Paradise Driver

---------------------------------------------

Today is Thursday, April 22nd.

The 113th day of 2004.

There are 253 days left in the year.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Today's Highlight in History:



Fifty years ago, on April 22, 1954, the televised Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



On this date:



In 1370, Construction of the Bastile began. The French king Charles the Fifth wanted it erected as a defense against the British.



In 1451, Queen Isabella I, who sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus, was born in Madrigal, Spain.



In 1509, Henry VIII ascended the throne of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.



In 1500, Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovered Brazil & claims it for Portugal.



In 1529, Spain and Portugal divide the western hemisphere in Treaty of Saragossa.



In 1823, Roller Skates were patented by R.J. Tyers.



In 1864, Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins.



In 1870, The father of Soviet communism, Vladimir Ilyitch Ulyanov (aka Nikolai Lenin) was born. He died in Moscow of a stroke on January 21, 1924 at the age of 53.



In 1876, 1st National League game, Boston Braves beat Philadelphia Athletics 6-5; Philadelphia Athletics Wes Fisler scores baseball's 1st run.



In 1889, The Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims.



In 1892, The Winstar Institute, the first anatomy school in the U.S., opens.



In 1898, With the United States and Spain on the verge of formally declaring war, the U.S. Navy began blockading Cuban ports. The USS Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship, the Buenaventura, off Key West, Fla. Also, Congress authorized creation of the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, popularly known as the "Rough Riders."



In 1904, The father of the atomic bomb, J. (Julius) Robert Oppenheimer was born. He died on February 18, 1967 at the age of 62.



In 1914, Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles.



In 1915, The second battle of Ypres started when German troops released clouds of deadly chlorine gas on British troops; it was the first chemical warfare attack of World War One.



In 1915, New York Yankees don pinstripes & hat-in-the-ring logo for 1st time



In 1940, Rear Adm Joseph Taussig testified before the U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable



In 1944, During World War II, U.S. forces began invading Japanese-held New Guinea with amphibious landings near Hollandia.



In 1945, Adolf Hitler admitted that the war was lost and that suicide was his only recourse.



In 1952, An atomic test conducted in Nevada became the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television.



In 1964, President Johnson opened the New York World's Fair.



In 1970, Millions of Americans concerned about the environment observed the first Earth Day.



In 1976, Barbara Walters signs a record $1 million contract with ABC and becomes the first female nightly news anchor in the United States.



In 1978, 'The Blues Brothers' (Dan Akroyd and John Belushi) make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live



In 1978, The final episode of "Maude" aired.



In 1983, The West German news magazine Stern announced the discovery of 60 volumes of personal diaries purportedly written by Adolf Hitler. However, the diaries turned out to be a hoax.



In 1991, Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from Tonight Show



In 1993, The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington D.C. to honor the victims of Nazi extermination.



In 2000, In a dramatic pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seized Elian Gonzalez from his relatives' home in Miami; Elian was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.



Ten years ago (1994):



Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, died at a New York hospital four days after suffering a stroke. He was 81.



Five years ago (1999):



At Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., investigators found a powerful bomb made from a propane tank, heightening suspicions that gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who killed 13 people before killing themselves, intended to destroy the school.



NATO struck directly against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, destroying his luxurious mansion.



One year ago (2003):



President Bush announced he would nominate Alan Greenspan for a fifth term as Federal Reserve chairman.



Songwriter Felice Bryant, who, with her late husband, Boudleaux, wrote "Bye Bye Love" and other Everly Brothers hits, died in Gatlinburg, Tenn., at age 77.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Today's Birthdays:



Actor Eddie Albert is 96.



TV producer Aaron Spelling is 81.



Actor George Cole is 79.



Actress Charlotte Rae is 78.



Actress Estelle Harris ("Seinfeld") is 72.



Singer Glen Campbell is 68.



Actor Jack Nicholson is 67.



Singer Mel Carter is 61.



Country singer Cleve Francis is 59.



Movie director John Waters is 58.



Singer Peter Frampton is 54.



Rock singer-musician Paul Carrack (Mike and the Mechanics; Squeeze) is 53.



Actor Joseph Bottoms is 50.



Actress Marilyn Chambers is 50.



Actor Ryan Stiles is 45.



Actress Catherine Mary Stewart is 45.



Comedian Byron Allen is 43.



Actor Chris Makepeace is 40.



Actress Sheryl Lee is 37.



Country singer-musician Heath Wright (Ricochet) is 37.



Country singer Kellie Coffey is 33.



Actor Ingo Rademacher is 33.



Rock singer-musician Daniel Johns (Silverchair) is 25.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Thought for Today:

"Always remember others may hate you but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself." -

- Richard M. Nixon, 37th president of the United States (1913-1994).

-------------------------------------------------