Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 2, 2017 First it was the Cardinal then yesterday the Ducks, the Cinderella team whose carriage to the Championship Game on Monday turned into a pumpkin and the Pac 12 with no teams vying for the National Championship in either by the men or the women; as Obamacare continues its death spiral of insurance companies leaving and premiums and deductibles going through the roof, in an attempt to do what is best for the American people, the art of the deal master is coming back to the table (hope the Freedom Caucus works on its my way or the highway attitude); only three brave Blue Senators appear to be willing to buck Schumer and vote in favor of Gorsuch (although it is to be expected that our junior Senator who is in terms of her views a Barbara Boxer on steroids has announced she will vote not, Diane Feinstein may also vote no); Mitch McConnell has vowed Gorsuch will be confirmed this week which means the Blues are going to be nuked; Mylan the pharma company that everyone detests for its price gouging of the EpiPen found itself in the spotlight again with a recall of 800,000 due to a defect that would render the EpiPen unusable; the DOJ is serious about moving forward to withdraw funds for sanctuary cities like L.A. (take the money and use it to build the wall or clean up the mess at the VA); Flynn’s request for immunity was denied and he may face more difficulties by failing to have disclosed payments from Russian entities on his ethics disclosure form; 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 April 1 increasing by 6 to 737 and the death toll rising by only 2 to 137 (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 (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?).
As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, music links to Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Temple Grandin, while avoiding any lycanthropy, 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 Autism Awareness Day—created by the UN in 2007 to promote awareness of autism and the need for research and treatment of a disorder that experts estimate affects one percent of the world’s population.
2. International Children’s Book Day—celebrated since 1967 of Hans Christian Andersen to promote reading by and to children, the earlier the better.
3. 1975 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1975 on a run of 1 week in that position “Lovin’ You” by Minnie Riperton, singer with a 5 ½ octave range who died way too soon from breast cancer at the age of 32. Here is a recording of her performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE0pwJ5PMDg.
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lycanthrophy” which means the supernatural transformation of a person into a wolf as Michael J. Fox has demonstrated on the silver screen.
5. Cocaine, Alcohol and a 38 Don’t Mix—celebrating the birth on this day in 1939 of the “Prince of Soul,” Marvin Gaye noted singer who while in a cocaine and alcohol rage was shot and killed by his pastor father with a 38 that ironically Marvin had given to him for his protection after an altercation in which Marvin Gaye punched and kicked him. Here is a recording of one his more memorable songs in protest of the Vietnam War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M
On this day in:
a. 1865 in the end of the Confederacy is near, the third battle of Petersburg, Virginia, forced the Army to retreat from Richmond as the Union Army was advancing into the city unchecked.
b. 1900 the Congress passed the Foraker Act granting limited self rule to the island of Puerto Rico, which today due to excessive spending is for all intent and purposes bankrupt.
c. 1917 after the resurrection by the Germans of unrestricted submarine warfare against the merchant ships of all nations including the United States and the interception of the infamous Zimmerman Telegram promising German aid to Mexico to assist it in recovering territory from the United States, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany which it did bring the U.S. into World War I.
d. 1973 LexisNexis, a computerized legal search program, was launched.
e. 1986 Alabama Governor and American Independence Party candidate for President announced that he would not seek a fifth four year term and would retire from public life when his current term expire in 1987 (nothing like an assassination attempt resulting in his being confined to a wheel chair to dampen the desire to run for office).
Reflections on Autism and its spectrum: “Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. You don't want people to be on the severe end of the spectrum. But if you got rid of all the autism genetics, you wouldn't have science or art. All you would have is a bunch of social 'yak yaks.”Temple Grandin, autism advocate who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two but went on to write several bestselling books and receive a PhD in animal science from the University of Illinois. 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.
© April 2, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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