March 28, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Weed Appreciation Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 28, 2017  Chuck Schumer made the news in a way that most of us would regret, interfering with a couple’s quiet dinner in a trendy restaurant because the wife had voted for Trump, forcing them to leave and not content following them out into the sidewalk to continue his meltdown rants (what a total asshole; too bad the husband did not deck this pompous swamp creature) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/27/schumer-goes-off-on-trump-supporter-at-nyc-restaurant-witness-says.html); Sessions has thrown down the gauntlet against sanctuary cities that cuts in federal funding to them may be on the horizon as a result of such policies (unfortunately the knee jerk reaction of failed mayors like Emanuel and Di Blasio is vow to fight instead of doing what most Americans would want which is to honor detainer requests of illegals who have been jailed and are about to be released); lawyers for the two illegals arrested in Rockville, Maryland for the rape of a 14 year old are claiming she texted one of them that she wanted to have sex (typical ploy blame it on the victim); in a  like father like son moment the father of one of the perpetrators was arrested for being in this country illegally; a House seat in Montana and one in Georgia will be up for election shortly to fill vacancies created by Trump appointments (could be a harbinger of how we are viewing Trump’s early days in office and the effect of the botched attempts by the Reds to repeal Obamacare); talk about a real war on women especially Muslim women, the Center for Disease Control estimated that 500,000 young women have suffered or are at risk to suffer female genital mutilation in this country, a barbaric practice that will only increase as more and more refugees from the Middle East are located here (what is mind boggling is that at the state level only 24 states outlaw the practice but 26  do not); as expected the Huskies thwacked the Quacks and join Stanford, South Carolina and Mississippi in the Women’s Final Four—Go Stanford; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through March 27 increasing to 707 but the death toll remains stuck at 123 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like.

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Simon and Garfunkel, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from will.i.am, while thankful that today if you work out in the gym to forestall Type II that you have remembered to pack some empasm in your gym bag, 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.  Weed Appreciation Day—celebrating not pot which is becoming legalized in more and more states but those weeds like dandelions, chicory or blackberries that are useful to humans as opposed to weeds that one has to continue to pull out to preserve one’s garden. Yesterday’s word of the day deracinate would have described the process.

2.  American Diabetes Association Alert Day—created by the American Diabetes Association to promote awareness of the growing tide of Type II Diabetes and steps to avoid the disease. Here is a link to determine your risk factors:   http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/alert-day/?referrer=https://www.google.com/     

3. 1970 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1970 on a run of 6 weeks in that position “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel.  Here is a recording of the duo performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjNgn4r6SOA

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “empasm” which is a perfumed powder sprinkled on one’s body to mask the odor of sweat.

5. Cowboys Rule—celebrating the birth on this day in 1986 of Stefani Germanotta but known to her fans as Lady Gaga, one very precocious artist and song writer who learned to play the piano at age four and was singing in New York City nightclubs at the age of 14. Was the featured act for Super Bowl L and LI halftime shows but like so many artists she is definitely not one of the “deplorables” who supported Trump. If you want to impress her on a first date ride up to her residence on a horse wearing a cowboy hat and denims and she loves men that are cowboys.  

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1910 Henri Fabre became the first person to takeoff in a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, taking off from a water runway at Martigues, France and to his delight returning safely to land in the water.

b. 1933 Imperial Airlines City of Liverpool on a flight from London to Brussels had the misfortune to become the first plane destroyed by sabotage when one of the passengers or crew started a fire on board the aircraft while it was still enroute. The likely suspect was seen jumping to his death without a parachute just before the plane crashed into the ground killing all on board.
c. 1969 poet and Nobel Laureate Giorgio Seferis went on the BBC to broadcast his opposition to the military junta ruling Greece.

d. 1978 SCOTUS in Stump v Sparkman held that a judge who approved the sterilization of a 15 year old minor without her knowledge and with any examination of the facts behind the mother’s sterilization petition and without counsel appointed for the minor was immune from a suit by the minor when she discovered after marriage that she had been sterilized had judicial immunity from litigation.  Really a bad decision that left a young woman with no recourse

e. 1979 in a someone up there must be watching over us moment the Unit 2 of a nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island suffered a loss of coolant and a partial melt down of its core but fortunately no radiation was released and no workers or residents of the surrounding communities were injured or killed.     

At least two or three out of five are within our own lifestyle control and all are if we start electing officials who cut government spending and taxes and reduce or eliminate job killing regulations:“There are five issues that make a fist of a hand that can knock America out cold. They're lack of jobs, obesity, diabetes, homelessness, and lack of good education.” will.i.am, noted Hip Hop artist. 
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 28, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

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