The cover-ups continue
Four school employees including the superintendent of school were indicted by a grand jury in Steubenville, OH. The state's Attorney General, Mike DeWine announced the indictments on Monday. The four are charged in connection with the case where two football players were convicted of raping a 16 year old girl.
There are allegations of a cover-up linked to the allegations that FSU quarterback Jameis Winston. We all know more than we'd like to about what went on at Penn State with Jerry Sandusky and however many children he sexually abused. So what is it about football that seems to make it much more susceptible to sexual crimes and their cover-up? Yes, there are allegations of rape against athletes of every sport. I'm also aware that there are more football players on a team than other sports like baseball, basketball, ice hockey and the rest. So there are more of them out there. It just seems to me that there is more of this going on with football players and the people who love their football teams burying the crimes. Why is this?
I think that the reasons can be found in the tale of the book that was the basis for the fine film "Friday Night Lights" that came out in 2004. The book, "Friday Night Lights: A Town, a team and a dream" was first published in 1990. It's a great read. It follows the football team from Permian High in Odessa, TX from summer practice to their last game of the year. In that game they suffered a heartbreaking loss to Dallas Carter High. While the people of Odessa were all about Permian and their team's "mojo", the fanaticism at Carter was even stronger. As a result, once they had beaten Permian and gone on to win the state title, some of the players thought they were untouchable. Invincible.
Perhaps because they believed themselves to be untouchable, Gary Edwards, Derric Evans, Keith Campbell and Patrick Williams, all players on that championship team began committing armed robberies. In an interview 20 years after the fact, Gary Edwards tries to downplay what they did. When asked during an interview with the Dallas Morning News what kind of gun was used, he says "It was just a .22. It was just for show. It was just full out show and that was it. It was on safety. I don't even know if it had bullets in it. It was never going to be used." Their victims didn't know that.
The players had been cut slack all throughout high school because they were football players. Edwards was involved in a controversy about his algebra grade that ultimately resulted in the team being stripped of the title; but at the time of the robberies, it appeared that he had won that battle. He and his friends actually thought they would get off with probation and he was ready to play football at the University of Houston on a full scholarship.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and was shocked that he wouldn't be headed to college and then hopefully to the NFL. He had the talent. He didn't need the money. It was just for fun. He and his buddies thought there were no rules for them.
That is the crux of the problem. These players believe that the rules don't exist for them because those fanatical football fans feel they must protect the players from everything, in order to let them get out on the field and win games. It shouldn't have to be articulated just how morally and ethically wrong this is for teachers, administrators and the like to cover-up actual crimes just to win football games. But apparently it does. Even today, the name Joe Paterno is spoken with reverence and adoration at Penn State. Did he know about the investigation into Jerry Sandusky back in 1998 that was dropped? There is no proof he did, but most who followed his coaching career closely say that the idea he was ignorant about something like that involving one of his top assistants is laughable. Paterno did cancel some appointments on his calendar around the time that Sandusky told the mother of one of his victims (with police eavesdropping from inside her home) that his genitals might have touched her son and he felt "badly" and wished he was dead. Is the timing a coincidence? Paterno was well-known for following his appointment schedule religiously. I think he knew. I think he helped to cover up the situation. That's just my opinion. One I dare not voice anywhere near the PSU campus.
The time has come for those who adore football to step up and say that this is not acceptable. Victims deserve justice, not platitudes about how their attackers are too important to be accused.
* * *
I've ranted about the unfairness of California's system of property taxes before, but since today a list that points out Westchester County in NY has the nation's highest average property tax, it's worth revisiting.
The average property tax burden in that county is $9,647 per annum, more than three times as much as the Los Angeles County average of $3,131. But unlike Los Angeles County, the residents of that Westchester don't see one home with a huge bill next door to one with a comparatively nonexistent bill.
I'm thinking of two particular homes in an affluent suburb of L.A. County. The lots are the same size. The houses are roughly the same size in square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and both have swimming pools. If either home were to be listed for sale, the listing price would be roughly $1 million in today's market. I'm guessing the assessed valuations for the two are almost identical.
But because one is a Proposition 13 home, the property tax bills are very, very different. In one case the owners are paying $12,500 in annual property taxes. Their next door neighbors are paying slightly less than one-tenth of that amount, because the assessed value of that particular home was less than $100,000 in 1975. Worse yet, it is possible for a parent to transfer title to the home to a child without a reassessment of the home's value for property tax calculation.
Only 35 years have gone by since the voters passed Proposition 13 (and yes, I did vote for it at the time) and we already have this kind of unfairness. What happens when the current generation of children who own homes transferred to them by their parents do the same for their children? What about when the following generation does the same? Will the owners of the non-Prop 13 home be paying 20 times as much in property tax? 30 times as much?
The voters of California have to approve any kind of a tax increase. Right now there is a lawsuit that is attempting to overturn the portion of Proposition 13 that requires any vote to approve new taxes be a 2/3rds majority. Without regard to whether or not that lawsuit is successful, the voters will have to enact a change and a change WILL come. Why? Because eventually those who are paying a disparate amount in property taxes will have a 2/3rds majority. It may take a few decades, but it will happen.
This is what I would do, were I "in charge" of California. Put forth a ballot proposition that would require that property taxes be calculated, but not charged, based on an assessment that is a reflection of the fair market value of the home. The Proposition 13 rate would continue to be claimed. The uncollected amount would be recorded as owed to the state by the property owner, but it would remain uncollectible until the property is sold.
That part is easy to justify. The argument in favor of Proposition 13 was to prevent elderly people from being forced out of their homes because they couldn't afford their property tax obligations. This way no one would lose their home over the uncollected portion of the tax. Therefore that argument would now be invalid. The argument that these homeowners shouldn't see their equity diluted is invalid. That's not why Prop 13 was passed.
The next part would be trickier and might not pass. The ballot proposition would require that the assessed value of a home transferred from parent to child (or grandparent to grandchild) be stepped up. An increase so that the child would be paying 125% of the prior property tax bill, with the remainder continuing to be recorded as a future liability upon sale of the home would be fair. Should the unpaid property tax bill go higher than the fair market value of the home, there would be no attempt to collect the portion of the amount owed to the county in excess of the home's sale price.
Yes, this means that in some cases, by the time a home is sold, the entire sales price would go to satisfy unpaid property taxes. But the original goal of Prop 13 would still be intact. No one would lose their home and be forced to move out. That some would experience the loss of equity is nowhere nearly as important as it the basic principle of fairness to all. Doing this means that all homeowners would be taxed at the same rate, but no one would be in danger of losing a home as long as they paid their property taxes.
I know every single person who might read this who has a Prop 13 home will hate this idea. I ask you to think how you would feel if you were paying the full amount of property taxes like your next door neighbor who doesn't own a Prop 13 assessment.
* * *
We won't know for at least a year whether or not the decision to give Kobe Bryant a two year contract extension that represents essentially 1/3rd of the Lakers salary for players during those two seasons was brilliant or a disaster. It was certainly one or the other. There is no middle ground here.
I would never bet against Kobe Bryant coming back at the top of his abilities, tempered by the fact he's now 35 years old. He is an incredibly driven player, with amazing skills. His work ethic is second to none. If anyone can get past an Achilles tendon tear at his age, he's the guy.
That doesn't mean the odds aren't against him. I won't bore you with a bunch of statistics showing how the offensive production and plus/minus statistics of players go down as they age. They do in almost every case. Wilt Chamberlain is considered by many to have lost nothing physically during his last years in the league, but his numbers dropped dramatically after he turned 30. There's no telling what kind of numbers Michael Jordan would have put up during those years that came after his retirement at the age of 35; but we do know that when he came back at age 38 he was only a shadow of his former self (still a strong scorer even at that age, but not the man he was).
Where this is going to sting a little is that it means the Lakers can't go shopping for a major free agent during those two seasons. They will have to find other ways to approve the roster, or ownership will just have to raise ticket prices or find other sources of income to simply absorb a great big luxury tax bill.
It's a tough decision. I'm glad I didn't have to make it. But for the legacy of the franchise, for the long-term future, it is the right call. Better to ensure that Kobe Bryant never plays in an NBA game in any uniform other than those of the Lakers.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I'm cracking up with laughter at the thought of Ron Burgundy covering an actual curling match.
Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny is my current judicial hero for blocking use of state bond money for the "bullet train".
The Dodgers move to sign Dan Haren for one year at $10 million is awesome. They don't commit to a long-term and they get someone who might just be a great 5th starter.
Did someone really figure out that Thanksgiving and Hanukah won't come again on the same day for 79,043 years? Sounds like something I'd do. Not sure if I should be impressed, or peeved I didn't think of it.
People being scammed by private high schools that aren't accredited need to be protected from this kind of scam, but how? Maybe if we publicize that these scammers are out there?
Did Jennifer Lawrence sell her soul to the devil? After all, last year she had an Oscar winning turn in one film and another that went wild at the box office. Now she's making a mint in the sequel to the box office smash and getting raves for another performance for the same writer/director. I know, she is just very talented and very fortunate.
This video is very touching: http://screen.yahoo.com/storyful/young-cancer-patient-gets-surprise-203118906.html
Katy Perry almost certainly intend to be offensive or seem like a racist when she performed at the AMAs in geisha attire and whiteface. But given the reaction to Julianne Hough's Halloween costume, she should have known better.
Employers are passing on more of the burden of the cost of providing health insurance benefits to their employees, blaming Obamacare. But in fact, if they get better participation rates among their employee populations, their rates will ultimately go lower. Or at least they should go lower.
The latest celebrity marriage in Vegas in front of Elvis where the people are now saying they were drunk and want an annulment has me thinking; maybe people in Vegas who want to get married should have to take a breathalyzer test first.
I won't be surprised if Motown goes ahead with the remake of their film "The Last Dragon" with an eye to releasing it next year for their 50th anniversary.
* * *
783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is put up in a monastery to prevent her kin from retaking the throne from Mauregatus.
1476 – Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Bathory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.
1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, makes landfall. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people die.
1778 – In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.
1784 – The Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of the United States established.
1789 – A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as recommended by President George Washington and approved by Congress.
1805 – Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
1825 – At Union College in Schenectady, New York a group of college students form Kappa Alpha Society, the first college social fraternity.
1842 – The University of Notre Dame is founded.
1863 – President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November (since 1941, on the fourth Thursday).
1865 – Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy Schooner is defeated by a Chilean Corvette north of Valparaiso, Chile.
1917 – The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
1918 – The Podgorica Assembly votes for "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia.
1922 – Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.
1922 – Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between is the first film to do so but it is not widely distributed).
1939 – Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Army orchestrates the incident which is used to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.
1942 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans convene the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.
1943 – World War II: HMT Rohna sunk by the Luftwaffe in an air attack in the Mediterranean north of Béjaïa, Algeria.
1944 – World War II: A German V-2 rocket hits a Woolworth's shop on New Cross High Street, United Kingdom, killing 168 people.
1944 – World War II: Germany begins V-1 and V-2 attacks on Antwerp, Belgium.
1949 – The Indian Constituent Assembly adopts India's constitution presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
1950 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China launch a massive counterattack in North Korea against South Korean and United Nations forces (Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and Battle of Chosin Reservoir), ending any hopes of a quick end to the conflict.
1965 – In the Hammaguir launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board.
1968 – Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
1970 – In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
1977 – An unidentified hijacker named 'Vrillon', claiming to be the representative of the 'Ashtar Galactic Command', takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes at 5:12 pm.
1983 – Brink's-MAT robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-MAT vault at Heathrow Airport.
1986 – Iran-Contra scandal: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.
1990 – The Delta II rocket makes its maiden flight.
1991 – National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities back to their original names.
1998 – Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Republic of Ireland's parliament.
2000 – George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the United States presidential election, despite losing in the national popular vote.
2003 – Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England.
2004 – Ruzhou School massacre: a man stabs and kills eight people and seriously wounds another four in a school dormitory in Ruzhou, China.
2004 – The last Po'ouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of Avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct.
2008 – 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistan-sponsored Lashkar-e-Taiba.
2011 – 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan: NATO forces in Afghanistan attack a Pakistani checkpost in a friendly fire incident, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others.
Famous Folk born on November 26th:
Johannes Bach
Henry Dunster
Rene Goblet
Bat Masterson
Edward Higgins
Ibn Saud
Bill W.
Richard Hauptmann
William Sterling Parsons
Lefty Gomez
Samuel Reshevsky
Eric Sevareid
Frederik Pohl
Charles M. Schulz
Robert Goulet
Rich Little
Tina Turner
Olivia Cole
Bruce Paltrow
Jean Terrell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3LRWRo3nQs - very different from the version with Diana Ross on lead)
Daniel Davis (loved him as Moriarty on TNG)
Michael Omartian
Art Shell
Honey Wilder
Dale Jarrett
Chuck Finley
Shawn Kemp (how many children have you fathered, Shawn?)
Peter Facinelli
Movie quotes today come from 1990's "The Hunt for Red October" in which Daniel Davis had a small role as a U.S. Navy Captain:
Capt. Bart Mancuso: How did you know that his next turn would be to starboard?
Jack Ryan: I didn't. I had a 50/50 chance. I needed a break. Sorry.
Capt. Bart Mancuso: That's all right, Mr Ryan. My Morse is so rusty, I could be sending him dimensions on Playmate of the Month.
#2
Capt. Vasili Borodin: I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Captain Ramius: I suppose.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: No papers?
Captain Ramius: No papers, state to state.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: Well then, in winter I will live in... Arizona. Actually, I think I will need two wives.
Captain Ramius: Oh, at least.
#3
Jack Ryan: [to himself, imitating Ramius] "Ryan, some things in here don't react well to bullets." Yeah, like me. I don't react well to bullets. (worthy of note is how good Alec Baldwin's impression of Sean Connery's voice is when he says this line)
#4
Jeffrey Pelt: Listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops. But it also means I keep my options open. (best damn description of politicians in real life, within a film)
There are allegations of a cover-up linked to the allegations that FSU quarterback Jameis Winston. We all know more than we'd like to about what went on at Penn State with Jerry Sandusky and however many children he sexually abused. So what is it about football that seems to make it much more susceptible to sexual crimes and their cover-up? Yes, there are allegations of rape against athletes of every sport. I'm also aware that there are more football players on a team than other sports like baseball, basketball, ice hockey and the rest. So there are more of them out there. It just seems to me that there is more of this going on with football players and the people who love their football teams burying the crimes. Why is this?
I think that the reasons can be found in the tale of the book that was the basis for the fine film "Friday Night Lights" that came out in 2004. The book, "Friday Night Lights: A Town, a team and a dream" was first published in 1990. It's a great read. It follows the football team from Permian High in Odessa, TX from summer practice to their last game of the year. In that game they suffered a heartbreaking loss to Dallas Carter High. While the people of Odessa were all about Permian and their team's "mojo", the fanaticism at Carter was even stronger. As a result, once they had beaten Permian and gone on to win the state title, some of the players thought they were untouchable. Invincible.
Perhaps because they believed themselves to be untouchable, Gary Edwards, Derric Evans, Keith Campbell and Patrick Williams, all players on that championship team began committing armed robberies. In an interview 20 years after the fact, Gary Edwards tries to downplay what they did. When asked during an interview with the Dallas Morning News what kind of gun was used, he says "It was just a .22. It was just for show. It was just full out show and that was it. It was on safety. I don't even know if it had bullets in it. It was never going to be used." Their victims didn't know that.
The players had been cut slack all throughout high school because they were football players. Edwards was involved in a controversy about his algebra grade that ultimately resulted in the team being stripped of the title; but at the time of the robberies, it appeared that he had won that battle. He and his friends actually thought they would get off with probation and he was ready to play football at the University of Houston on a full scholarship.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and was shocked that he wouldn't be headed to college and then hopefully to the NFL. He had the talent. He didn't need the money. It was just for fun. He and his buddies thought there were no rules for them.
That is the crux of the problem. These players believe that the rules don't exist for them because those fanatical football fans feel they must protect the players from everything, in order to let them get out on the field and win games. It shouldn't have to be articulated just how morally and ethically wrong this is for teachers, administrators and the like to cover-up actual crimes just to win football games. But apparently it does. Even today, the name Joe Paterno is spoken with reverence and adoration at Penn State. Did he know about the investigation into Jerry Sandusky back in 1998 that was dropped? There is no proof he did, but most who followed his coaching career closely say that the idea he was ignorant about something like that involving one of his top assistants is laughable. Paterno did cancel some appointments on his calendar around the time that Sandusky told the mother of one of his victims (with police eavesdropping from inside her home) that his genitals might have touched her son and he felt "badly" and wished he was dead. Is the timing a coincidence? Paterno was well-known for following his appointment schedule religiously. I think he knew. I think he helped to cover up the situation. That's just my opinion. One I dare not voice anywhere near the PSU campus.
The time has come for those who adore football to step up and say that this is not acceptable. Victims deserve justice, not platitudes about how their attackers are too important to be accused.
* * *
I've ranted about the unfairness of California's system of property taxes before, but since today a list that points out Westchester County in NY has the nation's highest average property tax, it's worth revisiting.
The average property tax burden in that county is $9,647 per annum, more than three times as much as the Los Angeles County average of $3,131. But unlike Los Angeles County, the residents of that Westchester don't see one home with a huge bill next door to one with a comparatively nonexistent bill.
I'm thinking of two particular homes in an affluent suburb of L.A. County. The lots are the same size. The houses are roughly the same size in square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and both have swimming pools. If either home were to be listed for sale, the listing price would be roughly $1 million in today's market. I'm guessing the assessed valuations for the two are almost identical.
But because one is a Proposition 13 home, the property tax bills are very, very different. In one case the owners are paying $12,500 in annual property taxes. Their next door neighbors are paying slightly less than one-tenth of that amount, because the assessed value of that particular home was less than $100,000 in 1975. Worse yet, it is possible for a parent to transfer title to the home to a child without a reassessment of the home's value for property tax calculation.
Only 35 years have gone by since the voters passed Proposition 13 (and yes, I did vote for it at the time) and we already have this kind of unfairness. What happens when the current generation of children who own homes transferred to them by their parents do the same for their children? What about when the following generation does the same? Will the owners of the non-Prop 13 home be paying 20 times as much in property tax? 30 times as much?
The voters of California have to approve any kind of a tax increase. Right now there is a lawsuit that is attempting to overturn the portion of Proposition 13 that requires any vote to approve new taxes be a 2/3rds majority. Without regard to whether or not that lawsuit is successful, the voters will have to enact a change and a change WILL come. Why? Because eventually those who are paying a disparate amount in property taxes will have a 2/3rds majority. It may take a few decades, but it will happen.
This is what I would do, were I "in charge" of California. Put forth a ballot proposition that would require that property taxes be calculated, but not charged, based on an assessment that is a reflection of the fair market value of the home. The Proposition 13 rate would continue to be claimed. The uncollected amount would be recorded as owed to the state by the property owner, but it would remain uncollectible until the property is sold.
That part is easy to justify. The argument in favor of Proposition 13 was to prevent elderly people from being forced out of their homes because they couldn't afford their property tax obligations. This way no one would lose their home over the uncollected portion of the tax. Therefore that argument would now be invalid. The argument that these homeowners shouldn't see their equity diluted is invalid. That's not why Prop 13 was passed.
The next part would be trickier and might not pass. The ballot proposition would require that the assessed value of a home transferred from parent to child (or grandparent to grandchild) be stepped up. An increase so that the child would be paying 125% of the prior property tax bill, with the remainder continuing to be recorded as a future liability upon sale of the home would be fair. Should the unpaid property tax bill go higher than the fair market value of the home, there would be no attempt to collect the portion of the amount owed to the county in excess of the home's sale price.
Yes, this means that in some cases, by the time a home is sold, the entire sales price would go to satisfy unpaid property taxes. But the original goal of Prop 13 would still be intact. No one would lose their home and be forced to move out. That some would experience the loss of equity is nowhere nearly as important as it the basic principle of fairness to all. Doing this means that all homeowners would be taxed at the same rate, but no one would be in danger of losing a home as long as they paid their property taxes.
I know every single person who might read this who has a Prop 13 home will hate this idea. I ask you to think how you would feel if you were paying the full amount of property taxes like your next door neighbor who doesn't own a Prop 13 assessment.
* * *
We won't know for at least a year whether or not the decision to give Kobe Bryant a two year contract extension that represents essentially 1/3rd of the Lakers salary for players during those two seasons was brilliant or a disaster. It was certainly one or the other. There is no middle ground here.
I would never bet against Kobe Bryant coming back at the top of his abilities, tempered by the fact he's now 35 years old. He is an incredibly driven player, with amazing skills. His work ethic is second to none. If anyone can get past an Achilles tendon tear at his age, he's the guy.
That doesn't mean the odds aren't against him. I won't bore you with a bunch of statistics showing how the offensive production and plus/minus statistics of players go down as they age. They do in almost every case. Wilt Chamberlain is considered by many to have lost nothing physically during his last years in the league, but his numbers dropped dramatically after he turned 30. There's no telling what kind of numbers Michael Jordan would have put up during those years that came after his retirement at the age of 35; but we do know that when he came back at age 38 he was only a shadow of his former self (still a strong scorer even at that age, but not the man he was).
Where this is going to sting a little is that it means the Lakers can't go shopping for a major free agent during those two seasons. They will have to find other ways to approve the roster, or ownership will just have to raise ticket prices or find other sources of income to simply absorb a great big luxury tax bill.
It's a tough decision. I'm glad I didn't have to make it. But for the legacy of the franchise, for the long-term future, it is the right call. Better to ensure that Kobe Bryant never plays in an NBA game in any uniform other than those of the Lakers.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I'm cracking up with laughter at the thought of Ron Burgundy covering an actual curling match.
Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny is my current judicial hero for blocking use of state bond money for the "bullet train".
The Dodgers move to sign Dan Haren for one year at $10 million is awesome. They don't commit to a long-term and they get someone who might just be a great 5th starter.
Did someone really figure out that Thanksgiving and Hanukah won't come again on the same day for 79,043 years? Sounds like something I'd do. Not sure if I should be impressed, or peeved I didn't think of it.
People being scammed by private high schools that aren't accredited need to be protected from this kind of scam, but how? Maybe if we publicize that these scammers are out there?
Did Jennifer Lawrence sell her soul to the devil? After all, last year she had an Oscar winning turn in one film and another that went wild at the box office. Now she's making a mint in the sequel to the box office smash and getting raves for another performance for the same writer/director. I know, she is just very talented and very fortunate.
This video is very touching: http://screen.yahoo.com/storyful/young-cancer-patient-gets-surprise-203118906.html
Katy Perry almost certainly intend to be offensive or seem like a racist when she performed at the AMAs in geisha attire and whiteface. But given the reaction to Julianne Hough's Halloween costume, she should have known better.
Employers are passing on more of the burden of the cost of providing health insurance benefits to their employees, blaming Obamacare. But in fact, if they get better participation rates among their employee populations, their rates will ultimately go lower. Or at least they should go lower.
The latest celebrity marriage in Vegas in front of Elvis where the people are now saying they were drunk and want an annulment has me thinking; maybe people in Vegas who want to get married should have to take a breathalyzer test first.
I won't be surprised if Motown goes ahead with the remake of their film "The Last Dragon" with an eye to releasing it next year for their 50th anniversary.
* * *
783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is put up in a monastery to prevent her kin from retaking the throne from Mauregatus.
1476 – Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Bathory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.
1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, makes landfall. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people die.
1778 – In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.
1784 – The Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of the United States established.
1789 – A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as recommended by President George Washington and approved by Congress.
1805 – Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
1825 – At Union College in Schenectady, New York a group of college students form Kappa Alpha Society, the first college social fraternity.
1842 – The University of Notre Dame is founded.
1863 – President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November (since 1941, on the fourth Thursday).
1865 – Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy Schooner is defeated by a Chilean Corvette north of Valparaiso, Chile.
1917 – The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
1918 – The Podgorica Assembly votes for "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia.
1922 – Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.
1922 – Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between is the first film to do so but it is not widely distributed).
1939 – Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Army orchestrates the incident which is used to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.
1942 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans convene the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.
1943 – World War II: HMT Rohna sunk by the Luftwaffe in an air attack in the Mediterranean north of Béjaïa, Algeria.
1944 – World War II: A German V-2 rocket hits a Woolworth's shop on New Cross High Street, United Kingdom, killing 168 people.
1944 – World War II: Germany begins V-1 and V-2 attacks on Antwerp, Belgium.
1949 – The Indian Constituent Assembly adopts India's constitution presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
1950 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China launch a massive counterattack in North Korea against South Korean and United Nations forces (Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and Battle of Chosin Reservoir), ending any hopes of a quick end to the conflict.
1965 – In the Hammaguir launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board.
1968 – Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
1970 – In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
1977 – An unidentified hijacker named 'Vrillon', claiming to be the representative of the 'Ashtar Galactic Command', takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes at 5:12 pm.
1983 – Brink's-MAT robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-MAT vault at Heathrow Airport.
1986 – Iran-Contra scandal: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.
1990 – The Delta II rocket makes its maiden flight.
1991 – National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities back to their original names.
1998 – Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Republic of Ireland's parliament.
2000 – George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the United States presidential election, despite losing in the national popular vote.
2003 – Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England.
2004 – Ruzhou School massacre: a man stabs and kills eight people and seriously wounds another four in a school dormitory in Ruzhou, China.
2004 – The last Po'ouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of Avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct.
2008 – 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistan-sponsored Lashkar-e-Taiba.
2011 – 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan: NATO forces in Afghanistan attack a Pakistani checkpost in a friendly fire incident, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others.
Famous Folk born on November 26th:
Johannes Bach
Henry Dunster
Rene Goblet
Bat Masterson
Edward Higgins
Ibn Saud
Bill W.
Richard Hauptmann
William Sterling Parsons
Lefty Gomez
Samuel Reshevsky
Eric Sevareid
Frederik Pohl
Charles M. Schulz
Robert Goulet
Rich Little
Tina Turner
Olivia Cole
Bruce Paltrow
Jean Terrell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3LRWRo3nQs - very different from the version with Diana Ross on lead)
Daniel Davis (loved him as Moriarty on TNG)
Michael Omartian
Art Shell
Honey Wilder
Dale Jarrett
Chuck Finley
Shawn Kemp (how many children have you fathered, Shawn?)
Peter Facinelli
Movie quotes today come from 1990's "The Hunt for Red October" in which Daniel Davis had a small role as a U.S. Navy Captain:
Capt. Bart Mancuso: How did you know that his next turn would be to starboard?
Jack Ryan: I didn't. I had a 50/50 chance. I needed a break. Sorry.
Capt. Bart Mancuso: That's all right, Mr Ryan. My Morse is so rusty, I could be sending him dimensions on Playmate of the Month.
#2
Capt. Vasili Borodin: I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Captain Ramius: I suppose.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: No papers?
Captain Ramius: No papers, state to state.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: Well then, in winter I will live in... Arizona. Actually, I think I will need two wives.
Captain Ramius: Oh, at least.
#3
Jack Ryan: [to himself, imitating Ramius] "Ryan, some things in here don't react well to bullets." Yeah, like me. I don't react well to bullets. (worthy of note is how good Alec Baldwin's impression of Sean Connery's voice is when he says this line)
#4
Jeffrey Pelt: Listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops. But it also means I keep my options open. (best damn description of politicians in real life, within a film)
posted by me at 8:17 AM
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