The word "cabbage" is an Anglicized form of the French caboche, meaning "head."  It has been used, loosely, to refer to loose-heading (or even nonheading) forms of Brassica oleracea as well as to the modern hard-heading type classified as B. oleracea variety capitata.  The Celts of central and western Europe had much to do with the distribution and popularization of cabbage as a food plant.  Although the evidence points to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor as the place of origin of the species, Celtic knowledge of it was so ancient as to have influenced the Latin name, Brassica (from the Celtic word bresic, meaning "cabbage").  Introduction of "cabbage" into Europe has been generally ascribed to the Romans, but it seems probable that the Celts introduced it even earlier.  Most of the European and Asiatic names for cabbage can be traced to one of three Celtic or part-Celtic root words.  Kopf Kohl (German), cabus and caboche (French), cabbage (English), kappes, kraut, kapost (Tartar), kopi (Hindu), and others, all are related to the Celto-Slavic cap or kap,meaning "head."  Kaulion (Greek), caulis (Latin), kale (Scottish), kaal (Norwegian), kohl (Swedish), col (Spanish), are related to the Celto-Germanic-Greek caul, meaning "stem."

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/cabbage.html

Cabbage has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years and domesticated for over 2,500 years.  Early cabbage was not the full-bodied head we take for granted today, but rather a more loose-leaf variety.  The head variety was developed during the Middle Ages by northern European farmers.  It was French navigator Jacques Cartier who brought cabbage to the Americas in 1536.  Taking only three months growing time, one acre of cabbage will yield more edible vegetables than any other plant.  http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/cabbagehistory.htm

Cabbage Moon is a book by Jan Wahl published in 1965.  Another book entitled Cabbage Moon by Tim Chadwick was published in 1994.  The word Cabbagefaced can be played note by note on a musical instrument because all the letters are in the music alphabet (A to G). 

The mung bean (Vigna radiata), alternatively known as the moong bean, green gram, but not mungo or mingo, is a plant species in the legume family.  Native to the Indian subcontinent, the mung bean is mainly cultivated today in India, China, and Southeast Asia.  It is also cultivated in hot, dry regions in Southern Europe and the Southern United States.  It is used as an ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes.  Mung beans are germinated by leaving them in water for four hours of daytime light and spending the rest of the day in the dark.  Mung bean sprouts can be grown under artificial light for four hours over the period of a week.  They are usually simply called "bean sprouts".  However, when bean sprouts are called for in recipes, it generally refers to mung bean or soybean sprouts.  Mung bean sprouts are stir-fried as a Chinese vegetable accompaniment to a meal, usually with garlic, ginger, spring onions, or pieces of salted dried fish to add flavour.  Uncooked bean sprouts are used in filling for Vietnamese spring rolls, as well as a garnish for phở.  Read more and see pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean

Boil whole mung beans in water and they're ready to eat in about 45 minutes.  Split mung beans, which have the outer skin removed and are yellow, take only 20-30 minutes to cook.  That means that you can throw a handful of grains like quinoa, rice, or rolled oats in with the beans, take your time chopping up vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and kale, and then throw them into the pot for the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Mung bean soup recipe http://www.rachaelray.com/2013/02/mung-why-you-should-eat-these-tiny-beans-from-india

Mung Bean, Quinoa, & Lentil Salad Stuffed Avocado  recipe  http://citnutritionally.com/mung-bean-lentil-salad/

Since 1995, violent crime in the United States has decreased by nearly half from 685 incidents per 100,000 Americans to 366 incidents per 100,000 Americans today, according to estimates released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Since 2010, the violent crime rate has dropped by 9.4%.  In some states, crime rates have declined by more than twice the national drop.  Vermont has the lowest violent crime rate in the country, with just 99.3 incidents per 100,000 residents.  Link to 10 safest states and 10 most dangerous states at http://www.bespacific.com/247-wall-street-the-safest-states-in-america/

The poinsettia is native to Central America, near southern Mexico.  It was introduced to the United States in 1828 and got its name from Joel Roberts Poinsett.  Poinsett was the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico with a passion for botany.  Upon discovering this shrub, he became so enchanted with its bright red blooms that he sent some to his South Carolina home to be propagated.  Many people wonder what makes poinsettias turn red.  It is actually the plant’s leaves that provide its color through a process called photoperiodism.  This process, in response to certain amounts of light or lack thereof, turns the leaves from green to red (or pink, white, and other shade variations).  Learn how to make a poinsettia turn red again at http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/poinsettia/how-to-make-poinsettia-turn-red-make-a-poinsettia-rebloom.htm  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia

Before understanding what a bract is, it is helpful to understand what it is not.  First, it is not a part of the "flower" by definition.  Complete flowers are composed of four parts:  sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils.  A bract is none of these.  Neither is a bract a leaf, although it is sometimes defined as a leaflike structure.  Bracts usually differ in shape or color from leaves, and they function differently.  Leaves may be anywhere along the stem while bracts are generally located on a stem just below a flower, a flower stalk, or an inflorescence.  Flowers may arise between bracts, flowers may be separated from bracts, and bracts can be present without flowers.  Bracts can be leaflike as in poinsettias, scalelike as on pinecone gingers and bromeliads, or even petal-like as on dogwoods.  They can be brightly colored like those on Bougainvillea or green like those on sunflowers.  The inflorescences of the carrot family have two sets of bracts; one beneath the entire flower cluster (involucre) and one beneath each sub-cluster (involucel).  Marie Harrison  Read more and see pictures at http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3156#b

Separation of Powers:  An Overview Matthew E. Glassman Analyst on the Congress January 8, 2016   The contemporary balance of power between the President, Congress, and the courts is not the same as it was in 1789, and is perhaps not the balance intended or expected by the framers of the Constitution.  A myriad of changes, developments, and specific events in the United States—ranging from amendments to the Constitution to development in technology to the continuing evolution of American political culture—have continually influenced public opinion, political norms, and the behavior of political actors in ways that have rearranged the relative powers of the institutions.  Read 20-page document at https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44334.pdf

Congressional Record State of the Union Address 2016  https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2016-01-12/pdf/CREC-2016-01-12-pt1-PgH324-3.pdf

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1409  January 15, 2016  On this date in 1759, the British Museum opened.  On this date in 1777, New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declared its independence.