Stevensonserved as governor of Illinois from 1949-1953. He worked to protect civil liberties, but gained special recognition for cracking down on illegal gambling, improving state highways, and reorganizing the state police. He was remarkably popular, despite being described by many as an “egghead intellectual.” He charmed people with his self-deprecating humor. In one speech, he joked, “eggheads of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your yolks!”
Adlai Stevenson was once, on the campaign trail, approached by a enthusiastic voter who said, “Gov. Stevenson, you’ll have the support of every thinking American!” Stevenson joked, “It’s not enough, ma’am - I need a majority!”
Actor McLean Stevenson was was the great-grandson of William Stevenson (brother of US Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson), making him a second cousin once removed of two-time presidential candidate Adlai E. Stevenson II.
Adlai Stevenson was widely considered to have been the model for the mild-mannered egghead President Merkin Muffley in Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire, Dr. Strangelove, as played (among other roles) by Peter Sellers.
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Adlai Ewing Stevenson served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897. Previously, he served as a representative from Illinois in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Stevenson was the grandfather of Adlai Stevenson II, a Governor of Illinois and the unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate in both 1952 and 1956.
Basketball player Patrick Ewing is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame ,in 2008 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team. Additionally he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame as a member of the “Dream Team” in 2009. His number 33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003.
Joe Biden, first inaugurated Vice President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009, was the first Roman Catholic person to hold that office. His successor, Mike Pence, was also raised Catholic but now identifies himself as Evangelical.
And I’m back from double-bypass surgery. Damn, it’s good to be home and back on the Dope!
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Currently there are 22 Catholics in the United States Senate, and 141 (out of 435) Catholics in the United States House of Representatives, including the current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. This equates to about 30% of both Houses of Congress. The total Catholic population in the country is estimated to be about 24%.
Welcome home!
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When the Green Bay Packers take the field for the 2019 NFL season under new head coach Matt LaFleur, it will only be the second time since 1992 in which the team started a season with a head coach who was not named named “Mike.” Recent previous head coaches were Mike Holmgren (1992-1998), Ray Rhodes (1999), Mike Sherman (2000-2005), and Mike McCarthy (2006-2018).
(McCarthy was fired after 12 games in 2018, and Joe Philbin finished the season as interim head coach.)
Lafleur Restaurants is a chain of family-owned fast food restaurants located in the greater Montreal area. It is widely known for serving the basic staples of Québécois fast food, such as hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and poutine. It is particularly known for its hot dog dishes.
Welcome back, Railer13! Glad to have you here again. Hope you’re feeling better and better.
Most dogs can survive brief periods of zero gravity in small aircraft with no known ill effects.
Laika, a stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, was the first animal to orbit the Earth, in Sputnik 2. Soviet scientists chose to use Moscow stray dogs since they assumed that they could endure extreme cold and hunger.
Laika Entertainment is a stop-motion animated studio, owned by Phil Knight, and headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon. Laika, which was named after the Soviet space dog, is the successor to Will Vinton Studios, an animation company which was best known for television commercials such as the California Raisins.
Among the animated features produced by Laika are Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, and the upcoming Missing Link.
Thank you!
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The California Raisins were created in 1986 for a Sun-Maid commercial on behalf of the California Raisin Advisory Board. The commercial became extremely popular, which paved the way for several future commercials and opportunities through other media, including the release of four studio albums.
The lead vocals were sung by Buddy Miles, who was a founding member of The Electric Flag and was one of the musicians on Jimi Hendrix’s live album Band of Gypsys.
While he was considered the best jazz drummer ever, Buddy Rich’s influence extended from jazz to rock music and jazz fusion. He influenced drummers John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and Bill Ward of Black Sabbath. Phil Collins stopped using two bass drums and started playing the hi-hat after reading Rich’s opinion on the importance of the hi-hat. Roger Taylor, drummer of Queen, acknowledged Rich as the best drummer he ever saw for sheer technique.
Buddy Rich had a terrible temper and was notorious for berating, at length, members of his band who didn’t measure up to his high standards. Jerry Seinfeld adapted several of Rich’s secretly-recorded tirades for his very popular sitcom, Seinfeld.
Chicago Cubs manager Lee Elia ended his managing career due to the recording of his rant about his team’s fans on April 29, 2983. It was worth it, though. 
Note: All games at Wrigley Field were played in the daytime then, since lights were not installed for some years later.
1983, of course.
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, was the last Major League Baseball stadium to install lights (and thus have night games), holding out for several decades after other teams had added lights. Finally, under pressure from the league to install lights (and under the threat of having “home” playoff games actually played on the road), the Cubs installed lights in 1988.
The first night game at Wrigley field was on August 8th, 1988 (8-8-88), against Philadelphia though as that game was rained out after 3 1/2 innings (and, thus, didn’t count as a game), the first official night game was played the following night, against the New York Mets.
The 1940 film The Philadelphia Story was actress Katharine Hepburn’s first big hit following several flops, which had led to her being included on a 1938 list of actors considered to be “box office poison”. The film was one of the biggest hits of 1940, breaking records at Radio City Music Hall. The review in Time declared, “Come on back, Katie, all is forgiven.”