History for March 20

History for March 20 - On-This-Day.com:
Birth anniversaries of children’s educator and entertainer Fred Rogers (1928-2003), psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904-90), scientific management theorist Frederick Taylor (1856-1915).

Happy Birthday! Holly Hunter, William Hurt

1792 - In Paris, the Legislative Assembly approved the use of the guillotine. 



1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book "Uncle Tom’s Cabin," subtitled "Life Among the Lowly," was first published. 


1865 - A plan by John Wilkes Booth to abduct U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was ruined when Lincoln changed his plans and did not appear at the Soldier’s Home near Washington,DC. 


1885 - John Matzeliger of Suriname patented the shoe lacing machine. 


1922 - The USS Langley was commissioned. It was the first aircraft carrier for the U.S. Navy. 








1933 - The first German concentration camp was completed at Dachau. 


1967 - Twiggy arrived in the U.S. for a one-week stay. 


1981 - Argentine ex-president Isabel Peron was sentenced to eight years in a convent. 



1990 - Imelda Marcos, widow of ex-Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos, went on trial for racketeering, embezzlement and bribery. 


1995 - In Tokyo, 12 people were killed and more than 5,500 others were sickened when packages containing the nerve gas Sarin was released on five separate subway trains. The terrorists belonged to a doomsday cult in Japan. 


1996 - In Los Angeles, Erik and Lyle Menendez were found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of their parents. 

1996 - The U.K. announced that humans could catch CJD (Mad Cow Disease).
 

Principal who told kids not to speak Spanish will lose job

Principal who told kids not to speak Spanish will lose job - Houston Chronicle:
"HEMPSTEAD - The Hempstead school board won't renew the contract of a principal who instructed her students not to speak Spanish, in a rapidly-evolving district where more than half of the students, like many Texas schools, are now Hispanic.
Hempstead Middle School Principal Amy Lacey was placed on paid administrative leave in December after reportedly announcing, via intercom, that students were not to speak Spanish on the school's campus. The Hispanic population of the rural area, roughly 50 miles northwest of Houston, is growing quickly, and Latino advocates say that it's important to allow Spanish in public schools.
"When you start banning aspects of ethnicity or cultural identity," says Augustin Pinedo, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens Region 18, "it sends the message that the child is not wanted: 'We don't want your color. We don't want your kind.' They then tend to drop out early.""

U.S. Navy Strategists Have a Long History of Finding the Lost

U.S. Navy Strategists Have a Long History of Finding the Lost - NYTimes.com:
"Yet it is the Office of Naval Intelligence — and particularly the submarine division — that has refined some of the most creative techniques for finding sunken ships, spent warheads and downed pilots in vast, uncharted waters.
Those techniques are now integral to forecasting by the intelligence community, economic prognosticators and the armed services, and will come into play if the Navy is asked to take a central role in the search for Flight 370.
“The same approach we used with Scorpion could be applied in this case and should be,” John P. Craven, the former Navy scientist credited with finding the Scorpion, said in a telephone interview. “But you need to begin with the right people.”"

Well, This Certainly Inspires Confidence

Well, This Certainly Inspires Confidence - Chicks on the Right - Chicks on the Right:

"I'm not gonna lie - I'm kinda freaking out about this. 

Because according to that sourcelink, the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center (ROIC) just came out with a report which monitors the threat level to the US power grid, and has determined that it's "inherently vulnerable" to "widespread sabotage."

Apparently, electric grid compounds across the US have faced an increase in "unauthorized intrusions by unknown individuals," y'all, including 8 in New Jersey alone between October of 2013 and January of this year.  EIGHT IN ONE STATE.  And there are lots more examples from across the country.

And if that's not scary enough, the sourcelink also indicates that US officials have already been concerned that the electrical grid is RIPE for a terrorist attack.  I mean, just think about what would happen if a huge section of the country lost power completely.  I guarantee you that within a couple of DAYS, it would be complete mayhem -  looting, murder, and other acts of total desperation would be inevitable.

Counterterrorism expert Patrick Poole warned that these attacks could be a “test-run” for a larger act of sabotage.

“While some of these incidents involving substations can be attributed to metal scavenging, it’s planned attacks, much like the one in San Jose, that have officials worried the most and raises a number of questions,” he said.  “Why was this substation targeted? What were they trying to accomplish with this attack? Was this a test-run for something larger? What the New Jersey ROIC report shows is that this fits into a larger pattern of incidents, which should be keeping someone at Homeland Security up at night.  The other big question is how many more of these incidents are going unreported?”

Somehow, I just don't get the sense that anyone at Homeland Security is up at night worrying about this, because they're too busy trying to figure out how to deport illegal aliens people more humanely. 

Kasparov: ‘Carter looks like Churchill in comparison’ to Obama

Kasparov: ‘Carter looks like Churchill in comparison’ to Obama | TIME.com

Didn't we used to call this a "Loan"?------Plan would allow Michigan students to attend college for 'free'

Plan would allow Michigan students to attend college for 'free' | Lansing State Journal

"The latest idea for making a college education affordable sounds simple enough — students can attend school for free.
But there’s a catch.
In return for free tuition, students have to agree to pay a fixed percentage of their future income for a specified number of years to a special fund that would in turn pay other students’ college bills."

Public education is child abuse--------Michigan teacher gives 5th graders non-alcoholic beer for history lesson

Michigan teacher gives 5th graders non-alcoholic beer for history lesson | Lansing State Journal | lansingstatejournal.com:
"LINDEN — A Michigan teacher made a poor choice by giving non-alcoholic beer to a class of fifth graders in a history lesson, a school official said.
 Superintendent Ed Koledo said the teacher allowed Hyatt Elementary students in Linden to sample O’Doul’s that had been brought to school by a student March 6 to represent ale common in the 1700s.
The students were told that many people drank ale at the time because water was sometimes dirty or unhealthy."

Jud Heathcote's influence on Michigan State remains strong long after retirement

Jud Heathcote's influence on Michigan State remains strong long after retirement | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"Izzo wanted to talk to Jud Heathcote. Heathcote wanted to talk to Denzel Valentine.

So Izzo passed the phone to Valentine, allowing his mentor and Michigan State predecessor — a guy who played the game in the 1940s for Colorado College and Washington State — a chance to give his sophomore guard some pointers. That’s the gentle way to describe Heathcote’s teaching style.

“He gave me some advice about my game — and he gave me some crap,” said Valentine, a knowing smile crossing his face, countless Jud stories from his father’s playing days at MSU stored in his memory."

Deaths of bighorn sheep in Arizona spark controversy over conservation effort

Deaths of bighorn sheep in Arizona spark controversy over conservation effort | Fox News:
"The first phase of a three-year plan by Arizona wildlife officials to bolster herds of bighorn sheep has resulted in the death of half the population, after the 31 sheep were transplanted at a cost of $150,000 into the Catalina Mountains where mountain lions killed 15 of the protected species within a few months."

Saturated fat DOESN'T cause heart disease after all

Saturated fat DOESN'T cause heart disease after all | Mail Online:
-Guidelines urging people to avoid fat to stave off heart disease 'are wrong'
-There is no evidence of a link between saturated fat and heart disease 
-Healthy polyunsaturated fats also do not reduce heart disease risk
-A dairy fat 'significantly reduces' heart disease risk"

WeMOG today hike cancelled! Dominos the replacment!

The weather really looks iffy for hiking.  So, lets do the domino get together at Traverse City Pie Co. at 2:00.  I have the separate room reserved for 2:00-4:00.  Bring domino's.  See you there.

Contact me if you have questions.

Sharon Clark @ wemogsharon@gmail.com

#4 seed gets SI cover?????-------Michigan State makes Sports Illustrated regional cover; Obama says they'll reach Final Four

Michigan State makes Sports Illustrated regional cover; Obama says they'll reach Final Four | Lansing State Journal | lansingstatejournal.com:

"Another day, more March Madness love for Michigan State.

 The Spartans get one of Sports Illustrated’s six regional covers this week, along with Arizona, Florida, Syracuse, Wichita State and the Connecticut women"

DRUDGE REPORT 2014®

DRUDGE REPORT 2014®:

In Poland, Biden Promises Allies Protection

In Poland, Biden Promises Allies Protection - NYTimes.com: "WARSAW — Citing the need for friends to “stand with one another,” Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. reassured Poland and the Baltic states on Tuesday that the United States would protect them from any Russian aggression like the actions the Kremlin has taken in Crimea."

Howell students reprimanded for racist Twitter posts after basketball game

Howell students reprimanded for racist Twitter posts after basketball game | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "HOWELL, MICH. — High school officials in Howell say they’ve reprimanded students involved in posting racist messages on Twitter after the school’s nearly all-white basketball team defeated a team with black and white players.
The Flint Journal reports messages were posted after Howell beat Grand Blanc on Thursday 54-49 in a Class A regional final at Linden High School.
The messages made reference to Howell’s team being white and included a Ku Klux Klan reference.
Howell High School Principal Jason Schrock says the school “responded to each instance and is moving forward.”
The Detroit News and WHMI-FM report the students involved weren’t affiliated with the school’s basketball program.
Howell next plays Tuesday."

History for March 19

History for March 19 - On-This-Day.com

Birth anniversary of Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), railroad hand, saloon keeper, gambler, lawman, gunslinger, miner, real estate agent.

Birth anniversaries of  William Jennings Bryan, the “Silver-Tongued Orator” (1860-1925); missionary/explorer David Livingstone (1813-73)

Happy Birthday! Ursula Andress, Brent Scowcroft, Bruce Willis

1644 - 200 members of the Peking imperial family/court committed suicide. 


1687 - French explorer La Salle was murdered by his own men while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, in the Gulf of Mexico. 


1831 - The first bank robbery in America was reported. The City Bank of New York City lost $245,000 in the robbery. 


1903 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Cuban treaty, gaining naval bases in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda. 


1918 - The U.S. Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time. 

1920 - The U.S. Senate rejected the Versailles Treaty for the second time maintaining an isolation policy. 


1931 - The state of Nevada legalized gambling. 


1945 - About 800 people were killed as Japanese kamikaze planes attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan. 


1945 - Adolf Hitler issued his "Nero Decree" which ordered the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands as German forces were retreating. 


1977 - The last episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" aired. 


1987 - Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned from the PTL due to a scandal involving Jessica Hahn. 

Scotland vote threatens to derail 2015 election

Scotland vote threatens to derail 2015 election - Telegraph:
"The 2015 general election will be thrown into turmoil if Scotland votes for independence in September’s referendum, according to government legal advice.
An election is scheduled to be held on May 7 next year but by then Scotland could already be preparing to separate from the rest of the United Kingdom.
The leading lawyer who wrote the Westminster government’s legal advice on Scottish independence is now warning that a “Yes” vote in the referendum would have major ramifications for the election, and could destabilise the next British government.
Cabinet ministers fear that if Alex Salmond’s independence campaign succeeds, the general election would be in grave doubt, plunging Britain into an unprecedented “constitutional crisis”."

Democrats’ policies make income inequality worse

George Will: Democrats’ policies make income inequality worse - The Washington Post
Someone who is determined to disbelieve something can manage to disregard an Everest of evidence for it. 
So Barack Obama will not temper his enthusiasm for increased equality with lucidity about the government’s role in exacerbating inequality.
In the movie “Animal House,” Otter, incensed by the expulsion of his fraternity, says: “I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture.”
Such thinking gives us minimum-wage increases that do very little for very few.
Meanwhile, there arefarm bills, like the one Obama signed last month at Michigan State University.

MSU was one of the models for the land-grant colleges created under the 1862 Morrill Act, whose primary purpose was to apply learning to agriculture. 
Today, we apply crony capitalism to agriculture. 

The legislation Obama lavishly praised redistributes wealth upward by raising prices consumers pay.
Vincent Smith of Montana State University says small non-farm businesses are almost 30 times more likely to fail than farms, partly because the$956 billion farm legislation continues agriculture’s thick safety net.
The geyser of subsidies assures that farm households will continue to be 53 percent more affluent than average households.
Certain payments are, however, restricted.
People making more than $900,000 annually are ineligible.
Seventy percent of Agriculture Department spending funds food services.
Nearly 48 million people — almost as many live on the West Coast (in California, Oregon and Washington) — receive food stamps.
This dependency, inimical to upward mobility, is assiduously cultivated by government through “outreach initiatives” to “increase awareness” and “streamline the application process.”

It's the culture, stupid-----Oberlin College Allows Muslim Prof to Violently Threaten Female Professors

Oberlin College Allows Muslim Prof to Violently Threaten Female Professors | FrontPage Magazine
Last spring, Oberlin College canceled classes after claims that someone dressed in a KKK robe was seen walking outside.
It apparently turned out to be a woman in a blanket.
But Oberlin, which is affiliated with CAIR, does overlook some far more serious threats when they come from Muslims.

EunJung An, associate professor of French and cinema studies, is seeking at least $25,000 in damages from the college, which she said did nothing to protect her.
She filed papers in Lorain County Common Pleas Court saying fellow professor Ali Yedes crossed a line with women who work in the French and comparative literature department.

During a 45-minute tirade, Yedes told An that “in his culture, he could have had the female department chair killed because of his perceived mistreatment by her in postponing his tenure,” the lawsuit claims.
The Oberlin College website identifies Yedes as a “Muslim religious life affiliate” with the Islamic Center of Cleveland.
An said she felt physically threatened and when she complained to a senior department member, she was told she “needed to develop a thicker skin.”

E.P.A. Set to Reveal Tough New Sulfur Emissions Rule

E.P.A. Set to Reveal Tough New Sulfur Emissions Rule - NYTimes.com:
"E.P.A. officials estimate that the new regulation will raise the cost of gasoline by about two-thirds of one cent per gallon and add about $75 to the sticker price of cars.
But oil refiners say that it will cost their industry $10 billion and raise gasoline costs by up to 9 cents per gallon."

Physician terminated after Facebook comment sues Spectrum

Physician terminated after Facebook comment sues Spectrum | MLive.com:
"Puetz says she saw a picture Aug. 5, 2013, posted by an emergency department nurse that showed the backside of a woman. Believing she recognized the woman as someone she had seen in public and in the emergency department, Puetz posted a comment on the photo: “OMG. Is that TB?”

According to the lawsuit, the Facebook post and comments were investigated by Spectrum, and some employees were fired and some were not.

Puetz said a nurse who posted “I like big butts and I cannot lie …” – an apparent nod to the popular Sir Mix-A-Lot song - was only reprimanded, not fired.

Puetz worked as an employee of Emergency Care Specialists, an independent contractor that provides emergency department staff to Spectrum Health.

After the Facebook comment was made, she says she submitted an apology to the nursing director. She also says she was assured by the chief medical officer that her job was not in jeopardy."

Good news about a suicide bomber - he had success (now read below)

Good news about a suicide bomber - he had success (now read below) | Gretawire:

"MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber accidentally detonated his explosives near a popular hotel in the Somali capital."

New York, Chicago, and the war on charters

New York, Chicago, and the war on charters - chicagotribune.com

"They're charter schools. They're on their own now."

— New York Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, on the city's move to deny classrooms to students of a high-performing charter school

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has launched a war against charter schools. 

His administration's hostility is summed up by the comments of Farina, his choice to run the city's schools. 

She sent a chilling warning to thousands of parents and schoolchildren.

In recent weeks, de Blasio has:

• Canceled plans for three high-quality Success Academy Charter Schools to be co-located in public schools. One of those endangered is among the city's highest-performing middle schools, Success Academy Harlem 4. You'll remember the Success Academy schools from the terrific documentary "Waiting For Superman" and the hundreds of desperate low-income students (and parents) who sought a precious charter seat via an annual city lottery.

• Diverted $210 million earmarked for charter school construction to other education programs.

• Moved to fulfill his most significant charter-choking pledge: To charge the schools rent, based on a sliding scale, extracting the most money from the schools with the greatest cash reserves. That's a major reversal of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's policy of allotting free space to charters in public schools. New York charters receive no state funding, and if they're suddenly charged rent, particularly with Manhattan's exorbitant rates, many will struggle. The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research recently estimated that charging charter schools significant rents would create budget deficits for 7 in 10 of the city's charters. Want to kill charters? Bleed them financially.

State of Michigan Debt Clock

State of Michigan Debt Clock:

Saudi Cleric Issues Fatwa Against All-You-Can-Eat Buffets

Saudi Cleric Issues Fatwa Against All-You-Can-Eat Buffets:
"A Saudi cleric named Saleh al-Fawzan has issued fatwa against all-you-can-eat buffets in Saudi Arabia. He made the statement on a Saudi Quranic TV station.
Fawzan said the value and quantity of the food sold should be pre-determined before hand.
"Whoever enters the buffet and eats for 10 or 50 riyals without deciding the quantity they will eat is violating Sharia (Islamic) law," Fawzan was quoted on al-Atheer channel."

: The MXT135 Equalizer by Alliant Tech systems

: The MXT135 Equalizer by Alliant Tech systems....... - skipper12383's Blog - Blogster:
""With this weapon system, we take away cover from [enemy targets] forever.
Tactics are going to have to be rewritten.
The only thing we can see [enemies] being able to do is run away." 
 Experts say the rifle means that enemy troops will no longer be safe if they take cover.
The MXT135 appears to be the perfect weapon for street-to-street fighting that troops in Afghanistan have to engage in, with enemy fighters hiding behind walls and only breaking cover to fire occasionally."

Russian Deputy PM Laughs at Obama’s Sanctions

Russian Deputy PM Laughs at Obama’s Sanctions - ABC News:
"MOSCOW – Russia’s deputy prime minister laughed off President Obama’s sanction against him today  asking “Comrade @BarackObama” if “some prankster” came up with the list."

So there is a Cruise Ship where Residents Permanently Live as it Travels the World

So there is a Cruise Ship where Residents Permanently Live as it Travels the World | Messy Nessy Chic: "The World is a private residential cruise ship serving as a residential community, owned by its residents who live on board as the ship travels the globe. It has 165 residences (106 apartments, 19 studio apartments, and 40 studios), all owned by the ship’s Residents who can decorate with their own furniture, art, books and personal touches. There’s a deli and supermarket onboard and six restaurants if you didn’t feel like doing the washing up in your own kitchen. Before I start sounding like a salesperson for the residential cruise ship, I’ll just let you check out their promotional video."