VENDOR SALES SPECIALISTS LEASING SALES PROFESSIONALS Like selling vendor programs and large transactions? Enjoy international financing programs? Prefer the advantages of a commission only environment with the security of health and welfare benefits? CLICK HERE to find out how to have fun again.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

(photo: http://www.myspace.com/tomhanks )
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks, actor, director, writer, producer,
born July 9, 1956 Concord, California
(yes, he is on “my space” with his own web page. )

Headlines---

Hot in California—Kit Menkin
    Classified Ads---Leasing Recruiters
Trigger Leads---Part I--EXCLUSIVE
by Christopher Menkin
    Horowitz: Financial Pro Solutions
        Classified Ads---Help Wanted
    New Hires---Promotions
The Alexa Report on Web Leasing Sites
    The Lease Blog Grows
        Mozilla Firefox fastest browser on the Web
Summer Special: 20% off Help Wanted Ads
(plus an extra ten days—one full month)
Sales makes it Happen—by Adrian Miller
“When Leasing Gets Tough”
    Maria & Gretchen recommend "Margarita Mama"
        Bernanke Endorses Expanded Authority?
            Oil Leasing Fraud case expands
        Air India is bleeding
    Conn keeps Quinn competitive using leasing
Pending home sales fall 4.7 percent
    China's economy world's biggest in 2035
        Sales of million-dollar Tahoe homes fall
    News
CalFireNews
    You May have Missed---
        California Nuts Brief---
Sports Briefs---
    "Gimme that Wine"
        Calendar Events
Snapple Real Facts
    Today's Top Event in History
        This Day in American History
Baseball Poem
    SuDoku
        Daily Puzzle
GasBuddy
    Weather, USA or specific area
        Traffic Live----
News on Line---Internet Newspapers
Richmond, Indiana

Note: CalFireNews follows “news briefs” in today’s edition

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

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Hot in California

It was a 106 degrees here yesterday in Saratoga, California. It is supposed to be hotter today. I sent an e-mail to my son Dash in the Middle-East, who is there as part of a joint task force. I told him
how hot it was here. He said it was cooler today where he is, 117, as it was 125 the other day--- in the shade, he adds. He said he got the magazine I sent him, took seven days by priority postage, and likes getting mail. The magazine was 100 places with full page photographs on where to have your best vacation. He told me it cracked him up. He always laughs at my jokes. We have the same sense of humor. I miss him.

I send him care packages all the time to share with his buddies. They like beef jerky and salted almonds, the more the better, they tell me. Even in this day of the internet and e-mail, he still
likes mail. They also like gift packages. It is a big deal to them.

Kit Menkin

[headlines]

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Leasing Industry Recruiters

These companies have experience in the finance and leasing industry

Please fax our request form back to 408.317-2066 or you
may e-mail to: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org .

Second Column: YCS - Year Company Started | YELB - Years in equipment Leasing Business

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

Leasing Recruiters:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Recruits/index.htm

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

[headlines]

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Trigger Leads---Part I

by Christopher Menkin

Leasing News is conducting an informal survey among lessors and funders on the use of “Trigger Leads.” This may be the most important series we have written since we started; with the most impact on the leasing industry.

If your company utilizes this marketing device, or if you have knowledge of a company utilizing this technique, please contact: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

When a prospective applicant gets their consumer credit pulled or a business credit report is ordered, this inquiry is flagged. The major credit bureaus, business reporting agencies, and hundreds of sales generating companies make this information available as quickly as you want to pay for it.

The purchaser of this information then utilizes it to make a “sales call,” most often by telephone, to pitch a lower price, better terms, compete with the original party who pulled the credit report. Three large leasing companies exist primarily on this method of obtaining sales to take clients away from those who originally ordered the report.

Leasing News is still working on finding others utilizing this technique and who they are working with in funding such transactions. Readers also may be interested to hear from other companies, such as LEAF, who are opposed to this practice of when they run credit and business reports this information is sold as "Trigger data" to their competitors. Remember, this is not after the sale or funding, but in the qualifying of the customer, before the sale and the funding. To many, it is not marketing, but stealing.

The “Trigger Lead” or “Trigger Data” name come from the purchaser qualifying the attributes required from the credit report. Criteria can include who pulled the credit, the business name, length in business, often city, state, address (some are cross indexed for telephone number), credit score- of course, as well as the consumer name or corporate names if a business report, and often other key information, depending on the criteria required, such as geography; some can also sort by industry.

When a prospect meets these criteria, it “triggers” the lead to be sent.

Instead of calling thousands of potential lessees to try to find someone acquiring equipment the purchaser of these lists can now focus his sales/calling efforts on only those who are in the market right now. Consequently, these lists have a very high conversion.

Trigger files are generated lists of “hits” to D&B, Experian, etc. that tell the buyer of the lists who is acquiring equipment or thinking about entering into a lease. These files are sent to the larger lessors on a daily or weekly basis so if the small broker gets a deal, sends it to a lender who accesses the D&B database, or Experian, a list of those hits is recorded and sold.

This marketing information is legal, if the Fair Credit Reporting Act policies are followed, and have been used in the credit card business as well as mortgage industry for years for use in mailing or building lists for sales people to call upon. In the past, it was after the transaction was completed. With the growth of computer software and abilities, growth of credit scoring information, the information can now be obtained as quickly as the authorization of credit card that enables the gasoline pump to begin fueling your car. It means before a transaction is even approved and documents drawn up, a competitor with the specific information about the qualification can call and
approve the deal themselves using bait and switch or other marketing gimmicks such as change the term or structure of the transaction.

There are three main leasing companies who utilize these marketing techniques with over 100 telemarketers each, who resell to companies to funding sources and/or securitize them; one has a long time relationship with US Bank Manifest Funding Services, another utilizes U.S. Bank Portfolio Services as their “securitization conduits,” the third has 140 direct salesmen using this process almost exclusively, plus reportedly calling on broker applications that do not proceed or get turned down as submitted, building their own software data base for repeat calls in the future, too.

Curt P. Kovash, General Manager/Sr. Vice President, U.S. Bank Manifest Funding Services, said his company has never used "Trigger Data" or "Trigger Leads."

If your company utilizes this marketing device, or if you have knowledge of a company utilizing this technique, please contact: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

[headlines]

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Horowitz: Financial Pro Solutions

---1991---
WAEL Board of directors

The 1991 Western Association of Equipment Lessors Board of directors posed for this picture with the Pacific Ocean in the background as the evening Gala at The Lodge at Pebble Beach was about to commence. The 1991 Executive Committee (seated l to r) are President Bill Grohe, VP Marketing, Brentwood Funding Enterprises; Vice President Hal Horowitz, CLP, EVP, Interbank Leasing Company; Immediate Past President Ron Wagner, CLP, President Heritage Leasing Capital; Executive Vice President Jon Bednerik, CAE (not pictured is Secretary/Treasurer Gordon Roberts, VP First Concord Acceptance Corporation). Standing (l to r) are Board of Directors Members Bob Grenzer, President, Kropschot & Associates; Chuck Griffin, CLP President, Griffin & Associates; Jim Merrilees, President, Colonial Pacific Leasing Corporation; Peter Eaton, CLP, Regional Vice President, First National Leasing Corporation; Robert Jacobson III, CLP, Consultant; Francie Wilbourne, West Coast Manager, ORIX Credit Alliance Corporation; Oren M. Hall, Partner, Heritage Financial Services. (Not pictured are Barry Ferns, Esq., Ferns & Ferns, and Ginny Young, EVP, Nova Leasing Corporation.)

Leasing Veteran Hal T. Horowitz has founded a new company: Financial Pro Solutions, Woodland Hills, California. He acquired the financial placement division of Agoura Hills based Wingate Dunross Associates, Inc.

(Hal Horowitz, 2002, Leasing News Archive)

The past president of the United Association of Equipment Leasing became a employment recruiter the end of 1997

Eric Yeakey, President and CEO at Wingate, did not disclose the terms of acquisition, but noted," (The)...division was responsible for close to $2 million in billings over the last few years and, the accumulation of a significant database.

He noted that Hal will Horowitz will continue to manage any ongoing engagements for Wingate Dunroos Associates until those positions are filled with WDA handling the billings portion.

Hal T. Horowitz
Financial Pro Solutions
22845 Ventura Blvd., Suite 124
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Office: (818) 347-FINA (347-3462)
Cell: (818) 730-0645
Email: halh@finapros.com

2002 Story about Hall:
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/Nobember_2002/11-05-02.htm

[headlines]

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Sales Representative

Sales Representative We're a progressive leasing company with ambitious growth plans for 2008. If you're a proven sales rep in the small ticket arena and ready to join a winning team, contact us immediately. We offer a competitive comp plan, amazing work environment, and have strong relationships with the major funding sources. E-mail: recruiter@gen-cap.com . About the Company: Genesis Commercial Capital, LLC; Irvine, CA

www.gen-cap.com

VENDOR SALES SPECIALISTS LEASING SALES PROFESSIONALS Like selling vendor programs and large transactions? Enjoy international financing programs? Prefer the advantages of a commission only environment with the security of health and welfare benefits? CLICK HERE to find out how to have fun again.

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

[headlines]

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New Hires---Promotions

Dana Clark joins SC Equipment Funding as a New Business Development Associate. Mr. Clark brings over three decades of experience in developing new business opportunities in the industrial plastics industry to SCEF, including the past 30 years as owner of the Sullivan Plastics Equipment Company, where he managed direct B2B sales, telemarketing, training, supplier contacts, customer service and price negotiations. As a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army, Mr. Clark obtained his Bachelors degrees in Chemistry and Biology at the University of California, Irvine followed by doctoral studies in Organic Chemistry at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Kevin M Egan new chief financial officer for GE Commercial Finance. Mr Egan, who is Sydney-based and joined GE in 1996, replaces Todd Smith who has taken up the role of CFO for GE Real Estate Asia. Mr. Egan was most recently business development finance manager for GE's Capital Solutions business in the United States.

GE Commercial Finance operates in more than 35 countries and has headquarters in Connecticut in the US.

[headlines]

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The Alexa Report on Web Leasing Sites

Alexa Ranks Leasing Media Web Sites

David G. Mayer's Business Leasing and Finance News is not included in the Alexa report list as it does not have its own individual site and Alexa finds Patton Boggs, LLP Attorneys at Law.  The rating is not valid as it includes all those who visit and communicate with the law firm.  When Business Leasing and Finance News has its own individual web site, it will be included in the Alexa survey.

www.theleaseblog.com at present state they have 3820 subscribers.  They are based in the UK and evidently do not have enough members in the US for Alexa using GoogleUSA to measure.

*It should also be noted that two web sites have their "list serve" posted via their site, meaning their e-mails are counted as a visit to the site, whereas they are "list serve" communication.  These are technically visits to the web site, but primarily to use "list serve."

The Alexa tool bar works on most browsers.
They are partnered with Google.

You may download their free tool bar A graph and analysis of the last three months are available.

[headlines]

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The Lease Blog Grows

Brian Whelan announces that www.theleaseblog.com has grown by 820 members last month and is approaching 4,000 regular readers. There blog program is also getting more active with a recruiting page lead by Fred St. Laurent, NAELB Membership, and other sub-blogs such as former GE –Past and Present Employees.

Brian Whelan, director

"I have received lots of very positive feedback on the new NETWORKING format to the site with a number of members going as far to say that: ‘theLeaseBlog.com is the Linkedin for Leasing Worldwide’."

To visit, please go here:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs050/1101950224951/archive/1102163089208.html

(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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Mozilla Firefox fastest browser on the Web

Mozilla Firefox 3 has increased their usage trend, according to www.netapplications.com.

"Firefox market share for June is 19.03 %; May was 18.41% up from 17.76% in April. If recent trends continue, Firefox should achieve 20% market share some time in July.”

When examining the browser usage trend over the last 2 years, the average increase in market share for Firefox is 0.32% per month. For the last 2 months Firefox has gained an average of 0.635% market share per month, almost double their longer term average.

While it's apparent Firefox is gaining in users, the release of version three has accelerated their growth, according to www.netapplications.com. While Microsoft is offering more features, its speed has considerably slowed down, plus there are conflicting issues that have yet to be corrected.

Opera's recently released browser version 9.5 also had a nice up tick in market share, going from 0.71% to 0.73% for the month.

Firefox Free 7.8mb download
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Opera 9.52 download
http://www.opera.com/download/

[headlines]

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Summer Special: 20% off Help Wanted Ads
(plus an extra ten days—one full month)

According to all Web site reports, Leasing News reaches more than our competitors combined. Our classified have found employment for attorneys, chief operating officers, as well as those in asset management, credit, sales, and executive positions.

We reach not only independents, but those who service the finance and leasing industry, as well as employees in all types of positions, and related industry, including government regulatory and enforcement departments. Our readers are not just in large cities, but throughout the United States. All of them are potential employees, including those who want to improve their present position.

That’s right, June, July, August—20% off regular rate, plus an increase from 21 days to 31 days on Leasing News. Art work is free, and connecting to a web site or full employment description is also free.

All rates are subject to change.

Ads run a minimum of 21 days on the web site ( holidays not included.)  There are placed in the "Help Wanted' section by category, alphabetical, with the largest ad in the category first. Copy may be amended without any extra charge.

It is also our policy to place "help wanted" ads above the news edition headlines. This position is not available as a paid position, but appear on the top of the news edition in a rotation basis. This position is not guaranteed,but is a practice to give advertisers more attention to their ad. 

Please send an email to kitmenkin@leasingnews.org to post a Help Wanted Ad.

Here are some samples of various size ads:
www.leasingnews.org/Classified/examples.htm

If you prefer a " non-employment" ad, we sell a banner ad, please
click here for pricing.

If you would like more information, please contact: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

We reserve the right to refuse any advertising.

Ads for employment should be placed in the classified ad section, where it is possible to also appear at the top of the headlines.

No changing or alternating banner ads.

Ad copy may be up-dated or changed at any time during the time period.

No charge for artwork or design.

To see sample size of ads, please go here.

[headlines]

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Sales Make it Happen

“When Leasing Gets Tough…”

With a slowing economy, tighter credit and equipment requirements, cash flow problems, comes a fiercer, more competitive market that will require you to set your selling ability as well as your ability
to get transactions approved.

It’s easy to make excuses for poor sales performance in an economic downturn, especially blaming it on the credit department. Now is the time to improve your education about your company and
what it can offer your clients, the various programs, plus also learn more about leasing. Certified Lease Professions seem to do well no matter the market place. If you don’t have the energy to improve your knowledge, maybe it is time to step aside and let others get the business you could have gotten.

If you want to make sales:

#1 Set Goals and Plan Accordingly
You probably have heard this over and over again until
it means nothing. If you do not make a daily “to do” list,
you haven’t even scratched the surface. The basic is a
“to do” list each day.

When the economy turns sour don’t put yourself in a position of scrambling for business. Take a look at your target market to reevaluate how you’ve done business in the past and determine how your vendor or repeat customers’ needs have changed as a result of the economic climate. Once you have an understanding of these fundamentals, you can set realistic three month goal, one month plan, and then be able to complete a daily “to do” list.

Invest in Training
In a down market, you will be competing against the best and the brightest. It’s imperative to have cutting edge knowledge and experience to take the lead in the sales force. Play it smart and invest in ongoing training even though it may seem counterintuitive to be spending money during a bad economy. Listen again to audio tapes, read a book, such as Linda P. Kester’s “366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing” or my book, “The Blatant Truth, 50 Ways to Selling Success.”

You’ll find the return to be well worth the investment. Don’t hesitate to inform your clients that you are improving your knowledge to help them close more sales. They will be impressed that you are taking the initiative.

Networking Strategies
Networking can be a powerful tool for developing new business relationships. Attend more community business events, trade shows, auctions where you pass out your card, and promote an open house, perhaps even split the cost with your vendor.

The more people who know you, as in the LinkedIn contact method, the more chances you will have to sell. Successful salespeople are assertive and are able to introduce themselves without being forceful. Whatever you do, don’t make the ultimate mistake of forgetting to follow-up.

Don’t Wait for Your Clients to Call You
Existing clients are your best resource. Both vendors and previous customers are all too often lost because their salesperson never took the time to follow-up after the initial close of the last lease. Staying in close contact with them builds trust and long-term relationships.
Birthday cards, email contact, remembering a key sports team or
interest you share, gives you the opportunity to make contact.

Ask for Referrals
A referral is commonly thought of as the highest form of compliment you can give a sales professional. You have to ask. You can get vendor referrals to other vendors and referrals from satisfied customers.

Most often, it’s up to you to take the initiative to ask for additional contacts. All too frequently, sales professionals are afraid to ask, don’t feel they have a good rapport with the client, or simply forget. The proper timing of asking for a referral can depend on the situation.

Most importantly, keep a positive attitude and don’t let a slump get you down. You are there to help your vendor and their customer, or your repeat customer. When the times get tough, you are not going to abandon them, but fight for their deals.

“The Blatant Truth, 50 Ways to Selling Success”
http://www.theblatanttruth.com/

“366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing”
http://www.leasingpress.com/

Adrian Miller
Adrian Miller Sales Training
www.theblatanttruth.com
www.adrianmiller.com

(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column. Opinions
contained in the column are those of Ms. Miller)

(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column.)

[headlines]

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Maria & Gretchen recommend "Margarita Mama"

Written by Alyssa D. Gusenoff, daughter of well-known leasing attorney Barry Dubin of Cooper, White & Cooper LLP, the non-alcoholic book aimed at mothers-to-be has been very well received. Both our web graphic designers, who just had children, recommend the book.

"This is a very fun book, “Maria Martinez Wong, in charge of all HTML graphics and layout, wrote. “You will enjoy healthy fruity drinks that offer nutritional benefits for the mom and baby with clever titles like ‘The Stroller,’ ‘Pregnant Peach,’ ‘Doctor’s Orders,’ ‘Easy Delivery,’ ‘Car Seat,’ ‘Cry Baby’ & many more. The book is very well put together; it includes about 91 recipes and a table of equivalencies.

“It really offers a fun way of enjoying the “no - no’s” of being pregnant without the alcohol.

“Margarita Mama will make the perfect gift for any mom-to-be anywhere."

Zachary Gusenoff

This is from Gretchen Gabriel, who is responsible for the graphics, photographs,
and charts at Leasing News:

“I think this book is very well done. It offers a variety of non-alcoholic drinks that are cleverly named things like ‘Materni-Tini’ and ‘Raspberry Rattle’, as well as the non-alcoholic versions of some of the most popular cocktails. I think the recipes would be great at a baby shower or gathering where there are pregnant women. It seems like a welcome treat since most pregnant women just drink endless glasses of ice water. Even the non-pregnant set would enjoy some of these creations! A lot of fun!”

Divided into three chapters: “Frozen Delights,” “On the Rocks,” “Martini’s & More,” there are over 60 recipes for every “mom to be” with illustrations.

Amazon has it for sale at $9.58 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Margarita-Mama-Mocktails-Moms-Be/dp/1594742154/ref=
pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205451595&sr=8-1

[headlines]

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"World Leasing News is a separate entity and not affiliated with Leasing News "

News Briefs----

Bernanke Endorses Expanded Authority?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070800905.html

Oil Leasing Fraud case expands to 4 other states
http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/Fraud2008-07-08T21-54-35

Air India is bleeding
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/AI_seeks_equity_loan_support/
articleshow/3212184.cms

Conn keeps Quinn competitive using leasing
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080707/BUSINESS/807070318

Pending home sales fall 4.7 percent
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-pending-home-sales,0,268205.story

China's economy to become world's biggest in 2035: study
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080708201459.iw1grzgd&show_article=1

Sales of million-dollar Tahoe homes fall
http://www.sacbee.com/1089/story/1066149.html

[headlines]

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Fire News

http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents.php

Big Sur:
www.surfire2008.org/

[headlines]

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You May have Missed---

Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever

http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/
congressional_performance/congressional_performance

[headlines]

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Sports Briefs----

Michael Vick files for bankruptcy protection
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/07/08/vick_0709.html

[headlines]

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California Nuts Briefs---

Schwarzenegger signs mortgage bill

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/1068269.html

[headlines]

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“Gimme that Wine”

Paul Vander Schalie Passes Away
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/07/08/obituaries/
doc4873022114acf967642276.txt

Wine Crisis in Languedoc-Roussillon Provokes Wave of Violence
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,4476,00.html

Iowa Wine Trail
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-iowa-wineries-wine-trail_pm_jul06,0,7067962.story

The Trouble With $150,000 Wine
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB121512497502828165.html?mod=googlenews_barrons

Mondavi's life celebrated at Oakville winery
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/07/06/news/local/
doc4870482a8c647904088811.txt

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/

[headlines]

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(This is a free “ad” for our good friends the Bateman’s,
proprietors of Thunder Mountain Kona coffee)

Calendar Events This Day

Alaska Flag Day Celebration

Argentina: Independence Day
Anniversary of establishment of independent republic, with the declaration of independence from Spain in 1816.

Morocco: Youth Day
National holiday. On the birthday in 1929 of King Hassan II

National Sugar Cookie Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/July/sugarcookieday.htm
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/unitssubjsci/qt/seahorserecipe.htm

Saint feast Days

• St. Godfrey
• Bl. Adrian Fortescue
• St. Adrian Van Hilvarenbeek
• St. Agilulfus
• St. Alberic Crescitelli
• St. Anatolia
• St. Andrew Wouters
• St. Brictus
• St. Veronica Giuliani
• St. Zeno
• St. Willehad of Denmark
• St. Cornelius
• St. Francis Rod
• St. Golvinus
• St. James Lacop
• St. John of Cologne
• St. John of Osterwick
• St. Justus of Poland
• St. Leonard Wegel
• Martyrs of Gorkum
• St. Nicasius Jonson
• St. Nicholas Pieck
• St. Nicholas Poppel
• St. Patermuthius
• St. Peter of Asche

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

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Hawaii is the only US state that grows cacao beans to produce chocolate.

[headlines]

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Today's Top Event in History

1868- The 14th Amendment defined US citizenship and provided that no State shall have the right to abridge the rights of any citizen without due process and equal protection under the law. Coming three years after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment also included provisions for barring individuals who assisted in any rebellion or insurrection against the US from holding public office, and releasing federal and state governments from any financial liability incurred in the assistance of rebellion or insurrection against the US.

[headlines]
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This Day in American History

    1755 - General Edward Braddock was mortally wounded when French and Indian troops ambushed his force of British regulars and colonial militia, which was on its way to attack France's Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). Gen. Braddock's troops were decimated at Fort Duquesne, where he refused to accept Washington's advice on frontier style fighting. British Gen'l. Braddock gave his bloody sash to George Washington at Fort Necessity just before he died on Jul 13.
    1776- Declaration of Independence read aloud to Gen Washington's troops in NY.
    1776 - New York was the 13th colony to ratify the Declaration of Independence.
    1793- Vermont is the first state to complete the revision of its constitution
( lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul09.html )
    1809-Samuel Parker of Billerica, MA received his first patent for a leather-splitting machine, which split leather to any thickness. This invention doubled the use of leather.
    1811- Sara Payson Willis Parton born Portland, Maine, better known as Fanny Fern, whose first collection of witticisms sold 80,000 copies. SP was one of the first woman newspaper columnist in the world.
http://www.search.eb.com/women/articles/Parton_Sara_Payson_Willis.html
http://www.awomanaweek.com/parton.html
http://college.hmco.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/early_nineteenth/
fernsarawillisparton_fa.html
    1819-birthday of Elias Howe, American inventor of the sewing machine, born at Spencer, MA. He died October 3, 1867, Brooklyn, NY. All inventions were slow to catch on as people were afraid to try new things, or change, or invest. His invention made him very little money.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul09.html
    1838- Birth of Philip P. Bliss born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. American gospel singer and songwriter. His best-remembered hymns include 'Wonderful Words of Life,' 'It is Well with My Soul' and 'Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.'
http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpbliss.html
    1846 - An American naval captain occupies the small settlement of Yerba Buena, a site that will later be renamed San Francisco. Surprisingly, Europeans did not discover the spectacular San Francisco Bay until 1769, although several explorers had sailed by it in earlier centuries. When Spanish explorers finally found the bay in that year, they immediately recognized its strategic value. In 1776, the Spanish built a military post on the tip of the San Francisco peninsula and founded the mission of San Francisco de Asis (the Spanish name for Saint Francis of Assisi) nearby. The most northern outpost of the Spanish, and later Mexican, empire in America, the tiny settlement remained relatively insignificant for several decades. However, the potential of the magnificent harbor did not escape the attention of other nations. In 1835, the British Captain William Richardson established a private settlement on the shore of Yerba Buena Cove, several miles to the east of the Mexican mission. That same year the U.S. government offered to purchase the bay, but the Mexicans declined to sell. In retrospect, the Mexicans should have sold while they still had the chance. A little more than a decade later, a dispute between the U.S. and Mexico over western Texas led to war. Shortly after the Mexican War began, U.S. Captain John Montgomery sailed his warship into San Francisco Bay, anchoring just off the settlement of Yerba Buena. On this day in 1846, Montgomery led a party of marines and sailors ashore. They met no resistance and claimed the settlement for the United States, raising the American flag in the central plaza. The following year, the Americans renamed the village San Francisco. When the Mexicans formally ceded California to the United States in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe, San Francisco was still a small town with perhaps 900 occupants. That same year, however, gold was discovered at the nearby Sutter's Fort. San Francisco became the gateway for a massive gold rush, and by 1852, the town was home to more than 36,000.
    1846 - The U.S. Treaty with Great Britain set the Oregon boundary at the 49th parallel. Expansionists in Congress disagreed, and used the slogan “54-40 or Fight.” In June, Col. Castro’s forces from Monterey, under the command of Joaquín de la Torre, fought the “Battle of Olompali” north of San Rafael with Fremont’s troops from Sonoma. Two Americans and five or six Californians were killed. John Frémont, along with my namesake Christopher “Kit” Carson, his guide, crossed to the Presidio with his Republic of California forces and spiked 10 Spanish guns. He also gave the name “Chrysoplylae” or “Golden Gate” to the entrance of the Bay. Meanwhile, on July 2 Commodore Sloat anchored at Monterey aboard the “Savannah.” He hesitated to follow his secret orders lest he commit the same grave error as Commodore Jones in 1842. Thomas Larkin advised the Commodore to move cautiously. July 5, Frémont returned to Sonoma and organized the “California Battalion” to carry on the revolution. Marine Lt. Archibald H. Gillespie was appointed adjutant. July 7, American flag rose at Monterey by Commodore John Drake Sloat, U.S.N. Sloat decided to take possession of California because he feared the British might occupy Monterey, and he was concerned about the reported revolution in Sonoma. The Commodore told the people of Monterey that he came to bring greater political freedom and stability, and henceforth California would be a part of the United States.
Population the pueblo of Yerba Buena estimated at about 1000 non-natives. There were about 50 buildings in the pueblo. July 8, Capt. Montgomery took formal possession of Yerba Buena and appointed Lt. Washington Allen Bartlett the first American Alcalde because he spoke fluent Spanish. This appointment was later ratified by a vote of the people. And this day, Captain James B. Montgomery of the “U.S.S. Portsmouth” and 70 marines and sailors marched to the Plaza at Yerba Buena (San Francisco), hauled down the Mexican flag and raised the Stars and Stripes. Capt Montgomery claims Yerba Buena (San Francisco) for United States. He later made Indian slavery against the law by proclamation.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/indian.html
As a side note, it would not be until January 24, 1848 that James W. Marshall, an employee of John Sutter, accidentally discovers gold while building a sawmill near Coloma City. Efforts to keep the discovery secret failed, and the gold rush of 1849 was under way, bringing thousands of men to California.
    1847-the twelve and longer workday was common. The first law to try and change the workday to ten hours a day was by a new law in New Hampshire, although because of the “bargaining position,” it was ineffective. It stated that “in all contracts relating to labor, ten hours actual labor shall be taken to be a day’s work unless otherwise agreed by the parties.”
    1850-Zachary Taylor, War hero, 12th president of the United States, after serving only 16 months, dies of “acute gastrointestinal illness,” also thought to be cholera at the age of 55. Vice-President Millard Fillmore was sworn in as the 13th president of the United States on July 10. Some historians suggested that Taylor
may have been poisoned. To test this theory, his remains were exhumed from a cemetery in Louisville, KY, on June 17, 1991. A coroner’s report dated June 26 found no evidence of foul play.
    1852 -- American Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visits Jewish cemetery of Newport, RI. Shortly thereafter he writes his poem "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport".
    1853-Admiral Perry and US Navy visit Japan
http://www.brunias.com/perry.html
http://www.baxleystamps.com/litho/ry_litho_narrative.shtml
    1863-At the battle of Port Hudson, Miss., Confederate Major General Franklin Gardner surrendered his garrison of 5500 men to General Nathaniel P. Banks after a siege of six weeks. The army this day fully controlled this crucial spot on the Mississippi.
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/la010.htm
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genworld/porthdsn.html
    1864 - Confederate General Jubal Early brushes a Union force out of his way as he heads for Washington. Early's expedition towards the Union capital was designed to take pressure off Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia around Petersburg. Beginning in early May, Ulysses S. Grant's Union army had continually attacked Lee and drove the Confederates into trenches around the Richmond-Petersburg area. In 1862, the Confederates faced a similar situation around Richmond, and they responded by sending General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to the Shenandoah Valley to occupy Federal forces. The ploy worked well, and Jackson kept three separate Union forces away from the Confederate capital. Now, Lee sent Early on a similar mission. Early and his force of 14,000 marched down the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac into Maryland, and then veered southeast toward Washington. Union General Lew Wallace, commander of the Middle Department and stationed in Baltimore, patched together a force of 6,000 local militiamen and soldiers from various regiments to stall the Confederates while a division from Grant's army around Petersburg arrived to protect Washington. Wallace placed his makeshift force along the Monocacy River near Frederick. Early in the morning of July 9, Early's troops easily pushed a small Federal guard from Frederick before encountering the bulk of Wallace's force along the river. Wallace protected three bridges over the river. One led to Baltimore, the other to Washington, and the third carried the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Early's first attack was unsuccessful. A second assault, however, scattered the Yankees. The Union force retreated toward Baltimore, and the road to Washington was now open to Early and his army. Union losses for the day stood at 1,800, and Early lost 700 of his men. However, the battle delayed Early's advance to Washington and allowed time for the Union to bring reinforcements from Grant's army. On July 11th, he actually entered the District of Columbia, breaking through inadequate Union forces southeast of Frederick, MD. He withdrew on July 12th as reserves were reported on their way. He continued to harass Union forces from the Shenandoah Valley until the Battle of Cedar Creek in October. He again missed his opportunity and allowed the Union troops to regroup. The poem “Sheridan’s Ride” by Thomas Buchanan Read dramatized the general’s return to the field and the turn of the battle.
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/union-generals/sheridan/poem-sheridans-ride.htm
    1868- The 14th Amendment defined US citizenship and provided that no State shall have the right to abridge the rights of any citizen without due process and equal protection under the law. Coming three years after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment also included provisions for barring individuals who assisted in any rebellion or insurrection against the US from holding public office, and releasing federal and state governments from any financial liability incurred in the assistance of rebellion or insurrection against the US.
    1872-John F. Blondel of Thomaston, ME, obtained a patent for a doughnut cutter. A spring pushed the dough out of a center tube to make a hole. His invention helped to increase efficiency for bakers to increase their quantities of this tasty treat that originated in the 16th century Holland, where it was known as an "Olykoek." Blondel, however, was not the one who gave this pastry its famous ring shape. According to legend, a Maine sea captain gave the doughnut its hole by thrusting a piece of fried dough on the spoke of his ship’s wheel so he could steer with both hands. On the books, however, it was in 1847 when a young American named Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory first put the hole in the doughnut. Hanson's mother was a cake maker who, because the cakes were difficult to fry all the way through, began placing walnuts and hazelnuts in the center to mask their gooey texture. Her son disliked this part of the otherwise delicious cake and removed it altogether, giving it the look we all know and love. Today Americans eat an estimated 10 billion of these deep-fried pastries annually. Krispy Kreme is taking the country by storm.
    1893-in Provident Hospital on Chicago’s south side, African-American surgeon Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery. The patient was James Cornish, who’s internal mammary artery had been damaged by a knife wound. The operation was witnessed by six doctors, and described in the March 27, 1897 Medical Record.
    1894- Dorothy Thompson birthday- influential U.S. newspaper columnist. Expelled from Germany for her virulent anti-Nazi stand when she was a U.S. reporter, she lectured widely against Hitler on her return to the U.S. She headed her paper's Berlin office 1925-1934. Her newspaper column On the Record was one of the most popular in the nation (1936-1958).
http://www.britannica.com/women/articles/Thompson_Dorothy.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826206468/avsearch-bkasin-20/
103-5362656-4423850
http://www.ksu.edu/dthompson/
    1896- Birth of William Cameron Townsend, American missionary and linguist. In 1942 he established what has become the largest evangelical missionary agency in the world --Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT).
http://www.wycliffe.ca/resource/HTML/history_cameron.html
    1907-birthday of Eddie Dean ( Edward Dean Glosup,) was born in Posey, Texas. He appeared in scores of low-budget westerns, including his own series of 20 films from 1946 to '48. Dean and his wife Loreen co-wrote the country music classics "One Has My Name, the Other Has My Heart" and "I Dreamed of a Hillybilly Heaven. Died Thousand Oaks, California, March 4, 1999"
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Dean,+Eddie
    1908 – American photographer Minor White birthday.
http://photography.about.com/library/weekly/aa121701a.htm
http://www.profotos.com/education/referencedesk/masters/masters/minorwhite/
minorwhite.shtml
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/white_minor.html
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/W/white/white.html
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/W/white/white_devils_slide_full.html
http://masters-of-photography.com/W/white/white_windowsill_full.html
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/white_minor.html
    1910 - Jimmy Dale Birthday
((real name Harold C. Fox, bandleader-clothier, who first coined “zoot suit” ( with a reet pleat!)1942.)
Bahai’i observance of the anniversary of the execution by a firing squad, 1850, at Tabriz, Persia, of the 30-yer-old Siyyid Ali Muhammed, the Bab ( prophet-herald of the Baha’ Faith. One of the nine days of the year when Bahai'is suspend work.
www.us.bahai.org
    1914-the first auction duplicate bridge championship was held at the Lake Placid Club, Lake Placid, NY. The four-man team of the New York Bridge Whist Club defeated the team of the Knickerbocker Whist Club of New York City by seven tricks on 48 boards to win the American Whist League’s Hamilton Trophy, symbolic of the whist championship of the United Sates and Canada.
    1915--Birthday of American composer David Diamond, born Rochester, NY. Died 12 June, 2005.
Diamond studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, because of his great hero Maurice Ravel. He Had a close friendship with Leonard Bernstein, who premiered a lot of his works. Diamond was still active as a composer in his mid 80’s, and has been mostly known for the work "Rounds" for string orchestra.
    1918 –- Worst rail accident in U.S. history occurs with head-on collision of two trains at Nashville, Tennessee, taking the lives of 101 & injuring another 171.
    1921-birthday of Canadian country singer Stu Davis ( David Stewart,) born in Boggy Creek, Saskatchewan. He and his brother Fred teamed up in 1939 to perform as the Harmony Boys on Regina radio station CKCK. Stu Davis later became known as "Canada's Cowboy Troubadour," and made appearances in the late 1940's on NBC radio's "National Barn Dance" from Chicago and the "Grand Ole Opry." Davis signed with London Records in 1956, making 15 LP's for the label.
    1925-birthday of tenor sax player Frank Wright, Grenada, MS
http://www.centrohd.com/music/allmusic/art1.htm
    1926- Mathilde Krim birthday - founder of AmFar, the preeminent AIDS organization in 1980 that has raised more than $50 million for AIDS research and education. She was one of the first to recognize the dangers of AIDS worldwide - in 1980 when most health authorities were unaware of anything called AIDS - and then had the courage to do something about it, using $100,000 of her own funds. She served as head of a lab at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and was a noted medical researcher and health educator.
http://www.70up.org/krim.htm
http://www.thebody.com/amfar/krim.html
    1928- Vince Edwards birthday. As Dr. Ben Casey on the 1961 television show “Ben Casey,” Edwards’s muscular, brooding charm made him an overnight sex symbol. Medical school enrollment increased while he was on the air. After conquering a gambling addiction, he became a real-life hero. Born at Brooklyn, NY, he died at Los Angeles, CA, Mar11, 1996.
    1930-arranger/bandleader Buddy Bregman born, Chicago, IL
http://www.bobbydarin.net/bdbuddy.html
http://www.buddybregman.com
    1936 - The temperature hit an all-time record high of 106 degrees at the Central Park Observatory in New York City, a record which lasted until LaGuardia Airport hit 107 degrees on July 3rd in 1966.
    1941 - Crackerjack British cryptologists break the secret code used by the German army to direct ground-to-air operations on the Eastern front. British experts had already broken many of the Enigma codes for the Western front. Enigma was the Germans' most sophisticated coding machine, necessary to secretly transmitting information. The Enigma machine, invented in 1919 by Hugo Koch, a Dutchman, looked like a typewriter and was originally employed for business purposes. The Germany army adapted the machine for wartime use and considered its encoding system unbreakable.
    1942 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Sleepy Lagoon,'' Harry James Orchestra.
    1944- German Army Group Center was taken by surprise when the Soviets began an offensive between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathian Mountains. The Germans had expected an attack farther south, where the Red Army had already penetrated deep into Poland. When Hitler refused to allow a German retreat, the Soviets easily broke through the German lines, and the Reich’s forces were isolated in the Baltic states. Within a week Army Group Center was virtually annihilated, with a loss of 200,000 men.
    1944-*PUCKET, DONALD D. (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 98th , Bombardment Group. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 9 July 1944. Entered service at: Boulder, Colo. Birth: Longmont, Colo. G.O. No.: 48, 23 June 1945. Citation: He took part in a highly effective attack against vital oil installation in Ploesti, Rumania, on 9 July 1944. Just after "bombs away," the plane received heavy and direct hits from antiaircraft fire. One crewmember was instantly killed and 6 others severely wounded. The airplane was badly damaged, 2 were knocked out, the control cables cut, the oxygen system on fire, and the bomb bay flooded with gas and hydraulic fluid. Regaining control of his crippled plane, 1st Lt. Pucket turned its direction over to the copilot. He calmed the crew, administered first aid, and surveyed the damage. Finding the bomb bay doors jammed, he used the hand crank to open them to allow the gas to escape. He jettisoned all guns and equipment but the plane continued to lose altitude rapidly. Realizing that it would be impossible to reach friendly territory he ordered the crew to abandon ship. Three of the crew, uncontrollable from fright or shock, would not leave. 1st Lt. Pucket urged the others to jump. Ignoring their entreaties to follow, he refused to abandon the 3 hysterical men and was last seen fighting to regain control of the plane. A few moments later the flaming bomber crashed on a mountainside. 1st Lt. Pucket, unhesitatingly and with supreme sacrifice, gave his life in his courageous attempt to save the lives of 3 others.
    1946-Birthday of Bon Scott, singer for AC/DC is born. I saw him in Campbell, California, when there was a rock'n'roll club early on and at one time had a signed poster by all members of the band.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Scott
http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/3196/01/MPRA_paper_3196.pdf
    1948- Satchel Paige, 42, debuts in majors pitching two scoreless innings for Cleveland. Paige was the greatest attraction in Negro Leagues baseball and one of black baseball’s greatest players. He was also, at age 42, the first Black pitcher in the American League. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971. Died at Kansas City, MO, June 8, 1982.
    1947-the first army officer who was a woman was Florence Aby Blanchfield, appointed lieutenant colonel in the Army, with a ceremony held at the Pentagon, Washington,, with General Dwight David Eisenhower, Chief of Staff, presenting her with her commission. On June 1, 1943, she had been appointed superintendent of army nurses.
http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=ML_blanchfield_bkp
    1949 - NBC radio broadcast "Dangerous Assignment" for the first time. The show starred Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell.
http://www.rusc.com/old-time-radio-series/old-time-radio-Dangerous%20Assignment.html
http://www.radiomemories.com/radiomemories/dangerousassignment.html
    1950---Top Hits
Bewitched - The Bill Snyder Orchestra
My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
I Wanna Be Loved - The Andrews Sisters
Why Don’t You Love Me - Hank Williams
    1951 -- American "hard-boiled" novelist Dashiell Hammett sentenced, choosing six months' imprisonment rather than co-operate with the US House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities' inquiries into domestic "subversion", refusing to kow-tow to the anti-communist witch hunters. My son Dashiell is named after him, my favorite detective writer. Hammett was President of the League of American Writers in 1942, & of the Civil Rights Congress of New York, 1946-47.
http://mysterynet.com/hammett/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/hammett_d.html
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/hammet.html
    1952 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart,'' Vera Lynn.
    1954 - Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge is born. Sisters Debbie, Joan, Kim and Kathie Sledge of North Philadelphia begin recording as Sister Sledge in 1971. The group's biggest hit is the million-selling No. 2 song ``We Are Family'' in 1979.
    1955-Pat Boone released his version of "Ain't That a Shame" which became his first #1 hit.
Originally a Fats Domino hit.
    1956- Dick Clark made his debut as host of "Bandstand" on Philadelphia TV station WFIL. He took over from Bob Horn, who had been charged with driving while intoxicated during a highly publicized police crackdown.  "Bandstand" featured top pop and rock stars lip-synching their latest hits and a group of local teens dancing in the studio to recorded music. The ABC network expressed interest, and in 1957 the program was re-titled "American Bandstand" and shown across the US and Canada. At the height of its popularity, the daily show was reported to have generated one million fan letters a week. Through their exposure on "American Bandstand," such non-singers as Fabian and Frankie Avalon became teen idols.  Clark relinquished his "Bandstand" hosting duties in 1989 to 26 year-old David Hirsch. The program died within a matter of months. Still, it had been on the air for 37 years - a record for a television variety show. Clark today hosts a daily talk show, plus many other specials.
http://www.history-of-rock.com/clark.htm
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/bandstnd.htm
http://www.dickclarkproductions.com/html/restaurants.html
    1956-Actor Tom Hanks born Concord, California. After his parents divorced when he was a toddler, Hanks lived with his father, a cook. He began studying acting in high school, played with a Shakespeare festival for three years, and launched his television career in 1980 with Bosom Buddies, an offbeat sitcom about two men forced to disguise themselves as women. He made a splash with Splash in 1984, followed by a huge success with Big in 1988, for which he received an Oscar nomination. After several quiet years, his career took off again with Sleepless in Seattle (1993); he is now considered one of the biggest box office draws alive. He won the Best Actor Oscar twice, for Philadelphia in 1993 and Forrest Gump in 1994. He was also nominated for his role in Saving Private Ryan in 1998. He began directing in 1996 with That Thing You Do and co- produced Cast Away (2000), for which he received another Best Actor Oscar nomination.
    1958---Top Hits
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Splish Splash - Bobby Darin
Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson
Guess Things Happen that Way - Johnny Cash
    1958-Johnny Cash, following in the footsteps of ex-Sun Records artist Carl Perkins, signs with Columbia Records.
    1958-- On Capitol Hill, Casey Stengel and Mickey Mantle appear in front of the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee which is investigating the baseball monopoly power in regards to sport's antitrust exemption. After 'The Old Perfessor' gives 45 minutes of rambling and confusing testimony, Senator Estes Kefauver laughs when Mickey Mantle's answers his inquiry about the topic with, "My views are just about the same as Casey's."
    1962--- Bob Dylan records Blowin in the Wind.
    1962 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Roses Are Red (My Love),'' Bobby Vinton.
    1964-"House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals hits #1 on the U.K. singles chart.
    1965- Patricia Roberts Harris was sworn in as the ambassador to Luxembourg, the first African-American Ambassador. She was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who later that month announced US Troops would be increased from 75,000 to 125,000 in South Vietnam and the draft would be doubled from 17,000 to 35,000 a month.
http://www.usps.com/images/stamps/2000/harris.htm
    1966 -- United Farm Workers benefit at the Fillmore with Quicksilver Messenger Service & the San Andreas Fault Finders.
http://www.penncen.com/quicksilver/
    1966---Top Hits
Paperback Writer - The Beatles
Red Rubber Ball - The Cyrkle
Hanky Panky - Tommy James & The Shondells
Think of Me - Buck Owens
    1966-Jack Nicklaus shot 282 at Muirfield in Scotland to win his first British Open Championship. With this victory, Nicklaus joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player as the only golfers to have won all four events comprising golf’s modern Grand Slam: the Masters, the US Open, The British Open and the PGA Championship. Nicklaus won two other British Opens, in 1970 and 1978.
http://www.nicklaus.com/
    1969- A funeral was held in Cheltenham Spa, England, for Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, who had been found dead in the swimming pool of his home six days earlier. The coroner's report cited "death by misadventure."
http://home.earthlink.net/~hobhead/
    1969-Courtney Love is born.
    1974---Top Hits
Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Hollywood Swinging - Kool & The Gang
He Thinks I Still Care - Anne Murray
    1977-KISS' "Love Gun" LP enters the chart.
    1977-Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Exodus" LP enters the chart.
    1978-Steve Miller's "Jet Airliner" peaks at #8 on the pop chart.
    1982---Top Hits
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Rosanna - Toto
Hurts So Good - John Cougar
Any Day Now - Ronnie Milsap
    1983-The Police's "Every Breath You Take" peaks at #1 on the pop chart -- a position it will hold for 9 weeks.
    1983-Stevie Nicks' album "The Wild Heart" enters the chart. It features the smash hit, "Stand Back."
    1983-Elton John's hit "I'm Still Standing" hits #12 on the singles chart.
    1984 - The Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, IN was packed to the rafters. 67,596 spectators, the largest crowd to watch a basketball game in the United States, saw the U.S. men’s Olympic team defeat a team of players from the NBA, 97-82. The largest crowd in the world to see a basketball game was in 1951. 75,000 spectators saw the Harlem Globetrotters play in Olympic Stadium in West Berlin, Germany.
    1985 - Football great Joe Namath signed a five-year pact with ABC-TV to provide commentary for "Monday Night Football". The former New York Jets quarterback reportedly earned one million dollars a year for the job. Namath replaced ‘Dandy’ Don Meredith. Broadway Joe had previous experience with "Monday Night Football" as a player, when he and the Jets were the first team to play on the popular TV series on September 21, 1970.
    1987 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Michigan. A tornado near Munising, MI, destroyed part of a commercial dog kennel, and one of the missing dogs was later found unharmed in a tree top half a mile away.
    1988- At Candlestick Park, Chris Speier hits for the cycle as the Giants maul the Cardinals, 21-2. The 21 runs scored establishes a San Francisco record.
    1988-Elton John's "Reg Strikes Back" LP enters the chart. It will stay for 19 weeks and features the hit, "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That."
    1988-Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" LP enters the chart. It will stay on the chart for 31 weeks eventually hitting #1. The LP features the #1 hit, "Roll With It."
    1989-- 1st time Wimbledon has both men & women's final on same day, Boris    Becker beats Stefan Edberg & Steffi Graf beats Martina Navratilova
    1990---Top Hits
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
She ain’t Worth It - Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
Hold On - En Vogue
    1991- Prodigy began testing a service allowing customers to pay bills electronically. The service, which cost about $9.95 a month on top of Prodigy's monthly online service fee, allowed members to pay up to 20 bills electronically. About a quarter of a million subscribers participated in the test.
    1994- John Mellencamp's "Dance Naked" LP enters the chart. The album features the hit "Wild Night", a duet with MeShell NdegeOcello.
    1994-The Kiss tribute album, "Kiss My Ass, Classic Kiss Regrooved" enters the chart. The LP features Kiss songs done by artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder and Garth Brooks.
    1995-The Grateful Dead played what proved to be their last concert at Soldier Field in Chicago. The show began with their only Top-10 hit, "Touch of Grey," and ended with an encore of "Black Muddy River" and "Box of Rain." One month later he entered a drug rehabilitation program in Forest Knoll, known as Forest Farm. Jerry Garcia died of an overdose while recovering from drug addiction at Forest Farm in Marin CountyThe band broke up after leader Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack exactly one month later. Garcia died early Wednesday, August 9, in his sleep at the drug rehabilitation clinic in Forest Knolls, Marin County, where he had gone to kick a heroin habit. He had snuck out after curfew and made a connection. The Marin County coroner said preliminary tests indicated Garcia - overweight and diabetic - had died of a heart attack.
http://www.dead.net/
    1995- The Rolling Stones played their first concert in their homeland in five years, opening the British leg of their "Voodoo Lounge" tour in Sheffield, England. During the tour, the Stones played before more than 6.5 million people in 135 venues around the world. Ticket sales topped $300-million Canadian, with more than $430-million in merchandise sales. They are still on a roll; every concert I have seen them, they get better and better. Several recent ones I have sat in the second or third up-front row.
http://www.rollingstones.com/
    1997-Apple Computer chairman and CEO Gilbert Amelio was ousted from Apple on July 9, 1997. His unexpected departure came less than a year and a half after he was named chairman in February 1996. Amelio became the third Apple chief forced out in four years, including John Sculley in 1993 and Michael Spindler in 1996. Amelio had a very fancy wine cellar entrance and trappings. He liked it there better than
anywhere else.
    1998-- Brewer owner Bud Selig, who served as acting commissioner for nearly the last six years, is named by the owners to be baseball's ninth commissioner. To avoid conflicts of interest, his ownership of the Milwaukee's franchise will be placed in trust.
    2002 --Despite chants of 'Let them play!' from the sellout crowd of 41,871 at Milwaukee's Miller Park, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig declares the 73rd All-Star Game a 7-7 tie after 11 innings. No player is selected to receive the first Ted Williams Most Valuable Player award, named in honor of the late Red Sox legend who died five days ago.
    2005 -- Daredevil skateboarder Danny Way jumps the Great Wall of China; rolling down a massive ramp at nearly 50 mph, Way botched the landing on his first attempt but then successfully completed the jump across the 61-foot gap four times, adding 360 degree spins on his last three tries.
http://dannyway.com/

[headlines]

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

Baseball Poem

This is from a poem written by the famous radio announcer Jack Buck,
the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals for over 50 years.
This was written for Gene Autry's 83rd Birthday Party in 1990.
There are many similarities to Ronald Reagan:

The Last Cowboy

As America grew
and headed west,
Gene Autry was there
and he was the best.

He tapped telegraph keys
then starred on the screen,
the greatest Saturday star
young eyes had seen.

He wore a white hat
and the kids always knew
he'd do the right thing
they wanted him to.

He could shoot at a target
and invariably hit it
while jumping a river,
and he sand as he did it.

He crooned "South of the Border"
and sang on Christmas morn,
the most glamorous cowboy
ever born.

His ride through life
is matched by no other,
a business tycoon,
yet everyone's brother.

He has enjoyed life to the fullest
and made our lives richer,
but he'd have traded it all
for a World Series pitcher.

We salute him today
and we'll love him tomorrow,
the last cowboy's life
was ours to borrow.

Little did he know
when he named his horse,
he was describing himself-
Champion, or course!

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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/
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx
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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News on Line---Internet Newspapers

Richmond, Indiana

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

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