on this day … 10/14
1066 – The Battle of Hastings occurred in England. The Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II of England.
1879 – Thomas Edison signed an agreement with Jose D. Husbands for the sale of Edison telephones in Chile.
1887 – Thomas Edison and George E. Gouraud reached an agreement for the international marketing rights for the phonograph.
1888 – In England, Louis Le Prince filmed the experimental film “Roundhay Garden Scene.” It is the oldest surviving motion picture.
1912 – Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning in Milwaukee, WI. Roosevelt’s wound in the chest was not serious and he continued with his planned speech. William Schrenk was captured at the scene of the shooting.
1922 – Lieutenant Lester James Maitland set a new airplane speed record when he reached a speed of 216.1 miles-per-hour.
1926 – The book “Winnie-the-Pooh,” by A.A. Milne, made its debut.
1930 – Ethel Merman debuted on Broadway in “Girl Crazy.”
1933 – Nazi Germany announced that it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.
1934 – “Lux Radio Theater” began airing on the NBC Blue radio network.
1936 – The first SSB (Social Security Board) office opened in Austin, TX. From this point, the Board’s local office took over the assigning of Social Security Numbers.
1943 – The Radio Corporation of America finalized the sale of the NBC Blue radio network. Edward J. Noble paid $8 million for the network that was renamed American Broadcasting Company.
1944 – German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution after being accused of conspiring against Adolf Hitler and the execution that would follow.
1944 – During World War II, the Second British Parachute Brigade liberated the city of Athens.
1947 – Over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California, pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 rocket plane and became the first person to break the sound barrier.
1954 – C.B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments”, starring Charlton Heston, began filming in Egypt. The epic had a cast of 25,000 people.
1960 – U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggested the idea of a Peace Corps.
1961 – “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” opened on Broadway.
1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis began. It was on this day that U.S. intelligence personnel analyzing data discovered Soviet medium-range missile sites in Cuba. On October 22 U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced that he had ordered the naval “quarantine” of Cuba.
1964 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent resistance to racial prejudice in America. He was the youngest person to receive the award.
1968 – The first live telecast to come from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.
1970 – Anwar el-Sadat became president of Egypt following the death of President Nasser.
1972 – In Iraq, oil was struck for the first time just north of Kirkuk.
1984 – George ‘Sparky’ Anderson became the first baseball manager to win 100 games and a World Series in both leagues. (MLB)
1986 – Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev charged that the U.S. wanted to “bleed the Soviet Union economically” with the arms race in space.
1987 – Jessica McClure, 18 months old, fell down an abandoned well in Midland, TX. The rescue took 58 hours.
2001 – Toys “R” Us introduced the new version of Geoffrey the giraffe in a 60-second commercial before WABC-TV aired Disney’s “The Emperor’s New Groove.”
Disney movies, music and books
2002 – Britain stripped power from the Catholic and Protestant politicians of Northern Ireland. Britain resumed sole responsibility for running Northern Ireland.
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7 Things to Know About Redistricting ~ a reminder
Originally posted on October 28, 2013
The recent government shutdown and struggle over raising the debt ceiling were the result of many factors. Big money in politics, congressional dysfunction, and geographical self-sorting by like-minded voters all played a role. So did redistricting. For those unfamiliar with redistricting, below are some common questions and answers.
Also see our Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting.
What is redistricting?
Members of Congress, state legislators, and many county and municipal offices are elected by voters grouped into districts. At least once per decade, usually after a Census, district lines are redrawn, block by block. Populations change. Some districts gain residents, some lose them. Some districts increase the numbers of minorities, some districts lose them. District boundaries are redrawn to ensure each district has about the same number of people and to fulfill the constitutional guarantee that each voter has an equal say. Based on the 2010 census, each Congressional district has an average population of about 711,000, which is nearly a 10 percent increase from the 2000 census, when each district had an average of 647,000 people. In 2010, some states lost congressional seats and others gained them. For example, Texas gained four districts and New York lost two.
Who draws the lines?
Each state decides. In most states, the line drawers are politicians along with hired consultants. Often, state legislators draw the map, which the governor can veto. Some states have special commissions that advise legislators on drawing the map, or that serve as backup mapmakers if the legislature deadlocks. A few states have independent commissions so politicians and public officials cannot directly draw their own districts. Some states try to prevent a single political party from controlling the process. Some do not, providing one party a major advantage if it controls the state legislature. In other states, politicians from both parties simply work together to draw districts that often protect incumbents.
Why does redistricting matter?
Redistricting affects political power. It determines which party controls Congress and state and local governments across the country. Even when the population is divided equally, drawing the lines one way can reward Democrats and punish Republicans or vice versa. Some line-drawing can protect incumbents. Some line-drawing can guarantee they will face a potent challenger, either from their own party or the opposite party. Consequently, redistricting has a direct bearing on what matters a legislature chooses to tackle, and which to ignore.
How should the lines be drawn?
A good redistricting process should help a community secure meaningful representation. Other than meeting the constitutional requirement that all votes should count equally, there is no magic formula. Many states consider “communities of interest” when drawing their districts. That’s just a term for groups of people who share common social, cultural, racial, economic, geographic, or other concerns. These groups are likely to have similar legislative interests as well, and that means they can benefit from common representation in the government. This goes much deeper than Republican or Democrat. A district of farmers, say, and a district of city dwellers will probably elect representatives that reflect differing histories, priorities, and aspirations. Other redistricting goals — like keeping a district compact or within county borders — are usually proxies for keeping communities intact. A good redistricting process will be open and transparent, allowing communities to ask questions and give input. This participation is important, since communities are the basic units of well-designed districts.
What is gerrymandering?
Gerrymandering refers to the manipulation of district lines to protect or change political power. Any change in district lines affects politics. But a gerrymander is a deliberate and, according to opponents, unfair attempt to draw district lines to increase the likelihood of a particular political result. Incumbents, for example, have an incentive to create districts that are likely to re-elect them, sometimes dividing communities among one or more districts when a single district containing the entire community would better represent their interests.
Did redistricting affect the government shutdown?
Republicans gained 43 seats in the House of Representatives in the 2010 election and regained majority control, the largest swing in any midterm election since 1938. Many experts believe the newly-elected Republicans won their seats as a result of gerrymandering, which created districts with more conservative electorates. More than 50 House Republicans belong to the Tea Party Caucus, the main proponent of the government shutdown and the confrontation over the debt ceiling. This minority of the majority party drove many of the recent decisions regarding whether the House would consider legislation to continue funding the government. Some experts think these lawmakers were likely more willing to shut down the government because they did not fear being voted out of office. Others say gerrymandering did not have an effect because it actually reduces the number of extremely safe districts.
When is the next redistricting cycle, and what can you do now?
The next redistricting will be after the 2020 census. You can hold the line drawers accountable by paying attention and speaking up. Call your state legislators and tell them you want a fair redistricting process. Lawmakers will propose redistricting reform measures in the next few years. Track those developments and make your voice heard.
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October 2004 ~ a new harsh reality
The New York Times, In
’04 Florida, Lawsuits Begin Before Election, October 14, 2004 (Registration required)The Washington Post, Behind
the Scenes, Officials Wrestle Over Voting Rules, October 10, 2004 (Registration
required)
CNN, Kerry:
GOP suppressing vote in swing states, October 4, 2004
The Los Angeles Times, Nov. 2 Is V-Day for Blacks in Florida, October 11, 2004 (Registration required)
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on this day 10/11 1994 – The Colorado Supreme Court declared that the anti-gay rights measure in the state was unconstitutional.
1776 – During the American Revolution the first naval battle of Lake Champlain was fought. The forces under Gen. Benedict Arnold suffered heavy losses.
1811 – The Juliana, the first steam-powered ferryboat, was put into operation by the inventor John Stevens. The ferry went between New York City, NY, and Hoboken, NJ.
1869 – Thomas Edison filed for a patent on his first invention. The electric machine was used for counting votes for the U.S. Congress, however the Congress did not buy it.
1881 – David Henderson Houston patented the first roll film for cameras.
1890 – The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, DC.
1899 – The Boer War began in South Africa between the British and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.
1929 – JCPenney opened a store in Milford, DE, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 states.
1932 – In New York, the first telecast of a political campaign was aired.
1936 – The radio show, “Professor Quiz”, aired for the first time.
1939 – U.S. President Roosevelt was presented with a letter from Albert Einstein that urged him to develop the U.S.atomic program rapidly.
1942 – The Battle of Cape Esperance, during World War II, began in the Solomons.
1958 – Pioneer 1, a lunar probe, was launched by the U.S. The probe did not reach its destination and fell back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.
1968 – Apollo 7 was launched by the U.S. The first manned Apollo mission was the first in which live television broadcasts were received from orbit. Wally Schirra, Don Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham were the astronauts aboard.
1971 – Hugh Downs left the “Today” show and “Concentration”. He later became the host of ABC’s “20/20”.
1975 – “Saturday Night Live” was broadcast for the first time. George Carlin was the guest host.
1983 – The last hand-cranked telephones in the U.S. went out of service. The 440 telephone customers of Bryant Pond, ME, were switched to direct-dial service.
1984 – Construction began on the Kamric/Cinergy Futursonics Studio in Houston, TX.
1984 – American Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first female astronaut to SpaceWalk. She was aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
1984 – Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) made his debut in the National Hockey League (NHL) against the Boston Bruins. He scored a goal on his first shot on his first NHL shift.
1994 – U.S. troops in Haiti took control of the National Palace.
1994 – Iraqi troops began moving away from the Kuwaiti border.
1994 – The Colorado Supreme Court declared that the anti-gay rights measure in the state was unconstitutional.
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