...stripes was later reduced to the original 13.) In 1864, composer Stephen Foster died in New York. In 1962, comedian Ernie Kovacs died in a car crash in west Los Angeles. In 1966, Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member as he was...

...Helitzer, who teaches a journalism class in comedy writing at Ohio University. Helitzer, who used to write jokes for Ernie Kovacs, knows he's fighting a losing battle. ``I tell my students, `Up your standards,' and they say, `Up yours...