Saturday, June 27, 2009

27 June: Death Of Mormon Con-Man Scum

Today is Saturday, June 27, the 178th day of 2009. There are 187 days left in the year. AP. A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On June 27, 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Ill. [We can only hope they suffered. A lot. Wanna-be slave-holder bastards. — Ed.] On this date: In 1801, British forces captured Cairo and the French began withdrawing from Egypt in one of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1829, English scientist James Smithson leaves a will that eventually funds the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, in a country he never visited. [Thanks, Jim. We like the Smithsonian HD Channel. — Ed.] In 1846, New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires. In 1859, Louisville, Ky., schoolteacher Mildred Hill wrote a tune for her students and called it "Good Morning To You." Her sister, Patty, wrote the lyrics and later added a verse that began "Happy Birthday To You." In 1893, the New York stock market crashed. In 1942, the FBI announced the capture of eight Nazi saboteurs who had been put ashore from a submarine on New York's Long Island. In 1944, during World War II, American forces completed their capture of the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans.In 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. In 1957, more than 500 people were killed when Hurricane Audrey slammed through coastal Louisiana and Texas. In 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village; patrons fought back in clashes considered the birth of the gay rights movement. In 1977, the Supreme Court, in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, struck down state laws and bar association rules that prohibited lawyers from advertising their fees for routine services. The Republic of Djibouti became independent of France. Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was named a cardinal by Pope Paul VI.Thirty years ago, in 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled private employers could give special preferences to black people to eliminate "manifest racial imbalance" in traditionally white-only jobs. Fifteen years ago, in 1984, the Supreme Court ended the NCAA's monopoly on controlling college football telecasts, ruling such control violated antitrust law. In 1985, Route 66, which originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif., passed into history as officials decertified the road. [Now known in these parts as Santa Monica Blvd., or State Highway 2. We still have our historical markers though. — Ed.] In 1986, the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that the United States had broken international law and violated the sovereignty of Nicaragua by aiding the contras. In 1988, 57 people were killed in a train collision in Paris. Ten years ago: George Papadopoulos, the head of Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship, died of cancer in Athens at age 80. Juli Inkster shot a 6-under 65 to win the LPGA Championship, becoming the second woman to win the modern career Grand Slam (the first was Pat Bradley). The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 in the final game at the Kingdome. Five years ago: NATO leaders gathered in Turkey closed ranks on a pledge to take a bigger military role in Iraq; President George W. Bush declared that the alliance was poised to "meet the threats of the 21st century." Insurgents threatened to behead Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, a U.S. Marine who'd vanished in Iraq, in a videotape that aired on Arab television. (However, Hassoun contacted American officials in his native Lebanon the following month; after being reunited with his family in Utah, Hassoun disappeared in December 2004.) In 1995, the space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a historic mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir. The flight was also the 100th U.S.-piloted space mission. One year ago: North Korea destroyed the most visible symbol of its nuclear weapons program, the cooling tower at its main atomic reactor at Yongbyon. (However, North Korea announced in September 2008 that it was restoring its nuclear facilities.) In Zimbabwe, roaming bands of government supporters heckled, harassed or threatened people into voting in a runoff election in which President Robert Mugabe was the only candidate. Today's Birthdays: Business executive and former presidential candidate Ross Perot is 79. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, is 73. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is 71. Singer-musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) is 67. Actress Julia Duffy is 58. Actress Isabelle Adjani is 54. Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 50. Actor Brian Drillinger is 49. Writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams is 43. TV personality Jo Frost ("Supernanny") is 39. Actor Yancey Arias is 38. Actor Christian Kane is 35. Actor Tobey Maguire is 34. Today in Entertainment History - In 1954, Elvis Presley's first single was released by Sun Records. It was "That's All Right (Mama)" backed by "Blue Moon of Kentucky." Both songs were hits in Memphis. In 1966, Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow got married. He was 51, she was 21. In 1973, guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds was buried in California. He had been killed in a traffic accident. [We're always glad when there's a reason to bury someone. — Ed.] In 1975, country singer Lefty Frizzell died in Nashville. In 1980, David Bowie made his stage debut in the Denver production of "The Elephant Man." In 1991, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steve Adler filed a lawsuit against the band. He claimed the other members had forced him to use heroin, then made him quit the band while he tried to kick his drug habit. In 1995, La Toya Jackson filed for bankruptcy, blaming her money troubles on a judgment against her after she cut short an engagement at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. In 2001, actor Jack Lemmon died at age 76. Thought for Today: "A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well — or ill?" — John Steinbeck, American author (1902-1968).

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