March 3, 2014

March 3: Today in history (from Wikipedia)

1873 – "Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail." Amazing how they thought this was in accordance with the First Amendment.

 1875  – "Georges Bizet's opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra-Comique in Paris". See Song of the Day below.

1931 – "The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem." Why did we need to make it official?

1938 – "Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia." It's fortunate they've been such a loyal ally!

1945 – "World War II:"The RAF accidentally bombs the Bezuidenhout neighbourhood in The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people." Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven survived this, which apparently influenced his start depictions of violence in his movies.

1991 – "An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers." And police violence has gotten steadily worse.

Notable quotes (from BrainyQuote unless otherwise sourced)

"If he who employs coercion against me could mould me to his purposes by argument, no doubt he would. He pretends to punish me because his argument is strong; but he really punishes me because his argument is weak." - William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836)

"Grant a grocer the exclusive right to supply a neighborhood, prevent the inhabitants of this neighborhood from buying any goods from other grocers in the vicinity, or even from supplying their own groceries, and you will see what detestable rubbish the privileged grocer will end up selling and at what prices! You will see how he will grow rich at the expense of the unfortunate consumers, what royal pomp he will display for the greater glory of the neighborhood. Well! What is true for the lowliest services is no less true for the loftiest. The monopoly of government is worth no more than that of a grocer's shop. The production of security inevitably becomes costly and bad when it is organized as a monopoly. It is in the monopoly of security that lies the principal cause of wars which have laid waste to humanity." - Gustave de Molinari (3 March 1819 – 28 January 1912)

"I think good radio often uses the techniques of fiction: characters, scenes, a big urgent emotional question. And as in the best fiction, tone counts for a lot." - Ira Glass (born March 3, 1959)

Song of the Day

"Carmen" deputed 139 years ago today: