Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May 31 in 2010.
Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I.
Quotations for Memorial Day
* For love of country they accepted death. ~ President James Garfield
* I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead. ~ Robert G. Ingersoll
* Although no sculptured marble shall rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored. ~ Daniel Webster
* The purpose of all war is ultimately peace. ~ Saint Augustine
* As I approach the gates of heaven / St. Peter I will tell / One more soldier reporting sir / I’ve served my time in hell. ~ Mark Anthony Gresswell
* The dead soldier’s silence sings our national anthem. ~ Reverend Aaron Kilbourn
* Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o’er, / Sleep the rest that knows not breaking / Dream of battled fields no more, / Days of danger, nights of waking. ~ Sir Walter Scott
* The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. ~ Benjamin Disraeli
* I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free, and I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. ~ Lee Greenwood
* Give me liberty or give me death. ~ Patrick Henry
* When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave our today. ~ The Kohima Epitaph
* Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed. ~ UNESCO Constitution
* Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave. ~ Muhammad
* Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. ~ Billy Graham
* A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. ~ Joseph Campbell
* The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it. ~ Thucydides
* Bravery never goes out of fashion. ~ William Makepeace Thackeray
* It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. ~ Norman Schwarzkopf
* Sacrifice still exists everywhere, and everywhere the elect of each generation suffers for the salvation of the rest. ~ Henri Frederic Amiel
* The American spirit wears no political label. In service to others and yes, in sacrifice for our country, there are no Republicans; the are no Democrats; there are only Americans. ~ John Kerry
* Those things which are precious are saved only by sacrifice. ~ David Kenyon Webster
UFC 114 Results – Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson Video
A lot of people are looking for the results of the UFC 114, For those who would want to check out the replay video of the match up, well you can have it right here. it was an awesome May 29, 2010 match up yesterday that led to another succesful MMA event. See the complete list of results for the UFC 114 before the Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson Video.
Preliminary card
* Middleweight bout: United States Jesse Forbes vs. United States Ryan Jensen
-Jensen defeated Forbes via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:06 of round 1.
* Lightweight bout: United States Aaron Riley vs. United States Joe Brammer
-Riley defeated Brammer via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brazil Luiz Cane vs. France Cyrille Diabaté
-Diabaté defeated Cane via TKO (strikes) at 2:13 of round 1. This bout aired on Spike after the Escudero vs. Lauzon fight.
* Lightweight bout: United States Melvin Guillard vs. United States Waylon Lowe
-Guillard defeated Lowe via TKO (strikes) at 3:28 of round 1. This bout aired on PPV after the Duffee vs. Russow fight.
Preliminary card (Spike TV)
* Lightweight bout: Mexico Efrain Escudero vs. United States Dan Lauzon
-Escudero defeated Lauzon via unanimous decision (29–27, 29–27, 29–27). Escudero was deducted 1 point due to repeated kicks to the groin.
* Welterweight bout: United States Amir Sadollah vs. South Korea Dong Hyun Kim
-Kim defeated Sadollah via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
Main card
* Welterweight bout: United States Diego Sanchez vs. England John Hathaway
-Hathaway defeated Sanchez via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–26).
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brazil Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. United States Jason Brilz
-Nogueira defeated Brilz via split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28).
* Heavyweight bout: United States Todd Duffee vs. United States Mike Russow
-Russow defeated Duffee via KO (punch) at 2:35 in round 3.
* Middleweight bout: England Michael Bisping vs. United States Dan Miller
-Bisping defeated Miller via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–27).
* Light Heavyweight bout: United States Quinton Jackson vs. United States Rashad Evans
-Evans defeated Jackson via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27).
The Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson Video Will be updated here in a while. Enjoy the results updates.
U.S. soccer to move closer to starting World Cup lineup with game against Turkey
Two weeks remain before the United States plays its opening game in the World Cup in South Africa.
And with the 23-man roster having been finalized on Wednesday, today’s send-off match against Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia marks the first opportunity for coach Bob Bradley to begin sorting out who will be in his starting 11 when the Americans meet England on June 12.
So whereas Bradley used Tuesday’s game in Hartford, Conn., against the Czech Republic to get a last look at the bubble players, the lineup he uses today figures to be a lot closer to the one he will use.
Players like goalkeeper Tim Howard, defender Carlos Bocanegra, midfielders Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, and striker Jozy Altidore — all of whom rested Tuesday — should play against the Turks as Bob Bradley begins to try and settle on the right combination.
Howard is the clear No. 1 goalkeeper, Michael Bradley the top defensive midfielder and Altidore the top striker. That much is set in stone. After that, there are many questions. How will Bob Bradley deploy players like Bocanegra, Donovan and Dempsey? All will be on the field somewhere, but where?
“With regard to Clint and Landon, at different times they get used in different ways, whether that means tilted left, tilted right, or playing a little bit underneath,” Bob Bradley said. “As you get closer, there are sometimes considerations in terms of the opponent. But that’s sort of at the end of it all.”
In Bradley’s preferred 4-4-2 formation, Donovan and Dempsey are asked to trigger the attack from the outside midfield positions with Michael Bradley and either Ricardo Clark or Maurice Edu playing defensive roles in the center.
But with the absence of injured striker Charlie Davies, either Donovan or Dempsey likely will be used as a support striker behind Altidore. And while Donovan said he would prefer to play on either wing, he feels he can make an impact from anywhere.
The defense is unsettled, as well. Bocanegra, the team captain, usually plays left back for his club, Rennes, in France. But most often the U.S. plays him at center back, and Bocanegra said he finds it easier to help organize the defense when he is playing in the middle.
Where he plays in South Africa may have a lot to do with health — his own, as well as that of fellow defenders Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu. Bocanegra had hernia surgery May 5, while DeMerit is recovering from an eye injury and a lower abdominal strain. Onyewu’s appearance Tuesday was his first in a game since rupturing his left patellar tendon in a World Cup qualifier last October. The 6-4, 210-pounder went 65 minutes Tuesday and was badly beaten, when the Czech Republic’s Tomas Sivok jumped over him to head in a free kick.
Dr. Beach's Top 10 List is out; NY tops the list
Coopers Beach in Southampton named best in US in annual survey by Dr. Beach
If you want to visit the top beach in the US, only a traffic-jammed ride away on LIE.
Coopers Beach in Southampton grabbed the best beach billing in the rankings compiled by the man appropriately dubbed Dr. Beach.
Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman's annual list marks its 20th year by honoring the sandy shores of Coopers Beach. Main Beach in Easthampton also made the cut, taking the fifth spot.
Criteria Leatherman uses for his rankings include: water temperature, sand softness, number of waves, smells and the presence of jellyfish.
However, unless you ride your bike to the beach, prepare to pay $40 to park your car at Coopers.
Here is Dr. Beach's Top 10 list:
1. Coopers Beach, Southampton, NY
2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.
3. Coronado Beach, San Diego, Calif.
4. Cape Hatteras, Outers Banks, NC
5. Main Beach, East Hampton, NY
6. Kahanamoku Beach, Wakiki, Oahu, Hawaii
7. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.
8. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, SC
9. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
“You are your own Teacher” – The Navy Advancement Exam
The first step in preparing for the exam is to download your bibs or bibliography. Bibliography are references for the exam. There are many online references for which you can download. Some sources though, mostly classified and military manuals are not available for download.
After downloading the materials for the preparation, you will need to gather all Navy advancement material then enroll at the NETPDTC (stands for Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center) your NEVEDTRA (stands for Naval Education and Training Command) courses. When finished in enrolling in the course, a printed copy will be went to you.
The site called NavyAdvancement.com has an available bib, which is short for bibliography reference page, rate specific page and Professional Military page.
The enlisted exam contains 200 questions which basically includes (PMK) Professional Military Knowledge and Navy Occupational Standards (Occ).
Your occupational questions will be first, followed by the PMK questions.
The enlisted Navy Advancement Center provides a note that states that the exams differentiate among the fully qualified candidates for passing on the basis of who has the most knowledge on the context.
The way to differentiate yourself, you must seek the knowledge being said.
WalMart iPhone 3GS on Sell for $97
WalMart has dropped the price of iPhone 3GS and from today onwards WalMart iPhone 3GS will cost $97 only. Since Apple is all set to release iPhone 4G on 7th June at WWDC event, the price of the previous model is dropped more than half. This price drop was also took place during iPhone 3GS release as Apple dropped the price of iPhone 3G, but this time iPhone 3G is getting discontinued while iPhone 3GS will come at a discounted price tag.
It’s unbelievable but true. The new iPhone 3Gs price is even cheaper than $100. WalMart has confirmed that the sale has no end date. Looks like many people who could not afford the earlier price would come ahead to buy and pocket a new iPhone 3GS this time.
French Open TV Schedule 2010 for May 23, 2010
The French Open TV Schedule 2010 for May 23, 2010 – Today is the start of French Open 2010. Many professional tennis players will gather in this year’s competition including the likes of Serena Williams and Venus Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Of course, the two famous tennis players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be seen to show us their plays. Federer is the defending champion of the French Open while Nadal is considered as the best clay player of all time.
There are so many good matches today in French Open 2010 May 23, 2010. Some of them are Laurent Roucderc VS Robin Soderling, Janco Tipsarevic VS Alejandro Falla. You can watch French Open 2010 live as they had posted to their website the official French Open TV Schedule 2010. You can watch the game via JustinTV, UStream and SopCast. You can also tune in to ESPN for live scores and updates of the game.
The French Open TV Schedule 2010 for May 23, 2010 all in Paris time:
5:00 AM 1st Round Day 1 – Tennis Channel
12:00 PM 1st Round day 1 – ESPN 2, ESPN 2 HD
6:30 PM Tennis Channel
10:00 PM Tennis Channel
1:30 AM Tennis Channel
Old Navy Flip Flop Sale 2010 – Old Navy Store Locator
Old Navy Store Locator, Are you also looking for the information behind the Old Navy Store that will be having the Flip Flop Sale 2010. Get to As the grand Flip Flop sale at the Oldd Navy store takes it in, most consumers are now looking forward to buy that inexpensive Flip Flop Sandals, Get to avail of the latest Design with the best affordable prices. For those who are getting ready, the 2010 flip flop sale by Old Navy will begin tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., this will be a whole day of Flip Flop Sale, so the closing time may depend on the local Old Navy outlets near you.
For the Old Navy Store Locator, here is the list of Old Navy Stores near you.
New York City (NYC)
1.Old Navy – BROADWAY/SPRING-SOHO, 503 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10012-4401 Phone: (212) 226-0838
2.Old Navy – 18TH & 6TH – N, Y610 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY 10011-2018,Phone: (212) 645-0663
Los Angeles
1.Old Navy
CITADEL (THE) – CA, 100-150 CITADEL DR. COMMERCE, CA 90040, Phone: (323) 726-0432
2.Old Navy – GLENDALE MARKETPLACE, 106 S BRAND BLVD, GLENDALE, CA 91204 Phone: (818) 244-0635
Chicago
1.Old Navy Flagship, STATE ST/WASHINGTON, 35 N STATE ST, CHICAGO, IL 60602 Phone: (312) 551-0522
2.Old Navy, NORTH & KINGSBURY, 1596 N KINGSBURY ST, CHICAGO, IL 60622-2532 Phone: (312) 397-0485
This Old Navy Flip Flop Sale is an annual celebration for Old Navy for the success of their lines in Flip Flop. Check out some of the coupons available here and some of the info for the Old Navy Flip Flop Sale 2010.
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Bret Michaels' back in hospital with warning stroke and hole in his heart
Shocking fans everywhere, Bret Michaels is in the hospital again, now doctors say the rocker has a hole in his heart.
Michaels, who was just on 'Oprah' on Wednesday, was re-hospitalized Thursday, after experiencing numbness on the left side of his body. After running tests, doctors discovered that Michaels suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack or warning stroke.
The tests also revealed a Patent Forum Ovale, otherwise known as a hole in the rocker's heart. The former Poison frontman is at St. Joseph's Hospital's Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Michaels' family is devastated from the news of a new health problem, but his doctor, Joseph Zabramski admits that his condition is "operable and treatable."
Bret has been fighting health problems for several months now. The 'Rock of Love' star first had to have his appendix taken out early in April, two weeks later, Michaels was rushed to the hospital with an excruciating headache. After running tests, doctors diagnosed the singer with a subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding at the base of his brain stem).
Michaels' looked healthy and upbeat in his interview with 'Oprah' on Wednesday, even admitting he felt like he'd gotten a second chance. He was scheduled to appear on the May 23 season finale of NBC's 'Celebrity Apprentice' with Donald Trump and to hit the stage on May 28 at the Hard Rock Café in Biloxi Mississippi, but Michaels' body isn't quite ready to return to the limelight just yet.
Janna Elias, Michaels' rep said Michaels is in good spirits.
Travis Garland Tonight on American Idol
The Travis Garland was born July 26, 1989 is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as a former member of boy band nlt which consisted of Kevin McHale, Justin Joseph Thorne, V Sevani. He began singing and acting in plays at his church and continued to attend school for the performing arts in secondary school, where he received extensive training in music and theater.
Greyson Chance is the next Justin Bieber, maybe Travis Garland may be the next Greyson Chance. Found on Perez Hilton via MySpace, Garland was introduced to producer Simon Fuller, who this annoying, I introduced you to the Travis Garland. Tonight he takes the stage in front of millions of American Idol viewers with the possibility of a big pop breakthrough. The new single “Believe.
Travis Garland’s debut single “Believe” was produced by Danja Nate Hills. Travis Garland sings and dances not only. He has also co-wrote “Believe” and plays piano. There is no better place to debut a song than on Fox the top-rated American Idol, and that is exactly what Geffen recording artist Travis Garland will do this week.
Travis Garland is no stranger to the music world, after leaving Lubbock, TX, when he was only 14 and will land in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, he spent his days and nights audition to write music. The talent does not stop at singing and dancing for 20 years, Garland, he also plays piano, co-wrote “Believe” and produced his own song to the number.
Lee Dewyze Hallelujah Video – American Idol Top 3 Performance
Watch the Lee Dewyze Hallelujah Video performance on American Idol Top 3 Season 9 on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. The three judges agree that Lee Dewyze’s performance last night was the best performance for the night, if not for the entire American Idol Season 9 Show.
Randy Jackson said: “Lee, let me just tell you, I’ve been waiting all season to see who’s going to throw down the gauntlet to win. That was unbelievable, dude, unbelievable.”
Ellen DeGeneres said: “I’m sure glad you listened to him that he chose the right song. That was stunning…just stunning.”
Kara DioGuardi said: “You are what about the show somebody who starts — you just owned the entire night.
Simon Cowell said: “I’m very, very proud of you. Before this show you were working at a store, you were looking for a break. Most importantly tonight with that performance you proved you are fantastic singer and a great person and I hope you make it.”
Lee Dewyze thanked Simon for the song choice. After performing, he said, “It’s one of the songs that pulls everything out of you. It was amazing…and to have you guys react like that.
Richard Blumenthal video: 'I did not serve in Vietnam'
Here's some video of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal -- who is under fire for the embellishing his war record -- stating clearly in a high-profile setting earlier this year: "I did not serve Vietnam."
The video, which was sent over by the DSCC, will be central to Blumenthal's damage control efforts in the wake of a stunning New York Times report saying Blumenthal never served in Vietnam despite repeatedly suggesting otherwise. The pushback from the Blumenthal camp, the heavy favorite to win the Senate race, will be that Blumenthal did not intend to deceive.
To be clear, the video does not get Blumenthal off the hook for his previous claims to have served. But the video, which is from a debate in March, suggests that Blumenthal was not wedded in all settings to maintaining the fiction that he did active duty:
In the vid, Blumenthal says:
"Although I did not serve in Vietnam, I have seen firsthand the effects of military action, and no one wants it to be the first resort, nor do we want to mortgage the country's future with a deficit that is ballooning out of control."
The Times, however, unearthed repeated instances of Blumenthal stating clearly, or leaving a very strong impression, that he had served abroad.
In a sense, the above video only makes the story more bizarre: Blumenthal is a highly-regarded lawyer who clearly knows how to wield language effectively, and in the setting of a debate, he clearly had no interest in deceiving his audience. Yet in other multiple settings he did just that, either through incompetence or by design.
It still remains to be seen whether his candidacy can, or should, survive this.
Miss USA pole-dancing photos surface
Headline News called them “racy photos.” TMZ made it sound as if the new Miss USA had done something that would make Larry Flynt turn away in the disgust.
The Miss USA pageant wants to know if there are any more out there.
The photographs in question and the video from which them come show the newly-crowned Miss USA, Rima Fakih, three years ago at a women-only striptease class at a Detroit-area gentlemen’s club, sponsored by a local radio station.
They show Fakih doing a playful grind with her back to a stripper’s pole and her hands over her head. She’s dressed in a blue tank top with a relatively high neckline, red shorts and high heels. She did not remove any clothing at the women-only event; in fact, she barely shows her midriff, let alone anything else.
The pictures had been on the Mojo in the Morning website since Fakih participated in the contest in 2007, but nobody seemed to take any notice of them, not even when the dark-haired beauty became Miss Michigan USA to earn a spot in the Miss USA pageant that was held last week in Las Vegas.
But as soon as Fakih was crowned Sunday night, the tabloid media started digging for dirt on her. Last year, Miss California USA Carrie Prejean had gotten in trouble when it was discovered she had posed partially nude for at least two different photographers. Similar fates have befallen other beauty pageant contestants dating back to Vanessa Williams, who had to relinquish her Miss America crown in 1984 after nude photos of her surfaced.
TMZ linked Fakih to Prejean and all the others in a gleeful report that called the photos “seedy pole-dancing pictures.”
Mojo, the host of the radio program, told Headline News that Miss Universe/USA pageant officials had called. “They wanted to know, ‘Are these the only photos? Are there more photos? Can we have those photos?’ ” Mojo said.
The DJ defended Fakih, who, he said, has an ongoing relationship with his radio station. “The photos are obviously very sexy, but she’s a very sexy person,” he pointed out.
Mojo said that the station regularly ran a contest that gave women a chance to learn how to do a striptease for their husbands or significant others. In 2007, Fakih, who was then 21, was among those who won a spot in the class, which employed real strippers as instructors.
At the conclusion of the class, the participants had a contest to see which one was the best dancer. No one took off any clothing. Fakih won. The photos and video are taken from her performance.
Mojo said participants in the class come from all walks of life. “There are doctors, there are lawyers, we’ve had judges who have entered this class, there are schoolteachers,” he told Headline News.
Besides, he went on, the pictures aren’t nearly as racy as the publicity shots the pageant did showing the Miss USA contestants lounging in bed in lingerie. Fakih’s official shot shows her sitting up, looking at the camera with a come-hither look. She’s wearing a low-cut bra, girdle, garters, fishnet stockings and stiletto heels. Donald Trump, co-owner of the pageant, approved of the lingerie shoot.
TMZ even made the prizes Fakih won at the class seem wicked.
“She won some adult toys and a stripper pole,” the voice-over leered.
Said Mojo, “People are trying to make a bigger deal out of this than it is.”
Gloria James: Delonte West Affair Rumors
Gloria James, Delonte West affair rumors are rampant across the internet. Claiming that Lebron James’ mom and Delonte West slept together. Read more here and check out video.
This crazy rumor hit the internet on Friday, suggesting that Lebron James’ mom and Delonte West were an item.
The weekend was expected to bring a statement of some type claiming denial, but instead the silence just fumed the flame, and now the rumor is back and all over the place.
Now, it is being said that the affair is what is causing LeBron and West’s games to be a bit off, and that all started after Game 4. Not being into basketball myself, but always loving a hot story, Bumpshack reports that “James did have a triple-double, but he also had 9 turnovers and seemed to not care too much in the last 5 minutes if they won or lost.”
I mean it would make sense for the poor guy to loose his head if a teammate was doing the nasty with his mom. That is quite the embarrassing rumor, and with no denial, it is just getting bigger. Allhiphop.com claims to have a source verifying that it is indeed true. Nasty!
So now that the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the postseason, LeBron James is a free agent and has some decision making to do. Including the Gloria tattoo he has on his arm for his mother. I am totally kidding, but I bet he will think about that a little differently now. What an embarrassing rumor.
So readers, what do you think about the Gloria James, Delonte West affair rumors? Could it possibly be true? Does it matter? Check out pictures and video posted below, and then leave me your comments in the comment section!
Smashburger Review: Hamburger Expert Tries Chain's Burger
Not long ago, people ate lots of the ordinary burgers. These burgers were perfectly acceptable. They were inexpensive, satisfied the appetite, and tasted much better than many of the other foods that people were eating. Plenty of burger places were opened and they served billions and billions.
But there was something missing - the need for something satisfying and real, something basic and good, something affordable and fresh - a place with a burger soul. A place that burger lovers could call their own and feel pride in recommending to their friends. So we asked ourselves, shouldn't there be a better way?
smashburger was born to carry the torch for the modern burger lover. Where smash. sizzle. savor means a dedication to creating the best-tasting "cooked-to-order" burger. We start with 100% Angus Beef, smashed, seared and seasoned on the grill, placed on a butter-toasted artisan bun and topped with the highest-quality cheeses, freshest produce and condiments.
A place where you can get a 1/3 or 1/2 pound burger with one of our great recipes or you can create your own. A place that is close to home and affordable. Where the energy is comfortable and relaxed. Where the food is served to you quickly and on a plate - not in a bag. In-store, online, or call ahead -- smashburger is the better way.
smashburger is fast becoming every city's favorite burger place. It is perfect for eating in or having a better burger to go, a quick workday lunch, the weekend burger and beer, date night, a family dinner, or with the team after the game. smashburger has something great for everyone. Along with our great-tasting burgers and smashfries - smashchicken sandwiches and signature salads, veggie frites and haystack onions, Häagen-Dazs shakes and bottled beer and wine - help make smashburger every city's favorite burger place.
Welcome to smashburger - Working every day to build every city's favorite burger place.
Diane Downs monster mother of well adjusted Rebecca Babcock
Diane Downs, 54, is an American woman who was convicted of murdering one of her children having shot all 3, and then trying to blame it on a carjacker. Her lies were exposed and she was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison.
The trial captured the imagination of the American public who had always wondered what had happened to the child she was carrying at the time of her trial.
That child is in fact Rebecca Babcock who grew up with her adopted parents just 100 miles away from her biological mother. Her story became public last night on ABC. Babcock always knew that she had been adopted, but was shocked to learn that she was the daughter of a convicted murderer. At age 16 it is hard to comprehend that her mother’s conviction flowed from shooting her own children.
More so when that mother is a liar whose only real motive for destroying her children's lives was because they became unwanted baggage in her relationship with a married man.
She was born Elizabeth Diane Frederickson in Phoenix, Arizona on August 7 1955 where, she claimed, her father molested her when she was a child. She graduated from Moon Valley High School in Phoenix where she met her husband Steve Downs. She had also been expelled from the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California after a year for promiscuity.
She married Downs on November 13, 1973 and divorced him in 1980.
On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs shot her three children: Stephen aged 3, Cheryl Lynn aged 7 and Christie Ann Downs aged 8. She then drove them in the blood spattered car to the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. On arrival Cheryl was already dead and Downs herself carried a gunshot wound in the left forearm. She claimed to have been the victim of a carjacking on a rural road near Springfield, Oregon, by a strange man who shot her and her three children.
The police were alerted when they noticed that Downs was too calm to have gone through the events she was describing. More so when Downs went to see Christie for the first time; Christie's eyes glazed over with fear and her heart rate jumped.
It then emerged that Downs had telephoned a man in Arizona named Robert Knickerbocker immediately upon arriving at the hospital. Police found a motive buried in her diary; an affair with a married man, Knickerbocker, who didn’t want her children.
Things got worse for Downs when the forensic evidence did not match her story; there was no blood on the driver's side of the car, nor was there any gunpowder residue on the driver's panel. Downs did not tell police she owned a .22 caliber handgun, but both Danny Downs and Knickerbocker said she did own one.
Police later discovered that she had bought the handgun in Arizona, and found unfired casings that had been worked through the same gun that shot the children. This was compelling despite the fact that they were unable to find the actual weapon.
Then witnesses came forward and said they saw Downs' car being driven very slowly toward the hospital despite her claims that she had rushed the children there. That was the final straw for the police who arrested her in February 28, 1984, and charged her with murder, attempted murder and criminal assault.
Evidence was overwhelming with prosecutors confirming that Downs shot her children to be free of them so that she could continue her affair with Knickerbocker who had let it be known he did not want children in his life. Most damning of all was the testimony of the surviving daughter, Christie Downs, who told the court how her mother shot all three children while parked at the side of the road, then shot herself in the arm.
She was found guilty on all charges on June 17, 1984, and was sentenced to life in prison plus 55 years. Most of the sentence is to be served consecutively with the judge making it clear that he did not want Downs ever to regain her freedom.
Ten days after the sentencing, Downs gave birth to a baby girl - Babcock - while the other surviving children eventually went to live with one of the prosecutors of the case, Fred Hugi. He and his wife Joanne adopted them in 1984. The youngest child, Danny, was left a paraplegic as a result of the shooting. His older sister Christie has permanent partial paralysis on one side of her body.
Downs briefly tasted freedom when she escaped from the Oregon Women's Correctional Center on July 11, 1987, but was recaptured in Salem, Oregon on July 21.
Even at her first parole hearing in 2008 she continued to try and maintain her innocence which will no doubt prolong her sentence indefinitely. She is now serving her time in the California State Prison system. Rebecca grew up in Bend, Oregon, to a loving family and appears to be proof that nurture is stronger than nature.
She tells of a wonderful family upbringing with hiking and other normal every day activities.
At age 8 after her persisting Jackie Babcock her adopted mom told her that her mother was in prison but not why.
That came when she was 16 with the obvious shock that that entails.
When Downs escaped she vowed to get back her children but as it turned out she was found ten days later with another married man living near the prison.
The Staci Keanan teen star of the 80’s and 90’s favorite TV My two dads and step by step is the protagonist of a new movie for pure entertainment Flix entitled “The choice of Sarah.”
A pro-life themed movie about young single women trying to do in the fast-paced and demanding world
advertising. Sarah has all his life suddenly derailed when he learns she is pregnant unexpectedly. Sara’s friends and colleagues insist that they have choices, some of which maintain their career and life in its current path. Sarah finally reaches the conclusion that there is no choice after experiencing a series of visions of the night accompanied by the whispering voice of a mysterious stranger. We are left to assume that she keeps her baby.
Although it is not surprising that this film has a decidedly pro-life message other star of the film, Christian singer Rebecca St. James says of the film is “all about choice.”
The film also stars comedian Brad Stine, Charlene Tilton (Dallas), and Dick Van Patten (Eight Is Enough). This is the second time Staci Keanan working with Pure Flix Entertainment, formerly worked with them in the movie Hidden Secrets in 2006.
Unclaimed Money: Ohio Department of Commerce Has a New List of Unclaimed Property
The Ohio Department of the Commerce has a new list of unclaimed money and your name may be also listed on it. The State has been returned a record amount of money which is unclaimed property in the current fiscal year, State Treasurer Dennis McKinney said Wednesday. His Staffs were at the Lawrence Public Library to help a dozens of people see whether the state was holding any assets for them or for family.
McKinney said at tours across the state that his staffs typically find an unclaimed property for about 1/3 of the who ask for a help. his office have returned 38,000 claims of property in the fiscal year that lasts June 30, 2009, but that number has already been surpassed this 2010 through month of March.
Miley Cyrus’s “lap dance” video released - it’s not that scandalous
Yesterday, Radar had the scoop that "someone" had a video of a 16-year-old Miley Cyrus giving a 44-year-old gay film producer a "grinding" lap dance. This all took place at the wrap party for The Last Song last summer. I didn't really doubt that the video existed, or that Miley did in fact give a dude a lap dance, and it looks like both were true. TMZ got a hold of the video
My first reaction was "This is totally not as scandalous as Radar made it seem". The party seems very crowded, and it doesn't even seem like many people are paying any attention to Miley at first. Of course, then she climbs on a chair and rubs her ass on a 44-year-old dude, so people start paying attention. So… it is pretty gross when you think about it.
I don't care if Adam Shankman is gay - why in the world is a 44-year-old man dancing with a 16-year-old like that? Also - this is not Miley's first time at the lap dance rodeo, even though I don't consider this particular instance a "lap dance". It's more like some gross, underage dirty dancing, I guess. There is grinding. There is a lot of hip action. And she's good at it, and she's done it many times before. "We're told Miley's parents were not at the wrap party. Miley's reps had no comment." I can't see how Miley's parents would object, seriously. What are they going to do? Take away the stripper pole she had installed in her house, where she's now living alone?
Emma The Amish Model is The New American Pin Up
If you have never heard of "Devil's Playground" is a documentary film created by Lucy Walker. The main story takes place in Amish adolescent rites of passage explores the called "rumspringa" (pronounced ROOM shpring-a). On their sixteenth birthday, a young Amish or Amish Boy, Girl or Emma The Amish Model released and can explore the life of this world - Devil's Playground - on the outside of the Amish community.
Time can vary from several months to several years. This leads Emma The Amish Model to the outside world, the temptation to work with their systems and prepare themselves for making their most important life decisions: reject the secular world, and be baptized intothe Amish church.
Emma The Amish Model Movie links talks with several Amish young people, who in varying degrees, embrace the popular youth culture, including smoking, drinking and drug use.
Some return to Emma The Amish Model tradition, and are baptized. Others decide to return, and still others waffles between elections.
Barrier-breaking jazz star Lena Horne dies at 92
Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to the Broadway superstardom, has died. She was 92.
Horne died Sunday at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, according to hospital spokeswoman Gloria Chin. Chin would not release any other details.
Horne, whose striking beauty and magnetic sex appeal often overshadowed her sultry voice, was remarkably candid about the underlying reason for her success. "I was unique in that I was a kind of black that white people could accept," she once said. "I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked."
In the 1940s, she was one of the first black performers hired to sing with a major white band, the first to play the Copacabana nightclub and among a handful with a Hollywood contract. In 1943, MGM Studios loaned her to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black movie musical "Stormy Weather." Her rendition of the title song became a major hit and her signature piece.
On screen, on records and in nightclubs and concert halls, Horne was at home vocally with a wide musical range, from blues and jazz to the sophistication of Rodgers and Hart in songs like "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered."
In her first big Broadway success, as the star of "Jamaica" in 1957, reviewer Richard Watts Jr. called her "one of the incomparable performers of our time." Songwriter Buddy de Sylva dubbed her "the best female singer of songs."
But Horne was perpetually frustrated with the public humiliation of racism. "I was always battling the system to try to get to be with my people. Finally, I wouldn't work for places that kept us out. ... It was a damn fight everywhere I was, every place I worked, in New York, in Hollywood, all over the world," she said in Brian Lanker's book "I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America."
While at MGM, she starred in the all-black "Cabin in the Sky," in 1943, but in most of her other movies, she appeared only in musical numbers that could be cut in the racially insensitive South without affecting the story. These included "I Dood It," a Red Skelton comedy; "Thousands Cheer" and "Swing Fever," all in 1943; "Broadway Rhythm" in 1944; and "Ziegfeld Follies" in 1946.
"Metro's cowardice deprived the musical of one of the great singing actresses," film historian John Kobal wrote.
Early in her career Horne cultivated an aloof style out of self-preservation, becoming "a woman the audience can't reach and therefore can't hurt," she once said. Later she embraced activism, breaking loose as a voice for civil rights and as an artist. In the last decades of her life, she rode a new wave of popularity as a revered icon of American popular music.
Her 1981 one-woman Broadway show, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," won a special Tony Award. In it, the 64-year-old singer used two renditions — one straight and the other gut-wrenching — of "Stormy Weather" to give audiences a glimpse of the spiritual odyssey of her five-decade career.
A sometimes savage critic, John Simon, wrote that she was "ageless ... tempered like steel, baked like clay, annealed like glass; life has chiseled, burnished, refined her."
When Halle Berry became the first black woman to win the best actress Oscar in 2002, she sobbed: "This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. ... It's for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened."
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne, the great-granddaughter of a freed slave, was born in Brooklyn on June 30, 1917, to a leading family in the black bourgeoisie. Her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, wrote in her 1986 book "The Hornes: An American Family" that among their relatives was a college girlfriend of W.E.B. Du Bois and a black adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Dropping out of school at age 16 to support her ailing mother, Horne joined the chorus line at the Cotton Club, the fabled Harlem night spot where the entertainers were black and the clientele white.
She left the club in 1935 to tour with Noble Sissle's orchestra, billed as Helena Horne, the name she continued using when she joined Charlie Barnet's white orchestra in 1940.
A movie offer from MGM came when she headlined a show at the Little Troc nightclub with the Katherine Dunham dancers in 1942.
Her success led some blacks to accuse Horne of trying to "pass" in a white world with her light complexion. Max Factor even developed an "Egyptian" makeup shade especially for the budding actress while she was at MGM.
But in his book "Gotta Sing Gotta Dance: A Pictorial History of Film Musicals," Kobal wrote that she refused to go along with the studio's efforts to portray her as an exotic Latin American. "I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become," Horne once said. "I'm me, and I'm like nobody else."
Horne was only 2 when her grandmother, a prominent member of the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, enrolled her in the NAACP. But she avoided activism until 1945 when she was entertaining at an Army base and saw German prisoners of war sitting up front while black American soldiers were consigned to the rear.
That pivotal moment channeled her anger into something useful.
She got involved in various social and political organizations and — along with her friendship with Paul Robeson — got her name onto blacklists during the red-hunting McCarthy era.
By the 1960s, Horne was one of the most visible celebrities in the civil rights movement, once throwing a lamp at a customer who made a racial slur in a Beverly Hills restaurant and in 1963 joining 250,000 others in the March on Washington when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Horne also spoke at a rally that same year with another civil rights leader, Medgar Evers, just days before his assassination.
It was also in the mid-'60s that she put out an autobiography, "Lena," with author Richard Schickel.
The next decade brought her first to a low point, then to a fresh burst of artistry.
She had married MGM music director Lennie Hayton, a white man, in Paris in 1947 after her first overseas engagements in France and England. An earlier marriage to Louis J. Jones had ended in divorce in 1944 after producing daughter Gail and a son, Teddy.
In the 2009 biography "Stormy Weather," author James Gavin recounts that when Horne was asked by a lover why she'd married a white man, she replied: "To get even with him."
Her father, her son and her husband, Hayton, all died in 1970 and 1971, and the grief-stricken singer secluded herself, refusing to perform or even see anyone but her closest friends. One of them, comedian Alan King, took months persuading her to return to the stage, with results that surprised her. "I looked out and saw a family of brothers and sisters," she said. "It was a long time, but when it came I truly began to live."
And she discovered that time had mellowed her bitterness.
"I wouldn't trade my life for anything," she said, "because being black made me understand."
Religious Mother’s Day Quotes for Mother’s Day Celebration
Today is Mother’s Day and every mother on the world deserves to be greeted a Happy Mother’s Day. Today is a very special day for we recognize every endeavors of mothers, how great is their role at home, and the greatness of their motherhood.
For those who are searching for some religious quotes in regard to Mother’s Day celebration, you have the right place. Below are some religious Mother’s Day quotes.
Prov 10:1 – The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
Isa 66:13 – As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
Ezek 16:44 – “Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
Luke 1:43 – But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Luke 2:51 – Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
John 19:26-27 – When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Romaine Lettuce Recall 2010 in 23 States
A lot of recall were being held for this month of May, few days ago, Tylenol and other children’s medicine held a recall for the said products , today, another break news came over the internet when an allegedly pampers recall was held by the manufacturer Procter and Gamble, and now, another recall surprised many people and this time this is a lettuce recall in 23rd States across the nation.
And it was confirmed that a Lettuce Recall 2010 has been called up in almost 23 states in US due to an E. Coli Bacteria that has been found in the said lettuce. The said lettuce recall 2010 was being tagged as the E. Coli outbreak by a certain food company.
Apparently, College students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y., are among those affected, according to local health departments in those states.
According to a latest reports, there has been 19 people that are presently affected by the said Lettuce E. Coli and three of them are in life threatening states. The food and Drug Administration has announced that the 12 people that has been hospitalized this thursday are said to be leaked with this Outbreak.
Australian model Sophie Turner without navel but sexy
Although the title sounds bizarre, the truth is that I was seeing something caught Sophie Turner, so exuberant .Australian blonde who spends his days sunbathing by the pool.
If you look, something happens to your navel, or their non-navel, rather. Do you have a plug or what is that? Apart from the detail, I must say that Sophie Turner is an Australian model dame but obviously retouched, and, oh surprise, he also works as an actress.
The Manhattanites remember the well-known or famous by Blaxican Brothers, let alone work as a model for our blog is full of them! Ironies aside, the model has been walked by the pool and gave us pictures like these, where girl shows the world that curves are what you, well put, though. To enjoy it is said, and the movies, to see if anyone can find them in the video store (but I had not let the irony?). Sophie Turner, an Australian model but without the sexy navel.
Ernie Harwell: Long gone, never forgotten
The Ernie Harwell died Tuesday night, ending his battle with cancer at the age of 92, but his voice and spirit will live on forever in the ears and minds of many.
Tears were shed in the press box at Joe Louis Arena while the Red Wings were playing the San Jose Sharks when the news spread. As cynical and callous as reporters can be, this story was tough to treat as it was just another death because Harwell treated anyone he ever met like a friend.
Yours truly was one of the lucky ones.
I'll miss Harwell's greeting "HELLO! Larry!" on the phone and in person and hearing him say "Phi Alpha!" in a nod to our brotherhood in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
My first vivid memory of Harwell other than listening to him call Detroit Tigers games on the radio growing up in Ann Arbor, Mich. was during the mid-1990s at Tiger Stadium. Harwell, actor Jeff Daniels, writer Jack Ebling, whom I worked with at the Lansing State Journal, and I spent about 15 minutes shooting the breeze behind the backstop while Ken Griffey Jr. was hitting homers during the Seattle Mariners' batting practice.
It was one of the coolest moments of my life.
Like no one could, Harwell compared Griffey's talents with Willie Mays in one breath and the next, he talked about playing cards with Jackie Robinson on road trips with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Harwell barely knew me back then when I was making $25 an article as a freelance writer but he gave me genuine respect as if I was an important member of the media or society. As I got to know him better, I found out he was like that with everyone.
The true test of people is how they treat someone who can do nothing for them and Harwell passed that measure of a human being better than anybody. Harwell greeted everyone the same rich or poor, young or old, famous or unknown and that made his legend grow beyond the borders of the state he loved and the sport he adored.
Getting to know him away from crowds was simply special.
Spending time with him and his beloved wife, Lulu, at their rented home in Lakeland, Fla., at their previous house in suburban Detroit where her roses were breathtaking or their apartment at a posh retirement center was simply priceless.
When he announced in February 2002 that season would be his last in the broadcast booth, I bought him a Motown baseball cap from the new terminal at Detroit's airport and was tickled every time he wore it. Harwell, though, gave me more intangible gifts than I ever could've given him.
On Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 less than two months after he announced he had inoperable cancer Harwell agreed to let me pay him a visit. He didn't want a story written that day, growing tired of the hype that surrounded his declining health, and I was OK with that because I welcomed another opportunity to spend time with him.
Harwell looked and sounded really good on that afternoon, saying he was wasn't in pain and was unafraid of dying. He asked about my family and job as he always did and prayed with me for the first time, a surreal few minutes I'll never forget. His health deteriorated so much recently that he needed around-the-clock care and the months he had to live dwindled to days.
Even though all knew this day would come and no one was more prepared than Harwell Michigan is melancholy at best. It's sad to lose a once-in-a-lifetime icon such as Harwell, but strangers and friends alike should be glad he's at peace.
David Boreanaz Admits To Cheating On Wife Jaime Bergman
The latest celebrity to admit cheating on his wife is Bones actor David Boreanaz.
Cheating on your significant other must be trendy these days as everybody appears to be doing it, as the Bones star is the latest as he has admitted to cheating on his wife Jaime Bergman.
Boreanaz and Bergman have been married for nine years and have two children together; son Jaden, eight, and daughter Bardot, eight months.
David, 40, said he admitted to the affair when his mistress threatened to go public with it.
He says: ‘I was associated with a woman who I was involved with and had a relationship with. She asked for money. I felt as though I was being blackmailed or there was some sort of extortion.’
Kentucky Derby Odds: 2010 Kentucky Derby Betting
Athletes of all kind deal with a variety of extraneous factors depending on the sport. Horse racing is 1 of the sports that mother nature can dictate how the athletes perform. Today is the running of the 136th Kentucky Derby at Churchill. The Kentucky Derby odds have changed many times of the course of the last few days alone.
The Run for the Roses features some true favorites, some definite sleepers but the biggest favorite of all won’t be running on Saturday evening at all. Eskendereya was pulled early in the week with a soft tissue injury. Now, the Kentucky Derby Odds include horses like Discreetly Mine, Mission Impalzible and Lookin’ at Lucky. Trainer Todd Pletcher could have had as many as seven horses starting in the derby but now it appears he is down to only four.
Post position also factor in the Kentucky Derby betting odds to some degree. But the general rule of thumb is that a winner is a winner regardless of post position. If you are ready to place your bets now, the Kentucky Derby odds have Lookin’ at Lucky with 6/1 odds to win and Super Saver at 8/1. Sidney’s Candy also bring in odds of 6/1 if you are looking for the best bets of the day.
