Paradise Driver

Thursday, November 20, 2008

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 19, the 324th day of 2008.
There are 42 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.

On this date:

In 1794, the United States and Britain signed Jay's Treaty, which resolved some issues left over from the Revolutionary War.
In 1831, the 20th president of the United States, James Garfield, was born in Orange Township, Ohio.
In 1917, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was born in Allahabad.
In 1919, the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 55 in favor, 39 against, short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification.
In 1942, during World War II, Russian forces launched their winter offensive against the Germans along the Don front.
In 1959, Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel.
In 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean made the second manned landing on the moon.
In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel.
In 1984, some 500 people died in a firestorm set off by a series of explosions at a petroleum storage plant on the edge of Mexico City.
In 1985, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time as they began their summit in Geneva.

Ten years ago:

Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr laid out his evidence against President Clinton, then defended his investigation under withering questions from Democrats during a daylong appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.
Movie director Alan Pakula died in a car accident on Long Island, N.Y., at age 70.

Five years ago:

During his state visit to London, President Bush urged Europe to put aside bitter war disagreements with the United States and work to build democracy in Iraq or risk turning the nation over to terrorists.
A U.S.-Canadian investigation found that the Aug. 14, 2003, blackout should have been contained by operators at Ohio's FirstEnergy Corporation; the investigators also faulted Midwest regional monitors.

One year ago:

In Pakistan, a Supreme Court hand-picked by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf dismissed legal challenges to his continued rule, opening the way for him to serve another five-year term — solely as a civilian president.
The FBI reported hate crime incidents rose nearly 8 percent in 2006.
President Bush announced that Fran Townsend, the leading White House-based terrorism adviser, was stepping down.
Milo Radulovich, the Air Force Reserve lieutenant championed by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow when the military threatened to decommission him during the anti-communist crackdown of the 1950s, died in Vallejo, Calif., at age 81.
Actor Dick Wilson, who played the fussy, mustachioed grocer who told customers, "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin," died in Woodland Hills, Calif., at age 91.

Today's Birthdays:

Thought for Today:

"The facts are always less than what really happened."
Nadine Gordimer, South African Nobel Prize-winning author.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

"Let's all be careful out there!"

oday is Tuesday, Nov. 18, the 323rd day of 2008.
There are 43 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 18, 1928, Walt Disney's first sound-synchronized animated cartoon, "Steamboat Willie" starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York.

On this date:

In 1883, the United States and Canada adopted a system of Standard Time zones.
In 1886, the 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, died in New York.
In 1908, actress-comedian Imogene Coca was born in Philadelphia.
In 1936, Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.
In 1958, the cargo freighter SS Carl D. Bradley sank during a storm in Lake Michigan, claiming 33 of the 35 lives on board.
In 1966, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays outside of Lent.
In 1978, U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan, D-Calif., and four other people were killed in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide by more than 900 cult members.
In 1987, the congressional Iran-Contra committees issued their final report, saying President Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides.
In 1988, President Reagan signed legislation creating a Cabinet-level drug czar and providing the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill.
In 1999, 12 people were killed when a 59-foot stack of logs under construction for a bonfire at Texas A&M University collapsed.

Ten years ago:

House Republicans endorsed U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston of Louisiana to be their next speaker, succeeding Newt Gingrich. (However, Livingston later resigned from the House before he could take over the speakership after admitting to marital infidelities.)

Five years ago:

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled, 4-3, that the state constitution guaranteed gay couples the right to marry.
President Bush and his wife, Laura, arrived in Britain for a state visit.
The U.N. refugee agency began pulling foreign staff out of Afghanistan after the killing of a French worker.
A judge in Modesto, Calif., ordered Scott Peterson to stand trial for the killing of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. (Peterson was later convicted and sentenced to death.)
Barry Bonds won his record sixth National League MVP award.

One year ago:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government dismissed a last-ditch U.S. call to end emergency rule, a day after a visit by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.
A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, killing 101 miners.
Chris Daughtry's band won favorite pop-rock album for "Daughtry," as well as breakthrough artist and adult contemporary artist at the American Music Awards.
MTV Arabia, an Arab version of the pop-culture channel, began broadcasting.

Today's Birthdays: