American age is over, chatbot math, shape-shifting aliens
It's World Rat Day!
Observations by and for the vaguely disenchanted; information, essential and otherwise, for the day ahead.
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Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Be certain to check out the “On This Day” and Quotes sections below. A surprising number of historical events and births took place on this date.
The Trump/Musk firehose of folly continues, and it’s impossible to review all but the most egregious outrages here. The Associated Press, NBC, Aljazeera, and The Guardian are my picks for keeping up to date. Check out one or two, take a look, and come back here when you’ve had enough.
Hands Off! National Day of Action- Saturday, April 5. A guide for those who want to protest.
Believe it or not, things were even worse 100 years ago: the Trumpiest period of American life before Donald Trump. (Washington Post free article)
Critics suspect Trump’s weird tariff math came from chatbots. Which may explain why polar bear-inhabited islands are affected by Trump tariffs.
No more cheap skirts: Trump ends tax exemption for low-value Chinese imports.
The American Age is over. “It took just 71 days for Donald Trump to wreck the American economy, mortally wound NATO, and destroy the American-led world order.“
Meanwhile, the entire staff at the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program was terminated. LIHEAP helps to offset high utility bills for roughly 6.2 million people from Maine to Texas during frigid winters and hot summers.
Just in time for tornado season- Chaos: Trump cuts to NOAA disrupt staffing and weather forecasts.
Shape-shifting aliens massacred soldiers with explosive energy burst, CIA report claims.
Shirt of the day (click on image)
KGB Quote of the Day:
"I believe most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise."
--Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson) (Wikipedia link)
(More Maya Angelou quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Among other things, today is- in no particular order of importance-
404 Day (KGB Report’s 404 page)
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
KGB REPORT STUFF! (Click on link) On This Day:
1581 – Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
1818 – The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopted the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time).
1841 – William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia exactly one month after his inauguration, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeded Harrison as President.
1949 – Cold War: Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1958 – The CND peace symbol was displayed in public for the first time in London.
1963 – Bye Bye Birdie, a musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Video)
1964 – On its second week after release, The Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love” reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for five weeks. (Video) With the song’s success, The Beatles occupied the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church. (Video)
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. (Video)
1968 – United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York delivered an improvised speech in Indianapolis, Indiana several hours after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Instead of the rousing campaign speech they expected, Kennedy offered brief, impassioned remarks for peace that are considered to be one of the great public addresses of the modern era. (Video in previous link.)
1969 – CBS abruptly canceled "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", its highest rated program, three weeks after having renewed it for a fourth season. The network cited the Smothers' failure to meet the contractual ten day pre-air delivery dates required for local affiliate screenings, although the actual reason was pressure on the network by conservative elements upset with the comedians’ liberal criticism of the administration and opposition to the Vietnam war. (Video)
1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implanted the first temporary artificial heart.
1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were officially dedicated.
1975 – Microsoft was founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1983 – Space Shuttle Challenger made its maiden voyage into space on STS-6. (Video) Challenger would break up after an explosion on its tenth mission on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others were killed when a helicopter collided with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania. (Video)
1997 – Space Shuttle Columbia was launched on STS-83. However, the mission was cut short due to a fuel cell problem. (Video) Columbia was destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
2023 – Finland became a member of NATO after Turkey accepted its membership request.
Read for free with Kindle Unlimited! Check out the KGB Quotation Database: over 52,000 searchable quotations!
Quotes by or about persons born on this date (Click on link after name for quotes):
1792 – Thaddeus Stevens, American politician and lawyer (d. 1868)
1810 – James Freeman Clarke, American minister, theologian, and author
1828 – Margaret Oliphant, Scottish novelist and historical writer
1853 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet, novelist, and critic (d. 1915)
1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1955)
1913 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983) (Video)
1914 – Marguerite Duras, French novelist, screenwriter, and director (d. 1996)
1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (d. 2004) (Video)
1928 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (d. 2014) (Video)
1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence officer
1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992) (Video)
1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American businessman and academic (d. 1989)
1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer (d. 2018) (Video)
1945 – Katherine Neville, American author
1963 – Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host (Video)
1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (Video)
1973 – David Blaine, American magician and producer (Harrison Ford/David Blaine video)
1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008) (Video)
1981 – Ned Vizzini, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
Other birthdays:
1821 – Linus Yale Jr., American engineer and businessman, co-founder of the Yale Lock Company (d. 1868)
1895 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (d. 1991)
1906 – Bea Benaderet, Turkish-Irish-American television, radio, and voice actress (d. 1968) (Video)
1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995) (Video)
1913 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (d. 2005) (Video)
1923 – Gene Reynolds, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2020) (Video)
1928 – Monty Norman, English singer-songwriter and producer, composer of the James Bond theme (d. 2022) (Video)
1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records and J Records
1935 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (The Producers, Young Frankenstein, (d. 2011) (Video)
1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress and director
1956 – David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer
1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress (Video)
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