Trump Apparently May Now Aim To Rename An Entire State

Some years ago, I remember reading Mordecai Richler's book, "Oh Canada, Oh Quebec." In it, he criticized the weekend warriors among the Francophone community in Québec who would actively search for English names to convert into French. In private discussions, I remember some Americans being critical of that, and other, similar kinds of things, as well. 

Well, say what you will about Québec and efforts to preserve the French language here, but it is nowhere near as disgusting in my view as the fascist rebranding that Trump seems to specialize in. 

First, it was renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."

Then, after Trump could not bring the trade negotiations with Canada to his liking, he renamed Lake Ontario to "Lake America."

Now, he has his sights on renaming the state of New Mexico to "New America."

Besides illustrating perfectly a lack of creativity, these name changes offer a clear attempt at distracting and trying to fire up his base with yet more culture war bullshit. Try and get the Mindless MAGA Moron Cult (MMMC) to beat their chests over meaningless shit like this. Apparently, it helps them to forget about how this failed president broke his promises. The supposedly historically brilliant dealmaker renamed a Great Lake after failing to negotiate tariffs with them, so he renames a lake. The man who promised not to get us into any more forever wars is now losing the war with Iran, no matter what he says to the contrary. He promised to bring down the price of gas and groceries and has failed to do that. He promised to end the war in Ukraine quickly, within 24 hours, yet it rages on nearly two years into Trump's second term. 

Oh, and he never released the Epstein Files like he promised, did he? In fact, the lengths that he goes to in order to avoid releasing them sure looks and feels suspicious.

But hey, he sure can rename lakes and states with a vengeance, so there's that.

This poor excuse for a man, and an even sorrier excuse for a supposed leader, is worse than worthless. 

What a fucking loser.

If you still support him now, in September of 2026, shame on you. You are what's wrong with the country, frankly. 

. 

Trump posts map labeling New Mexico as ‘New America’ after online hoax  Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 09/06/26:

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6074249-trump-posts-map-labeling-new-mexico-as-new-america-after-online-hoax/

Trump shares map labeling New Mexico "New America"

A Little Bit More Appreciation of Labor Day By Robert Reich

One of the voices and faces which still restores some of my faith that not everything good in the United States is gone has been the commentary by Robert Reich. At a point in American history when I am sometimes convinced that the nation has gone crazy, hearing a reasonable, rational perspective can really help out a lot. 

For this extended Labor Day weekend, Reich posted something on Facebook which I feel Americans would do well to remember. Having been conditioned since at least Reagan to look down on unions and look at them almost as thugs and criminals, it is important, even crucial, to remember what unions actually brought the American people. In fact, it feels more important now than ever before to keep these things in mind.

Below is the list, with the link also there (see below).

Enjoy:

Robert Reich Facebook September 5, 2026:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1619877622839012&set=a.397968961696557

Facebook

Remembering the Reason Behind Labor Day

     

“These kids don't have a little brother working in the coal mine, they don't have a little sister coughing her lungs out in the looms of the big mill towns of the Northeast. Why? Because we organized; we broke the back of the sweatshops in this country; we have child labor laws. Those were not benevolent gifts from enlightened management. They were fought for, they were bled for, they were died for by working people, by people like us. Kids ought to know that.”

― Utah Phillips 

This was a standard blog entry which I would publish every year on Labor Day.

However, this particular Labor Day feels different. This is the era of the second Trump administration, which has virtually no guard rails in place to limit his power and influence. Increasingly, it feels that he is acting in a dictatorial manner.

Trump is and always has been a wealthy elitist. He was born into incredible privilege. This is a fact, although it sure appears that tens of millions of his cult followers have conveniently forgotten that fact. Perhaps this is because nobody whines and complains about how poorly he is treated as he does. or perhaps it is because they bought into the mythology that he in large part constructed. This mythology has it that he grew up under far more modest means than he actually did, in order to perpetuate the myth - far too easily believed by his throngs of supporters - that he is a "self made man." That in fact, he is a genius who built this amazing business empire all by his lonesome, with minimal help. 

This simple and, frankly, obvious truth seems to be lost on far too many people, however. Tens of millions of Americans believe the mythology that this con artis built around himself. They believe that this guy actually can identify with them and their struggles, even though he never had to really work hard for a living or wonder where his next meal was going to come from. He never struggled with bills in a survival sense, never had to worry about job security or juggling all of the things that most ordinary people have to struggle with. 

Far from being a champion of the people, this man is an obvious elitist. In keeping with that, he hates unions and tries to attack all that they stand for. That includes decent pay and working conditions, benefits, including time off.

Don't believe me?

Here's a quote by Donald Trump from one of his Truth Social posts, in which he suggests that Americans have too much time off:

“Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Juneteenth, a newly designated federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged during a Thursday briefing with reporters that it was a federal holiday and thanked reporters for showing up, but declined to answer whether Trump was doing anything to mark it.  

“The workers don’t want it either!” Trump said of federal holidays in his post. “Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Profits first, people second....maybe. A distant second, to be sure. 

Once again, we are finding out the hard way that those hard-won gains by unions a century ago are not automatic, that those victories were not permanent. In short, we are learning that we collectively need to keep fighting in order to maintain these things which, of course, gave us the highest standard of living of any nation that the world had ever seen up to that point. Now, as we are gradually stripping away many of the things which unions won for us, we are finding that other countries have caught us and even passed us. Our standard of living, and our collective standing in the world, continues to suffer as a result. 

Unions have been under attack in this country ever since the Reagan administration and the Air Traffic Controllers strike early in his administration. They have been demonized, likened to gangsters. Everything that they stood for came to be redefined as privileges. It took some time, but eventually Americans normalized this, much like they normalized Trump over time. They began to vote and act against their own interests. That is a trend which has only gained steam over time ever since. 

So here's a reminder on this Labor Day of what this day actually represents. It is the workers who build the wealth of this country, not the CEO's and stockholders and all of those elites. That has always been the case. And the paradox of the argument when conservatives talk about returning this nation to the golden age is this: what most people consider the true "golden age of America" in terms of overall wealth and living standards and general standing in the world, when in fact the United States seemed to be the envy of the world, was largely a time when the middle class had been born due to FDR's "New Deal" policies. Unions fought for improvements and got them, especially under FDR. They won things which were still quite new to the world at the time. Things like a 40-hour workweek, weekends off, improved working conditions, overtime, vacation days, affordable healthcare, and on and on. 

This is not some minor point. Indeed, it is the reason that we have a holiday called "Labor Day." This was supposed to remind us of these things. But we seem to have collectively forgotten that.

Apparently, we need a reminder. In fact, we need a reminder for a lot of things in this country, including history. Too many people really have either forgotten or perhaps never learned the warning signs of fascism and dictatorship. Much of what we are seeing are things that are eerily similar to dark chapters in history. Yet many Americans are applauding these new political trends.

Suddenly, it seems a whole lot easier to understand how countries which turned to fascism allowed themselves to slip into such oppressive systems. That appears to be where we are headed, too. 

All of that is why it feels more urgent than ever before to remind people of the reason for this particular holiday. Yes, it marks the unofficial end of the summer season. Yet, it also is supposed to recognize what made this country, once upon a time, indeed a special case in history. For there was a time when Americans - whatever their political divisions - felt good overall about the nation's standing in the world, knowing that the rest of the world largely envied the high standard of living that Americans achieved here. 

This is the time to remember it. Because maybe we cannot turn back the clock to those days, many decades ago now, when we enjoyed the highest standard of living of any nation on Earth. But we can do better than what we are doing now.

Frankly, we can hardly do much worse. Trump represents the decay and decline of the United States. He always has and always will. We still have a chance to take back power and undo much of the damage which he and his MAGA movement are responsible for. But I suspect that it has to begin with actually remembering certain aspects of our history that indeed allowed us to achieve great things, and not sheer empty bluster.

Below is my usual blog entry for Labor Day. Thank you for reading this, and enjoy.

Oh, and Happy Labor Day weekend!

Okay, yes, summer is basically over now. I know officially, it is not over, and there still remains a good couple of weeks or so before it officially becomes autumn. But for all intents and purposes, Labor Day marks the de facto end of summer. Vacation season is over, school is about to begin again, the days are growing shorter, and the weather is getting cooler (at least in the northern hemisphere, it is).

There is one thing that I wanted to acknowledge about this particular holiday weekend, however, and that is that Labor Day should be honored and remembered, every bit as much as the various holidays honoring military veterans. We see reminders for the sacrifices of members of the military, particularly for those who fought in wars, and that is fine.

But unions have been demonized for entirely too long in the United States. Republicans, including current presidential hopeful Scott Walker, among others, are well known for their opposition to unions, and their union busting methods. Many Americans dismiss unions as virtual criminal organizations, and blast them on charges of corruption (although funnily enough, they do not seem to be nearly as bothered when politicians that they themselves support show evidence of being guilty of corruption). Walmart has closed stores almost as soon as employees at certain Walmart locations managed to achieve unions, and if that is not a prime example of corporate intimidation, then I do not know what is.

Let us remember our history, and let us open our eyes to certain realities that still exist in the world today.  Not long ago in many now advanced, industrialized nations that enjoy a high standard of living today, there were no labor laws. Work days were much, much longer, anywhere from 10 hours a day to 12 hours a day. Pay was low, benefits nonexistent, and there were no weekends. No safety regulations, either. No health benefits, and no laws preventing children from working.

Look at us now. Whatever the problems that each industrialized nation is now facing, children receive an education, first and foremost. Most of these countries have some sort of minimum wage (although the minimum wage in the United States is widely discredited as not qualifying as a living wage), and all have laws preventing child labor. Each country has laws to provide certain benefits to citizens, including social security and pensions and medical benefits and vacation time. The United States has a 40-hour work week, as do many other countries, and some have even shorter weeks. Also, most people have weekends off.

That, I believe, strongly qualifies as progress. That does not mean that we should be lulled to sleep, and to take things for granted. As Jefferson said, each generation needs to stir things up, in order to keep things fresh, and keep on their toes to fight the inevitable encroachments of these freedoms and liberties that powers that be will inevitably attack and go after.

Still, that said, I think we should take time to think about all that we have gained, and to be thankful for it. To recognize it for what it is: a victory. We do not live in the same, extremely difficult circumstances and poor working conditions as our ancestors did generations ago. That, in large part, is because of unions that worked tirelessly against very powerful and greedy forces working to undermine them every step of the way. This was a fight that did not come easily, or without sacrifice, but it was a necessary fight. We are enjoying the fruits of that victory today, although it is constantly under attack, especially in the United States.

Let us recognize the necessity of unions today, and recognize the bona fide successes that unions managed to give us. It is the reason that we were able to enjoy a three day weekend, and the reason that we are able to enjoy as much free time on the weekends in general as we do. We may take that for granted these days, but we do not have to look back too far on the past to see that this was not always the case. Nor do we have to travel very far in this ever shrinking world to see that these same rights and benefits do not extend to everyone. There are plenty of third world countries out there where exploitation and child labor and working for virtual slave wages with absolutely no benefits are the norm, and we would do well to keep that in mind, as an example of the alternative that awaits us, if we take these hard won gains for granted.

So today, the day after Labor Day, I take a moment to recognize the real meaning behind Labor Day, and why we should celebrate this holiday beyond the back yard barbecues and shopping sales. It means something much, much more than all of that, and we should take a moment to reflect and remember that.

Trump says America has ‘too many’ national holidays and they’re hurting the economy. Is he right? by Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN  3 min read  Updated 1:09 PM EDT, Fri June 20, 2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/economy/trump-too-many-holidays-economy

September 7th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

It is possible that this date marks the birth of Heracles (this was spelled Hercules when I was growing up) during a solar eclipse back in 1251 BC, at Thebes in ancient Greece. Richard I of England defeated Saladin during the Third Crusade. This marks the anniversary of the Treaty of Baden, which ended the War of Spanish Succession. The first submarine attack in history took place on this date with Americans using the "Turtle" to attack British ships, during the American Revolutionary War in 1776. Pedro I declared independence for Brazil from Portugal on this day in 1822. Eugene Lefebvre, a French pilot testing one of the Wright model planes, officially became the first pilot to lose his life due to a plane crash back on this day in 1909 when his controls got stuck. Interpol formed on this day in 1923 in Vienna. This marks the anniversary of a battle between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi in 1947. Monasteries were shut down on this date in 1950 in Hungary. The Pro Football Hall of Fame (American football) was dedicated on this day in 1963. Rod Laver clinched his second ever calendar Grand Slam (winning all four Grand Slam tournaments) when he won the US Open on this day in 1969. This date marks the anniversary of President Jimmy Carter signing a treaty promising to give the Panama Canal back to the Panamanians themselves, back in 1977. Today in 1979 marks the first day in the 5-day MUSE concert at Madison Square Garden, protesting nuclear power. On this day in 1993, Brazil voted over importing monarchy. The US government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on this day, during the financial crisis in 2008.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• 1251 BCE - A solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes, Greece.

70 - Roman army under Titus occupies & plunders Jerusalem

1159 - Ottaviano de Montecello elected as anti-Pope

• 1191 - Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf - Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf.

1497 - Sailor Perkin Warbeck becomes English King Richard IV

1525 - Trial against "heretic" John Pistorius ends in the Hague

1543 - Duke Willem of Gulik surrenders to emperor Charles V

1596 - Dutch fleet bombs Banten Java

1599 - Earl van Essex & Irish rebel Tyrone signs treaty

1652 - Battle of Monte Christo: Dutch fleet under J van Galen beat English

1701 - Germany, England and Netherlands sign anti-French covenant

1714 - Treaty of Baden: Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and France, ends War of Spanish Succession, French retain Alsace, Austria gets bank of Rhine

1800 - Zion AME Church dedicated (NYC)

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

• On this day in 1812, Napoleon's Grande Armee defeated the Russian army led by General Mikhail Kutuzov at the Battle at Borodino. It was one of the bloodiest and most convincing battles of the Napoleonic wars.

• 1813 - The nickname "Uncle Sam" was first used as a symbolic reference to the United States. The reference appeared in an editorial in the New York's Troy Post. 

1813 - "Uncle Sam" was 1st used to refer to US (Troy Post of NY)

1818 - Carl III of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.

The flag of Brazil.

• On this day in 1822, Pedro I, the son of King Joao VI, declared Brazil's independence from Portugal (National Day).

1860 - Excursion steamer "Lady Elgin" drowns 340 in Lake Michigan

1863 - Federal naval expedition arrives off Sabine Pass

• 1871 - Bay of Biskaje: English warship HMS Captain fired on, 500 killed

1876 - Bank robbery by James/Younger fails (Cole/Bob/Jim Younger arrested)

1880 - Geo Ligowsky patents device to throw clay pigeons for trapshooters

1888 - Edith Eleanor McLean is 1st baby place in an incubator

1889 - Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Engineer's Thumb" (BG)

1891 - Captain Frederick Lugards army reaches Kavalli Equatoria

1892 - James Corbett KOs John Sullivan in 21 for heavyweight boxing title

1896 - A H Whiting wins 1st automobile race held on a closed-circuit track in Cranston, RI

1897 - George Davis (Giants) HR off Sport McAllister (Spiders) in DH

1901 - Peace of Peking - Ends Boxer Rebellion in China

1903 - Federation of American Motorcyclists organized in NY

1906 - Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France for the first time successfully.

1907 - Sutro's ornate Cliff House in SF destroyed by fire

• 1909 - Eugene Lefebvre (1878-1909), while test piloting a new French-built Wright biplane, crashes at Juvisy France when his controls jam. Lefebvre dies, becoming the first 'pilot' in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft.

1912 - Eddie Collins steals record 6 bases in 9-7 Athletics win over Detroit

1914 - NY Post Office Building opens to public

1915 - 35th US Mens Tennis: Wm Johnston beats M E McLoughlin (16 60 75 108)

1915 - John Gruelle patents his Raggedy Ann doll

1915 - St Louis Dave Davenport no-hits Chicago (Federal League), 3-0

1916 - Giants beat Brooklyn 4-1, to launch NY's record 26-game winning streak

1916 - Workmen's Compensation Act passed by Congress

1921 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held.

1922 - In Aydin, Turkey, independence of Aydin, from Greek occupation.

1923 - Boston Red Sox Howard Ehmke no-hits Phila A's, 4-0

1923 - Interpol forms in Vienna

1923 - Mary Katherine Campbell (Ohio), 16, crowned 2nd Miss America 1922-23

1927 - Philo Farnsworth demonstrates 1st use of TV in SF

1927 - The University of Minas Gerais is founded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by GovernorAntônio Carlos.

1928 - Sophie Treadwell's "Machinal," premieres in NYC

1932 - Earl Grace, ends NL catcher record streak of 110 cons errorless games

1934 - Luxury liner "Morro Castle" burns off NJ, killing 134

1936 - Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) begins operation

1936 - The last surviving member of the thylacine species, Benjamin, dies alone in her cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

1939 - Radio NY Worldwide-WRUL begins radio transmission

1940 - 54th US Womens Tennis: Alice Marble beats Helen Hull Jacobs (62 63)

1940 - 60th US Mens Tennis: McNeill beats Robert Riggs (46 68 63 63 75)

1940 - German Air Force blitz London for 1st of 57 consecutive nights

1940 - Luftwaffe loses 41 bombers above England

1940 - Treaty of Craiova: Romania loses Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria.

1941 - 61st US Mens Tennis: R L Riggs beats Francis Kovacs (2d 57 61 63 63)

1942 - 62nd US Mens Tennis: F Schroeder Jr beats F Parker (86 75 36 46 62)

1942 - German occupiers take silver anniversary coins in battle

1942 - Transport nr 29 departs with French Jews to Nazi Germany

1942 - First flight of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator.

1943 - 987 Dutch Jewish transported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp

1943 - Fire in decrepit old Gulf Hotel kills 45 (Houston Texas)

• 1944 - SS-general Kurt Meyer takes Durnal Belgium

1944 - Strongest Hurricane of century in Netherlands (wind force 12)

1945 - Japanese at Rioekioe-islands surrender

1945 - Joe Kuhel hits inside-the-park HR, only HR hit by a Senator all season at Washington's Griffith Stadium

1947 - Battles between Hindus and Moslems in New Delhi

1948 - 1st use of synthetic rubber in asphaltic concrete, Akron Oh

1950 - Monasteries shut down in Hungary

1952 - General Naguib forms Egyptian government/becomes premier

1952 - Outfielder Don Grate throws a baseball a record 434'1" (Tenn)

1952 - Whitey Ford becomes 5th pitcher to hurl consecutive 1 hitters

1952 - NY Yankees Johnny Mize's pinch-hit grand slam gives Yanks a 5-1 win at Washington He has now HRed in all 15 major league parks

1953 - 67th US Womens Tennis: Maureen Connolly beats Doris Hart (62 64)

1953 - 73rd US Mens Tennis: Tony Trabert beats Elias V Seixas Jr (63 62 63)

1953 - Roy Campanella sets catcher record of 125 (en route to 142) RBIs

• 1954 - Integration begins in Wash DC & Balt MD public schools

1955 - Yankees Whitey Ford is 5th to throw consecutive 1-hitters, beats A's

1956 - Bell X-2 sets Unofficial manned aircraft altitude record 126,000'+

1957 - 71st US Womens Tennis: Althea Gibson beats A Louise Brough (63 62)

1957 - WWL TV channel 4 in New Orleans, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting

1958 - 72nd US Womens Tennis: Althea Gibson beats Darlene R Hard (36 61 62)

1958 - 78th US Mens Tennis: A J Cooper beats M J Anderson (62 36 46 108 86)

1960 - Ljudmila Shevcova runs female olympic record 800m (2:04.3)

1963 - American Bandstand moves to California, & airs once a week on Saturday

1963 - Pro Football Hall of Fame dedicated in Canton Ohio

1965 - -10] Hurricane Betsy, kills 74 in Florida, Miss & La

The flag of the People's Republic of China

• 1965 - China announced that it will reinforce its troops in the Indian border.

1966 - KTNE TV channel 13 in Alliance, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting

1966 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1969 - 83rd US Womens Tennis: Margaret Smith Court beats Nancy Richey (62 62)

1969 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Molson's Canadian Golf Open

1969 - Rod Laver completes his 2nd grand slam winning US Tennis Open

1969 - US amateur Womens Tennis: Margaret Court beat Virginia Wade (46 63 60)

1970 - Jerry Lewis' 5th Muscular Dystrophy telethon

1970 - PLO hijacks 4 planes

1970 - White Sox use record 41 players in doubleheader & lose both games

1970 - Donald Boyles sets record for highest parachute jump from a bridge, by leaping off of 1,053' Royal George Bridge in Colorado

1970 - Fighting between Arabic guerillas and government forces in Amman, Jordan.

1973 - Jackie Stewart becomes Formula 1 world champion

1973 - Mike Storen becomes American Basketball Association's 4th commissioner

1974 - "Irene" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 605 performances

1976 - US courts find George Harrison guilty of plagiarism (He's So Fine)

1977 - Ethiopia drops diplomatic relations with Somalia

1977 - Pres Carter and Gen Herrera sign Panama Canal treaties

1978 - 1st game of Boston Massacre, Yanks beat Red Sox 15-3

1979 - 5 day MUSE concert against nuclear energy opens at Madison Square Garden, NY

• 1980 - Cape Verde adopts its constitution

• 1980 - John McEnroe & Bjorn Borg stage one of the greatest US Open finals as 21 year old McEnroe fends off Borg to win his 2nd straight title (76 61 67 57 64)

1981 - Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 57 pass attempts

1981 - Jerry Lewis' 16th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $31,500,000

1981 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA Rail Charity Golf Classic

1981 - Judge Wapner & People's Court premier on TV

1981 - West Tampa Fl defeats Rich Va, 6-4 to win American Legion World Series

Tennis Player John McEnroeTennis Player John McEnroe 1983 - Drury Gallagher sets fastest swim around Manhattan (6h41m35s)

1984 - Met Dwight Gooden's 11 strikeouts gives him NL rookie record 236

1985 - 99th US Womens Tennis: Hana Mandlikova beats M Navratilova (76 16 76)

1985 - Mary Decker Tabb Slaney runs US 3K female record (8:25.83)

1986 - 100th US Womens Tennis: M Navratilova beats Helena Sukova (63 62)

1986 - 106th US Mens Tennis: Ivan Lendl beats Miloslav Mecir (64 62 60)

1986 - Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship

Statue of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town, South Africa

• 1986 - Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican archbishop of Cape Town

Flag of Chile

• 1986 - Failed assassination attempt on Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, 5 killed

1986 - Ivan Lendl defeats Miloslav Mecir for US Tennis open title

1986 - Cleveland Browns becomes 1st team in NFL history to have a play reviewed by instant replay, Chicago 41, Browns 31

1987 - Jerry Lewis' 22nd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $39,021,723

1987 - Netherlands routes 2 minesweepers to Persian Gulf

1987 - Rosie Jones wins LPGA Rail Charity Golf Classic

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

1987 - South Africa frees Dutch anthropologist/Anc'er Klaas de Young

1988 - 5th MTV Awards

1988 - Guy Lafleur, Tony Esposito & Brad Park inducted in NHL Hall of Fame

1988 - NY Daily News reports boxer Mike Tyson is seeing a psychiatrist

1988 - Security & Exchange Comm accuses Drexel of violating security laws

1990 - "Street Scene" opens at NY State Theater NYC for 6 performances

1990 - Marjorie Judith Vincent (Ill), 25, crowned 64th Miss America 1991

• 1991 - 1st South African international competition in 25 years, gymnastics

1992 - Army of Ciskei homeland kills 28 ANC demonstrators

• 1993 - Brazil votes over importing monarchy

1993 - Cards Mark Whiten, hits 4 HRs & 12 RBIs in 2nd game of doubleheader

1994 - Jingyi Le/Ying Shan/Ying Le/Bin Lu swimming 4x100 freestyle (3:37.91)

1995 - 12th MTV Awards

1995 - STS 69 (Endeavour 9), launches into orbit

1995 - Sen Bob Packwoord (R-Ore) resigns rather than face expulsion

1996 - Women's championship at US Tennis Open

1997 - 111th US Womens Tennis: Martina Hingis beats Venus Williams (60 64)

1997 - 117th US Mens Tennis: Patrick Rafter beats Greg Rusedski (63 62 46 75)

1997 - Boone Valley Senior Golf Classic

1997 - Emmy Creative Arts Award presentation

1997 - Men's championship at US Tennis Open, Australian Patrick Rafter wins his first Grand Slam event. 

1997 - Steve Jones wins Canadian Golf Open with a 275

1997 - The first test flight of the F-22 Raptor takes place.

1998 - Jerry Lewis' 33rd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises

• 1998 - Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University

• 1999 - A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocks Athens, rupturing a previously unknown fault, killing 143, injuring more than 500, and leaving 50,000 people homeless.

• 2004 - Hurricane Ivan, a Category 5 hurricane hitting Grenada, killing 39 and damaging 90% of its buildings.

• 2005 - First presidential election was held in Egypt.

• 2008 - The US Government takes control of the two largest largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

2011 - Plane crash in Russia kills 43 people, including nearly the entire roster of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team

2012 - US drone attack kills 8 people in Kismayo, south Somalia

2012 - 64 people are killed and 715 injured after a series of earthquakes in south-west China

2012 - Canada closes its Iranian embassy and expels Iranian diplomatic staff out of Canada

1822 - Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.   1880 - George Ligowsky was granted a patent for his device that threw clay pigeons for trapshooters.   1888 - Edith Eleanor McLean became the first baby to be placed in an incubator.   1896 - A.H. Whiting won the first automobile race held on a racetrack. The race was held in Cranston, RI.   1901 - The Boxer Rebellion began in China ending the Peace of Beijing.   1921 - Margaret Gorman of Washington, DC, was crowned the first Miss America in Atlantic City, NJ.   1927 - Philo T. Farnsworth succeeded in transmitting an image through purely electronic means by using an image dissector.   1930 - The cartoon "Blondie" made its first appearance in the comic strips.   1940 - London received its initial rain of bombs from Nazi Germany during World War II.   1942 - During World War II, the Russian army counter attacked the German troops outside the city of Stalingrad.   1963 - The National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, OH.   1966 - The final episode of the original "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was aired on CBS-TV.   1971 - "The Beverly Hillbillies" was seen for the final time on CBS-TV.   1977 - The Panama Canal treaties were signed by U.S. President Carter and General Omar Torrijos Herrera. The treaties called for the U.S. to turn over control of the canal's waterway to Panama in the year 2000.   1979 - ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, made its debut on cable TV.   1983 - In Ireland, voters approved a constitutional ammendment that banned abortion.   1984 - American Express Co. issued the first of its Platinum charge cards.   1986 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins threw his 100th career touchdown pass, in only his 44th NFL game, which set a NFL record.   1986 - President Augusto Pinochet survived an assassination attempt made by guerrillas.   1986 - Desmond Tutu was the first black to be installed to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.   1987 - Erich Honecker became the first East German head of state to visit West Germany.   1989 - Legislation was approved by the U.S. Senate that prohibited discrimination against the handicapped in employment, public accommodations, transportation and communications.   1995 - U.S. Senator Bob Packwood announced that he would resign after 27 years in the Senate.   1998 - Mark McGwire set a new major league baseball record for most homeruns hit in a single season. The previous record was 61 set in 1961.   1999 - Viacom Inc. announced that it had plans to buy CBS Corp.   2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) became the only the fifth player in major league baseball history to hit 60 home runs in a season. (California)

1822 Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. 1901 The Boxer Rebellion in China officially ended with the signing of the Peking Protocol (Peace of Beijing). 1940 Nazi Germany began its initial blitz on London during World War II. 1979 The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) made its debut on cable TV. 1986 Desmond Tutu became the first black to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/sep07.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Weekend Humor? Cartoon Illustrates Blatant Trump Corruption

Saw this cartoon last month, and thought that it was both disturbing, while also being quite telling and worth sharing here.

Really, this feels like a dark cartoon because it speaks the truth. Indeed, Trump has turned out to be a nightmare, both for the country as well as for the world. And while the numbers and enthusiasm finally seem to have diminished a little bit, there still exists tens of millions of MAGA supporters applauding all of this.

Nobody can say that there were not plenty of warnings. Indeed, there was no shortage of warnings. 

Perhaps that was the problem. People seem to think that warnings like this are overdone. Trump knew that and used it to his advantage, making the case to those who wanted to be convinced that he was the victim of a conspiracy and a political witch hunt. 

Then, he got in power and proved all of those warnings were accurate predictions of just how bad this Trump presidency would turn out to be.

Yet, some people still act shocked - Shocked! - that the Trump presidency has turned out to be quite this bad.

It's almost like putting a blatantly corrupt, transparently selfish and narcissistic man completely lacking any serious qualifications into our highest office was not a very good idea.

Who knew?

Richard Burdett 4͏ ͏A͏u͏g͏u͏s͏t͏ ͏a͏t͏ ͏0͏0͏:͏2͏1͏  ·

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1054981450374200&set=p.1054981450374200&type=3

Facebook

Weekend Humor: Even the Twilight Zone....

Statue of Rod Serling in Binghamton, New York

There are moments when the times we are living in feel more like they should be an episode of The Twilight Zone rather than our reality.

Yet, these strange times indeed are the reality. All kidding aside, it feels like sometimes, these bizarre times make the Twilight Zone episodes of all seem tame by way of comparison. 

So when I saw this post on Facebook recently, it gave me a chuckle. It also felt like something worth sharing here.

Enjoy. 

Vilma T. Fox Facebook September 4, 2026:  · #Chaos #TrumpsAmerica

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1427233369264868&set=a.101717571816461

Weekend Humor: Just When You Thought...

This one I simply found funny.

Funny because it's true, frankly. Every time that you think Donald Trump could not be  worse human being - let alone an alleged "leader" - than he has proven to be, he does something even worse. It does not take long to realize this. Usually, just wait a day or two in the news cycle for proof of this grim reality. Trump will always provide abundant proof that he is an absolutely low class (maybe no class) excuse for a human being.

Vilma T. Fox Facebook September 2, 2026  ·

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1425588889429316&set=a.101717571816461

www.facebook.com