July 1, 2009

Franken is 60:

The U.S. Senate race in Minnesota ended Wednesday with Democrat Al Franken declared the winner by about 300 votes. He could be seated next week.

Franken is best known as a "Saturday Night Live" writer and cast member. His political activism has been marked with virulent attacks on the right wing and the establishment of the left-wing radio network Air America. He promised to be a senator for all the people of Minnesota.

He is the 60th Senate member of the current Congress to align himself with the Democrats' caucus, giving the party enough votes to end any filibuster -- if they all show up and if they all vote as a bloc.

That is the big issue. Senators are notoriously independent and don't take to political herding as well as other groups. Each now likely sees himself or herself as a swing vote of one and in a position to make demands in exchange for party unity.

There's also the "all show up" area. For example, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., appears rarely on Capitol Hill as he's being treated for brain cancer and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., just ended a long hospital stay and, since he's 91, future Senate attendance will likely be spotty.

Jackson was 50:

Michael Jackson's funeral will be at the end of the week but a series of allegations promise to keep the pop singer's name in the news for a long time.

Jackson died last week of an apparent heart problem. Two autopsies have been performed but complete details won't be known for weeks when toxicology results are finalized.

A dietitian who worked for Jackson claimed the singer "begged" for a sedative the day of his death. He also allegedly asked for another powerful drug to be administered. He told the dietitian doctors had given him the drugs before.

Also, there are allegations, uncovered by TMZ, which broke the initial Jackson-to-hospital story last week, that Jackson is not the biological father of any of his three children. Those allegations also say his former wife, Debbie Rowe, isn't the two older children's biological mother.

Honduras unrest:

The Organization of American States gave Honduran leaders three days to restore deposed President Manuel Zelaya to his position.

Zelaya was ousted Sunday and sent out of the country by the Honduran military, with the support of the legislature and the country's judiciary. Most world leaders, including the unlikely teaming of U.S. President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, condemned the coup.

Zelaya was removed from office as he planned to make constitutional reforms that would have allowed him to seek a second term as president. He denies this was the goal of the reforms.

Honduran Interim President Roberto Micheletti said Zelaya would be arrested if he returned to the country. Zelaya could face charges of violating the constitution, and having links with organized crime and drug-traffickers.

Zelaya, whose term expires in January, said he'll go back to his home country Thursday.

The OAS said it would remove Honduras from the organization if Zelaya isn't returned to power.

Walkman is 30:

On July 1, 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, a portable music device that has evolved into the various personal listening and viewing machines.

Some 385 million Walkmans have been sold in the intervening 30 years.

Sony founder Akio Morita wanted something more portable than the tape recorders he took on plane flights. Sony engineers saw a possible broader market in the millions of people who were taking up jogging in the late 1970s.

The device was (relatively) bulky and the batteries seemed to go dead at inopportune times but it was a huge success and spawned many imitators, none better known than the iPod family.

Apple's iPod was introduced in 2001 and has sold 200 million players.