February 24 History Dragobete

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—February 24, 2015 Trust your Taco or better yet Popeye’s two piece $1.29 Tuesday is off to a great start and you are still anxiously awaiting the start of the Iditarod in 13 days (when it starts properly befitting my Alaskan heritage and homage to the Last Great Race on Earth I will post daily standings). As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and relevant quote by Admiral Nimitz with a smile on your face, enjoying a margarita, blessed  with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient.  You need only contact me for details.

       1. Dragobete—celebrated in Romania to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring; known as “the day the birds are betrothed” to build their nests and mate—an avian Valentines’ Day if you will. So if you missed out on Valentines’ Day, another chance.

       2. Museum Advocacy Day—celebrating a day to advocate continued funding of museums and to charge up your advocacy batteries, try to spend some time there today; if we do not preserve our past, we dilute the present and impair our future.

       3. 1966 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1965, as part of a 1 week run These Boots Are Made For Walking by Nancy Sinatra.

        4. National Tortilla Chip Day—great way to utilize any surplus avocadoes or salsa by uniting them with tortilla chips.

        5. No Excuse Day—commemorating the birthday of a great entrepreneur with a marketing slogan of “Just do it,” Phil Knight, born on this day in 1938 and co-founder of Nike.                                               

On this day in
     a. 1868 President Andrew Johnson became the first president to be impeached; he failed to be convicted by one vote. President Clinton over one hundred years later having been the second president to be impeached easily avoided a guilty verdict due to unanimous Democratic support.   
     b. 1917 the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain received a copy of the Zimmerman telegram to Mexico in which Germany pledged to insure Mexico the return of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico if it would declare war on the U.S. This was the straw that broke Wilson’s back on avoiding involvement in World War I and less than two months later he appeared before Congress to seek a declaration of war against Germany. 
     c. 1920 in a dark day for humanity the Nazi party was founded.   
     d. 1983 in a better late than never moment a special commission of the Congress released a report condemning the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II—really a sad moment in American history.    
     e. 1989 in a moment that should bring into clear focus why our values of free expression are diametrically opposed to Islam, Ayatollah Khomeini  announced a $3 million bounty for the execution of Salman Rushdie, the author of the Satanic Verses; at least the Nazis only burned books not the living authors while these fanatics as Charlie Hebdo shows want to kill the authors.
Reflections on why we must never, ever not subject the federal government to the utmost critical review of its actions: “The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second and third generation Japanese born on United States soil possessed of U.S. citizenship have become “Americanized” the racial strains are undiluted. It then follows that along the vital Pacific Coast over 112,000 potential enemies, of Japanese extraction, are at large today. There are indications that these were organized and ready for concerted action at a favorable opportunity. The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken...” —  DeWitt’s Final Report: Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast, 1942, and the government’s brief to the Supreme Court defending Ex. Order 9066. What makes the stain on this country’s reputation due to internment even darker is the fact that the sons of these wrongfully interned citizens serving in the 442^nd Regimental Combat in Europe won 21 Medals of Honor and the unit was the most decorated unit in the U.S. Army.  
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© February 24, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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