Category Archives: History

The Supreme Courts six-member conservative majority has increasingly adhered to a jurisprudence that seeks to enforce the Constitutions original meaning, which was fixed at the time of ratification. In case after case, the majority has discovered arrays of mostly obscure historical sources revealing that the original meaning of the Constitution just happens to coincide with the objectives of the Republican Party. It is poor judging and worse history.

In Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, for example, Justice Samuel Alito looked to what he called our nations history and tradition to declare that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Neither the Fourth Amendments right of the people to be secure in their persons, nor the Fourteenth Amendments guarantees of liberty and equal protection, or even the Eighth Amendments recognition of unenumerated rights retained by the people met Alitos historical test, which included a survey of English cases dating all the way back to the 13th century.

Alitos tour of historical sources invoked such eminent common-law authorities as Sir Matthew Hale, a British jurist in the late 1600s, who once sentenced two witches to death and is best known today for advising juries to disbelieve rape victims.

Justice Clarence Thomas likewise relied on the Nations historical tradition of firearm regulation to strike down a century-old New York handgun licensing statute in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, although it involved a fair bit of intellectual contortion.

First, Thomas had to dismiss the relevance of boatloads of gun control laws and ordinances, dating back to the founding era, as insufficiently similar to the challenged New York law. Then he explained that the absence of a well-established and representative historical analogue rendered the New York law unconstitutional.

Todays world would be unrecognizable to the drafters of the Second Amendment with unforeseeable population density, powerful semi-automatic weapons and frequent mass shootings but that counts for nothing in Thomass historical method. His only concern is whether a contemporary gun control law maps directly, by his own lights, onto practices in the 19th century.

Not to be outdone, Justice Neil Gorsuch focused on original meaning and history to determine, in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, that a local school board could not require a football coach to refrain from demonstrative prayers, joined by team members, at midfield following every game. The board was rightly concerned that some students might feel excluded from their classmates or, worse, pressured to join the prayers. Gorsuch figured they could just get over it, citing a long constitutional tradition under which learning how to tolerate diverse expressive activities has always been part of learning how to live in a pluralistic society.

In each of these cases, and others, the courts conservative majority claimed to find support for its decisions in ages past, with scores of references to long-dead writers, philosophers and political figures. As the ACLUs David Cole put it, they are committed to a method that mirror[s] eighteenth- and nineteenth-century laws, leaving our rights at best frozen by conditions in early America.

The justices bolster their decisions with a litany of old sources, sometimes ranging over centuries, as though they had actually engaged in objective research to determine the exact legal, social and political conditions surrounding adoption of the relevant constitutional amendments. In fact, they lack the time, resources and education to do anything of the sort.

A case is typically pending in the Supreme Court for a year or so, from the time the court accepts it for review until the decision is announced. The Dobbs case, for example, was accepted on May 17, 2021, with briefing completed on Oct. 13. That gave Alito (a public and international affairs major at Princeton) about seven months to research, draft and circulate his opinion before it was issued on June 24, 2022.

That is far too short a time for even the most single-minded, full-time professional historian to accurately survey abortion law and practices spanning the Atlantic over many centuries, as Alito purports to have done (while also writing another 19 majority, concurring and dissenting opinions, and participating in an additional 49 cases then before the Supreme Court).

What should be obvious is that Alito, with his clerks assistance, plucked his sources from partisan briefs, selectively plugging them into his opinion, where they provided ostensible support. Granting that he checked the citations for accuracy, there is virtually no chance that he engaged in primary archival research of the sort that would take a history dissertation writer years to complete. Gorsuch (political science, Princeton) and Thomas (English literature, Holy Cross) were operating under the same time and resource constraints. Thomas admitted in a footnote that he bases his opinions on the historical record compiled by the parties, a practice that allows him to pick and choose the sources that best fit his narrative.

The result is a display of faux erudition. The originalist justices affect mastery of a vast literature, when in truth they barely scratch the surface, with no acknowledgement of what they missed, misunderstood, exaggerated or omitted.

Even in the best of circumstances, historical evidence is hard to pin down. As the British historian E.H. Carr put it, facts are like fish swimming about in a vast and sometimes inaccessible ocean; and what the historian catches will [be] determined by the kind of fish he wants to catch. By and large, the historian will get the kind of facts he wants.

Perhaps that is why the late Justice Antonin Scalia had reservations about law office history. Im an originalist, he explained on National Public Radio, not a nut. Those were the days.

Steven Lubet is Williams Memorial Professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is the author of Fugitive Justice: Runaways, Rescuers, and Slavery on Trial and three other books on 19th century legal history.

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The Supreme Courts selective history - The Hill

By AMY DAVIS

The Progress

Virgin Valley Heritage Museum Coordinator Espeth Kuta teaches how to make adobe bricks like the early Virgin Valley settlers did in building their homes and other buildings. This was just one learning activity at the Virgin River Watershed Camp held last week. PHOTO BY AMY DAVIS/The Progress

The Virgin River has been the life force of the Virgin Valley communities since the late 1800s. It is hard to imagine now, but it took three attempts to tame the river that kept flooding beyond its boundaries and breaking miles of canals that pioneers had built. Those mighty floods, and the harsh elements, proved to be too much to overcome until 1894, when six families from Bunkerville were finally able to rebuild the broken canals and begin a permanent settlement.

A group of children ages 8 to 13 learned all about these undaunted pioneers, and the life that the river provided in the past as well as present, at the Virgin River Watershed Camp on Thursday, July 21. The camp, hosted by the Virgin River Coalition, the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum, and the City of Mesquite, ran from 9 AM to 2PM at the the Jimmy Hughes Campus.

Among other things, children learned about the early settlement of the Virgin Valley, the importance of the river, how to make adobe brick and petroglyphs.

Virgin River Coalition coordinator Jeri Lynn Benell, and Elspeth Kuta, Virgin Valley Heritage Museum Coordinator, worked diligently to make this an exciting experience for the children.This is our first Watershed Camp, said Benell. Hopefully, this is an event that we can do several times during the year.

Bennell said that she would love to present a week-long after school program in the Fall where participants could actually go down to the river and explore.We want to get the kids excited about the river and about our watershed and to feel some responsibility for taking care of the river, Benell said

The kids started out the day by learning some history of the Virgin Valley, the Virgin River, and the early settlers. We wanted to teach the kids about why the settlers came here and why the river was so important, Bennell said.

In the morning, lessons were also given about the Native Americans and their lifestyle in the valley. Kids were even able to create their own pictographs by painting on rocks.

Later in the afternoon, there were lessons and activities about native plants and animals. There matching games and kids were taught to make animal tracks out of playdough.

Toward the end of the day, the kids were instructed on how to make their own seed balls. Seed balls consist of native seeds mixed with clay and potting soil. They are meant to be placed in bald spots in a yard. As the seed ball breaks down, the seeds plant themselves.

Kuta was able to teach the kids how to make adobe bricks the old fashioned way. She explained the dillema that early settlers faced in finding building materials in the desert valleys with which to build homes and other buildings.There were not any trees to cut down and build a house out of, Kuta taught the children. So the obvious choice was to make adobe brick homes.

Kuta stood at the head of a table with kids gathered around with all the tools needed to make adobe bricks.The trick is to mix everything together until it looks a little like frosting, Kuta said.

This elicited some good-natured giggles and comments from the children.I have always wanted to do a summer camp with the kids, explained Kuta. For the last 7 years I have been trying to figure out how to do this. Jeri Lynn has just been wonderful to work with. We hope to do this yearly so that our program can grow.

Along with growing the Watershed Summer Camp and hoping that more volunteers will be able to join along in the fun, Kuta also said that this was a great activity to kick off the start of the museums monthly activities that had to be put on hold due to COVID.

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Watershed Camp Teaches Virgin Valley History - The Progress - mvprogress

History used to be one of our favorite subjects back in school. We absolutely adored learning about ancient cultures, long-gone civilizations, recent developments, and how things changed (though people mostly stayed the same). So whenever theres a chance to share this passion for the past with you, we pounce!

The Things From The Past Facebook page (aka the History in Pictures project) is a wonderful archive of some truly stunning photos of everything historical. From posts about vintage fashion and political history to stunning features of archeological marvels, the page has a bit of everything for the historically-minded internet user. Not every photo is about happy events, but then again, history is nuanced and reflects the best and worst of humanity.

Today, were featuring some of their best pics. Wed love to hear your thoughts about history as a subject and what period you loved learning the most about. Hopefully, this list will reignite your passion for learning about how things were, not just how they are now. Turn the time machine on, dear Pandas. Onwards!

More info: Facebook | Instagram

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131 Of The Most Interesting Historical Photos From The History In Pictures Facebook Page - Bored Panda

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has defended the upcoming prequel series House of the Dragon against accusations of sexism, claiming "history" is more "misogynistic."

The famed writer was speaking at the San Diego Comic-Con event where he was questioned about sexist tropes within his fictional world.

House of the Dragon, which stars the likes of Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke and Matt Smith, begins on HBO on Sunday August 21, 2022.

During a panel for House of the Dragon on Saturday, Martin discussed how the show resembled real-life history and was asked why Westeros was so against having a queen on the Iron Throne.

"I get inspiration from history, and then I take elements from history and I turn it up to 11," Martin told the San Diego gathering. "Games of Thrones is, as many people have observed, based very loosely on the War of the Roses. And this show [House of the Dragon] is based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy."

"I pilfered freely from real history when Henry I, when his only legitimate son drowned while trying to cross the English Channel, he was left with only one legitimate child, Matilda." Martin goes on to explain how the powers that be in England prevented Matilda from taking the throne as Stephen of Blois arrived to take the throne instead, which would lead to the civil war called the Anarchy.

"So that was the inspiration there. I don't think Westeros is particularly more anti-woman or misogynistic than real life, than what we call history."

The Game of Thrones series has had multiple accusations of sexism thrown at it for over a decade now, since the first TV series launched on HBO in 2011. GoT has a passionate fanbase with many sharing their opinions of Martin's comments on social media. His assertion that neither the show nor his books are sexist was backed up by fans.

"One of the things he's actually good at as a writer is giving every character their time to shine, regardless of gender," wrote DrGutz on Reddit. Harsimaja's take received a lot of upvotes, as they implied Martin's portrayal in a necessary one. "Wouldn't making his medieval world an egalitarian utopia be whitewashing history?" they asked.

"GoT is full of powerful women, anyone who thinks the show is anti women is an idiot," wrote iliveinablackhole_ as NLwino added: "Game of Thrones is anti everybody. Especially someone that managed to get on the throne."

Over on Twitter @contrarah disagreed though, pointing out that the first chapter of the first book is "full of nipple twisting."

They continued: "Let's be real here, misogynistic succession battles based on fantasy history make great drama, but I don't see an influx of TV shows where all the Queens are warring because they've prevented a rightful male heir take power."

Game of Thrones faced backlash for sexist themes in the show throughout its run. This included its depiction of violence towards women, sexual violence, and excessive nudity, as suggested by many across social media and by PhD student Diana Marques who published "Power and the Denial of Femininity in Game of Thrones" at the University of Lisbon. She argued that strong female characters in the show were being denied their femininity at the expense of their strength.

Actress Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen, weighed in on the sexism debate surrounding the show in 2016. She told Entertainment Weekly: "It's depiction of women in so many different stages of development. There are women depicted as sexual tools, women who have zero rights, women who are queens but only to a man, and then there are women who are literally unstoppable and as powerful as you can possibly imagine."

She continued: "So it pains me to hear people taking Thrones out of context with anti-feminist spinbecause you can't do that about this show. It shows the range that happens to women, and ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength."

Newsweek has reached out to George R.R. Martin's representatives for further comment,

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'Game of Thrones' Author Says 'Misogynistic' Themes Due to World History - Newsweek

In the history of the Prodromitissa Icon of the Mother of God, we see how the work of God is intertwined with the work of humans, the patriarchal auxiliary bishop Varlaam of Ploieti said at the Romanian Skete Prodromos on Monday.

Celebrating the feast of the Panagia Prodromitissa, the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop celebrated the all-night vigil and the Divine Liturgy at the Romanian Athonite Sketes catholicon.

Bishop Varlaam remembered that 159 years ago, Hieromonk Nephon, the first hegumen of Prodromos Skete, accompanied by Hieroschemamonk Nectarios, went to Iai, where they spent a long time looking for an iconographer to paint the Prodromitissa Icon of the Mother of God.

In his speech, Bishop Varlaam pointed out that many replicas were made of the icon.

A replica is kept at the Chapel of the National Cathedral in Bucharest. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel was truly inspired to ask for this replica to be made and taken there at the beginning of the works at the National Cathedral.

Everyone involved in this project felt the presence, the work, and miracles of the Mother of God. Therefore, it is our duty to praise, honor, and venerate the Theotokos.

Let us ask the Theotokos to help us discover the depth and sweetness of Christs words in the Holy Gospel, to give us the wisdom to observe it and the strength to fulfill it in our lives according to the measure of each of us, His Grace Bishop Varlaam said July 25.

On behalf of Patriarch Daniel, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploieti conveyed blessings, congratulations, and appreciation to hegumen Atanasie the Prodromite and the monastic community of Prodromos Skete for the works carried out in recent years, as well as to the faithful who attended the services on the Feast of the Prodromitissa Icon.

Source: basilica.ro

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Bishop of Ploieti: In the history of the Prodromitissa Icon, we observe God's work intertwined with human work - Orthodox Times - Orthodoxtimes.com

We were wrong. A lot.

I reached that simple conclusion after reading hundreds of articles and dozens of back issues of PC Magazine. We rarely spotted the trends before they happened, and we were sometimes openly hostile to new and innovative ideas. Fortunately, we were never wrong for dull reasons. And from 1982 to this moment, PCMag has witnessed and chronicled so many rises and falls that our oeuvre resembles a cultural seismogram.

Within those dips and valleys, over the decades, a few products appear again and again. They show the course of our industry as well as of our publication. This is 40 years of PCMag in six shortish stories about key subjects we returned to often: the Apple iMac, the game Myst, the IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad, the Apple iPhone, Google's Android OS, and the singular, transformational technology behind everything: the internet.

(My colleague Sascha Segan feels we were right more often than we were wrong, but also found five big things we were wrong about, so be sure to check out his viewpoint as well.)

The first use of the term "iMac" in PC Magazine was in our June 30, 1992(Opens in a new window) issue: It was a low-cost ISDN adapter called PC IMAC, and it was magnitudes less interesting than the iconic, colorful, all-in-one PC that Apple announced in the summer of 1998.

Our first evaluation of the Apple iMac ran in the Oct. 20, 1998(Opens in a new window) issue. Writer Tom Pope praised its simplicity but echoed most of the criticisms of contemporary commentators. Pope called the lack of a floppy disk drive "loopy" and wasn't a fan of the notorious hockey puck mouse. Presaging many future complaints with Apple, Pope noted that upgrading the iMac was possible but limited and difficult. He also took issue with Apple's decision to go all-in with USB. While it's now ubiquitous, this was USB's first appearance on a Mac, and few peripherals were available.

Most of Pope's review was devoted to debunking Apple's claim that the iMac was "three times faster" than comparable products, which was not borne out in our testing at the time. This would ignite something of a firestorm, resulting in PC Magazine retesting after 300 angry reader replies and another evaluation of the iMac in the Jan. 5, 1999(Opens in a new window) issue. Perhaps sensitive to reader response, writers Pope and Nick Stam go out of their way to say how much they liked it when they first reviewed it.

We even nominated it for a 1998 Technical Excellence award(Opens in a new window), which it lost to the Toshiba 800 laptop.

What's most surprising about our earliest reviews of the iMac is how little attention we gave to the look of the thing. Built from luminous white and bright-blue plastic and resembling the nose of a space shuttle, the iMac looked like nothing else. Arguments over aesthetics were left to the opinion pages, and much ink was spilled.

In the July 1998(Opens in a new window) issue, Editor Jake Kirchner said contemporary PCs had, "all the fashion sense and design pizzazz of a hacksaw." Yet Kirchner also dismissed the iMac as overpriced and underpowered: "It's all about price and specs," wrote Kirchner. "High-tech is hip enough to sell on its technical merits alone."

December of 1998 saw two op-ed columns that included digs on the iMac. Senior Executive Editor Bill Howard called the iMac "cute" but warned Christmas shoppers(Opens in a new window): "By the way, you want a PC, not a Mac." Contributing Editor Jim Seymour went further(Opens in a new window), boldly declaring, "If Apple's cute iMac has become, to twist an earlier Macintosh line, 'the computer for those of us who are embarrassed about having a computer in our homes,' the SE7/T55A combination is 'the computer for those of us who are proud to have a computer in our home.'"

Seymour would go on something of a journey in his relationship with the iMac. In February 1999(Opens in a new window), he said of the iMac, "I'm not as fond of it as some, but I'll concede that its designers broke the stranglehold of the Beige Box Rule in PC design." By March of 2000(Opens in a new window), Seymour still decried the original iMac as "wildly overrated" but was willing to concede that the current iMacs were "respectable machines."

In that same column, Seymour rightly identifies the iMac as a "pivotal step in saving Apple," which is an important part of the machine's legacy. PC Magazine issues from 1999 to 2000 do capture the iMac's short-term impact: an array of cheap, colorful imitators cluttered the pages. In our Oct. 5, 1999(Opens in a new window), issue, we praised the iMac cloner eMachines for beating the original on features and price.

The next incarnation of the iMac would be even more dramatic than the original: a flat screen floating on an adjustable silver neck attached to a white, domed base. This time, PC Magazine was more willing to accept the design: "Every few years, Apple debuts a computer that gets people talking in a way no Windows PC does," wrote Editor-in-Chief Michael Miller in March 2002(Opens in a new window). "This year, it's the new flat-panel iMac. I recently spent some time with a preproduction version and can report it's great fun to use."

Our reviewers were more critical of the "gooseneck" iMac, pointing out the awkward keyboard, lack of graphics upgrade options, and poor speakers. ("If you enjoy music, you won't want to hear it on the iMac's internal speaker.") But this iMac earned a rating of four out five stars in our April 9, 2002(Opens in a new window), review, and in December of 2002(Opens in a new window), we gave the 17-inch version of the iMac a perfect five stars. Notably, that issue also featured an iMac attack ad(Opens in a new window) from Gateway.

If the reviewers of 1998 were mum about the iMac's looks, PC Magazine in 2002 pushed its prose to questionable heights. One reviewer called the machine a "funky flower pot," and another repeatedly waxed poetic about its "alabaster dome."PC Magazine declared this in the Dec. 24, 2002(Opens in a new window), Technical Excellence award issue: "The iMac has one of the most amazing necks since the days of Audrey Hepburn." The iMac lost that year to the NEC PowerMate Eco.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and so are attack ads.

In 2004, with a perfect five-star rating from PCMag, the iMac became upright, transforming into the form factor it still has today. There were other changes, of course, including moving to Intel chips and ditching plastic for aluminum. For 15 years, the iMac would get faster, bigger, thinner, and briefly go Probut it was still a gray aluminum rectangle.

That changed in 2021, when the iMac returned to its colorful roots. We still disliked the mouse and the choice of ports, and we noted its lack of power compared with other Macs. Yet it's telling that after so many years of iMac being a runner-up, this is the model that won a PCMag Technical Excellence award.

Hindsight makes it easy to poke fun at PCMag's struggle to make sense of the original Apple iMac, but its success was not a foregone conclusion. And in some ways, those reviewers were right: The iMac was underpowered and certainly didn't live up to Apple's marketing. And, yes, the mouse was terrible.

What PCMag missed with the iMac wasn't a fundamental shift in design (the era of iMac knockoffs was short-lived) but a shift in what drove people to buy computers. Ease of use and attractive, eye-catching looks appealed to people who wanted to explore the nascent internet and benefit from what PCs had to offer. These weren't ignorant customers being duped by slick marketing; they simply had different priorities, ones that PCMag didn't see. And over the next two decades, these customers would define who consumer electronics were for.

With digital downloads and streaming services competing for our attention, it's easy to forget that there was a time when CD-ROMs were a radical new technology. They promised an end (mostly) to swapping through a half dozen diskettes, as well as a whole new world of multimedia experiences for the PCs now equipped with CD-ROM drives. Right at the beginning was Myst, a foundational work for gaming and an early demonstrator of what CD-ROMs and PCs could deliver.

Myst originally debuted for the Mac in 1993, but PCMag did not review it until its 1994 release on Windows. On the bottom of page 481 of the June 14, 1994 issue(Opens in a new window), next to ads for 90MHz Dell PCs, was our four-star review.

A puzzle game in which you traverse fantastical worlds through magical books, Myst was, nonetheless, literally static. You moved in-game by navigating among pre-rendered CG images. While simple, the game embraced a contemplative style.

"You can't get killed, nor can you do anything that will automatically lose the game," wrote Barry Brenesal. "And it's just as well, because you may want to neglect the plot for a while and just admire Myst's striking visuals." And while Brenesal noted that the static nature of the game was frustrating, he praised the atmosphere created by the game's "visual and aural spell."

Myst's impact went beyond entertainment. "Occasionally, there's an interface that's so seamlessly intertwined with the program that it's beautiful," wrote Editor Robin Raskin in 1994(Opens in a new window). "Take a look at Broderbund's Myst for the ultimate example."

The game made our list of the 100 Best CD-ROMs in September 1994(Opens in a new window) and was a finalist for a Technical Excellence award(Opens in a new window) that year. "Myst's graphics and integrated sound have made it both popular and much-imitated," we wrote, but we still gave the award to another foundational if wildly different game: Doom.

In 1995, a PCMag writer described Myst(Opens in a new window) as "Shakespearian," and our 1997 15th-anniversary issue(Opens in a new window) deemed the game a modern classic. "The graphic adventure that shook the world," wrote Associate Editor Michael Ryan. "Myst challenged the hard-core game players while helping to open the arcane world of computer gaming to the rest of us."

In addition to acknowledging Myst as a cultural touchstone, we also used it as a graphical touchstone. Starting in 1995(Opens in a new window), Myst was one of the games we installed on PCs as part of our testing regimen.

Myst went on to spawn many sequels, and we reviewed them all. Riven: The Sequel to Myst, a masterpiece in its own right, earned four stars(Opens in a new window) in 1998; Myst III: Exile, which features a homicidal Brad Dourif, earned five stars(Opens in a new window) in 2001; Myst IV: Revelations took 4.5 stars(Opens in a new window) in 2005, and reviewer Tony Hoffman gave special attention to the Peter Gabriel soundtrack; also in 2005, we gave the final installment, Myst V: End of Ages, four stars(Opens in a new window). The unusual and controversial MMO (massively multiplayer online) game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst received a shoutout in 2003(Opens in a new window), but we declined to give it a rating.

In later years, Myst faded from public discourse, but it never went away. Partly driven by COVID-19 lockdown-induced boredom, I, your humble reporter, played through Myst on the Nintendo Switch during that first pandemic summer. I was so struck by the game that I not only reviewed it (a bit harshly because of some porting issues), but I also played all of its sequels in one marathon season. This was fortuitous, because Myst's developer, Cyan, was preparing an entirely new dimension of Myst.

In late 2020, a revamped Myst debuted on the Oculus Quest VR headset, and shortly after, was followed by a high-definition version of Myst for PC with 2D and VR support. I sometimes stopped just to watch the water flow by, or to take in the heavy atmosphere of the Channelwood swamps, much like our 1994 reviewers did.

In an example of the cyclical nature of time, the 2020 Myst was used for PCMag testingthis time, to evaluate supersampling for different graphics cards.

PCMag has always covered PC games (there's a full-page ad for Zork(Opens in a new window) in one of our earliest issues) but Myst was different. This was a game of such wild popularity that its sales competed with antivirus products and even the Microsoft Windows 95 upgrade(Opens in a new window). It wasn't the first PC game, but it was certainly one of the few that transcended its genre, rising to the realm of talked-about entertainment. PCs, Myst seemed to argue, could transport us as well as any magical books.

When I started researching this story, there were two products I immediately knew I had to include: one was Myst, and the other was the ThinkPad. We often think of Apple as having iconic design, but the iMacs of 2022 bear little resemblance to their 1998 ancestors. The ThinkPad, on the other hand, has changed dramatically but still looks like its earliest progenitors. Perennially associated with business, the ThinkPad nonetheless has a well-earned reputation for quality that PCMag has tracked for decades.

It did not start out that way. "To those familiar with IBM's checkered past in the portable market, this notebook is a bold step and a great success," wrote Mathew J. Ross in PCMag's Dec. 22, 1992(Opens in a new window) review of the ThinkPad 700C. "The impressive design work inside the ThinkPad may have you wondering who is actually responsible for this impressive...color notebook."

One critical problem with early laptops: What do you use to replace a mouse? Trackpads were still a pipe dream, and rollerballs were far from standard issue. IBM's solution was the TrackPoint II, which Ross called "the most unobtrusive and user-friendly pointing device in the notebook industry."

The red TrackPoint nubbin still graces ThinkPad keyboards 30 years after its introduction. Functioning a bit like a tiny, flexible joystick, the TrackPoint lets you maneuver the cursor without taking your hands off the keyboard. As Ross pointed out, it's also comfortable for both right- and left-handed people.

The same issue of PC Magazine also contained a curious reference(Opens in a new window) to "IBM's monochrome pen-based ThinkPad." That's clearly not the 700c. It turns out the first ThinkPad was an actual pad: a tablet PC that would eventually be branded as the 700T. That original ThinkPad(Opens in a new window) boasted a 10-inch screen with 4MB or 8MB of RAM and started at $5,000 in 1992 dollars. We took a closer look at the machine in June 1992(Opens in a new window), noting its rugged design and solid-state storagea whole 20MB of it.

This odd, almost forgotten piece of ThinkPad history foreshadows daring innovations from the aggressively plain business laptop. There's perhaps no better example than the ThinkPad 701C, a bland name for a laptop that featured a literal moving keyboard. Until gaming laptops made it once again acceptable to market a computer roughly the cost and weight of a Honda Civic, designers had to balance a notebook's portability against its size. This led to cramped, awkward keyboards for laptops.

The 701C was different, as Senior Editor Brian Nadel wrote in the March 14, 1995(Opens in a new window) issue:

"When the case is closed, the keyboard occupies the notebook's entire footprint, but the key's rows are offset. When the lid is raised, a spiral cam in the left hinge starts the mechanical magic by moving a series of levers and arms that slide the left half of the keyboard over to the left and the right half down and to the right, like two pieces of jigsaw puzzle forming a whole."

Despite its solid (if stodgy) reputation, the ThinkPad series had a brush with death shortly after our glowing five-star review(Opens in a new window) of the X40. "The news that IBM is selling its PC business has generated a lot of backward-looking, warm and fuzzy feelings for a company that doesn't really have such a warm and fuzzy image," wrote columnist Bill Howard in our Feb. 8, 2005 issue(Opens in a new window).

"In notebooks, IBM came from nothing," continued Howard. "Its pre-ThinkPad L40SX of 1992 was so inferior, it was all we could do not to laugh when IBM showed it off in our labs."

"In recent years, IBM made solid, secure desktop machines," continued Howard. "But computers didn't improve the company's ability to sell services and consulting."

Howard's eulogy was premature, as the ThinkPad lived on under Lenovo, but IBM's exit from the PCs business was also the end of an era for PC Magazine. It began explicitly as an IBM PC fan magazine, but IBM no longer made computers. PCMag had grown far beyond those roots but continued to cover the ThinkPad under new management.

In 2012, reviewer Joel Santo Domingo praised the ThinkPad X1 Carbonan early adopter of carbon-fiber materials for a stronger, lighter design. "It effortlessly collects yet another Editors' Choice award as the most desirable executive notebook on Earth," wrote contributor Eric Grevstad of the ninth-generation Carbon, praising its "flawless design and engineering." Even 2022's "huge and heavy" ThinkPad P17 Gen 2 earned our praise for being "the ultimate mobile workstation."

The ThinkPad X1 Fold recalls the earliest ThinkPad design.

Though the iMac and iPhone may have surprised PC Magazine, the ThinkPad did not. We immediately recognized quality and forward-looking engineering. It's to the credit of both the ThinkPad designers and years of PCMag reviewers that neither have been too afraid of bold, imaginative machines, provided they still fit inside a plain, black square. Even when it folds in half, the ThinkPad is still a ThinkPad.

Similar to the iMac, the first mention of an Apple iPhone predates the phone itself. In our Dec. 26, 2006(Opens in a new window) issue, reviewer Sascha Segan boldly proclaims, "We want the iPhone."

Segan's desire for an Apple phone was so strong, he converted a Motorola SLVR into a makeshift iPhone(Opens in a new window). Key to this was hacking the SLVR's version of iTunes, Apple's media player, to contain more than 100 songs. Segan even rebranded the device, grinding off the old logo with a sugar cube.

Despite all that buildup, the actual iPhone announcement received almost begrudging coverage from PC Magazine. Editorial Director Jim Louderback noted in our Feb. 20, 2007(Opens in a new window) issue that the iPhone was the biggest news of CESdespite not being announced at CES.

Even Segan was skeptical of the original iPhone's significance. "Apple's new phone seems to promise an iPod-like revolution, with a ground-breaking interface that turns information into a physical thing you can pinch, grab, and stretch," wrote Segan in the March 6, 2007(Opens in a new window) issue. "But I think the iPhone will be more of a Mac: a cult item that will influence, rather than dominate, the industry."

The debate about the iPhone's viability reached its peak in the August 7, 2007 issue, which featured dueling op-eds at the front and back of the issue. First, Louderback argued(Opens in a new window) that initial iPhone sales would be strong, but that it wouldn't last.

"You're going to be really cool the first month or so with that iPhone. But after you go to a party and three other people have one, it'll seem less alluring," he wrote. "The true trendsetters will move on quickly (to Helio's Ocean or Nokia's N95), leaving the iPhone to those with more money than taste."

Editor Lance Ulanoff had an opposite take(Opens in a new window), arguing that initial iPhone sales would be poor, in part because few people would be willing to break their wireless contracts in order to get new hardware, but that its fortune would change.

"The lack of a keyboard will turn off some customers, especially those who grew up with rotary and push-button phones," wrote Ulanoff. "It will, on the other hand, attract all the young, trendy, flexible, iPod-loving customers Apple cares about."

It wasn't until Aug. 21, 2007, that PCMag finally ran its review of the iPhone. Heralding it as, "the most overhyped product(Opens in a new window) of the decade," PCMag was nonetheless impressed, giving it four stars(Opens in a new window). "With its groundbreaking interface, the Apple iPhone is the best portable media player ever made, and it browses the Web like a champ. We've never had this much fun testing a handheld," wrote reviewers Segan and Tim Gideon.

Our reviewers were particularly taken with the iPhone's then-unique touch interface. "Make no mistakeusing your fingers to zoom, skip, crop, and edit is sheer joy," they wrote. "Pinching and sliding through the menus is just as cool as the commercials make it seem."

The first iPhone was not a slam dunk, however. For one thing, "call quality was the worst we've heard on a high-end device," wrote Gideon and Segan. Still, it's telling that PC Magazine devoted two entire paper pages to the device. The Nokia E61i may have taken the Editors' Choice award, but it received just half a page.

Opening the iPhone to app developers changed everything. Starting with the iPhone 3G, it was clear that the iPhone's killer app, to use an outdated phrase, wasn't one app but the constellation of third-party apps that grew for iOS. At the time, the App Store offered just 500 apps but would benefit from a wave of development for the new platform. ThenExecutive Editor Dan Costa rightly sensed(Opens in a new window) that iOS devices would be "the future of portable gaming."

In June 2008(Opens in a new window), Ulanoff called the iPhone "the most important product of the still-young 21st century." The device had become an everything-machine. "If [people] can get all of this from something that fits into their pocket, then why have a PC at all?"

Over time, Apple addressed many of PCMag's initial complaints but also garnered new ones. For example, starting with the iPhone 7, Apple removed the 3.5mm headphone jack.

"Apple says its steps this year are 'courageous,' and the company is on the right side of history," wrote Segan, who conceded that other wired or wireless audio options probably were the direction of the industry. "But that doesn't mean you have to be a day-one adopter of the courageous new technology."

iPhones no longer require this degree of DIY effort.

The most recent incarnations of the iPhone have fully embraced the idea that a mobile device is your primary device. When writing about the super-sized iPhone XS Max in 2018, Segan declared it "the best expression of Apple's smartphone philosophy so far, with a giant, gorgeous screen connecting you to everything."

Like the iMac, the iPhone took technology that had long been in the hands of businesses and enthusiasts and made it desirable on a larger scale. Unlike the iMac, the iPhone has stayed at the forefront of its market. Of all the futuristic and mundane devices PCMag has seen, this class of hyper-connected handheld computers has had the greatest impactand it started as the most overhyped device of the decade.

Compared with the iPhone, Google's Android mobile operating system had a far humbler debut. Editor-in-Chief Lance Ulanoff recognized in February 2008(Opens in a new window) that Google would likely continue dabbling outside its core search business and that other manufacturers would churn out new Android phones, "none of them the dreamed-about Google phone. Google will never produce a phone of its own."

Lead Analyst Sascha Segan made equally prophetic statements in May of 2008(Opens in a new window). "Though the user interface on the demo phones was mundane, Google has said that manufacturers and mobile carriers will be able to customize the operating system heavily," wrote Segan. "That could make Android an unusually diverse platform, or just another way for carriers to deliver locked-down services."

It would be both.

An actual Android phone would not debut until late 2008(Opens in a new window) and wouldn't make it into PC Magazine until January 2009(Opens in a new window), in the form of the T-Mobile G1, manufactured by HTC. Its large screen slid back dramatically to reveal a QWERTY board, but the real oddities were south of the display. The bottom of the phone had a significant angle to itlike a chinand a roller ball in addition to its touch screen. In a column, Segan called the G1(Opens in a new window) "basically a less expensive, less totalitarian version of the iPhone."

In his review (which was truncated in print but persists, in full online), Segan doesn't have a lot to say about the physical weirdness of the G1, aside from noting that the trackball is quite useful for selecting tiny links in the mobile web browser and that the device lacks a headphone jack long before Apple's fit of courage.

The first review of an Android phone would appear in the last print issue of PCMag.

In its debut, modern readers will recognize much of what still defines Android today. Apps are contained in a hidden "drawer," and the three action buttons (physical buttons on the G1) let you interact with the device. It was also customizable. "Yes, this home screen is completely configurableyou can even throw out the phone dialer if you want," wrote Segan.

Segan noted that the G1 lacked crucial featureslike a video playerbut saw a solution in Google's app store. Despite the fact that the G1 was not yet for sale, Segan wrote that he saw new apps being added daily.

Ulanoff's prediction that Google would never build its own Android phone remained true for several more years. Strangely, the first piece of Google-designed Android hardware wasn't a phone or a tablet but a tedious orb used for streaming music. The Nexus Q was never released, and perhaps that's a good thing. We noted that its design would "likely spawn a type of streaming media etiquette that will probably only occasionally deteriorate into fistfights."

In 2016, proudly branded as "made by Google," the search giant launched the Pixel, the first true Google phone. But by that point, Android had already become the go-to operating system for handset manufacturers. In his review of Android Jelly Bean, Then-Lead Analyst Jamie Lendino noted that Android was now the most popular mobile OS on the planet. That created a new problem that would dog Android for years: fragmentation. Handset manufacturers and wireless carriers exerted extreme control over which devices received updates and which did not.

Fragmentation also exacerbated Android's other weakness, which was patching critical vulnerabilities. "A lack of updates can leave devices vulnerable to security issues like the Stagefright exploit," wrote Analyst Ajay Kumar in 2015. "which requires Android 5.1.1, build LMY48I to fixsomething that won't roll out to other Android devices for weeks (or months), if they get it all."

And that's not to mention privacy. As more people became aware of the invasive nature of surveillance capitalism, Android lost some luster compared with Apple. "Since Google's entire business model revolves around gathering information about each user," wrote Lead Analyst Michael Muchmore, "it's hard for the search ad company to compete with Apple, whose profit model doesn't involve surveillance or profiling."

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

It's easy to focus on the platform war between Android and iOS, but the true legacy of Android is that it made smartphones flourish. For a while, there was nothing like the iPhone. But Android allows for myriad choices: cheap phones, small phones, expensive phones, expensive phones that fold in half, and so on.

"I've believed for years that Android is the best mobile OS for the most people," wrote Segan in his 2014 review of Android Lollipop. "Google's policy of enabling dozens of manufacturers to make smartphones at every price point has transformed the world, putting the Internet in the hands of hundreds of millions of people who wouldn't otherwise have it."

When I started researching this story, it was important to me to find something that tied modern PCMag back to its earliest roots. The task proved more difficult than I expected. For one thing, our first issues were mostly about the IBM PCso more current pickings were slim. For another, many of the earliest companies we wrote about simply aren't around today.

But I did find one through-line that runs through all the products in this story. It's this thing people did when they connected their computers to other computers over a network. This was not the internetnot yet. The first appearance of the term "internet" in PC Magazine came in a definition of Internet Protocol (or IP) in 1983(Opens in a new window), and it's the only instance of the word in an issue that spans more than 500 pages. It wasn't until 1989 that the word started appearing more regularly, still fewer than 10 times over an entire year of issues.

Despite that, our second issue(Opens in a new window) contains a foray into what is recognizable as the modern internet. It was called "computer conferencing." Over the course of a luxuriously illustrated story, Communications Editor Clifford Barney described how it worked: Several individual computers would contact a host computer. Individual users could create, view, and edit files, with the caveat that only one user could access a given file at a time. Importantly, this system is asynchronous; users come and go at their leisure.

Beyond document editing, computer conferencing at one point was compared to an actual in-person conference in which one person at a time can present to a gathered audience. It may be thanks to pandemic living, attending multiple daily Zoom meetings, and participating in conferences such as RSAC and Black Hat through weird online systems, but this idea felt immediately familiar to me.

Barney wrote that ARPAnet was the largest computer conferencing network available at the time. He also noted that computer conferencing occasionally attracted an unseemly element, perhaps our first discussion of hackers. ARPAnet, Barney wrote, was restricted to DoD users and contractors, but though "outsiders may slip in through a few semi-legal 'gateways,' they do not normally have access to the full system."

Part of why computer conferencing is hard to grasp for a modern reader is that it's a nebulous collection of functions and ideas. In 1982, the internet was squishy, undefined. PC Magazine recognized that it was important but was uncertain about what it was for.

A more familiar online application is a service called The Source, which Stuart R. Schwartz and Ellen Wilson reviewed in PC Magazine's(Opens in a new window) third issue. The Source was primarily an "information library," with articles available for reading, but it was also much more, including rudimentary email, chat, scrolling news, and even a listing of the bills in front of the US Congress.

"I soon recognized the communication possibilities inherent in this new medium," wrote Schwartz. "A user can receive news, transmit text, reproduce documents, and rapidly communicate information to a specialized interest group that know each other only through the electronic services."

The Source was Wikipedia, Gmail, and Twitter rolled together, but it wasn't free. A subscription with cost a one-time $100 fee plus hourly rates that rose and fell depending on when you used the service. $4.25 got you an hour of time at midnight, but "prime time" access could cost $18 an hour.

Unsurprisingly, the challenges of human interaction were amplified by taking them online. "I had read about CHAT in the user's manual for The Source, but it didn't prepare me for the reality of this stranger coming into my home electronically. I was shocked but managed to respond," wrote Schwartz and Wilson.

"The general novelty of CHAT soon wears off," the story continued. "After three weeks I was an old-timer. There are just so many ways you can ask someone, 'What kind of computer do you have?'"

Unlike the modern web, which is designed to keep us doomscrolling, The Source couldn't be enjoyed for long stretches. "I doubt very much, however, that such services will supplant the printed page. There's an optimum amount of time one can spend watching information scroll across the screen. For me it seems to be about 60 minutes at a sitting," wrote Schwartz and Wilson.

In its early writing about the internet, we see PC Magazine at its best. Curious about something new, we recognized the potential and imaginative possibilities of new technology but balanced it against the harsh realities of cost and practicality. As the very definition of the internet was still forming, PCMag saw the potential and even some of the consequences that feel all too real today.

The Source and computer conferencing feel quaint compared with our modern experience. The internet has brought people together and connected them with more information than ever, but it's also become a haven for disinformation that drives people apart. Even when we walk away from our computers and phones, we quickly reconnect with a smart TV, a streaming box, or a self-driving car. While we're often enamored with new internet distractions, it's also a burden.

"Though smartphones don't take up much space, they do create emotional clutter," wrote Senior Features Writer Chandra Steele in 2022. "Social media fights and memories that fill up the memory on our gadgets can hold us back."

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A History of PCMag, and the Tech Industry, in 6 Objects - PCMag

ON THIS DAY IN 1913, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, Have you ever thought, as you read of the heroic deeds performed daily by the mounted patrolmen throughout the greater city, of the conspicuous part played by the police horse? The career of a maddened runaway horse is checked, and perhaps the lives of women and children saved; the rush of an angered mob is stemmed, or a crowd hurled back from the path of an onrushing fire truck, by a horse, that at a touch of the rein, effects a side movement, forcing back the surging human mass, without endangering a single life. In such instances, of very frequent occurrence, the newspaper headlines laud glowingly the coolness and bravery of the patrolman, while little or nothing is said of the horse. The police horse, with his high intelligence and fine courage, may well feel proud of the position he holds, for in addition to school training, he must pass an examination even more rigid than that required of patrolmen ambitious to enter the department ranks. So strict are these requirements that three out of every ten horses offered for police duty are rejected by the exacting police regents, who will tell you that the department horse, loyal and trustworthy, is one of the most valuable assets of the whole department; hence only the best must be selected.

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, WASHINGTON, JULY 26 Congress is beginning to realize that it is high time to do something about the cost of living, if anything can be done. The problem is getting bigger and more troublesome. There are many senators and representatives who are convinced that the mass of the people are far more concerned about high prices than they are about the peace treaty or any other issue before the country. There is no assurance among legislators here that living costs can be brought down by investigation or legislation, but the feeling is growing rapidly that something must be attempted in response to the increasing public complaint. Prices of nearly all necessities have gone up since the armistice was signed, and are still going up. When a citizen in Washington buys a pair of shoes or a suit of clothes, he usually is informed by the tradesman that the next time he comes around, the price will be still higher. The immediate future is made to appear very dark. With Washington conditions right under their eyes, and with reports and protests coming in from many other parts of the country, members of Congress are bestirring themselves and are beginning to study the problem anxiously.

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, Aides of former Assemblyman Herbert Brownell Jr., chairman of the Dewey-for-Governor Committee, predicted the unopposed nomination of Thomas E. Dewey at the Republican State Convention in Saratoga on Aug. 24 and 25. Dewey campaign managers asserted that not only are party leaders and delegates to the convention overwhelmingly behind Mr. Dewey, but the party rank and file as well.

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, LONDON (U.P.) Winston Churchill, the warrior-statesman who led Britain through blood, sweat and tears to victory over Germany, stepped reluctantly into political obscurity today as his Laborite successor, Maj. Clement Attlee, hurried to form a new government to finish the war against Japan. Grimly silent on the stunning Laborite upheaval that broke his Conservative partys 10-year reign in Britain, Mr. Churchill appeared ready to write finis to his turbulent, 46-year political career. There was no immediate word from the defeated prime minister on persistent reports that he was retiring at once into private life to finish his memoirs. But some observers believed Mr. Churchill would reject the seat in Parliament voted him by his Woodford constituents and that he had even refused Major Attlees offer for him to return to Potsdam for the final phase of the Big Three conference. I regret that I have not been permitted to finish the work against Japan, was the dour gist of a statement issued by Mr. Churchill just before he left 10 Downing Street for the last time yesterday to surrender the seals of his office to King George.

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, PANMUNJOM (U.P.) The first full-scale war between the free world and Communism ended today in a straw mat house in the middle of the Korean no-mans land. The signing of the Korean armistice by United Nations and Communist representatives ended more than two years of frustrating negotiations The next chapter will be written at the forthcoming post-truce conference. Where or who will write the third chapter, no one knows. Whether the Allies won or lost the peace is still to be learned. But in the past 24 months they carved out an armistice from a rock-hard block of Red delay, inconsistency, stubbornness and falsehood. The main obstacles included prisoner repatriation and cease-fire line, selection of neutral nation commissions to umpire the cease-fire, the question of foreign troop withdrawals from Korea and arrangements for the high-level political meeting aimed at establishing a permanent peace in Korea.

***

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include All in the Family creator Norman Lear, who was born in 1922; Knots Landing star John Pleshette, who was born in 1942; Ode to Billie Joe singer Bobbie Gentry, who was born in 1942; Hill Street Blues star Betty Thomas, who was born in 1947; figure skater and Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming, who was born in 1948; The Morning After singer Maureen McGovern, who was born in 1949; Chicago Hope star Roxanne Hart, who was born in 1952; comedian and writer Carol Leifer, who was born in 1956; Charmed star Julian McMahon, who was born in 1968; former Saturday Night Live star Maya Rudolph, who was born in 1972; former N.Y. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who was born in 1975; N.Y. Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, who was born in 1984; and golf champion Jordan Spieth, who was born in 1993.

***

ACROSS THE SEA: The Atlantic Telegraph cable was laid on this day in 1866. Having started from Valentia, Ireland on July 7, 1866, the Great Eastern steamship successfully laid a submarine cable at Hearts Content, Newfoundland, Canada. This cable provided transatlantic communication and followed almost-successful efforts in 1858 and 1865.

***

NEVER FORGET: The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., on this day in 1995. More than 36,000 Americans died in the war, which lasted from June 1950 to July 1953. Of these, 8,200 are listed as missing in action or lost or buried at sea.

***

Special thanks to Chases Calendar of Events and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

It was Brooklyn against the world. They were not only complete fanatics, but they knew baseball like the fans of no other city. It was exciting to play there.

Baseball Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, who was born on this day in 1905

July 26 |Brooklyn Eagle History

July 25 |Brooklyn Eagle History

July 24 |Brooklyn Eagle History

July 23 |Brooklyn Eagle History

Read the rest here:

July 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Bob Hope, one of the most beloved figures in American culture and a titan of global entertainment, died in Los Angeles at age 100 on this date in history July 27, 2003.

Leslie Townes Hope was born on May 29, 1903, in London and moved to Ohio with his family as a young boy.

He cemented his legacy in the hearts of the American people while entertaining millions of troops through four overseas conflicts, from World War II in the 1940s to his last show in 1990 before the Gulf War.

"The first and only American ever to be made an honorary Veteran of Americas Armed Forces, Bob Hope holds a special place in the national security pantheon," the Department of Defense wrote in a rare public statement upon the death of a civilian.

SINGER KELLY LANG ON HER 17-YEAR BREAST CANCER BATTLE: I PROMISED GOD ID BE A BRIGHT LIGHT TO OTHERS'

"Although he is no longer with us in life, he will always remain, just as he was, in our hearts cracking jokes, boosting morale and reminding all the world of what it means to be an American."

Entertainers Bob Hope and Bing Crosby perform on a USO (United Service Organizations) Tour in front of U.S. troops, circa 1942. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Hope maintained a public pro-soldier stance during the Vietnam War, even as the conflict grew unpopular among many Americans and most notably among his colleagues in entertainment.

He performed nine straight Christmas shows for American GIs in Vietnam from 1964 to 1972.

President George W. Bush ordered that on the day of Hope's burial American flags fly at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds, including Naval vessels and military posts.

PRESIDENT, LAWMAKERS MOURN LOSS OF BOB HOPE

Hope sang, dance and acted, performing on stage, screen, radio and television and remains one of the world's most renowned stand-up comics.

He accumulated an astounding array of honors and accolades.

The 13th Annual Awards Dinner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Biltmore Hotel. From left to right, James Stewart, Ginger Rogers and comedian Bob Hope after winning their movie awards. (Getty Images)

Hope hosted the Oscars a record 19 times from 1940 to 1978, received national citations from both President John Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson, and was the first civilian to receive the Order of the Sword from the United States Air Force which recognizes "significant contributions to the enlisted corps."

The beloved entertainer began his Broadway career performing in "Ballyhoo" in 1932.

Hope took his show outdoors, performing for a military audience at March Field in California.

He starred alongside W.C. Fields in the Hollywood production "Big Broadcast of 1938," the first of what would be 50 movies, during which he performed "Thanks for the Memories."

It remained Hope's signature song throughout his career.

BOB HOPE'S LETTERS TO TROOPS A TOUCHING REMINDER TO THANK VETERANS

He became a household name by hosting the nationally syndicated "The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope," a radio variety program, from a Los Angeles studio.

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On May 6, 1941, as World War II raged across both oceans and America began to mobilize for its inevitable entry in the conflict, Hope took his show outdoors, performing for a military audience at March Field in California.

American entertainment would never be the same.

Comedian Bob Hope and actress Raquel Welch entertain American troops at an unidentified outdoor site in Vietnam, circa 1967. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

"That day, he discovered what would be his most cherished audience, the armed forces," notes So Ready For the Laughter: The Legacy of Bob Hope, a traveling exhibit offered by The National World War II Museum.

"During the war, only nine of Hope's 144 broadcasts were recorded in the studio. The rest were performed in front of troops," the exhibit reports.

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"He was unwavering in his support of service members," the USO noted in a 2021 tribute to Hope.

"No matter the location or conflict."

Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.

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On this day in history in 2003, Bob Hope, beloved by generations of troops, dies at age 100 - Fox News

Rachel Hultin was shocked by the words staring back at her from the deed to her Wheat Ridge house, which she bought 10 years ago.

Only persons of Caucasian race shall use or occupy any building on any lot, reads one covenant, which appears unremarkably on a list of mundane mid-century rules about setbacks and prohibitions on fur farms and dog kennels. This covenant shall not prevent use or occupancy by domestic servants of a different race domiciled with or in employ of a white owner or tenant.

Hultin, who is Wheat Ridges mayor pro tem and worked nearly two decades in the real estate industry, said she had never seen that type of language in a deed or plat note before.Her home, built in 1950, was bound by covenants that had been penned just two years before the nations high court ruled against such habitability restrictions.

It was really jarring, Hultin said.

This week, Wheat Ridge City Council tackled the issue which is not unique to this suburb of 32,000 west of Denver by passing a resolution declaring race- and religion-based covenants illegal and unenforceable.

It directed staff to find city-owned properties that might have such stipulations and remove them from real estate records. The city also pledged to prepare and make available to private property owners the materials to remove such covenants as permitted by statute.

It could well be one of the first communities in the state to make such a move, according to the Colorado Municipal League, though other states have been coming to terms with the legacy of whites-only housing policies in recent years.

To some, Wheat Ridges efforts might seem unnecessary and redundant given the U.S. Supreme Courts Shelley v. Kraemer ruling in 1948, which struck down race and religion-based covenants as illegal. The courts opinion was further codified 20 years later, when the Federal Fair Housing Act banned race-based deed restrictions once and for all.

While conceding that the resolution passed unanimously by Wheat Ridge leaders on Monday evening is largely symbolic, Hultin said it is important to acknowledge and address the outwardly racist policies that shaped housing policy in Colorado, and the country as a whole, for decades.

These are legacies that become invisible, she said. I think its important that we are trying to bring these things out of the shadows.

Wheat Ridges resolution comes on the heels of a couple of tumultuous years of racial justice protests and calls for reform in policing in Colorado, largely fueled by the murder of George Floyd, a Black Minnesota man, by police in 2020. Last year, the Denver City Council changed the name of the Stapleton neighborhood to Central Park as a repudiation of the former Denver mayor and Ku Klux Klan member Benjamin Stapleton after whom it was named.

The KKK, a white supremacist organization that targeted Blacks, Catholics and Jews, was a powerful organization in and around Denver in the 1920s and 1930s, with members at the highest levels of government and law enforcement.History Colorado last year released a map of where 30,000 or so Klan members lived in metro Denver during the mid-1920s.

Jefferson County, where Wheat Ridge was incorporated in 1969,was by no means immune to the KKKs influence. According to the countys online history page, the first public gathering of the Ku Klux Klan in Jefferson County took place in April 1922 where Heritage Square sits today, complete with blazing torches.

The following year, the KKK erected and burned a large wooden cross atop South Table Mountain, overlooking Golden. The location became a major regional meeting place of the Klan, according to the county.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

At Monday nights council meeting, Wheat Ridge Councilwoman Valerie Nosler Beck said the resolution denouncing racist language attached to properties in the city is part of a long process of untying these nasty, nasty knots.

Jared Shepherd, a co-founder of the Just Deeds Project in Minnesota, applauded Wheat Ridges move. The group, formed in 2020, provides free legal and title services to help property owners find and root out discriminatory covenants from their property titles.

Its critical we understand how prevalent these covenants were in some of our communities and that we are better able to understand present-day issues and impacts, Shepherd said. Were still dealing with this legacy.

Just Deeds, working with the University of Minnesotas Mapping Prejudice project, has documented more than 26,000 properties with racial covenants in the states two most populous counties surrounding Minneapolis and St. Paul. The organization provides legal assistance to homeowners who want to discharge the offending language, typically by attaching an affidavit to their deed or title work acknowledging the historical covenants and renouncing them.

Importantly, Shepherd said, the original language is not stricken from the documents.

Its a process that doesnt erase that history it simply calls it forth to that moment of time and acknowledges it, he said. If someone just hits the delete button in 2022, then we dont learn from it.

Acknowledgment of the past is critical in dealing with the painful policies of an earlier time, Hultin said.

We do a disservice when we change history, she said.

City Manager Patrick Goff said Wheat Ridge cant force homeowners to inspect their property documents for discriminatory covenants, but the city will be available for those who do.

Were going to provide forms for our community that they can bring to the county to have that language discharged, he said.

Hultin wants to go a step further, given that many of Jefferson Countys neighborhoods were developed and platted during the years when discrimination was part and parcel of housing policy in the state. She intends to bring the issue up to other city leaders in Jefferson County, as well as to the county commissioners, to see if a countywide acknowledgment effort can be launched.

All we can do is raise awareness of our cities and facilitate them being able to take action, she said.

Originally posted here:

Wheat Ridge revisits racist history in housing policy, untying these nasty, nasty knots - The Denver Post

Crafts, entertainment, ice cream, fireworks and farm animals will be on hand at the 125th Carroll County 4-H and FFA Fair, which opens this weekend.

The weeklong fair, which has been held since 1897, runs through Aug. 5 with activities at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, 706 Agricultural Center Drive in Westminster. Admission is free, but parking is $5 after 4 p.m. Parking will be free all day on Sunday.

According to a history published in the 1997 Carroll County Fair Guide, the current version of the fair traces its roots to a picnic held Aug. 14, 1897, at the Otterdale Schoolhouse, in Taneytown. The fair moved to Westminster in 1954, to what is now known as the Carroll County Agriculture Center.

For 125 years now, the 4-H & FFA Fair has been cherished by the communities of Carroll County, and were planning on going big this year, the fair website states. A lot has changed over the years, but the fair has always remained a constant positive force in the lives of residents across the county. The fair offers many opportunities for our youth to showcase their skills and projects.

Katie Weishaar, a volunteer with the fair, said this years event will combine old traditions with new activities.

I feel like the fair is always something to look forward to, she said. Were wrapping up the summer, and its a time for people to get together.

The fair officially starts at 5 p.m. Friday with the tractor and truck pull. Admission to this event is $15, with children 8 and under free. There will be lawn seating only, so visitors are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket, the fair website states.

Family Fun Fest will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, in the activity tent. Registration is at 6 p.m. The event is free and will include a baby contest, pig calling, milkshake mustache, pie eating contest, and new for this year is the best mullet hairstyle contest. The event is free.

Finally, starting off fair week will be a tractor parade at 10 a.m. Sunday. The parade will depart the Carroll County Agriculture Center, turn left onto Gist Road, left onto South Center Street, right on East Main Street, crossing over Route 97 to Old Westminster Pike, right onto Arnold Road, right on Hook Road, crossing over Route 32 Washington Road, right onto Gist Road, and ending back at the Carroll County Agricultural Center.

The largest fundraiser for the fair is the cake auction. Bakers from throughout Carroll County enter their baked goods, with prizes awarded to the best tasty delights. Visitors bid on the baked items, with the money going back to the fair. The cake auction starts at 7 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Senior Day is also held on Aug. 4. Its a day set aside for senior citizens to showcase their talents. Exhibits should be entered that day from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in Blizzard Hall. Judging of exhibits is from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

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Senior exhibits will be open to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Aug 4., and from 9 to 11 a.m. on Aug. 5. Music by Riverview Mirror will be playing under the big white tent from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Childrens Day is Aug. 2. Its the day when the 4-H clubs, magicians, music, games and local agencies take over the Buck Miller Arena. The day will also include crafts, food and ice cream for the children.

To celebrate the fairs 125th anniversary, fireworks will be held at 9:30 p.m. on July 31.

No outside food and drinks are allowed.

For a day-by-day schedule and more information on the fair, go to http://www.carrollcountyfair.com.

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Steeped in history, Carroll County kicks off 125th 4-H & FFA Fair this weekend - Baltimore Sun