1965 MEDICARE SIGNING ON TIMES FRONT PAGE

It's always fun to see newspaper front pages from important past events. (Hmmmm. With the internet and cell phones taking over news, will these historical artifacts disappear, I wonder?)

Anyway, I missed posting this on Wednesday when we discussed the 50th anniversary of Medicare, so here now is the front page of The New York Times the day after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare legislation. Lead story with a photo above the fold. It was a big deal then and it's a big deal still. (Note the price: 10 cents)

An image of the full page is here;

MOURNING ZIMBABWE'S CECIL THE LION

This story is probably not new to you but it is still worth spending some time with today. A dentist from Minnesota, Walter J. Palmer, paid more than $50,000 to kill a lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe:

“The first shot, which the authorities say came from Dr. Palmer’s crossbow, was not enough to kill the lion. Cecil was tracked for nearly two days before Dr. Palmer killed him with a gun,” reports The New York Times.

Two days with an arrow stuck in his hide. Imagine if it were you. Here's the story:

Palmer, who has many "trophies" of big wild animals, is now notorious worldwide. He has shut his dental office and gone into hiding. According to various news reports, Palmer may have broken laws in both the United States and Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe is seeking his extradition.

In the way of lion culture, it is now likely that male lions in the area will vie to take over Cecil's pride and the winner will kill Cecil's cubs. Here is some video of Cecil before this terrible crime was committed.

HOW MANY TIMES HAS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION BEEN EXPOSED TO HACKERS?

It's a question many of us ask every time we read of a new hack at a bank, credit card company, financial institution or any other large corporation.

The New York Times has published a quiz that will give you an estimate of what personal information of yours may have been exposed and how many times.

In my case, the quiz tells me my address and credit cards have been exposed twice, my email address four times, passwords two times and Social Security number once.

You can try it for yourself here. The story includes some information on what you can do help prevent this kind of theft.

JON STEWART'S LAST SHOW COMING UP ON THURSDAY

Yep, just four Daily Shows with Jon Stewart remain until he signs off for the last time. He and the show have been a daily fixture in my life since I discovered them in the second year of the program's run. I never could stay up late enough to see it live and I'm grateful for the internet where it has been one of the first things I check in the morning.

Undoubtedly there will be something from next week's shows that I will want to include here next week but today I'm going to do something else - a Daily Show video without Jon Stewart because it's so funny and it concerns a man that Stewart so gleefully likes to skewer.

It is from one of the show's regular contributors (who will remain with the program when Noah Trevor (or is it Trevor Noah?) takes over - Lewis Black's “Back in Black” look at Donald Trump, as relevant today as when it was when first broadcast in 2012. And hilarious.

JOHN OLIVER ON MANDATORY MINIMUM PRISON SENTENCES

In the one-and-a-half seasons of HBO's Last Week Tonight show this, from last Sunday, is certainly one of the most powerful pieces John Oliver and his crew have produced.

ARE YOU MIDDLE CLASS?

There is a lot of information floating around these days about how the middle class is shrinking if not disappearing. But what is the middle class? How is it defined? Am I middle class? Are you?

Pew research has created a simple, five-question calculator to tell us, compared to others worldwide and within your own country what financial class you fall into as of 2011. Here is the quiz:

You can also try it online here where you can read more. The full study is here.

PHOTO MANIPULATION

Have you ever Photoshopped an image to make yourself look better or maybe removed someone in the background? When you and I do that with our private photographs, no big deal. But when photojournalists do it, it can and almost always is seriously misleading. And it is usually done deliberately.

There is a transcript of the video here. An interview with Michael Kamber is here. And if you are in the area, Kamber's exhibit will be up at the Bronx Documentary Center through tomorrow, Sunday.

AGE DISCRIMINATION IS OLDER WORKERS' FAULT SAYS FORBES

Forbes magazine has just published a classic blame-the-victim story and this time we are being told there is no such thing as age discrimination, that if you're 50 or older and can't find a job, it's your fault.

"...job hunters and workers in their 50s and 60s [are] holding themselves back because of their own limiting belief story about their prospects due to their age. (Limiting beliefs refer to thoughts or stories you tell yourself that don’t support you and impact your choices and behavior.)

"...It’s easier to assign blame than to take personal responsibility. As a life coach, I see this all of the time. Generally, people are completely unprepared to take a look at themselves, but have a ton of experience pointing the finger at someone else.”

Certainly I will get blowback on this, but all I need to know to dismiss this bogus psychology is that the writer is a self-identified “life coach.” Anyone can call him- or herself a life coach, even me. (Trust me, you don't want life advice from me). There are no regulations, no education, training or certification required. Just put out your shingle and start charging money.

Forbes is generally a respectable and respected magazine and some less-than-careful readers might believe this claptrap even though it is uncoupled from any known fact. The whole sorry article is here.

AMAZING KID WITH HAND TRANSPLANT

Did you hear this week about the amazing eight-year-old, Zion Harvey who got a dual hand transplant? Jim Stone sent me the video with the backstory. (Not counting John Oliver's weekly essays, this is a longer video than I usually post but I doubt you'll click out early.)

The surgery took place at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and here is a short followup from the Today show.

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” in the upper left corner of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog IF you include the name of the blog and its URL.