Monday, January 28, 2008

Headlines---

GE Healthcare Financial cut backs
    "You can't handle the truth!"
    UAEL “dis-invites” Brook to Spring Conf.
    by Christopher Menkin
        Classified Ads—Sales
The Feds believe money grows on trees
    Cartoon---House Payments
        Jumbo Mortgage Higher Limits
Too many vacant houses
    Top Stories --- January 21---25
        Latest Nigerian eMail: Marriage & Money
            Golf Courses/Ranges/and more DVD
                Classified Ads---Help Wanted
Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
Lease Packager Notification
    News Briefs---
        You May have Missed---
Sports Briefs---
    "Gimme that Wine"
        Calendar Events
Snapple Real Facts
    Today's Top Event in History
        This Day in American History
Football Poem
    SuDoku
        Daily Puzzle
    GasBuddy
News on Line---Internet Newspapers
Central Minnesota—News Herald

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

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GE Healthcare Financial cut backs

A highly reliable source reports:

GE Healthcare Financial (formerly HPSC) closed their Medical, Veterinarian ad Chiropractor divisions...they fired most of the sales force and re-assigned a couple people to captive programs

The have retained the Dental and Optical divisions so far....

The reasons vary from poor portfolio performance to "not our core business model"...however most in the industry believe it is due to the sales forces inability to replace the business that left with several salesmen 10-12 months ago.

The captive division is GE Healthcare, a $18 billion (USD) unit of General Electric (GE). It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment headquartered outside the United States. In 2004, just before the completion of the $9 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Amersham plc, the formerly named GE Medical Systems was renamed GE Healthcare.

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"You can't handle the truth!"

by Christopher Menkin

UAEL “dis-invites” Randy Brook to Spring Conference.

It reminds me of Jack Nicholson in a "Few Good Men," when as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep he bursts out loud on the witness stand, "You can't handle the truth!"

The situation is not as serious here, except it shows United Association of Equipment Leasing (UAEL) leadership has held its members to an incredibly low standard.

It also should make us all wonder if an industry that is afraid to hear of government concerns with its practices is capable of self-regulation.
Certainly the action is to ignore the truth as to what is happening, the complaints by more and more leasing customers, and more and more government regulations to protect them.

UAEL Spring Conference Chairman John Haenselman thought it a good idea that I present retired Federal Trade Commission Senior Attorney Randy Brook with the "Leasing News Person of the Year" award at the Friday business lunch meeting. I would be introduced, hand the award to Randy, and a photograph would be taken to appear in Leasing News. He also asked if Randy Brook would conduct a workshop as he thought it was a good idea and also might attract a higher attendance.

Brook was proud to receive the award and said if I wanted to present it to him at an association meeting, he would attend. He also agreed to do a workshop, as he felt he could answer questions many might have on how the FTC worked or hear what concerns they might have.
He was retired, but since I asked, he would be glad to attend.

Ten days later I get a telephone call that the UAEL Board of Directors has voted not to have Brook attend the Spring Conference. Basically IFC Credit Corporation was a sponsor and they viewed that as a conflict of interest (Federal Trade Commission has a trial scheduled against IFC Credit regarding the NorVergence matter.) In addition, Leasing News was too controversial, I was told. It seems there are four past president of the association (six if you count staff Joe Woodley and Bob Grohe) on the board of directors.

The name Bob Fine was brought up. I was told he was a "good guy" and a friend of several of the directors. Fine was the head of NorVergence Finance and vice-president of the parent organization. It was his role to sell the leases to leasing companies, presenting the "dog and pony" show that shows service was in the leasing contract; plus he made all the introductions to the leasing companies and banks. When the scandal broke out, he resigned as president of the Eastern Association of Equipment Leasing Association (EAEL.) He was well liked by several of the UAEL board of directors, I was told, and stories we had written were not accurate. Nor were the stories about NorVergence leases.

The story of ex-UAEL president Gordon Roberts was brought up. Roberts had worked with several UAEL directors while at Colonel Pacific Leasing. The story of his being convicted of theft for basically stealing money while he was president of Centerpoint Financial in Denver, Colorado, in 2005 was not appreciated.

There was more to the conversation than reported here, including Evergreen Clauses.

I spoke to Joe Woodley, CEO of UAEL, who told me he was in favor of having Brook appear, didn't know I had made arrangements, and would plead to the entire board. I then spoke to Conference Chairman John Haenselman who told me he had no problem with Brook getting the award, but "my hands are tied."

In the afternoon, Joe Woodley got back to me that it was final. He said he argued on our behalf, told them Brook was not on the agenda, the conference brochure, no speech, just a quick presentation and he wanted the promotion that Leasing News could bring to make it a better attended event. He had a few other words to say, including it was not unanimous, and he told me he was unhappy with the decision.

There also is a move and talks underway to have the UAEL and EAEL merge. While this was not discussed, the tie in with Bob Fine was obvious, as well as the fact Leasing News is controversial. It is in our mission statement: "One of our main goals is to be a crusader of ideas; a provocateur of thought, presenting all sides following internet netiquette."

Randy Brook's reaction was that he could not speak about pending litigation, IFC Credit, and during his career had spoken at many association meetings and conventions. He was now retired, and
basically doing this because I had asked him.

Col. Nathan R. Jessep:    You want answers?
Lt. Daniel Kaffee:            I think I'm entitled.
Col. Nathan R. Jessep:    You want answers?!
Lt. Daniel Kaffee:            I want the truth!
Col. Nathan R. Jessep:    You can't handle the truth!

----

While Leasing News was not informed who was in attendance
or who voted one way or the other, here is a list of the
2008 UAEL Board of Directors:

Paul Knowlton, CLP
UAEL President

Brent Hall, CLP
UAEL Vice President
Pinnacle Business Finance, Inc.

Jim Merrilees, CLP
UAEL Secretary/Treasurer
Quiktrak, Inc.

Brad Peterson
UAEL Immediate Past President
PredictiFund, Inc.

Jim Brady
ABCO Leasing, Inc.

Chris Enbom, CLP
Allegiant Partners Incorporated

Bill Griffith
Padco Financial Services, Inc.

Oren Hall
Agility Solutions Corp.

Brad Kissler
Strada Capital Corporation

Stephanie Manganaro
LeaseTeam, Inc.

Eric Paton
TechLease L.L.C.

Amy Spragg, CLP
LEAF Third Party Funding

Hugh Swandel
Swandel & Associates

Chris Walker, CLP
GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation

Irwin Wittlin
Hemar, Rousso & Heald

Mission Statement
http://www.leasingnews.org/Mission_Statement.htm

Leasing Person of the Year announcement:
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-07-08.htm#lpy

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Classified Ads—Sales

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

To place a free “job wanted” ad here, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

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The Feds believe money grows on trees

by Christopher Menkin

Even if the Federal Reserve lowers its prime rate one more time tomorrow, it is difficult to believe that it will deliver much change to the weather of the overall small to middle-sized business climate. The larger companies have already put their focus on foreign marketplaces. The banks and major leasing companies made their move last year, and the manufacturers not only started deliveries, but opening plants; even McDonalds can’t keep up with the demand in China.

While Caterpillar posted an 11% rise in quarterly net income last week on strong growth abroad, it reported the growth came from overseas. The heavy-equipment maker said it expects "recessionary conditions" in the U.S. to persist.

The good news, as banks and funders tighten up, more small to middle-sized companies will turn to leasing, even with higher rates as their only alternative.

Former Equipment Leasing and Finance Association President, now at the think tank, the Alta Group, told CFO magazine last week:

"Companies don't buy or lease equipment because the price is right or because interest rates go down, [they acquire equipment] because they need it," Fleming told CFO.com. He also pointed out that his clients, which comprise finance companies that fund equipment leases for companies of all sizes, are being "very cautious" about capital spending, because the markets are unpredictable right now. "That may be irrational, because business fundamentals are all pretty good, all in all . . . but that's the reality," added Fleming.

Michael J. Fleming, principal, the Alta Group
(photo: the Alta Group)

In the end, said Fleming, "if there is a chance that you are not going to be paid back, what does the price [of capital] matter?"

Fleming is not alone with in the overall economic thinking. Top economic advisors are telling the media that it appears stock market fears are driving the Fed to action, and that the Federal Reserve and it Chairman Ben S. Bernanke could be losing credibility by appearing to act in knee-jerk response to plunging stock prices. Former chairman Alan Greenspan has been critical, but recently silent about the rocky road ahead.

Many economists believe there is no quick end in sight to fallout from the credit squeeze that is creating a slowdown in U.S. growth. They report the recession has started and inflation should still be considered a major concern. The Fed appears to be more concerned with the slow down, as if they had not noticed it before, than inflation that is not only influenced by the price of oil but the value of the dollar overseas, balance of trade, and other costs such as basic needs such as food and housing ( rent has gone up, even though there are more houses for sale, and while house prices may be dropping, they remain historically high as does items such as state tax, gasoline tax, hotel tax, and all the hidden taxes government has created so they can claim they haven’t raised the income tax.)

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Jumbo Mortgage Higher Limits

Whether recent changes in jumbo mortgages ceilings are supposed to act as a stimulus, the numbers don't jive with reality.

This is from the San Francisco Chronicle, and while houses are expensive here, they are also as expensive in other major cities, and like numbers may be smaller, but so are the salaries.

Using a median price of a resale home in Santa Clara County, where I live ( and this median house is from 1600 to 1800 square feet, small back yard, not much property, originally may have been a “tract”
house) is $739,00, putting 20% down, the jumbo rate of 6.75% would be 6.75%, but under the stimulus package it would be 5.75%, saving $385 a month.

Forgetting the 20% down, look at the amount financed at $591,200 or $3,450 a month or $41,400 a year. Add on the property tax, insurance, gas and electricity, meaning if 25% of your net income goes to housing, you need to net $185,600 a year. Sure, you can use a higher percentage for housing along, but it cuts down everything else. In addition, if there are two bread winners and one of them loses their job, why would you want to make this venture as the reality is the country is already in a recession?

A combination of inflation and recession has not been seen in the last two recessions, as the control of both factors affects the length of the downturn.

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Too many vacant houses

by Al Shuler, US Department of Agriculture

I have mentioned inventories several times – a disturbing trend is the number of existing homes for sales that are empty. In fact, almost half of the existing homes for sale are empty.

What does all of this mean? It looks like it will take considerable time for the housing market to right itself. The consensus forecast for 2008 is about 1 million conventional starts ( excludes mobile home shipments). NAHB’s latest forecast has the market bottoming this year ( 1.08 million), and beginning a slow recovery in 2009 ( 1.185 million) and reaching 1.45 million in 2010. The Fed will probably lower interest rates 50 basis points at their next meeting at the end of this month, but tighter lending standards are making it much tougher to qualify for a mortgage. Affordability is a function of home prices (still too high), income growth (they are now in question as indicated by the latest job report), and interest rates. Lower rates will help, but they are just one part of the affordability puzzle.

The housing correction continues: total starts for 2007 are estimated to be 1.35 million (SAAR), down 24.8% from 2006 levels while single family starts in 2007 were 1.046 million (SAAR), down 28.6% from 2007; and permits fell 25% in 2007 to 1.38 million (SAAR).

In essence, “the chickens are coming home to roost”. Inventories (November 2007), of new homes (505,000) remain stubbornly high, despite continuing cutbacks by builders. The inventory of existing homes is 4.27 million, a 10.3 month supply. The solution to this problem as discussed in last month’s report, is a substantial decline in home prices - - perhaps as much as 15% to 20% from current levels. The slide below indicates that, to date, home prices are indeed receding. But, compared to median prices in 2000, before the run up really escalated, today’s prices are still quite high. In fact, today’s prices are still up 50% over prices in 2000 – that’s considerably higher than the CPI inflation rate of 20% between 2000 – 2007.

December housing starts fell 14.2%, to 1.006 million (SAAR) with single family starts down 2.9% to 0.794 million (SAAR). Regionally, starts were down in all regions: NE (-25.8%); Mid West (-30.8%)%; the West (-19.6)% and the South down 3.3%. Permits continue to slide, down 8.1% to 1.068 million (SAAR), the slowest pace since May 1993.

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Top Stories --- January 21---25

Here are the top ten stories most “opened” by readers last week:

(1) Ex-ELFA President: “rate cut won't help Leasing”
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-23-08.htm#cut

(2) What You Don't Know About Headhunters
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#hhunt

(3) Solarcomcapital.com
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-25-08.htm#solar

(4) Leasing #102 -by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
“Landlord/Mortgagee Waivers”
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#102

(5) Key Equipment Finance Numbers
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-23-08.htm#kef

(6) The Latest Nigerian Scam
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-25-08.htm#scam

(7) FTC-IFC Trial to be a lulu
by Christopher Menkin
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#ftc

(8) PFF Wins One in Creative Capital BK
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#pff

(9) ELFA paid lobbyist $100,000
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#elfa

(10) Cartoon—Puppy in the slammer
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#toon

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The latest Nigerian eMail: Marriage & Money

Dearest One,

Please do not be surprise to receive my email, am juilet agbata
from the republic of NIGERIA a student of university of NIGERIA ABUJA where i was studying accountancy am 24 years. As a matter of fact due to the unexpected dearth of my family in a ghastly motor accident which take the life of my family bring me down not able to further my education why because no one to sponsored me back to school, that is how i left my university.

I now decided to look for a man of my choice whom i can get married with so fortunately i saw your profile of which i know that we can been together it is something i have been thinking and also looking for but when i saw your profile i was so much interested in you i know this will sound strange or funny to your hearing, someone you do not know how can she, be sending such marry proposal to you at the same time need your urgent assistance regarding to my family valuables been kept by my late father in the security vault that worth the sum of ($25,000.000.00) USD. But i want you to understand that the linkage of the drum will not stop it for retaining water not seeing me do not matter, all i need is a honesty man i will have as a husband and also i promise to be a honest woman to you. if you agree to agree to each other we forge ahead and proceed on.

Now that my family are no more i want you to take the silent of my family away from me for i believe that if you are with me i can't think of my family any more i will still let you know that you are mine forever and am yours forever.

i will be very grateful if you can find a place in your heart to accept my proposal
I wait to hear from you urgently
Thanks and my feeling the most distinguish
best regards
Juilet.

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Golf Courses/Ranges/Instructors USA DVD

Never-Search for Golf is a golf course location guide, containing a complete and comprehensive array of golf course contact information, course data and location information… all mapped with unprecedented accuracy to verified coordinates. Designed to appeal to travelers desiring to locate and qualify a golf course in an unfamiliar area, and to golfers who want to expand their area of play.

Includes the most up-to-date locations and profiles of:
All 18,475 Golf Courses in the US
1,600 Driving Ranges
3,500 Off-Course Golf Stores
9,000 Golf Instructors

A business and personal edition are available. In fact, several versions
from $19.95 on up.

30 Day free trial is available

www.never-search.com

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Documentation / Funding Manager

Documentation / Funding Manager Austin, Texas Great opportunity with well-respected company, working in the best part of the world. Click here for more information. Affiliated Investment Group has 22 years experience serving the broker community.

www.affiliatedinvestment.com

EFD Marketing Officer

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Leasing 102

by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Lease Packager Notification

Early terminations can occur if the lessee returns the equipment, in agreed upon shape, with a check for the remaining rents. But the most common way is a request from the lessee for an early purchase. The non-cancelability of the agreement makes this a sticky issue. In a bargain option lease it would appear that nothing is at risk so why not accept an early payoff with the advantage of a prepayment fee or penalty. The problem comes from how often you accept a reduced amount and what procedure or policy you follow to compute the purchase amount. If you just let anyone pay off early you are establishing a precedent that negates the non-cancelability clause. Someday a lessee may want to pay off early that will leave you in a very poor position with your matched funding and there will not be much you can do about it. I therefore suggest a written policy to handle these requests where you state the method to determine the pay off amount and the reasons for accepting the request overruling the non-cancelable clause in the lease.

One of the problems with new financial institutions, that fund leases, is that they do not have a procedure to notify the packager/broker when they receive an early pay off request so there is no opportunity to discuss the prepayment amount to determine a correct figure. Therefore, part of the funding agreement or the assignment agreement should require the funder to notify the packager of the request so the packager can contact the lessee to determine the facts. Then a proper amount can be determined and a good procedure followed.

You must follow the lease agreement and the language in the agreement or the consequences may not be to your liking. A non cancelable lease has a purpose and should not be ignored.
How do we early terminate a non-cancelable lease? If your lease has a non-cancelable clause then the only way the lease can be paid off early, according to the lease contract, is if the Lessee destroys the equipment or it becomes inoperable and as a result the lessee is in default. Then you must comply with the remedies section of the lease. If there is a loss/default you request compensation to restore the value lost.

In a bargain option lease the value loss is the unpaid balance including any small residual you may have booked or expected. We call this value the “termination value”(TV). In a True lease the value lost is the remaining rents, the equipments value and any unpaid late charges or other fees plus any earnings you may have received by selling or releasing the equipment after termination. We call this the ”stipulated loss value” (STV). The SLV is defined as the amount necessary to make the Lessor whole with the original yield intact, taking the tax consequences into effect at the time of the loss. It is called stipulated because it is a default and is found in the remedies section.

One problem when the equipment is destroyed is that most lessors’s only ask for the SLV or TV stated in the lease. However, there are times when the insured value of the equipment, in the latter term of the lease, is greater than the SLV or the TV. Therefore, your language should say the SLV or the Fair Market Value in exchange whichever is greater. You are entitled, as equipment owner, to the equipments actual value or the amount to make you whole whichever is greater. Without this your transaction may be considered a loan.

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-327-8666.
He invites your questions and queries.

Previous #102 Columns:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Leasing_102/Index.htm

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News Briefs----

Countrywide CEO to Relinquish $37.5 Mln In Payments
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-countrywide-ceo.html
?_r=1&oref=slogin--

No Country' Wins Key SAG Prizes
http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/shared-gen/ap/
Movies/Film_SAG_Awards.html

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You May have Missed---

Weak Dollar Fuels China's Buying Spree Of U.S. Firms
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/
AR2008012702380.html

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Sports Briefs----

Woods makes statement, wins Buick Invitational
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/2008-01-27-buick-invitational_N.
htm?loc=interstitialskip

Brady: "I'll be ready to go"
http://blog.nj.com/ledgergiants/2008/01/brady_ill_be_ready_to_go.html

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“Gimme that Wine”

GrapeRadio on American Airlines
http://www.decanter.com/news/175795.html

Wine rating numbers may not add up
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080123/LIFESTYLE/801230312/-1/
SPECIAL&THEMES=FOODWINE

After more than 30 years of creating critically acclaimed vintages, Merry Edwards finally has a winery of her own
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080123/LIFESTYLE/801230304/-1/
SPECIAL&THEMES=FOODWINE

King of Carneros: Grape grower sets the standard for the region's wines
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/25/WILMUFMM2.DTL

Wines & Vines 2008 Directory/Buyer's Guide Available Now in Print -- Winery and PhoneBook Quick Search Available Online
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=52751

Winemap.org
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080125/NEWS/801250390/1036/BUSINESS01

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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Calendar Events This Day

Better Business Communication Day
This is a day set aside to encourage all workers to acknowledge the importance of effective communication in the workplace. Tips, workshops and seminars will be offered around this day to help
workers improve their communication skills.
www.corspan.org

Blueberry Pancake Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/library/bljan28a.htm

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day
A day to celebrate the joy that Bubble wrap brings to our lives. A day to learn the history and snapping etiquette and to gain a new appreciation of the country’s favorite shipping material
(invented in 1960).

Daisy Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/library/bljan28d.htm

Ernie's Birthday
http://homeschooling.about.com/library/bljan28b.htm

Fun at Work Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/January/funatworkday.htm

International Make Your Point Day

Kazoo Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/January/kazooday.htm
http://homeschooling.about.com/library/bljan28c.htm

Saint feast Days

• Bl. Amadeus of Lausanne
• St. Antilnus
• St. Valerius
• St. Thyrsus, Leucius, & Callinicus
• St. Thomas Aquinas
• St. Cannera
• St. Flavian
• St. Glastian
• St. James the Hermit
• St. Jerome Lu, Blessed
• St. John of Reomay
• St. Julian of Cuenca
• Bl. Lawrence Wang
• Bl. Roger of Todi
• St. Richard of Vaucelles
• St. Odo of Beauvais
• St. Palladius
• St. Paulinus of Aquileia
• St. Peter Nolasco

http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/jan.php

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The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. It is the most common phrase to test the transmission over the wire or wireless.

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Today's Top Event in History

1973-Viet Nam War cease-fire went into effect at 8 a.m., Saigon time (midnight on January 27, Greenwich Mean Time). When the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam's territory and 85 percent of the population. The South Vietnamese Army was well equipped via last-minute deliveries of U.S. weapons and continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire. The CIA estimated North Vietnamese presence in the South at 145,000 men, about the same as the previous year. The cease-fire began on time, but both sides violated it. South Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the cease-fire deadline and the communists tried to capture additional territory. Each side held that military operations were justified by the other side's violations of the cease-fire. What resulted was 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, about 25,000 South Vietnamese were killed in battle in 1973, while communist losses in South Vietnam were estimated at 45,000.

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This Day in American History

    1595 -- Sir Francis Drake, English navigator/pirate (Porto Bello West Indies), after discovering California, dies at about 50, of dysentery, off the coast of Panama.
http://www.mcn.org/2/oseeler/drake.htm
    1772 - The "Washington and Jefferson" snowstorm occurred across the mid Atlantic states. George Washington in Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson in Monticello were marooned by this storm. Snowfall was estimated at 3 feet on a level across Virginia and Maryland. Washington wrote, "...the deepest snow which I suppose the oldest living ever remembers to have seen in this country".
    1782-Great Seal of the US: Congress resolved that the secretary of the Congress should “keep the public seal, and cause same to be affixed to every act, ordinance or paper, which Congress shall direct...” Although the Great Seal did not exist yet, the Congress recognized the need for it.
    1787 -- The Free Africa Society organizes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3narr4.html
http://www.blackvoices.com/
    1791- Plans for National Mint : Though the Constitution granted Congress the "power…to coin money," the dawn of the 1780s found America still a nation in need of a standard currency. Following the Revolutionary War, the U.S. seemed as though as it would adopt copper as its coin of choice. However, various efforts to produce and standardize copper proved futile. Congress pushed on and, in 1786, signed off on Thomas Jefferson’s proposal for a dollar-driven currency. Of course, the nation also needed to develop a means for producing this currency and on this day in 1791, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton stepped before the House to deliver a report on the establishment of a national mint. Hamilton’s work helped pave the way for the authorization of the United States Mint on April 2, 1792.
    1828-Confederate General Thomas Carmichael Hindman is born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Hindman was raised in Alabama and educated in New York and New Jersey. His family moved to a Mississippi plantation, and he returned from the North to study law. His studies were interrupted by service in the Mexican War, but he was admitted to the Mississippi Bar Association in 1851. He earned a reputation as an avid secessionist long before many southerners held that view. He moved to Arkansas and was elected to Congress in 1858. Hindman's law partner was Patrick Cleburne, who also became a Confederate General. When the war began, Hindman raised his own regiment and led it as a colonel. He was soon promoted to general and he raised an army of 18,000 from Arkansas. His tenure as commander in Arkansas was stormy. Hindman declared martial law, imposed price controls, and enforced conscription. After his force was stopped at Prairie Grove in December 1862, Hindman was reassigned to the Army of Tennessee. He fought at Chickamauga and Atlanta, and was wounded twice. After the surrender, Hindman fled to Mexico and joined a number of Confederates there. Hindman returned to Arkansas in 1868 and dove back into politics. He led a faction that challenged the Republican Party, and, in a pragmatic political maneuver, he began working on a biracial coalition. Hindman was shot as he sat in his living room, most likely by one of his political opponents. He died on September 28, 1868.
    1853-Birthday of Jose Julian Marti, Cuban author and political activist, born at Havana, Cuba. Marti was exiled to Spain, where he stuided law before coming to the US in 1890. He was killed in battle at Dos Rios, Cuba, May 19,1895.
The popular song "Guantanamera" is based on a poem by Marti'. Worked on underground papers & sent to jail & forced into exile (three columns & you're out?)
"No man has any special right because he belongs to any specific race; just by saying the word man, we have already said all the rights."
— Jose Marti
http://members.aol.com/josemarticuba/index1.html
http://www.patriagrande.net/cuba/jose.marti/
    1832 -- Lydia Maria Child's first piece, "Stand From Under," written for William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery weekly The Liberator, is published.
http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/lydiamariachild.html
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_child_lydia_maria.htm
    1854 -- Thirty miners attack a peaceful Indian village on the Coquille River near Randolph, Oregon, killing 16. During this period the US Army engaged Indians, signing treaties for rights to land, and Indians who did not want to negotiate for land fought back, killing settlers and it was quite a turbulent time.
The Indians lost as they had no “modern” weapons or horses and many
tribes at the time were “farmers” and “hunters with primitive bow and arrow.” http://fs.jorge.com/archives/Heritage_Program/FurTradeEraInWesternOregon.htm
    1855-The Panama Railway, which carried thousands of unruly miners to California via the dense jungles of Central America, dispatches its first train across the Isthmus of Panama. Before 1855, sea travelers not wishing to endure the long and treacherous passage around the tip of South America would disembark on the East Coast of Nicaragua. They would then proceed by light boat up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua, cross the lake in larger steamers, and complete the final overland leg of the journey via carriages. They traveled on a modern road that deposited them on the West Coast, where they boarded a steamer for San Francisco. In 1847, a group of New York financiers organized the Panama Railroad Company to do just that, and in 1850, workers began laying track through Panamanian jungle roughly along the route followed by the present canal. Completed in early 1855, the first train departed from the Atlantic side for the Pacific on January 28. A ship voyage punctuated by a brief train ride across the isthmus now became the fastest and most comfortable means of traveling to California, and tens of thousands of gold-hungry emigrants were soon racing through Panama every year. The traffic of freight and human beings moving both ways across the isthmus kept the Panama Railway busy until 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States. However, the railway continued to carry a great deal of commercial freight destined for Europe or Asia until the Panama Canal was completed in 1914.
    1855-Birthday of William Burroughs, who invented the first commercially successful adding machine and founded the American Arithmomter Company of St. Louis. The company later became Burroughs Adding Machine Company. His earliest version of the machine, like other adding machines of the time, was accurate but impractical. However, in 1892 he patented a practical adding machine that would become a commercial success. Burroughs, who died in 1898, did not live to see the profits of his invention or the thriving success of his company.
    1856-The Geisel Massacre, Indians go on a rampage. The Geisel Monument
5 miles North of Gold Beach. Located off Highway 101,this day use area state park contains a monument to one of the white families that was attacked by Oregon Indians in 1856 during the “Geisel Massacre.”
    1858- John Brown formalizes his strategy for a raid on Arsenal at Harper's Ferry.
Here is a background that gives quite a bit of understanding of the times and
his motivation.
http://www.wvculture.org/history/jb11.html
    1878- New Haven, Connecticut, opened the first commercial phone exchange, providing eight lines for twenty-one telephones.
    1884-For Star Trek fans, Gene Roddenberry named the famous Captain
Picard after Jean Piccard, scientist, engineer, explorer, born at Basel, Switzerland. Noted for cosmic-ray research and record-setting balloon ascensions into stratosphere. Reached 57,589 feet in sealed gondola piloted by his wife, Jeannette, in 1934. Twin brother of Auguste Piccard. Died at Minneapolis, MN, Jan 28, 1963. To learn about Captain Jean Picard
http://mario.lapam.mo.it/tng/picard.htm
    1885-- Louis “Big Eye” Nelson birthday (1885-1949) Clarinet player, not to be confused with Louis Nelson, trombone player ( they often played in the same band ).
http://www.thejukejoint.com/amcd-007.html
    1902-Carnegie Institution established. Andrew Carnegie spent a good chunk of his life building a chokehold over the steel industry. However, after years at the lead of the second Industrial Revolution, he decided to cash in his chips in 1901 and sold his stake in the mighty Carnegie Steel concern—then worth roughly $40 million—to the United States Steel Corporation for $250 million. Rather than retire and play with his riches, Carnegie followed his belief that a "man who dies rich dies disgraced" and set to doling out his fortune to various philanthropic causes. All told, Carnegie donated $350 million, $10 million of which he handed over on this day in 1902 to establish the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. According to Carnegie, the Institution was designed "to encourage, in the broadest and most liberal manner, investigation, research, and discovery, and the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind." Carnegie’s lofty mission translated into an organization dedicated to research and education in "biology, astronomy, and the earth sciences."
    1908- Julie Ward Howe, author and activist Julia Ward Howe, famous for her composition, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan28.html
    1912 – Birthday of American artist Jackson Pollock, Cody, Wyoming. He was instrumental is the development of the distinctly American abstract expressionist movement in the United States. He became notorious for his drip painting methods and his huge canvases layered with paint and embedded objects. Pollock, known for his emotional volatility and heavy drinking, seen as a phony by some, and a hero by others, used his innovative, individualistic and uninhibited style to birth a new artistic genre in post World War II America. " A movie about his life starred
Ed Harris was very factual. Died Long Island, NY,1956
http://www.sheldonartgallery.org/
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/P/pollock.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june99/pollock_1-11.html
http://www.beatmuseum.org/pollock/jacksonpollock.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671495933/ref=ase_inktomi-bkasin-20/
002-1241397-9042458
    1915 - Congress passed legislation creating the United States Coast Guard, combining the Life Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service.
    1915- President Wilson refuses to prohibit immigration of illiterates
    1916-First Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, was appointed to the US Supreme Court by President Woodrow Wilson. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on June 1, 1916. He served until 1929.
http://library.brandeis.edu/SpecialCollections/SpecialEvents/Brandeis/
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbrandeis.htm
    1922 - The National Football League franchise in Decatur, Illinois, moved to Chicago, Illinois to become the Chicago Bears.
    1922 - The "Knickerbocker" storm immobilized the city of Washington D.C. The storm produced 28 inches of snow in 32 hours, and the heavy snow caused the roof of the Knickerbocker movie theatre to collapse killing 96 persons.
    1925 -46ºF (-43ºC), Pittsburgh NH (state record)
    1927-Birthday of sax player Ronnie Scott, London, England
http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/
    1927 –American composer Aaron Copland's First Piano is first performed:
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/achtml/actime.html
    1927-- Jean Goldkette and His Dancing Orchestra, "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover"
    1928- birthday of James Edward “Pete” Runnels, great baseball player born at Lufkin, TX. Runnels won the American League batting title in 1960 and 1961 playing for the Boston Red Sox. Died at Pasadena, TX, May 20, 1993.
    1932- the first unemployment insurance act passed by a state was enacted by Wisconsin. Every employer of 10 or more was required to put 2 percent of the payroll aside until a fund accrued equaling $75 per eligible worked. An employee who lost his or her job could draw on the fund at the rate of $10 a week for a maximum of 10 weeks.
    1934 - As a result of a compliment from Walter Winchell's newspaper column, a local disc jockey began getting offers from talent scouts and producers. The DJ became known as Redhead, to those in Washington, DC and later, by millions across the United States on CBS radio and television. His trademark, strumming a ukulele and delivering down-home talk, endeared him to fans. His name was Arthur Godfrey.
http://timstvshowcase.com/
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,436345,00.html
    1934 - Robert Royce’s ski lift was used for the first time in Woodstock, Vermont. Previously, snow skiers had no way to get to the top of the mountain conveniently.
About 900 yards of manila rope 0.875 inches thick was spliced together, passed over pulleys and around a wheel attached to a tractor, and extended up the hill 300 yards.
    1937- Trumpeter Roy Eldridge records “ After You’ve Gone.”
    1944--*GIBSON, ERIC G. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization. Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Isola Bella, Italy, 28 January 1944. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Birth: Nysund, Sweden. G.O. No.: 74, 11 September 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 28 January 1944, near Isola Bella, Italy, Tech. 5th Grade Gibson, company cook, led a squad of replacements through their initial baptism of fire, destroyed four enemy positions, killed 5 and captured 2 German soldiers, and secured the left flank of his company during an attack on a strongpoint. Placing himself 50 yards in front of his new men, Gibson advanced down the wide stream ditch known as the Fossa Femminamorta, keeping pace with the advance of his company. An enemy soldier allowed Tech. 5th Grade Gibson to come within 20 yards of his concealed position and then opened fire on him with a machine pistol. Despite the stream of automatic fire which barely missed him, Gibson charged the position, firing his submachine gun every few steps. Reaching the position, Gibson fired pointblank at his opponent, killing him. An artillery concentration fell in and around the ditch; the concussion from one shell knocked him flat. As he got to his feet Gibson was fired on by two soldiers armed with a machine pistol and a rifle from a position only 75 yards distant. Gibson immediately raced toward the foe. Halfway to the position a machinegun opened fire on him. Bullets came within inches of his body, yet Gibson never paused in his forward movement. He killed one and captured the other soldier. Shortly after, when he was fired upon by a heavy machinegun 200 yards down the ditch, Gibson crawled back to his squad and ordered it to lay down a base of fire while he flanked the emplacement. Despite all warning, Gibson crawled 125 yards through an artillery concentration and the cross fire of 2 machineguns which showered dirt over his body, threw 2 hand grenades into the emplacement and charged it with his submachine gun, killing 2 of the enemy and capturing a third. Before leading his men around a bend in the stream ditch, Gibson went forward alone to reconnoiter. Hearing an exchange of machine pistol and submachine gun fire, Gibson's squad went forward to find that its leader had run 35 yards toward an outpost, killed the machine pistol man, and had himself been killed while firing at the Germans.
    1945 - The US 8th Air Force conducts raids on the Ruhr industrial area and the Rhine with 1000 bombers. Oil plants and bridges are the nominal targets.
    1945 - A convoy of United States trucks from India crossed the Burmese-Chinese border, opening the famous "Burma Road."
    1946-Jazz at the Philharmonic records “Lady Be Good” at Phi8lharmonic Auditorium, LA.
    1947- In New York City, a copy of the 1640 Bay Psalm Book was purchased at an auction at Parke-Bernet Galleries for $150,000 --the highest price ever paid to date for a single volume. (The original title of the book was: "The Whole Book of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre.")
    1948-Birthday of drummer Bob Moses, New York City, NY
    1948---Top Hits
Golden Earrings - Peggy Lee
How Soon - Jack Owens
Ballerina - Vaughn Monroe
I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
    1955 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower received full authority from the Senate to use armed forces abroad to defend Formosa (Taiwan) against possible attacks by the Chinese Communists.
    1955-- The "Top 10 R&B Show" package tour kicks off its 42-date, 60-day national excursion in New York City, featuring The Clovers, Faye Adams, The Charms, Joe Turner, the Moonglows, Lowell Fulson, and The Bill Doggett Trio.
    1956--Birthday of American composer Richard Danielpour.
    1956---Top Hits
Memories are Made of This - Dean Martin
The Great Pretender - The Platters
Moritat (A Theme from ’The Three Penny Opera’) - Dick Hyman
Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
    1956-. 1956, Elvis Presley made his first national television appearance on the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey "Stage Show" on CBS. The big band of the Dorsey’s backed the singer, one of the few times he played without his own band, and to a 28 piece orchestra. Although Elvis's name was on the marquee of the New York theatre where the show took place, his appearance attracted little attention. In fact, the promoter is said to have returned to the theatre at show time with dozens of tickets, unable even to give them away in Times Square. After the show, however, Elvis was a national star. Sales of his debut single for RCA Victor, "Heartbreak Hotel," snowballed
    1957 -"Tonight! America After Dark" premieres, with Jack Lescoulie & Al (Jazzbo) Collins on NBC (between Steve Allen & Jack Paar) It lasted only a few weeks.
http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/tonight_Jazzbo.html
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/T/htmlT/tonightshow/tonightshow.htm
    1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers announced they had hired circus clown Emmett Kelly to entertain fans at baseball games. The next year, the Dodgers moved to Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, California
    1958- One of my boyhood idols Roy Campanella of the Los Angeles Dodgers, formerly the Brooklyn Dodgers, was severely injured in a car crash on an icy road in the early morning hours. Campanella was paralyzed from the waist down and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. His cheery disposition served as an inspiration.’1969, a major oil spill with disastrous consequences occurred when Offshore Well A-21, owned by the Union Oil Company, burst and began leaking crude oil along a 200-mile stretch of coast centered on Santa Barbara, CA. The lease, which took 11 days to plug, fouled beaches and caused widespread loss of animal life.
    1959-Vince Lombardi was named head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
    1963 - Black student Harvey Gantt entered Clemson College in South Carolina, the last state to hold out against integration. He later become the first African-American to be elected mayor of Charlotte, NC. He later ran unsuccessfully against acknowledged racist Jesse Helms for the US Senate. Gantt remains politically active as a member of the North Carolina Democratic State Executive Council and the Democratic National Committee. He frequently lectures at colleges and universities and also takes a leadership role in numerous civic organizations.
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/case/caseweb/catalog/abstracts/JesseHelmsv.Har.html
    1963 -34ºF (-37ºC), Cynthiana KY (state record)
    1964---Top Hits
There! I’ve Said It Again - Bobby Vinton
I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
Surfin’ Bird - The Trashmen
Love’s Gonna Live Here - Buck Owens
    1965 - General Motors reported the biggest profit in the history of any United States company. In 1964, earnings for the #1 of the Big Three automakers totaled $1.735 billion.
    1966 - Film actress Hedy Lamarr was arrested for shoplifting in a May Company store. She was later found not guilty. The beautiful Lamarr was popular in movies during the '30s and '40s, appearing in Boom Town, White Cargo, and Samson and Delilah.
    1969-The first oil spill with disastrous consequences occurred when Offshore Well A-21, owned by the Union Oil Company, burst and began leaking crude oil along a 200-mile stretch of coast centered on Santa Barbara, CA. The leak, which took 11 days to plug, fouled beaches and caused widespread loss of animal life.
    1970-Arthur Ashe, first Black male to win Wimbledon, is denied entry to compete on the US Team for the South African Open tennis championships due to Ashe's sentiments on South Africa's racial policies.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/features/1997/arthurashe/
    1972---Top Hits
American Pie - Don McLean
Let’s Stay Together - Al Green
Day After Day - Badfinger
Carolyn - Merle Haggard
    1973-Viet Nam War cease-fire went into effect at 8 a.m., Saigon time (midnight on January 27, Greenwich Mean Time). When the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam's territory and 85 percent of the population. The South Vietnamese Army was well equipped via last-minute deliveries of U.S. weapons and continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire. The CIA estimated North Vietnamese presence in the South at 145,000 men, about the same as the previous year. The cease-fire began on time, but both sides violated it. South Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the cease-fire deadline and the communists tried to capture additional territory. Each side held that military operations were justified by the other side's violations of the cease-fire. What resulted was 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, about 25,000 South Vietnamese were killed in battle in 1973, while communist losses in South Vietnam were estimated at 45,000.
    1973- “Barnaby Jones” premiered on TV. CBS drama about a mild-mannered, milk-drinking (but don't say milquetoast) private eye who comes out of retirement following his son's murder. Cast included Buddy Ebsen as Barnaby Jones; Lee Meriwether as Barnaby's widowed daughter-in-law, Betty Jones; John Carter as Lieutenant Biddle and Mark Shera as Jedediah Jones. Buddy Ebsen, playing the detective, started in movies back in the 1920s, and was chosen to play a part in "The Wizard of Oz", but bowed out. He also shot the first film used in Walt Disney's the animation tests for a character named Mortimer Mouse, who would be known as Mickey Mouse. He is best known for portraying Jed Clampett the CBS-TV series, "The Beverly Hillbillies".
http://timstvshowcase.com/barnaby.html
    1975- President Gerald Ford asks Congress for an additional $522 million in military aid for South Vietnam and Cambodia. He revealed that North Vietnam now had 289,000 troops in South Vietnam, and tanks, heavy artillery, and antiaircraft weapons "by the hundreds." Ford succeeded Richard Nixon when he resigned the presidency in August 1974. Despite his wishes to honor Nixon's promise to come to the aid of South Vietnam, he was faced with a hostile Congress who refused to appropriate military aid for South Vietnam and Cambodia; both countries fell to the communists later in the year.
    1976- George Harrison announced that he would participate in a planned Beatles reunion concert. The other three members had already agreed, but nonetheless the concert did not materialize. 1977- The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith published an 18-page document ruling out the admission of women to the Roman Catholic priesthood because women lacked a "natural resemblance which must exist between Christ and his ministers."
    1978-”Fantasy Island” premiered on TV. You knew you were a bona fide "star" in the '70s when you received a casting call from "Fantasy Island." Young and old stayed home on Saturday night to watch Mr. Roarke introduce guest stars anxious to live out their fantasies in camp splendor. Ricardo Montalban starred as our prescient guide, Mr. Roarke; with Hervé Villechaize as Tattoo; Wendy Schaal as Mr Roarke's goddaughter, Julie; and Christopher Hewett as Mr. Roarke's assistant, Lawrence. The show's run of 130 episodes, ending on Aug 18, 1984, was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. Who can forget Tattoo's opening lines each week, "De plane, de plane!"
http://timstvshowcase.com/fantisle.html
    1980---Top Hits
Rock with You - Michael Jackson
Do that to Me One More Time - The Captain & Tennille
Coward of the County - Kenny Rogers
I’ll Be Coming Back for More - T.G. Sheppard
    1983 - The surreal Videodrome, starring James Woods and Debbie Harry of Blondie fame, opened in United States theaters. 1984- Mr. Glynn Wolfe marries for non-bigamous record 26th time, Las Vegas NV. He died in 1997 after being married 29 times.
http://www.anastasiabaptist.org/sermon_feb_09_2002.html
    1984 -Record 295,000 dominoes toppled, Fuerth, West Germany. This started a craze . The latest record occurred on December 31, 2000 in an event held jointly by Japan's Tokyo Broadcasting System and China's Beijing Television, 3,407,535 dominoes were toppled in 31 min 2 sec at the Gymnasium of Yi Fang Yuan, Beijing, China.
http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Dominoes.htm
    1985 - 45 of the top recording artists in the world were invited to an all-night recording session at Los Angeles, California's A&M studios. As each artist entered the studio door, they saw a hand-lettered sign, by Lionel Richie, saying, "Check your ego at the door." The session, conducted by producer Quincy Jones, started at 10 p.m., and by 8 a.m. the following morning, "USA for Africa", spearheaded by promoter Ken Kragen, was recorded and mixed. The resulting song, "We Are the World", featured Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Sting, Harry Belafonte, Diana Ross, Paul Simon and others. It became the top song in the United States. A year later, the song won Grammy Awards for song, record and video of the year. Produced by Quincy Jones, "We Are the World" also included contributions from Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper.   USA For Africa, the organization responsible for administering the money raised from sales of the single, album, video and other merchandise, said $61.8-million was eventually raised. About 7.2 million singles and albums were sold.
    1986- At 11:39 AM, EST, the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L exploded, 74 seconds into its flight and about 10 miles above the earth. Hundreds of millions around the world watched television replays of the horrifying event that killed seven people, destroyed the billion-dollar craft, suspended all shuttle flights and halted, at least temporarily, much of the US manned space flight program. Killed were teacher Christa McAuliffe (who was to have been the first ordinary citizen in space) and six crew members: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald E. McNair and Gregory B. Jarvis.
    1987 - ABC-TV relocated reporter, Charles Gibson, to the co-anchor chair next to Joan Lunden for the start of another chapter of "Good Morning America" when host of 11 years, David Hartman.
    1987 - After 7 tempestuous years, Roger Mudd left NBC news. Previously, Mudd an icon at CBS news Mudd felt passed over when it was announced Dan Rather would replace Walter Cronkite as anchor of "The CBS Evening News". He went on to work at PBS, where he contributed to "The MacNeil Lehrer News Hour".
    1989- the Bachman-Turner Overdrive lineup of guitarists Randy Bachman and Blair Thornton, bassist Fred Turner and drummer Robbie Bachman played together for the first time in 11 years at a reunion concert in a Vancouver nightclub. BTO was joined on stage by Paul Dean of Loverboy and Bryan Adams for BTO's 1974 hit "Taking Care of Business" and a rock 'n' roll oldies medley.
    1988---Top Hits
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
Need You Tonight - INXS
Could’ve Been - Tiffany
Where Do the Nights Go - Ronnie Milsap
    1990 -The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Bronco, 55-10, to win Super Bowl XXIV. 49ers quarterback Joe Montana won the Super Bowl. Most valuable Player award for the third time. he completed 22 of 29 passes for 297 yards and five touchdowns, including three to wide receiver Jerry Rice. Tickets: $125.00.
    1993- MTV said it would not air "Big Boys Bickering" as part of its special "Paul McCartney Up Close." The US music video channel was upset with the profanity in the song, which McCartney's publicist said was a protest against governments' refusal to act together against global pollution.
    1993- a mix-up at a Dallas CD manufacturer resulted in about 30 copies of the Dead Kennedy’s album "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" being mislabeled as a religious radio program called "Powerline." The Southern Baptist Radio- TV Commission had to call more than 12-hundred stations to warn them of the error. The Kennedy’s album contained such lines as "God told me to skin you alive."
    1995 - TLC’s "Creep" hit number one on the "Billboard" "Hot 100". The smash held down the top spot for four weeks : “So I creep yeah; Just keep it on the down low; Said nobody is supposed 2 know; So I creep yeah; 'Cause he doesn't know; What I do and no attention; Goes to show oh so I creep.”
    1996 –The Dallas Cowboys became the first franchise to win three Super Bowls in four seasons by defeating Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX (at Tempe): Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17. Most Valuable Player of the game: Dallas cornerback Larry Brown. Who’s Larry Brown, you ask? He’s the one who intercepted the two Neil O’Donnell passes that (1) stopped two Pittsburgh drives and (2) set up two Dallas touchdowns. Tickets: $250.00.
http://images.nfl.com/history/images/0128.jpg
    1996-- Diana Ross performs at the Superbowl XXX halftime show in Tempe, AZ.
    2001 - Super Bowl XXXV (at Tampa Bay): Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7. “We feel we’re the best defense to ever play the game,” boasted Ravens’ defensive tackle Tony Siragusa. Arguably, the 2000 Ravens’ defense ranks up there with the 1960’s Fearsome Foursome of the Los Angeles Rams, Miami’s
    1972-1973 No-Name Defense, the 1974-1979 Pittsburgh Steelers’ Steel Curtain, Dallas’ Doomsday defense of the 1970s, the 1973-1976 Purple People Eaters in Minnesota and the 1985-1986 Chicago Bears. MVP: Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis, who led a defense that intercepted four of NY quarterback Kerry Collins’ passes, allowed only a punt-return touchdown (by the Giants’ Ron Dixon) and held New York to 152 yards of offense. Tickets: $325.00 to $400.
    2001-- Instead of performing the US national anthem at Superbowl XXXV in Tampa Bay, FL, Ray Charles performs his version of "America The Beautiful." (The Backstreet Boys sing the actual anthem.)

Super bowl Champions This Date

    1990 San Francisco 49ers ( San Francisco 55, Denver 10 )
    1996 Dallas Cowboys  ( Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17 )
    2001 Baltimore Ravens ( Baltimore 34, New York Giants 7 )

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Football Poem

If

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

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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

[headlines]

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

Daily Puzzle

How to play:
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Refresh for current date:
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http://www.gasbuddy.com/
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx

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News on Line---Internet Newspapers

Central Minnesota

News Herald

http://www.inhnews.com/

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