What's Life Without Bureaucracy

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.
--Honore de Balzac

A SOMEWHAT SAD STORY

It's been two weeks since I filed an online temporary change of address with the United States Postal Service and I have not yet received any forwarded mail. By the way, they charge your credit card $20 now for the temporary change of address service.

The telephone here is out of order, so yesterday I had a cab take me to my apartment at Toscana Cove to pick up my accumulated mail. The round-trip cab ride cost me $35. Here's the sad part. When I got there I found my Mail Box empty of mail.

So I figured my mail is piling up at the local post office. I can't call the P.O. because the phone here is out of order, and I didn't call from my apartment because the cab's meter was running. And besides, the USPS customer service online info page says that I must always include my confirmation number in all telephone calls, which I do not have. It is printed at the top of the printed out and signed application for service that I gave to my mail carrier two weeks ago.

So I sent an email to the USPS Customer Service department with the sad story and requested a reply via email. It said, "Thank you for using the USPS - you should receive a response in one or two days."

Time will tell.

I guess a lot of wasted time, energy, and frustration would have been avoided if I had only allowed myself to have one of those consarned cell phones.

Oh well . . .  I'll get it all straightened out sooner or later. Don't get much mail that amounts to a hill of beans anyway.


It rained hard last night from about 7 o'clock till after I went to bed at 9:00. Rain pounded down, thunder thundered, lightning flickered and flashed again and again. and Eva lay quietly on the carpet right at my feet the whole time.

She does not like thunderstorms.

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Did You Know . . .?

A robot named HitchBot traveled all the way across Canada in a month, relying on rides from strangers and tweeting photos and status updates for the entire journey.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1975, President Gerald R. Ford survived an attempt on his life in Sacramento, California. The assailant, a petite, red haired, freckle-faced young woman named Lynette Fromme approached the president while he was walking near the California Capitol and raised a .45 caliber handgun toward him. Before she was able to fire off a shot, Secret Service agents tackled her and wrestled her to the ground. Seventeen days later, another woman, Sarah Jane Moore, a mentally unstable accountant, tried to assassinate Ford while he was in San Francisco. Her attempt was thwarted by a bystander who instinctively grabbed Moore's arm when she raised the gun. Although she fired one shot, it did not find its target. The bystander, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran named Oliver Sipple, was publicly thanked by Ford three days later.

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WORD FOR TODAY

bureaucracy
noun
1. government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.
2. the body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department.
3. excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators.
4. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Michael Keaton

(born September 5, 1951)

Michael Keaton is an American actor who became popular for his early comedic film roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, and later gained international fame for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne / Batman in Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. He has appeared in various other films, including Night Shift, Mr. Mom, Clean and Sober, Pacific Heights, The Other Guys and Jackie Brown, and has also provided voicework for Pixar's Cars and Toy Story.

Raquel Welch

(born September 5, 1940)

Raquel Welch is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century-Fox. They loaned her to a British studio where she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although she had only three lines in the film, the doe-skin bikini she wore became a best-selling poster that turned her into an iconic sex symbol and catapulted her to stardom.

George Robert "Bob" Newhart

(born September 5, 1929)

Bob Newhart is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart -- it remains the 20th best-selling comedy album in history.

Newhart later went into acting, starring in two long-running and award-winning situation comedies, first as psychologist Dr. Robert "Bob" Hartley on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show and then as innkeeper Dick Loudon on the 1980s sitcom Newhart. In 2004 he played the library head Judson in The Librarian and in 2013 he guest starred in three episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

Katerina Alexandre Hartford "Kat" Graham

(born September 5, 1989)

Kat Graham is a Swiss-born American actress, model, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her role of Bonnie Bennett on The CW television series The Vampire Diaries.

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Bureaucracy is like a fungus that contaminates everything.
--Jaime Lerner

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This Is Who I Am

   

Religion - A Stumbling Block To Progress

     

Tucson Weather Today

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I have been doing much more reading than writing lately. I know, I know; I should get busy and do something productive. But . . .


Mother Jones is a magazine I used to subscribe to, sometime back nearer to the Stone Age than we are now. Of course, Mother Jones is now online and is free, so I am no longer subscribed to the print version. It often surprises me how many of their articles grab my attention and pique my curiosity.

Such as the three that follow:


Last month, a Catholic school district in Montana fired middle-school teacher Shaela Evenson for becoming pregnant outside of marriage. Evenson, who taught literature and physical education at Butte Central Catholic Schools for nearly 10 years, was dismissed after the school district received an anonymous letter revealing her pregnancy. Despite the fact that Evenson's principal has called her an "excellent teacher," officials at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, which oversees Evenson's school, are standing by their decision. They contend that sex outside of marriage violates the morality clause in the teaching contract Evenson signed. On Thursday, Patrick Haggarty, the superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, told the Montana Standard, "It's not easy being a Christian or a Catholic in today's world. Our faith asks us to do things that right now are not popular with society."

More . . .

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In early August, a few weeks before forensic scientists began exhuming dozens of unmarked graves at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, five older black men took a road trip to Marianna, a rural town on the Florida panhandle -- historic Klan country -- to confront their demons on the reform school’s vast, wooded campus.

At least 96 children died at Dozier between 1914 and 1973, according to school records, and while state officials say there’s no proof, former students insist that some of the deaths were the result of foul play. Boys of all races were routinely, brutally, and even fatally beaten by staff, they allege; some were raped, and “runners” were fired upon—at least seven kids were reported dead after trying to escape.

More . . .

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Thoughts About Good And Evil

Maybe you already know the famous hypothetical dilemma: A train is barreling down a track, about to hit five people, who are certain to die if nothing happens. You are standing at a fork in the track and can throw a switch to divert the train to another track -- but if you do so, one person, tied to that other track, will die. So what would you do? And moreover, what do you think your fellow citizens would do?

More . . .

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Did You Know . . .?

African-Americans comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population and 14 percent of the monthly drug users, but 37 percent of the people arrested for drug-related offenses in America.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, February 21 in 1965, one week after his home was firebombed, Malcolm X was shot to death by Nation of Islam members while speaking at a rally of his organization in New York City. In 1946, at the age of 21, Malcolm was sent to prison on a burglary conviction. It was there he encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, whose members are popularly known as Black Muslims.

Malcolm made a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, where he was profoundly affected by the lack of racial discord among orthodox Muslims. He returned to America, rejected Elijah Muhammad's philosophy, and founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which advocated black identity and held that racism, not the white race, was the greatest foe of the African American.

One week after his home was firebombed, Malcolm X was shot to death by Nation of Islam members.

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WORD FOR TODAY

segregation
noun
1.  The act of segregating or state of being segregated.
2.  The practice or policy of creating separate facilities within the same society for the use of a minority group.

Racial segregation is separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, riding on a bus, or in the rental or purchase of a home

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Allen Kelsey Grammer

(born February 21, 1955)

Kelsey Grammer is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, producer, director, writer and singer. Grammer is known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcoms Cheers and Frasier.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

(born February 21, 1979)

Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, and author. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated. She rose to fame in teenage popular culture in her roles in the Fox series Party of Five as Sarah Reeves Merrin, and films I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel.

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman

(born 21 February 1946)

Alan Rickman is an English actor. He is well known for his film performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, Éamon de Valera in Michael Collins, Metatron in Dogma, and Ronald Reagan in The Butler.

Ellen Tyne Daly

(born February 21, 1946)

Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey, Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy and as Alice Henderson in the television series Christy.

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Once you begin to explain or excuse all events on racial grounds, you begin to indulge in the perilous mythology of race.
--James Earl Jones

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

Land Of The Free

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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It is widely recognized that the gap between rich and poor is bigger in the United States than in any other advanced country in the world.

People in Europe tend to complain about how the economic pie is divided, while Americans want, not to redistribute the wealth, but instead  to become one of the rich.

Even the poorest still believe in The American Dream, the illusion that anyone, with hard work and perseverance, can become unimaginably wealthy. And with luck (winning the lottery, etc.) one doesn't even have to work to get rich.

After all, this is America... the land of the FREE.

From analysis of all I've heard from Tucson's local poor folks, they are still waiting for Obamacare to kick in and they can get the free health care that was promised to them. They speak of how the Republicans are racists and that they are holding up the works.

When I remind them it was not free health care that was promised but the availability of affordable health insurance. And when I mention that all people will be required to buy health insurance or pay a fine, they laugh and say I don't know what I'm talking about.

Both ignorance and downright stupidity abound throughout the land.

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TRIVIA

In March 2000 Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar purchased a copy of  J. J. Audubon’s The Birds of America, published in 1840, is the most valuable book in the world. In March 2000 Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar purchased a first edition for $8,802,500 -- the highest price ever paid for a book.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1881, President James A. Garfield, who had been in office just under four months, succumbed to wounds inflicted by an assassin 80 days earlier, on July 2.

Garfield's assassin was an attorney and unsuccessful political office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. Guiteau stepped behind the president at a railway station and fired two shots. The first bullet grazed Garfield's arm; the second lodged below his pancreas.

Doctors made several unsuccessful attempts to remove the bullet while Garfield lay in his White House bedroom, awake and in pain. Alexander Graham Bell, who was one of Garfield's physicians, tried to use an early version of a metal detector to find the second bullet, but failed.

Guiteau was deemed sane by a jury, convicted of murder and hanged on June 30, 1882.

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WORD FOR TODAY

extravagant
adjective
1. Given to lavish or imprudent expenditure.
2. Exceeding reasonable bounds: extravagant demands.
3. Extremely abundant; profuse: extravagant vegetation.
4. Unreasonably high; exorbitant: extravagant fees.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

 

Adam West
(born September 19, 1928)

Adam West is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series on the ABC TV network and the 1966 Batman feature film. He is currently known for portraying eccentric or psychotically delusional characters, as well as his voice work on animated series such as The Fairly OddParents and Family Guy, in both of which he voices a fictional version of himself.

 

Joan Lunden
(born September 19, 1950)

Joan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC's Good Morning America (GMA) from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books. Lunden has appeared on the Biography program and Biography Channel.

James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon
(born September 19, 1974)

Jimmy Fallon is an American comedian, actor, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs on NBC. Prior to that he appeared in several films, and was best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004. On April 3, 2013, NBC announced that Fallon would replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show at the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Cass Elliot
(Sept 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974)

Mama Cass was an American singer and member of The Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. In 1998, Elliot, John Phillips, Denny Doherty, and Michelle Phillips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their work as The Mamas & the Papas.

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The greatest wealth is to live content with little.
--Plato

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

    

Irritants And Not So Bad Things

     

Tucson Weather Today

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My home phone rings; I answer it, saying "Hello."

A prerecorded voice says: "This call is for " (pause and then a different voice continues) "Henry Armstrong." (Long pause here) -- then, "If you are" (pause and that other voice returns), saying "Henry Armstrong" and original voice says, "please press '1'" -- continuing, "If you are not Henry Armstrong and would like your number removed, please dial 1-800-555-5555 now."

What are the chances that I am  going to dial that number?

Ass-hats!

The problem is, after several days of repetition, when they finally stop calling me with that same routine, a new name is inserted and they begin again. I don't know which is the more persistent, the robot or the people behind the robot.

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I was informed of a get-together of alumni from Valparaiso Technical institute in Valparaiso, Indiana from which I graduated in 1982, and an interview with one of my instructors was posted on Youtube. This particular instructor was a WWII veteran, a radioman in the navy, and I remember him well. His name is Gene Wiggins and he was the sponsor of the Ham Club, of which I was a member (then during my last year, I was the Ham Club's president.)

Wiggins, in the 12 minute Youtube interview tells of the whereabouts (and sometimes deaths) of many of the faculty and staff of VTI.

Interview with Gene Wiggins

The video would be boring and tiresome for those with no knowledge of VTI, but viewing it certainly heightened my ever-present level of nostalgia.

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TRIVIA

In 2000, Publishers Weekly listed The Poky Little Puppy, by Janette Sebring Lowrey, the best-selling hardcover children’s book of all time. Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White was No. 1 on the paperback list.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, September 6 in 1901, President William McKinley was shaking hands at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York, when a 28-year-old anarchist named Leon Czolgosz approached him and fired two shots into his chest. The president rose slightly on his toes before collapsing forward, saying "be careful how you tell my wife."

Czolgosz moved over the president with the intent of firing a third shot, but was wrestled to the ground by McKinley's bodyguards. McKinley, still conscious, told the guards not to hurt his assailant. Other presidential attendants rushed McKinley to the hospital where they found two bullet wounds: one bullet had superficially punctured his sternum and the other had dangerously entered his abdomen. He was rushed into surgery and seemed to be on the mend by September 12. Later that day, however, the president's condition worsened rapidly and, on September 14, McKinley died from gangrene that had gone undetected in the internal wound. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was immediately sworn in as president.

Czolgosz was found guilty at trial and was electrocuted by three jolts, each of 1800 volts, in Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901, just 45 days after his victim's death.

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WORD FOR TODAY

abuse [uh-byuz']
verb
1. To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse a privilege.
2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.
3. To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.
4. To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.
abuse [uh-byuce']
noun
1. Improper use or handling; misuse: abuse of authority.
2. Physical maltreatment: spousal abuse.
3. An unjust or wrongful practice: a government that commits abuses against its citizens.
4. Insulting or coarse language: verbal abuse.

Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise verbal aggression

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Jeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy

(born September 6, 1958)

Jeff Foxworthy is an American comedian, television and radio personality and author. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy has released six major-label comedy albums. His first two albums were each certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Foxworthy has written several books based on his redneck jokes, as well as an autobiography entitled No Shirt, No Shoes... No Problem!.

Foxworthy has also made several ventures into television, starting in the mid-1990s with his own sitcom, The Jeff Foxworthy Show. He has also appeared alongside Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy in several Blue Collar television specials, most notably Blue Collar TV. Since 2007, he has been the host of the quiz show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on Fox (2007–09) and in syndication (2009–11). Foxworthy hosted a nationally syndicated radio show called The Foxworthy Countdown from April 1999 to December 2009. For two seasons, he has hosted GSN's The American Bible Challenge.

Jane Therese Curtin

(born September 6, 1947)

Jane Curtin is an American actress and comedienne. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series on the 1980s sitcom Kate & Allie portraying the role of Allison "Allie" Lowell. Curtin later starred in the hit series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), playing the role of Dr. Mary Albright.

Curtin has also appeared in many movie roles, including Charlene in the The Librarian series of movies (2004–2008). She also reprised one of her Saturday Night Live characters, Prymaat (Clorhone) Conehead, in the 1993 film The Coneheads.

Christopher James "Chris" Christie

(born September 6, 1962)

Chris Christie is the 55th Governor of New Jersey, and a leading member of the Republican Party in the United States.

Jo Anne Worley

(born September 6, 1937)

Jo Anne Worley is an American actress. Her work covers television, films, theater, game shows, talk shows, commercials, and cartoons. She is best known for her work on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

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What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.
--Isabel Allende


NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

To Arms . . . To Arms

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Some facts related to Violence In America:

The Congressional Research Service in 2009 estimated there were 310 million firearms in the United States, not including weapons owned by the military. 114 million of these were handguns, 110 million were rifles, and 86 million were shotguns. In that same year, the Census bureau stated the population of people in America at 305,529,237. Data analysis of crime gun databases showed that 70% of guns recovered at crime scenes in Virgina were purchased within one year of the crime, suggesting that in some cases guns are purchased with the intent to commit a crime or murder

In 2009, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 66.9% of all homicides in the United States were perpetrated using a firearm.There were 52,447 deliberate and 23,237 accidental non-fatal gunshot injuries in the United States during 2000. Two-thirds of all gun-related deaths in the United States are suicides. In 2010, there were 19,392 firearm-related suicide deaths, and 11,078 firearm-related homicide deaths in the United States.

Link


At least eleven assassination attempts with firearms have been made on U.S. presidents (over one-fifth of all presidents); four were successful, three with handguns and one with a rifle.

Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

Shooting of President William McKinley in 1901

Smith and Wesson Model 60 .38 Special revolver with a 3-inch barrel

Semi-automatic versions of the AK-47 assault rifle

Response to these events has resulted in federal legislation to regulate the public possession of firearms. For example, the Kennedy assassination (along with others) resulted in the Gun Control Act of 1968. The GCA is a federal law signed by President Lyndon Johnson that broadly regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners. It primarily focuses on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by largely prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers, and importers.

Americans for Responsible Solutions was started in January 2013 as a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to "encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership by communicating directly with the constituents that elect them." The organization was announced on January 8, 2013 by Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords, a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th congressional district, and her husband Mark Kelly, a retired American astronaut. In an op-ed published in USA Today, Gifford and Kelly referred to the NRA lobby and sought to counter it by creating a lobby dedicated to responsible gun control measures.


I like the response of George Will concerning toy guns being given to children: "Some parents say it is toy guns that make boys warlike. But give a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout "Bang!"

My last thoughts (as of today) on the subject:

Where the Americans for Responsible Solutions organization seems on the surface to be a sensible undertaking, I can't help falling back onto my basic belief: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Please Children of this century . . . never forget that. And never forget that every new bill passed into law restricting gun ownership, although seemingly innocent on its face, still becomes a "foot in the door" for later embellishments and additional laws that are not so innocent, and can be acted upon by future governmental leaders whose aims and motives are 'not' so innocent.

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HISTORICAL CLIP


On February 21, 1965, one week after his home was firebombed, Malcolm X was shot to death by Nation of Islam members while speaking at a rally of his organization in New York City.

Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925, Malcolm was the son of James Earl Little, a Baptist preacher who advocated the black nationalist ideals of Marcus Garvey. Threats from the Ku Klux Klan forced the family to move to Lansing, Michigan, where his father continued to preach his controversial sermons despite continuing threats. In 1931, Malcolm's father was brutally murdered by the white supremacist Black Legion, and Michigan authorities refused to prosecute those responsible. In 1937, Malcolm was taken from his family by welfare caseworkers. By the time he reached high school age, he had dropped out of school and moved to Boston, where he became increasingly involved in criminal activities.

In 1946, at the age of 21, Malcolm was sent to prison on a burglary conviction. It was there he encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, whose members are popularly known as Black Muslims. Muhammad's teachings had a strong effect on Malcolm, who entered into an intense program of self-education and took the last name "X" to symbolize his stolen African identity.

After six years, Malcolm was released from prison and became a loyal and effective minister of the Nation of Islam in Harlem, New York. In contrast with civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X advocated self-defense and the liberation of African Americans "by any means necessary."

In the early 1960s, he began to develop a more outspoken philosophy than that of Elijah Muhammad,  Malcolm formally left the organization and made a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, where he was profoundly affected by the lack of racial discord among orthodox Muslims. He returned to America as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and in June 1964 founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which advocated black identity and held that racism, not the white race, was the greatest foe of the African American. Malcolm's new movement steadily gained followers, and his more moderate philosophy became increasingly influential in the civil rights movement, especially among the leaders of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

Malcolm X was shot to death on February 21, 1965.

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WORD FOR TODAY

firearm
noun
A weapon, especially a pistol or rifle, capable of firing a projectile and using an explosive charge as a propellant.

A firearm is a weapon that launches one projectile or more at high velocity through the confined burning of a propellant. In older firearms, the propellant was typically black powder, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Kelsey Grammer

 Born Feb 21, 1955
Age:   57 years old

Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. Grammer is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the hit NBC sitcoms Cheers, Wings, and Frasier. He has won five Emmy Awards, and has also worked as a television producer, director, writer, and as a voice artist.

Rue McClanahan

 Born Feb 21, 1934
Died  June 3, 2010

Rue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.

William Baldwin

 Born Feb 21, 1963
Age:   49 years old

William Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, writer, brother of Alec Baldwin, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Fair Game (1995), Virus (1999), Double Bang (2001), as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom (2004–2007), Art Heist (2004), The Squid and the Whale (2005), as himself in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, as Senator Patrick Darling in the TV drama Dirty Sexy Money (2007–2009) on ABC, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010), and now Baldwin is currently a regular guest on Gossip Girl as William van der Woodsen and Parenthood as Gordon Flint.

Tyne Daly

 Born Feb 21, 1946
Age:   66 years old

Ellen Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in the television series Christy. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work and the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical in Gypsy: A Musical Fable in 1989.

Daly appeared in John and Mary (1969), the movie adaptation of Play It As It Lays (1972), and The Adulteress. She was cast as Inspector Harry Callahan's first female partner, Kate Moore, in the 1976 Dirty Harry film The Enforcer.

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After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.
--William S. Burroughs