Paradise Driver

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Today is Wednesday, June 23rd.

The 175th day of 2004.

There are 191 days left in the year.



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Today's Highlight in History:



On June 23rd, 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief U.S. justice by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.



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On this date:



In 930, The Iceland Parliament, the world's oldest, was established.



In 1683, William Penn signed a Friendship Treaty with the Lenni Lenape Indians near what is now Philadelphia; the only treaty "not sworn to/nor broken"



In 1776, The final draft of the Declaration of Independence was submitted to Congress.



In 1860, The Government Printing Office is established by an act of Congress (now the largest printing establishment in the world).



In 1860, The United States Secret Service was created by an act of Congress. The agency was, at first, only responsible for protecting against the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.



In 1865, Confederate General Stand Watie, who was also a Cherokee chief, surrendered the last sizable Confederate army at Fort Towson, in the Oklahoma Territory.



In 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for his "Type-Writer."



In 1888, Abolitionist Frederick Douglass received one vote from the Kentucky delegation at the Republican convention in Chicago, making him, in effect, the first black candidate to have his name placed in nomination for president. The convention ended up nominating Benjamin Harrison.



In 1892, The Democratic national convention in Chicago nominated former President Cleveland on the first ballot.



In 1927, Tony Award winning Dancer/Choreographer/Actor/Producer/Director Robert Louis "Bob" Fosse was born in Chicago IL. A TRUE Broadway and movie leader, noted for his intentionally exaggerated staging and unique arrangements of dancers, Fosse's choreography emphasized stylistic techniques such as locked ankles, hip thrusts, shoulder rolls, and leaning postures. He died September 23, 1987 at age 60.



In 1929, Singer/Songwriter June Carter-Cash was born in Maces Spring VA. She died May 15, 2003 at age 73.



In 1931, Aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane.



In 1938, The Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.



In 1938, Marineland opened near St. Augustine, Florida.



In 1947, The Senate joined the House in overriding President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.



In 1951, The brand-new transatlantic ocean liner "S.S. United States", dubbed "The Big U," was christened by Mrs. Tom Connally, wife of the Senator from Texas; it was the first time a christening ceremony was televised.



In 1954, 122 degrees F (50 degrees C), Overton, Nevada (state record).



In 1955, Walt Disney's "Lady & the Tramp" is released



In 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.



In 1961, The Antarctic Treaty (signed December 1, 1959) comes into effect. It pledges the 12 signatory nations to nonpolitical, scientific investigation of the continent and bars any military activity.



In 1964, Henry Cabot Lodge resigned as the U.S. envoy to Vietnam and was succeeded by Maxwell Taylor.



In 1967, President Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin held the first of two meetings in Glassboro, N.J.



In 1968, The war in Vietnam becomes the longest war in U.S. history.



In 1972, The infamous conversation between President Nixon and White House chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, concerning the Watergate break-in, occurred. 18 1/2-minutes of the White House tape was later erased. They agreed on a plan to use the C.I.A. to obstruct the F.B.I.'s Watergate break-in investigation. Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon's resignation in 1974.



In 1972, President Nixon signed the Higher Education Act of 1972. Title IX of this congressional act barred sex bias in athletics and other activities at colleges receiving federal assistance.



In 1974, The first extraterrestrial message was sent from Earth into space.



In 1976, The CCN Tower in Toronto, tallest free-standing structure (555 m/1820 ft) opens



In 1979, The Charlie Daniels Band releases "Devil Went Down to Georgia"



In 1982, -117 degrees F; All time low at the South Pole.



In 1985, All 329 people aboard an Air-India Boeing 747 were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland, apparently because of a bomb.



In 1993, John Wayne Bobbitt met his Waterloo when his wife, Lorena, amputated his male appendage and threw it away. It was later recovered by someone else who put it in ice and took it to the hospital where John was also transported to. It was the first time a patient arrivied in the hospital with each piece coming from opposite directions. (John Bobbitt was later acquitted of marital sexual assault; Lorena Bobbitt was later acquitted of malicious wounding by reason of insanity.)



In 1995, Dr. Jonas Edward Salk, developer of the first vaccine to halt the crippling rampage of polio, died in La Jolla, Calif., at age 80. He founded the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological studies in La Jolla, CA. He was born in New York City on October 28, 1914.



Ten years ago (1994):



French marines and Foreign Legionnaires headed into Rwanda to try to stem the country's ethnic slaughter.



The United States and Russia signed agreements in Washington on cooperating in space and economic development.



Five years ago (1999):



A divided Supreme Court dramatically enhanced states' rights in a trio of decisions that eroded Congress' power.



U.S. Marines in Kosovo killed one person and wounded two others after coming under fire; no Marines were injured.



One year ago (2003):



A divided Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, allowed the nation's colleges and universities to select students based in part on race.



The Supreme Court said the government could require public libraries to equip computers with anti-pornography filters.



Democrat Howard Dean formally announced his presidential campaign.



Maynard Jackson Jr., the first black mayor of Atlanta, died in Washington, D.C., at age 65.



Apple Computer Inc. unveiled the new Power Mac desktop computer.



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Today's Birthdays:



Singer Diana Trask is 64.



Musical conductor James Levine is 61.



Rhythm and blues singer Rosetta Hightower (The Orlons) is 60.



Actor Ted Shackelford is 58.



Actor Bryan Brown is 57.



Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 56.



Actor Jim Metzler is 49.



Actress Frances McDormand is 47.



Rock musician Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) is 42.



Actor Paul La Greca is 42.



Singer Chico DeBarge is 34.



Actress Selma Blair is 32.



Rhythm and blues singer Virgo Williams (Ghostowns DJs) is 29.



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Thought for Today:

"One today is worth two tomorrows." -

- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790).

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