Saturday, July 18, 2009

18 July: Rome Burns; Pope Invited To Fuck Off By Lime-Eating Englishmen; Chappaquiddick!!! & A Perfect Game

From The Associated Press: Today is Saturday, July 18, the 199th day of 2009. There are 166 days left in the year. Also an AP, some A/V, & The UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: Forty years ago, in 1969, a car driven by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard; although Kennedy managed to escape the submerged vehicle, his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. (Kennedy subsequently pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended two-month jail sentence.)Sen. Ted Kennedy's "I did not have sex w/ that woman" audio moment. On this date: In 64, the Great Fire of Rome began. In 1536, the English Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England. In 1792, American naval hero John Paul Jones died in Paris at age 45. In 1872, Britain enacted voting by secret ballot. In 1918, American and French forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans during the Second Battle of the Marne in World War I. In 1927, Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb got his 4,000th career hit. In 1932, the United States and Canada signed a treaty to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway. In 1940, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term in office. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed a Presidential Succession Act which placed the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore next in the line of succession after the vice president. Twenty-five years ago, in 1984, gunman James Huberty opened fire at a McDonald's fast food restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif., killing 21 people before being shot dead by police. Walter F. Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination in San Francisco. Fifteen years ago, in 1994, a bomb hidden in a van destroyed a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 85. Ten years ago: Authorities looking into the disappearance of the plane carrying John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and sister-in-law announced that the "search and rescue" operation had become "search and recovery." David Cone of the New York Yankees pitched a perfect game (the 14th in modern major league history) against the Montreal Expos, leading his team to a 6-0 victory.Paul Lawrie won the British Open in a three-way playoff after Jean Van de Velde triple-bogeyed on the 72nd hole. In 2003, basketball star Kobe Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman at a Colorado spa. (The charge was later dropped because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.) Five years ago: A spokesman said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would not apologize for mocking certain lawmakers as "girlie men," despite criticisms from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic. Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a playoff to win the British Open. Former EPA chief Anne Gorsuch Burford died in Aurora, Colo., at age 62. In 2005, an unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse, & retired Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, died at age 91. One year ago: One of the world's largest mobile cranes collapsed at a refinery in southeast Houston, killing four people and injuring seven others. Two French humanitarian aid workers were kidnapped in Afghanistan's Day Kundi province. (They were released about two weeks later.) Today's Birthdays: Former South African President Nelson Mandela is 91. Former Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, is 88. Skating champion and commentator Dick Button is 80. Movie director Paul Verhoeven is 71. Singer Brian Auger is 70. Singer Dion DiMucci is 70. Actor James Brolin is 69. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre is 69. [Many happy returns, Joe, now could you get the former Brooklyn Bums to win a game this wk.? Thanks, Ed.] Singer Martha Reeves is 68. Blues guitarist Lonnie Mack is 68. Pop-rock musician Wally Bryson (The Raspberries) is 60. Country-rock singer Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League) is 60. Actress Margo Martindale is 58. Singer Ricky Skaggs is 55. Rock musician Nigel Twist (The Alarm) is 51. Actress Anne-Marie Johnson is 49. Actress Elizabeth McGovern is 48. Rock musician John Hermann (Widespread Panic) is 47. Rock musician Jack Irons is 47. Actor Vin Diesel is 42. Former NBA player Penny Hardaway is 38. Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Torii Hunter is 34. Dance music singer-songwriter M.I.A. is 34. Rock musician Daron Malakian (System of a Down; Scars on Broadway) is 34. Rock musician Tony Fagenson (Eve 6) is 31. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Deion Branch is 30. Movie director Jared Hess is 30. Actor Jason Weaver is 30. Today In Entertainment History -- One hundred years ago, in 1909, Harriet Hilliard Nelson was born. Seventy years ago, in 1939, after a sneak preview of "The Wizard of Oz," producers debated about removing one of the songs because it seemed to slow things down. They finally decided to leave it in. The song: "Over the Rainbow." In 1953, Elvis Presley recorded "My Happiness" as a gift for his mother. It was his first recording. In 1960, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters released "The Twist." The song didn't take off until Chubby Checker covered it later that year. [Weren't no "Work With Me Annie" or "Annie Had A Baby," but not a bad tune in the grand scheme of pop music. — Ed.] In 1966, Bobby Fuller of the Bobby Fuller Four was found dead in his car in Los Angeles. The cause of death was not determined. [Not the story we've heard! — Ed.] Thirty-five years ago, in 1974, the US Justice Department ordered that John Lennon be deported. A federal appeals court overturned the deportation order in 1975. The following year, Lennon was granted permanent US resident status. Twenty years ago, in 1989, actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot to death at her Los Angeles home by obsessed fan Robert Bardo, who was later sentenced to life in prison. In 1991, the first Lollapalooza festival launched in Phoenix, Arizona. It featured Jane's Addiction, Living Colour, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Henry Rollins and Nine Inch Nails. In 1992, singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were married at her mansion in New Jersey. About 150 family members and friends attended the wedding ceremony, which was held in a tent on the mansion's estate. In 1993, Rage Against The Machine appeared on the stage at Lollapalooza in Philadelphia wearing nothing but duct tape over their mouths. They stood in silence for 25 minutes to protest the Parents' Music Resource Center.
Just last year, the epic Batman sequel "The Dark Knight," starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader and Heath Ledger as the Joker, premiered. Thought for Today: "In these times we fight for ideas, and newspapers are our fortresses." — Heinrich Heine, German poet and critic (1797-1856). [Then we must be in some deep scheiss now. — Ed.]

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