Dacia, in antiquity, an area of central Europe bounded by the Carpathian Mountains and covering much of the historical region of Transylvania (modern north-central and western Romania).  The Dacian people had earlier occupied lands south of the Danube and north of the mountains, and those lands as a Roman province eventually included wider territories both to the north and to the east.  The Dacians were of Thracian stock and, among the Thracian successor peoples in the region, were most akin to the Getae.  (Indeed, the similarities between the groups led the Greek historian Herodotus to label both as Getae, while the Romans referred to all these populations as Dacians.)  They first appeared in the Athenian slave market in the 4th century bce.  Subsequently they traded with the Greeks (importing especially wine) and used Greek coins.  They spoke a Thracian dialect but were influenced culturally by the neighbouring Scythians—from whom they adopted the cult of the Scythian deity Zalmoxis and a belief in immortality—and by Celtic invaders of the 4th century bce.  The Dacians were members of an alliance that engaged Roman troops in 112, 109, and 75 bce.  By the time of that contact, Dacian society had divided into two distinct classes—an aristocracy and a proletariat. The former consisted of the nobility and the priesthood, and the latter comprised the rank and file of the army, the peasantry, and artisans.  Among the proletariat, chief occupations were agriculture and cattle breeding.  Dacians also worked rich mines of silver, iron, and gold in Transylvania.  Dacia carried on significant outside trade, as evidenced by the number of foreign coins found there.  Guy Edward Farquhar Chilver  https://www.britannica.com/place/Dacia

The wines and vineyards of Romania have been coveted for almost 6,000 years.  During ancient times, Romania, known as Dacia, was constantly being invaded.  King Burebista (1st Century BC) even ordered all the country’s vineyards be destroyed because he thought this would stop the invasions which he believed were happening because others wanted the vineyards and wine in the country.  Apparently not all of them were destroyed, or they grew back, because in 106 AD the Romans invaded.  Roman and Greek historians often mention the great agriculturalists from Dacia, the beautiful vineyards and their delicious wines in their historical records.  Many countries have wine regions, but there are few wine producing countries which can say that the entire country is a wine producing region.  All 7 of Romania’s historical regions produce wine.  Many people who dream of owning vineyards and producing wine have been buying up land in Romania because the terroirs are comparable with Italy, Germany and France, but for a fraction of the price.  Shira Kogut  https://justwineapp.com/article/romanian-wine-betcha-didnt-know

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton finds herself on the wrong end of an electoral split, moving ahead in the popular vote but losing to President-elect Donald Trump in the Electoral College, according to election results that are still being finalized.  As of midday Thursday ET, Clinton had amassed 59,938,290 votes nationally, to Trump's 59,704,886—a margin of 233,404 that puts Clinton on track to become the fifth U.S. presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the election.  Neither candidate got more than 50 percent of the vote:  As of noon Wednesday, Clinton stood at 47.7 percent and Trump at 47.5 percent.  Bill Chappell  http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/09/501393501/shades-of-2000-clinton-surpasses-trump-in-popular-vote-tally

Find list of presidential candidates who won the popular vote but lost the election at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_where_winner_lost_popular_vote

The Electoral College was created for two reasons.  The first purpose was to create a buffer between population and the selection of a President.  The second as part of the structure of the government that gave extra power to the smaller states.  The first reason that the founders created the Electoral College is hard to understand today.  The founding fathers were afraid of direct election to the Presidency.  They feared a tyrant could manipulate public opinion and come to power.  Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers:  It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.  A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.  It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder.  This evil was not least to be dreaded in the election of a magistrate, who was to have so important an agency in the administration of the government as the President of the United States.  But the precautions which have been so happily concerted in the system under consideration, promise an effectual security against this mischief.  (See All of the Federalist 68)  Hamilton and the other founders believed that the electors would be able to insure that only a qualified person becomes President.  They believed that with the Electoral College no one would be able to manipulate the citizenry.  It would act as check on an electorate that might be duped. Hamilton and the other founders did not trust the population to make the right choice.  The founders also believed that the Electoral College had the advantage of being a group that met only once and thus could not be manipulated over time by foreign governments or others.  Marc Schulman  http://www.historycentral.com/elections/Electoralcollgewhy.html

It has been 97 years since the United States first celebrated Veterans Day.  On Nov. 11, 1919, the holiday, which originated as Armistice Day, marked the first anniversary since the end of World War I.  Congress passed a resolution in 1926 marking Armistice Day as an annual observance.  Twelve years later, November 11 was officially a national holiday.  But it wasn't until President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 that the name was changed to Veterans Day as a way to honor all people who had served in any U.S. war.  ABC News looks at the U.S. veteran population by the numbers, using 2015 data from the U.S. Census Bureau at http://abcnews.go.com/US/veterans-day-numbers/story?id=43444034

Since the moon’s orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 30,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to Earth than the other (apogee).  The word syzygy, in addition to being useful in word games, is the scientific name for when the Earth, sun, and moon line up as the moon orbits Earth.  When perigee-syzygy of the Earth-moon-sun system occurs and the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, we get a perigee moon or more commonly, a supermoon!  This coincidence happens three times in 2016.  On October 16 and December 14, the moon becomes full on the same day as perigee.  On November 14, it becomes full within about two hours of perigee—arguably making it an extra-super moon.  The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016 but also the closest full moon to date in the 21^st century.  The full moon won’t come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034.  A supermoon, or perigee full moon can be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than an apogee full moon.  However it's not always easy to tell the difference.  A 30% difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the competing glare of urban lights.  Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full moon looks much like any other.  Low-hanging moons, on the other hand, can create what’s called a “moon illusion.”  When the moon is near the horizon it can look unnaturally large when viewed through trees, buildings, or other foreground objects.  https://science.nasa.gov/news-articles/2016-ends-with-three-supermoons

October 12, 2016  “God Bless America” made its debut at a Philadelphia Flyers game on Dec. 11, 1969.  The Flyers won, 6-3, over Toronto.  The Flyers had won just one of their previous nine games before Kate Smith sang that night.  The Flyers would post a 19-1-1 record whenever “God Bless America” played over the next three seasons versus 31-38-28 following the Star Spangled Banner.  Smith’s first live appearance would not happen until the home opener in 1973 against Toronto.  Smith would appear live at the Spectrum four times, including the Stanley Cup-clinching Game 6 against Boston in 1974.  Her appearance that afternoon drew an obscenity-laced tirade after the game from Bruins coach Bep Guidolin, even though several Bruins, among them Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, lauded Smith’s elegance as a performer.  “We got to know her history and what she stood for and it was a domino effect,” Kelly recalled.  “There was a bond there.”  Going into this, the 50th Anniversary season, Smith’s record with the Flyers is 100-29-5, as compiled by flyershistory.com.  “God Bless America signified invincibility,” Bill Clement said.  “In the sports world, that trumps every other meaning.”  Despite protests from succeeding generations of Flyers fans who feel the club should move on from Smith, the Flyers still present the Smith-Hart duet version of  “God Bless America” on the scoreboard for special occasions and the playoffs.   “You see the excitement from fans—it brought so much energy into the building and the players fed off that,” Rick Tocchet said.  Smith’s 100th career victory song came last April 20 against Washington in the playoffs.  Tim Panaccio  http://www.csnphilly.com/philadelphia-flyers/flyers-50-story-behind-tradition-kate-smiths-god-bless-america

Kate Smith:  God Bless America 1974 Flyers' Stanley Cup  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRMtXUgVp0c   3:25

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1549  November 11, 2016  On this date in 1696, Andrea Zani, Italian violinist and composer, was born.  On this date in 1958, Luz Casal, Spanish singer-songwriter and actress, was born.