From 1842 to 1882 there were eight attempts to kill or assault Queen Victoria, the last being on March 2nd, 1882.  Scottish poet Roderick McLean attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria at Windsor, England, with a pistol.  His motive was purportedly a curt reply to some poetry that he had mailed to the Queen.  Tried for high treason on April 20th, 1882, McLean was found “not guilty, but insane” by a jury after five minutes’ deliberation, and he lived out his remaining days in Broadmoor Asylum.  The verdict prompted the Queen to ask for a change in English law so that those implicated in cases with similar outcomes would be considered as “guilty, but insane.”  A poem was later written about McLean’s attempt on the Queen’s life by William Topaz McGonagall, considered by some the worst poet in the English language.  He wrote about 200 poems, including his notorious “The Tay Bridge Disaster“, which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature.  http://thepandorasociety.com/this-day-in-history-march-2nd-1882/  "The Queen has not suffered from the attempt made upon her life by the man Maclean, and Her Majesty continues calm and in excellent spirits.  Throughout the forenoon today the grand quadrangle was visited by a number of residents, groups of spectators collecting at the base of the Round Tower and watching the principal entrance to obtain a glimpse of Her Majesty whenever she might leave the palace.  After receiving a visit from Sir W. Harcourt, the Home Secretary, Her Majesty and Princess Beatrice quitted the palace at noon and went out for a walk in the Home Park.  In the course of the morning service held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, a special thanksgiving prayer was offered for the preservation of the Queen's life, and the subject was also alluded to in the lecture.  Sir J.R. Elvey, the organist, played the National Anthem as the congregation were quitting the sacred building."   https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/mar/04/queen-victoria-assassination-attempt-1882

Enthymeme (EN-thuh-meme):  A figure of reasoning in which one or more statements of a syllogism (a three-pronged deductive argument) is/are left out of the configuration; an abbreviated syllogism or truncated deductive argument in which one or more premises, or, the conclusion is/are omitted.  Example:  All humans are mortal.  (major premise)  Michael is human.  (minor premise)  Michael is mortal.  (conclusion)  The syllogism would be rendered an enthymeme simply by maintaining that "Michael is mortal because he's human" (leaving out the major premise).  Or put differently, "Since all humans are mortal, Michael is therefore mortal" (leaving out the minor premise).  Statements may be strategically excluded in an enthymeme because they are too obvious or because revealing them might damage the force of the argument.  Yet another reason to exclude a premise or conclusion is to let the audience infer it.  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/enthymeme.htm

Tournament debating started in colonial America with the Spy Club at Harvard in the early 1700s and opened up to women a hundred years later at Oberlin . . . Speaking in Tongues, a novel by Jeffery Deaver

Cornwall’s renowned author, Rosamunde Pilcher came to international fame with her best-selling novel The Shell Seekers.  The book sold 5.5 million copies and was dramatized on screen.  Many other works soon followed, especially popular with German speaking nations, where 14 of her novels came to life for television.  All this attention show-cased the beauty and magnetism of Cornwall’s breath-taking scenery and its quaint and grand buildings.  From Penzance to Pencarrow, you can follow in the footsteps of the characters and places that captivated the hearts of many.  The sites include Land’s End, Penzance, St Michaels Mount, Lamorna, Prideaux Place and Pencarrow.   http://www.holidaycornwall.co.uk/activity/rosamunde-pilcher-trail-cornwall/  See also Forget Poldark, now Germans are filming in Cornwall at http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2016-10-07/forget-poldark-now-germans-are-filming-in-cornwall/ and 5 to try:  Cornish Literary Highlights at https://www.visitcornwall.com/about-cornwall/blogging-cornwall/5-to-try-cornish-literary-highlights

Who is Robin Pilcher?  Robin was born in Dundee, Scotland, on the 8th of August 1950.  His father, Graham Pilcher, ran a family jute business, and he was also a war hero.  His mother, Rosamunde Pilcher on the other hand was a celebrated romance author.  She wrote several books under the pseudonym of Jane Fraser, some of which were published by Mills and Boons.  Later on in her career, she took to writing under her own name until she retired from writing in 2000.  Robin has two sisters and one brother.  Robin went to school in Dunfermline and Bristol, and he finally returned to Scotland to finish his education at the Dundee College of Commerce.  At some point in his life, Robin has been a cowboy, a song writer, a photographer, a farmer, a tennis coach and he also tried his hand at farming.  He also once co- managed a mail order business with a friend.  To date, he still engages in several other activities besides writing.  However, most of his efforts go towards empowering upcoming writers, and providing material for short story enthusiasts.  To advance his cause, Robin started a website with a friend aimed at creating an online community of short story writers and readers.  The website is known as Shortbread, and it is a great and interactive forum for all ardent book lovers.  He also plans to establish The Pilcher Foundation of Creative Writing in Andalusia, Spain.  http://www.bookseriesinorder.com/robin-pilcher/

March is Women's History Month  The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United State Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.  View Women of Protest:  Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party  This collection includes 448 digitized photographs selected from approximately 2,650 print photographs in the Records of the National Woman's Party (NWP).  The NWP sought to attract publicity, generate public interest, and pressure government officials to support women's suffrage in order to win passage of a federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote. 

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

March 21, 2017  TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  A small, all-natural dairy isn’t being deceptive when it calls its skim milk “skim milk,” a federal appeals court has ruled—a victory for a Florida creamery that fought the state’s demand to label the product “imitation” because vitamins aren’t added to it.  The ruling overturns a decision last March when a federal judge sided with the Florida Department of Agriculture, which said the Ocheesee Creamery couldn’t label its skim milk “skim milk” because the state defines the product as skim milk with Vitamin A added.  The state instead said that if the creamery wanted to sell the product, it should label it as “imitation” skim milk.  The dictionary definition of skim milk is simply milk with the cream removed . But the Department of Agriculture says under state and federal law, skim milk can’t be sold as skim milk unless vitamins in the milk fat are replaced so it has the same nutritional value as whole milk.  http://nypost.com/2017/03/21/court-skim-milk-doesnt-need-to-go-by-imitation-milk/  Florida in 2012 moved to block sales of skim milk from the creamery, leading to negotiations about getting a permit under a law dealing with imitation milk.  The ruling said various alternatives were proposed, such as describing the skim milk as a "milk product."  The creamery filed a lawsuit in 2014, arguing that the state was violating its First Amendment rights by refusing to allow it to use the label "skim milk."  A federal district court last year granted summary judgment to the state, finding that "it is inherently misleading to call a product 'skim milk' if that product does not have the same vitamin content as whole milk," the appeals court said.  But the March 20, 2017 22-page decision overturned the lower court, saying the record of the case "makes clear that numerous less burdensome alternatives existed and were discussed by the state and the creamery during negotiations that would have involved additional disclosure without banning the term 'skim milk.' "  The ruling sent the case back to the district court.  http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/id=1202781748104/Federal-Appeals-Court-Rules-Against-State-on-Skim-Milk-Labeling?slreturn=20170222091506

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1682  March 22, 2017  On this date in 1855, Dorothy Tennant, British painter, was born.  On this date in 1887, Chico Marx, American actor, was born.  Word of the Day  hydronym  noun  (onomastics) The name of a river, lake, sea or any other body of water.  Today is World Water Day, which focuses on the importance of fresh water and the sustainable management of freshwater resources.