honor President Kennedy.
In 1964, the State Department disclosed that 40 hidden microphones had been found in the U.S. embassy in Moscow.
In 1967, the Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain banning nuclear weapons from outer space.
In 1992, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from giving itself mid-term pay raises, went into effect.
Years ago...
Ten years ago: President Clinton held a news conference in which he defended his foreign policy against suggestions he was improvising it from crisis to crisis, saying, "I continue to look for new solutions."
Five years ago: As NATO's Operation Allied Force entered its ninth week, Russia's special envoy to the Balkans called on both NATO and Yugoslavia to suspend hostilities. The Justice Department renewed its campaign to revoke John Demjanjuk's citizenship, alleging he was a Nazi death camp guard known as "Ivan the Terrible." The much-anticipated movie prequel "Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace" opened.
One year ago: WorldCom Incorporated agreed to pay investors $500 million to settle civil fraud charges. The Supreme Court dealt a defeat to the drug industry, ruling 6-3 that a state may try to force companies to lower prices on prescription medications for the poor and uninsured. A Palestinian woman blew herself up during a security check outside a mall, killing three Israelis in the fifth suicide bombing in 48 hours.
Today's Birthdays: PBS newscaster Jim Lehrer is 70. T.V. personality David Hartman is 69. Actor James Fox is 65. Actress Nancy Kwan is 65. Author-director Nora Ephron is 63. Rock singer-composer Pete Townshend is 59. Concert pianist David Helfgott is 57. Rock singer-musician Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) is 55. Singer-actress Grace Jones is 52. Rock musician Phil Rudd (AC/DC) is 50. Baseball catcher Rick Cerone is 50. Actor Steven Ford is 48. Rock musician Iain Harvie (Del Amitri) is 42. Rock singer Jenny Berggren (Ace of Base) is 32. Actor Eric Lloyd is 18.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Hourly Forecast for Johnson City, TN (37604)
Monday, May 10 Temp °F Feels Like Dew Point Precip. Humid. Wind
2 PM Partly Cloudy 78° 79° 58° 20% 45% From the South Southwest at 4 mph
3 PM Partly Cloudy 79° 80° 58° 20% 44% From the South Southwest at 4 mph
4 PM Isolated T-Storms 79° 79° 57° 30% 43% From the South Southwest at 4 mph
5 PM Isolated T-Storms 79° 79° 57° 30% 43% From the South Southwest at 4 mph
6 PM Isolated T-Storms 79° 80° 56° 30% 44% From the South Southwest at 4 mph
7 PM Scattered T-Storms 77° 78° 56° 40% 46% From the South Southwest at 3 mph
8 PM Scattered T-Storms 75° 75° 56° 40% 51% From the South Southwest at 2 mph
9 PM Scattered T-Storms 72° 72° 56° 40% 57% From the South at 1 mph
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
On this date:
In 1774, Louis XVI ascended the throne of France.
In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.
In 1865, Union forces captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville, Ga.
In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was given the job of FBI director.
In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
In 1940, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.
In 1941, Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission.
In 1968, preliminary Vietnam peace talks began in Paris.
In 1978, Britain's Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon announced they were divorcing after 18 years of marriage.
In 1984, the International Court of Justice said the U.S. should halt any actions to blockade Nicaragua's ports (the U.S. had already said it would not recognize World Court jurisdiction on this issue.)
Years ago...
Ten years ago: The state of Illinois executed convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murders of 33 young men and boys. Nelson Mandela took the oath of office to become South Africa's first black president. An annular, or "ring," eclipse cast a moving shadow across the United States.
Five years ago: China broke off talks on arms control with the United States, and allowed demonstrators to hurl stones at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for a third day to protest NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. A military jury at Camp Lejeune, N.C., sentenced Captain Richard Ashby, a Marine pilot whose jet had clipped an Italian gondola cable, sending 20 people plunging to their deaths, to six months in prison and dismissed him from the corps for helping hide a videotape made during the flight (Ashby had been acquitted earlier of manslaughter).
One year ago: The leader of Iraq's largest Shiite Muslim group, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, returned triumphantly to his U.S.-occupied homeland after two decades in Iranian exile. The New York Times announced on its Web site that one of its reporters, Jayson Blair, had "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud," according to an investigation conducted by the paper.
Today's Birthdays: Sportscaster Pat Summerall is 74. T.V. and radio personality Gary Owens is 68. Rhythm and blues singer Henry Fambrough (The Spinners) is 66. Writer-producer-director Jim Abrahams is 60. Singer Donovan is 58. Singer Dave Mason is 58. Rhythm and blues singer Ron Banks (The Dramatics) is 53. Rock singer Bono (U2) is 44. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is 41. Model Linda Evangelista is 39. Rock musician Krist Novoselic (Nirvana, Eyes Adrift) is 39. Rapper Young MC is 37. Actor Erik Palladino is 36. Rock musician Jesse Vest (Tantric) is 27. Actor Kenan Thompson is 26. Rhythm and blues singer Jason Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 24. Singer Ashley Poole (Dream) is 19.
Sunday, May 09, 2004
"A mother never realises that her children are no longer children." - Holbrook Jackson, British critic and historian (1874-1948).
This is Mother's Day.
Today's Highlight in History:
Two hundred and fifty years ago, on May 9, 1754, a cartoon in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette showed a snake cut into sections, each part representing an American colony; the caption read, "Join or die."
On this date:
In 1502, Christopher Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final trip to the Western Hemisphere.
In 1913, the 17th amendment to the Constitution, providing for the election of U.S. senators by popular vote rather than selection by state legislatures, was ratified.
In 1926, Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett became the first men to fly over the North Pole.
In 1936, Italy annexed Ethiopia.
In 1945, U.S. officials announced that a midnight entertainment curfew was being lifted immediately.
In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved a pill as safe for birth control use.
In 1961, Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton N. Minow condemned television programming as a "vast wasteland" in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters.
In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee opened hearings on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Nixon.
In 1978, the bullet-riddled body of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, who'd been abducted by the Red Brigades, was found in an automobile in the center of Rome.
In 1980, 35 motorists were killed when a Liberian freighter rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, Fla., causing a 1,400-foot section to collapse.
Years ago...
Ten years ago: South Africa's newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country's first black president. Mandela promised a South Africa for "all its people, black and white."
Five years ago: A chartered bus carrying members of a casino club on a Mother's Day gambling excursion flipped off a highway in New Orleans, killing 22 people. Furious Chinese demonstrators hurled rocks and debris into the U.S. Embassy in a second day of protests against NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia.
One year ago: The United States and its allies asked the UN Security Council to give its stamp of approval to their occupation of Iraq. The Republican-led House approved 222-203 a $550 billion tax cut package. Louisiana Democrat Russell B. Long, who greatly influenced tax laws during nearly four decades in the Senate, died at 84. In Cleveland, a camouflage-clad gunman fired hundreds of rounds as he roamed the halls of Case Western Reserve University's business school, killing one person; suspect Biswanath Halder later pleaded innocent.
Today's Birthdays: CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace is 86. Actor-writer Alan Bennett is 70. Actor Albert Finney is 68. Actress-turned-politician Glenda Jackson is 68. Musician Sonny Curtis (Buddy Holly and the Crickets) is 67. Producer-director James L. Brooks is 64. Singer Tommy Roe is 62. Singer-musician Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield and Poco) is 60. Actress Candice Bergen is 58. Singer Clint Holmes is 58. Actor Anthony Higgins is 57. Singer Billy Joel is 55. Rock singer-musician Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick) is 54. Actress Alley Mills is 53. Actor John Corbett is 43. Singer Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) is 42. Rapper Ghostface Killah is 34. Singer Tamia is 29. Rock musician Dan Regan (Reel Big Fish) is 27. Actress Rosario Dawson is 25.
Saturday, May 08, 2004
What you see is news, what you know is background, what you feel is opinion." - Lester Markel, American editor (1894-1977).
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 8, 1945, President Truman announced in a radio address that World War II had ended in Europe.
On this date:
In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas, resulting in victory for Gen. Zachary Taylor's forces.
In 1884, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, was born near Lamar, Mo.
In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invented the flavor syrup for Coca-Cola.
In 1958, Vice President Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by anti-American protesters in Lima, Peru.
In 1962, the musical comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" opened on Broadway.
In 1970, construction workers broke up an anti-war protest on New York's Wall Street.
In 1973, militant American Indians who'd held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.
In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to the "Son of Sam" killings that had terrified New Yorkers.
In 1987, Gary Hart, dogged by questions about his personal life, including his relationship with Miami model Donna Rice, withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Years ago...
Ten years ago: President Clinton announced a shift in U.S. policy toward Haitian refugees, saying there would be offshore screening of boat people seeking political asylum. Actor George Peppard died at age 65.
Five years ago: NATO expressed regret for a mistaken attack on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, but pledged to pursue the bombing campaign. Demonstrators in Beijing retaliated by throwing rocks and smashing cars at the U.S. Embassy. The Citadel, South Carolina's formerly all-male military school, graduated its first female cadet, Nancy Ruth Mace. British actor Sir Dirk Bogarde died in London at age 78.
One year ago: The Senate unanimously endorsed adding to NATO seven former communist nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A federal grand jury indicted Katrina Leung on charges that she'd illegally taken, copied and kept secret documents obtained from an FBI agent. A Russian-built cargo plane lost a door over Congo, hurling more than 100 Congolese soldiers and their families to their deaths. The Michigan Wolverines were barred from the next postseason and put on three and a-half years' probation by the NCAA for a booster's payments to players dating to the Fab Five era.
Today's Birthdays: Comedian Don Rickles is 78. Environmentalist Sir David Attenborough is 78. Author Peter Benchley is 64. Singer John Fred is 63. Actor James Mitchum is 63. Country singer Jack Blanchard is 62. Singer Toni Tennille is 61. Jazz musician Keith Jarrett is 59. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 53. Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) is 53. Rockabilly singer Billy Burnette is 51. Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 51. Actor David Keith is 50. Actor Stephen Furst is 50. Actress Melissa Gilbert is 40. Rock musician Dave Rowntree (Blur) is 40. Country musician Del Gray is 36. Rock singer Darren Hayes is 32. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 29. Singer Ana Maria Lombo (Eden's Crush) is 26. Actress Julia Whelan is 19.
Friday, May 07, 2004
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 7, 1915, nearly 1,200 people died when a German torpedo sank the British liner Lusitania off the Irish coast.
On this date:
In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President and Mrs. George Washington.
In 1847, the American Medical Association was founded in Philadelphia.
In 1939, Germany and Italy announced a military and political alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
In 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.
In 1954, 50 years ago, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.
In 1963, the United States launched the Telstar Two communications satellite.
In 1975, President Ford formally declared an end to the "Vietnam era." In Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon - the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.
In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby, the first of its Triple Crown victories.
In 1984, a $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who charged they'd suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant.
In 2002, Seattle Slew died in Lexington, Kentucky, at age 28.
Years ago...
Ten years ago: Norway's most famous painting, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, was recovered almost three months after it was stolen from an Oslo museum. Go For Gin won the 120th Kentucky Derby.
Five years ago: NATO jets struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and injuring 20; President Clinton called the attack a "tragic mistake." A jury in Pontiac, Mich., ordered "The Jenny Jones Show" to pay $25 million to the family of Scott Amedure, a gay man who was shot to death after revealing a crush on Jonathan Schmitz, a fellow guest on the talk show.
One year ago: President Bush ordered U.S. sanctions against Iraq lifted, allowing U.S. humanitarian aid and remittances to flow into Iraq. The White House announced President Bush had chosen New Mexico oilman Colin R. McMillan to be secretary of the Navy and Air Force Secretary James Roche to replace the dismissed secretary of the Army, Thomas White. (However, McMillan died an apparent suicide the following July, while Roche's nomination is being held up in Congress.)
Today's Birthdays: Actor Darren McGavin is 82. Singer Teresa Brewer is 73. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is 72. Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 65. Singer Johnny Maestro is 65. Actress Robin Strasser is 59. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff is 58. Rock musician Bill Kreutzmann (The Dead) is 58. NBC newsman Tim Russert is 54. Actor Robert Hegyes is 53. Movie writer-director Amy Heckerling is 50. Actor Michael E. Knight is 45. Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) is 43. Country musician Rick Schell (Pinmonkey) is 41. Rock singer-musician Chris O'Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) is 39. Actress Traci Lords is 35. Singer Eagle-Eye Cherry is 32. Actor Breckin Meyer is 30. Actor Taylor Abrahamse is 13.
Hourly Forecast for Johnson City, TN (37604)
Friday, May 7 Temp °F Feels Like Dew Point Precip. Humid. Wind
11 AM Sunny 75° 75° 54° 0% 49% From the West at 7 mph
12 PM Sunny 78° 79° 54° 0% 43% From the West at 7 mph
1 PM Sunny 80° 80° 54° 0% 39% From the West at 8 mph
2 PM Sunny 82° 81° 53° 0% 37% From the West at 7 mph
3 PM Sunny 83° 82° 53° 0% 36% From the West at 7 mph
4 PM Sunny 84° 83° 53° 0% 35% From the West at 7 mph
5 PM Sunny 83° 82° 53° 0% 35% From the West at 7 mph
6 PM Sunny 82° 81° 53° 0% 37% From the West at 7 mph
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of the 97 people on board and a Navy crewman on the ground.
On this date:
In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the Union.
In 1882, Congress passed, over President Arthur's veto, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the U.S. for 10 years.
In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower.
In 1910, Britain's King Edward VII died.
In 1935, the Works Progress Administration began operating.
In 1942, during World War II, some 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese.
In 1954, 50 years ago, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
In 1981, Yale architecture student Maya Ying Lin was named winner of a competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 1987, CIA Director William J. Casey died at age 74.
In 1996, the body of former CIA director William E. Colby was found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he'd disappeared.
Years ago...
Ten years ago: Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones filed suit against President Clinton, alleging he'd sexually harassed her in 1991. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel between their countries.
Five years ago: Russia and the major Western powers set aside their differences over NATO airstrikes and drafted a joint plan to end the Kosovo conflict. President Clinton met with Kosovo refugees in Germany, listening to chilling stories of murder, rape and terror and promising them, "You will go home again in safety and in freedom." Reversing decades of overwhelming loyalty to Britain's governing Labor Party, Scottish and Welsh voters elected strong nationalist oppositions to their first separate assemblies of modern times.
One year ago: Florida Senator Bob Graham launched his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination by accusing President Bush of retreating from the war on terrorism to "settle old scores" between the Bush family and Iraq's Saddam Hussein. White House budget chief Mitchell Daniels announced his resignation. Kmart Corporation emerged from bankruptcy after more than 15 months of Chapter 11 protection.
Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays is 73. Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is 70. Rock singer Bob Seger is 59. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 59. Actor Ben Masters is 57. Actor Gregg Henry is 52. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is 51. TV game show host Tom Bergeron is 49. Rock singer John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants) is 44. Actor George Clooney is 43. Actor Clay O'Brien is 43. Actress Roma Downey is 41. Rock singer-musician Tony Scalzo (Fastball) is 40. Rock musician Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 37. Rock musician Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters) is 33.
Could the weather get any stranger? Frost one morning highs in the mid eighties the next day. Well if you do not like the weather in east Tennessee just wait until tomorrow is is sure to change. Oh well I was able to ride my motorcycle to work today.
Here are the headlines from Yahoo.
In The News
- Rumsfeld under fire over Iraq photos
- U.S. seizes governor's office in Najaf
- Arabiya TV shows 'American' hostage
- Church defrocks Boston priest Shanley
- Libya sentences six to death in AIDS case
- Injured officer foils theft in Detroit ER
- Markets: Dow 1.2% · Nasdaq 1.5%
Hourly Forecast for Johnson City, TN (37604)
Thursday, May 6 Temp °F Feels Like Dew Point Precip. Humid. Wind
12 PM Mostly Sunny 77° 78° 57° 0% 46% From the West at 6 mph
1 PM Mostly Sunny 79° 79° 56° 0% 42% From the West at 6 mph
2 PM Mostly Sunny 80° 80° 54° 0% 40% From the West at 7 mph
3 PM Sunny 80° 80° 54° 0% 38% From the West Southwest at 7 mph
4 PM Sunny 81° 80° 52° 0% 36% From the West Southwest at 8 mph
5 PM Sunny 82° 81° 52° 0% 36% From the West Southwest at 8 mph
6 PM Sunny 81° 80° 52° 0% 37% From the West Southwest at 7 mph
7 PM Sunny 79° 79° 52° 0% 40% From the West Southwest at 6 mph
