SITE MAP
Welcome!
Although this site has been created primarily for my students, anyone is welcome to visit. In these pages you will find a number of sources of information.
The Websites of Interest section below has numerous links that are of current interest. For more links
to material on just about any topic you're looking for, use the E-Links
button above. Linked off of that page are pages containing hundreds of links to
sites covering a number of topics.
Visit often ... I update frequently! Hope you enjoy the site!
Quote of the Day
"True confidence is quiet &
invisible."
-
Frank Herbert
Numbers of the Day
From 1960
to 2005, annual US economic growth averaged 3.4%, split
almost evenly between labor-force growth (1.5%) and
productivity gains (1.9%). As baby boomers retire,
labor-force growth will shrink. By the mid-2020s, the
Social Security Administration expects economic growth
of about 2.1%, with scant labor-force increases (0.4%)
and higher productivity gains (1.7%). Because
productivity reflects many influences—technology,
management, workers' skills—even that projection could
be optimistic. If productivity falters, as in the 1970s,
the US economy would virtually stagnate in the face of
growing claims on people's incomes.
-
Newsweek 11/10/2008
Then & Now
o
11/1/1512 -
Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were first
exhibited to the public.
o
11/1/1952 -
The US exploded the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.
o
11/1/2008 -
All Saints’ Day
o
11/2/1783 -
George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army near Princeton
NJ.
o
11/2/1917 -
British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressed support for a "national Home"
for the Jews of Palestine in the "Balfour Declaration."
o
11/2/1930 -
Haile Selassie was crowned emperor of Ethiopia.
o
11/2/1948 -
President Truman surprised the experts by being re-elected in a narrow upset
over Republican challenger Thomas Dewey.
o
11/2/1963 -
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem was assassinated in a military coup.
o
11/2/1976 -
Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South since the Civil War
to be elected president.
o
11/2/2008 –
Daylight Saving time ends. Clocks fall back from 1:59
am to 1:00
am.
o
11/2/2008 - Anniversary of the Crowning of Haile Selassie -
Rastafarian
o
11/2/2008 -
All Souls' Day
o
11/3/1903 -
Panama declared its independence from Colombia.
o
11/3/1957 -
The Soviets launched Sputnik II, the second manmade satellite, into orbit
carrying a dog named Laika who was sacrificed in the experiment.
o
11/3/1970 -
Salvador Allende was inaugurated as president of Chile.
o
11/3/1991 -
Israeli and Palestinian representatives held their first ever face-to-face talks
in Madrid, Spain.
o
11/3/2008 -
Sandwich Day
o
11/4/1922 -
The entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in Egypt.
o
11/4/1979 -
The Iranian hostage crisis began as militants stormed the US Embassy in Tehran.
For some it was the start of 444 days of captivity.
o
11/4/1995 -
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli
minutes after attending a peace rally.
o
11/4/2008 -
Election Day
o
11/4/2008 -
Bandi Chhor Divas - Sikhism
o
11/5/1940 - FDR won an unprecedented
third term in office.
o
11/5/1946 -
Republicans captured control of both the Senate and the House in midterm
elections.
o
11/6/1860 - Former Illinois
congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the presidency.
o
11/6/1861 -
Jefferson Davis was elected to a six-year term as president of the Confederacy.
o
11/6/2008 -
Installation of Holy Scriptures as Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Sikhism
o
11/7/1916 -
Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to
Congress.
o
11/7/1917 -
Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.
o
11/7/1944 -
FDR won an unprecedented fourth term in office.
o
11/7/1973 -
Congress overrode Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act, which limits the
president's power to wage war without congressional approval.
o
11/7/1989 -
L. Douglas Wilder won the governor's race in Virginia, becoming the first
elected black governor in US history.
o
11/8/1933 -
President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to
create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed.
o
11/8/1994 -
Midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning control of the House for the
first time in forty years.
o
11/8/2002 -
The UN Security Council approved a resolution giving UN weapons inspectors the
power they needed to hunt for illicit weapons in Iraq.
o
11/8/2008 -
Birthday of Baha'u'llah - Baha'i
o
11/9/1938 -
Nazis looted and burned synagogues and Jewish-owned stores & houses in Germany &
Austria in what became known as "Kristallnacht."
o
11/9/1989 -
East Germany threw open its borders allowing citizens to travel freely to the
West. Joyous Germans danced on top of the Berlin Wall.
o
11/10/1775
- The US Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.
o
11/10/1871
- Journalist-explorer Henry Stanley found missing Scottish missionary David
Livingstone in central Africa.
o
11/10/1928
- Emperor Hirohito was enthroned in Japan.
o
11/10/1954
- The Iwo Jima Memorial was dedicated in Arlington VA.
o
11/10/1982
- The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington
DC.
o
11/10/2008
- The US Marine Corps Birthday
o
11/11/1620
- Forty-one Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts,
signed a compact calling for a "body politick."
o
11/11/1831
- Former slave Nat Turner, who had led a violent insurrection, was executed in
Jerusalem VA.
o
11/11/1921
- President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington
National Cemetery.
o
11/11/2008
- Matinmas
-
Wicca/Celtic
o
11/11/2008
- Veterans Day
o
11/12/1942
- The WWII naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. The Americans won a major victory
over the Japanese.
o
11/13/1789
- Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to a fried, "In this world nothing can be
said to be certain, except death and taxes."
o
11/13/1927
- The Holland Tunnel opened to the public, providing access between New York
City and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.
o
11/13/1940
- The Walt Disney animated movie Fantasia had its world premiere in New
York.
o
11/13/1942
- The minimum draft age was lowered from 21 to 18.
o
11/13/1956
- The Supreme Court struck down laws calling for racial segregation on public
buses.
o
11/13/1982
- The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington DC.
o
11/13/2008
- Guru Nanak's Birthday - Sikhism
o
11/14/1851
- Herman Melville's Moby Dick was first published.
o
11/14/1922
- The BBC began its domestic radio service.
o
11/15/1777
- The Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.
o
11/15/1889
- Brazil's monarchy was overthrown.
o
11/15/1926
- NBC debuted with a radio network of 24 stations.
o
11/15/1998
- Civil Rights activist Kwame Tume (Stokely Carmichael) died in Guinea at the
age of 57.
o
11/15/2008
- Shichi - Go - San (Seven - Five - Three) - Shinto
o
11/16/1849 - A Russian court
sentenced novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for his alleged antigovernment
activities. His execution was stayed.
o
11/16/1864
- Killer and arsonist William T. Sherman and his troops began their March to the
Sea.
o
11/17/1800
- Congress held its first session in Washington in the partially completed
Capitol building.
o
11/17/1868
- The Suez Canal opened in Egypt.
o
11/18/1820
- Navy Captain Nathaniel Palmer discovered the frozen continent of Antarctica.
o
11/18/1883
- The US and Canada adopted a system of Standard Time zones.
o
11/18/1928
- The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon, Walt Disney's
Steamboat Willie, premiered in New York.
o
11/18/1966
- US Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on
Fridays.
o
11/18/1987
- Congress' Iran-Contra committees issued a final report that President Reagan
bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrong-doing by his aides.
o
11/18/1999
- Twelve people were killed when a bonfire under construction at Texas A&M
University collapsed.
o
11/18/2008
- Mickey Mouse’s Birthday
o
11/19/1863
- President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
o
11/19/1919
- The US Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.
o
11/19/1977
- Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel.
o
11/20/1789
- New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
o
11/20/1945
- The Nuremberg Trials began as Nazi leaders went on trial before an
international war crimes tribunal.
o
11/20/1967
- The US Census Clock ticked past 200 million.
o
11/21/1877
- Thomas Edison announced he had invented the phonograph.
o
11/21/1922
- Rebecca Felton (GA) was sworn in as the 1st woman to serve in the US Senate.
(She served one day.)
o
11/21/1963
- President John Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, began a two-day tour of
Texas.
o
11/21/1969
- The Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth,
the first such rejection since 1930.
o
11/21/2008
- Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Nanakshahi) - Sikhism
o
11/22/1718
- English pirate Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard - was killed during a
battle off the Virginia coast.
o
11/22/1906
- The SOS distress signal was adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic
Convention in Berlin.
o
11/22/1928
- Maurice Ravel's Bolero made its debut in Paris.
o
11/22/1963
- President John Kennedy was shot to death while riding in a motorcade in
Dallas.
o
11/22/1975
- Juan Carlos was proclaimed King of Spain.
o
11/23/1889
- The first jukebox debuted in San Francisco's Palais Royale Saloon.
o
11/23/1936
- Life was first published.
o
11/23/1971
- The People's Republic of China was seated in the UN Security Council.
o
11/23/2008
- Christ the King Day
o
11/24/1859
- Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection. It immediately sold out.
o
11/24/1871
- The National Rifle Association was incorporated.
o
11/24/1963
- Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald.
o
11/25/1783 - The British evacuated
NY, their last military position in the US during the Revolutionary War.
o
11/25/1986
- Iran-Contra erupted as President Reagan revealed that profits from secret arms
sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.
o
11/25/2002
- President George W. Bush signed legislation creating the Department of
Homeland Security.
o
11/25/2008
- Mangé Yam (fête de la moisson) - Voudon
o
11/26/1942
- Casablanca had its world premiere in NY.
o
11/26/1950
- China entered the Korean conflict by launching a counteroffensive against
soldiers from the UN, the US and South Korea.
o
11/26/1997
- Saddam Hussein said he would allow visits to palaces where UN weapons experts
suspected chemical & biological weapons were hidden.
o
11/26/2008
- Day of the Covenant - Baha'i
o
11/27/1901
- The US Army War College was established in Washington DC.
o
11/27/1973
- The Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald Ford as vice president, succeeding
Spiro Agnew.
o
11/27/2008
- Thanksgiving Day
o
11/28/1520
- Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific after passing
through the South American strait that now bears his name.
o
11/28/1925
- The Grand Ole Opry made its radio debut on station WSM.
o
11/28/1975
- President Ford nominated federal Judge John Paul Stevens to the US Supreme
Court.
o
11/28/2008 - Ascension of Abdul-Baha - Baha'i
o
11/29/1864
- The Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand
Creek Massacre.
o
11/29/1947
- The UN passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between
Arabs and Jews.
o
11/29/1963
- President Johnson named a commission headed by Earl Warren to investigate the
assassination of President Kennedy.
o
11/30/1782
- The US and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, which ended the
Revolutionary War.
o
11/30/1966
- The former British colony of Barbados became independent.
o
11/30/1981
- The US and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva aimed at reducing
nuclear weapons in Europe.
o
11/30/2008 - St. Andrew's Day
o
11/30/2008
- First Sunday of Advent
Media Outlets of Interest
o
National Public
Radio
o
BBC
o
The
Washington Post
o
The Los
Angeles Times
o
The New
York Times on the Web
o
USA Today
o
NEWSWEEK
o
Time
o
US News & World Report
o
Fox News
o
ABC News
o
NBC News
o
CBS News
o
CNN
o
San
Antonio Express News
o
Tyler
Morning Telegraph
o
Longview
News-Journal
o
Foreign Language News and Newspapers
o
First Read
o
Texas Cable News
o
Cybercast
News Service
Web Sites of Interest
o
Law Library of Congress: North Korea
-
Collection of links to websites on North Korea government, politics, and law.
Includes legal guides, country studies, and links to constitutions and branches
of government (where available).
o
Council on Foreign Relations: North Korea
-
Background,
articles, and opinion pieces about North Korea government and politics. Many of
the articles focus on North Korea's nuclear program. From the Council on Foreign
Relations, "an independent membership organization and a nonpartisan think tank
and publisher."
o
State
of the Union (SOTU)
-
The site
uses an interactive timeline to provide a visual representation of prominent
words in presidential State of the Union addresses by displaying significant
words as "determined by comparing how frequently the word occurs in the document
to how frequently it appears throughout the entire body of SOTU addresses." The
"Appendices" section describes the statistical methods used. Also includes the
full text of addresses.
o
Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed - Reasons
include "Senate opposition to the nominating President, nominee's views, or
incumbent Court; senatorial courtesy; perceived political unreliability of the
nominee; perceived lack of ability; interest group opposition; and fear of
altering the balance of the Court. These nominations have been the subject of
extensive legal, historical, and political science writing, a selected list of
which is included in this report." A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report
for Congress. Opens directly into a PDF file.
o
Small Town Papers - This site
provides access to scanned images of recent issues of dozens of small town
newspapers from throughout the United States. "Newspapers are updated
periodically, 2-3 weeks after publication." The site also includes a searchable
archive (of articles, photos, and advertisements), which covers different
periods for each paper, some as far back as the 1890s. Access to the archives
requires free registration.
o
Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances - This group "is
a network of individuals and organizations, conservatives and progressives"
which was working "to urge the US Congress to carefully review and amend the
Patriot Act" before its reauthorized at the end of 2005. The site features a
chronology of the act, news, statements and a list of member organizations.
Former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA) is the chairman of the group.
o
A
summary of the US Supreme Court's 2005 ruling on eminent domain
allowing "local governments to expropriate private property for development."
Includes links to statements from organizations on both sides of the argument as
well as to Supreme Court documents about the case (Kelo v. New London). From
JURIST: The Legal Education Network.
o
This
website "serves as a centralized location to learn about the
Congressional Research Service and
search for CRS reports that have been released to the public by members of
Congress." ("CRS Reports do not become public until a member of Congress
releases the report.") Features a searchable database with more than 8,000
reports, a list of recently released reports, other collections of CRS reports,
and a FAQ about CRS.
o
Stem Cell
Research - The official National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell
research is at
http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp. In
2005, NOVA aired an overview of the issue, at
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3209/04.html. A 2001 Time Magazine feature is at
www.time.com/time/2001/stemcells.
o
Instances of Use of
United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798 - 2004 - This report
lists hundreds of instances in which the United States has used its armed forces
abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other
than normal peacetime purposes. It was compiled in part from various older lists
and is intended primarily to provide a rough survey of past US military ventures
abroad, without reference to the magnitude of the given instance noted.
o
Government Product Recalls
o
Homeland Security
Knowledgebase
o
If you're
worried about retirement, try some of the following sites:
IRS Tax Information for Retirement Plans
Social Security Retirement Planner
Retirement Planning Resources from
Smart Money
Personal Financial Planning Tools from Business Week
o
Keeping the Shi'ites Straight - Based on the
opinion that "no story has been more confusing for the Western news media to
cover in postwar Iraq than the politics of the country's Shi'ite majority," this
article provides a basic outline of Shi'ite religious history. Discusses the
Sadr family (Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr, Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, and
Muqtada as-Sadr), Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, and other figures.
o
MILITARY DEATH TOLL IN IRAQ - Developed "to
provide information that has been scrupulously culled from government sources
and cross-checked against other existing lists" about the military death toll in
Iraq. It features statistics about fatalities and injuries for Iraqi Coalition
armed forces. Data may be retrieved by month, name, location of occurrences,
cause of death, state residence and more. Includes links to sources of
information.
o
This
commercial site presents brief information about dozens of
Black inventors from the
United States. Some entries include portraits and images. Also includes a
searchable timeline covering 1721-1988. Does not include bibliographic
information.
o
Annenberg Political Fact Check - This site
describes itself as "a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters
that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in US politics." The
site provides original articles, with summaries and sources, analyzing factual
accuracy in "TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases."
Searchable. From the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of
Pennsylvania.
o
White House Tapes: The President
Calling - "Three of
America's most compelling presidents -- Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon -- bugged
their White House offices and tapped their telephones. In this documentary
project, American Radio Works eavesdrops on presidential telephone calls to hear
how each man used one-on-one politics to shape history." Includes audio, a
transcript of the documentary and background information on each president and
the tapes.
o
The Government Performance
Project: The Way We Tax: A
50-State Report - This report
from Congressional Quarterly analyzes "the tax structures and tax management of
the 50 states" and evaluates "the way each state raises its revenues." It
includes an overview of major sources of state revenue (sales taxes, personal
income taxes, property taxes and corporate taxes) and features a description of
the tax structure for each state. Also provides related reports back to 1999.
o
History of Guantanamo Bay - Based on two
volumes of "the history of both the area and of the base, contributed to the
base by a former Commander of Naval Base Guantanamo Bay." It begins with
Columbus' discovery of the Cuban bay in the Caribbean through the Spanish loss
in 1898 and until 1982. Includes appendices for flora and fauna, treaties and
agreements of 1934, bibliography and more. Also provides related links.
o
First Amendment
Library - Provides info
on Supreme Court First Amendment jurisprudence, including rulings, arguments,
briefs, historical material, commentary and press coverage.
o
What Home Pages Tell (and Don't Tell) About a Candidate
o
American Choices: Understanding Foreign
Policy Debates - This "foreign
policy self-assessment ... asks you to weigh some of the fundamental
trade-offs facing US policymakers. At the end of it, you get a summary of your
beliefs, and how they compare with others." Also includes annotated listings of
foreign policy Web resources. From "e-the People, a nonprofit organization whose
nonpartisan mission is to improve civic participation through Internet
technologies."
o
Interested
in lowering your medication costs? Try Doctor Solve at 866-732-0305,
www.needymeds.com, 800-PMA-INFO or
www.benefitscheckup.org.
o
If you are
thinking of changing your electricity provider, go to
www.powertochoose.org or call 866-797-4839.
o
Drug Policy Alliance - This group
claims to be "the leading organization working to broaden the public debate on
drug policy and to promote realistic alternatives to the war on drugs based on
science, compassion, health and human rights." The searchable site includes
information about various topics such as specific drugs, national and
international drug policies, drugs and race, drug treatment options and drugs
and law enforcement. Also includes the Lindesmith Library catalog, a discussion
forum, news and alerts.
o
Check out
www.unitedhealthalliance.com or
www.CrossBorderPharmacy.com for ordering
prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.
o
Primary
Documents in American History
Community
Resources
If
you need a presentation or workshop for your group, use the
Community
link here or at the top of the page.
The link will take you to a list of the topics I currently have available.
To schedule a date or for more information, feel free to contact me
at dramyglenn@earthlink.net.
