On this first Father's Day of summer, there's a ton of little things that float my boat. For instance, for Scott, who has wanted to know what France has done for US lately, in 1963 it withdrew its navy from NATO. Considering the checkered nature of its history, this may have been addition by subtraction. Speaking of armadas, in 1779 Spain followed well-worn old habits and declared war on England . . . again. In 1964, three civil rights workers disappeared near Meridian MS, later found murdered by the local KKK. No additional comment necessary, save perhaps to note that in 1788 the US Constitution was ratified. Someday it may even be enforced. :-)

On cultural fronts, in 1920 film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were mobbed by fans on their arrival in London, a new phenomenon we have long outgrown. Who mobs celebrities these days? In 1956 playwright Arthur Miller pulled an anti-Elia Kazan by refusing to name colleagues with communist leanings to the HUAC. And in 1965 The Byrds released their hit album Mr. Tambourine Man, "borrowing" equally from Bob Dylan and The Beatles to create a smash, and a new genre of folk-rock.

Folk-rock on, folks! :-)
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Nothing much of interest happened on this date. In 1611 Henry Hudson was set adrift by mutineers in the bay which now bears his name, and still hides his lost remains. And in 1937, in Comiskey Park, Joe Louis knocked out Jim Braddock in the eighth to become the heavyweight champion of the world. With all due respect to Clay/Ali's career, it can be argued Louis was the greatest ever. Also, in 1775, the Continental Congress issued $2 million in "bills of credit", a paper currency dubbed Continentals which served as promissory notes backed by unspecified future tax revenues. The issue was subject to massive inflation and led to a vast debt burden. Thankfully, the nation has not faced such a problem again. :-)

With some hesitation, I also point out that in 1950 a number of dangerous Communist sympathizers were accused, including such dire threats as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Artie Shaw, and Pete Seeger.
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Returning briefly to an earlier topic, today in 1959 Klaus Fuchs was released from a British prison. In 1992 John Gotti, the Teflon Don, was sentenced to life on 14 counts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. In 1902 "Mercedes" was registered as a brand name, and in 1989 another brand name, Batman, hit the theater screens and became a massive one (hit, that is), boosting the careers of Michael Keaton and Tim Burton, in large part thanks to Jack Nicholson's creepy take on the Joker. The movie also holds much of the credit, or blame, for the vast success of comics-based films in recent times.
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On this 9day in 1949 the fledgling NBC network in the equally youthful TV industry began airing Hopalong Cassidy films recut to fit the necessary length for broadcast, despite their strong misgivings that there would be an audience for Westerns with their viewers. NBC executives remain as insightful today as then. In 1986 Maryland star forward Len Bias died from a cocaine overdose, just two days after being drafted by the Boston Celtics. Whether he indulged in celebration or commiseration of this remains unknown. And in 1997 the US Air Force released its report on the controversial Roswell incident fifty years earlier. What the report failed to address is the question as to why advanced interstellar beings would travel dozens or hundreds of light years merely to probe the lower gastric tracts of drunken meth-heads in Arkansas trailerparks.
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Today in 1950 the Korean War . . . excuse me, "police action" . . . began when North Korean troops crossed the 38th Parallel to invade the South in a surprise attack. Someday this conflict might even end, and put to the lie Frost's assertion that good fences make good neighbors. Also, in 1876 the Battle of Little Bighorn occurred, which not only outraged white Americans at the slaughter of the 7th Cavalry but also ended the colorful career of Gen. George Armstrong Custer with this, his Last Stand.

In 1956 the last Packard automobile was produced in Detroit. Ask the man who never had a chance to own one. And speaking of man, today in 1910 Congress passed the Mann Act . . . much to the chagrin of Admiral Icehog. :-)
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On June 26 in 1948 the Berlin Airlift began, bringing supplies to the 2 million citizens of the Soviet-blockaded of the Western zones of that surrounded city for nearly a year. And in commemoration of that massive effort in 1963, President Kennedy declared in a speech there that he was a doughnut. On the topic of transportation, and in imitation of the German Autobahn system which had been blockaded, in 1956 Congress passed the Federal Highway Act, thus laying the foundation of our present interstate highway system, and ultimately producing what is arguably the greatest monument of the Eisenhower administration. On a damper note, in 1959 the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened.

And today in 1975, the divorce of Sonny and Cher became final. I got screwed, babe.
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Today American culture was affected by death and resurrection. In 1829 English scientist James Smithson died in Genoa, leaving is entire estate to his only nephew, but with the odd proviso that, were his nephew to die heirless, his bequest should go to the United States for the establishment of an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. As his nephew did indeed die without an heir some 6 years later, this fortune founded the Smithsonian. In 1939 a relationship died and a classic was born when the "Frankly my dear" scene was filmed to wrap up production of Gone With The Wind. The line, shocking at the time, did pass the censors, though producer David O. Selznick was fined $5000 . . . as if he gave a damn. And in 1968 Elvis Presley, who had been pretty much musically irrelevant since he'd entered the Army a decade earlier, began filming his Comeback Special. Thank you very much.

Finally, in 1985, the famed Route 66, once THE link between Chicago and LA, and a part of American culture, was decertified, with its iconic signs removed. The Mighty I-40 slowly killed it, much to the despair of Tod and Buz.
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As I recall, it was a jelly doughnut. He should have said: Ich bin Berliner, not Ich bin ein Berliner. It is sort of like saying: Ich bin ein Frankfurter.
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On this day in 1836 James Madison, fourth President of the nation he helped to found, vital contributor to the American Constitution, co-writer with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton of The Federalist Papers, and husband of famed cakemaker Dolly (zinger! :-)) died at his Virginia plantation. In 1914 Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, which led to a bit of strife. Sadly, this strife did not, as promised, end all strife.

In 1953, in Flint MI, the first Corvette was built, and became an American icon almost immediately. In 1997. Mike Tyson bit an ear, though Tyson never said it tasted like chicken. And in a bit of serendipity, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision, today marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riot which began outside a Christopher Street club in Lower Manhattan.
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Today in 2015 I am having internet problems, so this may be truncated. In 1613 The Globe Theater burned down, a midsummer's nightmare to all Shakespeareans. In 1972 the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty. Yeah, right. By "popular demand", and in time to celebrate our Bicentennial, it was reinstated in 1976. And there was a double-dip in 1967. Firstly, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones went on trial for allowing his Redlands estate to be used for the purpose of smoking Indian hemp. The case for the prosecution hinged upon two main points . . . the smell of incense, and the fact that Marianne Faithfull was found clad in a bearskin rug. For these heinous crimes, Richards was sentenced to a year in prison. Secondly, on the same day, actress and pinup bombshell Jayne Mansfield was killed in a car accident on her way from Biloxi to New Orleans, though her three-year-old daughter (Mariska Hargitay) and two siblings survived the wreck. This was in the days before airbags . . . as if Ms. Mansfield needed those.
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On June 30 1962 Sandy Koufax pitched his first no-hitter. Another swing-and-miss occurred in 1975, when Cher and Greg Allman were married. But far and away the most significant event in human history happened in 1948, when Bell Labs introduced the first transistor to the world, thus starting the evolution of silicon-based life on earth.

You question the importance of that? Feel free. Then spend one day without utilizing one, in some way or another.
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At local midnight of June 30-July 1 1997 the Union Jack was replaced by the so-called Five Star Red Flag of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong, as it reverted to Chinese rule following the end of the 99-year lease signed in 1868. To the dismay of many, both in and outside the former British colony, that flag seems to fly a bit higher each day. More worryingly, few of those dismayed are citizens of mainland China, and those hold little power. By odd coincidence, in 1967 Canada became independent of Britain, sort of anyway, as it remained a self-governing entity within the British Empire.

This was one of the most contentious and deadly days in human history. In 1863 the Battle of Gettysburg began. In 1898 the Battle of San Juan Hill occurred. In 1916 the Battle of the Somme began. And in 1942 the Battle of El Alamein began. One bloody way to start the second half of any year, much less numerous ones.

In 1979 the first Sony Walkman went on sale. I still own one, and it sounds better than today's portable options. And in 1984 the MPAA introduced the new PG-13 rating, which has played a significant role in the following spate of Hollywood blockbusters. Hey, you could now shoot and blow up as many people as you wished, as long as you gave no more than a flash of boob or said the F-word more than once.

Oh, and in 1963 the Zone Improvement Plan was introduced by the US Post Office, and Mr. Zip was born.
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Today in 1900 Count Zeppelin launched his first airship. It was not much of a success, but not as big a failure as was the Hindenburg. While we're talking balloons, in 1947 a weather balloon crashed outside Roswell NM. Or did it? Don't ask me, ask Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. And while we're talking aliens and the Fresh Prince, in 1997 Men In Black premiered. And while we're already all up in the air, in 1937 Amelia Earhart . . . ?

Finally, in 1962 Sam Walton opened his first discount store in Rogers AR, and within a few decades Wal-Mart had taken the air out of many other retailers.
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On this day in 1962, superstar Tom Cruise was born. As for when he was reborn into the Church of L. Ron Hubbard remains a sacred secret. And in 1985 the movie Back To The Future was released, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and a DeLorean DMC-12. Sadly, these three were not actually able to travel into the past, as on this day in 1969 Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones died in his pool, and in 1971 Jim Morrison of The Doors died in his bathtub. Had Marty McFly and Doc Brown been there, these two icons may have been saved . . . though what effect all that water may have had upon the Flux Capacitor remains unanswered.
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Don't forget Jefferson and Adams today, Thomas!!! :-)
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Gimme a chance, brother! I ain't forgot jack . . . nor Tom and John. :-)
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My old buddy Jimmy Bish used to say "I KNOW JACK SH1T!!!"
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Meyer Lansky was born today in Russia, in 1902
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Aside from the historical event which is obvious to all of us, on the 50th anniversary of the symbolic foundation of the United States . . .

In 1855 Walt Whitman, perhaps the most "American" poet ever, self-published the first edition of his Leaves of Grass, which grew organically (like grass?) into a lyric masterpiece of epic length. Of more popular, albeit less significant, cultural import was the birth of playwright Neil Simon on this day in 1927. In 1997, following a trip of 120 million miles, the Pathfinder probe landed on Mars, though it bounced 16 times before it actually did so. Renamed the Sagen Memorial Station, it later deployed the first interplanetary rover, Sojourner, which added an extra 171 feet to the path traversed. And in 1954, in a suburb of Cleveland OH, Marilyn Sheppard, wife of Dr. Sam Sheppard, was bludgeoned to death in their bedroom as her husband slept on the daybed in the living room. Charged and later convicted of her murder, Dr. Sheppard vehemently denied he was guilty, claiming instead that the culprit he witnessed at the scene was a one-armed man . . . uh, excuse me, a bushy-haired intruder.

Oh, and as for an international revolution of a different sort, on this date in 1976, and with likely little if any interest in America's Bicentennial celebrations by colonials across The Pond, The Clash played their first live gig at The Black Swan in Sheffield England as an opening act for The Sex Pistols. I wonder if The Black Swan's loo was as nasty as the toilet in CBGB? :-)
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On July 5 1921 jury selection began in the case against the 1919 White/Black Sox for throwing the World Series. Following the subsequent ban for life from baseball of many of the players involved, everyone but Pete Rose got the message. On a happier note, in 1946 designer Louis Reard unveiled a daring 2-piece woman's bathing suit at a popular Parisian pool. Modeled by an exotic dancer, Micheline Bernardini, who had little aversion to showing some skin, the new suit was named by Reard after a Pacific atoll which was in the news at that time for its role in American A-bomb tests . . . Bikini. Ohh, baby! That culture-changing event was planned and orchestrated, unlike the one which happened at Sam Phillip's Sun Records of Memphis back in 1954, when an impromptu jam session featuring a young Elvis Presley gave the world his first hit record, That's All Right. Mama!
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