Monday News And Links

Some things going on out there:

From Life News, the IRS is caught on tape telling a pro-life organization, "Keep your faith to yourself." (via Weasel Zippers)

From CBS DC, according to recently uncovered documents, the State Department "may have covered up allegations of illegal behavior ranging from sexual assaults to an underground drug ring".

From the Washington Examiner, sales of George Orwell's book 1984 have gone up 69%.  Hmmm, it does kinda seem like Big Brother is watching us these days.

From the Guardian, an interview with Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker/whistleblower.

From Fox News, a flight from Los Angeles to Austin was diverted to Phoenix after a bomb threat.

Fox News asks, "Can the US arm the 'right' Syrians?"  I would first ask if there are any "right" Syrians.

From the American Spectator, a possible reason to refrain from arming the rebels in Syria.

From ENCA, 10 people in Kenya are wounded in two attacks, one coming against a church.

From ESPN, it appears that rumors of the end of Tim Tebow's career might just be a bit exaggerated.

From Campus Reform, the University of Chicago has removed pews from a chapel to accommodate Islamic prayers.

From the Florida Times-Union, a homeowner in Brunswick, Georgia uses a gun to defend himself from a knife-wielding masked man.  (via Guns Save Lives)

From KSAT(dot)com, a gunman is in custody after a shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

From Popular Science, there may be an underground ocean on Dione, one of the moons of Saturn.

And from PJ Media, some congressmen are looking into claims that the EPA is favoring liberal groups in regard to Freedom of Information Act requests.

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Hammer Throw U.

It appears that my alma mater, with some help from my ancestral homeland of Slovakia, has built an impressive dynasty in NCAA track and field, in the hammer throw event, with no less than four individual national champions.

In March 2005, Spyridon Jullien, a junior from Athens, Greece won the hammer throw at the NCAA indoor championships, and won it again at the outdoor event the following June.  He repeated the outdoor title in 2006.

In 2009, Marcel Lomnicky, a freshman from Nitra, Slovakia won the NCAA hammer throw championship.

In 2011, Alexander Ziegler, from Dischingen, Germany won the event on his final attempt, as Lomnicky came in second.

In 2012, Lomnicky won the national championship in the weight throw, an indoor event, and later competed for Slovakia at the Summer Olympics in London.  Meanwhile, Ziegler repeated in the hammer throw.

And in 2013, the NCAA hammer throw championship went to Virginia Tech freshman Tomas Kruzliak, who like Lomnicky, comes from Nitra, Slovakia.  Must be something in the water in that town.

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This Date In History, And Today

June 6th is widely commemorated as the day in 1944 during World War II when the western Allies invaded Europe, landing on the beaches of the German-held French region of Normandy.  From their narrow foothold, they would eventually advance across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany itself, joining the westward-advancing Soviet army to defeat the once-powerful German military forces.  Here are a few links to some historical facts and modern tributes:

The History Channel has a page on D-Day, with lots of places to explore.

The British version of the History Channel likewise has a D-Day page.

The U.S. Army has a webpage remembering D-Day.

More information on D-Day can be found at the National WWII Museum, World War II History Info and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Paying tribute to the events of D-Day are Nola(dot)com (New Orleans being the site of the above-mentioned National WWII Museum), the Patriot-News, CNN and Business Insider.
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In more recent military history, June 6th was the second day of the Six-Day War, in which Israel defeated neighboring Arab countries, taking the Sinai and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank and the old city of Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.  This war is remembered by History Learning Site, the Jewish Virtual Library, Israeli Weapons and SixDayWar(dot)org.
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June 6th, 1799 was the birth date of Alexander Pushkin, considered to be the founder of modern Russian literature.  You can read about him at the Literature Network, Russiapedia, Poetry Lovers Page and AlexanderPushkin(dot)com.
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On June 6th, 1949, according to the History Channel, George Orwell's book 1984 was published.
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Moving on to today's news:

From ABC News, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) has appointed Jeff Chiesa (R), currently the state's attorney general, to be interim Senator until the special election previously announced by the governor takes place later this year.  Chiesa has stated that he will not run in that election.

From the Washington Post, the FBI and the NSA have been data-mining from nine leading U.S. Internet companies.

From National Review, the House has voted to de-fund President Obama's DREAM policy, which he enacted by executive order.

And from The Hayride, Obama criticizes warrantless wiretaps.

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Governor Christie Calls For Special Election

It appears that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had some more options than I realized while writing yesterday's post.  He could have appointed a Senator to serve out the rest of the recently deceased Senator Frank Lautenberg's term, but instead has called for a special election, which will include a primary on August 13th and a general phase on October 16th.  He will still appoint an interim Senator to hold the seat until the special election is held, but has not yet decided on whom.  Christie himself is up for re-election in the regular election in November.

Read more at the New York Daily News.

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Frank Lautenberg 1924-2013

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) died earlier today in Manhattan of viral pneumonia.  He was the oldest member of the Senate and its only World War II veteran.  After a successful business career, he was elected to the Senate in 1982, after which he served three terms, declining to run in 2000.  In 2002, when Robert Toricelli (D) decided to step down from the other New Jersey seat, Lautenberg came out retirement and replaced him, later winning re-election in 2008.

Among his notable accomplishments was legislation to cut highway funding for states that did not raise their drinking age to 21, and later for not setting their definition of "legally drunk" at blood alcohol content level of 0.08%.  He also helped to establish a ban on smoking on all commercial airline flights and in federal office buildings.

Governor Chris Christie (R) will have the duty of naming a temporary Senator to fill Lautenberg's seat until the end of his term, which will be on 03 January 2015, after the 2014 election.  Lautenberg is survived by his second wife, his four children from his first marriage, two stepchildren, and 13 grandchildren.

Read more at the New York Times, CNN, USA Today, NorthJersey(dot)com and NPR.

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Bradley Manning Trial Begins

The trial of Army PFC Bradley Manning began earlier today.  Bradley has allegedly leaked 700,000 U.S. government documents to Wikileaks, resulting in the following charges, as reported by ABC News.

The most serious of the 22 charges Manning faces is aiding the enemy for which Manning could face life in prison if convicted. The additional charges include wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy; theft of public property or records; transmitting defense information; fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

Read the story at the above link.  H/T to Yankeemom for Tweeting this to my attention.

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A Rat On Mars?

The Mars rover Curiosity may not have killed any cats, but it appears to have found something that resembles a rat.  It's really "a piece of dusty orange rock", but it does kinda, sorta resemble a small rodent.

Read the story at HNGN.  If you're on Twitter, you can follow the Mars Rat.

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that a martian rock reminded people of an earthly creature.

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