Paradise Driver

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Today is Friday, June 25th.

The 177th day of 2004.

There are 189 days left in the year.



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Today's Highlight in History:



On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, age 36, and 208 men of the seventh Calvary (including his brother Capt. Tom Custer (31), a civilian brother Boston Custer (27), his brother-in-law Lt. James Calhoun (30) and a 18-year-old nephew "Autie" Reed) are killed at the Little Big Horn river, during the Sioux Indian War (known as the Battle of Greasing Grass by the Indians). Comanche, a horse, was the lone survivor; all the others were were wiped out by the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians led by Chief Crazy Horse and Chief Sitting Bull in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, in Montana.



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On this date:



In 1630, The "Fork" was introduced to American dining by Gov. Winthrop of MA.



In 1788, The state of Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.



In 1844, John Tyler took Julia Gardiner as his bride, thus becoming the first U.S. President to marry while in office.



In 1867, Barbed Wire was patented by Lucien Smith.



In 1868, President Andrew Johnson passed a law providing the first eight-hour work day for government workers.



In 1917, The first American fighting troops landed in France.



In 1942, Some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.



In 1950, War broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.



In 1951, The first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from New York to four other cities. The program was the "Arthur Godfrey Show". CBS was using its new FCC approved CBS Color System. There were no Color TV receivers available to the public at that time. The CBS system was not compatable with black & white receivers and was replaced by the NTSC system in use today.



In 1956, 51 die in the collision of the "Andrea Doria" and the "Stockholm" off Cape Cod MA.



In 1961, Iraq announces that Kuwait is a part of Iraq (Kuwait disagrees).



In 1962, The Supreme Court ruled that the use of an unofficial, non-denominational prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional.



In 1966, "Dark Shadows" began running on ABC-TV.



In 1967, The Beatles performed their new song, "All You Need Is Love," during a live international telecast.



In 1973, Former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee. He admitted that U.S. President Nixon took part in the Watergate cover-up.



In 1991, The western Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence.



In 1993, Kim Campbell was sworn in as Canada's 19th prime minister, the first woman to hold the post.



In 1995, Warren Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States (1969-1986), died in Washington at age 87. He was born September 17, 1907.



In 1996, Outside the Khobar Towers near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia a truck bomb exploded. The bomb killed 19 Americans and injured over 500 Saudis and Americans.



In 1997, Veteran French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who popularized underwater exploration with prize-winning films, died aged 87. He was born in St. Andre-de-Cubzac, France on June 11, 1910.



In 1998, The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the line-item veto thereby striking down presidential power to cancel specific items in tax and spending legislation.



In 1998, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those infected with HIV are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act.



In 1998, Microsoft's "Windows 98" was released to the public.



Ten years ago (1994):



Japanese Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, faced with certain defeat in a no-confidence vote, announced his intention to resign after just two months in office.



Five years ago (1999):



During a news conference, President Clinton said the people of Serbia had to "get out of denial" about the atrocities blamed on Slobodan Milosevic and decide if he was fit to remain president of Yugoslavia.



The San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA title as they defeated the New York Knicks, 78-77, in game five of their championship series.



One year ago (2003):



The music industry threatened to sue hundreds of individual computer users who were illegally sharing music files online.



Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox, a symbol of Old South segregation, died in Atlanta at age 87.



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Today's Birthdays:



Movie director Sidney Lumet is 80.



Actress June Lockhart is 79.



Rhythm and blues singer Eddie Floyd is 69.



Actress Barbara Montgomery is 65.



Basketball Hall-of-Famer Willis Reed is 62.



Singer Carly Simon is 59.



Rock musician Allen Lanier (Blue Oyster Cult) is 58.



Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 58.



Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 57.



Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 56.



T.V. personality Phyllis George is 55.



Rock singer Tim Finn is 52.



Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 50.



Rock singer George Michael is 41.



Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 37.



Rapper Candyman is 36.



Musician Sean Kelly is 33.



Rock musician Mario Calire is 30.



Actress Linda Cardellini is 29.



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Thought for Today:

"It is not depravity that afflicts the human race so much as a general lack of intelligence." -

- Agnes Repplier, American writer and social critic (1858-1950).

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