Never have surgery on a Friday.
It's National Cheesesteak 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
My sincere thanks to all of you who offered condolences on the recent passing of my mother. Various demands force me to suspend publication of KGB Report until next Wednesday, April 2. Your understanding is appreciated.
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.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has cataloged some 73,000 web pages that had existed on U.S. government websites that were expunged after Trump's inauguration.
Never have surgery on a Friday: In a cohort study involving 429,691 patients undergoing 25 common surgical procedures in Ontario, Canada, those who underwent surgery immediately before the weekend experienced a statistically significant increase in the composite outcome of death, complications, and readmissions at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year compared with those treated after the weekend.
Commerce secretary: No one but ‘fraudsters’ would complain about missed Social Security check. (Video)
Favorite comment re: the new Disney live-action Snow White: “If I saw this movie on a plane, I would still walk out.”
Shirt of the day (click on image)
KGB Quote of the Day:
“People do not believe lies because they have to, but because they want to.”
--Malcolm Muggeridge (Wikipedia link)
(More Malcolm Muggeridge quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Among other things, today is- in no particular order of importance-
KGB REPORT STUFF! (Click on link) On This Day:
1603 – James VI of Scotland was proclaimed King James I of England and Ireland, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051. (Video)
1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
1832 – In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tarred and feathered Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
1882 – Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
1900 – Carnegie Steel Company was formed in New Jersey; its capitalization of $160 million is the largest to date.
1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war began breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
1958 – Elvis Presley was drafted into the United States Army at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas.
1980 – "Nightline” (later, “Nightline with Ted Koppel" premiered on ABC. (Video)
1989 – In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spilled 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground. (Video)
1993 – Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was discovered by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker, and David Levy at the Palomar Observatory in California. (Video)
1999 – A truck carrying margarine and flour caught fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel, creating an inferno that killed 38 people. (Video)
1999 – "The Matrix" premiered. (Video)
2005 – The US version of "The Office" premiered on NBC. (Video)
2015 – NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover finished “marathon” - traveling 26.219 miles (42.195 kilometers), in 11 years.
2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board. (Video)
2017 – US President Donald Trump and the Republican party were forced to halt their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) after internal opposition.
Read for free with Kindle Unlimited! Quotes by or about persons born on this date (Click on link after name for quotes):
1834 – William Morris, English textile designer, poet, and author (d. 1896)
1874 – Harry Houdini, Hungarian-American magician and actor (d. 1926) (Video)
1903 – Malcolm Muggeridge, English journalist, author, and scholar (d. 1990)
1956 – Steve Ballmer, American businessman
Other birthdays:
1820 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist and academic, “father of solar energy” (d. 1891).
1855 – Andrew W. Mellon, American banker, financier, and diplomat, 49th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1937)
1901 – Ub Iwerks, American animator, director, and producer, co-created Mickey Mouse (d. 1971)
1909 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (d. 1934)
1911 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2006) (Video)
1930 – Steve McQueen, American actor and producer (d. 1980)
1935 – Carol Kaye, American bass guitarist (Video)
1940 – Bob Mackie, American fashion designer
1951 – Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer,
1953 – Louie Anderson, American actor and comedian (d. 2022) (Video)
1971 – Tig Notaro, American comedian and actor (Video)
1973 – Jim Parsons, American actor (Video)
1976 – Peyton Manning, American football player and entrepreneur
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