This is not a job for insiders or politicians
There is a crisis in Phoenix. There appears to be evidence of malfeasance that MAY rise to the level of criminally negligent homicide in the healthcare that was not provided to some veterans at the VA's facility there.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki has placed three top level administrators at that facility on a leave of absence, "until further notice." A physician employed at this facility for more than two decades was interviewed by CNN alleging serious misconduct involving dishonest record keeping and unconscionable wait times.
Shinseki, who has been ducking interview requests from CNN and other media outlets for some time is not the man to be involved in investigating these charges. Nor should the House, filled with politicians seeking reelection and willing to throw anyone and everyone under the bus in fulfilling that aim, be on point here.
What needs to happen is a two-pronged approach. First, the Joint Commission, the organization that provides hospitals with accreditation should be asked to do an immediate, no-notice evaluation of the facility's current condition. The last survey done on this facility was in November of 2011. Given the current laundry list of allegations and the fact that veterans may have died due to being forced to wait for care, this is not an unreasonable request.
Then the FBI should conduct a criminal investigation into the allegations of "secret" lists of patients to hide waiting times, and into the death of any and every veteran where there is even a remote possibility that their death could be connected to failure to receive treatment.
I want to share an anecdote from my most recent visit to the Emergency Room at the VA. I was laying in bed, waiting to find out who would win the tug of war over whether or not I would be admitted for treatment (one doctor in favor, another opposed) when a new patient was brought into the bed next to mine. He was in an extreme amount of pain. I never learned what was wrong with him, but I did overhear the doctor who was examining him tell him that he shouldn't be coming to the ER to get "tapped" to relieve the fluid pressure in his abdomen every week, that's what the liver clinic was for. He told the doctor over and over again that he's been waiting for an appointment to get on a regular schedule and he was due to be seen that Friday. He said he'd been trying to get an appointment for weeks and finally the doctor at the satellite clinic where he'd been seen earlier in the day had sent him to the ER to be treated.
I don't know who is right or wrong in that situation. I find that if you do as instructed, make the calls when told to do so, follow-up and so on, you get where you need to get and it isn't all that difficult most of the time. I've had long waits to see certain specialists and when the wait seemed too long, I asked one of my "advocates" to pulse the system. It worked. Yet I could hear the frustration in this man's voice when he said "I did what they told me, but I keep winding up back here." At least he got some relief from his pain before I was allowed to go home that evening.
The men and women seeking care at the VA have served our nation. They shouldn't be allowed to die while waiting for care.
* * *
You've probably seen the ads. Or read about them. Here's a couple:
In case you can't read the fine print on that second photo, Sterling's self-promoting ad says his charitable foundation committed $5 million to charity in 2011. The problem with that is that his foundation's tax return for that year shows only $140,000 in contributions. Nowhere near $5 million, and at that annual rate it would be a long time before he got anywhere near that level of charity. His foundation makes a number of annual contributions which appear to almost never exceed $20,000 per organization. Generous to be sure, but nothing on the order of generosity his ads imply.
Here's an ad that's even more interesting:
I guess diversity is okay among women he wants at his events, just not among men at his basketball games.
* * *
I want to make this very, very clear. There is absolutely no connection between today (May 4th) and the Star Wars universe, in spite of the fact there is a "May the 4th Be With You" graphic on the front page of www.starwars.com. If it were to be an accurate graphic, it would be "May the $th Be With You" because the attempt to tie this date to the franchise is strictly an attempt to make money.
The original film was released on May 25th, not May 4th. That anniversary is three weeks hence. Tonight, all over the land, trivia games focused on the original trilogy are being played by one trivia company. Considering these games are being played at $5 per player, winning teams take all, the stakes are big. Wonder how many of those games will include a question on when the movie actually opened in 1977 and how many of those players will be confused by that question.
I find that I'm not as excited about the upcoming Episode VII, probably for the same reasons I wasn't all that excited about "Godfather III." It just took too long to come to pass. By the time Episode VII opens next year, 32 years will have gone by since we saw the Emperor fall (literally and figuratively) and the Rebellion finally succeed. Mark Hamill, who is someone I like personally, think very highly of, and whose amazing talents are truly underappreciated, will be 64 years old when the film opens next year. Harrison Ford is nine years older than Hamill.
I know Episode VII is set 35 years in the future after Episode VI. I get it. But I was enthralled by the young Luke Skywalker, the young Han Solo and their swashbuckling adventures. I'm sure I'll enjoy Star Wars, Episode VII. But it won't be what it could have been, had this protracted delay not taken place.
* * *
One last thought involving fours and May 4th. I've been hearing all about the four Americans who were killed at Benghazi in September of 2012 over the past few days. I've also heard very little about the following four Americans:
Allison Krause
Jeffrey Miller
Sandra Scheuer
William Schroeder
The four were students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, when they were shot and killed by National Guard soldiers. No, all four weren't shot in the back. That's an urban myth. So is the claim that both of the two women were not involved in the protest, merely walking to class. That's true of Ms Scheuer but not of Ms Krause.
44 years have passed but I remember watching this unfold on the television news like it was yesterday. Somewhere between 60 and 70 shots were fired at unarmed students by heavily armed soldiers who claim they were in fear for their lives. To this day, the Ohio National Guard has refused to admit any wrongdoing, releasing only a "statement of regret."
As politicians rush to make hay out of the tragic loss of American lives at Benghazi, it's important to remember that lots of Americans die because our government does stupid stuff. All such deaths should be fully investigated, not just that which will garner voter support at the polls.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
How ironic is it that during production of the first Star Wars film, George Lucas said that he was trying to make "a Disney film" and now Episode VII will be just that? Speaking of Episode VII, Jenny Craig will pay $20 million to the Industrial Light & Magic Company if they can make Carrie Fisher look like this for the upcoming movie:
Having fluid leaking slowly but regularly from your leg is annoying, painful and hard on your socks. Good thing it's only present in one leg.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised I haven't watched even one episode of nine of 11 television programs that one critic says should be saved from potential cancellation.
Doc Rivers deserves a special award for coaching his team through one of the most difficult weeks any professional sports franchise has ever had to deal with.
Was that really Kathleen Sebelius providing tech support to President Obama during his remarks at dinner last night? Talk about the blind leading the blind (or from what I hear, the blind leaving the tech savvy).
Doing push-ups in the road is dangerous. Doing push-ups in the road while naked is downright weird.
If students don't want someone to speak at their commencement, they have every right to protest. But it would be better if college administrations would involve the student population in the choice of commencement speaker, so invitees don't have to be forced to withdraw, or speak in an uncomfortable atmosphere.
In Brazil, a toilet bowl was thrown from the stands by fans upset by the result of a soccer match. The toilet hit a 26 year old man, killing him instantly. I won't add the very tempting groaner of a pun.
Chelsea Handler wants "no-strings attached, casual sex" or so she's telling people. I'm sure she can get that at anytime she wants. I also believe her when she says that's what she wants. She is the last person on the planet who would be less than honest about something like that.
Seeing a story about Gwyneth Paltrow having a "yard sale" of gently used clothing items from herself and her fellow female celebrities reminded me of the gigantic garage sale held once by the school where I used to work. That was a nightmare affair that went on for days and at the end, I was afraid we'd be paying people to haul the remnants away. That's not going to happen to Nicole Richie's Louboutin heels or a pair of Beyoncé's boots from her recent tour.
When a reporter asks a candidate "is climate change a myth" and the candidate responds with "yes", asking for their position on the existence of the Easter Bunny is not an appropriate question. Even if you are a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter.
If you buy Willie Nelson's old tour bus, make sure to have it thoroughly cleansed before driving in any area where marijuana possession is still illegal. Otherwise drug dogs will hit on your new vehicle.
* * *
May 4th in History:
1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
1436 – Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
1471 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
1675 – King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
1686 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
1776 – Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
1814 – Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
1814 – King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.
1836 – Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians
1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay is fought in Japan.
1871 – The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1886 – Haymarket affair: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
1902 – 8 fishermen lose their lives in Galway Bay, County Galway, Ireland in the Galway Bay drowning tragedy.
1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
1904 – Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England.
1910 – The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
1912 – Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
1919 – May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
1932 – In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
1945 – World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
1945 – World War II: German surrender at Lüneburg Heath, the North German Army surrenders to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
1945 – World War II: Denmark is granted liberation, when Germany was forced to step out of Denmark thus ending 5 years of occupation.
1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
1949 – The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
1953 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
1959 – The 1st Grammy Awards are held.
1961 – American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: the Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States' invasion of Cambodia.
1972 – The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation".
1974 – An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire. (I remember my then girlfriend calling me after this happened, as she was working nearby)
1989 – Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
1990 – Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
2002 – An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff, killing 149 people.
2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mi wide EF5 tornado—the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Famous Folk Born on May 4th:
Henry I of France
Kangxi, Emperor of China
John Brooks
Horace Mann
William H. Prescott
Francis Spellman
Dory Funk, Sr. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4eSebzMxo)
Maynard Ferguson
Hosni Mubarak (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG8XgimMbs4)
Betsy Rawls
Audrey Hepburn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JfS90u-1g8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B2NHCcmZ8Q and I wish I could have found a clip of Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire" saying 'That's more than a dress, that's an Audrey Hepburn movie.')
Katherine Jackson
Mr. Fuji (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIsW_yxJvP0 I bet Yokozuna had some 'salty' language for his manager after this miscue)
Dick Dale (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3h9p_c5-M)
Robin Cook
George Will
Nickolas Ashford (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NEbe_brJAQ)
Richard Jenkins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgC_WU5l-LQ)
Jackie Jackson
Marilyn Martin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGho9jMeSck)
Pia Zadora (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6OnoCf52Hw how she beat out Kathleen Turner for "Best New Star" Golden Globe for 1981 is beyond my comprehension, unless her big bucks husband at the time greased some palms)
Randy Travis
Will Arnett
Erin Andrews (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75igz3KKCRI)
Lance Bass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyBaA7zHk0U)
Rory McIlroy
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki has placed three top level administrators at that facility on a leave of absence, "until further notice." A physician employed at this facility for more than two decades was interviewed by CNN alleging serious misconduct involving dishonest record keeping and unconscionable wait times.
Shinseki, who has been ducking interview requests from CNN and other media outlets for some time is not the man to be involved in investigating these charges. Nor should the House, filled with politicians seeking reelection and willing to throw anyone and everyone under the bus in fulfilling that aim, be on point here.
What needs to happen is a two-pronged approach. First, the Joint Commission, the organization that provides hospitals with accreditation should be asked to do an immediate, no-notice evaluation of the facility's current condition. The last survey done on this facility was in November of 2011. Given the current laundry list of allegations and the fact that veterans may have died due to being forced to wait for care, this is not an unreasonable request.
Then the FBI should conduct a criminal investigation into the allegations of "secret" lists of patients to hide waiting times, and into the death of any and every veteran where there is even a remote possibility that their death could be connected to failure to receive treatment.
I want to share an anecdote from my most recent visit to the Emergency Room at the VA. I was laying in bed, waiting to find out who would win the tug of war over whether or not I would be admitted for treatment (one doctor in favor, another opposed) when a new patient was brought into the bed next to mine. He was in an extreme amount of pain. I never learned what was wrong with him, but I did overhear the doctor who was examining him tell him that he shouldn't be coming to the ER to get "tapped" to relieve the fluid pressure in his abdomen every week, that's what the liver clinic was for. He told the doctor over and over again that he's been waiting for an appointment to get on a regular schedule and he was due to be seen that Friday. He said he'd been trying to get an appointment for weeks and finally the doctor at the satellite clinic where he'd been seen earlier in the day had sent him to the ER to be treated.
I don't know who is right or wrong in that situation. I find that if you do as instructed, make the calls when told to do so, follow-up and so on, you get where you need to get and it isn't all that difficult most of the time. I've had long waits to see certain specialists and when the wait seemed too long, I asked one of my "advocates" to pulse the system. It worked. Yet I could hear the frustration in this man's voice when he said "I did what they told me, but I keep winding up back here." At least he got some relief from his pain before I was allowed to go home that evening.
The men and women seeking care at the VA have served our nation. They shouldn't be allowed to die while waiting for care.
* * *
You've probably seen the ads. Or read about them. Here's a couple:
Here's an ad that's even more interesting:
I guess diversity is okay among women he wants at his events, just not among men at his basketball games.
* * *
I want to make this very, very clear. There is absolutely no connection between today (May 4th) and the Star Wars universe, in spite of the fact there is a "May the 4th Be With You" graphic on the front page of www.starwars.com. If it were to be an accurate graphic, it would be "May the $th Be With You" because the attempt to tie this date to the franchise is strictly an attempt to make money.
The original film was released on May 25th, not May 4th. That anniversary is three weeks hence. Tonight, all over the land, trivia games focused on the original trilogy are being played by one trivia company. Considering these games are being played at $5 per player, winning teams take all, the stakes are big. Wonder how many of those games will include a question on when the movie actually opened in 1977 and how many of those players will be confused by that question.
I find that I'm not as excited about the upcoming Episode VII, probably for the same reasons I wasn't all that excited about "Godfather III." It just took too long to come to pass. By the time Episode VII opens next year, 32 years will have gone by since we saw the Emperor fall (literally and figuratively) and the Rebellion finally succeed. Mark Hamill, who is someone I like personally, think very highly of, and whose amazing talents are truly underappreciated, will be 64 years old when the film opens next year. Harrison Ford is nine years older than Hamill.
I know Episode VII is set 35 years in the future after Episode VI. I get it. But I was enthralled by the young Luke Skywalker, the young Han Solo and their swashbuckling adventures. I'm sure I'll enjoy Star Wars, Episode VII. But it won't be what it could have been, had this protracted delay not taken place.
* * *
One last thought involving fours and May 4th. I've been hearing all about the four Americans who were killed at Benghazi in September of 2012 over the past few days. I've also heard very little about the following four Americans:
Allison Krause
Jeffrey Miller
Sandra Scheuer
William Schroeder
The four were students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, when they were shot and killed by National Guard soldiers. No, all four weren't shot in the back. That's an urban myth. So is the claim that both of the two women were not involved in the protest, merely walking to class. That's true of Ms Scheuer but not of Ms Krause.
44 years have passed but I remember watching this unfold on the television news like it was yesterday. Somewhere between 60 and 70 shots were fired at unarmed students by heavily armed soldiers who claim they were in fear for their lives. To this day, the Ohio National Guard has refused to admit any wrongdoing, releasing only a "statement of regret."
As politicians rush to make hay out of the tragic loss of American lives at Benghazi, it's important to remember that lots of Americans die because our government does stupid stuff. All such deaths should be fully investigated, not just that which will garner voter support at the polls.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
How ironic is it that during production of the first Star Wars film, George Lucas said that he was trying to make "a Disney film" and now Episode VII will be just that? Speaking of Episode VII, Jenny Craig will pay $20 million to the Industrial Light & Magic Company if they can make Carrie Fisher look like this for the upcoming movie:
Having fluid leaking slowly but regularly from your leg is annoying, painful and hard on your socks. Good thing it's only present in one leg.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised I haven't watched even one episode of nine of 11 television programs that one critic says should be saved from potential cancellation.
Doc Rivers deserves a special award for coaching his team through one of the most difficult weeks any professional sports franchise has ever had to deal with.
Was that really Kathleen Sebelius providing tech support to President Obama during his remarks at dinner last night? Talk about the blind leading the blind (or from what I hear, the blind leaving the tech savvy).
Doing push-ups in the road is dangerous. Doing push-ups in the road while naked is downright weird.
If students don't want someone to speak at their commencement, they have every right to protest. But it would be better if college administrations would involve the student population in the choice of commencement speaker, so invitees don't have to be forced to withdraw, or speak in an uncomfortable atmosphere.
In Brazil, a toilet bowl was thrown from the stands by fans upset by the result of a soccer match. The toilet hit a 26 year old man, killing him instantly. I won't add the very tempting groaner of a pun.
Chelsea Handler wants "no-strings attached, casual sex" or so she's telling people. I'm sure she can get that at anytime she wants. I also believe her when she says that's what she wants. She is the last person on the planet who would be less than honest about something like that.
Seeing a story about Gwyneth Paltrow having a "yard sale" of gently used clothing items from herself and her fellow female celebrities reminded me of the gigantic garage sale held once by the school where I used to work. That was a nightmare affair that went on for days and at the end, I was afraid we'd be paying people to haul the remnants away. That's not going to happen to Nicole Richie's Louboutin heels or a pair of Beyoncé's boots from her recent tour.
When a reporter asks a candidate "is climate change a myth" and the candidate responds with "yes", asking for their position on the existence of the Easter Bunny is not an appropriate question. Even if you are a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter.
If you buy Willie Nelson's old tour bus, make sure to have it thoroughly cleansed before driving in any area where marijuana possession is still illegal. Otherwise drug dogs will hit on your new vehicle.
* * *
May 4th in History:
1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
1436 – Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
1471 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
1675 – King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
1686 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
1776 – Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
1814 – Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
1814 – King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.
1836 – Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians
1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay is fought in Japan.
1871 – The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1886 – Haymarket affair: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
1902 – 8 fishermen lose their lives in Galway Bay, County Galway, Ireland in the Galway Bay drowning tragedy.
1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
1904 – Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England.
1910 – The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
1912 – Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
1919 – May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
1932 – In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
1945 – World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
1945 – World War II: German surrender at Lüneburg Heath, the North German Army surrenders to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
1945 – World War II: Denmark is granted liberation, when Germany was forced to step out of Denmark thus ending 5 years of occupation.
1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
1949 – The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
1953 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
1959 – The 1st Grammy Awards are held.
1961 – American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: the Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States' invasion of Cambodia.
1972 – The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation".
1974 – An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire. (I remember my then girlfriend calling me after this happened, as she was working nearby)
1989 – Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
1990 – Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
2002 – An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff, killing 149 people.
2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mi wide EF5 tornado—the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Famous Folk Born on May 4th:
Henry I of France
Kangxi, Emperor of China
John Brooks
Horace Mann
William H. Prescott
Francis Spellman
Dory Funk, Sr. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4eSebzMxo)
Maynard Ferguson
Hosni Mubarak (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG8XgimMbs4)
Betsy Rawls
Audrey Hepburn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JfS90u-1g8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B2NHCcmZ8Q and I wish I could have found a clip of Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire" saying 'That's more than a dress, that's an Audrey Hepburn movie.')
Katherine Jackson
Mr. Fuji (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIsW_yxJvP0 I bet Yokozuna had some 'salty' language for his manager after this miscue)
Dick Dale (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3h9p_c5-M)
Robin Cook
George Will
Nickolas Ashford (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NEbe_brJAQ)
Richard Jenkins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgC_WU5l-LQ)
Jackie Jackson
Marilyn Martin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGho9jMeSck)
Pia Zadora (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6OnoCf52Hw how she beat out Kathleen Turner for "Best New Star" Golden Globe for 1981 is beyond my comprehension, unless her big bucks husband at the time greased some palms)
Randy Travis
Will Arnett
Erin Andrews (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75igz3KKCRI)
Lance Bass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyBaA7zHk0U)
Rory McIlroy
posted by me at 9:46 PM
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