DAILY CHUCKLE 8-331

"Let's all be careful out there!"

NOVEMBER 25TH

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 25, the 330th day of 2008.
There are 36 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• One hundred years ago, on Nov. 25, 1908, the first issue of The Christian Science Monitor was published.

On this date:

• In 1758, during the French and Indian War, the British captured Fort Duquesne in present-day Pittsburgh.
• In 1783, the British evacuated New York, their last military position in the United States during the Revolutionary War.
• In 1881, Pope John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli near Bergamo, Italy.
• In 1947, movie studio executives meeting in New York agreed to blacklist the "Hollywood Ten" who'd been cited for contempt of Congress the day before.
• In 1957, President Eisenhower suffered a slight stroke.
• In 1963, the body of President Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
• In 1973, Greek President George Papadopoulos was ousted in a bloodless military coup.
• In 1974, former U.N. Secretary-General U Thant died in New York at age 65.
• In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.
• In 2002, President Bush signed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security, and appointed Tom Ridge to be its head.

Ten years ago:

• Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in Tokyo for the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Japan since World War II.
• Comedian Flip Wilson died in Malibu, Calif., at age 64.

Five years ago:

• The Senate gave final congressional approval to historic Medicare legislation combining a new prescription drug benefit with measures to control costs before the baby boom generation reaches retirement age.
• Yemen arrested Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, a top al-Qaida member suspected of masterminding the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen's coast. (Al-Ahdal was later sentenced to three years for the French tanker attack, but was not charged in the Cole case.)
• Gail Knisley, 62, was shot and killed while riding in a car on a highway in Columbus, Ohio; it was the only fatality in a series of shootings that terrified area drivers. (Charles A. McCoy Jr. later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and 10 other charges, and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.)

One year ago:

• Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned from exile to an ecstatic welcome from thousands of supporters and immediately stepped up the pressure on U.S.-backed military ruler Pervez Musharraf to end emergency rule.
• Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in a Las Vegas home; he was 52.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actor Ricardo Montalban is 88.
• Actress Noel Neill is 88.
• Actress Kathryn Crosby is 75.
• Actor Matt Clark is 72.
• Singer Percy Sledge is 68.
• Author, actor and game show host Ben Stein is 64.
• Singer Bob Lind is 64.
• Actor John Larroquette is 61.
• Actor Tracey Walter is 61.
• Movie director Jonathan Kaplan is 61.
• Singer Amy Grant is 48.
• Rock musician Eric Grossman (K's Choice) is 44.
• Rock singer Mark Lanegan is 44.
• Rock singer-musician Tim Armstrong is 43.
• Singer Stacy Lattisaw is 42.
• Rock musician Rodney Sheppard (Sugar Ray) is 42.
• Rapper-producer Erick Sermon is 40.
• Actress Jill Hennessy is 39.
• Actress Christina Applegate is 37.
• Actor Eddie Steeples ("My Name Is Earl") is 35.

Thought for Today:

"Reject hatred without hating."
Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader and founder of The Christian Science Monitor (1821-1910).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-330

"Let's all be careful out there!"

NOVEMBER 24TH

Today is Monday, Nov. 24, the 329th day of 2008.
There are 37 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Nov. 24, 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television.

On this date:

• In 1784, Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Va.
• In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species," which explained his theory of evolution.
• In 1863, the Civil War battle for Lookout Mountain began in Tennessee; Union forces succeeded in taking the mountain from the Confederates.
• In 1944, during World War II, U.S. bombers based on Saipan attacked Tokyo in the first raid against the Japanese capital by land-based planes.
• In 1947, a group of writers, producers and directors that became known as the "Hollywood Ten" was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry.
• In 1947, John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" was first published.
• In 1950, the musical "Guys and Dolls," based on the writings of Damon Runyon and featuring songs by Frank Loesser, opened on Broadway.
• In 1969, Apollo 12 splashed down safely in the Pacific.
• In 1971, hijacker "D.B. Cooper" parachuted from a Northwest Airlines 727 over Washington state with $200,000 in ransom. His fate remains unknown.
• In 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on terms to scrap shorter- and medium-range missiles.

Ten years ago:

• America Online confirmed it was buying Netscape Communications in a dramatic $4.21 billion deal.
• The first Palestine Airlines flight touched down at Gaza International Airport.
• A funeral was held in St. Petersburg for liberal Russian lawmaker Galina Starovoitova, who had been assassinated four days earlier.

Five years ago:

• President Bush signed a $401.3 billion defense authorization bill. The president then traveled to Fort Carson, Colo., where he paid tribute to the sacrifices of U.S. troops in Iraq.
• A jury in Virginia Beach, Va., sentenced John Allen Muhammad to death for the Washington-area sniper shootings.
• A fire at a Moscow dormitory for foreign students killed 43 people.
• Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn died in Broken Arrow, Okla., at age 82.

One year ago:

• A fast-moving wildfire pushed by Santa Ana winds raced through the canyons and mountains of Malibu, Calif., for the second time in little more than a month, destroying some 50 homes.
• In Australia's election, conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered defeat at the hands of Labor Party head Kevin Rudd.

Today's Birthdays:

• Country singer Johnny Carver is 68.
• Rock-and-roll drummer Pete Best is 67.
• Rock musician Donald "Duck" Dunn (Booker T. & the MG's) is 67.
• Actor-comedian Billy Connolly is 66.
• Former White House news secretary Marlin Fitzwater is 66.
• Motion Picture Association of America President Dan Glickman is 64.
• Singer Lee Michaels is 63.
• Actor Dwight Schultz is 61.
• Actor Stanley Livingston is 58.
• Rock musician Clem Burke (Blondie; The Romantics) is 53.
• Record producer Terry Lewis is 52.
• Actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson is 52.
• Actress Denise Crosby is 51.
• Actress Shae D'Lyn is 46.
• Rock musician John Squire (The Stone Roses) is 46.
• Rock musician Gary Stonadge (Big Audio) is 46.
• Actor Garret Dillahunt is 44.
• Rock musician Chad Taylor (Live) is 38.
• Actress Lola Glaudini is 37.
• Actor Colin Hanks is 31.
• Actress Katherine Heigl ("Grey's Anatomy") is 30.

Thought for Today:

"Between flattery and admiration there often flows a river of contempt."
Minna Antrim, American writer (1861-1950).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-329

"Let's all be careful out there!"

NOVEMBER 23RD

Today is Sunday, Nov. 23, the 328th day of 2008.
There are 38 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Nov. 23, 1765, Frederick County, Md., became the first colonial entity to repudiate the British Stamp Act.

On this date:

• In 1804, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce, was born in Hillsboro, N.H.
• In 1889, the first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon.
• In 1903, singer Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in "Rigoletto."
• In 1936, Life, the photojournalism magazine created by Henry R. Luce, was first published.
• In 1943, during World War II, U.S. forces seized control of Tarawa and Makin atolls from the Japanese.
• In 1945, most U.S. wartime rationing of foods, including meat and butter, was set to expire by day's end.
• In 1963, President Johnson proclaimed Nov. 25 a day of national mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
• In 1971, the People's Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.
• In 1980, some 2,600 people were killed by a series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy.
• In 1996, a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the waves off Comoros Islands, killing about two-thirds of the 175 people on board.

Ten years ago:

• Whitewater figure Susan McDougal was acquitted in Santa Monica, Calif., of embezzling from conductor Zubin Mehta and his wife — a case McDougal said had been trumped up to pressure her to testify against President Clinton.

Five years ago:

• Five U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
• Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as president of Georgia in the face of protests.

One year ago:

• Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations grudgingly agreed to attend an upcoming U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference, despite failing to get any guarantee of Israeli concessions.
• Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud left office without a successor after announcing he was handing over security powers to the army.
• A Canadian cruise ship, the MS Explorer, struck submerged ice off Antarctica and began taking on water, but all 154 passengers and crew took to lifeboats and were plucked to safety by a passing cruise ship.

Today's Birthdays:

• Broadway composer Jerry Bock is 80.
• Former Labor Secretary William E. Brock is 78.
• Actor Franco Nero is 67.
• Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas is 64.
• Actor Steve Landesberg is 63.
• Actor-comedy writer Bruce Vilanch is 60.
• Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is 58.
• Singer Bruce Hornsby is 54.
• Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is 53.
• Actor Maxwell Caulfield is 49.
• Actor John Henton is 48.
• TV personality Robin Roberts ("Good Morning America") is 48.
• Rock singer-musician Ken Block (Sister Hazel) is 42.
• Rock musician Charlie Grover is 42.
• Actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield is 41.
• Actor Oded Fehr is 38.
• Rapper Kurupt (Tha Dogg Pound) is 36.
• Actor Page Kennedy is 32.
• Actress Kelly Brook is 29.
• Actor Lucas Grabeel is 24.
• Actress-singer Miley Cyrus (TV: "Hannah Montana") is 16.
• Actor Austin Majors is 13.

Thought for Today:

"I'm a realist and so I think regretting is a useless occupation. You help no one with it. But you can't live without illusions even if you must fight for them, such as 'love conquers all.' It isn't true, but I would like it to be."
Marlene Dietrich, German-born actress (1901-1992).

"Let's all be careful out there!"