Paradise Driver

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

DECEMBER 10TH

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 10, the 345th day of 2008.
There are 21 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Fifty years ago, on Dec. 10, 1958, National Airlines opened the era of U.S. domestic jet passenger service as it began flights between New York and Miami using Boeing 707s leased from Pan Am.

On this date:

In 1520, Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant, or face excommunication.
In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state.
In 1869, women were granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for helping mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
In 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (the co-recipient was Nicholas Murray Butler).
In 1948, the U.N. General Assembly adopted its Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first black American to receive the award.
In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1967, singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed in the crash of their plane in Lake Monona, Wis.
In 1978, movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. ("Plan 9 From Outer Space") died in North Hollywood, Calif., at age 54.

Ten years ago:

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee lined up one by one in favor of impeaching President Bill Clinton; Democrats vowed opposition after lawyers clashed in closing arguments over alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Six astronauts jubilantly swung open the doors to the new international space station, becoming the first guests aboard the orbiting outpost.
The Palestinian leadership scrapped constitutional clauses rejecting Israel's existence.

Five years ago:

A divided Supreme Court upheld the broadest restrictions on campaign donations in nearly 30 years.
An appeals court ordered a new trial for Lionel Tate, a Florida teen sentenced to life for causing the death of a 6-year-old playmate, Tiffany Eunick. (Lionel, who'd originally been convicted of first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and went free in January 2004.)
Iranian democracy activist Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, accepted the award in Oslo, Norway.

One year ago:

Suspended NFL star Michael Vick was sentenced by a federal judge in Richmond, Va., to 23 months in prison for bankrolling a dogfighting operation and killing dogs that underperformed.
Madison Square Garden and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas reached an $11.5 million settlement of a sexual harassment case brought by former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders.
Cristina Fernandez was sworn in as Argentina's first elected female president.
Former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis and stop waging war on the environment.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Harold Gould is 85.
Former Agriculture Secretary Clayton Yeutter is 78.
Actor Tommy Kirk is 67.
Actress Fionnula Flanagan is 67.
Pop singer Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy) is 67.
Actress-singer Gloria Loring is 62.
Pop-funk musician Walter "Clyde" Orange (The Commodores) is 62.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Ralph Tavares is 60.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Jessica Cleaves (Friends of Distinction) is 60.
Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 57.
Actress Susan Dey is 56.
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan is 51.
Jazz musician Paul Hardcastle is 51.
Actor-director Kenneth Branagh is 48.
Actress Nia Peeples is 47.
TV chef Bobby Flay is 44.
Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 43.
Country singer Kevin Sharp is 38.
Rock musician Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) is 37.
Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 34.
Violinist Sarah Chang is 28.
Actress Raven-Symone is 23.

Thought for Today:

"It is only in romances that people undergo a sudden metamorphosis. In real life, even after the most terrible experiences, the main character remains exactly the same."
Isadora Duncan, American modern dance pioneer (1878-1927).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-345

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

DECEMBER 9TH

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 9, the 344th day of 2008.
There are 22 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Four hundred years ago, on Dec. 9, 1608, English poet John Milton was born in London.

On this date:

In 1854, Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," was published in England.
In 1892, "Widowers' Houses," Bernard Shaw's first play, opened at the Royalty Theater in London.
In 1940, British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War II.
In 1941, China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy.
In 1942, the Aram Khachaturian ballet "Gayane," featuring the surging "Saber Dance," was first performed by the Kirov Ballet.
In 1958, the anti-communist John Birch Society was formed in Indianapolis.
In 1965, Nikolai V. Podgorny replaced Anastas I. Mikoyan as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
In 1987, the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, began as riots broke out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli counter-response.
In 1990, Solidarity founder Lech Walesa won Poland's presidential runoff by a landslide.
In 1992, Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. (The couple's divorce became final Aug. 28, 1996.)

Ten years ago:

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee drew up four proposed articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, all stemming from his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky and long campaign to cover it up.

Five years ago:

The owners of a Rhode Island nightclub and the tour manager for the rock band Great White were indicted on charges related to a fire the previous February that killed 100 people.
A suicide bomber killed five victims outside an exclusive Moscow hotel.
Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Former Sen. Paul Simon died in Springfield, Ill., at age 75.

One year ago:

A young man once affiliated with a missionary school shot nine people at the school near Denver and a megachurch in Colorado Springs; four victims died and the gunman, Matthew Murray, killed himself.
Pig farmer Robert "Willie" Pickton, accused of being Canada's worst serial killer, was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder, which carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Republican presidential candidates sought to embrace Hispanics in a Spanish language debate in Coral Gables, Fla.
The first summit between Europe and Africa in seven years came to an acrimonious end in Lisbon, Portugal.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Kirk Douglas is 92.
Actor Dick Van Patten is 80.
Actor-writer Buck Henry is 78.
Actress Dame Judi Dench is 74.
Actor Beau Bridges is 67.
Jazz singer-musician Dan Hicks is 67.
Football Hall-of-Famer Dick Butkus is 66.
Actor Michael Nouri is 63.
Former Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., is 61.
Singer Joan Armatrading is 58.
Actor Michael Dorn is 56.
Actor John Malkovich is 55.
Country singer Sylvia is 52.
Singer/game show host Donny Osmond is 51.
Rock musician Nick Seymour (Crowded House) is 50.
Comedian Mario Cantone is 49.
Actor Joe Lando is 47.
Actress Felicity Huffman is 46.
Country musician Jerry Hughes (Yankee Grey) is 43.
Rock singer-musician Thomas Flowers (Oleander) is 41.
Rock musician Brian Bell (Weezer) is 40.
Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 39.
Country musician Brian Hayes (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 39.
Actress Allison Smith is 39.
Songwriter Kara DioGuardi is 38.
Country singer David Kersh is 38.
Rock musician Tre Cool (Green Day) is 36.
Rapper Canibus is 34.
Rock musician Eric Zamora (Save Ferris) is 32.
Rock singer Imogen Heap is 31.
Actor Jesse Metcalfe is 30.
Actor Simon Helberg is 28.

Thought for Today:

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."
John Milton, English poet (1608-1674).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-344

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Monday, December 08, 2008

DECEMBER 8TH

Today is Monday, Dec. 8, the 343rd day of 2008.
There are 23 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On this date:

In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, George Washington's retreating army crossed the Delaware River from New Jersey into Pennsylvania.
In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free of original sin from the moment of her own conception.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announced his plan for the Reconstruction of the South.
In 1886, the American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus, Ohio.
In 1949, the Chinese Nationalist government moved from the Chinese mainland to Formosa as the Communists pressed their attacks.
In 1978, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir died in Jerusalem at age 80.
In 1980, rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.
In 1982, a man demanding an end to nuclear weapons held the Washington Monument hostage, threatening to blow it up with explosives he claimed were inside a van. After a 10-hour standoff, Norman D. Mayer was shot dead by police; it turned out there were no explosives.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty at the White House calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into U.S. law the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect at the start of 1994.

Ten years ago:

Struggling to stave off impeachment, President Bill Clinton's defenders forcefully pleaded his case before the House Judiciary Committee.
The Supreme Court ruled that police cannot search people and their cars after merely ticketing them for routine traffic violations.
San Francisco and several suburbs suffered a power blackout; it was more than seven hours before electricity was fully restored.

Five years ago:

President George W. Bush signed a $400 billion Medicare overhaul bill that included a prescription drug plan for seniors.
Congress approved legislation to stem the flood of unwanted junk e-mail known as "spam."
U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow resigned from Congress just after being convicted in the traffic death of a motorcyclist, Randy Scott, in South Dakota.
A Greek anti-terrorism court convicted 15 members of the November 17 cell for their roles in a nearly 30-year killing campaign.

One year ago:

The Justice Department and CIA announced a joint inquiry into the spy agency's destruction of videotapes of interrogations of two suspected terrorists.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey publicly endorsed Barack Obama for president during appearances in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Skiers, fire-eaters and an ice sculptor joined in worldwide demonstrations to draw attention to global warming.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor-director Maximilian Schell is 78.
Actor David Carradine is 72.
Actor James MacArthur is 71.
Flutist James Galway is 69.
Singer Jerry Butler is 69.
Pop musician Bobby Elliott (The Hollies) is 67.
Actor John Rubinstein is 62.
Rock singer-musician Gregg Allman is 61.
Reggae singer Toots Hibbert (Toots and the Maytals) is 60.
Actress Kim Basinger is 55.
Rock musician Warren Cuccurullo is 52.
Rock musician Phil Collen (Def Leppard) is 51.
Country singer Marty Raybon is 49.
Rock musician Marty Friedman is 46.
Actor Wendell Pierce is 45.
Actress Teri Hatcher is 44.
Rapper Bushwick Bill (The Geto Boys) is 42.
Singer Sinead O'Connor is 42.
Actor Matthew Laborteaux is 42.
Rock musician Ryan Newell (Sister Hazel) is 36.
Actor Dominic Monaghan is 32.
Actor Ian Somerhalder is 30.
Rock singer Ingrid Michaelson is 29.
Rock singer-actress Kate Voegele is 22.
Actress AnnaSophia Robb is 15.

Thought for Today:

"So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs."
Elbert Hubbard, American author (1856-1915).

"Let's all be careful out there!"