Commercial Sales Associate

Looking for Sales Associate with a following.  Your area of expertise should be with any titled rolling stock;  New or Used Ambulances, Trucks, Street Sweepers,Tow Trucks, Buses,  any commercial vehicle.  National Scope.  Hi Commission with benefits. 

Curt Webster, CVLE  516 922-7447

We are an independent automobile, truck, and commercial equipment leasing company with over 36 years serving the best customers in the United States.

carleaseusa.com

Looking to Hire the Best!

If you are located in the Mid-Atlantic region with a book of customers and limited funding, we should talk. Email resume to: resume@libertyfg.com
Call Tom at 800-422-1844

About the Company: Liberty is a regional self-funded finance company specializing in hard assets at good rates. 

VENDOR SALES SPECIALISTS
LEASING SALES PROFESSIONALS

Like selling vendor programs and large transactions?
Enjoy international financing programs?
Prefer the advantages of a commission only environment with the security of health and welfare benefits?

CLICK HERE to find out how to have fun again.

    Breakfast was the main meal of the day in Colonial America. At the turn of the 19th century, most Americans had plenty to eat, but few enjoyed a balanced diet. Farmers grew their own food and shot wild game. In the cities that lack of refrigeration and even of canning until about 1820 meant that much sale pork and other preserved items were staples. Fresh fruits and vegetables were not available for much of the year. Foreign visitors were impressed by the amount of greasy food consumed by Americans and the speed at which it was eaten. A visiting French count reported that he was nearly made ill by breakfast that included fist, steak, ham, sausage, salt beef and hot breads. " The whole day passes in heaping indigestion on one another."The English had a similar view, " They eat with the greatest possible rapidity and in total silence...(breakfast consisted of ) cornbread, buns, buckwheat cakes, broiled chickens, bacon, steak, rich hominy, fish, fresh and pickled, and beef-steak." Charles Dickens was repelled by those dyspeptic ladies and gentlemen who eat unheard-of quantities of hot corn bread..."
    1741-Andrew Bradford published “The American Magazine, “ just three days ahead of Benjamin Franklin's “General Magazine.”He had been in Franklin's employ long enough to learn the trade and beat his old boss to the street with his publication.
    1784 -Ice flows blocked the Mississippi River at New Orleans, then passed into the Gulf of Mexico.
    1826 -The American Temperance Society (later renamed the American Temperance Union) was organized in Boston. It quickly grew into a national crusade, and within a decade over 8,000 similar groups had been formed, boasting a total of 1.5 million members.
    1831-Birthday of Union General John Rawlins, born in Galena, Illinois. Rawlins was a close personal aide to General Ulysses S. Grant and was reported to have kept Grant from drinking heavily during the war. Rawlins' family was originally from Virginia but had settled in Illinois shortly before Rawlins' birth. When Rawlins was a teenager, his father abandoned the family and headed for the gold fields of California. The younger Rawlins received little formal education, but he studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1854. He became the city attorney in 1857 and became involved in state politics. He was an avid supporter of Senator Stephen Douglas and served as an elector for Douglas in 1860. When the war began, Rawlins became the aide de camp to Grant. He was Grant's principle staff officer throughout the war, and Grant said that Rawlins was nearly indispensable. Grant was known to be a heavy drinker when he served on the frontier in the 1850s, and there were rumors that he continued to drink during the early stages of the war. Rawlins appears to have been instrumental in keeping Grant “ in line.” Many reports of Grant's drinking were over-exaggerated, it is said. After the war, Rawlins served in the west. He helped General Greenville Dodge survey the route for the Union Pacific Railroad, which later became part of the first transcontinental line. For his efforts, the town of Rawlins, Wyoming, was named after him. When Grant became president in 1869, Rawlins became secretary of war. His health declined after taking office, and he died just six months later. Rawlins is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/sw-sa/Rawlins.htm
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/jrawlins.htm
http://www.mscomm.com/~ulysses/page47.html
    1847 - General Kearney acts on orders to establish a new government in Monterey while Freemont still acts a governor in Los Angeles.
    1861- Colonel Bernard Irwin distinguished himself while leading troops in a battle with Chiricahua Apache Indians at Apache Pass, AZ (at the time part of the territory of New Mexico).  For two days, this army assistant surgeon “ voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated the hostile Indians he met on the way.” For those actions, Irwin later became the first person awarded the new US Medal of Honor, although he didn't actually received it until three years later(January 24, 1864).
    1866- the famous James Gang, which operated in Missouri after the Civil War, which included the James brothers, Frank and Jesse, and the Younger brothers, Cole, James and Robert, held up their first bank at the Clay County Savings and Loan Association in Liberty, MO.  The cashiers, brothers Greenup and William Bird, were locked in the bank's vault, while the robbers joked that “all birds should be cared.” The made off with $60,000 in currency and securities. It was the first of more than 26 raids by the James Gang that yield more than $500,000 in loot.
    1892- Grant Wood ,American artist, especially noted for his powerful realism and satirical paintings of the American scene, was born near Anamosa, IA. He was a printer, sculptor, woodworker and high school and college teacher. Among his best-remembered works are American Gothic, Fall Plowing and Stone City. Died at Iowa City, IA, Feb 12, 1942.
http://www.blueroom.com/AMGOTHIC/amgothic.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA98/haven/wood/intro.html
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811812421/macinsearch08-20/702-4688379-2551201
http://www.byways.org/travel/byway.html?CX_BYWAY=2183
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/Chronicle/servlet/at/go(review,0811812421)
( four down: http://sunsite.auc.dk/cgfa/w/w-4.htm )
    1899 -on the edge of the greatest arctic outbreak of all-time, a vicious blizzard pounded the mid-Atlantic and New England states. 20 inches of snow fell at Washington, DC and 34 inches fell at Cape May, New Jersey. The central pressure of the storm was estimated to be 966 millibars (28.53 inches) just southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. It was the coldest morning ever along the Gulf Coast, with temperatures of 6.8 degrees at New Orleans, Louisiana, 7 degrees at Pensacola, Florida and 1 degree below zero at Mobile, Alabama. The record low temperature for the state of Florida was set at Tallahassee when the mercury tumbled to 2 degrees below zero. The record low temperature for the state of Louisiana was set at Minden, when the thermometer fell to 16 degrees below zero. A trace of snow fell at Fort Myers, Florida. This was the farthest south snow has ever been observed in the US until 1977. On the edge of the greatest arctic outbreak of all time, a vicious blizzard pounded the mid-Atlantic and New England states. 20 inches of snow fell at Washington, DC and 34 inches fell at Cape May, New Jersey. The central pressure of the storm was estimated to be 966 millibars (28.53 inches) just southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
    1899 -1ºF (-18ºC) New Orleans LA
    1899 -2ºF (-19ºC) Tallahassee FL (state record)
    1899 -16ºF (-27ºC), Minden LA (state record)
    1899-the coldest temperature ever recorded at Dayton, Ohio occurred when it dropped to 28 degrees below zero.
    1904-Birthday of trumpet player Wingy Manone
http://www.redhotjazz.com/wingy.html weekday)
    1905 -29ºF (-34ºC) Pond AR (state record)
    1905 -40ºF (-40ºC) Lebanon KS (state record)
    1905 -40ºF (-40ºC) Warsaw MO (state record)
    1914- the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers was formed in New York City.  The object of th4e society was to protect the copyrighter musical compositions of its members against illegal public performance for profit or other forms of infringement, and to collect license fees for authorized performances in public amusement establishments for distribution among its members.  George Maxwell was the first president.  It became affiliated with similar societies functioning in foreign countries.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb13.html
    1919-Birthday of country and religious singer Tennessee Ernie Ford, whose full name was Ernest Jennings Ford,  born in Bristol, Tennessee. He was nicknamed "the Ol' Peapicker," and is best known for his 1955 hit "Sixteen Tons," which sold four-million copies. But Ford had his first hit, "Mule Train," in 1949. The success of "Sixteen Tons" gained Ford an NBC television series, which ran from 1955 to 1961 and was very popular. During his career, Tennessee Ernie Ford has also recorded many religious albums. One of them was awarded a platinum disc in 1963 for one-million copies sold. Ford died in Reston, Virginia on October 17th, 1991.
    1920-After his plan to bring Negro teams to the Majors was rejected by commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis, Chicago Negro baseball tycoon Andrew "Rube" Foster organized the Negro National League. Eight teams joined in its inaugural season: the Chicago American Giants, Chicago Giants, Cuban Stars, Dayton Marcos, Detroit Stars, Indianapolis ABCs, Kansas City Monarchs, and St. Louis Giants.
http://my.execpc.com/~sshivers/foster.html
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/foster_rube.htm
http://www.nlbpa.com/foster__andrew_-_rube.html
http://www.enel.net/beisbol/player/fostr101.asp
http://www.all-sports-posters.com/negro-baseball-league.html
http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/fosterrube.shtml
    1921- tenor sax player Wardell Gray, Oklahoma City, OK
http://www.oklahomajazz.com/w_gray.htm
    1920-After his plan to bring Negro teams to the Majors was rejected by commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis, Chicago Negro baseball tycoon Andrew "Rube" Foster organized the Negro National League. Eight teams joined in its inaugural season: the Chicago American Giants, Chicago Giants, Cuban Stars, Dayton Marcos, Detroit Stars, Indianapolis ABCs, Kansas City Monarchs, and St. Louis Giants.
http://my.execpc.com/~sshivers/foster.html
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/foster_rube.htm
http://www.nlbpa.com/foster__andrew_-_rube.html
http://www.enel.net/beisbol/player/fostr101.asp
http://www.all-sports-posters.com/negro-baseball-league.html
    1927-Birthday of tenor sax player Buck Hill, Washington, DC
    1931--Ted Lewis' version of "Just A Gigolo" is the most popular tune in America. David Lee Roth would score a number 12 hit with the same song in 1985.
    1935- Bruno Hauptmann found guilty of kidnap & murder of Lindbergh's infant. Some believe it was Lindbergh's sister who suffered from mental illness, and expressed jealousy of the young baby. It is claimed that there never was conducive evidence the crime was committed by Hauptmann.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials26.htm
    1936 -The Lutheran Army and Navy Commission was organized by the Missouri Synod for the purpose of commissioning chaplains for military service and to minister to Lutheran personnel among the military overseas. In 1947 its name was changed to the Armed Services Commission.
    1938-Birthday of Bunny Sheppard of the Ukranian-Canadian pop music duo Mickey and Bunny, in Rosa, Manitoba. Mickey and Bunny were popular in the 1960's
    1939—In  Martinez, California, Italian-American Mario. Cowell recorded Olmeda's rendition of six Italian folk songs, including "Marinaro (The Sailor)," and "La Capinera (The Blackbird)," a song he had learned, he said, from his father. The musical heritage of numerous ethnic groups representative of the diverse peoples who settled in the San Francisco Bay Area are in California Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties, 1938-1940, including
Armenians,
Basques, and
Croatians.
The collection may also be browsed by Subject,
Performers,
Musical Instruments,
or by individual Audio Titles. A term such as guitar, Portuguese or wedding may also be used to search the collection
( lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb13.html )
    1940- Earl “Fatha” Hines records “Boogie Woogie,” “St. Louis Blues.”
http://www.redhotjazz.com/hines.html
    1941- Woody Herman band records its theme, “ Blue Flame.”
    1945- Allied fire bombing caused a firestorm in Dresden, Germany. The air force had discovered fire was more destructive than heavy bombs and began utilizing them in raids over Germany and then in Japan.  This strategy is credited with shortening the war and saving thousands of allied lives. More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft. The firestorm created by the two days of bombing set the city burning for many more days, littering the streets with charred corpses, including many children. Eight square miles of the city was ruined, and the total body count was between 35,000 and 135,000 (an approximation is all that was possible given that the city was filled with many refugees from farther east). The hospitals that were left standing could not handle the numbers of injured and burned, and mass burials became necessary. Among the American POWs who were in Dresden during the raid was novelist Kurt Vonnegut, who conveyed his experience in his classic antiwar novel Slaughterhouse Five.
http://www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/index.html
http://www.researchpaper.com/forums/Arts_and_Entertainment/messages/47.html
    1944-Birthday of Peter Tork of the manufactured-for-television group, the Monkees, was born in Washington, DC. The success of the Monkees' TV show beginning in 1966 led to their singles and albums selling in the millions. Their hits included "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Peter Tork was one of two members of the quartet who actually could play an instrument when he was chosen for the group. Tork was the first to leave the Monkees, in 1968. The other three members went their separate ways a year later. Three of the Monkees reunited in 1986 for a successful tour and a hit album.
    1946—African-American Isaac Woodward, Jr., discharged from the Army only a few hours, was on his way home when he had his eyes gouged out in Batesburg, South Carolina, by the town chief of police, Linwood Shull. Woodward was traveling on a bus from Atlanta, Ga. to Winnsboro, S.C. About an hour out of Atlanta, Woodward had an altercation with the bus driver. At Batesburg, S.C., the driver called the police and ordered Woodward out. Chief of police Linwood Shull struck Woodward across the head with a billy, and in jail gouged out his eyes, blinding him for life. On November 5, however, an all-white federal jury acquitted Shull after being out for 15 minutes. Shull's attorney had stated to the jury.
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/blind.html
    1948—Top Hits
Ballerina - Vaughn Monroe
I'll Dance at Your Wedding - Buddy Clark with The Ray Noble Orchestra
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
    1949-Actor-director Jack Webb, creator of the hit radio and TV series Dragnet, gets his start in realistic crime drama with the radio show Pat Novak for Hire, which makes its national network debut this day on ABC. Jack Webb played Novak, whose deadpan, hard-boiled delivery foreshadowed Dragnet's Joe Friday. The show ran for only about four months.  Webb was raised by his mother in Southern California. After high school graduation, he spent four years in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, working a desk job. He started his radio career in San Francisco and soon landed his role in Pat Novak for Hire. In 1949, he was chosen to play the role of Lt. Lee Jones in He Walked by Night, and it was there that he met Marty Wynn, a sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department who was working as a technical adviser for the program. Webb's conversations with Wynn-and an invitation to review real LAPD case files-spurred Webb to develop Dragnet as a radio show. CBS rejected the show, but NBC agreed to give Webb's program a trial run in 1949, even though his show lacked a sponsor. Eighteen weeks later, cigarette company Chesterfield agreed to sponsor the show, a partnership that lasted for seven years. The television debut of Dragnet, four years after the radio program began, marked the beginning of realistic TV police dramas. Webb starred as Sgt. Joe Friday and narrated the shows in a documentary style, turning "Just the facts, ma'am" into a national catchphrase. Episodes were based on real cases from the Los Angeles Police Department, and each half-hour segment concluded with the capture of the perpetrator, followed by a short synopsis of what happened at the suspect's trial. My late father Lawrence Menkin wrote several of the Dragnet stories from actual cases from a Los Angeles policeman who wanted to become a writer and collaborated with my father ( sorry, don't remember his name or what ever happened to him. ) My father was an old radio writer that got him in with Webb, and that the fact the person co-writing the scripts with him was an actual uniformed LA police officer, sold many of the stories they wrote. Another bit of trivia, one of my best friend in high school's father joined the second series as Sgt. Ben Romero ( Harry Morgan). Dragnet was resurrected in 1967 under the name Dragnet '67 and ran for another two years, focusing this time on helping citizens in distress and community service rather than high-intensity crime. In 1987, Dragnet was revived again, this time as a spoof feature film starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. The TV show reappeared two years later as a syndicated series, airing in the 1989-90 season in New York and Los Angeles only, then nationally syndicated the following season. Dragnet currently again in on TV and we shall see where it goes.  Webb, whose other television series included Emergency! and Adam 12, died of a heart attack in 1982 and was buried with full LAPD honors. The LAPD retired the badge he wore on Dragnet, sergeant's badge No. 714, and erected a memorial to him on the LAPD Academy grounds.
http://timstvshowcase.com/
    1953 - Senator Edwin Johnson warned major league baseball owners not to televise their games nationwide. The Senator said broadcasting the games to a national audience would threaten the survival of minor league baseball. Major league owners did not share the Senator's opinion, and games, especially those on NBC, had a large following.
    1954- Guitar Slim's "The Things that I Used to Do" hits #1 R&B
    1955-- Elvis Presley performs at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, TX, billed as "The Be-Bop Western Star of the Louisiana Hayride." It is the first concert booked through Col. Tom Parker. Also on the bill that day: Buddy and Bob, a country duo featuring a eighteen-year-old Buddy Holly.
    1956—Top Hits
Rock and Roll Waltz - Kay Starr
No, Not Much! - The Four Lads
Teenage Prayer - Gale Storm
Why Baby Why - Red Sovine & Webb Pierce
    1959- Barbie doll goes on sale. (Yesterday they announced Ken and Barbie were divorced!!!!)
http://www.marlbe.com/view.cfm?edit_id=26
http://collectdolls.about.com/library/blbarbiefacts.htm
http://www.barbie.com/activities/calendar/downloads/
http://www.barbiecollectibles.com/index-home.asp
    1961- Frank Sinatra unveiled his own record label, Reprise (www.repriserec.com). Sinatra had a low opinion of rock music but nonetheless the label would release recordings by the Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix and the Kinks.
    1961- Lawrence Welk's "Calcutta" hits #1
    1964—Top Hits
I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
You Don't Own Me - Leslie Gore
Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um - Major Lance
Begging to You - Marty Robbins
    1965- President Lyndon B. Johnson decides to undertake the sustained bombing of North Vietnam that he and his advisers have been contemplating for a year. He thought he could run the war better than his generals.  It is said he did not want “the enemy” to think that he was “soft.” Earlier in the month, the president had ordered Operation Flaming Dart in response to communist attacks on U.S. installations in South Vietnam. These retaliatory raids did not have the desired effect of causing the North Vietnamese to cease support of Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam, and out of frustration, Johnson turned to a more extensive use of airpower. Called Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing campaign was designed to interdict North Vietnamese transportation routes in the southern part of North Vietnam and slow infiltration of personnel and supplies into South Vietnam. The first Rolling Thunder mission took place on March 2, 1965, when 100 U.S. Air Force and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF  planes struck the Xom Bang ammunition dump 100 miles southeast of Hanoi. In July 1966, Rolling Thunder was expanded to include North Vietnamese ammunition dumps and oil storage facilities, and in the spring of 1967, it was further expanded to include power plants, factories, and airfields in the Hanoi-Haiphong area. Operation Rolling Thunder was closely controlled by the White House and at times targets were personally selected by President Johnson. From 1965 to 1968, about 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam. A total of nearly 900 U.S. aircraft were lost during Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation continued, with occasional suspensions, until President Johnson, under increasing domestic political pressure, halted it on October 31, 1968.
    1965 - Sixteen-year-old Peggy Fleming won the ladies senior figure skating title at Lake Placid, NY. Fleming would go on to win Olympic gold, and as a professional skater, signed a long-term, $500,000 contract for several commercial endorsements that lasted for years. She appeared in TV specials and performed with the "Ice Follies" and "Holiday on Ice" and was elected to the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the Olympic Hall of Fame.
    1965-Motown group Jr. Walker & the All Stars enter both the pop and R&B charts for the first time with "Shotgun," which establishes the group's trademark hard-driving "roadhouse" R&B sound. The song makes it to Number One on the R&B charts and #4 on the pop chart.
    1965-- Gary Lewis and the Playboys record "Count Me In"
    1966- the Rolling Stones made their first appearance on American television, on "The Ed Sullivan Show" from New York.  It was tape recorded the day before.
    1967- The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever" b/w "Penny Lane"
    1969- The Doors' "Touch Me" is certified gold
    1969- Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" is certified gold
    1969- the New York Stock Exchange board of governors approved the admission of the first African-American, Joseph Louis Stearles III, a partner in the brokerage firm of Newburger, Loeb and Company.
    1969-The Doors' single "Touch Me" and Sly and the Family Stone's single "Everyday People" win gold records.
    1970-The Jaggerz, a six piece group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, entered the Billboard chart with a song called "The Rapper". Although the tune would rise to #2 during an eleven week run, it would be the band's only chart appearance.
    1971 - The Osmonds, a family singing group from Ogden, Utah, started a five-week stay at the top of the pop music charts with "One Bad Apple". The song, featuring little Donny Osmond, also showcased the talent of older brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay Osmond. They were regulars on Andy Williams' television show from 1962-1967. The group got their start in 1959 as a religious and barbershop quartet. Together, the Osmonds had 10 singles in four years, and four of the songs were top ten hits.
http://www.researchpaper.com/forums/Arts_and_Entertainment/messages/47.html
    1972—Top Hits
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Without You - Nilsson
Precious and Few - Climax
One's on the Way - Loretta Lynn
    1974-Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille, better known as The Captain & Tennille, were married in Virginia City, Nevada.
    1974- the heavily-publicized Bob Dylan and the Band tour ended at the Forum in Los Angeles. Many of the tracks on Dylan's  "Before the Flood" album were recorded at this concert.
    1977-Birthday of football player Randy Moss, Rand, WV.
    1980—Top Hits
Rock with You - Michael Jackson
Do that to Me One More Time - The Captain & Tennille
Coward of the County - Kenny Rogers
Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight - The Oak Ridge Boys
    1981-On this day, Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of Moon" becomes the longest-running rock LP on the Billboard chart, finishing up its 402nd week. The two LPs that have charted longer are Johnny Mathis' "Greatest Hits" (490 weeks) and the "My Fair Lady Original Cast Recording" (480 weeks).
    1988-Now a party classic, Buster Poindexter's (a.k.a. David Johansen) "Hot Hot Hot" peaks at #45 on the chart.
    1988-Michael Jackson buys a ranch in Santa Ynez, California that he dubs "Neverland".
    1988—Top Hits
Could've Been - Tiffany
Seasons Change - Expose
I Want to Be Your Man - Roger
Wheels - Restless Heart
    1989- Cliff Richard received a special lifetime achievement award at the British Phonographic Industry BRITS awards show in London. He was cited as being the most enduring pop star Britain has produced.
    1990- Bryan Trottier  of the New York Islanders scored the 500^th goal of his career in a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. Trottier finished his career with 524 goals and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.
    1990- Drexel Files for Bankruptcy
After spending a good part of the 1980s wheeling and dealing its way to the top of the financial world, the Drexel Burnham Lambert Group saw its empire crumble by the dawn of the 1990s. For a good spell, Drexel Burnham was barely a blip on Wall Street's radar. However, Drexel's head of bond trading, Michael Milken, helped change the firm's fortunes by focusing his efforts on the junk bond market. A long ignored sector of the investment industry, junk bonds focused on the buying and selling of high-risk, high-yield bonds issued by fledgling companies, as well as concerns with poor credit ratings. By the 1980s, junk bonds were booming, thanks in large part to the troubled savings and loan industry, which turned to the bonds in hopes of boosting their sagging fortunes. Drexel, which, thanks to Milken, dominated this market, fast became a Wall Street heavyweight. But, the firm's woes began in 1988 as the economy, which had boomed its way through the middle of the decade, turned sour. Prices of junk bonds plunged, which not only created a nasty financial mess, but also focused a spotlight on Milken and Drexel's less than savory practices. The government initiated a probe into the firm and its star trader: the investigation found Milken guilty of various securities infractions, including skimming generous amounts from depositors' funds; it also revealed a rat's nest of corruption and shady deals at Drexel Burnham. A trial ensued and the government slapped the firm with $650 million in fines. Coupled with the Drexel Burnham's sizable, and expensive, backstock of junk bonds, the fines placed a considerable burden on the firm's finances. By early 1990 Drexel had run out of funds and, on this day in 1990, filed for bankruptcy.
    1992 - Oakland Athletics star José Canseco rammed his Porsche intentionally into his estranged wife Esther's BMW after a dispute. Local new reports also said he spat on her windshield. Esther Canseco, age 25 and a former Miss Miami beauty queen, did not want to press charges. However, in a criminal assault case, the state had the option of pressing ahead without her cooperation or consent.
    1992-Wayne's World, the motion picture starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, opens in movie theaters across the US. The soundtrack includes cuts from Queen, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
    1996-Pointcast, an obscure company in Cupertino, California, announced a beta version of a free service that grabbed Web pages and information from the Internet and then displayed the data on the user's screen. By 1995, Netscape dominated the browser war, but Pointcast was their first challenge. The service became the year's most popular product, creating a near hysteria in the industry over Pointcast's so-called "push" technology. Media pundits predicted the end was near for the Web browser. By the following year, however, the limitations of push technologies became clear, and the hype died down. It seemed the death of the browser had been much exaggerated.  Microsoft was to adopt the technology, and began bundling their program in their operating software, actually preventing Netscape from operating, making it the exclusive browser.
http://www.hmetzger.de/netscape/Netscape_History.html
    1997 - The Dow-Jones Index of 30 major industrial stocks topped the 7,000 mark for the first time.
    1997- Michael Jackson became a father when his wife, Deborah Rowe Jackson, gave birth to a son at a Los Angeles hospital. Jackson had announced in November that Rowe, a nurse who worked with the singer's dermatologist, was six months pregnant with his child. They married later that month in Sydney, Australia, where Jackson was on tour.
    1997- the Dow Jones this day, an index of 30 major industrial stocks, topped the 7,000 mark for the first time.
    1999 - Monica's "Angel of Mine" was the #1 top-40 hit in the U.S.: “I look at you, lookin' at me; Now I know why they say the best things are free; I'm gonna love you boy you are so fine; Angel of Mine.”

Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy the long three day weekend.
Kit Menkin, editor