Pecan

Historical Trivia: Let's meet Blanche Stuart Scott, the first female test pilot. On this day 116 years ago on Oct 23, 1910, Blanche Stuart Scott soared into history. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, 25-year-old Scott became the first American woman to make a public solo airplane flight. Before a crowd estimated at 10,000–15,000 spectators, she lifted off in a Curtiss biplane (a “pusher” type machine), rose to about 12 feet, flew straight across the field, and landed safely. Already famous for becoming the first woman to drive an automobile cross-country earlier that year (New York to San Francisco in a Willys-Overland), Scott soon earned the nickname “Tomboy of the Air.” She went on to set women’s distance records, perform stunts including inverted flight and “death dives,” and become the first female test pilot. Here she is at the controls of her Curtiss Model D, around 1910, decked out in leather helmet, goggles, heavy boots, and the massive control wheel of early aviation. It was a pioneering moment that helped open the skies to women. ✈️ Photo: Library of Congress / Smithsonian via public sources.

Should Omar be sent back to Somalia or spend time in prison?

I voted because my voice is the only one I fully control. It’s how I protect what matters most... family, freedom, and the country I want to leave better for my children. Sitting it out isn’t neutrality. It’s surrender.

On this day 147 years ago on Oct 22, 1879, Thomas Edison and his team at Menlo Park achieved the practical carbon-filament incandescent light bulb breakthrough. That version burned for more than 13 hours and became the basis for commercially viable electric lighting. They had tested hundreds of materials. The winning filament was a simple carbonized cotton thread sealed inside a near-vacuum glass bulb. It burned continuously for more than 13 hours which was long enough to prove the concept could work outside the lab. However, Edison wasn’t the first person to make something glow with electricity. Earlier inventors had shown it was possible, but their versions burned out quickly, used expensive materials, or needed too much power. What Edison’s team delivered was a bulb that was durable, relatively efficient, and cheap enough to manufacture at scale. On New Year’s Eve 1879, he opened his lab to the public. Thousands came by train and carriage to see the lights. Within a few years, electric light began replacing gas and oil lamps, transforming how people lived, worked, and moved after dark.

Ilhan Omar was asked by MS Now host if there was any kernel of truth that she married her brother. Omar answered: “Not to my knowledge.” Because... she married her brother and would be lying if she denied it.

Sometimes you just have to accept its gonna be a bad hair day. 😂🤣

On this day, 134 years ago on Oct 21, 1892, millions of American schoolchildren stood in classrooms across the country and recited a short patriotic verse for the first time. The words, written by Francis Bellamy for The Youth’s Companion magazine, would eventually become the Pledge of Allegiance. Bellamy, a former Baptist minister and Christian socialist working as a writer for the popular children’s magazine, composed the pledge as part of a coordinated campaign tied to the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. The original wording was brief: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” Estimates of participation ran into the millions of schoolchildren. The pledge quickly became a classroom ritual in many communities. What began as a magazine-sponsored school program on October 21, 1892, grew into one of the most familiar civic rituals in American life. The words, "Under God” was added by Congress in 1954.

On this day 53 years ago, a turning point in the Watergate crisis was set into motion called 'The Saturday Night Massacre'. It was the evening of October 20, 1973 that President Richard Nixon set in motion a series of events that would later become known as the Saturday Night Massacre. The episode marked a decisive escalation in the Watergate scandal and significantly eroded public confidence in his administration. What began as an effort to halt a determined investigation instead accelerated the political crisis that would result in Nixon’s resignation less than a year later. By the fall of 1973, the Watergate investigation had moved well beyond the original June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Archibald Cox, appointed special prosecutor earlier that year, was pursuing evidence of a broader cover-up. Central to his inquiry were the secret White House tapes that recorded conversations in the Oval Office. Cox had subpoenaed the recordings, and a federal court had ordered their production. Nixon, citing executive privilege, refused to comply. On October 20, Nixon directed Attorney General Elliot Richardson to dismiss Cox. Richardson, who had assured the Senate during his confirmation that he would protect the special prosecutor’s independence, declined and submitted his resignation. Nixon then instructed Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to carry out the order. Ruckelshaus likewise refused and resigned. The task ultimately fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork, who executed the dismissal. Within hours, the top two officials at the Justice Department had resigned rather than fire the man investigating the president, and Cox was removed from office. The public reaction was swift and intense. Telegrams and calls flooded congressional offices. Newspapers across the country condemned the action, and demonstrations formed outside the White House. The episode conveyed the impression that the administration was attempting to obstruct justice rather than resolve the underlying questions about Watergate. Congress responded by accelerating its own inquiries; the House Judiciary Committee began formal consideration of impeachment articles. In the weeks that followed, the political pressure proved unsustainable. Nixon eventually agreed to release transcripts and, later, the tapes themselves. The recordings contained evidence of his involvement in the cover-up, most notably the “smoking gun” conversation of June 23, 1972. Facing certain impeachment and conviction, Nixon announced his resignation on August 8, 1974, becoming the only U.S. president to leave office under those circumstances.

Recently finished binging on Yellowstone. This works for me! 😂

Right decision? President Trump rules out a livestream of Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution. Trump announced on Truth Social that the Fort Hood shooter “will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” Victims’ immediate families may still attend in person.

Did you know that Hobby Lobby stopped selling Halloween merchandise about 4 years ago? Although the company cited business reasons such as customer demand and sales performance, founder David Green said that the decision was driven by his faith, along with closing on Sundays that reduced revenue short-term but that he believed were the right thing to do. Those business decisions have cost the company “tens of millions of dollars”, but for a man of faith, it's not always about the money.

Good riddance, is all I can say about Guilfoyle. What are the chances Fox rehires her? 😂