Monday, August 31, 2009

The Question: "How Does That Woman Keep Getting Elected?"

The answer:Important question: Average life expectancy of those pictured above.

Stupefyingly Dull Current Events: Fan-Boy Wrap-Up

Those who give a shit (or even delude themselves that it will "make a difference") will give it by blathering about something or another, probably financial, w/ a nod to "Now comic books reign supreme over/have ruined Hollywood." Not us.Actual expectation? Several hundred direct-to-DVD releases of MARVEL ephemera from the Buena Vista distribution pipeline by this time next year. Only real question: Will Disney, w/ its gay days at its parks, its gay insurance & who knows what else, be following up on this sort of thing?

Advertising Age

Boosted from rumproast.

2(Cup Of Coffee) + 2(Hour Of "Consciousness") =

1 dull post about ...

Dep't. Of Delusions

Too good to be true: Sarah Palin's mission (Should she decide to accept it, heh heh.) is to fly to Hong Kong & talk to informed & intelligent people.(Yes, her audience will be a bunch of fascists & capitalists, but few if any of them are dedicated quitters like Ms. Ex-AKGov. Talk about a cultural clash.)The only gnashing of teeth will be from the audience of global investment managers. And possibly her new team of speech-writers, once they see what she does w/ their material.
Relevant. Yet again? Really? Come on, get a clue, Clouthier!

Well, Is It Jenna Or Not-Jenna?

We can't actually tell the diff, but the hair color should be some clue. Looks as if it's POLITICO that can't get it right.

31 August: Ripper On Loose; Planes Drop Like Flies; R. M. Busted; R. M. Dies In Plane Crash; Divorces For B. S., B. S., & E. T.

Today In History August 31

Today is Monday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2009. There are 122 days left in the year. UPI Almanac. AP A/V.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 31, 1803, explorer Meriwether Lewis departed Pittsburgh, sailing down the Ohio River; he joined William Clark in Louisville, Ky., the following October. (The next year, Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition toward the Pacific coast.)

On this date:

In 1886, an earthquake rocked Charleston, S.C., killing 60 people, according to the US Geological Survey. In 1888, Mary Ann Nichols, the apparent first victim of "Jack the Ripper," was found slain in London's East End. In 1897, Thomas Edison was awarded a patent for his movie camera, the Kinetograph. In 1903, a Packard automobile completed a 52-day journey from San Francisco to New York, becoming the first car to cross the nation under its own power. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act prohibiting the export of US arms to belligerents. In 1954, Hurricane Carol hit the northeastern Atlantic states. Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts bore the brunt of the storm, which resulted in nearly 70 deaths. In 1962, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago became independent within the British Commonwealth. Forty years ago, in 1969, boxer Rocky Marciano died in a light airplane crash in Iowa, a day before his 46th birthday. In 1980, Poland's Solidarity labor movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk that ended a 17-day-old strike. In 1985, California's "Night Stalker" killer Richard Ramirez was captured by residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood. In 1986, 82 people were killed when an Aeromexico jetliner and a small private plane collided over Cerritos, Calif. The Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collided with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea, causing both to sink; up to 448 people reportedly died. In 1988, 14 people were killed when a Delta Boeing 727 crashed during takeoff from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Twenty years ago, in 1989, Britain's Princess Anne and husband Mark Phillips announced they were separating. In 1992, white separatist Randy Weaver surrendered to authorities in Naples, Idaho, ending an 11-day siege by federal agents that claimed the lives of Weaver's wife and son and a deputy U.S. marshal.In 1994, Russia officially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics after half a century. In 1997, Britain's Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris at age 36. Ten years ago: Detroit's teachers went on strike, wiping out the first day of class for 172,000 students in one of the largest teachers' strikes in years. (The walkout lasted nine days.) An LAPA Boeing 737 crashed on takeoff from Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 64 people. Five years ago: At the Republican National Convention in New York, first lady Laura Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised President George W. Bush as a man of strength and compassion. Palestinian suicide bombers blew up two buses in Beersheba, Israel, killing 16 passengers. A woman strapped with explosives blew herself up outside a busy Moscow subway station, killing 10 people. In 2005, some 1,000 people were killed when a religious procession across a Baghdad bridge was engulfed in panic over rumors of a suicide bomber. In 2006, Iran defied a U.N. deadline to stop enriching uranium. Norwegian authorities recovered the world famous painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, stolen at gunpoint, along with Munch's "Madonna," from an Oslo museum nine days earlier. One year ago: With Hurricane Gustav approaching New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded with the last of its residents to get out, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on those who were staying and warned looters they would be sent directly to prison. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edwin O. Guthman, who served as press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy, died in Los Angeles at age 89. Former CBS newsman Ike Pappas died in Arlington, Va., at age 75.

Today's Birthdays August 31

Broadcast journalist Daniel Schorr is 93. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson is 74. Actor Warren Berlinger is 72. Rock musician Jerry Allison (Buddy Holly and the Crickets) is 70. Actor Jack Thompson is 69. Violinist Itzhak Perlman is 64. Singer Van Morrison is 64. Rock musician Rudolf Schenker (The Scorpions) is 61. Actor Richard Gere is 60. Olympic gold medal track and field athlete Edwin Moses is 54. Rock singer Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) is 52. Rock musician Gina Schock (The Go-Go's) is 52. Singer Tony DeFranco (The DeFranco Family) is 50. Rhythm-and-blues musician Larry Waddell (Mint Condition) is 46. Actor Jaime P. Gomez is 44. Baseball pitcher Hideo Nomo is 41. Rock musician Jeff Russo (Tonic) is 40. Singer-composer Deborah Gibson is 39. Rock musician Greg Richling (Wallflowers) is 39. Actor Zack Ward is 39. Golfer Padraig Harrington is 38. Actor Chris Tucker is 37. Actress Sara Ramirez is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tamara (Trina & Tamara) is 32. NFL player Larry Fitzgerald is 26.

Today In Entertainment History August 31

In 1941, the radio program "The Great Gildersleeve" debuted on NBC. In 1948, actor Robert Mitchum was arrested during a Hollywood drug raid. The next year, he was found guilty of criminal conspiracy to possess marijuana and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. In 1963, Walter Cronkite began as anchor on the "CBS Evening News." Thirty boring years ago, in 1979, INXS played its first gig in Sydney, Australia. In 1980, singer Karen Carpenter married real-estate developer Thomas Burris in Beverly Hills, California. In 1987, the album "Bad" by Michael Jackson was released in North America. In 1988, actress-model Julianne Phillips filed for divorce from singer Bruce Springsteen, citing irreconcilable differences. On that same day, singer Bob Seger and actress Annette Sinclair filed for divorce. Twenty damn years ago, in 1989, the Rolling Stones' "Steel Wheels" tour kicked off in Philadelphia. In 1991, singer Jan Berry of Jan and Dean married waitress Gertie Filip between concerts in Las Vegas. Dean Torrence was his best man. In 1994, R. Kelly married Aaliyah in Rosemont, Illinois. He was 25, but she was 15 -- a year under the state legal age for marriage. The marriage was later annulled. In 1995, Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky, her eighth husband, announced a trial separation. In 2002, jazz musician and bandleader Lionel Hampton died at age 94.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Space Is Some Place

Can't ... Resist ... Just ... One More

A wide plume of smoke from wildfires burning in the Angeles National Forest is seen from downtown Los Angeles, Aug. 29, 2009. A huge, white-topped cloud of smoke above the Station Fire has been measured as topping out at 20,000 feet by National Weather Service radar. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Not If, When

Calif. Fire to Reach Mountain's TV Transmitters

Flames from California wildfire to reach Mount Wilson, home to vital communication facilities

Authorities say flames from a major wildfire north of Los Angeles are about to reach Mount Wilson, home to a historic observatory and transmitters for every major television and radio station in the area.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mark Savage tells KABC-TV Sunday that "it's not a matter of if it impacts Mount Wilson, it's a matter of when," and estimated that the flames could leap to the top of the mountain within a few hours.

Savage says firefighters could be pulled at any moment if the situation becomes dangerous.

Television stations say if the antennas burn, broadcast signals will be affected but satellite and cable transmissions should not be.

Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar astronomy programs are also located at the observatory.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Reproduced Image Of The Day

This thing hung around the sky all day yesterday.We first observed it around 1500, & were going to snap a shot ourself when we went out (Again, yet!) around 1800, but neglected to bring the camera. (Excuse being that we were already burdened w/ a bunch of other crap.) And so the age-old question "Why bother?" is raised, & answered: In an age of digital wonder, there really is no need to bother.

Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Summary of high-points, w/ photos, from The Texas Observer.
Where's "First Dude" T. P.? These now second-place Texans could use a real American, from a really big, energy-rich state, w/ Alaska Independence Party experience, to set them on the right track & to excite the Quitters w/ the name of the greatest quitter since Roberto Duran's alleged "No más": Sarah Palin. (We spell it there, though it deflates the "T. P." balloon of sophisticated humor a bit, & goes against our usual desire to keep it cute, but if there's a Google™ alert for "insults + Palin" we want to get in on the fun.)
(Changed a bit & added stuff around 1705 PDT. Is it any of your business, & does it really matter? Intentionality does not apply here: It's a living document. )

Not Ever America's Fault, Ever, No!

From The WaPo, below: They hate us for our freedoms.

Mohammed provided the CIA with an autobiographical statement, describing a rebellious childhood, his decision to join the Muslim Brotherhood as a teenager, and his time in the United States as a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, from where he graduated in 1986 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

"KSM's limited and negative experience in the United States -- which included a brief jail stay because of unpaid bills -- almost certainly helped propel him on his path to becoming a terrorist," according to the intelligence summary. "He stated that his contact with Americans, while minimal, confirmed his view that the United States was a debauched and racist country."

At last, something that extremists of all stripes can agree on.

The Torture Never, Ever Stops Working

Not just Liz Cheney's appearance on This Week w/ George WillStephanopoulos, currently visible web-wide, but the post-game show, w/ the Washington Media Villagers at play: Green Room: Did Torture Work? Compare the Cheney version of Khalid Sheik Mohammed w/ reality.

Mohammed, in statements to the International Committee of the Red Cross, said some of the information he provided was untrue.

"During the harshest period of my interrogation I gave a lot of false information in order to satisfy what I believed the interrogators wished to hear in order to make the ill-treatment stop. I later told interrogators that their methods were stupid and counterproductive. I'm sure that the false information I was forced to invent in order to make the ill-treatment stop wasted a lot of their time," he said.

Self-Righteousness, Sullivan/Wallace-Style

Andrew Sullivan says:
When future historians ask how the United States came not only to practice torture but to celebrate it and treat torturers as heroes, a special place in hell among the journalists who embraced and justified it should be reserved for Chris Wallace.
Why reserve a place in hell? Why not make them pay now? And shouldn't all those who embraced & justified Bush's wars be dealt w/ while alive & on this mortal coil? Sound like a good idea there, Sully?
Who else might deserve a special place in hell? Those who use phrases like "intellectual honesty" to defend racist tracts. That is, Andrew Sullivan.
Added: More Chris Wallace on torture:

Seeming to take Cheney’s side on the issue, Wallace then looked straight into the camera and responded sarcastically:

WALLACE: Alright, we have to take a break here but I just want to point out to the audience that it is purely coincidental that this country has not been attacked since 9/11.

Annals Of Record-Keeping

A headline catches the eye.

Iraqi Drought Called Worst Since "Earliest Days of Civilization"

OK, that's the tease headline from Slate's news wrap-up. The actual headline, from The Guardian:And now, the rest of the story:
A water shortage described as the most critical since the earliest days of Iraq's civilisation is threatening to leave up to 2 million people in the south of the country without electricity and almost as many without drinking water.
Not as mystic & exotic as it sounds, is it? Still, hype or no, "Not Since The Dawn of Civilization" is always a grabber.

30 August: Cleo Meets Asp; Negro In Space: Ty Cobb Would've Been Pissed; "Kingfish" Born; "Killer" Kowalski Dies; R. Crumb Makes 66; & New World Order

From The Associated Press Sun Aug 30, 12:01 am ET Today is Sunday, Aug. 30, the 242nd day of 2009. There are 123 days left in the year. The UPI Almanac. AP A/V.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 30, 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off aboard the Challenger.

On this date:

In 30 B. C. E., Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, committed suicide following the defeat of her forces by Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome. In 1780, Gen. Benedict Arnold betrayed the United States when he promised secretly to surrender the fort at West Point to the British army. He fled to England and died in poverty. In 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of "Frankenstein," was born in London. In 1861, Union Gen. John C. Fremont instituted martial law in Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. (However, Fremont's order was countermanded days later by President Abraham Lincoln). In 1862, Union forces were defeated by the Confederates at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Va. In 1893, Huey P. Long, the "Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, was born in Winn Parish, La. In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major-league debut as a player for the Detroit Tigers, hitting a double in his first at-bat in a game against the New York Highlanders. (The Tigers won, 5-3.) In 1918, Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams was born in San Diego. In 1941, Nazi forces began a siege of Leningrad that lasted nearly two and a half years. In 1945, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied occupation headquarters. In 1963, the "Hot Line" communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation. In 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.In 1989, a federal jury in New York found "hotel queen" Leona Helmsley guilty of income tax evasion, but acquitted her of extortion. (Helmsley ended up serving 18 months behind bars, a month at a halfway house and two months under house arrest.) In 1990, President George H.W. Bush told a news conference that a "new world order" could emerge from the Persian Gulf crisis. In 1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union. In 1997, Americans received word of the car crash in Paris that claimed the lives of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul. (Because of the time difference, it was Aug. 31st where the crash occurred.) Ten years ago: Residents of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a U.N.-sponsored ballot. (Afterward, pro-Indonesia militiamen reacted by going on a violent rampage that ended when international forces were sent in.) Five years ago: Republicans opened their national convention in New York, with speakers belittling Democratic Sen. John Kerry as a shift-in-the-wind campaigner unworthy of the White House and lavishing praise on President George W. Bush as a steady, decisive leader in an age of terrorism. President Bush ignited a Democratic inferno of criticism by suggesting on NBC's "Today" show that an all-out victory against terrorism might not be possible. In 2005, a day after Hurricane Katrina hit, floodwaters covered 80 percent of New Orleans, looting continued to spread and rescuers in helicopters and boats picked up hundreds of stranded people.One year ago: Hurricane Gustav slammed into Cuba as a monstrous Category 4 storm, damaging 100,000 homes and causing billions of dollars in damage, but no reported fatalities. Pro wrestling pioneer Walter "Killer" Kowalski died in Everett, Mass., at age 81.

Today's Birthdays:

Country singer Kitty Wells is 90. Opera singer Regina Resnik is 87. Actor Bill Daily is 82. Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 70.Actor Ben Jones is 68. Cartoonist R. Crumb is 66. Skier Jean-Claude Killy is 66. Actress Peggy Lipton is 62. Comedian Lewis Black is 61. Actor Timothy Bottoms is 58. Actor David Paymer is 55. Jazz musician Gerald Albright is 52. Actor Michael Chiklis is 46. Music producer Robert Clivilles is 45. Actress Michael Michele is 43. Country musician Geoff Firebaugh is 41. Country singer Sherrie Austin is 38. Rock singer-musician Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) is 38. Actress Cameron Diaz is 37. Rock musician Leon Caffrey (Space) is 36. TV personality Lisa Ling is 36. Rock singer-musician Aaron Barrett (Reel Big Fish) is 35. NFL player Shaun Alexander is 32. Tennis player Andy Roddick is 27.

Today In Entertainment History August 30

In 1965, the album "Highway 61 Revisited" by Bob Dylan was released. Forty years ago, in 1969, the three-day Texas International Pop Festival opened at the Dallas International Motor Speedway. Performers included Chicago Transit Authority, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Santana. In 1973, "Rolling Stone" reported that The Doors had broken up after the death of Jim Morrison and that keyboardist Ray Manzarek was putting together a new band. Thirty-five years ago, in 1974, the last episode of "The Brady Bunch" aired on ABC. Twenty years ago, in 1989, Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin was arrested for making a public disturbance on a USAir flight. He allegedly urinated on the floor, verbally abused a flight attendant and smoked in a non-smoking section. In 1992, "Northern Exposure" and "Murphy Brown" were big winners at the annual Emmy Awards. Bette Midler picked up an Emmy for her appearance on the "Tonight Show" just before Johnny Carson retired. In 1993, "The Late Show with David Letterman" premiered on CBS. In 1995, James Taylor and ex-wife Carly Simon reunited for their first concert together in 16 years, on Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

Thought for Today:

"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." — Proverbs 1:10. [Just say no. Keep it in your pants, etc. — Ed.]

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Potential Disaster

Fire threatens Mount Wilson communication lines (Adds comments from Forest Service) LOS ANGELES, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles has quadrupled in size since Friday, threatening communication transmitters and leading to a call on Saturday for more homes to be evacuated.
"Communication lines" are not at stake here, Reuters. (As they, admittedly, go on to clarify. We're bitching about sub-heads here.)
Firefighters were trying to keep the blaze from reaching Mount Wilson, which houses key television and radio transmitters, as well as towers that handle emergency services dispatches.
If the transmitters go up in flames, how will we get our kicks watching the wealthy's property burn? If this affects us, it could be a real disaster. (As long as the microwave links to the cable co. hold up, we're good. Not to worry. We just like to pretend we're a right-winger, & get hysterical over everything & anything.)
Current temp, from three different Internet sources: 98, 99 or 100°F. (At least it's a "dry" heat. Ha ha ha ha ha. Ha.)Also: Scent of smoke in air more powerful than odor of stale smoke & greasy cooking here in the Bouffant bunker/broiler combo. Must go out now to buy brew & beef for Bachelor Bar-B-Que among the ruins.

29 August: A Thousand Years Ago, Mainz Cathedral Burns; Dick Morris Resigns

Today is Saturday, Aug. 29, the 241st day of 2009. There are 124 days left in the year. UPI Almanac. AP A/V.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 29, 1944, 15,000 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.

On this date:

One thousand years ago, in 1009, the Mainz Cathedral in Germany burned down the same day it was inaugurated. In 1533, the last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, was executed on orders of Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro. In 1632, English philosopher John Locke was born in Somerset. Two hundred years ago, in 1809, American author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., was born in Cambridge, Mass. In 1877, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Brigham Young, died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 76. In 1943, responding to a clampdown by Nazi occupiers, Denmark managed to scuttle most of its naval ships. Sixty years ago, in 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb at a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. In 1957, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond (then a Democrat) ended a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours. In 1965, Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after 8 days in space. In 1996, President Bill Clinton's chief political strategist, Dick Morris, resigned amid a scandal over his relationship with a prostitute. Ten years ago: Hurricane Dennis wallowed along the coast toward the Carolinas, prompting evacuation orders for the fragile Outer Banks barrier islands. Five years ago: Tropical Storm Gaston made landfall in South Carolina at near-hurricane strength. Protesters filling 20 city blocks peacefully swarmed Manhattan's streets on the eve of the Republican National Convention to demand that President George W. Bush be turned out of office. A car bomb at the office of a US security contractor in Afghanistan killed about ten people, including three Americans. Closing ceremonies were held in Athens, Greece, for the Olympic games. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, La.; the resulting floods devastated the city of New Orleans. More than 1,800 people in the region died. One year ago: In a politically startling move, Republican John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a maverick conservative with less than two years in office, to be his vice- presidential running mate.

Today's Birthdays August 29

Actor-director Lord Richard Attenborough is 86. Movie director William Friedkin is 74. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is 73. Actor Elliott Gould is 71. Movie director Joel Schumacher is 70. TV personality Robin Leach is 68. Actor G.W. Bailey is 65. Actor Ray Wise is 62. Actress Deborah Van Valkenburgh is 57. Dancer-choreographer Mark Morris is 53. Country musician Dan Truman (Diamond Rio) is 53. Actress Rebecca DeMornay is 50. Singer Me'Shell NdegeOcello is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Carl Martin (Shai) is 39. Actress Carla Gugino is 38.

Today In Entertainment History August 29

In 1958, George Harrison joined John Lennon's band The Quarrymen, which also included bassist Paul McCartney and Ken Brown on drums. Pop superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Ind. In 1966, The Beatles ended their fourth American tour by performing what would be their last public concert, before 25,000 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. [It took them eight yrs. — Ed.] In 1967, the last episode of "The Fugitive" aired. It was the largest audience in TV history until the "Who Shot J.R." episode of "Dallas."In 1982, actress Ingrid Bergman died on her 69th birthday. In 1991, Run from Run-DMC pleaded innocent in Cleveland to charges he raped a fan who asked for an autograph. In 1995, singer Gladys Knight married motivational speaker Les Brown. They have since divorced. In 2002, Eminem drew boos at the MTV Video Music Awards after he called Moby a girl and threatened to hit a guy with glasses, which Moby was wearing. That same night, Michael Jackson accepted a special award as a birthday present that he mistook for the Artist of the Millenium award.

Thought for Today:

"Don't be 'consistent,' but be simply true." — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894).

Friday, August 28, 2009

Little Old Lady In Tennis Shoes

LOLiTS. Even America's Stinker thinks LOLiTS are nuts:
There was one sense in which fluoridation caused considerable damage -- to American conservatism. The two decades following the mid-50s comprised the legacy media's golden age, when the Big Three networks, the daily newspapers, and the two wire services acted as the sole sources of information for most of the country. There was no Internet, no talk radio. If mass media made a particular connection, then that connection was made with finality. And the connection they made was conservative = fluoridation nut. There was even a stereotyped character to personalize the message: the "little old lady in tennis shoes", querulously following candidates around asking crazy questions about the water supply.

Wolf Tags

Idaho Gov. Candidate Jokes About Hunting Obama

Rammell was speaking to a local Republican group about the state's wolf hunt, for which hunters must pay for "wolf tags." An audience member shouted out a question about "Obama tags."

"Obama tags? We'd buy some of those," Rammell responded.

Bring it on.

"Let it be".

Rex Rammell Puts His Economic Principles To Work

This is just Rammell's most recent bout with trouble. Earlier this year, his development company filed for bankruptcy protection.

In June, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Rammell must pay $29,000 in fines related to fence problems at an elk-hunting ranch he used to own. In 2006, 110 of his elk escaped, leading to an emergency hunt over fears that the elk could spread disease to wild herds. He sold the ranch after that.

Rammell ran for the Senate last year as an independent. The state Republican party argued to the Idaho Supreme Court that his run was illegal and that his name shouldn't be allowed on the ballot, but the court allowed Rammell to run. He got 5.4 percent of the vote.

Serendipity: Another one, w/o even looking.

Master Race Rock

More than 50 mins. w/ The Dictators at Winterland, 30 July 1977.

Like a Pig

Midnight: 82°F in the bunker.

28 August: Birth of Radio Adverts; Big Day In Yankee Politics; Hudson "Finds" Delaware Bay; Manolete Gored to Death: Go Bull!, Emmett Till Abducted

Today is Friday, Aug. 28, the 240th day of 2009. There are 125 days left in the year. The UPI Almanac may or may not have contributed to this item.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 28, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.Sound Bites: "I have a dream", "Sisters and brothers", "Free at last".

On this date:

Four hundred years ago, in 1609, English sea explorer Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon, reached present-day Delaware Bay.
In 1749, German poet, novelist and dramatist Johann von Goethe was born. In 1774, Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint, was born in New York City. In 1828, Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy was born near Tula. In 1907, United Parcel Service had its beginnings as the American Messenger Company of Seattle. In 1917, ten suffragists were arrested as they picketed the White House. In 1922, the first radio commercial aired on WEAF in New York City. It was a 10-minute advertisement for the Queensboro Realty Co., which had paid $100. In 1947, legendary bullfighter Manolete died after being gored during a fight in Linares, Spain; he was 30. In 1955, Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's home in Money, Miss., by two white men after he had supposedly whistled at a white woman; he was found brutally slain three days later. In 1968, police and anti-war demonstrators clashed in the streets of Chicago as the Democratic national convention nominated Hubert H. Humphrey for president.More Sound Bites: Sen. Abraham Ribicoff: "Gestapo tactics", Chicago Mayor Richard Daley defends police, "The whole word is watching" In 1973, more than 600 people died as an earthquake shook central Mexico. In 1981, John W. Hinckley Jr. pleaded innocent to charges of attempting to kill President Ronald Reagan. In 1983, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin announced his resignation. In 1988, more than 50 people were killed in the Philippines in an unsuccessful coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino. Seventy people were killed when three Italian stunt planes collided during an air show at the U.S. Air Base in Ramstein, West Germany.
In 1995, a mortar shell tore through a crowded market in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, killing some three dozen people and triggering NATO airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs. In 1996, Democrats nominated President Bill Clinton for a second term at their national convention in Chicago. Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana were divorced after 15 years of marriage. [Coincidence? We think not. — Ed.] Ten years ago: Three crewmen aboard the Mir space station returned safely to Earth after bidding farewell to the 13-year-old Russian orbiter. In 2002, prosecutors indicted WorldCom executives Scott Sulivan and Buford Yates Jr. in connection with the company's collapse. Both later pleaded guilty to criminal fraud. Five years ago: Islamic militants claiming to be holding two French journalists in Iraq gave France 48 hours to overturn the law banning the wearing of Islamic head scarves in schools. (The reporters, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, were released in December 2004.) U. S. Secretary of State Colin ["Chickenshit"] Powell canceled plans to attend closing ceremonies at the Summer Olympics in Athens after protests against U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. men's basketball team won the bronze, the 100th U.S. medal of the Athens Games. In 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered everyone in the city to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, U.S. schoolteacher John Mark Karr was returned to the United States to face charges of killing JonBenet Ramsey, the 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen 10 years earlier and whose slaying he had admitted. But the case against him quickly crumbled when DNA tests showed he wasn't involved. In 2007, U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, admitted he pleaded guilty without consulting a lawyer to disorderly conduct in a Minneapolis airport men's room incident in June but insisted he had done nothing wrong. One year ago: Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd at Invesco Field in Denver, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, promising what he called a clean break from the "broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush." Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee for president, chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Former U.S. Marine Jose Luis Nazario Jr., accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter in Riverside, Calif. As part of a $3 billion deal, China agreed to provide Iraq with technical advisers, workers and equipment to develop the Ahdab oil field.

Today's Birthdays:

Country singer Billy Grammer is 84. Actor Ben Gazzara is 79. Actor Sonny Shroyer is 74. Actor Ken Jenkins is 69. Former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is 69. Actor David Soul is 66. Baseball manager Lou Piniella is 66. Actress Debra Mooney is 62. Actress Alice Playten is 62. Singer Wayne Osmond (The Osmonds) [No shit. He's one of those Osmonds? — Ed.] is 58. Actor Daniel Stern is 52. Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton is 51. Actress Emma Samms is 49. Actress Jennifer Coolidge is 48. Movie director David Fincher (Film: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") is 47. Actress Amanda Tapping is 44. Country singer Shania Twain is 44. Actor Billy Boyd is 41. Actor Jack Black is 40. Actor Jason Priestley is 40. Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans is 38. Actor J. August Richards is 36. Rock singer-musician Max Collins (Eve 6) is 31. Actress Carly Pope is 29. Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 27.

Today In Entertainment History August 28

In 1922, the first radio commercial aired on WEAF in New York City. It was a 10-minute advertisement for the Queensboro Realty Co., which had paid $100. [10 mins.? Fuck. — Ed.] In 1961, Motown released its first number-one hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes. In 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary performed "Blowin' In The Wind" before civil rights marchers who had gathered in Washington to hear Martin Luther King Junior speak. In 1964, The Beatles met Bob Dylan, who supposedly introduced them to marijuana.
In 1965, Bob Dylan was booed off stage at Forest Hills Stadium in New York for playing electric guitar. In 1967, the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company played at the wake of a Hell's Angels member who was struck by a car in San Francisco. In 1972, David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars made their debut at Carnegie Hall in New York. Bowie gave the performance while he was sick with the flu. In 1982, George Strait's first number-one song, "Fool-Hearted Memory," hit the top of Billboard's country chart. In 1986, Tina Turner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2003, the MTV Video Music Awards opened with a performance by Madonna in which she kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera full on their mouths.

Thought for Today:

"The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of one's self." — Jane Addams, American social worker and Nobel Peace laureate (1860-1935).

And, a thought for the day:

Author Salman Rushdie said, "Literature is the one place in any society where, within the secrecy of our own heads, we can hear voices talking about everything in every possible way."

Thursday, August 27, 2009

City's On Flame W/ R & R

Despite earlier bitching about the necessity of moving at all/leaving the bunker, all worked out well, as we scored a 12-episode, two-disc DVD set of 1950s Dragnet episodes, cheap. But we haven't watched any of it yet, having discovered that the best use of wide-screen, HD TV is pyro porn, as we watch wildfires burn the rich out of their "homes."

Trouble At The Stein

If your wretched, aging, soon to be death paneled body still allows you to go on at least a brew binge every two or three days, this
Anheuser-Busch InBev — purveyor of the president’s preferred brew, Bud Light — and MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller andMolson Coors, are raising prices at the same time, during a recession and while beer demand is slumping. With 80 percent of the market between them, the move almost begs for an antitrust review.
is not good news. Not that anyone should be drinking the damn foreign beer the corporate entities advertise to us non-stop. Foreign? You better believe it! South African Brewing-Miller, Molson (Canada) Coors, & AnheuserBuschInBev (InBev is Belgian). 80% of the Yankee pig beer market is in the hands of foreigners. Foreigners wise enough to keep feeding Americans the piss-colored water w/ alcohol content they've been trained to love, & keeping their own more tolerable brews to themselves.
Seriously, if we were a patriot, we'd be one hell of a lot more worried about The Other getting their hands on 80% of our precious American beer market than any socialized health care bullshit.

Jumior Birdmen Up-Date: Back To Future W/ USAF

Alright, you lazy sodomites, the link to our previous item on the USAF changing its mission (& culture). And for sods too lazy to click there & click again to the inspiration, here's the Matty Y. original. Now, from TIME, we see the Air Force going back, back, back ...
[Cancelling the F-22] sent an unmistakable message to the two new top Air Force officials Gates recently appointed, and now the service is seeking 100 slower, lower-flying and far cheaper airplanes — most likely prop-driven — that it can use to kill insurgents today and use to train local pilots — such as Afghans or Iraqis — tomorrow.
Here's a shot of one of the possible candidates. Judging from the lines of this beauty, we wonder why they don't pull out the plans for a P-51 Mustang & build a few.Possibly because the P-51 may be too fast for the job of murdering civilians "killing insurgents."

Tee Vee Skies

Will not actually mind leaving the house, as there is nothing on telebision but aerial shots of the most recently Dead Kennedy being hauled around Beantown in a hearse. (Hah. No such luck. Dodger game on now. Will have to miss televised parts of it. Bummer. Why is life so unfair? Why, why, why?)
Let's see, actual burial Sat., allow for finalized, polished bullshit from the Sabbath gasbags, & we may be able to enjoy more than dildo shilling on the tee vee again by Monday. Well, Tuesday, as they'll no doubt feel obligated to recap the wknd.'s activities all day Monday, for those who spent their wknds. on Mars or the dark side of Luna, & couldn't get the full telebision wrap-up.

Melting

Per various Internet inputs, it's either 99°F or 100°F in the exterior world. And we must leave our bunker today, for various reasons, including our inability to survive on air alone. (We're still working on that.)A pleasant 80°F here in the brick bunker, by the way, but we suspect that were we of the feline persuasion we'd be napping fitfully on the cool, tiled bathroom floor.

Sex Is For Making Babies & It Makes Your Body Ugly Afterward & Let's Not Talk About It, Shall We?

Earlier this a. m., as we surfed through the world of infomercials, we chanced upon two youngish women (Miyoko & Andrea) hawking dildos. Yes, dildos.
More? Here.
Is this the sort of thing that should be forwarded immediately to L. Brent Bozell III so he can have a fit? When Gawd's Baby Boxes actually get in touch w/ their sex parts & enjoy themselves, Catholic anti-sex (Except for baby production: Gawd needs more killers to spread his love.) mythology starts falling down around the heads of the fetus-loving fools, & women start to spend all their time in the shower instead of cleaning, raisin' up the young'uns, & fixin' up dinner for the bread-winner/man of the house.
It's certainly something Mr. Bozell should know about; he can screech endlessly about the dangers of S-E-X, & beg for more money to continue his vital work of making America safe for pre-Enlightenment "thought."

Junior Birdmen Take Flak

Worth a read for fans of Death from Above. A good joke is told, & some of the commenters aren't complete morons. Especially No. 7, explaining "warrior culture." He(?)'s right, this thing about "our" warriors is a recent development. (Recent for old wretches like us, to whom all of the past is a misty blur, from which peculiarities appear & then disappear, unfixed in time or space. Dude.)

VD Not Cured Yet

V. D. Hanson on Mary Jo Kopechne:
We should not speak ill of the dead, nor at a time of mourning gratuitously inject politics, but there is something surreal in remembering Chappaquiddick chiefly as either an ugly accident that almost killed Ted, or an unfortunate accident that cost him “higher office.” That July 1969 evening remains a terrible tragedy only because a young, bright woman at 28 lost a chance to enjoy a full life due to an entirely preventable occurrence.
V. D. Hanson on young women who die due to the entirely preventable occurrence of their insurance company not paying for procedures:

More Right-Wing Ideology

Here's a weird one, trying to speak well of the dead:
He spoke loudly for the disabled, something that I can appreciate, as I am the nephew of a developmentally disabled aunt. (Also known as mentally retarded) The Democrats took up this cause; because the people that should have been taking their cause; that is the Church —— were too busy trying to make themselves more holy and righteous.
Yes, let's leave care of the disabled to "the Church." (Catholic, we assume.) Because they've always done such a good job of that. See: Ireland. Or: Sexual abuses & cover-ups. The Catholic Church: Holy righteous accountability is our middle name.
Truly insane. Charity will cover anyone who can't afford X hundred thousand dollars a yr. for care of the disabled? And the churches? That's right, turn the schizophrenics over to the believers in fairies, who will no doubt proceed to scourge the devils right out of them. Medication? A good whipping will teach them not to see things that aren't there.

No One Is As Boringed As We Can Be

It is possible that another human being is as completely & absolutely dulled out by all of everything as we are, but that would require us to believe another humanoid were as as knowledgeable, intelligent & sensitive as we are (This cocktail of boredom/tedium/ennui/monotony cannot be easily mixed or consumed by ordinary dullards, pal.) & that is out of the realm of possibility.

27 August: Haile Selassie-I Dies; Hegel, LBJ Born; Show Biz Deaths: Brian Epstein, Stevie Ray Vaughn

Welcome, Fester

Today in History - Aug. 27

By The Associated Press AP - 1 hour 16 minutes ago
The AP A/V. UPI Almanac. Today is Thursday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2009. There are 126 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 27, 1859, Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful oil well in the United States, at Titusville, Pa.

On this date:

In 1770, German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born in Stuttgart. In 1858, the second debate between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas took place in Freeport, Ill. In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa blew up; the resulting tidal waves in Indonesia's Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra. In 1892, fire seriously damaged New York's original Metropolitan Opera House. In 1908, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born near Stonewall, Texas.In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in Paris, outlawing war and providing for the peaceful settlement of disputes. In 1939, Adolf Hitler served notice on England and France that Germany wanted Danzig and the Polish Corridor. In 1945, American troops began landing in Japan following the surrender of the Japanese government. In 1962, the United States launched the Mariner 2 space probe, which flew past Venus in December 1962. In 1975, Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia's 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababa at age 83 almost a year after being overthrown. In 1979, British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten and three other people, including his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas, were killed off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion claimed by the Irish Republican Army.In 1989, the first U.S. commercial satellite rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. - a Delta booster carrying a British communications satellite, the Marcopolo 1. Ten years ago: The Federal Communications Commission announced new government wiretapping rules intended to help law enforcement authorities keep pace with advances in phone technology. (However, a federal appeals court later threw out some of the new rules, citing privacy concerns.) Two Russian cosmonauts and a French astronaut left Mir to return to Earth, leaving the orbiting Russian space station unmanned for the first time in 13 years. In 2001, Israeli helicopters fired a pair of rockets through office windows in the West Bank town of Ramallah and killed senior PLO leader Mustafa Zibri. In 2003, the granite monument of the Ten Commandments that became a lightning rod in a legal storm over church and state was wheeled from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building in Montgomery. Five years ago: President George W. Bush signed executive orders designed to strengthen the CIA director's power over the nation's intelligence agencies and create a national counterterrorism center. Three students were killed in a fire at a University of Mississippi fraternity house. In 2006, a Comair CRJ-100 crashed after trying to take off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Ky., killing 49 people and leaving the co-pilot the sole survivor. In 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation after a controversy over the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty in Richmond, Va., to a federal dogfighting charge. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported that Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, had been arrested by a plainclothes officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport restroom. One year ago: Barack Obama was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver. A federal judge in Boise, Idaho, sentenced longtime sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan III to death for the 2005 kidnapping, torture and murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene.

Today's Birthdays:

Cajun-country singer Jimmy C. Newman is 82. Author Antonia Fraser is 77. Actor Tommy Sands is 72. Bluegrass singer-musician J.D. Crowe is 72. Musician Daryl Dragon is 67. Actress Tuesday Weld is 66. Rock singer-musician Tim Bogert is 65. Actress Marianne Sagebrecht is 64. Actress Barbara Bach is 62. Ex-porn star Harry Reems is 62. Country musician Jeff Cook is 60. Actor Paul Reubens is 57. Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 56. Actress Diana Scarwid is 54. Pro golfer Bernhard Langer is 52. Rock musician Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols) is 53. Actor Peter Stormare is 51. Country singer Jeffrey Steele is 48. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 47. Country musician Matthew Basford (Yankee Grey) is 47. Writer-producer Dean Devlin is 47. Rock musician Mike Johnson is 44. Retired NFL player Michael Dean Perry is 44. Rap musician Bobo (Cypress Hill) is 41. Country singer Colt Ford is 40. Actress Chandra Wilson is 40. Rock musician Tony Kanal (No Doubt) is 39. Baseball All-Star Jim Thome is 39. Baseball All-star Jose Vidro is 35. Actress Sarah Chalke is 33. Actor RonReaco Lee is 33. Rapper Mase is 32. Actor Aaron Paul is 30. Rock musician Jon Siebels (Eve 6) is 30. Contemporary Christian musician Megan Garrett (Casting Crowns) is 29.

Today In Entertainment History August 27

In 1964, comedienne Gracie Allen died of cancer at the age of 62. In 1965, The Beatles met Elvis Presley. It's been said the meeting was very awkward, and Presley reportedly greeted the Beatles while playing his guitar to the music on TV. Also: Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" was released. In 1967, Beatles manager Brian Epstein was found dead at his London home. He had overdosed on sleeping pills. At the time, The Beatles were on a retreat with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In 1990, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and three members of Eric Clapton's entourage were killed in a helicopter crash in Wisconsin. The pilot also was killed. Vaughan was 35. Two years later, federal investigators said pilot error was the probable cause of the crash. Also: Garth Brooks released his album "No Fences." In 1998, The New York Times refused to print an ad featuring the cover of Marilyn Manson's "Mechanical Animals" album. Manson appeared on it looking like a naked male-female alien hybrid.

Thought for Today:

"In order to have wisdom we must have ignorance." — Theodore Dreiser, American author (born this date in 1871, died 1945)
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

No Irish Allowed

We're glad the "Fair & Balanced" newsnet is balancing the non-stop coverage of Ted Kennedy's demise visible on the other newsers by ignoring it altogether & having Michelle Malkin on w/ Sean Hannity to go on about the dangerous Denver window-breaker.
And look, Ms. Malkin has a new book. How convenient that something as important as political vandalism happened recently, so she can get to the bottom of it w/ her amazing investigative skills, while pimping her book.
P. S.: That reminds us. Hey, Malkin!! How's that "We are John Doe, & we've got our eyes on you, rag-head bastard representation of an Other!" thing been working out? Huh? Not so well, really? Well, there's always cheer-leading to fall back on, right?

Bread & Circuses

"Jonesy! The TOP UNABOMBER"

A YouTuber (We mean that literally: This could be a typing yam or something.) advises us
Catch Glenn Becks show for August 25th, 2009 = it shows a diagram of all the Obamapeeps and their evil roots and thereis a HEAD = boss of old Billie Boy Ayers = Jonesy! The TOP UNABOMBER - now lurking around New York advising the Mayor? and Senators? & creeps that run New York State and it all leads back to = OBAMA! This Administration is now made up of evil powdered toast fools and they are getting OUTED EACH DAY on = Glenn Beck. The most corrupt group ever to run this country. WATCH IT NOW!
Uh, OK.
WARNING: Can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, eye-rolling, head-smacking & pity.

26 August: Woman Suffrage; Britain Invaded; TV + Baseball; "The Whole World Is Watching!"

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2009. There are 127 days left in the year. AP A/V.
UPI Whatever.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing American women the right to vote, was certified in effect by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. Hear the voice of Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association

On this date:

In 55 B. C. E., Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain, but achieved limited success. In 1847, Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic. In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa began cataclysmic eruptions, leading to a massive explosion the following day. Seventy tedious years ago, in 1939, the first televised major league baseball games were shown on experimental station W2XBS: a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. (The Reds won the first game, 5-2, the Dodgers the second, 6-1.)In 1957, the Soviet Union announced that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. In 1958, Alaskans went to the polls to overwhelmingly vote in favor of statehood. [Split another infinitive like you just did & we'll split you like a roast pig. — Ed.] In 1961, the original Hockey Hall of Fame was opened in Toronto. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J.In 1968, the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago. In 1972, the summer Olympics games opened in Munich, West Germany. In 1974, aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh died at age 72. In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani 1of Venice was elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church following the death of Paul VI. The new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I. In 1986, in the so-called "preppie murder case," 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was found strangled in New York's Central Park; Robert Chambers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 15 years in prison. Ten years ago: Attorney General Janet Reno pledged that a new investigation of the 1993 Waco, Texas, siege would "get to the bottom" of how the FBI used potentially flammable tear gas grenades against her wishes and then took six years to admit it. (Special Counsel John Danforth later concluded a junior FBI lawyer had failed to tell superiors about the use of pyrotechnic tear gas canisters, and said he was certain federal agents did not start the fire that destroyed the Branch Davidian compound.) In 2003, investigators concluded that NASA's overconfident management and inattention to safety doomed the space shuttle Columbia as much as damage to the craft did. Five years ago: The nation's supply of vaccine for the impending flu season took a big hit when Chiron Corp. announced it had found tainted doses in its factory, and would hold up shipment of about 50 million shots. At the Athens Olympics, the U.S. women's soccer team won the gold medal by beating Brazil, 2-1, in overtime; Shawn Crawford led a U.S. sweep of the 200 meters. Pop singer Laura Branigan died in East Quogue, N.Y., at age 47. One year ago: Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton closed the book on her 2008 presidential bid by telling the Democratic National Convention in Denver the election wasn't about her and declaring herself a "proud supporter of Barack Obama." Russia recognized the independence claims of two Georgian breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Hurricane Gustav struck Haiti, causing widespread flooding and landslides. The storm goes on to kill at least 78 people in the Caribbean. Major League Baseball announced umpires would be allowed to check video on home run "boundary calls" starting Aug. 27.

Today's Birthdays:

Former Washington Post Executive Editor Benjamin C. Bradlee is 88. Former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro is 74. Actress Francine York is 73. Singer Vic Dana is 67. R&B singer Valerie Simpson is 63. Pop singer Bob Cowsill is 60. Actor Brett Cullen is 53. Basketball coach Stan Van Gundy is 50. Jazz musician Branford Marsalis is 49. Country musician Jimmy Olander (Diamond Rio) is 48. Actor Chris Burke is 44. Actress-singer Shirley Manson (Garbage) is 43. Rock musician Dan Vickrey (Counting Crowes) is 43. TV writer-actress Riley Weston is 43. Rock musician Adrian Young (No Doubt) is 40. Actress Melissa McCarthy is 39. Latin pop singer Thalia is 38. Rock singer-musician Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman) is 34. MLB player Morgan Ensberg is 34. NFL player Jamal Lewis is 30. Actor Macaulay Culkin is 29. Actor Chris Pine is 29. MLB player David Price is 24.

Today In Entertainment History August 26

On August 26th, 1946, Norma Jean Baker was signed to a contract with 20th Century Fox, who changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. In 1968, The Beatles released "Hey Jude" as a single. In 1970, Jimi Hendrix played what proved to be his last concert, at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival off the English coast. Three weeks later, Hendrix died in London. In 1978, fans caused massive traffic tie-ups on roads leading to the Canada Jam rock festival. Headliners like The Commodores, Dave Mason and Triumph had to be brought in by helicopter. In 1980, bassist Tom Petersson left Cheap Trick to form his own band. He rejoined Cheap Trick in 1988. In 1983, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" starring David Bowie, opened in the U. S. In 1987, Sonny Bono announced he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, California. In 1991, Roseanne and Tom Arnold filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer because of a story that said they trashed a mansion they rented. The homeowner had sued, claiming they caused $200,000 in damage. Also: Randy Newman won an Emmy award for writing music for the TV show "Cop Rock." In 1996, "Airwolf" star Jan-Michael Vincent was in a traffic accident in southern California that left him temporarily paralyzed. Five years ago, pop singer Laura Branigan died in East Quogue, N.Y., at age 47.

Thought for Today:

"Suffering belongs to no language." — Adelia Prado, Brazilian poet.