Do Not Pass 'Go'...do not collect 14 million subscribers...
The give-and-take has begun on Capitol Hill on opening day of the Antitrust Task Force of the House Judiciary Committee's hearings to help the FCC and Justice Department decide whether or not to allow the Sirius-XM merger to go through. Mel Karmazin was grilled by the committee and testified that the merger would not create a monopoly. Arguments on both sides of the issue commenced and there you have it. As always with every proposed merger, the big question, the only important question is whether or not the marrying of 2 companies becomes a monopoly or not. Wake me when it's over...
Karmazin's argument? Sirius and XM have to compete with terrestrial radio stations, internet radio and mobile digital media devices like iPod. As you might guess the NAB for one is not buying this. NAB president David Rehr referred to any possible merger as a "government sanctioned monopoly" not once but several times. Wake me when it's over...
There were some items of note coming out of the hearings. For one, Karmazin said that there would be pricing restrictions and that subscribers would not have to buy new radios for the combined services. The most entertaining argument was whether or not Sirius overpays for its programming talent. Karmazin said his company doesn't. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) on Howard (no "K") Stern's compensation package which included the recent bonus payment of $83 million in Sirius stock rated the package as "obscene". Meanwhile Sirius and XM which reported fourth-quarter results earlier this week, finished the day relatively flat in trading on the NASDAQ yesterday. Wake me when it's over...
Today's video link is contained in the "wedding bells" timeline...
What happens to the people who were born on February 29th in a non-leap year? They get screwed on birthday mentions, that's what - but not here. We include those famous people ignored by the world with birthday mentions of them and those born on March 1...
Timeline Memories...
Hanging 'em up: 1949] The legendary Joe Louis who held the heavyweight championship longer than any other fighter in history, retires with a record of 63-3 with 49 KO's and 25 successful title defenses...1969] Mickey Mantle saying "I can't hit anymore" calls it quits. The Yankees will hold a 'Mickey Mantle Day', retiring his famous #7 in June. Mantle will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 with 88% of the vote...
Which witch is which?: 1692] 4 women are charged as witches as the Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony...
Making census: 1790] Congress authorizes the 1st U.S. census...
Get the 'white-out' out: 1873] E. Remington & Sons of Ilion (NY) begins manufacturing the 1st practical typewriter...
Child-napped: 1932] The 22-month old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh is kidnapped from the family house near Hopewell (NJ). The baby's body is found in May...
Birth of an FM nation: 1941] W47NV in Nashville (TN) begins transmitting, becoming the 1st licensed FM station in America. They start with a commercial for Nashville's Standard Candy Company (got to pay those bills)...
Musical call letters: 1953] WJZ (AM) becomes WABC in New York City...
Recorded on this date: 1957] The Everly Brothers sign with Archie Bleyer's Cadence Records and then record "Bye Bye Love"...
Released on this date: 1957] "School Days" - Chuck Berry...
#1 on this date: 1975] "Best of My Love" - The Eagles...
Wedding Bells: 1968] 36-year old Johnny Cash and 38-year old June Carter get married "in a fever hotter than a pepper sprout". The following year Johnny gets his own TV show which will run for 7 years. Today's video link is a clip taken from the show in 1976 with Johnny and June comparing themselves (jokingly) as similar to 'Sonny & Cher' which is a lead-in to the couple singing "Jackson": This is a classic clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNbEhOJS8E8 ...
"D-I-V-O-R-C-E": 1989] Julianne Phillips shows Bruce Springsteen who's the boss by divorcing him. They were married in 1985...
"HELP!" is on the way: 1985] "HELP!" by the Beatles is used for the 1st time in a TV commercial for Lincoln-Mercury...
Opening Doors: 1991] "The Doors" movie starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison opens...
Celebrity shooting: 1976] Claudine Longet, former wife of Andy Williams fatally shoots her boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich after he threw her and her 3 children out of his house. Longet is arrested for manslaughter. Her sentence was reduced to 30 days when inadmissible evidence was introduced at her trial...
All aboard the Peace Train: 1961] President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps...
"Born to be Wild": 1990] The NFL adds 2 wild-card teams to its playoff format, introducing another round of playoff games as part of their new $3.3 billion TV deal (a great idea that has paid dividends for the league)...
Gotcha: 2003] Suspected 911 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is captured by the CIA and Pakistani agents. He's now making license plates at Guantanamo Bay...2005] Dennis Rader a.k.a. the BTK serial killer, the church going family man accused of leading a double life is charged with 10 counts of 1st-degree murder in Wichita (KS). He later pleads guilty and received multiple life sentences...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
The brilliant U.S. historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. was stricken in a Manhattan restaurant last night and rushed to a hospital where he died of a heart attack at the age of 89. Schlesinger graduated from high school at 15 and after taking a trip around the world with his parents, entered Harvard where he graduated magna cum laude in 1938. Most famous for chronicling the Kennedy Administration in "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House", Schlesinger died on the eve of JFK's founding of the Peace Corps (see 1961 timeline)..."Happy Trails" to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday" (for Feb. 29)
Rapper Ja Rule (31), Motivational Speaker Tony Robbins (47), Dennis Farina (63), Former NHLer and brother of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, Henri Richard (71), burlesque performer Tempest Storm (79) and former baseball player Al Rosen (83)...
(March 1st birthdays)
Tim ("Wings") Daly (51), Ron Howard (53), Catherine ("Dukes of Hazzard") Bach (53), Alan Thicke (60), Roger Daltrey (63), Robert Conrad (71), Harry Belafonte (80) and Robert ("Hogan's Heroes") Clary (81)...
Timeline Countdown: 20 days until spring and 31 days until Opening Day...
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