Monday, January 9, 2006

 

Spotlight: Happy 65th birthday to folksinger Joan Baez. Baez is as well known for her political activism as she is for her strong, three-octave-range voice and her songwriting. She was one of the first outspoken celebrity protesters of the Vietnam War and remains actively involved in anti-war movements. A headliner at Woodstock, Baez went on to found a school for nonviolence in California. In 1985, she opened the Philadelphia Live Aid concert for African famine relief with the words, "Good morning, children of the 80s. This is your Woodstock, and it's long overdue."

Quote: "The easiest kind of relationship is with ten thousand people, the hardest is with one." – Joan Baez

Word of the day: counterculture: a cultural group having values different from the mainstream culture of their society; Joan Baez was a leader of the 1960s counterculture movement. (© )

Today's News:

• VP Cheney: hospitalized, then released (story)
• UH-60 Black Hawk: down near Tal Afar, killing 12 (story)
• President Hamid Karzai: invites Taliban leader Mohammed Omar to reconciliation talks (story)
• Ms. Dynamite: charged with punching officer (story)

Today's History:

• Connecticut: the Constitution State became No. 5 (1788)
• Panama Canal Zone: anti-American rioting began, killing 21 Panamanians and 3 US soldiers (1964)
• Where's the beef?: Wendy's ad campaign began; it quickly morphed into a political slogan (1984)

Today's Birthdays:

• Richard Nixon: 37th POTUS, who resigned because of the Watergate scandal (1913-1994)
• Bob Denver: actor, Gilligan's Island (1935-2005)
• rock music: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin (62), Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band (39)