Ridley's Believe It Or Not For March 12, 2016 World Day Against Cyber Censorship

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 12, 2016. Unfortunately in this leap year, still 314 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term but fortunately you can find daily updates and photos on the Iditarod at www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com. Really disturbing theater last night as Moveon.org got its disgraceful wish last night in Chicago as its adherents forced Trump to cancel a large rally—shades of 1968 when in protest to the Vietnam War tried to shut down the Democratic Convention. Have Obama, Clinton, or Sanders condemned the protestors for shutting down free speech? Of course not they blame Trump for his rhetoric which is about as idiotic and delusional as blaming a rape victim for her rape because she wore a seductive dress.  I trust your Saturday is proving to be a great one; and as always, I hope  you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to Cher, factoids of interest, a  relevant quote from an Ai Weiwei while looking forward to enjoying a plate of baked scallops, blessed with a positive attitude and  secure in  the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events 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. World Day Against Cyber Censorship—celebrated since 2008 to promote the removal of government censorship of the internet and restrictions on access.

2. Girl Scout Day—commemorating the formation on this day in 1912 of the formation by Juliette Gordon Low of first Girl Scout group in Savannah, Georgia with 18 girls; the organization has become a national organization with millions of girls involved in the Girl Scouts                                         

3. 1999 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1999 on a run of four weeks in that position Believe by Cher. Here is a link to Cher performing Believe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uu3kCEEc98

4. National Baked Scallops Day—celebrating another great tasty mollusk. 

5. Fire and Rain Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1948 of James Taylor, noted singer/songwriter whose albums have sold over a million copies.  

On this day in:

a. 1928 at 11:57 p.m. the St. Francis Dam near present day Santa Clarita failed and the resulting torrent of water killed 431 people and counted as its casualty the career of William Mulholland’s career as the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.      

b. 1930 in defiance of the British Government, Mahatma Gandhi led a 200 mile march to the sea (the “Salt March”) to protest the British monopoly over salt in India. 

c. 1933 to calm the nation’s anxiety over the economic woes of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt addressed the nation over the radio in what became known as the fireside chats.      

d. 1993 Janet Reno was sworn in as the nation’s first female Attorney General.

e. 2009 Bernard Madoff who operated for almost 20 years the largest Ponzi scam in history plead guilty and ended up being sentenced to 150 years in a federal penitentiary; he is currently in prison and will die there.                                                                         

Reflections on internet censorship: “When you have strict censorship of the internet, young students cannot receive a full education. Their view of the world is imbalanced. There can be no true discussion of the issues. Ai Weiwei, noted Chinese artist and critic of the Chinese government for its stance on human rights and democracy.   Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) 
and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day In History.

© March 12, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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