Cheney changed his residency back to Wyoming practically overnight despite having lived in Texas for seven years, having voted, worked and paid taxes there, and owning a home there. Voter challenges to Cheney’s change of residency as being a mere ploy to get around the 12th Amendment were dismissed by Federal courts in both Texas and Florida.
Howard Dean emerged as an early leader for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election. Dean had previously been the Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003. By the Iowa caucus, in which he finished third, his campaign had been and continued to fade away. His “Dean Scream” media gaffe in Iowa was repeatedly played and became known as his “I Have a Scream” speech. It was given on the day of the caucus when the results were clear that he had underperformed. Dean had been the only major Democratic candidate to openly oppose George W Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s Iraq War. Dean took the stage that night with enthusiasm and gusto, and he was concluding with a crescendo and a shout of “…and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yeah!” Unfortunately, on his Yeah! his voice cracked and it came across more as a bizarre yelp than a strong punctuation of his points. It was not the cause of his overall loss in the primaries, not even a major contributor to it, but it became a bit of a media frenzy and a milestone of those primaries.
Among the 46 Presidents of the United States, there have been two father-son pairs. In both cases, the father and son shared the same first name. John Adams was the second President; his son, John Quincy Adams was the sixth President. George H.W. Bush was the 41st President; his son, George W. Bush, was the 43rd President.
Other related Presidents include William Henry Harrison (9th) and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison (23rd); and Theodore Roosevelt (26th), a distant cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (32). Franklin was married to Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore’s niece.
Alice blue, a light shade of ice blue, was named for Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt.
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, released by Crosby, Stills, and Nash in 1969, is a play on Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, an endearing nickname for Judy Collins whom Steven Stills had been dating. Their relationship was falling apart. When Stills played it for her, they both cried. They loved each other but knew their relationship would end. Collins told Stills that it was a beautiful song but it wasn’t going to win her back.
Another CSN song about this failing relationship is Helplessly Hoping. It was also released in 1969.
Crosby, Stills & Nash first formed in 1968, following the departure of the eponymous members from their respective bands (The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the Hollies). After their debut album in 1969, Neil Young joined the band to become Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). Their first album as CSNY was titled Déjà Vu, and it went to number one on US and UK charts.
Musician Neil Young became a model train enthusiast in the 1990s, using the hobby as a way to interact with his son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy.
Young was a part owner of Lionel, LLC (a major model train manufacturer) for a time, and holds or co-holds seven patents related to model railroading.
Lionel Trains have been around since 1900. By the end of World War I, Lionel was one of three major US toy train manufacturers. In the early 1900s when Lionel convinced department stores to incorporate toy trains in their Christmas displays, it linked toy trains to the holiday and made them popular Christmas presents.
1900 was the last full year of the Presidency of William McKinley, Republican of Ohio. He was assassinated in Buffalo in Sept. 1901 and succeeded by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, Republican of New York. Roosevelt remains the youngest person ever to become President of the United States; John F. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, is still the youngest person elected President.
Roosevelt Island is a narrow island in the East River, to the east of Manhattan Island, and to the west of the New York borough of Queens; it is part of the borough of Manhattan.
The island was formerly known as Minnehanonck (by the indigenous Lanape people) and Varkens Eylandt (“Hog Island,” by Dutch settlers), and later as Blackwell’s Island, then Welfare Island (from 1921 until 1973, when it was principally used for hospitals). It was given its current name in 1973, to honor former U.S. President (and New York State native) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is the oldest urban commuter aerial tramway in the US. It runs to Roosevelt Island from the upper east side of Manhattan.
Added: it opened in 1976. There is only one other commuter aerial tramway in the US: the Portland (Oregon) Aerial Tram. That one opened in 2006.
The north and south cars of the Portland (OR) Aerial Tram are named Jean and Walt, respectively, after Jean Richardson, the first female engineering graduate from Oregon State University, and Walt Reynolds, the first African-American to graduate from OHSU, then known as the University of Oregon Medical School.
Oregon State University is in Corvallis, a city between Eugene and Salem in western Oregon. GP2, or Gary Payton II, is an alum who played basketball at OSU from 2014 to 2016. GP2 currently plays for the Golden State Warriors who are in this year’s NBA playoffs. Golden State is in the second round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers. They are down 0-1 in the 7 game series. Game 2 is tonight at 5:30 Pacific time.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is the first time since 2004 that the Leafs have made it past the first round.
The Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, Canada’s Centennial Year.
According to vegasInsider.com, the current odds leaders to win the NBA championship are in order:
Boston Celtics
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Lakers
Phoenix Suns
Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks
Miami Heat
For the NHL Stanley Cup it is:
Carolina Hurricanes
Las Vegas Golden Knights
Florida Panthers
Edmonton Oilers
Dallas Stars
Toronto Maple Leafs
New Jersey Devils
Seattle Kraken
And I’ve been wondering about this for a long time now: WTF is a Kraken? The internet to the rescue: A kraken is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear off the coasts of Norway.
The Seattle Kraken are in just their second season of existence. In their first season, they finished last in their division with 60 points. This season, however, they finished fourth in the Pacific Division with 100 points and made the playoffs. They pulled a huge upset in the first round, defeating the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in seven games. They are currently tied with the Dallas Stars at one win apiece in the second-round series.
Kraken is a brand of black Caribbean spiced rum, made in Trinidad, and named after the mythical sea monster. The rum brand is an official sponsor of the Seattle Kraken NHL team.
The Kraken was also the mythical beast that would defeat Joe Biden in 2020.
Joe didn’t break a sweat.
Liam Neeson’s line as Zeus in the 2010 Greek mythological action movie Clash of the Titans, “Release the Kraken!,” went viral.