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SmartHER News
Welcome To Our New Website!
Pardon our mess.
The kinks aren’t out of the system yet. We’ve just transferred more than 2,000 posts to this new website. In the coming days, we promise our info will be current, clean and clutter-free (aka: “smarter”)
SmartHER News
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Quick Quotes
“The Taliban wants to make a deal…It’s got to be a real deal, but we’ll see.”
Quick Quotes
“…the stakes going forward are potentially huge.”
Quick Quotes
“They really are the best of us…Thank you to them on behalf of all Londoners.”
Quick Quotes
“We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Quick Quotes
“It was so many, I couldn’t keep count.”
Quick Quotes
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Now You Know
BLACK FRIDAY
More than half of all Americans will shop during this unofficial national holiday … that may trace its name to a famous American football rivalry.
Army-Navy
Now You Know
ORIGINS
- 1869: “Black Friday” describes Sept. stock market panic.
- 1950s – 1960s: Philadelphia police used the term to describe the chaos that erupted in the city on the Fridays before the Army-Navy game, which was held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
- 1980s: Philly retailers started using “Big Friday” to rid the name of negative press – it didn’t work.
Now You Know
By the mid-2000s, Black Friday became a nationwide financial phenomenon – then came the knockoffs …
- Cyber Monday began in 2005.
- Small Business Saturday started in 2010 as an AmEx ad campaign.
- Recently, not to be outdone by web & local sales, some retailers stay open on Thanksgiving too.
Now You Know
More than half the U.S. population – that’s how many people are expected to shop during the 5-day shopping weekend (Thanksgiving – Cyber Monday).
That number is about the same as 2018 when more than 165 million Americans shopped during the long holiday weekend, spending on average $313 in total.
Now You Know
BIGGER PICTURE $
The shopping weekend kicks off the holiday retail season.
During the 26 days in between Thanksgiving & Christmas Day this year Americans are expected to spend upwards of $727B, or about $1,047 per person (excluding gas, cars & dining out) – about 4% more than we did 2018.
Now You Know
Still hungry, but not in the mood for leftovers? Today's deals aren't limited to boots and laptops; spots like Red Lobster, Jack in the Box, STK Steakhouse, and Dunkin' are also handing out major discounts today. See ya, pumpkin spice - hello, peppermint!
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Politics
No American has ever gone directly from the mayoral office to the Oval Office.
Mike Bloomberg is the latest to try.
Politics
BLOOMBERG BASICS
- 77 years old (4 years older than Pres. Trump, the oldest president to take office in 2017 at age 70).
- Served 12 years as mayor of America’s largest city, NYC.
- Politically “fluid”: Previously a democrat before running for NYC mayor as a Republican, and then registering as an independent. Re-registered as a Democrat in October.
Politics
BALLOT ISSUE TO WATCH
Gun control or “gun safety” as Bloomberg references on his website, a passion project after his tenure as NYC mayor.
Founded leading nonprofits advocating for certain gun laws.
Spent more than $100M last year to help elect candidates who support strict gun control policies.
Politics
“I believe I would defeat Donald Trump in a general election. But I am clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning the Democratic nomination in such a crowded field.”
Politics
DID YOU KNOW?
- NO mayor has ever gone straight from City Hall to the White House.
- Just three U.S. presidents previously served as mayors.
- Bloomberg joins three other former mayors in the race: Cory Booker (Newark, NJ), Julián Castro (San Antonio, TX) & Bernie Sanders (Burlington, VT). Pete Buttigieg is the current mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Politics
Unconventional
- Bloomberg will not qualify for the December debate under current rules (without specific amount of donations & poll numbers).
- He will not campaign heavily in early states like Iowa.
- Spent record amount on weekly ads: reportedly $31M, topping previous record by Pres. Obama.
- Working to win “Super Tuesday” when most votes up for grabs.
Politics
While much has been made of the relationship between politicians and news organizations, Mike Bloomberg is the only candidate that actually owns a media company. He is the majority owner of Bloomberg - a financial data and international media company.
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Now You Know
The Truth About The First Thanksgiving Feast
Pigeons potentially with turkey…venison instead of ham…maybe a side of eel…but definitely…
NO PIE.
Wait. No Pie?
Now You Know
“The colonists did not have butter and wheat flour to make crusts for pies and tarts… So what are they putting on instead? I think meat, meat and more meat.”
Now You Know
MAJOR MEATS
- Surviving letters from time period describe hunts for “wild fowl” – likely wild turkey, geese, duck, and potentially flocks of passenger pigeons.
- Venison (aka DEER) meat contributed by Native Americans, the Wampanoag Indians, who helped teach the pilgrims how to hunt, fish & harvest the area of modern-day Cape Cod.
Now You Know
LASTING DISHES
LIKELY during Thanksgiving 1621:
Wild Turkey
Corn (dried), Beans & Carrots
Pumpkins (squash)
Mussels, eel or shellfish
LIKELY NOT:
Potatoes (not in North America)
Cranberry sauce (not talked about for another 50 yrs) – plus, sugar was scarce.
Now You Know
NAME TO KNOW
Sarah Josepha Hale
- Original poet of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” & editor of woman’s mag “Godey’s Lady’s Book”, where she wrote about American issues & customs.
- Petitioned politicians starting in 1840s to make Thanksgiving a nat’l holiday (it was mainly celebrated in Northeast region).
Now You Know
Hale's work paid-off. A letter to Pres. Lincoln in Sept. 1863 is thought to have inspired his proclamation to make Thanksgiving a national holiday on November's third Thursday. He did this during the Civil War in 1863 (the same year he delivered the Gettysburg Address) as a way to unify the country around a common history. Read Hale's letter here:
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Quick Quotes
“It looks shaky for the balloons.”
Quick Quotes
“… her symptoms have abated …”
Quick Quotes
“I hereby acknowledge my termination…”
Quick Quotes
“It’s nothing short of a revolution.”
Quick Quotes
“The time has come to investigate the investigators.”
Quick Quotes
Have a great holiday week!
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On This Day
November 14, 1732
How the simple hiring of a librarian in Philadelphia set the stage for the world’s largest library before America even existed.
On This Day
What Happened:
A young 20-something Benjamin Franklin helped found the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731
On November 14, 1732, the Library Company hired its first librarian.
Operating like a membership service (costing 40 shillings to join &10 shillings per year), patrons could visit & borrow books arriving from Europe that would be too expensive for them to buy.
On This Day
Historical Importance
- The library became the first lending library in America.
- “The Club” allowed members of the first Continental Congress to use it as a resource for free. This privilege continued for politicians post-revolution and set the groundwork for The Library of Congress – “the oldest cultural institution in the nation.”
On This Day
We discovered this "On This Day" while perusing one of our favorite websites: LOC.gov (Library of Congress). If you put all the bookshelves in the Library of Congress end to end, they would stretch from Washington D.C. to Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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On This Day
November 19, 1863
Pres. Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
But the famous speech would not have happened without this one man whose name isn’t as well known.
On This Day
“It will be a source of great gratification to the many widows and orphans that have been made almost friendless by the Great Battle here, to have you here personally.”
On This Day
David Wills
32-years-old when the Civil War battle raged between Union & Confederate soldiers.
Helped care for those injured, clear the battlefield of dead, communicate with families looking for missing relatives.
One of the main forces behind purchasing 17 acres for a cemetery to honor the fallen.
On This Day
The Battle of Gettysburg
- Brutal battle: July 1-3, 1863
- 100,000+ Americans fought; 1 in 5 killed, wounded or missing.
- Union soldiers pushed back Confederates, the victory arguably a tipping point in the war.
- It took nearly another 2 years of fighting until the South officially surrendered.
On This Day
David Wills' home is still standing in Gettysburg, PA. You can visit the room where Pres. Lincoln slept the night before he delivered the Gettysburg Address. Re-read the whole speech on our source page.
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Quote of the Day
“Find your good, and do it.”
Jon Bon Jovi
Quote of the Day
Grammy-awarding winning rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who built the JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, NJ, a farm-to-table community restaurant which relies primarily on donated food sand services. It serves both paying and in-need customers unable to pay the requested $20 donation fee.
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Current Events
3 Takeaways From This Week’s Historic Impeachment Hearings
Current Events
Quid Pro Quo
“something for something”
Witnesses, including those “friendly” to the administration, testified they believed a quid pro quo was being used in White House policy towards Ukraine.
Not one witness heard a quid pro quo demand from the President himself.
Current Events
Nuances
Witnesses agreed understood the “quid pro quo” in different ways.
Some believed a White House visit was being used as a “carrot” in exchange for an investigation into a Ukrainian company that employed Joe Biden’s son.
Some theorized or concluded military aid was being withheld for the investigation.
Current Events
Witness: Depth of Service
Army war veteran, son of a refugee from the Soviet Union. (Alexander Vindman)
Self-made millionaire, son of German holocaust survivors who fled to Uruguay before immigranting to Seattle. (Ambassador Sondland)
The daughter of a North England coal miner who has served as a nonpartisan adviser for 3 presidents. (Fiona Hill)
Current Events
Democrats, who have the majority in the house, will drive the timeline on what happens next; The House Judiciary Cmte can draw up articles of impeachment to vote on. If the Pres. is impeached by the house, Republicans, who have the majority in the Senate, will drive the timeline on a trial.
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Quote of the Day
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”
President Kennedy
Quote of the Day
Pres. Kennedy issued his last Thanksgiving Day proclamation Nov. 4 1963, continuing an annual tradition that started 200 years earlier after Pres. Lincoln officially made Thanksgiving a holiday in 1863. Kennedy was assassinated shortly after on Nov. 22 1963.
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Quote of the Day
“I have been shown in darkness, light and have learned that even in prison, one can be free. I am grateful. I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it.”
Kayla Mueller
Quote of the Day
About Kayla
- 2009: Graduated from college in her home state of Arizona. Started traveling the world, from Israel to India, to help those in need.
- 2013: Kidnapped by ISIS in Syria. Held for about 18 months (about 547 days). Fellow captives say she was raped & tortured by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
- 2015: Reportedly killed at age 26. Her body was never recovered.
Quote of the Day
“I have come to a place in this experience, where in every sense of the word, I have surrendered to our creator, because literally there was no one else…and by God and by your prayers, I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall.”
Quote of the Day
“One of the things that (Gen.) Milley did was named the operation that took down al-Baghdadi after Kayla Mueller, after what she had suffered.”
Quote of the Day
After hearing of al-Baghdadi's death, Kayla's mother, Martha, said, "I still want to know, 'Where is Kayla?' and what truly happened to her and what aren't we being told."
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