Cindy McCain
✔
@cindymccain
Enjoyed a wonderful visit from @JoeBiden yesterday. Such good family friends. Enjoyed catching up!

2:33 PM - Apr 30, 2018

http://digital.vpr.net/post/former-democratic-gov-philip-hoff-dies-93#stream/0

Former Vermont Gov. Philip Hoff has died at age 93.

News of Hoff's death was announced Friday morning in the Vermont House of Representatives by Burlington Rep. Johannah Donovan.

Hoff was first elected governor in 1962, becoming the first Democratic governor since the 1850s. A charismatic politician in the style of John F. Kennedy, Hoff’s election signaled a sea change in Vermont politics where Republicans dominated political life.

A liberal, Hoff split with then-President Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War, and later campaigned around the country for Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign.

Hoff returned to politics in the 1980s, serving three terms in the Vermont Senate.

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https://www.thewrap.com/bob-dorough-schoolhouse-rock-dies/



Bob Dorough, the jazz musician who was instrumental in the 1970s educational cartoon series “Schoolhouse Rock!” died Monday in Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for Dorough told TheWrap. He was 94.

During his run with “Schoolhouse Rock!” Dorough wrote and performed iconic numbers including “My Hero, Zero” and “Three Is a Magic Number.”

Dorough, born in Arkansas and raised in Texas, took to music early,joining his high school’s band and serving three years in a special services army band unit.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege



Casualties
4 ATF agents killed, 16 wounded.
6 killed on February 28.
76 killed on April 19.
Total: 82 killed

The Waco siege was the siege of a compound belonging to the Branch Davidians, carried out by American federal and Te Branch Davidians, was led by David Koresh and was headquartered at Mount Carmel Center ranch in the community of Axtell, Texas, 13 miles (21 kilometers) east-northeast of Waco. Suspecting the group of stockpiling illegal weapons, the ATF obtained a search warrant for the compound and arrest warrants for Koresh and a select few of the group's members.

The incident began when the ATF attempted to raid the ranch. An intense gun battle erupted, resulting in the deaths of four government agents and six Branch Davidians. Upon the ATF's failure to raid the compound, a siege lasting 51 days was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Eventually, the FBI launched an assault and initiated a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out of the ranch. During the attack, a fire engulfed Mount Carmel Center. In total, 76 people died, including David Koresh.

Much dispute remains as to the actual events of the siege. A particular controversy ensued over the origin of the fire; an internal Justice Department investigation concluded in 2000 that sect members had started the fire. The events near Waco, and the siege at Ruby Ridge less than twelve months earlier, were both cited as the primary motivations behind the Oklahoma City bombing that took place exactly two years later.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann#Discovery_of_LSD

Discovery of LSD

Hofmann became an employee of the pharmaceutical-chemical department of Sandoz Laboratories (now a subsidiary of Novartis), located in Basel as a co-worker with professor Arthur Stoll, founder and director of the pharmaceutical department. He began studying the medicinal plant squill and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and synthesize active constituents for use as pharmaceuticals. His main contribution was to elucidate the chemical structure of the common nucleus of the Scilla glycosides (an active principal of Mediterranean Squill). While researching lysergic acid derivatives, Hofmann first synthesized LSD on 16 November 1938. The main intention of the synthesis was to obtain a respiratory and circulatory stimulant (an analeptic) with no effects on the uterus in analogy to nikethamide (which is also a diethylamide) by introducing this functional group to lysergic acid. It was set aside for five years, until 16 April 1943, when Hofmann decided to reexamine it. While re-synthesizing LSD, he accidentally touched his hand to his mouth, nose or possibly eye, ingesting a small amount and discovered its powerful effects. He described what he felt as being:

... affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated[-]like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away.

Three days later, on 19 April 1943, Hofmann intentionally ingested 250 micrograms of LSD. This day is now known as "Bicycle Day", because he began to feel the effects of the drug as he rode home on a bike. This was the first intentional LSD trip.

Hofmann continued to take small doses of LSD throughout much of his life, and always hoped to find a use for it. In his memoir, he emphasized it as a "sacred drug": "I see the true importance of LSD in the possibility of providing material aid to meditation aimed at the mystical experience of a deeper, comprehensive reality."

http://m.tmz.com/#2018/04/11/comedy-store-owner-mitzi-shore-dead-dies/


Comedy Store founder and owner Mitzi Shore has died ... TMZ has learned.

Mitzi, the mother of Pauly Shore, died in L.A. Wednesday morning after battling an unknown neurological disorder for years.

Mitzi's Comedy Store was the launching pad for some of the biggest comics in the world, including Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock, Arsenio Hall and Roseanne Barr.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chuck-mccann-dead-comic-actor-kids-tv-host-was-83-1024097



Chuck McCann, the goofy, good-natured comedian and TV host who was a hero to kids of all ages in and around New York City in the 1960s before he jumped into films, network television and commercials, has died. He was 83.

McCann died Sunday of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, publicist Edward Lozzi told The Hollywood Reporter.

With his cherubic face and ever-present grin, McCann epitomized fun. If the situation called for a fun supporting character, he was your guy. An entertainment jack-of-all-trades, McCann worked as a kids show host, puppeteer, nightclub comic, movie actor, voiceover performer and celebrity impersonator.

He had a key supporting role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968) and starred in the low-budget fantasy film The Projectionist (1971); appeared on scores of TV shows; and did a spot-on imitation of comedy legend Oliver Hardy. (He was a founding member, along with actor Orson Bean, of the Sons of the Desert, the international fan club dedicated to celebrating Laurel & Hardy.)

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