Thursday, September 27, 2007

well good for him!

I guess Republicans CAN do good things every once in a while!

Holloway vetoes proposed re-zoning for Tivoli site

Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway, saying that the sand beach has been and should continue to be a defining factor regarding where casinos should be located, today vetoed a measure that would have opened the door to gaming on a 30-acre tract of beachfront land in east Biloxi.

Holloway’s veto, which was delivered to City Council members this morning, acknowledged that the issue has had a polarizing impact on the city, with debate focused on where new casinos should and should not be located.

The mayor’s veto message focused on four issues:

  • that the city should continue to use the beach as a defining factor on where casinos should and should not be located,
  • that the prospect of approving the Tivoli re-zoning would create pressure to open up the entire beachfront to the prospect of casino gaming,
  • that Biloxi should maintain a level playing field for existing and new casinos,
  • and opening up new areas of the front beach to casino development would have a detrimental impact on Back Bay, where the city has invested millions in infrastructure improvements and where unused land zoned for casino development exists.

The mayor said his vision for Biloxi includes an economically revitalized east Biloxi to balance the natural attraction we have always enjoyed with the sand beach.

“As I’ve said on numerous occasions before and since Katrina,” Holloway concluded, “it is important that we strike a good balance between land zoned for casinos and land zoned for other uses.

“It’s a difficult decision to veto a proposal that could have seen a billion-dollar-plus investment in our city, but this decision affects the entire city, and I must do what I believe is best for the city as a whole.”

The Biloxi City Council had approved the re-zoning during a four-hour meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 18. Voting for the measure were Councilmembers Mike Fitzpatrick, Charles T. Harrison Jr., William “Bill” Stallworth and Council President Edward “Ed” Gemmill. Voting against the re-zoning were Councilmembers George Lawrence, David Fayard and Tom Wall.

Holloway’s veto was delivered five working days after he received the ordinance from the Clerk of Council, and well within the deadline of 10 working days for his response.

Five affirmative votes would be needed on the seven-member City Council to override the mayor’s veto. Deadline for an override is 10 working days from today.

For more info, click here.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

armor for dogs

I've GOT to get Matilda something like this, from Organic Armor:

Monday, September 24, 2007

evil?

You Are 48% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side.
Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

an average American

You Are 70% "Average American"

You are average because you rate your appearance 5 or higher.

You are not average since you have (at least) a college degree.

Could I be a vegetarian?

Good thing, since I am one!

You Could Definitely Be a Vegetarian

You would make a great vegetarian - if you aren't one already.
You're adventurous enough to try all sorts of new veggie foods...
And your commitment to animal welfare will motivate you to stay meat free!

She IS stylish!

Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese

PETA ad

With Dita Von Teese:

PETA ad

Sunday, September 23, 2007

bright uniforms!

The Philadelphia Eagles' throw-back uniforms:

Philadelphia Eagles throw-back uniforms

Friday, September 21, 2007

well, duh!

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct.

It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors.
If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs.
As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human.
And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

pretty close!

Your True Birth Month Is March

Moody
Secretive
Revengeful
Trustworthy
Affectionate
Loves traveling
Loves attention
Shy and reserved
Musically talented
Loves home decor
Not easily angered
Sensitive to others
Loves special things
Attractive personality
Loves to serve others
Loves peace and serenity
Observant and assess others
Loves to dream and fantasize
Appreciative and returns kindness
Hasty decisions in choosing partners
Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic

I doubt it!

You Are 28% Massachusetts

You could pass for being from Massachusetts - until you open your mouth and start pronouncing R's.

politics

You Are 52% Politically Radical

You've got some radical viewpoints, but you aren't completely nuts. You're more of a visionary than a radical.

1964

In 1964 (the year you were born)

Lyndon B. Johnson is president of the US

After riots break out, Panama suspends relations with he US

Cassius Clay becomes heavyweight champion when Sonny Liston throws in the towel in the sixth round in Miami Near Anchorage, the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America kills 117

Worst soccer disaster in history occurs when rioting and panic kills over 300 in Liverpool

Hundreds of white college students work for civil rights in the south during "Freedom Summer"

South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison

Kemeny and Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language

Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Rob Lowe, Elle Macpherson, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Keanu Reeves are born

St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series

Cleveland Browns win the NFL championship

Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles released in the US, sparking Beatlemania

The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, breaking television ratings records

The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television

Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews, is the top grossing film

Celtic horoscope

You Are A Maple Tree

There's not anyone in this world quite like you.
You are full of imagination, ambition, and originality.
Shy but confident, you hunger for new experiences.
You have a good memory and learn easily.
You are sometimes nervous and always complex (especially in love).

redneck

I may not be a redneck, but I'm definitely Southern!

You Are 20% Redneck

I'll slap you so hard, your clothes will be outta style.
You ain't no redneck - you're all Yankee!

Chinese horoscope

You Were Born Under:

You have both a fiery energy and a warm heart.
Your charisma and charm makes it easy for you to influence others.
Lucky in life, you also have a reputation of being lucky in love.
Power hungry, you are determined to get what you want - no matter what it takes.

You are most compatible with a Monkey or Rat.

music taste

Your Taste in Music:

80's Pop: High Influence
Hair Bands: High Influence
80's Alternative: Medium Influence
80's R&B: Medium Influence
90's Hip Hop: Medium Influence

too bad, they're green

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom

What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart

Japanese smiley

You Are "Tearful"

Aries?

You are 40% Aries

maybe/maybe not

You Are a Kinetic Learner

You learn best by doing, and you have a talent for complicated, physical tasks.
You excel at athletics, drama, and fixing things.
You would be an excellent Olympic athlete - or a Broadway star!

OK!

What Carroll Means

C is for Courageous

A is for Arty

R is for Rebellious

R is for Relaxing

O is for Openhearted

L is for Likeable

L is for Lively

How observant are you?

Your Observation Skills Get A B-

Your senses are pretty sharp (okay, most of the time)
And it takes something big to distract you!

What gender is your brain?

Your Brain is 73% Female, 27% Male

Your brain leans female
You think with your heart, not your head
Sweet and considerate, you are a giver
But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

favorite color blue

What Your Favorite Color Blue Says About You:

Emotional --- Affected --- Sensitive
Peaceful --- Tranquil --- Connected
Spiritual --- Experimental --- Deep

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Frasier Crane

and Patrick Stewart on "Frasier" are sine qua non!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

more casinos?

How many does Biloxi need?

original Tivoli Hotel

Council OKs change in Tivoli zoning

The Biloxi City Council, after listening to three hours of citizens comments during a four-hour meeting this afternoon, voted 4 to 3 to rezone nearly 30 acres of beachfront property at the former site of the Tivoli hotel to allow casino gaming.

Voting for the re-zoning were Councilmembers Mike Fitzpatrick, Charles T. Harrison Jr., William "Bill" Stallworth and Edward “Ed” Gemmill. Voting against the re-zoning were Councilmen George Lawrence, Tom Wall and David Fayard.

The measure will now be in the hands of Mayor A.J. Holloway, who has the option of approving or vetoing the council action. Should Holloway veto the measure, five council members would have to vote to override his veto.

Despite the council’s vote, the Mississippi Gaming Commission -- after receiving a formal application from developers -- would ultimately decide whether the site is suitable and legal for gaming.Tivoli Hotel after Hurricane Katrina

The possible re-zoning of the beachfront land in east Biloxi – 27.86 acres in all, comprising 21 separate but contiguous parcels – has sparked discussion over the intent of the state’s post-Katrina approval of on-shore gaming, and whether the Tivoli site would be appropriate because of its location directly north of the sand beach.

The state Gaming Commission several weeks ago also reminded the city that regardless of its position on the re-zoning, the Gaming Commission would be the ultimate authority on whether the site is legal and suitable.

The re-zoning proposal includes a tract of land bordered by the “mean high water line” or “toe of the seawall” on the south, Kuhn Street to the east, Howard Avenue to the north and Holley Street on the west. The area is currently zoned multi-family residential and commercial. Besides gaming, a waterfront or "WF" designation would allow residential, commercial and amusement uses on the site.

civics quiz

How would you do? From the American Civics Literacy organization.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Hurricane Katrina debris removal in Biloxi

The numbers are regarding Katrina storm debris removed from the city of Biloxi.According to debris-monitoring firm Neel-Schaffer, the city's FEMA-supported debris removal effort, which ended Aug. 29 and had a price tag of more than $81.5 milion, saw 2.98 million cubic yards of debris removed from the city. That's enough debris to cover a football field and stand 139.7 stories high.

The breakdown on the debris:

  • Burnable: 458,390 cubic yards.
  • Concrete, non-burnable: 2.488 million cubic yards.
  • Appliances: 33,391 cubic yards.
  • Electronics: 534 cubic yards.
To see more details on the debris-removal efforts in Biloxi, click here.

saline for spinal injuries?

SALINE HELPED INJURY?

An experimental procedure performed on Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett in the ambulance minutes after he sustained a spinal-cord injury during Sunday's game might have played a crucial role in what doctors say is his surprising progress.

The quick infusion into a vein, via a catheter, of cold saline solution may have helped stabilize the injury, minimizing cell death and damaging inflammation, say doctors at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, where the procedure was developed.

Everett's injury initially sparked fears he might never again walk, but his doctors said Wednesday that he is moving his arms and legs voluntarily and no longer requires the help of a ventilator to breathe.

Miami Project neurosurgeon Barth Green, who has been consulting with Everett's doctors, said the procedure might have prevented paralysis.

Mild therapeutic cooling is used in many hospitals to treat heart attacks and is being experimentally used at The Miami Project and elsewhere to treat spinal-cord and brain injury. But it needs to be initiated early, and its use with Everett is "the earliest ever recorded treatment," Green said. "It was within minutes of his injury. When I heard that, it was a big goose bump, because I knew he had a good chance of recovering because I knew the earlier you apply the hypothermia the more effective it is."

The early treatment was possible because Everett's doctor, orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cappuccino, had attended a lecture where Miami Project researchers described the process. (Coincidentally, Bills owner Ralph Wilson is a major financial supporter of The Miami Project, Green said.)

When Everett was injured Sunday, Cappuccino "was there on the field immediately and it just came to his mind." He phoned The Miami Project, Green said, "and he was able to get a very sophisticated piece of equipment that keeps the temperature very accurately controlled at about 92 degrees Fahrenheit. And he did that for 48 hours."

W. Dalton Dietrich, scientific director at The Miami Project, part of the University of Miami School of Medicine, said scientists at the center have been researching it for 15 to 20 years. "We have shown that modest cooling (3 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit) is protective and improves outcome."

But it needs to be given as early as possible, he said. "The window of opportunity to introduce hypothermia may be relatively short," he said.

By Gary Mihoces and Anita Manning

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

wild-looking English bulldogs

English bulldog
English bulldog

Monday, September 10, 2007

Top 25 Biggest News Stories

Our final Top 25 list features the biggest news stories of the past quarter-century. They're the ones that generated the largest headlines, the greatest change, the most vivid memories, the most immediate impact. You probably remember where you were when you heard about them. If your list differs, let us know at top25.usatoday.com.

1 Fall of communism (1989)

The Berlin Wall, which divided a city into a communist east and a non-communist west, was the most tangible symbol of a Cold War that divided the whole world. When it came down, it was proof that the war was over — and that the communists who built the wall had lost.


Carmen Taylor, AP

2 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001)

Islamic extremists turned four commercial jetliners into weapons of mass murder, obliterating two of the USA’s biggest office towers and punching a hole in its military headquarters. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, led to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and ushered in unprecedented national security measures.

3 Iraq war (2003-)

It was a war in two acts. First came a conventional conflict in which the United States and its allies quickly rolled over the forces of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Then came a protracted struggle against an insurgency that frustrated Americans like no war since Vietnam.

4 Hurricane Katrina (2005)

The costliest hurricane in U.S. history flooded New Orleans, scattered its residents and devastated the Mississippi and Alabama coastline. More than 1,700. people were killed.


Eric Draper, AP

5 O.J. Simpson (1994-95)

After Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman were murdered, the former football star was named a suspect and the case became a national obsession. Simpson, riding in a white Ford Bronco, led police on a nationally televised slow-speed chase. His criminal trial ended in a controversial acquittal.

6 2000 presidential election

Election Day 2000 was just the beginning of a five-week struggle to decide who had won. It came down to a 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court that ended a Florida recount and put Republican George W. Bush in the White House over Democrat Al Gore.

7 Clinton impeachment (1998-99)

The revelation of Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky crippled his presidency. He first denied anything improper with “that woman, Miss Lewinsky,” then admitted he’d had a “wrong” relationship with her. The House impeached him on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice; the Senate acquitted him.

8 Afghanistan invasion (2001)

After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush vowed: “The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” He made good on his promise. In the first stage of the “war on terrorism,” U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime that had harbored the al-Qaeda plotters. But terrorist Osama bin Laden has eluded capture.

9 Oklahoma City bombing (1995)

Homegrown terrorism struck the heartland. The truck bomb that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building was the work of Army veterans Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who sympathized with the violently anti-federal militia movement. The blast killed 168 people and injured nearly 700.

10 Chernobyl disaster (1986)

Science fiction had warned of such an accident. At Chernobyl, fiction became fact when a Ukrainian nuclear power plant exploded, sending radioactive fallout over Europe. More than 330,000 people had to be resettled.


George Kochaniec, (Denver) Rocky Mountain News/AP

11 Columbine massacre (1999)

Most Americans once assumed their kids were safe at school. Then came the shootings at Columbine High School near Denver. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher, then committed suicide. It was a precursor to 2007’s massacre at Virginia Tech, where 33 people died.


Jerome Delay, AP

12 Death of Diana (1997)

“The people’s princess” was a complex personification of glamour, innocence and tragedy. Her death in a Paris car crash evoked extraordinary public expressions of grief; her funeral at Westminster Abbey drew more than a million mourners and a worldwide television audience.


Roslan Rahman, AFP

13 Asian tsunami (2004)

The peace of Christmas was shattered by tragedy on the other side of the world. A Dec. 26 earthquake — among the largest ever recorded — triggered a devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. Nearly 230,000 were killed or reported missing, and global relief efforts topped $6 billion.

14 Persian Gulf War (1991)

After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and ignored a deadline to withdraw, a U.S.-led coalition invaded. The ground battle was won in a few days at the cost of 148 American lives. Tens of thousands of Iraqis died. Saddam was driven from oil-rich Kuwait but kept power at home.

15 Rodney King (1991-92)

The video was shocking: white Los Angeles police officers stood around a black man on the ground, pummeling him. Rodney King was a parolee who had kept driving when police tried to pull him over. The acquittal of four officers on brutality charges sparked riots that left more than 50 people dead.

16 Branch Davidians (1993)

At least 80 members of the Branch Davidian sect were killed during a 51-day standoff outside Waco, Texas. It began when federal agents tried to arrest group leader David Koresh for stockpiling guns and explosives. The compound exploded in flames after the FBI sprayed tear gas and the Davidians began shooting; a federal investigation said the Davidians started the fire.


Bruce Weaver, AP

17 Challenger explosion (1986)

Christa McAuliff was going to be the first teacher in space. But 73 seconds after launch, the space shuttle blew apart, killing all seven astronauts. The TV images horrified the world. Disaster hit the program again in 2003, when seven astronauts died aboard the shuttle Columbia.


Jeff Widener, AP

18 Tiananmen Square (1989)

The spirit of China’s student-led pro-democracy protests was dramatized by one scene: a lone man standing defiantly before a column of tanks in the heart of Beijing. But military force prevailed; communist leaders crushed the protests, killing hundreds, possibly thousands.

19 Rwandan genocide (1994)

Neighbor killed neighbor, sometimes with a machete. More than 500,000 people died in about 100 days in government-orchestrated violence that grew out of a civil war. Despite news coverage, the international community did not stop it.

20 Nelson Mandela (1990)

Rarely has anyone suffered so much and for so long with so little apparent bitterness. The South African nationalist, spent 27 years in prison under the white racist regime; his release in 1990 was the beginning of apartheid’s end. Later, as president, he used his position not for revenge, but reconciliation.

21 Iran-contra affair (1986-87)

The biggest scandal since Watergate dogged the last years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Funds from secret U.S. arms sales to Iran were diverted to finance a Central American war run from the White House. The system was an attempt to circumvent Congress, which had cut off aid to the contra rebels in Marxist Nicaragua.

22 Beirut Marine barracks bombing (1983)

It was an early glimpse of what would become a recurrent horror: suicide bombings in the Middle East. A truck bomb destroyed the barracks, killing 241 U.S. servicemembers. The troops had gone to Beirut as peacekeepers; the bombing eventually led to their departure.

23 Terri Schiavo. (2005)

In 1990, Schiavo suffered brain damage that left her in a persistent vegetative state. Eight years later, her husband asked a court to have a feeding tube removed. Her parents objected, touching off a legal battle that culminated in a political and media free-for-all. The tube was removed in March 2005; Schiavo died 13 days later.

24 Gay marriage (2003)

Same-sex marriage took one step forward and several steps back. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 2003 ruling that granted homosexuals the right to marry sparked a backlash. The next year, 11 states passed bans on same-sex.

25 Pan Am Flight 103 (1988)

Explosives hidden in a suitcase destroyed a jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Many of the 189 Americans aboard were students or military personnel coming home for Christmas. A former Libyan intelligence officer was convicted, and Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing.

Source: USA TODAY reporting and writing by Rick Hampson. Photo research by Kate Patterson, Evan Eile and Jud McCrehin USA TODAY.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

factory farming and global warming

According to a United Nations study, factory farming is FAR AND AWAY the greatest contributor to global warming. Trees which are cut down to clear way for planting grain are what suck up the carbon dioxide that factory-farmed animals exhale in huge quantities.

Sixteen pounds of the resultant grain is needed to produce one pound of meat from a factory-farmed animal. And the millions of animals produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide and methane gas.

So you can't be a meat-eating environmentalist.

Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Gadd

So good!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Top 25 Influential People

They are the 25 most influential people of the past 25 years — those who changed our world, transformed technology, mapped the human body and affected the way we relate to one another.


Bill Gates (AP)

1 Bill Gates, software entrepreneur

His Microsoft software shaped the way millions use the technology that has transformed communications and commerce — making him the world’s richest man and, now, a leading philanthropist.


Ronald Reagan (AFP)

2 Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president

Elected in 1980 and re-elected in 1984, he put the United States on a more conservative course, restored buoyancy and confidence in the presidency and forged a partnership with a reformist Soviet leader that helped end the Cold War.


Oprah Winfrey (AP)

3 Oprah Winfrey, talk show host

As a talk-show host, first at WLS-TV’s AM Chicago in 1984, she pioneered a form of intimate public discourse that brought taboo subjects into the open and sparked a confessional, self-help culture.


Dr. Craig Venter, left (USA TODAY); Dr. Francis Collins, right (GNS)

4&5 Francis Collins & J. Craig Venter, mappers of the human genome

The Human Genome Project headed by Collins and a parallel private effort by Celera Genomics under Venter jointly announced the mapping of the human genome in 2000, opening the door to breakthroughs in identifying, treating and preventing the world’s most feared diseases.


Osama bin Laden (AP)

6 Osama bin Laden, terrorist

For most Americans, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, by the al-Qaeda network he leads marked the beginning of a global battle against radical Islamists 12 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War.


Stephen Hawking (USA TODAY)

7 Stephen Hawking, physicist

In the tradition of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, he explored the nature of the universe. He popularized science, wrote the best-selling A Brief History of Time in 1988 and remains a puckish personality despite being severely disabled by Lou Gehrig’s disease.


Lance Armstrong (AP)

8 Lance Armstrong, cyclist and cancer activist

He won a record-breaking seven consecutive Tour de France races, cycling’s most prestigious event, after battling testicular cancer. Sales of his iconic "Livestrong" wristbands have raised millions of dollars to help fight cancer.


Pope John Paul II (AFP)

9 Pope John Paul II, pontiff

Polish-born Karol Jozef Wojtyla helped propel a peaceful revolution in Poland in 1989 that ended Soviet domination and reverberated through Eastern Europe. In a 26-year papacy, he defined the Roman Catholic Church’s role in modern times.


Bono (AFP)

10 Bono, rock musician and activist for Africa

Born Paul Hewson, the lead singer of the Irish rock band U2 has shrewdly pressed world leaders to forgive third-world debt and address the AIDS pandemic in Africa.


Mikhail Gorbachev (AFP)

11 Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader

The last leader of the Soviet Union, from 1985 to 1991, he introduced economic and political reforms — glasnost and perestroika — and forged a partnership with an anti-Communist U.S. president. On Gorbachev’s watch, the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dissolved.


Larry Page, left, and Sergey Brin (AP)

12&13 Sergey Brin & Larry Page, co-founders of Google

After meeting as doctoral students at Stanford in 1995, they devised a way to organize information on the Internet by analyzing relationships between websites. Google is now the Web’s most-used search engine — so familiar it’s become a verb.


George W. Bush (Reuters)

14 George W. Bush, 43rd president

Taking office after a 5-4 Supreme Court decision settled the 2000 election, he led America’s response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003 — enmeshing the USA in its longest war since Vietnam.


Sam Walton (AP)

15 Sam Walton, retailing pioneer

A farm boy from Oklahoma who started with Walton's Five and Dime in Bentonville, Ark., he relied on high volume and low markups to build the world's biggest retailer — and swamp the competiton.


Deng Xiaoping (Xinhua)

16 Deng Xiaoping, Chinese leader

The de facto leader of China from 1978 into the 1990s, he opened the nation to global markets and economic modernization through “socialism with Chinese characteristics” — and cracked down on Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989.


Kirthmon Dozier (AP)

17 Michael Jordan, basketball star

Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, mostly for the Chicago Bulls, his athletic leaps and slam dunks influenced a generation of players. With a likeable persona, he also led all leagues in lucrative endorsements.


Howard Schultz (AP)

18 Howard Schultz, Starbucks entrepreneur

A poor kid from Brooklyn who wanted to replicate Italian espresso bars, he cultivated a chain of coffeehouses that have influenced many Americans’ daily habits and taste buds much as Ray Kroc’s McDonalds did a generation earlier.


Nelson Mandela (USA TODAY)

19 Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid leader

Released in 1990 after 27 years in prison, he preached reconciliation and was the first elected president of a fully democratic South Africa.


J. K. Rowling (AP)

20 J. K. Rowling, author

The first Harry Potter book, completed in 1995 and initially rejected by several publishing houses, launched a seven-volume series that absorbed children and adults in complicated fantasies spanning thousands of pages.


Hillary and Bill Clinton (AP)

21&22 Bill & Hillary Clinton, 42nd president & N.Y. senator

He was the first Democrat elected to two terms in the White House since FDR, then survived impeachment. She went from wronged wife to New York senator to the most viable female presidential contender in U.S. history.


Russell Simmons (USA TODAY)

23 Russell Simmons, hip-hop pioneer

He helped popularize a distinctively American form of music — co-founding the hip-hop label Def Jam — that has influenced mainstream pop culture, from music to dance to dress, since the mid-1980s.


Ryan White (USA TODAY)

24 Ryan White, the face of AIDS

The 13-year-old hemophiliac from Kokomo, Ind., was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984, then banned from attending his public middle school. A human face for a stigmatized disease, he died in 1990.


20th Century Fox

25 Homer Simpson, Everyman

The doughy star of TV’s The Simpsons epitomized the irony and irreverence at the core of American humor — the same force that’s helped make The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart a major source of news for young people.

USA TODAY reporting and writing by Susan Page; photo research by Robin Smith and Denny Gainer