TODAY IN HISTORY-TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2011. There are 312 days left in the year.

Today in History: Highlight in History:  On Feb. 22, 1732, George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born in the Virginia Colony.   AP Photo
On this date in: 1819 Spain ceded Florida to the United States. 1865 Tennessee adopted a new constitution abolishing slavery. 1879 Frank Winfield Woolworth opened a five-cent store in Utica, N.Y. 1924 Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House. 1932 Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was born in Boston, the youngest child of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy. 1959 The inaugural Daytona 500 race was held in Daytona Beach, Fla. 1980 The U.S. hockey team beat the Soviets 4-3 In a stunning upset at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. ABC announcer Al Michaels calls the final seconds of the game. AP Photo 1994 The Justice Department charged 31-year CIA veteran Aldrich Ames and his wife, Rosario, with selling national security secrets to the Soviet Union. 2001 A U.N. war crimes tribunal convicted three Bosnian Serbs on charges of rape and torture in the first case of wartime sexual enslavement to go before an international court. 2006 Insurgents destroyed the golden dome of one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines, the Askariya mosque in Samarra, setting off a spasm of sectarian violence. AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed		Today's Birthdays: Actress Drew Barrymore turns 36 years old today. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg Name Profession Age Don Pardo TV announcer ("Saturday Night Live") 93 Jonathan Demme Director 67 Julius Erving Basketball Hall of Famer 61 Bill Frist Former Senate majority leader 59 David Axelrod Senior White House adviser 56 Vijay Singh Golfer 48 Pat Lafontaine Hockey Hall of Famer 46 Rachel Dratch Actress, comedian ("Saturday Night Live") 45 Jeri Ryan Actress ("Boston Public") 43 Michael Chang Tennis Hall of Famer 39 James Blunt Singer 34 Actor Kyle MacLachlan turns 52 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Thought for Today: "Authority without wisdom is like a heavy ax without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish." — Anne Bradstreet, American poet (1612-1672).

“A Prayer For Spiritual Appetite”

Jesus, You stated in the Beatitudes that “blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” In partaking from Your never-ending supply it becomes a perpetual source of life-giving nourishment. Enable me, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, to hunger and thirst for the pure Word of God that feeds the soul. May my desires for worldly wisdom diminish as my desires for the eternal truths of Your Holy Word increase.  Amen.