Rand Paul is the Republican, Tea Part nominee for the Senate seat in Kentucky that is being vacated by fellow Republican, Jim Bunning. This is Mr. Paul’s appearance last night on The Rachel Maddow Show:

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On this day in 1935, Lawrence of Arabia dies.

T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author, and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six days before.

His exploits in the Arabian Peninsula during World War I were legendary. His book, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, became a handbook for modern day guerrilla warfare and the Middle East. There are some people who should have read this before engaging militarily in the Middle East. There is much about the people of the region that Westerners do not understand, to their downfall in the region.

Everyone is familiar with the 1962 Academy Award winning movie starring Peter O’Toole which glorified his exploits. It opens with the motorcycle accident that ended his life. This is the BBC series that gives a far better picture of the man he was and what drove him.

On this day in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.

The 24-megaton blast demolished a 230-square-mile area around the mountain. Geologist Dave Johnson was the closest to the eruption when it blew. He was on his radio that morning and was only able to say, “Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!” before his truck was pushed over a ridge and he was killed.

Millions of trees were scorched and burned by the hot air alone. When the glacier atop the mountain melted, a massive mudslide wiped out homes and dammed up rivers throughout the area. The plume of ash belched out for nine hours; easterly winds carried it across the state and as far away as Minneapolis, Minnesota. The falling ash clogged carburetors and thousands of motorists were stranded. Fifty-seven people died overall from suffocation, burns and other assorted injuries. Twenty-seven bodies, including that of the stubborn Harry Truman, were never found. Mount St. Helens went from 9,600 feet high to only 8,300 feet high in a matter of seconds.

On this day in 1973, Televised Watergate hearings began.

In Washington, D.C., the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, begins televised hearings on the escalating Watergate affair. One week later, Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as special Watergate prosecutor.

In May 1973, the special Senate committee began televised proceedings on the Watergate affair. During the Senate hearings, former White House legal counsel John Dean testified that the Watergate break-in had been approved by former Attorney General John Mitchell with the knowledge of chief White House advisers John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, and that President Nixon had been aware of the cover-up. Meanwhile, Watergate prosecutor Cox and his staff began to uncover widespread evidence of political espionage by the Nixon reelection committee, illegal wiretapping of thousands of citizens by the administration, and contributions to the Republican Party in return for political favors.

Glen Greenwald appeared this morning in ABC’s “This Week” moderated by Jake Tapper. He addresses Pres. Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, lack of record.

I can’t wait for Christiane Amanpour to take the helm.

h/t Jane Hamsher @ FDL

In this day in 1929, the first Academy Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) were presented at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to an audience of 270 people. The tickets were $5 and the ceremony lasted 15 minutes and the only ceremony that was not broadcast on the radio or, later, television.

The “Oscars”, as they were known later, were presented by the first AMPAS President, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and director William C. deMille for outstanding achievement in the film industry for 1927 and 1928. It was no surprise to the winners or the public since the winners had been announced 3 months prior. The talking films were eliminated for consideration because it was felt that they would have an unfair advantage .

And the Winners were:

Outstanding Picture, Production: Wings

Outstanding Picture, Unique and Artistic Production: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Best Director, Dramatic Picture: Seventh Heaven – Frank Borzage

Best Director, Comedy Picture: Two Arabian Knights – Lewis Milestone

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Emil Jannings – The Last Command as August Schiller and The Way of All Flesh as General Dolgorucki

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Janet Gaynor – Seventh Heaven as Diane, Street Angel as Angela  and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans  as The Wife

Best Writing, Original Story: Underworld – Ben Hecht

Best Writing, Adapted Story: Seventh Heaven – Benjamin Glazer

Best Cinematography: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans  – Charles Rosher and Karl Struss

Best Art Direction: The Dove and Tempest – William Cameron Menzies

Best Engineering Effects: Wings – Roy Pomeroy

Best Writing, Title Writing: (No specific film) – Joseph Farnham

Honorary Awards:

   Charles Chaplin, “For versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus”.

   Warner Brothers Production, “For producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry”.

Welcome to this week’s Health and Fitness. This is an Open Thread.

Hesitation in Calling for an Ambulance Could Delay Lifesaving Treatment

May 13, 2010 — Stroke victims need immediate emergency attention, but a new study shows that most people who realize stroke warning signs are occurring in a friend or family member may not call 911, thereby delaying potentially lifesaving treatment.

This is alarming, Michigan researchers suggest, because people who suffer strokes need immediate assessment and treatment.

But people who would call 911 if they thought a friend or loved one was having a heart attack don’t seem to realize that strokes are deadly, too, the researchers write; strokes are the No. 3 killer in the U.S.

Stroke victims who are candidates for the clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may receive this treatment if they get to a hospital within three hours (and in some select cases up to 4.5 hours) of the time the first warning signs show up.

*   Symptoms of an ischemic stroke (caused by a clot blocking a blood vessel) usually occur in the side of the body opposite from the side of the brain where the clot occurred. For example, a stroke in the right side of the brain affects the left side of the body.

   * Symptoms of a hemorrhagic stroke (caused by bleeding in the brain) can be similar to those of an ischemic stroke but may be distinguished by symptoms relating to higher pressure in the brain, including severe headache, nausea and vomiting, neck stiffness, dizziness, seizures, irritability, confusion, and possibly unconsciousness.

 

 Sudden numbness, paralysis, or weakness in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body.

New problems with walking or balance.

Sudden vision changes.

Drooling or slurred speech.

New problems speaking or understanding simple statements, or feeling confused.

A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches.

Do not disregard any of these symptoms even if they pass quickly. Symptoms of stroke can develop over minutes, hours or days. The symptoms can be progressive starting with a little tingling that evolves into paralysis.

Call 911 immediately. The faster you get to an Emergency Room at a hospital with a Stroke Center, the better the chances that there will be a good recovery. The Paramedics know where these centers are and it may not be the closest hospital It is important that the patient get to a Stroke Center within 3 hours of onset of symptoms.

As is now custom, I’ll try to include the more interesting and pertinent articles that will help the community awareness of their health and bodies. This essay will not be posted anywhere else due to constraints on my time. Please feel free to make suggestions for improvement and ask questions, I’ll answer as best I can.  

On this day in 1937 – Trini Lopez (Trinidad Lopez III) in Dallas, Texas) is an American musician, singer and guitarist. Raised in the barrio of Dallas, dropped out of high school in his senior year because hi father needed financial support. He learned to play guitar from his father and it was this talent that he used to help support his family. He rode to local fame playing in night clubs eventually moving his family out of the barrio.

His first record album included the song “If I Had a Hammer” which rode to the top of the charts around the world. The hits, “I’m Coming Home Cindy,” “Michael,” “Lemon Tree,” Kansas City,” “America,” and, of course, “La Bamba”, followed in quick succession.

During the 60’s and 70’s, he appeared in movies (“Marriage on the Rocks”, “The Dirty Dozen”)  and on TV (“Adam-12). He does charitable work and took part in the world wide concert to raise funds for the victims of the 2004 Indonesia Tsunami/Earthquake.

Happy Birthday, Trini

On this day in 1936, Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto) was born in the Bronx. In his short career he became the legend that he said he wanted to be before his death at 37 in 1973. His hits “Mack the Knife”, “Splish Splash”, “By the Sea”, “Dream Lover”, “Beyond the Sea” and “You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby” are still heard today. Darin successfully moved into movies garnering an Academy Award nomination for “Best Supporting Actor” in the movie Captain Newman, M.D. (1963).

In 1960, Darin married Sandra Dee. They had one son and divorced in 1967. In 1971, he underwent heart surgery in Los Angeles to repair damaged heart valves that he had lived with since childhood. He spent the next year recovering from that surgery and became a spokes person for the American Heart Association.

In 1973, after failing to take medication before a dental procedure, he developed a blood infection that further weakened his heart. On December 19, he under went a second surgery to repair the same two valves that had previously been repaired. After 6 hours of surgery that initially appeared to be successful, he died suddenly in Recovery without ever regaining consciousness on December 20.

Happy Birthday, Bobby