May 3 History World Press Freedom Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 3, 2015 Trust your weekend half way through is proving to be a great one especially if you were a betting person you picked American Pharaoh to win the Kentucky Derby and Floyd Mayweather to win the fight going in to next morning to squeeze some more PPV dollars. If you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which (see below) is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a really great music video of We Are the World) and a relevant poem by the Alaskanpoet, having enjoyed several raspberry popovers and the satisfaction of seeing the horse and man, American Pharaoh and Floyd Mayweather, you bet on both win, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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. World Press Freedom Day—established by the General Assembly in 1993 to promote freedom of the press and freedom of expression both of which are under assault as radical Islamists’ killings at Charle Hebno indicate or just as troubling are self inflicted here in the U.S. where too many main stream journalists have strayed into advocacy journalism and will not subject this administration or those Blues who wish to replace it to the critical review of its policies if a Red were in office.
       2.  National Public Radio Day— celebrating the advent of public radio created by the Public Broadcast Act of 1967, which is still going strong today with a format that must be noncommercial or educational and operate with a least 5 employees for at least 18 hours a day.
       3. 1985 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1985 on a four week run We Are the World  by USA Africa, an ad hoc group of 44 artists, primarily from the U.S., formed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie to create and sell the record to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Everyone who performed checked their egos at the gate and created together a record that is a piece of art and along with Hands Across America raised over $100 million. Just another example of what this country can do when we act in a united fashion toward a common goal.  Here is a link to a music video of USA Africa performing We Are the World (Ray Charles, Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie are easy to pick out—see how many of the other 41 you recognize:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SGFcYLO0jg
       4. National Raspberry Popover Day—celebrating a great way to start your morning right from the toaster or the microwave.
       5. White Christmas not a Dream but a Nightmare—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1903 of one of the most successful artists of all time with over 500 million records sold and whose record White Christmas fills the airways each Christmas—the one and only Bing Crosby. God must like the song for he had the Northeast this year blanketed with an incredible amount of snow and He must have had a soft spot for Bing for he allowed him to complete a recording session in England, fly to Spain to play a round of golf which he and his partner prevailed, after pausing on the 9^th hole to sing Strangers in the Night to a group of construction workers building a house, then while walking to the clubhouse die of a massive heart attack. Great singer, great man. 
On this day in
       a. 1915 the poem In Flanders Field was composed by Lt. Colonel John McCrae of the CEFBEF; the poem is a classic but although transferred to the medical corps McCrae contracted pneumonia and then meningitis and died in France in January of 1918.
       b. 1921 to the dismay of the consumer, West Virginia became the first state to create a comprehensive sales tax but due to enforcement issues did not implement the collection for several years.    
       c. 1952 CBS televised the Kentucky Derby for the first time and fans with access to TV sets were able to watch Hill Gail ridden by Eddie Arcaro win the first televised Kentucky Derby. 
       d. 1960 the Anne Frank House Museum opened in Amsterdam; it is a very chilling reminder of the evils of the Nazis which despite insurmountable odds were countered by the brave Dutch who tried to protect Jews like Anne Frank.
       e. 1978 in a day of electronic infamy that will be repeated by many continually, a marketing representative for Digital Equipment Corporation sent an unsolicited commercial email (aka spam0 to every ARAPENET address on the West Coast.
Reflections on the most effective form of suppression of the freedom of the press, one of our most important rights:
“If you jailed editors and journalists, boycotted ad revenue, or newspapers and TV stations shut down,
You would have a rebellion of the people similar to that which occurred against the Crown
But if based on political views you slanted the coverage or the stories you chose to print or air
Such that opposing views on issues or candidates, your journalists would never share
Self censorship unseen, but more deadly than any government act

Today, exactly the source of many freedom of press attacks.” Alaskanpoet 5/3/2015 To paraphrase Marx: the last media we shut down will be the last media who our plans chose not to report.

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© May 3, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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