Today in History: Bush Works For Nearly Three Hours!!

Today is Friday, December 28th, the 362nd day of 2007. There are three days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: In 1917, the New York Evening Mail published "A Neglected Anniversary," a facetious essay by H.L. Mencken supposedly recounting the history of bathtubs in America. (For example, Mencken "claimed" the first American bathtub made its debut in the Cincinnati home of grain dealer Adam Thompson on December 20th, 1842, and that the first White House bathtub was installed in 1851 at the order of President Millard Fillmore.) On this date: In 1065, Westminster Abbey was consecrated. In 1694, Queen Mary II of England died after more than five years of joint rule with her husband, King William III. In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down over differences with President Jackson. In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union. In 1856, the 28th president of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Virginia. In 1937, composer Maurice Ravel died in Paris at age 62. In 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1973, Alexander Solzhenitsyn published "Gulag Archipelago," an expose of the Soviet prison system. In 1982, Nevell Johnson Junior, a black man, was mortally wounded by a police officer in a Miami video arcade, setting off three days of race-related disturbances that left another man dead. In 1987, the bodies of 14 relatives of Ronald Gene Simmons were found at his home near Dover, Arkansas, following a shooting rampage by Simmons in Russellville that claimed two other lives. (Simmons was later executed.) Ten years ago: One woman was killed, more than 100 other people hurt, when a United Airlines jumbo jet en route from Narita, Japan, to Honolulu encountered severe turbulence over the Pacific. Five years ago: The U.N. nuclear watchdog decided to pull its inspectors out of North Korea by New Year's Eve, a step demanded by the North. Mwai Kibaki and his opposition alliance won a landslide victory in Kenyan elections, breaking the ruling party's 39 year grip on power. One year ago: President Bush worked nearly three hours at his Texas ranch to design a new U.S. policy in Iraq. [Wow! Three whole hours!! Who puts this shit out? Are we supposed to be impressed? — Ed.] Saddam Hussein's lawyer made a last-ditch effort to impede his client's execution. In Somalia, troops of the U.N.-backed interim government rolled into Mogadishu unopposed, putting an end to six months of domination of the capital by a radical Islamic movement. Today's Birthdays: Actor Lou Jacobi is 94. Bandleader Johnny Otis is 86. Comic book creator Stan Lee is 85. Former United Auto Workers union president Owen Bieber is 78. Actor Martin Milner is 76. Actress Dame Maggie Smith is 73. Rock singer-musician Charles Neville is 69. Rock singer-musician Edgar Winter is 61. Rock singer-musician Alex Chilton (The Box Tops; Big Star) is 57. Actor Denzel Washington is 53. Actor Chad McQueen is 47. Comedian Seth Meyers is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer John Legend is 29. Actress Sienna Miller is 26. Show Biz History: In 1897, the play "Cyrano de Bergerac," by Edmond Rostand, premiered in Paris. In 1968, the first big East Coast rock festival opened in Miami. Performers at the Miami Pop Festival included Chuck Berry, Country Joe and the Fish and Richie Havens. In 1976, bluesman Freddie King died in Dallas at age 42. He was a major influence on British rockers like Eric Clapton. In 1983, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson drowned while swimming in the harbor at Marina Del Rey, California. He was 39. In 1991, nine people were killed at a benefit basketball game at City College in New York that featured Run DMC and LL Cool J. The victims were crushed when the crowd surged to get into the gym where the game was to be played. In 1993, country singer Shania Twain married producer Mutt Lange. In 1996, actor Ken Wahl was arrested for allegedly threatening a bartender with a hunting knife in Los Angeles. In 2005, the body of singer-bassist Barry Cowsill of The Cowsills was found on a New Orleans wharf. He had been missing since Hurricane Katrina three months earlier. Cowsill was 51.