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Cooley Hurd

Cooley Hurd's Journal
Cooley Hurd's Journal
January 29, 2017

White House discussing asking foreign visitors for social media info and cell phone contacts

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/29/politics/donald-trump-immigrant-policy-social-media-contacts/index.html?adkey=bn

Washington (CNN)Amid the chaos and confusion of President Donald Trump's new executive order on immigration and refugees, sources tell CNN that White House policy director Stephen Miller spoke with officials of the State Department, Customs and Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security and others to tell them that the President is deeply committed to the executive order and the public is firmly behind it -- urging them not to get distracted by what he described as hysterical voices on TV.

Miller also noted on Saturday that Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones. If the foreign visitor declines to share such information, he or she could be denied entry. Sources told CNN that the idea is just in the preliminary discussion level. The social media posts calling for jihad by San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik -- made under a pseudonym and with strict privacy settings -- are part of this discussion. How such a policy would be implemented remains under discussion.

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January 28, 2017

Barbara Hale, Perry Mason's Della Street dead at 94

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/barbara-hale-dead-perry-mason-893891

Barbara Hale, the Loyal Della Street on 'Perry Mason,' Dies at 94



The Emmy-winning actress, a former starlet at RKO Pictures, starred opposite Raymond Burr on the long-running legal drama.
Barbara Hale, who played the steadfast secretary Della Street opposite Raymond Burr on the legendary courtroom drama Perry Mason for nine seasons and 30 telefilms, has died. She was 94.

Hale, a former contract player at RKO and Columbia who made more than 50 films before landing her signature role, died Thursday at her Sherman Oaks home in Los Angeles.

Survivors include her son William Katt, best known as the star of the 1980s ABC series The Greatest American Hero. He reported her death on Facebook.

"We’ve all been so lucky to have her for so long," Katt wrote. "She was gracious and kind and silly and always fun to be with. A wonderful actress and smart businesswoman, she was most of all a treasure as a friend and mother!"

Hale was mulling retirement to raise her three young children with her husband, actor Bill Williams (The Adventures of Kit Carson), when producer Gail Patrick Jackson approached her about playing Della on Perry Mason.

She quickly accepted the gig when she discovered that Burr, her old friend from RKO, was going to star as the fictional defense attorney in the series based on the Erle Stanley Gardner mystery novels.

Hale received two Emmy nominations (winning in 1959) for playing the quiet beauty who was the rock of stability on Mason's team. She liked the fact that Della was unmarried and without kids so it wouldn't confuse her real-life children.

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Cross gently, Barbara.
January 27, 2017

50 years ago today: Tragedy on the Apollo 1 launch pad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1



Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was the first manned mission of the United States Apollo program, which had as its ultimate goal a manned lunar landing.[1] The low Earth orbital test of the Apollo Command/Service Module never made its target launch date of February 21, 1967. A cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test on January 27 at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 killed all three crew members—Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White II, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee—and destroyed the Command Module (CM). The name Apollo 1, chosen by the crew, was officially retired by NASA in commemoration of them on April 24, 1967.

Immediately after the fire, NASA convened the Apollo 204 Accident Review Board to determine the cause of the fire, and both houses of the United States Congress conducted their own committee inquiries to oversee NASA's investigation. The ignition source of the fire was determined to be electrical, and the fire spread rapidly due to combustible nylon material, and the high pressure, pure oxygen cabin atmosphere. The astronauts' rescue was prevented by the plug door hatch, which could not be opened against the higher internal pressure of the cabin. A failure to identify the test as hazardous (because the rocket was unfueled) led to the rescue being hampered by poor emergency preparedness.

During the Congressional investigation, then-Senator Walter Mondale publicly revealed a NASA internal document citing problems with prime Apollo contractor North American Aviation, which became known as the "Phillips Report". This disclosure embarrassed NASA Administrator James E. Webb, who was unaware of the document's existence, and attracted controversy to the Apollo program. Despite congressional displeasure at NASA's lack of openness, both congressional committees ruled that the issues raised in the report had no bearing on the accident.

Manned Apollo flights were suspended for 20 months while the Command Module's hazards were addressed. However, the development and unmanned testing of the Lunar Module (LM) and Saturn V Moon rocket continued. The Saturn IB launch vehicle for Apollo 1, AS-204, was used for the first LM test flight, Apollo 5. The first successful manned Apollo mission was flown by Apollo 1's backup crew on Apollo 7 in October 1968.


January 26, 2017

Happy Birthday Bessie Coleman! A remarkable person and aviator

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/aviation/bessie-coleman-google-doodle-trnd/index.html

Bessie Coleman and the women pilots history shouldn't forget



(CNN)Bessie Coleman broke multiple barriers when she took flight in 1921, and became the first African-American woman to earn a pilot's license.

Today's Google Doodle commemorates the 125th anniversary of her birth. Coleman was among a small group of female aviators in the early 20th century who successfully flew around the detours of racial prejudice and sexism to become queens in the air.

Worldwide, only 3 percent of airline pilots are women, the Royal Aeronautical Society said last November.

Recently, there's a move to change that.

The obvious place to begin is by highlighting the achievements of those long-forgotten -- the women who ignored the men who scorned them, broke through the restrictions society placed on them, and paved the way for Amelia Earhart.

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Happy Birthday, Bessie and Thank You!
January 21, 2017

MSNBC abruptly cut from the WMoW coverage to cover Drumpf in church and Joy sounded PISSED!

Joy said, "I'm told we have to bring you MORE of the National Prayer Service."

Then, briefly, we heard a hot mike of someone sounding exasperated.

January 16, 2017

Eugene Cernan, last man to walk on the moon, dead at 82

https://www.nasa.gov/astronautprofiles/cernan

Remembering Gene Cernan



"We leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind." -- Cernan's closing words on leaving the moon at the end of Apollo 17

Euguene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died Monday, Jan. 16, surrounded by his family.

Cernan, a Captain in the U.S. Navy, left his mark on the history of exploration by flying three times in space, twice to the moon. He also holds the distinction of being the second American to walk in space and the last human to leave his footprints on the lunar surface.

He was one of 14 astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963. He piloted the Gemini 9 mission with Commander Thomas P. Stafford on a three-day flight in June 1966. Cernan logged more than two hours outside the orbiting capsule.

In May 1969, he was the lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, the first comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification and verification test of the lunar lander. The mission confirmed the performance, stability, and reliability of the Apollo command, service and lunar modules. The mission included a descent to within eight nautical miles of the moon's surface.

In a 2007 interview for NASA's oral histories, Cernan said, "I keep telling Neil Armstrong that we painted that white line in the sky all the way to the Moon down to 47,000 feet so he wouldn't get lost, and all he had to do was land. Made it sort of easy for him."


Cross like a jet, Gene!
January 15, 2017

Controversial megachurch pastor Eddie Long dies at 63

Source: CNN.com

(CNN)Bishop Eddie Long, the controversial Georgia-based head of one of the nation's largest megachurches, has died, according to the church he presided over. He was 63.

Long died after a battle with an aggressive form of cancer, according to a statement by the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
"Bishop Long was known as one of the most influential faith leaders in the world," the church said in the statement. "He stood strong as a Kingdom Builder, pioneering leader, and revolutionary mind changer."
"Although his transition leaves a void for those of us who loved him dearly, we can celebrate and be happy for him, knowing he's at peace," his wife Vanessa Long said in the statement.
At its peak New Birth Missionary Baptist Church had about 25,000 members.
But Long had a controversial past. In 2010, he and his church settled a lawsuit filed by four young men who accused him of pressuring them into sexual relationships while they were teenagers and members of his congregation.
Long, who preached passionately against homosexuality for years, denied the allegations.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/15/us/bishop-eddie-long-dead/index.html?adkey=bn

January 15, 2017

Dick Gautier, Hymie the Robot on 'Get Smart,' Dies at 85

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dick-gautier-dead-get-smart-actor-was-85-964369



Dick Gautier, who starred on Broadway in the original production of Bye, Bye Birdie and then famously played Hymie the Robot on the sitcom Get Smart, has died. He was 85.

Gautier died Friday night at an assisted living facility in Arcadia, Calif., after a long illness, his daughter Denise told The Hollywood Reporter.

Gautier, who started his career as a stand-up comic, received a Tony nomination for playing Conrad Birdie, the character based on Elvis Presley, in the memorable, original 1960 production of Bye, Bye Birdie, starring Dick Van Dyke.

The handsome actor appeared as Hymie on just six episodes of Get Smart over four seasons, yet he was one of the spy spoof's most popular characters.

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Cross gently, Dick.
January 14, 2017

"Magic Alex" Mardas, Beatles' Apple Corps Inventor/Electrician, Dead at 74

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/7655255/magic-alex-mardas-beatles-dead



Alexis Mardas, better known to Beatles fans as "Magic Alex," has died at age 74, according to multiple news reports, including CNN Greece. He was reportedly found dead in his apartment of natural causes. News IT reported he had been dead several days before his body was found.

Mardas was probably one of the more infamous characters from the Beatles universe. John Lennon was reportedly introduced to him by Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones after Mardas created a psychedelic light box for them. He was friendly with John Dunbar, who was a friend of Paul McCartney's and the husband of Marianne Faithful before she was involved with Mick Jagger.

His strange electronic gadgets were embraced by all of the Beatles, but especially Lennon, who dubbed him "Magic Alex." Some of his ideas had foresight, like the phone that dialed by voice recognition and displayed the numbers of callers. But then there were others, like the electronic brooches that made noise and flashed in no particular order, the artificial sun using laser beams and the invisible curtain that used ultrasonic vibrations to screen the Beatles from their fans.

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Lennon thought so much of him that, according to author Philip Norman, he introduced him at a group meeting as "my new guru." His friendship with the band was also demonstrated in the fact he went on several holidays with various members of the group. When Mardas married in 1968, The Beatles attended his wedding. And when The Beatles began Apple Corps, Mardas was hired to head Apple Electronics, which author Tony Bramwell in his book Magical Mystery Tours: My Life With The Beatles called "a waste of time and money." He was also chosen to design lighting for The Beatles' newly opened Apple Boutique and reportedly tried to help them buy a Greek island.

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Cross gently, Magic Alex...
January 12, 2017

Legendary Guitarist Tommy Allsup Dead at 85 - Lost Coin Toss to Fly with Buddy Holly

http://lubbockonline.com/entertainment/2017-01-11/friend-allsup-guitarist-who-toured-holly-used-life-after-coin-flip-good

Friend: Allsup, guitarist who toured with Holly, used life after coin flip ‘for good’



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Steele, who spoke with the guitarist’s wife, confirmed Allsup died Wednesday. He was 85.

“Tommy’s body may have been 85, but his hands were as young as ever, and so was his mind,” said Steele, adding he’s a longtime friend of the Holly family and an avid fan and researcher of Holly and the Crickets. “He played unbelievable. It was almost effortless, or seamless.”

Allsup outlived Holly, teenage singer Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, who all died Feb. 3, 1959, when the plane they were travelling in after a show crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa.

Holly initially offered members of his touring band, including Allsup, a spot on the four-seater aircraft he chartered after a Winter Dance Party tour across the Midwest, according to A-J Media archives.

Bob Hale, a disc jockey at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, told reporters he flipped the coin that decided whether Allsup or Valens would have the last seat.

It was Allsup who pulled out a 50-cent piece and flipped it.

He lost the coin flip and was asked decades later by music historian Bill Griggs what happened to the coin. Allsup said that he kept it.

“It saved my life,” Allsup told Griggs.

</snip>


Cross Gently, Tommy.

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