June 19 ...

In 1586 English colonists sailed from Roanoke Island, NC, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in America. In 1862 Congress prohibited slavery in United States territories. In 1865 Union troops commanded by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX with news that the Civil War was over, and that all slaves were free. (The anniversary of this celebration is called "Juneteenth.") In 1903 baseball great Lou Gehrig was born in New York City. In 1910 Father's Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, WA. In 1917 during World War I, King George IV ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames; the family took the name "Windsor." In 1934 the Federal Communications Commission was created; it replaced the Federal Radio Commission. In 1945 millions of New Yorkers turned out to cheer Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was honored with a parade. In 1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of conspiring to pass US atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, NY. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster. In 1982 American University in Beirut president David S. Dodge was kidnapped by Hezbollah. In 2000 the Supreme Court reaffirmed, 6-3, that praying in public schools had to be private, barring officials from letting students lead stadium crowds in prayer before football games.

What would we do without Austin 'progressives'? From a letter to the editor in the Austin American-Statesman:

For the second time in a week, the American-Statesman has published an article that points to the planned reduction of payments to doctors. This reduction may cause doctors to reject Medicare patients. The articles failed to point out that, even with this reduction, our medical system will probably still be more expensive than most, if not all, medical systems in the civilized world.

The so-called Obamacare plan was driven off track by the lobbyists for pharmaceuticals, private insurance and for-profit hospitals, among others. I think the individual doctors are taking too large a hit with this plan. However, the elephant in the room is not Obamacare but the lobbyists who corrupted it. We can partially lay the blame for this on Chief Justice John Roberts for the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United.

The drool runs deep in this part of the world....

June 18 ...

In 1778 American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War. In 1812 the United States declared war against Britain. In 1815 Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by an international army under the Duke of Wellington. In 1913 composer Sammy Cahn was born in New York City. In 1928 aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales in about 21 hours. In 1940 during a famous speech to the British House of Commons after Dunkirk, Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, "This was their finest hour." In 1942 singer/songwriter Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool, England. In 1945 General Dwight D. Eisenhower received a tumultuous welcome in Washington, DC, where he addressed a joint session of Congress; also on this day, William Joyce, known as "Lord Haw-Haw," was charged in London with high treason for his English-language wartime broadcasts on German radio. (He was hanged the following January.) In 1948 the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights. In 1979 President Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna. In 1983 astronaut Sally K. Ride became America's first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger. In 2002 a suicide bomber killed 19 people and injured at least 50 more on a city bus in Jerusalem. The Islamic terrorist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the murders.

June 17 ...

In 1775 the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill took place near Boston. The battle, which actually occurred on Breed's Hill, was a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses while dislodging the American rebels. In 1856 in Philadelphia, the Republican Party opened its first convention. In 1885 the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere. In 1940 France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II. In 1943 four German spies landed in Pointe Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville, FL. Four days earlier, four other German spies landed on Long Island, New York; all eight were captured, and six were executed. In 1944 the Republic of Iceland was established. In 1963 the Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or reading of Biblical verses in public schools. In 1972 President Nixon's eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic Party national headquarters in Washington, DC's Watergate complex. In 1992 President Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a breakthrough arms-reduction agreement. In 1995 Russian commandos stormed a hospital where Chechen rebels were holding more than 1,000 hostages, but the Chechens beat the Russians back.

June 16 ...

In 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. In 1858 in a speech in Springfield, IL, Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." In 1897 the federal government signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii. In 1903 Ford Motor Co. was incorporated. In 1933 the National Industrial Recovery Act became law. (It was later struck down by the Supreme Court.) In 1961 Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris. In 1963 the world's first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6. In 1967 the Monterey Pop Festival began, continuing through June 18. In 1977 Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev was named president, becoming the first person to hold both posts simultaneously. In 1981 the Tribune Company purchased the Chicago Cubs baseball team from William Wrigley for $20.5 million.

June 15 ...

In 1215 England's King John put his seal to the Magna Carta at Runnymede. In 1520 Pope Leo X threatened to excommunicate Martin Luther if he did not recant his religious beliefs. In 1752 Benjamin Franklin experimented by flying a kite during a thunderstorm. The result was a little spark that showed the relationship between lightning and electricity. In 1775 the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to appoint George Washington head of the Continental Army. In 1836 Arkansas became the 25th state. In 1844 Charles Goodyear received a patent for his process to strengthen rubber. In 1849 11th US president James Polk died in Nashville, TN. In 1864 Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground, which became Arlington National Cemetery. In 1938 the Cincinnati Reds' Johnny Vander Meer pitched his second straight no-hitter, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the first night game ever played at Ebbetts Field. Vander Meer threw his first no-hitter at Crosely Field against the Boston Braves four nights earlier, on June 11. He is the only Major League pitcher to accomplish this feat. Also on this day, Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams was born in Whistler, AL. In 1944 American forces began their successful invasion of Saipan during World War II; also on this day, B-29 Superfortresses made their first raids on Japan. In 1962 Students for a Democratic Society completed the Port Huron Statement, a manifesto for student activists. In 1996 jazz great Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, CA, at age 79. In 2000 Al Gore named Commerce Secretary William Daley to take over his presidential campaign, replacing Tony Coelho, who had abruptly resigned, citing health problems.

365 years ago on this date in 1648, Margaret Jones was hanged in Boston for witchcraft -- the first such execution in the Massachusetts colony.

June 14 ...

In 1648 Margaret Jones was hanged in Boston for witchcraft -- the first such execution in the Massachusetts colony. In 1775 the United States Army was established. In 1777 the Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag. In 1811 abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, CT. In 1841 the first Canadian parliament opened in Kingston. In 1846 a group of US settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California. In 1900 Hawaii became a US territory. In 1936 writer G. K. Chesterton died in Beaconsfield, England. In 1940 German troops entered Paris during World War II; also on this day, in German-occupied Poland, the Nazis opened their concentration camp at Auschwitz. In 1943 the Supreme Court ruled schoolchildren could not be compelled to salute the flag of the United States if doing so conflicted with their religious beliefs. In 1954 President Eisenhower signed an order adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1967 Mariner 5 was launched from Cape Kennedy, FL. The space probe's flight took it past Venus. In 1982 Argentine forces surrendered to British troops on the disputed Falkland Islands. In 1985 the 17-day hijack ordeal of TWA Flight 847 began as a pair of Lebanese Shiite Muslim extremists seized the jetliner shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece.

120 years ago on this date in 1893, President Grover Cleveland secretly underwent surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw; the operation was not revealed to the US public until 1917, nine years after the president's death.

Also on this date, 70 years ago in 1943, four German spies landed on Long Island, New York; four days later, four more German spies landed in Pointe Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville, FL. They were all captured, and six of the eight were executed.

June 13 ...

In 1774 Rhode Island became the first of the American colonies to ban the importation of slaves. In 1777 the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the Colonies to help the American revolutionaries against the British. In 1865 poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland. In 1866 the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed by Congress. It was ratified on July 9, 1868. In 1888 Congress created the Department of Labor. In 1893 President Grover Cleveland secretly underwent surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw; the operation was not revealed to the US public until 1917, nine years after the president's death. In 1900 China's Boxer Rebellion targeting foreigners, as well as Chinese Christians, erupted into full-scale violence. In 1903 football legend Harold "Red" Grange was born in Forksville, PA. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City. In 1935 James Braddock claimed the title of world heavyweight boxing champion from Max Baer in a 15-round fight in Long Island City, NY. In 1942 President Roosevelt created the Office of War Information, and appointed radio news commentator Elmer Davis to be its head. In 1943 four German spies landed on Long Island, New York; four days later, four more German spies landed in Pointe Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville, FL. They were all captured, and six of the eight were executed. In 1944 Germany began launching V1 rocket attacks against Britain during World War II. In 1966 the Supreme Court issued its landmark Miranda decision, ruling that criminal suspects had to be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning by police. In 1967 President Johnson nominated Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the US Supreme Court. In 1970 The Long and Winding Road became The Beatles' last Number 1 song. In 1971 the New York Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of America's involvement in Vietnam. In 1977 James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was recaptured following his escape three days earlier from a Tennessee prison. In 1983 the US space probe Pioneer 10, launched in 1972, became the first spacecraft to leave the solar system as it crossed the orbit of Neptune. In 1986 jazz great Benny Goodman died in New York City at age 77. In 2000 North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il welcomed South Korea's President Kim Dae for a three-day summit in Pyongyang. It was the first such meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea.

50 years ago on this date in 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, MS; he was 37. (In 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers and sentenced to life in prison; De La Beckwith died in 2001.)

June 12 ...

In 1665 England installed a municipal government in New York, formerly the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. In 1776 Virginia's colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights. In 1838 the Iowa Territory was organized. In 1898 Philippine nationalists declared independence from Spain. In 1924 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush was born in Milton, MA. In 1929 Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In 1963 civil rights leader Medgar Evers was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, MS; he was 37. (In 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers and sentenced to life in prison; De La Beckwith died in 2001.) In 1967 the Supreme Court struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriages. In 1987 during a visit to then West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"

June 11 ...

In 1509 England's King Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon. In 1770 Captain James Cook, commander of the British ship Endeavour, discovered the Great Barrier Reef off Australia by running onto it. In 1776 the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence calling for freedom from Britain. In 1919 Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming horse racing's first Triple Crown winner. In 1942 the United States and the Soviet Union signed a lend-lease agreement to aid the Soviet war effort in World War II. In 1963 Buddhist monk Quang Duc immolated himself on a Saigon street to protest the government of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem. In 1970 the United States presence in Libya came to an end as the last detachment left Wheelus Air Base. In 1977 Seattle Slew won the Belmont Stakes, capturing the Triple Crown. In 1987 Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office. In 2000 a day after the death of Syrian President Hafez Assad, his son, Bashar, was unanimously nominated by Syria's ruling Baath Party to succeed his father. In 2001 Timothy McVeigh was executed by injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, IN, for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

June 10 ...

In 1801 the North African state of Tripoli declared war on the United States in a dispute over safe passage of merchant vessels through the Mediterranean. In 1915 Saul Bellow was born in Lachine, Quebec (in what is now Montreal). In 1940 Italy declared war on France and Britain; Canada declared war on Italy. In 1942 the Gestapo massacred 173 male residents of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of a Nazi official. In 1946 Italy replaced its abolished monarchy with a republic. In 1964 the Senate voted to limit further debate on a proposed civil rights bill, shutting off a filibuster by Southern states. In 1967 the Middle East War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire. In 1978 Affirmed won the Belmont Stakes and with it, horse racing's Triple Crown. In 1988 author Louis L'Amour died at age 80. In 2000 Syrian President Hafez Assad died at age 69; he was succeeded by his son, Bashar.

June 9 ...

In 68 AD the Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide. In 1672 Russia's Peter the Great was born in Moscow. In 1870 author Charles Dickens died in Godshill, England. In 1891 composer and songwriter Cole Porter was born in Peru, IN. In 1940 Norway surrendered to the Nazis during World War II. In 1943 the withholding tax on payrolls was authorized by the US Congress. In 1969 the US Senate confirmed Warren Burger to be the new Chief Justice of the United States, succeeding Earl Warren. In 1973 Secretariat became horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years by winning the Belmont Stakes. In 1985 American educator Thomas Sutherland was kidnapped in Lebanon; he was released in November 1991 along with fellow hostage Terry Waite.