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Friday, January 29, 2010



Singer Jonny Lang (born Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr.) January 29, 1981 in Fargo, North Dakota. Lang has toured with the Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, and Sting. A Grammy Award for his album "Turn Around," multi-platinum "Lie to Me" and "Wander this World." He is nominated for Best Gospel Performance and to see if he wins, watch the Grammy Awards January 31, CBS-TV. http://www.jonnylang.com/
http://www.myspace.com/jonnylang


Headlines---

Louisiana Alert---Up-date
 Classified Ads---Senior Management
New Business Fourth Quarter: UP!
 by Christopher Menkin
From the desk of Michael J. Witt
 Don’t Forget to Address the Security Deposit
  Classified Ads---Help Wanted
February 9th AZELA Meeting
 Placard---My Husband is the Boss
Tomorrow in History—Beatles on the Rooftop
 (Mel Gibson) Edge of Darkness/The White Ribbon
  Good Hair/New York, I Love You/Zombieland
   Fernando Croce Movie/DVD Reviews
 Credit Card Statements New Look in February
  Increase credit access to franchised small biz
   Syracuse, New York --- Adopt-a-Dog
News Briefs ---
 Leasing Companies Laud Obama's Speech
  American Leasing Corp. Ex-Prz gets 5 years
   Fed chief Bernanke wins 2nd term closest vote
    Mortgage rates recede for 4th week
     Amazon profit climbs 71% in 4th quarter
 Microsoft earnings jump on PC sales rebound
  Will Apple's new iPad upend publishing industry?
   J. D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91
    Elin Nordegren Hopes to Save Her Marriage
  You May have Missed---
   California Nut Briefs
    Sports Briefs
  Gimme that wine
 Today's Top Event in History
    This Day in American History
     Football Poem
      SuDoku
       Daily Puzzle
        GasBuddy
  Weather, USA or specific area
     Traffic Live----

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”


[headlines]

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Louisiana Alert---Up-date


In October, Leasing News printed an alert from Lease Police. "...The underground silo in East Texas was a sham and a small North Texas Bank that gave it a $3.9 Million "Katrina Loan" is out of luck along with a number of large leasing companies which did medium six figure leases." At the time, the company could not be named, but now it can.

"We did not publish any names in order to protect those funders who needed to position themselves legally but it can now be told that the Louisiana lessee was GMD International, Inc. dba Nolatek of Houma, La. The Texas bank foreclosed on the $3.9 Million loan and has repossessed its collateral. They are waiting out the various equipment lessors to lay claim to their equipment. There are still questions in my mind which may require more investigation:

"1-Phones are disconnected. Is the owner still overseas and what is the legal status? Bankruptcy?

"2-The warehouse as an underground silo in Terrell, Texas which seemed preposterous at first was actually true. What was preposterous was having a warehouse 467 miles and over a 7 hour drive from the home office in Houma, La.

"3- How could a firm lease a piece of equipment for $43,250 (probably was used) and sell it on EBAY for $2000?

"4-What is to be done on the vendor to all of the equipment leases? Were they actual new equipment sales, sale/lease-backs or outright frauds?"

Regards,
Bernie Boettigheimer CLP
President
Lease Police, Inc.
972-361-8111
214-549-3426-cell
www.leasepolice.com

((Please Click on Bulletin Board to learn more information))
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

[headlines]

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Classified Ads---Senior Management


Europe
25+ yrs exper. management roles Chase, AT&T Capital, Heller Financial, SFS. Develop biz from “scratch to success”. Looking for challenging & pioneering job.
Email: frans@alliedproperty.net

Philadelphia, PA
27 yrs. exp. sales, ops., credit, strategy, P&L mngmet. Most recently created & executed the biz plans for 2 highly successful Bank-owned small ticket leasing subsidiaries.
email: mccarthy2020@comcast.net
Philadelphia Metro Area - 30 Years experience Healthcare sales/ management- 3 years experience newly create "small-ticket" healthcare division.
Good success - Mitch Utz
215-460-4483
Email: mitutz@msn.com


For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

Other e-Mail Posting Sites:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Posting_sites.htm

SEATTLE

  

Meet and learn from Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Leasing #102 columnist for Leasing News,
long time educator and trainer

Sales and Operations
click here for course information and to register

April 12th until Noon on the 14th
Seattle, Washington
Hosted by Financial Pacific

$395.00 Paid in Advance for first person from company
$345 with each additional attendee 

"Certified Leasing Professionals attending this seminar will earn CPEs (Continuing Professional Education)
Credits toward their recertification"


(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column. Opinions
contained in the column are those of Mr. Terry Winders, CLP)


[headlines]

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New Business Fourth Quarter: UP!
by Christopher Menkin


(Leasing News Chart)

This ends the statistics from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association MLFI-25 for the year 2009. I think 2009 was best described by attorney and Alabama Poet Barry S. Marks in his poem "2009...Pffft:"

"Goodbye to ’09, goodbye and GOOD RIDDANCE!"

If you missed Barry’s year-end poem, it is at the end of this ELFA MLFI-25 report.

The opinion about the recovery, and the up-ward trend of the four quarters indicates optimism. It comes strong from ELFA as expressed by Interim President Ralph Petta.


He sent out an announcement: "The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association applauds President Obama for remarks in his State of the Union address focusing on the need to invest in new plant and equipment for all businesses.

“Providing tax incentives for both large and small businesses should provide a much needed economic stimulus to the economy, and spur investment in plant and equipment, which is a key driver in capital formation, economic growth and productivity."

As for 2009 and 2008 statistics:


click for larger image
(ELFA Chart)

December's big spike was down 22 percent compared to the same period in 2008, and while it looks like a 77.5% jump from November to December, the quarterly report brings the year into focus.


click for larger image
(ELFA Chart)

Credit approvals increased slightly to 68 percent when compared to the previous month; compared to the same period in the previous year, credit approvals ratios have improved from 65.5 percent in December 2008. This is the first time this year that credit approval ratios were higher than the previous year.


click for larger image
(ELFA chart)

“For the most part, the positive news in 30-plus-day receivables is a result of improved liquidity, as well as a more disciplined approach during these challenging times that has allowed companies to meet their payment obligations,” said Aylin N. Cankardes, President, Rockwell Financial Group, Centennial, Colorado.


“Lenders spent the last year rebalancing their portfolios, and are now focused on getting back to the core function of supporting their target markets, which always generates a positive trend toward credit approvals.”


click for larger image
(ELFA chart)

“The good news/bad news is that while credit losses showed some improvement," ELFA Interim President Ralph Petta said. "The industry still has a long way to go to return to the kind of positive growth we saw in the pre-recession economy.”


click for larger image
(ELFA chart)

Total headcount for equipment finance companies remained virtually the same in the November-December period.



click for larger image
(ELFA chart)


click for larger image
(ELFA chart)


click for larger image
(ELFA chart)


click for larger image
(ELFA chart)


MLFI Companies:

ADP Credit Corporation
Bank of America
Bank of the West
Canon Financial Services
Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation
CIT
De Lage Landen Financial Services
Dell Financial Services
Fifth Third Bank
First American Equipment Finance
GreatAmerica
Hitachi Credit America
HP Financial Services
John Deere Credit Corporation
Key Equipment Finance
Marlin Leasing Corporation
National City Commercial Corp.
RBS Asset Finance
Regions Equipment Finance
Siemens Financial Services
Susquehanna Commercial Finance, Inc.
US Bancorp
Tygris Vendor Finance
Verizon Capital Corp
Volvo Financial Services
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

2009….Pfffft”
by Barry S. Marks, Alabama Poet
http://leasingnews.org/archives/December%202009/12-31-09.htm#marks_poem



[headlines]
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Don’t Forget to Address the Security Deposit

(This is the start of a Friday column on topical legal issues. Leasing News received questions from discounters regarding assignments to IFC Credit, Puget Sound Leasing, PFF Bank, with one of the concerns about who would be responsible for the security deposit at the end of the lease; often these were 10% or more and required by the first funder. More than likely they were not in escrow, but put into working capital. There also is the issue of a East Coast lessee who’s lease is up with C&J Leasing, a tanning salon, who would like its $11,000 security deposit returned. The lease was assigned to Frontier and the lessee has made all the payments, but Frontier is not responsible and C&J Leasing appears out of business. Michael Witt gave an opinion on it, and that started the idea of a topical column to appear Friday on current issues. This is a first of what is hoped to be advice on current leasing legal issues. Kit Menkin, editor)

In lease assignments, security deposits are sometimes the neglected, stray dog. Too often, in smaller assignment transactions, we see buy-sell documentation that carefully spells out the pricing and the treatment of residuals, and about a hundred other points, but neglects to state specifically how the lessee’s security deposit is to be handled at the end of the lease term. A security deposit is both an asset and liability of the holder, and if the treatment of it is not properly covered in the assignment document, the assignor (seller) or the assignee (buyer) could both end up with frustrated expectations, or worse. Haste and waste.

If the assignor either doesn’t want to sell the residual or otherwise wants to control the lease termination (or renewal) process, then she almost certainly will want to retain the security deposit – in other words, the present value of the deposit won’t be netted out of the assignment price. The assignee, on the other hand, generally, will usually want to take the security deposit. Doing so lowers the assignment price and gives the assignee an additional collection tool. Moreover, what if the assignor who retained the deposit is insolvent or out of business by the time the lease ends? Surely the lessee is going to look to the assignee for the refund, and as a practical matter, the assignee will have a problem to deal with and might even have legal exposure (not to mention a reputation risk), regardless of what the lease and the assignment documents might state on the subject.

To avoid these potential pitfalls, a lease should have a short, simple (and bolded or italicized) clause similar to this: “Lessee agrees that an assignee is not liable for any of Lessor’s obligations or liabilities under this lease, and Lessee further agrees not to assert against an assignee any claim or defense that Lessee may have against Lessor.” And the assignment document should contain a clause similar to this: “This assignment does not include an assumption by the assignee of any of the assignor’s obligations or liabilities under, or related to, the lease” [either “except for” or “including but not limited to” the assignor’s obligations with respect to the security deposit]. (If you need to change your documents, though, make sure to consult your counsel on any special language requirements suggested by your local state law or other factors.)

Michael Witt was Managing Counsel at Wells Fargo & Co and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Advanta Leasing Corporation. He is now in private practice in Iowa.

[headlines]
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Leasing Industry Help Wanted



National Business Development Manager 
With seven years experience including current existing book of business. Remote Office Okay. Click here for more info.

Western Finance & Lease, a subsidiary of Western State Bank established in 1901, solicits originations throughout the US and provides
funding solutions for a wide range of industries.
.
 

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

[headlines]
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Bringing together Funders, Brokers and Services

Tuesday, February 9 – 5 P.M.

Presenting Renowned Speaker, Author and Coach

Connie Kadansky

President of Exceptional Sales Performance, an international consulting and performance improvement practice, specializing in identifying and eliminating Sales Call Reluctance®, will be our 2010 kick off speaker.

Wakening Up Our Sales Sense
Prospecting to Make Money in a Tough Economy

Starfire Golf Club
11500 North Hayden RD
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
480-948-6000

Fee: $25 payable in advance to A.Z.E.L.A.

RSVP by Feb 1 to: Patrick McCann’s email: universal5@cox.net or fax: 480-218-0525

Mail to: Universal Financial Group. Inc. 3021 East Laurel St. Mesa, AZ 85213
Registration includes drink ticket, appetizers, buffet and time to network with your peers.

[headlines]
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[headlines]
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Tomorrow in History—Beatles on the Rooftop

www.theladders.com


“January 30, 1969: With Billy Preston sitting in on keyboards, The Beatles performed in public for the last time when they played a 42 minute rooftop concert above Apple Corps headquarters in London, England. The show was stopped by the police after neighbors complained about the noise. It had been 2½ years since the Beatles had played Candlestick Park, San Francisco, on August 29th, 1966.

“The Beatles were a mess in that January of 1969. The recording of an album tentatively titled 'Get Back' was meant to be a 'back to the basics' return to their roots, but personal problems between the Beatles escalated and culminated in George Harrison's walking out on the band.


Here is the video (“Get Back” only 3:14 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqiAl84ipIk

or a longer version: 10 minutes
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-beatles-rooftop-concert-1-of-2/536018306

or 21:46 (un-cut)
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/music/watch/v254009KXqmsZdc

“After letting feelings calm down a bit, they got together again towards the end of the month at their company's headquarters, Apple Corps, at 3 Saville Row, London.

“With Billy Preston joining on keyboards, the Beatles played a great concert that re-energized them and got them through the rest of the year. Featuring now-classic songs such as "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down", the videos are a wonderful look at the last live performance of the 20th century's greatest music phenomenon.

“And I think the experience is instructive.

“Like the Beatles did, when your job hunt is stuck in recrimination, emotional turmoil, and stale, unproductive patterns, change your environment. Get out of your den, go for a run, shake your head in the breeze, grow a groovy beard like Paul, and change your routine. It will give you a fresh perspective and a new outlook on things.

“Oh, and be sure to be as polite as the always-sly John Lennon when he addressed the audience at the end, saying, "I'd like to say 'Thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition."

“Dig a pony, this week, Readers!”

Marc Cenedella, Founder & CEO
theladders.com
www.cenedella.com/stone
twitter.com/cenedella

Finance Jobs posted this week:
http://finance-jobs.theladders.com/login


1969 VIDEO—Studio Recording with Billy Preston
http://fastfocus.tv/media/GetBack384k.wmv

[headlines]

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Fernando's View
By Fernando F. Croce

Two extreme opposites, the arty “White Ribbon” and the action-packed “Edge of Darkness” hit theater screens this week, while new DVD releases get some big laughs from cultural definitions of beauty (“Good Hair”) and from nerdish ghoul-hunters (“Zombieland”).


The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics): Critically acclaimed Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke (“Funny Games,” “The Piano Teacher”) may finally have his breakout mainstream hit with this meticulously crafted period piece, which seems poised to take home the Best Foreign Picture statuette comes Oscar night. Set in a small German town right before the beginning of World War One, the film unfolds as a tapestry of subtle tales after an accident involving the town doctor kicks off a wave of suspicion and anxiety. The landowning baron, a strict priest and a kind schoolteacher are just a few of the characters in this beautifully shot, intellectually intriguing drama, which remains involving despite its long length.


Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros. Pictures): After taking some time off to concentrate on his directorial career, tough-guy icon Mel Gibson returns to the screen with this punchy action thriller. Gibson plays Thomas Craven, a veteran Boston homicide detective who loses his beloved daughter during a gangland hit. Was she the victim of an underworld vendetta, or was this just the tip of an iceberg of systematic corruption? Looking for answers (and revenge), Craven embarks on a brutal one-man journey. The plot is not exactly original (the Liam Neeson thriller “Taken” had a similar outline), but action specialist Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”) and Gibson’s taut charisma keep things marching along towards an engrossing conclusion.

Netflix tip: Though often praised as one of the world’s greatest filmmakers, Michael Haneke remains a mostly unknown figure with American audiences. As a primer for “The White Ribbon,” viewers may want to hit Netflix for a crash-course on Haneke’s world. The movies (“The Seventh Continent,” “Time of the Wolf,” “Caché”) may not exactly make for light and easy viewing, but there’s no denying their artistic skill and integrity.

New on DVD:

Good Hair (Roadside Attractions): Ever wonder what goes in all the products needed to make women's hair silky? Asked by his young daughters about what makes "good hair," comedian Chris Rock sets out to find out in this lively and informative documentary. To look for an answer, he visits beauty salons, barbershops, laboratories, factories, and even Indian temples, and talks to a variety of actresses, specialists, and scientists. What he discovers, in the midst of a stream of wisecracks, is the powerful role the hair industry plays in the economy, as well as the ways in which it can reflect and influence matters of race and identity. Rock's lighthearted approach provides many laughs, but it's the movie's cultural insights that make this more than a breezy documentary.

New York, I Love You (Vivendi): Anthology films are usually of inconsistent quality, though they at least offer the advantage of variety. So it goes with this colorful ten-part comedy-drama, which follows a wide gallery of characters as they look for (and at times stumble into) love in New York City. The New Yorkers weaving in and out of the romantic tales include a young artist (Orlando Bloom) falling for his long-distance co-worker, a high-school senior (Anton Yelchin) who gets a surprise on prom night, a movie star (Julie Christie) relieving a moment from her past, and an elderly couple (Cloris Leachman, Eli Wallach) who mix affection with crankiness. Directors include Mira Nair, Fatih Akin, Allen Hughes, and Natalie Portman.

Zombieland (Sony): Looking for a hip combination of fright and fun? Check out this surprise box-office hit, which follows the lead of cult classic “Shaun of the Dead” by mixing gore and laughs. Set in the near future after the country has been overrun by flesh-eating zombies, the movie focuses on an odd couple of survivors, wimpy Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and swaggering Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). Though their personalities are like fire and ice, the two stick together as they make it across a world of hungry ghouls, helped only by a pair of smart-alecky sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin). The actors clearly have a blast with the fast-paced material. Make sure to keep an eye out for a surprise celebrity zombie cameo!

 

[headlines]
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### Press Release ############################

Credit Card Statements New Look in February


Silver Spring, MD – The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, commonly known as the CARD Act, has been signed into law and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has issued a final rule elaborating on some of the CARD Act’s requirements.

Even though the implementation deadline for certain CARD Act requirements are not until February 22, 2010, many credit card issuers already have several elements of their CARD Act compliance plan in place. For instance, consumers can expect their February credit card statements to have a new look.

One prominent change to statements is the requirement that consumers be provided with an illustration of how long it will take them to pay off their balance, illustrating paying only the minimum amount due each month versus paying off the debt in three years. This will be a real eye-opener for millions of Americans who will now see each month just how serious their debt obligations are.

Further, the statements will now include contact information for nonprofit counseling agencies that may serve as a resource for sorting though their financial challenges. The Act requires issuers to prominently display a toll-free number where consumers may receive information about accessing credit counseling. Not only will this information help make consumers aware that help is available, but it will add a layer of protection by directing them to government-approved nonprofit counseling agencies for assistance.

As the largest and longest-serving network of community-based nonprofit credit counseling agencies in the nation, it is no surprise that the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has stepped-up to the plate and enhanced its National Locator Line (NLL) to support the government’s new requirements. Through the NFCC NLL consumers will have access to certified counselors in 50 states and Puerto Rico and have the ability to receive assistance in 31 languages.

"The NFCC has always encouraged consumers to deal with their credit problems sooner rather than later. Now, with the help of the government, they will receive contact information on their monthly statements, so they can do just that,” said Susan C. Keating, president and CEO of the NFCC. “This is a critically important step particularly since so many American consumers are in serious financial trouble and need help, and is consistent with the NFCC’s mission to promote the national agenda for financially responsibly behavior."

Already more than 200 lenders have elected to utilize the NFCC’s network to comply with the CARD Act and to assist their customers in need of financial counseling and education. The NFCC’s enhanced NLL is operational now, well in advance of the February 22 deadline, allowing those who receive their February statements early in the month the ability to immediately reach out for help.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, is the nation’s largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization. The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC Members annually help more than three million consumers through close to 850 community-based offices nationwide. For free and affordable confidential advice through a reputable NFCC Member, call (800) 388-2227, (en Español (800) 682-9832) or visit www.nfcc.org.

#### Press Release #############################

Increased Access to Credit, More Restrained Approach to Health Care Will Spur
Job Creation by Franchise Businesses


WASHINGTON, The International Franchise Association today urged Congress to implement many of the small business provisions proposed by President Obama in his State of the Union address and to expedite efforts to increase credit access to franchised small businesses.

“We are pleased that the President focused on the economic importance of small businesses to job creation and the nation’s economic recovery,” said IFA President & CEO Matthew Shay. “We support the President’s call for targeted tax relief for new investment in small businesses. Additional tax incentives to encourage new hirings are a good first step, but much more can be done to help. Franchised small businesses, for example, need strengthened efforts to support access to credit and start-up capital.”

Shay said franchise businesses have been severely impacted by the lack of access to credit, which was down 40 percent in 2009 causing the industry to lose over 400,000 jobs last year. While slow growth in 2010 is expected, the demand for lending to franchised businesses will not be met. A $3.4 billion shortfall in lending to franchise businesses in 2010 will result in 134,000 jobs not created and $13.9 billion in economic output lost, according to data released by the International Franchise Association Educational Foundation.

“IFA appreciates the efforts to date by the President and Congress to support many of our recommendations to improve credit access,” Shay said. “But, now is the time to put that support into action. For example, immediately raising the SBA 7(a) loan program limit from $2 million to $5 million will help to create between 450,000 and 650,000 new jobs.”

In addition, Shay said that providing resources and programs to help aspiring entrepreneurs acquire the skills and experience to succeed in operating their own businesses will help many Americans currently out of work get into business for themselves. At the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board Workforce Development Meeting last month, Shay recommended a partnership to develop a fundamental training program to provide individuals seeking a career change with the skills necessary to purchase and operate a franchise business. The creation of a Franchise Entrepreneurship Development Program, coordinated by the IFA Educational Foundation, would help individuals consider and prepare for a career as a franchise business owner.

Responding to the President’s health care reform agenda, Shay said that for more than a decade IFA members have been telling Congress that spiraling health care costs make it difficult to create jobs and compete in an increasingly global market place. “Our emphasis has always been, and continues to be, reigning in the costs of health care so that small business can improve access and delivery,” he said. “If we are going to seriously consider meaningful healthcare reform and create jobs, cost containment is the place to begin. It’s time to slow down the process and develop a bill that benefits everyone and avoids catastrophic consequences to our economy.”

About the International Franchise Association:

The International Franchise Association, the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising, is the preeminent voice and acknowledged leader for the industry worldwide. Approaching a half-century of service with a growing membership of more than 1,200 franchise systems, 10,000-plus franchisees and more than 500 firms that supply goods and services to the industry, IFA protects, enhances and promotes franchising by advancing the values of integrity, respect, trust, commitment to excellence, honesty and diversity. For more information, visit the IFA Web site at www.franchise.org.

#### Press Release ##########################


[headlines]
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Syracuse, New York --- Adopt-a-Dog

Brooklyn
Male
Age: Young Adult
Breed: Boxer mix
Description: Brooklyn has arrived and now he's ready for his new family to welcome him home. This bundle of happiness walks nicely on a leash, knows the command "sit" and is best described as a ray of sunshine. Because he's the happiest when he is with people he doesn't show too well in his kennel because there is no one to love in his kennel. So once he sees people he bounces around to make sure everyone notices him in hopes he'll get picked. Happy-go-lucky, bundles of fun, lovable and friendly - this is our Brooklyn! To see a video of Brooklyn log on to Petfinder.com under Central New York SPCA and click on Brooklyn or copy and paste his Petfinder link: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15203044

SPCA Shelter Number: 1991
ID #: 4388

Adoption Process:
http://www.cnyspca.org/adoptions.htm
www.cnyspca.org

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/

[headlines]
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News Briefs----

Leasing Companies Laud Obama's Speech
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/14472158/c_14471738?f=home_todayinfinance

American Leasing Corp. Ex-President gets 5 years
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100128/COMMUNITIES/301280027/1005/news01
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/July%202009/07-15-09.htm#american_leasing_president

Fed chief Bernanke wins 2nd term in closest vote
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/01/28/senate_vote_on_bernanke_set_for_thursday/

Mortgage rates recede for 4th week
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/rates-recede-for-4th-week.aspx

Amazon profit climbs 71% in 4th quarter
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2010-01-28-amazon-earnings_N.htm

Microsoft earnings jump on PC sales rebound
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2010-01-28-microsoft_N.htm

Will Apple's new iPad upend the publishing industry?
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_14290117

J. D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/books/29salinger.html?hp

Elin Nordegren Hopes to Save Her Marriage
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20339434,00.html

[headlines]
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You May have Missed---

Collection Slowdown Will Linger
http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/capacity-to-pay-in-the-economic-recovery-3000492-1.html

[headlines]

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Sports Briefs---

Colts work out Mike McKenzie, Jason David
http://theredzone.org/BlogDescription.aspx?EntryId=2864

[headlines]

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California Nuts Briefs---

U.S. hands California $2.25 billion for high-speed rail
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2495508.html

The State Worker: Mailing error costs state $7 million
http://www.sacbee.com/737/story/2495402.html

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

 


“Gimme that Wine”

California wine sales drop
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100127/BUSINESS/100129518/1036?Title=California-wine-sales-drop
http://www.modbee.com/business/story/1026094.html

absinthe in Ukiah, Calif.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/dining/reviews/27pour.html?ref=dining

What next for Murphy-Goode's social-networking maven?
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100127/LIFESTYLE/100129529/1036/BUSINESS?Title= What-next-for-Murphy-Goode-s-social-networking-maven-

Wine Grape Growers around the Globe Experience Richer Reds and Brighter Whites with Purshade
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view& ;newsId=20100126005396&newsLang=en

Wine sales in NY grocery stores is a contentious budget fix
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-c-2010-01-25-65027.113122_ Wine_sales_in_grocery_stores_is_a_contentious_budget_fix.html

Near-forgotten French grape becomes part of U.S. wine heritage
http://thetimes-tribune.com/arts-living/near-forgotten-french-grape-becomes-part-of-u-s-wine-heritage-1.573776


Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine.
http://www.liv-ex.com/

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Today's Top Event in History

1968 --President Johnson requests additional funds in his annual budget message, President Lyndon B. Johnson asks for $26.3 billion to continue the war in Vietnam, and announces an increase in taxes. The war was becoming very expensive, both in terms of lives and national treasure. Johnson had been given a glowing report on progress in the war from Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in South Vietnam. Westmoreland stated in a speech before the National Press Club that, "We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view. I am absolutely certain that, whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing. The enemy's hopes are bankrupt." The day after Johnson's budget speech, the communists launched a massive attack across the length and breadth of South Vietnam. This action, the Tet Offensive, proved to be a critical turning point for the United States in Vietnam. In the end, the offensive resulted in a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese, but the size and scope of the communist attacks caught the American and South Vietnamese allies by surprise. The heavy U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties incurred during the offensive, coupled with the disillusionment over the administration's earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war, accelerated the growing disenchantment with the president's conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election.
He died shortly after he retired as a broken man.

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This Day in American History

   1737- Thomas Paine, American Revolutionary leader, a corset-maker by trade, author of Common Sense, The Age of Reason . Rights of Man, and many other influential works, was born at Thetford, England. "These are the times that try men's souls" are the well-known opening words of his inspirational tract The Crisis, which holds the records for the most widely read in relation to the population in American History and was a major influence on the American Revolution. Paine also is known for proposing the government subsidy of steamboat building in America, that open commerce and great expansion of the country. He died at New York, NY, June 8, 1809, but 10 years later his remains were moved to England by William Cobbett for reburial there. Reburial was refused, however, and the location of Paine's bones, said to have been distributed, is unknown.
    1780 - on the coldest morning of one of the most severe winters of record in the northeast, the mercury dipped to 16 degrees below zero at New York City, and reached 20 degrees below zero at Hartford, CT. New York harbor was frozen for 5 weeks, allowing the British to transport a heavy cannon across the ice to help fortify Staten Island.
    1802 - John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress with the starting salary of $2 a day. He served until his death on April 89, 1807. The first library catalog, dated April, 1802, listed 964 volumes and nine maps. Until 1815, when George Watterston was appointed, the librarians were also the clerks of the House of representatives.
    1834 -Federal Troops Quell First Labor Dispute 
The banks of the Potomac River erupted in violence, as workers on the then-unfinished Chesapeake and Ohio Canal rioted after a planned strike was brutally extinguished. Never exactly a fast friend of indecision or conciliatory action, President Andrew Jackson swiftly called on Secretary of War Lewis Cass to send Federal troops in to quell the workers. While this was an eventful moment for the nation—it marked the first, though hardly the last time Federal troops were deployed to settle a labor "dispute"—it was just another roadblock in the troubled history of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Originally conceived as a transit and trade friendly route between the Midwest and Atlantic seaports, the canal was periodically delayed by fiscal woes, stiff competition from the Erie Canal, as well as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. When construction began in 1828, the canal was designed to reach Pittsburgh; by the time the project was abandoned in 1850, the waterway reached Cumberland. Flooding forced the close of the canal in 1924; it was bought by the U.S. government in 1938 and transformed into a national historic park in 1971.
    1843- birthday of William McKinley, 25th president of the US (1897-1901), born at Niles, OH. For the third time in the nation's history a president was assassinated. On September 6, President McKinley 25th Pres. 1897-1901)was visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. While greeting visitors he was shot twice in the abdomen by a young anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, who was carrying a concealed piston in a handkerchief. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43 years old, became the youngest person to hold the presidential office. Ironically, according to historians, Conservative republicans had elected McKinley, but to keep what they considered "too liberal" New York Theodore Roosevelt "in line," plus gather votes, they choose him to fill what they considered a "harmless post." This was a period of muckraking journalist such as Frank Norris and Lincoln Steffens exposing the corruption in government and government controlled industries such as wheat, railroad tariffs and land acquisition, "The Octopus", published this year by Norris, dealt with the struggles of farmers in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Forty years later John Steinbeck was to continue the saga.
    1845- "The Raven" is published . Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven," beginning "Once upon a midnight dreary," is published on this day in the New York Evening Mirror. Poe's dark and macabre work reflected his own tumultuous and difficult life. Born in Boston in 1809, Poe was orphaned at age three and went to live with the family of a Richmond, Virginia, businessman. Poe enrolled in a military academy but was expelled for gambling. He later studied briefly at the University of Virginia. In 1827, Poe self-published a collection of poems. Six years later, his short story "MS Found in a Bottle" won $50 in a story contest. He edited a series of literary journals, including the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond starting in 1835, and Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in Philadelphia, starting in 1839. Poe's excessive drinking got him fired from several positions. His macabre work, often portraying motiveless crimes and intolerable guilt that induces growing mania in his characters, was a significant influence on such European writers as Charles Baudelaire, Stephane Mallarme, and even Dostoyevsky.
    1847- the 500 men of the US Mormon Battalion, along with 50 women and children, arrived at San Diego, CA, having marched 2,000 miles-the longest march in modern military history-since leaving Council Bluffs, Iowa, July 16, 1846, to fight in the war against Mexico. In the course of their trek they established the first wagon route from Sante Fe to Southern California. Their arrival is commemorated each year with a military parade in San Diego’s Old Town.
    1861- Kansas became the 34th state. Known as the Sunflower State, the capital of the 34th state is Topeka. Kansas, the Jayhawk State, is named so because before and during the War Between the States, guerillas in the antislavery camp ... known as jayhawkers ... were extremely active in the Kansas territory. The pro- and anti-slavery groups fought such vicious battles that the state was referred to as ‘Bleeding Kansas’. 
Trouble in territorial Kansas began with the signing of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act by President Franklin Pierce. The act stipulated that settlers in the newly created territories of Nebraska and Kansas would decide by popular vote whether their territory would be free or slave. In early 1855, Kansas’ first election proved a violent affair as over 5,000 Border Ruffians invaded the territory from western Missouri and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature.The territory’s admittance into the Union in January of 1861 only increased tension, but, just three-and-a-half-months later, the irrepressible differences in Kansas were swallowed up by the full-scale outbreak of the American Civil War. During the Civil War, Kansas suffered the highest rate of fatal casualties of any Union state, largely due to its great internal divisions over the issue of slavery. 
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan29.html
    1861- Linus Yale, Jr. gets a patent for his invention of a pin-tumbler cylinder. The pin-tumbler cylinder lock with a thin, flat key, still the basis for many combination locks today, was the most successful of Yale’s many lock inventions, which included the first dial combination bank lock and a double bank lock that required two keys to open.
    1863 -- Bear Hunter, leader of a Shoshone band, and 224 others massacred in village on Bear River near Great Salt Lake, Utah.
http://www.utahhistorytogo.org/brmassacre.html
    1856 -Light earthquake felt at the Mission Dolores.    
    1872-African-American Francis L Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South Carolina. He served until 1876 when his enemies accused him of taking money, but was found not guilty. He later served as a teacher at Howard University, received a law degrees, served on several board, in his later life
was principal of a high school.
http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/43.htm
http://stills.nap.edu/btw/Vol.3/html/118.html
    1879- Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana established
http://www.nps.gov/libi/
http://visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=3124&SiteID=1
    1880-Birthday of W.C. Fields, stage and motion picture actor (My Little Chickadee), screen writer and expert juggler. Born Claude William Dukenfeld at Philadelphia, PA, died Dec 25, 1946. He wrote his own epitaph: “On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”
    1896 - United States physician Emile Grubbe became the first to use radiation treatment for breast cancer on his patient, Rose Lee of Chicago. 
    1889 -- 6,000 railway workers strike for union and end of 18-hour day. 
http://historytogo.utah.gov/rrstrike.html
    1891- Following the death of her brother, King Kalakaua, Liliuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii, first settled by Polynesian voyagers sometime in the eighth century, saw a massive influx of American settlers during the nineteenth century, most coming to exploit Hawaii’s burgeoning sugar industry. In 1887, under pressure from US investors and American sugar planters, King Kalakaua agreed to a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power. However, in 1891, Liliuokalani ascended to the throne and refused to recognize the constitution of 1887, replacing it instead with a constitution that restored the monarchy’s traditional authority. Two years later, a revolutionary "Committee of Safety," organized by Sanford B. Dole, a Hawaiian-born American, staged a coup against Queen Liliuokalani with the support of US Minister John Stevens and a division of US marines. On February 1, 1893, Stevens recognized Dole’s new government on his own authority and proclaimed Hawaii a US protectorate.
    1900 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the American Baseball League was organized. The Philadelphia Athletics, lead by Connie Mack, were original members of the league. Mack would manage the team for fifty years.
1901-Birthday of Allen Du Mont . My father worked for Dr.Dumont in the late 1940’s as a TV writer-producer, “Harlem Detective,” “Captain Video,” “Hands of Mystery.” I used to put “exploding” practical joke in his cigars, and one day at a board meeting, he gave one to Dr. Dumont, who lit it up. My father used to tell me this story often, as Dr. DuMont thought it was very funny and that my father had done it on purpose. Allen Du Mont perfected the cathode-ray tube and manufactured the first commercially available television sets. Brooklyn-born Du Mont worked as chief engineer at De Forest Radio Company until 1931, when his interest in television led him to start his own company, the Allen B. Du Mont Lab. In 1937, he offered his television receivers for sale and set up experimental broadcasting stations. Du Mont continued to shape the television industry. He helped formulate broadcast standards for black and white--and later, color--television, and he worked with the FCC to allocate frequencies for television channels.
    1912-In Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile companies were angered when in 1911 state law reduced the workweek for women and children from 56 to 54 hours. They retaliated by increasing the workload, but not the wages. The workers responded with a massive strike. Workers had been averaging $8.76 for a 56-hour work week when a state law made 54 hours the maximum for women and for minors under 18. The companies reduced all hours to 54 but refused to raise wage rates to make up for the average loss of 31 cents per week suffered by each worker because of the reduction in hours. This caused the walkout which rocked the great New England textile industry. Under the aggressive leadership of the Industrial Workers of the World the strike became front-page news throughout the country. Over twenty thousand men, women and children won concessions by staying out of work for ten weeks. A song “Bread and Roses” became popular with the strikers, actually becoming a “marching son” and the rallying cry of the strike. .The strikers--largely Russian Jewish, Eastern European and southern Italian immigrants, although 54 languages were spoken in the mills--learned the art of mass protest. Forming a human chain, they took over the main streets of Lawrence on Jan. 29. After failed attempts to disperse strikers by dousing them with water in the freezing January cold, officers fired into the crowd. A young Italian woman, Anna LoPizzo, was killed. News reports from the time focused on predictions about the "ascendancy of white-skinned races" in Lawrence. They promised that illiterate immigrants couldn't possibly organize themselves on their own. The strikers, running out of food and money, decided to adopt a European tactic, of sending their children to stay with families outside the city. Four hundred letters were received from New York City who wanted the children, and on February 10 over 100 aged 4 to 14 were sent. They were greeted at Grand Central Station by 5,000 Italian socialists singing the "Marseillaise" and the "Internationale". The following week another 100 came to NY and 35 to Barre, Vt. It was becoming clear: if the children were taken care of, the strikers would stay out, for their spirit was high. The city officials in Lawrence, citing a statute on child neglect, said no more children would be permitted to leave. 
Despite the city edict, a group of 40 children assembled on February 24 to go to Philadelphia. The railroad station was filled with police, & the scene that followed was described to Congressmen by a member of the Women's Committee of Philadelphia: "When the time approached to depart, the children arranged in a long line, two by two, in orderly procession, with their parents near at hand, were about to make their way to the train when police closed in on us with their clubs, beating right & left, with no thought of the children, who were in the most desperate danger of being trampled to death. The mothers & children were thus hurled in a mass & bodily dragged to a military truck, & even then clubbed, irrespective of the cries of the panic-stricken women & children..." After ten weeks the strikers won important concessions from the woolen companies, not only for themselves but also for 250,000 textile workers throughout New England. During one of the many parades conducted by the strikers some young girls carried a banner with the slogan: "We want bread and roses too." This inspired James Oppenheim to write his poem, "Bread and Roses," which was set to music by Caroline Kohlsaat, There is also an Italian song with the same title, "Pan e Rose," written by the Italian-American poet Arturo Giovannitti which is used by the Italian Dressmakers' Local 89 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. 
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/03.10.99/women3-9910.html
http://www.laborheritage.org/iall-ma.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAettor.htm
http://1912.history.ohio-state.edu/labor/FirstDays.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/breadrose.html
    1919 - 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Its enforcement was authorized by the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the Volstead Act on 28 October 1919. The Coast Guard had been tasked with the prevention of the maritime importation of illegal alcohol. This led to the largest increase in the size and responsibilities of the service to date.
    1921-the great "Olympic blowdown" commenced in the Pacific Northwest as a small but intense windstorm funneled along the mountains and downed vast expanses of Douglas Fir trees. 8 billion board feet of timber was destroyed. Winds at North Head, WA gusted as high as 113 mph.
    1923 – Birthday of film and TV writer Paddy Chayevsky, born The Bronx, New York. . He eventually made a name for himself writing radio and teleplays, one of which became 1955's Marty a touching tale of a homely butcher and lonely schoolteacher that won Chayefsky his first Oscar. (His first credit was 1951's As Young As You Feel which was adapted from his story.) Dividing his work between Hollywood and Broadway over the next two decades, Chayefsky penned a series of acerbic works that were often heavy on social commentary, like The Bachelor Party (1957), the Marilyn Monroe-inspired The Goddess (1958), The Hospital (1971), which won him his second Oscar, and Network (1976), which brought in a third. He also adapted such films as The Americanization of Emily (1964) and Paint Your Wagon (1969). Chayefsky's last film was the Ken Russell extravaganza Altered States (1980). The director's decision to have the actors deliver Chayefsky's dialogue in breathless, rapid-fire manner so infuriated the author that he had his name withdrawn from the credits. He did a teleplay called "The Man Who Loved Dickens," based on a section of Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust, about a illiterate man in a South American jungle who holds a lost explorer captive so the latter can read Dickens to him. Died August 1, 1981, New York City, NY
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Chayefsky,+Paddy 
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/ThisMonth/Article/0,,1180|1181|1185,00.htm
    1924- Carl Rutherford Taylor of Cleveland, OH, obtained a patent for his invention of an ice cream cone rolling machine. It was a “ machine for spinning or turning a waffle”, enabling ice cream cones
to become very popular.
    1926- The first African-American female lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court was Violette Anderson of Chicago, Illinois. 
    1928-Birthday of vocalist Joan Shaw, Newport News, V
http://www.officepark.co.uk/salena-jones/biog2.htm
    1929 -- Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms. 
http://www.seeingeye.org/AboutUs.asp 
    1929- Glen “Fireball” Roberts, auto racer born at Daytona Beach,FL. Roberts was one of the most popular stock care racers in NASCAR history. He won 35 races in 206 starts from 1950 to 1964 when he was critically injured in a fiery crash. Died at Charlotte, NC, July 7, 1964.
    1929--Drummer Ed Shaughnessy birthday
http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/ed.htm
http://www.promark-stix.com/ss/artists/EdS.html
    1937- Tommy Dorsey records Marie, Song of India, NYC. ( Victor 2555523)
    1939-Birthday of singer Jeanne Lee, New York City, died October 24, 2000
http://www.nprjazz.org/programs/jeannelee.html
http://users.erols.com/eye/jeannelee.html
http://www.edmicheljazzproducer.com/jeanne_lee.htm
    1943 - Ruth Cheney Streeter became the first woman to reach the rank of Major with the U.S. Marines. She became a lieutenant colonel in 1943 and a full colonel in 1944.     
    1944 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``My Heart Tells Me,'' Glen Gray Orchestra.
    1946 - FUNK, LEONARD A., JR. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 508th Parachute Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Holzheim, Belgium, 29 January 1945. Entered service at: Wilkinsburg, Pa. Birth: Braddock Township, Pa. G.O. No.: 75, 5 September 1945. Citation: He distinguished himself by gallant, intrepid actions against the enemy. After advancing 15 miles in a driving snowstorm, the American force prepared to attack through waist-deep drifts. The company executive officer became a casualty, and 1st Sgt. Funk immediately assumed his duties, forming headquarters soldiers into a combat unit for an assault in the face of direct artillery shelling and harassing fire from the right flank. Under his skillful and courageous leadership, this miscellaneous group and the 3d Platoon attacked 15 houses, cleared them, and took 30 prisoners without suffering a casualty. The fierce drive of Company C quickly overran Holzheim, netting some 80 prisoners, who were placed under a 4-man guard, all that could be spared, while the rest of the under strength unit went about mopping up isolated points of resistance. An enemy patrol, by means of a ruse, succeeded in capturing the guards and freeing the prisoners, and had begun preparations to attack Company C from the rear when 1st Sgt. Funk walked around the building and into their midst. He was ordered to surrender by a German officer who pushed a machine pistol into his stomach. Although overwhelmingly outnumbered and facing almost certain death, 1st Sgt. Funk, pretending to comply with the order, began slowly to unsling his submachine gun from his shoulder and then, with lightning motion, brought the muzzle into line and riddled the German officer. He turned upon the other Germans, firing and shouting to the other Americans to seize the enemy's weapons. In the ensuing fight 21 Germans were killed, many wounded, and the remainder captured. 1st Sgt. Funk's bold action and heroic disregard for his own safety were directly responsible for the recapture of a vastly superior enemy force, which, if allowed to remain free, could have taken the widespread units of Company C by surprise and endangered the entire attack plan.
    1947- Herbie Fields records Dardanella ( Victor 20-2274) 
    1947- Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" premieres in New York City NY
http://www.shunsley.eril.net/armoore/gcse/allmysons.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0783226721/inktomi-videoasin-20/
002-1241397-9042458

    1949---Top Hits
A Little Bird Told Me - Evelyn Knight
Far Away Places - Margaret Whiting
Buttons and Bows - Dinah Shore
I Love You So Much It Hurts - Jimmy Wakely
    1950- Heavyweight Jack Dempsey was voted the greatest boxer of the first half of the 20th century in a poll of sportswriters and broadcasters conducted by the Associated Press. Dempsey polled 251 votes to runner-up Joe Louis’s 104.
    1954---Birthday of Oprah Winfrey, America's most popular TV talk show host who garnered an Academy Award nomination for her startlingly marvelous depiction in the movie The Color Purple (1985). She is leaving TV next year to start her own cable network. 
    1957---Top Hits
Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
Don’t Forbid Me - _Pat Boone
Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belefonte
Singing the Blues - Marty Robbins
    1958- Paul Newman marries Joanne Woodward 
Creating one of the most enduring of Hollywood marriages, Hollywood stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward wed. The couple became politically active, lobbying for liberal causes and supporting Democratic candidates. Newman was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on a United Nations Conference on Nuclear Disarmament. In the 1980s, Newman launched a line of food products as “Newman’s Own, including salad dressing and pasta sauce, donating the profits to charity. ( The salad dressing is my favorite ). Both Newman and Woodward have won Academy Awards: Woodward in 1957 for The Three Faces of Eve, and Newman in 1986 for The Color of Money. I saw them interviewed on the Today Show recently and they are still going strong.
    1958-Challenge Records releases "Tequila" backed with "Train to Nowhere" by the Champs. The A side will make it to Number One in mid-March. One other note...the Champs included Jim Seals and Dash Croft, later to become Seals and Crofts.
    1959 - Walt Disney's classic animated film, Sleeping Beauty, was released in theaters on this date. Reviews and reactions were mixed, as Disney had deviated from the style of animation the public had grown accustomed to
    1962-Warner Bros. Records signs the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary. They will go on to have big hits with harmonized versions of such Bob Dylan songs as "Blowin' in the Wind" as well as "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane."
    1964 - For the 1965 to 1969 seasons, NBC-TV agreed to pay $36 million for the broadcast rights to the American Football League games. CBS already secured the National Football Conference.
    1964- Dr. Strangelove premieres : Stanley Kubrick's black comic masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb opens in theaters to both critical and popular acclaim. The movie's popularity was evidence of changing attitudes toward atomic weapons and the concept of nuclear deterrence. The movie focused on the actions of a rogue U.S. officer who believes that communists are threatening the "precious bodily fluids" of Americans. Without authorization, he issues orders to U.S. bombers to launch atomic attacks against the Soviet Union. When it becomes evident that some of the bombers may actually drop their atomic payloads, American President Merkin Muffley frantically calls his Soviet counterpart. The Russian leader informs Muffley that an atomic attack on the Soviet Union will automatically unleash the terrible "doomsday machine," which will snuff out all life on the planet. Muffley's chief foreign policy advisor, Dr. Strangelove, reassures the president and chief officials that all is not lost: they can, he posits, survive even the doomsday machine by retreating to deep mineshafts. Close scrutiny of the Dr. Strangelove character indicated that he was probably a composite of three people: Henry Kissinger, a political scientist who had written about nuclear deterrence strategy; Edward Teller, a key scientist in the development of the hydrogen bomb; and Wernher von Braun, the German scientist who was a leading figure in missile technology. Who can forget the character riding on the bomb falling out of the bomb bay to Russia:
The film is near its conclusion with the unforgettable scene of the "Leper Colony" bomber plane approaching closer and closer to its target. As the airship approaches its new objective with the bombing plane's theme song: When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again playing on the soundtrack, Major Kong and bombardier Lieut. Lothar Zogg (James Earl Jones) make final bomb run technical checks: bomb fusing circuits, the bomb arming test lights, the primary trigger switch override, the track indicators for maximum deflection, the detonator set at zero altitude, and safety releases. Then Kong finds that one of the bomb bay doors won't open - "the teleflex drive cable must be sheared away." He leaves his cockpit seat to fix to faulty bomb-release mechanism manually, telling his co-pilot Capt. G. A. "Ace" Owens (Shane Rimmer): "Stay on the bomb run, Ace. I'm goin' down below and see what I can do." He proceeds through the hatch to the bomb bay, telling the D.S.O. and crew: 
Stay on the bomb run, boys. I'm gonna get them doors open if it hare lips everybody on Bear Creek. There are two huge nuclear warhead bombs in the foreground, each labeled with sexual salutations: "Hi There!" (a homosexual advance), the other labeled "Dear John!" (the typical opening of a letter that ends a relationship). Kong sees a sparking tangle of wires, and climbs astride the "Hi There!" bomb like a bucking bronco, fanning the flaring sparks with his cowboy's Stetson hat. Sweating profusely, he busily works to fuse two wires together to rewire the door circuitry. Ace asks anxiously: "Roger, 3 miles. Target in sight! Where in hell is Major Kong?" as Kong attaches an alligator clip to a patch panel above his head, causing the bomb doors to open wide. 
The film has given us a memorable cultural image. When the bomb doors open, he first grabs onto his Stetson to avoid losing it in the sudden draft of air. The Hi There! bomb is dislodged, with Kong riding on it - the huge bomb [a potent swollen phallic symbol] between his legs. The bombardier asks: "Hey, what about Major Kong?" Kong is flailing the bomb with his hat like a rodeo cowboy atop a bucking bronco, howling wildly toward oblivion: "YAHOO!! YAHOO!!" as it malevolently descends toward its target and detonates in a white, climactic flash on the ground. 
http://wso.williams.edu/~mhacker/strangelove2.html
http://www.filmsite.org/drst.html
    1964 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``I Want to Hold Your Hand,'' The Beatles. This first American release by the Beatles is one of the biggest selling British singles of all time with worldwide sales of 15 million copies.
    1965---Top Hits 
Downtown - Petula Clark
You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers
The Name Game - Shirley Ellis
You’re the Only World I Know - Sonny James
    1966 - "Sweet Charity", starring Gwen Verdon, opened at the Palace Theatre in New York. The Neil Simon musical was an adaptation of the Federico Fellini film, "Notti di Cabiria". The play lasted for 608 performances. In 1969, Hollywood produced a big-budget version starring Shirley MacLaine. 
    1966-The Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought The Law" is released
    1966-Folk singer Joan Baez wins three gold records this day, for the albums "Joan Baez," "Joan Baez, Vol. 2" and "Joan Baez in Concert."
    1968 - Gore Vidal's controversial sex novel, Myra Breckenridge, was published by Little, Brown & Company on this date. It was later made into a film starring Raquel Welch and Mae West. 
    1968 - Coach Adolph Rupp, of the Kentucky Wildcats, got win #772, becoming the winningest coach in college basketball history.
    1968 --President Johnson requests additional funds In his annual budget message, President Lyndon B. Johnson asks for $26.3 billion to continue the war in Vietnam, and announces an increase in taxes. The war was becoming very expensive, both in terms of lives and national treasure. Johnson had been given a glowing report on progress in the war from Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in South Vietnam. Westmoreland stated in a speech before the National Press Club that, "We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view. I am absolutely certain that, whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing. The enemy's hopes are bankrupt." The day after Johnson's budget speech, the communists launched a massive attack across the length and breadth of South Vietnam. This action, the Tet Offensive, proved to be a critical turning point for the United States in Vietnam. In the end, the offensive resulted in a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese, but the size and scope of the communist attacks caught the American and South Vietnamese allies by surprise. The heavy U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties incurred during the offensive, coupled with the disillusionment over the administration's earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war, accelerated the growing disenchantment with the president's conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election. 
He died shortly after he retired as a broken man.
    1971- New York music business financier Allen Klein was found guilty of ten counts of evading US income taxes. His conviction was upheld on appeal. Klein once controlled the finances of both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Beatles, apparently over Paul McCartney's objections, hired Klein in 1969 to try to rescue their ailing Apple Corps Limited, which was losing thousands of pounds a week. The tangled business affairs of Apple, and Klein's failure to solve them, are cited as one reason for the Beatles' breakup
    1973 - Johnny Rivers was awarded a gold record for "Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu". 
    1973---Top Hits
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Your Mama Don’t Dance - Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina
(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine - Tom T. Hall
    1973- the first pilot on a regularly scheduled major airline who was a woman was Emily H. Warner. She was hired by Frontier Airlines as the second officer ( co-pilot) on a Boeing 737.
    1974 -Fighting continues in South Vietnam .
The fighting continues in South Vietnam despite the cease-fire that was initiated on January 28, 1973, under the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords. 
This latest fighting was part of the ongoing battles that followed the brief lull of the cease-fire. The Peace Accords had left an estimated 145,000 North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam when the cease-fire went into effect. Renewed fighting broke out after the cease-fire as both sides jockeyed for control of territory throughout South Vietnam. Each side held that military operations were justified by the other side's violations of the cease-fire, resulting in an almost endless chain of retaliations. During the period between the initiation of the cease-fire and the end of 1973, there were an average of 2,980 combat incidents per month in South Vietnam. Most of these were low-intensity harassing attacks designed to wear down the South Vietnamese forces, but the North Vietnamese intensified their efforts in the Central Highlands in September when they attacked government positions with tanks west of Pleiku. As a result of these post-cease-fire actions, approximately 25,000 South Vietnamese were killed in battle in 1973, while communist losses in South Vietnam were estimated at 45,000. 
1977 –Normally we do not write about deaths, but on this day gifted comedian and television actor Freddie Prinze, age 22, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a revolver in front of Martin "Dusty" Snyder, his business manager. He died in a Los Angeles hospital 36 hours later. Prinze catapulted to fame in the television sitcom, Chico and the Man, and experienced many emotional problems as a result, as well as a divorce. His suicide note read, "I cannot go on any longer." It was later determined that the suicide was actually intended as a practical joke by Prinze, who was under the influence of Quaaludes. He had faked suicide attempts in front of network secretaries earlier that day. Whether Prinze thought the gun was empty, thought that the safety was on, or just wasn't thinking due to the drugs, the joke he thought he was pulling on Snyder resulted in his untimely death. Modern history is full of such incidents including Russian Roulette or thinking the gun was not loaded and proving it by pointing to the head and pulling the trigger as one famous rock ’n ’roll musician did back stage after a performance.
    1977 - Rose Royce took the #1 spot on the music charts with "Car Wash", from the movie of the same title. The song lasted a week at the peak before dropping away. 
    1979 -- President Jimmy Carter commutes the sentence of Patty Hearst.
    1981- Dolly Parton barreled to the top of the charts with "9 to 5," her immortal paean to the woes of the- daily grind. "9 to 5" was also the title and theme song of the hit movie starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as disgruntled secretaries who exact revenge on their lecherous boss, played by Dabney Coleman. 
    1981---Top Hits
(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
Love on the Rocks - Neil Diamond
The Tide is High - Blondie
9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
    1983 - A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the ocean current, "El Nino", produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high which ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movies stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony.
    1988--- The Canadian rock band Prism, which faded in 1983 after earlier hit records and a Juno award, staged a reunion at the 86 Street club in Vancouver. The reunion group featured three of the original members - Lindsay Mitchell, Rocket Norton and Al Harlow. Prism was formed in 1977 and produced such hit records as "Armageddon," "Spaceship Superstar" and "Night to Remember." It won the Juno for Group of the Year in 1980 and served as a springboard for writers such as Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. 83 record. 
    1988 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Need You Tonight,'' INXS. The group is only the third from Australia - and the first in five years - to top the pop chart.
    1989---Top Hits
Two Hearts - Phil Collins
When I’m with You - Sheriff
When the Children Cry - White Lion
Deeper Than the Holler - Randy Travis 
    1989 - The first of 20 episodes of the children's television program, Shining Time Station, the half-hour American version of Britain's "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends," was aired in the United States on PBS. Former Beatle drummer Ringo Starr was originally cast as the 18-inch-tall Mr. Conductor. A few years later, he was replaced by comedian George Carlin. 
    1990 - Severe thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. spawned a tornado which destroyed three mobile homes near Blythe GA injuring six persons. A fast moving cold front produced high winds in the western U.S. Winds along the coast of Oregon gusted to 65 mph at Portland, and high winds generated 22 to 26 foot seas which battered the coast. Winds near Reno NV gusted to 78 mph. High winds also buffeted the Central High Plains, with gusts to 94 mph reported at La Mesa CO.
    1993- An interim policy on ending the ban on homosexuals in the US military was announced by President William Clinton. The policy ended the questioning of military recruits regarding their sexual orientation but allowed removal of openly homosexual members from active service. President Clinton's announced policy of "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" allowed homosexuals to serve in the armed forces as long as they were discreet.
    1995- the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, to win Super Bowl XXIX, San Francisco scored on the third play of the game and led, 28-10, at half. 49ers quarterback Steve Young was the game’s Most Valuable Player.
    1996- the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats" became the world's longest-running musical with 6,138 performances. It had opened at the New London Theatre on May 11th, 1981. The previous record was held by the Broadway production of "A Chorus Line."
    1996-Sun exhibited a prototype of a simple, inexpensive computer that allowed users to surf the Web or corporate networks. A number of similar network computers, or "thin clients," hit the market in 1996-97. The network model — where small, inexpensive machines communicated with a more sophisticated, central info hub — proved economically attractive to large companies.
    1996-Country superstar Garth Brooks refused to accept his American Music Award for Favorite Overall Artist. Brooks said that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did.
    1998 - A bomb exploded outside the New Woman, All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed Robert Sanderson, an off-duty police officer working as a security guard. Emily Lyons, a nurse, was critically injuring. Police have been searching for suspect Eric Rudolph in the North Carolina area.
http://www.fbi.gov/most
http://www.covenantnews.com/eric/rudolph/eric01.htm want/topten/
fugitives/rudolph.htm

Superbowl Champions This Date

    1995 San Francisco 49ers. Steve Young passes for a record six touchdowns as the 49ers become the first team to win five Super Bowls.


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Football Poem

American Football Poem

A first grade teacher explains to her class that she is a New Orleans Saint fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they are Saints fans, too. Not really knowing what a New Orleans Saint fan was, but wanting to be liked by their teacher, their hands flew into the air.

There is, however, one exception. Susie has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. "Because I'm not a Saints fan" she reports.

"Then," asks the teacher, "What are you?"

"I'm a Indianapolis Colts fan," boasts the little girl. The teacher asks Susie why she is a Colts fan. "Well, my Dad and Mom are Colts fans, so I'm a Colts fan, too" she responds.

"That's no reason," the teacher says. "What if your mom was a moron, and your dad was an idiot. What would you be then?"

Susie smiles and says, "Then I'd be a New Orleans Saints fan."

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SuDoku

The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. What could be simpler?

http://leasingnews.org/Soduku/soduko-main.htm

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Daily Puzzle

How to play:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

Refresh for current date:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

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http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx

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Weather

See USA map, click to specific area, no commercials

http://www.weather.gov/

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Traffic Live---

Real Time Traffic Information

You can save up to 20 different routes and check them out with one click,
or type in a new route to learn the traffic live

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Independent, unbiased and fair news about the Leasing Industry.

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