AMERICAN PATRIOT JULY 28, 2010
BUZZ ALDRIN MAN ON THE MOON GEORGE STEINBRENNER REMEMBERED THE OVAL OFFICE
VIEW IN
FULLSCREEN CLICK ABOVE
AMERICAN PATRIOT THE BOSS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
4
6 HAPPY TRAILS
8 THE OVAL OFFICE
ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS
10
12
BUZZ ALDRIN MAN ON THE MOON EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT REMINDER
AMERICAN PATRIOT SUBSCRIBERS According to a published study, half of all medical errors occur because of mistakes made upon admission or discharge from the hospital. In an emergency, when you might not be able to speak for yourself, a medical ID bracelet or necklace speaks for you. And now, American Patriot members get 20% off Medical ID purchases as well as a free expandable wallet card and necklace chain.
NEW ORLEANS IS ONLY CHOICE FOR LARGEST VOLUNTEERISM CONFERENCE
14 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
CLICK HERE AND ENTER CODE PC242 AT CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE THE DISCOUNTS.
15 THIS WEEK IN AMERICAN HISTORY
THE BOSS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
The “Boss” was George Steinbrenner’s nickname, earned because he was the ultimate hands-on owner. He purchased the Yankees for a net cost of $8.8 million from the CBS network in 1973. Never afraid to make unpopular decisions or to spend lavishly for talent, the Yankees won seven World Series titles and eleven pennants while Steinbrenner was in charge. This made him loved (or at least respected) by legions of Yankee fans, and hated by the teams and individuals steamrolled by his in-your-face style. 4 AMERICAN PATRIOT
George Steinbrenner was born on July 4, 1930 in Rocky River OH. Though an average student at Williams College, he was active in many extracurricular activities, running track, writing for the newspaper, and participating in glee club with the famed Steven Sondheim. A would-be football coach, his father called him home to Cleveland in 1957 to run the family shipbuilding business. Back in Ohio, Steinbrenner would not let go of his love of big time sports. He invested most of his money in a pro basketball team, the Cleveland Pipers. The team failed. Meanwhile, Steinbrenner built up the already substantial shipbuilding business, earned millions, and sought a baseball team. Spurned by the Cleveland Indians, he grabbed the chance to purchase the famed Yankee franchise.
These were highlights. Among the lowlights: a felony conviction for illegal contributions to the Nixon campaign; temporary suspension from baseball for hiring a gambler to try to destroy a player’s reputation; nasty feuds with rival owners;
Steinbrenner was opinionated, decisive and controversial. Yogi Berra said, “George was The Boss,
and publicly belittling players and managers (he fired and re-hired Bill Martin five times).
make no mistake … He built the Yankees into champions, and that’s something nobody can ever deny.” Steinbrenner had the most success with his franchise in the 1990’s. The 1996 season with a come-from-behind victory over the Braves warmed the hearts of fans. They went on to win the World Series in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and to place in the playoffs for 12 straight years. Steinbrenner’s Yankees added another Series win just last year. Toward the end of his life, Steinbrenner set up a lucrative cable tv station and was hugely influential in the building of the new Yankee Stadium.
George Steinbrenner changed the face of Yankee baseball, as Bud Selig so aptly put it: “He was and always will be as much of a New York Yankee as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and all the other Yankee legends.” He died on July 13, 2010 of a heart attack. CLICK HERE FOR A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE STEINBRENNER WAS GEORGE STEINBRENNER GOOD OR BAD FOR BASEBALL?
TAKE OUR SURVEY!
AMERICAN PATRIOT 5
HAPPY TRAILS
ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS PHOTO CREDIT: ALAN LIGHT 6 AMERICAN PATRIOT
The sound of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers singing, “Happy trails to you, until we meet again,” once drifted through every American home. Roy Rogers, King of Cowboys, and his wife Dale Evans, Queen of the West, were the most popular radio, TV, and movie stars of the 1940’s. Roy Rogers had the image of the best cowboy
show had a touch of modernism, but main-
there ever was; he could shoot the straightest,
tained the same loveable western qualities.
ride the fastest, and play the sweetest tunes on
The show featured Rogers as a ranch owner
his guitar. The cowboy could always take down
and Evans as the proprietor of the Eureka Café.
the bad guy, and the prettiest cowgirl played by
The title sequence paid homage to Rogers as
Dale Evans would always swoon into his arms.
“King of the Cowboys” and to Trigger, his famous golden palomino. Dale and Roy wrote the
“It’s the way you ride the trail that counts.” – ROY ROGERS Roy Rogers really began his career as a cowboy
show’s theme song; the show opened and closed
in the singing group The Sons of the Pioneers
with the “Happy Trails” tune. In 1962, they
in 1937. He then signed with Republic Pic-
moved over to ABC with The Roy Rogers and
tures replacing Gene Autry. Rogers had a stel-
Dale Evans Show, a short-lived Western comedy.
lar career; he starred in over eighty westerns including The Arizona Kid, Jeepers Creepers,
The couple were beloved characters and major
Sunset in El Dorado, and In Old Amarillo.
stars of their time. They had the charisma, energy and clean-cut look that postwar Amer-
Dale and Roy, the real life couple, were married
ica so valued. As Roy Rogers himself once
on New Year’s Eve of 1947 after Roy’s first wife
said, “I did pretty good for a guy who never
died of complications during childbirth. Pre-
finished high school and used to yodel at
miering in 1951, the cowboy couple began their
square dances.”
TV careers’ on The Roy Rogers Show, broadcast for one hundred episodes on the NBC network. Previously aired on the radio, the
SEE ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS SINGING “HAPPY TRAILS” LATER IN THEIR CAREERS
AMERICAN PATRIOT 7
HOW TO
LIVE UNITED: JOIN HANDS. OPEN YOUR HEART. LEND YOUR MUSCLE.
FIND YOUR VOICE. GIVE 10%. GIVE 100%.
GIVE 110%. GIVE AN HOUR. GIVE A SATURDAY. THINK OF WE BEFORE ME. REACH OUT A HAND TO ONE AND
INFLUENCE THE CONDITION OF ALL.
GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.
LIVE UNITED
™
Want to make a difference? Help create opportunities for everyone in your community. United Way is creating real, lasting change where you live, by focusing on the building blocks of a better life– education, income and health. That’s what it means to Live United. For more, visit LIVEUNITED.ORG.
THE OVAL OFFICE
Some of the most important decisions in the world are made in the Oval Office. Over the years this symbolic center of The White House has become synonymous with the American presidency, giving the Oval Office a metaphorical prestige and importance. The actual physical office has a unique and interesting history, too. 8 AMERICAN PATRIOT
In 1909, President William Howard Taft recognized the need for a distinguished office for the president and commissioned the architect Nathan C. Wyeth to design it. The original Oval Office was badly damaged in a fire in 1929. Herbert Hoover rebuilt the Office to original specification, but Franklin D. Roosevelt was unhappy with the lack of natural lighting. FDR enlarged the West Wing and ordered Eric Gugler to design the space as it is today. The Oval Office’s name comes directly from the shape of the room. The peculiar shape allows the president easy access to both the West Wing offices, the Rose Garden, the main body of the White House, and the President’s residency. The architectural details are inspired by the baroque style, and the large windows allow for lots of natural light. Each president decorates the Oval Office to appeal to his personal taste. Most presidents use the Resolute Desk; all the presidents since the Hayes administration have used it except Johnson, Ford, and Nixon.
The desk was fashioned from the wood of the H.M.S. Resolute, a ship sent to the Arctic as a search and rescue mission by the British in the 1850’s. While searching, the H.M.S. Resolute was frozen in the ice. After two long years, the Captain ordered his men onto the other ships and they sailed away. The ice around the H.M.S. Resolute eventually thawed, Congress bought the boat, it was refurbished and given as a gift to England to signify the countries’ friendship. Ultimately, Queen Victoria decommissioned the boat and made two identical desks out of the timber — one for Buckingham Palace and one for the White House. The Oval Office typically serves as the backdrop for important scenes and events, such as a presidential address or international meetings. Just like every president before him, President Obama has the U.S. flag waving behind his desk and the presidential seal appears in the middle of the rug. CLICK HERE FOR A LOOK AT THE OVAL OFFICE DURING DIFFERENT PRESIDENCIES MAKE PLANS TO TOUR THE WHITE HOUSE
AMERICAN PATRIOT 9
BUZZ ALDRIN MAN ON THE MOON 10 AMERICAN PATRIOT
With a nickname like “Buzz,” Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. was destined for greatness. Born in Glen Ridge NJ in 1930, one of Edwin’s older sisters mispronounced “brother” as “buzzer” and the shortened version of the name just stuck. Buzz graduated from Montclair High School in 1946 with a full scholarship to MIT. However, he turned down this opportunity with his sights set on West Point. In 1951, Aldrin graduated third in his class at the U.S. Military Academy. Aldrin served as a pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions. After being stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, West Point, and Bitburg Air Force Base, Aldrin decided to pursue a doctorate in astronautics from MIT. He wrote his thesis on Manned Orbital Rendevous. He eventually made his way to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. There he picked up another nickname: Dr. Rendezvous, the first astronaut to achieve a doctorate degree. Aldrin signed on as an astronaut with NASA and led one of the Gemini missions. He proved himself a knowledgeable and professional astronaut. Selected to command the historic Apollo 11 mission to the moon, he piloted the spacecraft while colleague Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step onto the moon’s surface. Aldrin then descended, becoming the second person to make the historic walk; he helped to collect over 46 pounds of moon rocks and spent 21 hours on the moon. When Aldrin retired from the Air Force in 1972, the space program still relied on him for advice and contributions to the program. In 1993, Aldrin patented his design for a permanent space station. During his retirement he also founded Starcraft Boosters, Inc., a company that designed rockets. His long list of accolades include a Congressional Gold Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. An entirely new generation has come to know about Aldrin, once again, when he recently appeared as a contestant on the “Dancing With The Stars” tv show.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF NEIL ARMSTRONG AND BUZZ ALDRIN FIRST’S WALK ON THE MOON
AMERICAN PATRIOT 11
NEW ORLEANS IS ‘ONLY’ CHOICE FOR LARGEST VOLUNTEERISM CONFERENCE
The world's largest gathering of service and volunteer leaders will hold its 2011 conference in New Orleans. With the Gulf Coast reeling from its second disasterdriven economic blow in five years, Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National & Community Service declared that the region's largest city was not just the natural choice to host the 2011 gathering — it was the only choice. 12 AMERICAN PATRIOT
The Corporation for National & Community Service
year's National Conference.” Sponsors already on
leads President Obama’s national call-to-service
board for the 2011 National Conference include
initiative and manages the online volunteerism
Target, Shinnyo-En Foundation, UPS and the
resource Serve.gov. Covington was joined in the
University of Phoenix.
announcement by Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute, a foundation inspired by George
“Perhaps no other city in America understands and
H.W. Bush. Not only is the Gulf Coast once again
appreciates the power of community service and
front-and-center for America's volunteer and service
the value of voluntourism to a community,” said
community because of the BP oil spill, but both con-
Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Our city, indeed our entire
ference conveners already have a strong presence
region, would not be as far along in our post-Katrina
there due to recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina.
recovery without the time, talent and treasure of all those who were so generous in helping us in our
“There is a movement afoot in this country that
time of great need. It is a distinct privilege to wel-
is changing lives and rebuilding communities, and
come this gathering to our city, where we have
nowhere is it more apparent than across the city
created a new roadmap for community service, and
of New Orleans,” said Corvington. “From the 9th
where the good work continues to this day, and will
Ward to St. Bernard Parish, social entrepreneurs
continue well into the future.” The 2011 National
are creating new service strategies to bring the city
Conference will take place from June 6-8.
back stronger and healthier. At these challenging times, the city needs the service movement just as much as we need it. That is why New Orleans is the right city at the right time to host next
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE AMERICAN PATRIOT 13
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“This summer, I’m calling on all of you to make volunteerism and community service part of your daily life and the life of this nation. And when I say “all,” I mean everyone – young and old, from every background, all across this country. We need individuals, community organizations, corporations, foundations, and our government to be part of this effort.” —
14 AMERICAN PATRIOT
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
THIS WEEK IN
AMERICAN HISTORY
1958.
PHOTO CREDIT: NASA
NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower. The agency has pushed the frontiers of space, taken us to the moon, flown the space shuttle, built the International Space Station, and helped explore the cosmos. AMERICAN PATRIOT 15
Open the door to m Refinance t
Open the door to monthly savings. Refinance today. Get rid of that higher rate. Pay off credit cards. Make home improvements. Whatever your resolution is this year, make it happen by refinancing through the MyHomeBenefits program.
Ge Ma res refi pro
It’s ag fro sav
It’s simple and convenient, and you’ll enjoy a great rate, with preferred customer service from experienced loan counselors. Plus, it can save you time and money every month.
Refinance today and save.
Refinance tod
• Fixed rates below 5% APR available* • Adjustable rates below 4% APR available** • No hassle, quick closings • Plus, receive $350 off closings costs
* Fixed rates below 5% * Adjustable rates belo * No hassle, quick clos Receive a * Get a $300 credit wh
Contact us now for a free consultation.
$350 closing cost credit! Contact us now for
Call 800-593-2526 and say you are an American Patriot Subscriber.
Call 800-593-2526
*This is not an offer of credit. This is not an offer to enter into an interest rate agreement. Interest rate availability subject to credit qualifications. Mortgage approvals are rendered based on individual credit qualifications. **Rate is subject to adjustment after initial five years.
US01-1452_8.5x11_Layout 1 11/30/09 10:28 AM Page 2
Upgrade Your Life
With Smart Circle Cards
Save 15% Use the savings code AMPAT15 at checkout
Let’s face it. Most of us, even if we haven’t lost a job or seen our retirement savings shrink, have taken a hard look at how we spend our money. That is smart thinking. Many people have cut back on things they really enjoy like vacations, recreation, entertainment, and dining out. Golfers play fewer rounds, massage enthusiasts don’t spend quite as much time at the spa, fans are catching fewer games. That smarts! You can still enjoy vacationing at a resort, playing golf at great courses, spending a day at the spa, dining out, and other activities you love without busting your new budget. How? By spending smarter
with Smart Circle Cards.
Visit us at www.smartcirclecards.net or call us at 1-800-775-1975 to see how you can get four rounds of golf for the price of one, three spa services for less than the price of a massage, 50% off dining, and more.
Live better. Live smart.