Ridley's Believe It Or Not--This Day In History: June 2017

Thursday, June 29, 2017

June 29, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Hug Holiday Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 29, 2017 Chilling words from security adviser McMaster that the threat of North Korea is “immediate” and military options are being prepared (in dealing with this lunatic it will be the height of folly and insanity to believe sanctions will have any different result especially as Putin sensing an opportunity is more than eager to ship oil to North Korea; in another scandal the Vatican needs like a hole in the head, Cardinal Pell of Australia and the Treasurer of the Vatican has been charged by Australian authorities of sexual abuse and will be heading to Australia to defend himself against the charges; the Trump travel ban goes into effect on Thursday and a visa applicant must have a parent, spouse, child, son or daughter in-law here in the U.S. to qualify; President Trump met with families of victims killed by illegal aliens as he gets ready to push for the enactment of Kate’s Law in the House and the Senate (any Blue opposing it has blood or his or her hands especially Feinstein and Harris); no university is immune from the PC culture that is destroying independent thought and creativity as Professor Ruth Starkman at Stanford is warning that a student indicating an assignment was easy is guilty of micro aggression (what a crock);; Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 28 increasing by 11 to 1749 with the death toll increasing by 4 to 309, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary or an emergency care center.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Carole King, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping that you are not inculpated at work, a relevant quote from Carly Fiorina, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. National Bomb Pops Day—an observance celebrating the creation of bomb pops, a three flavored frozen confection on a stick invented in 1955. Here is a photo of a mouth watering bomb pops perfect for the Fourth of July.

2. Hug Holiday Day—created by the Hugs for Health Foundation to promote hugs as a vital component of senior care by going to senior centers, hospitals, and nursing homes to provide friendship, conversation and hugs to residents there; this is an observance that should be celebrated more than just once a year.

3. 1971 Number One Song—the number one song in 1971 on a run of 5 weeks in that position was “It’s Too Late” by Carole King. Here is a performance by her of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDm1xD_Kwyc

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “inculpate” which means to blame or incriminate which when it comes to Trump and any problems we face exactly what CNN, MSNBC and the MSM are fixated on to the point of pyschosis.

5. More of a King Than a Prince—celebrating the birth on this day in 1900 of French aviator and author of the best seller The Little Prince, Antoine du Saint-Exupery whose life was cut short while flying reconnaissance over occupied France.

On this day in:

a. 1975 Steve Wozniak tested his prototype of the Apple I Computer.

b. 1995 the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Soviet’s MIR space station.

c. 2006 SCOTUS in the case of Hamden v Rumsfeld ruled that President Bush’s plan to try Gitmo detainees by military tribunals was unconstitutional and in violation of international law.

d. 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone.

e. 2014 in a bad day for the civilized world, the JV team of ISIS after pouring into Iraq due to the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces proclaimed its caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.

Reflections on whom we should inculpate for the creation of the caliphate by ISIS: “Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are responsible for the growth of ISIS because they precipitously withdrew from Iraq in 2011 against the advice of every single general and for political expediency.” Carly Fiorina She is right as rain on this point. 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.

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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

June 28, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Body Piercing Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 28, 2017 The Senate’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare is on life support as McConnell announced the vote will be delayed while the president is mounting a full court press to convince Republicans to support it and pointing out the obvious that Schumer has no interest whatsoever in negotiating and is only interested in obstruction; Susan Rice who has zero credibility threw out the race and gender card due to the outrage over her role in unmasking Trump transition team officials and Trump supporters (probably did so knowing that the Obama Presidential Library informed Judicial Watch that Susan Rice’s documents pertaining to her role in unmasking will be sealed for five years—what are they trying to hide?); the New York Times, once a respected newspaper and now an anti-Trump advocacy rag like the Washington Post has been sued by Sarah Palin for defamation by editorializing that she incited the shooting of Gabby Gifford (Sullivan v. New York Times may need a revisit and this may be the case for that visit given the growing perception that the press has become totally immersed in advocacy and bias shielded by “unnamed sources?” as opposed to objective reporting); on the PC front complaints that in the movie Dunkirk there are no actors of color because the BEF was probably all white; on the real war on women front, papers have been filed in Santa Clara to collect signatures to recall Judge Persky due to his slap on the wrist six month sentence of Brook Turner for assaulting an unconscious woman; Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 27 increasing by 18 to 1738 with the death toll increasing by 4 to 305, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary or an emergency care center.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to the Jackson Five, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping that the issues you face today are not implex ones, a relevant quote from Elon Musk, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. International Body Piercing Day—a new observance to promote body piercing and honor the accomplishments of one of the pioneers of the art, Jim Ward who was born on this day in 1941.

2. International CAPS Lock Day—CREATED BY DETRL POTOK IN 2009 TO POKE FUN AT PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE IRRITATING HABIT OF USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN THEIR COMMUNICATIONS.

3. 1970 Number One Song—the number one song in 1970 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “The Love You Save” by the Jackson Five. Here is a performance by the group segmented over the years of the song: https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=jackson+five+the+love#id=1&vid=0c72fbded1a1259cb18323a7275be4a2&action=click

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “implex” which describes health care reform to a T—not simple, complicated, involved.

5. On to Mars While We Still Have Time—celebrating the birth on this day in 1971 of Elon Musk, multibillionaire who founded Tesla and SpaceX and who will be a driving force in sending humans to Mars and better yet through underground tunnels send them where they want to get far faster than they are able to travel today on our traffic clogged streets.

On this day in:

a. 1902 Congress passed the Spooner Act authorizing President Roosevelt to acquire from Columbia rights in Panama to build the Panama Canal.

b. 1914 Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by Serbian nationalists in Sarajevo which led to World War I which was ended five years to the day of the assassination by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

c. 1950 despite blowing the bridges over the Han River stranding the South Korean 5^th Division on the other side, Seoul was captured by North Korea and retreating South Koreans started to execute some 100,000-200,000 communist sympathizers or suspected sympathizers in what became known as the Bodo League Massacre.

d. 1969 following a raid by police on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, rioting broke out for two days; the riots known as the Stonewall Riots marked the beginning of the Gay Pride Movement.

e. 2004 the U.S. led coalition handed over civilian rule to the Iraqis.

Reflections on how to solve environmental problems from the birthday boy that Obama’s EPA should have listened to: “ “I'm very pro-environment, but let's figure out how to do it better and not jump through a dozen hoops to achieve what is obvious in the first place.” Elon Musk 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.

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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

June 27, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National PTSD Awareness Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 27, 2017 The U.S. announced to the world and especially Russia that it has detected signs that the Assad regime appears to be planning and preparing for another chemical weapons attack which if true will result in grave consequences for him and his military (if I were this barbarian killer of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, I would not be sleeping in the same place or appearing in public lest he is bombed or cruised into “Paradise” where he belongs; in what should come as no great surprise, Seattle’s increased minimum wage law has resulted in much lower paychecks to the working poor it was designed to protect due to reduced hours and lost jobs; in a chilling reminder of the opioid crisis in Ohio in the town of Middleton, Ohio in all of 2016 the city spent $16,000 for Narcan which is used to prevent someone who has OD’d from dying--with 2017 not half over the city has spent $30,000 so the city is considering not administering Narcan if the addict has had two prior instances of receiving the drug and has not completed any required community service (community service is not rehab and will do squat to help those addicts and the funeral homes will be happy if the policy is implemented); CBO released its scoring of the Senate repeal and replace Obamacare bill and found that 20-22 million would lose insurance coverage by 2026 due largely to the fact that the mandates would be removed enabling people to elect not to purchase insurance, those who bought insurance would see premiums reduced by 30% and the deficit reduced by over $300 billion (the Blues unfortunately have twisted the issue to make it about cutting taxes for, you guessed it, the rich while Obamacare spirals down and insurance companies flee the market—what a mess compliments of the troika of Obama, Pelosi and Reid); while the Reds were trying to improve the Senate bill the Blues looked like a bunch of college students in the 60’s and 70’s holding a four hour sit-in on the Capitol steps (no wonder we mere mortals are fed up with these obstructionist clowns); Google has been hit with a $2.7 billion fine for anti-trust violations by the EU; Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 26 increasing to 1720 with the death toll increasing passing the 300 barrier to 301, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary or an emergency care center.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Henri Mancini, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping we are able to inculcate compromise and bipartisanhip in the Swamp, a relevant quote from Stanley Victor Paskavitch of PTSD, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. National HIV Testing Day—observed since 1995 to promote efforts to cause people who may be at risk to test for the presence of HIV since ignorance is not bliss either for someone infected or his or her partners also in the dark.

2. National PTSD Awareness Day—an observance started in 2010 to increase awareness of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and assist victims to recognize symptoms and to be able to seek out help (this is a problem that is not limited to veterans returning from combat but can affect anyone who has been exposed to horrific traumatic situations).

3. 1969 Number One Song—the number one song in 1969 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet” by Henri Mancini. Here is a performance by him of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaA2WiyqO1E

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “inculcate” which means to instill a habit, idea or attitude by persistent instruction; now more than ever in the political arena we need to inculcate a sense of civility, compromise and bipartisanship to rid us of the toxic grip of gridlock and over the top rhetoric.

5. I’m All Ears—celebrating the birth on this day in 1930 of Ross Perot who formed Electronic Data Systems and sold it to GM for $2.8 billion. He ran as an independent candidate in 1992 obtaining almost 19 percent of the vote and was instrumental in sucking up enough Republican votes to hand the election over to Bill Clinton. In one of the Presidential debates on October 11, 1992 he brought the house down with his line “I’m all ears.”

On this day in:

a. 1844 in a sad display of religious intolerance Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob while being held in a jail in Carthage, Illinois.

b. 1895 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad commenced service of its Royal Blue from the Swamp to New York City, the first passenger train in the U.S. to be powered by electric motors.

c. 1950 the U.S. decided to send troops to South Korea without a declaration of war since this was to be a “police action.”

d. 1971 after being open for only three years, rock promoter Bill Graham closed Filmore East, known as the “Church of Rock and Roll.”

e. 2007 Tony Blair resigned a Prime Minister of the U.K. after 10 years in office.

Reflections on the consequences of PTSD: “PTSD in its rawest form is a death sentence which causes many veterans and others to execute themselves in hope to be free.” Stanley Victor Paskavich, disabled Gulf War veteran with PTSD and poet. 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.

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Monday, June 26, 2017

June 26, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Day of Support for Victims of Torture

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 26, 2017 True to form the liberal 9^th Circuit was stuffed by SCOTUS 9-0 in lifting the stay of the Trump travel ban with some leeway for refugees with sufficient connections to this country (sadly as Thomas pointed out a litigation magnet); on the SCOTUS front the Court also ruled 7-2 in favor of a church that operated a preschool and was barred from a state program to use recycled tires on playground surfaces, voted to hear the case against a couple that refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, and the left is going into conniptions on speculation that Justice Kennedy may soon retire (if Justice Ginsburg who seems asleep during many oral arguments dies or retires Trump going into running for a second term will have appointed three justices); on the college PC front the adjunct professor at the University of Delaware who posted a rant on her Facebook that Otto Warmbier “got what he deserved” will fortunately not be returning to teach (news flash Ms. Dettwyler—stealing a banner should not subject someone to torture and death); on the North Korea delusion front, reports coming out that Kim Jong Un wants to expand tourism to a million visitors a year and ape the partying attractions of Benidorm in Spain (after seeing what happened to Warmbier only a complete idiot would step foot onto North Korea); even though the MSM remains fixated on the Russian collusion delusion, Lynch may find herself in felonius hot water for obstruction of justice (she must be scratching her head with worry that there are no emails out there between her and the DNC re Hillary’s email probe); Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 25 increasing to 1706 with the death toll increasing to 296, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary or an emergency care center.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Herb Albert, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping that you incrassate your gravy free of lumps, a relevant quote from William Hague on torture, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking—created by the UN in 1988 to promote efforts to curtail drug abuse and the flow of illegal drugs, which given the opioid epidemic gripping this nation and many nations of the world is obviously not much of a success.

2. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture—an observance created by the UN to campaign against torture which sadly as we have seen in the case of Otto Warmbier or the numerous victims of ISIS is alive and well.

3. 1968 Number One Song—the number one song in 1968 on a run of 4 weeks in that position was “This Guy Is In Love With You” by Herb Albert. Here is a performance by him, after introduction by a very thin and gaunt looking Karen Carpenter, of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4x-CSul3Jw

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “incrassate” which means to thicken which is something that the plot of Lynch’s possible obstruction of justice is doing.

5. Grand Lady, Grande Songs—celebrating the birth on this day in 1993 noted singer-actress Ariana Grande who has had the misfortune of having a suicide bomb detonate at the venue of her concert in Manchester, England which killed 22 and injured a 100 fans.

On this day in:

a. 1870 to the joy of retailers everywhere, Christmas became a federal holiday.

b. 1886 to the joy of dentists and the bane of conspiracy theorists, Henri Moissan isolated elemental flourine.

c. 1934 President Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Credit Union Act which created credit unions.

d. 1948 William Schockley filed a patent application for the grown junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor and the Electronic Age was off and running.

e. 2015 SCOTUS in the case of Obergefel v Hodge ruled 5-4 that banning same sex marriages was unconstitutional.

Reflections on the consequences of torture: “Governments that block the aspirations of their people, that steal or are corrupt, that oppress and torture or that deny freedom of expression and human rights should bear in mind that they will find it increasingly hard to escape the judgment of their own people, or where warranted, the reach of international law.” William Hague, former British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 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.

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June 25, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Catfish Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 25, 2017 Senator Sanders and his wife have hired legal counsel as new reports surface that she fudged donor levels at Burlington College where she was president and Senator Sander’s office put improper pressure on People’s United Bank to loan the college $10 million to buy 33 acres of land; high drama over the weekend on Obamacare repeal and replacement as 5 Reds are not backing the bill as it stands (art of the deal master really needs to meet with the Reds and the rarest of all senators a few moderate Blues and get a deal crafted); on the saber rattling front, the Russians have warned the U.S. they will target U.S. planes if they cross the Euphrates River into Syria; the Blues having been totally scorched with the Russian collusion fiasco are bracing for a second shoe to drop—the obstruction of justice is not with Trump but rather with Loretta Lynch’s clear messages to Comey make it a probe not a criminal investigation and her failed secret meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac (anyone who believed that HRC would have been indicted and thereby destroyed Obama’s chance to preserve his legacy is someone who believes in the trinity of myth—tooth fairy, Easter Bunny and the leprechaun with a pot of gold); gay pride marches in cities across the land occurred on this day; Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 24 increasing to 1691 with the death toll increasing to 294, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary or an emergency care center.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, music links to the Association and Carly Simon, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping that you incede to your goals, a relevant quote from Charles Rangel on diplomacy, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. National Catfish Day—proclaimed by President Reagan in 1987 to promote consumption of this unique American fish which is the third ranked fish consumed in terms of pounds and from a sustainability goal, 99 percent of which is farm raised.

2. World Vitilgo Day—an observance in the making to create awareness of a condition causing a person to lose his or her pigmentation on parts of that person’s body with the date of June 25 chosen as it is the day in 2009 that one of the most famous sufferers of the condition Michael Jackson died.

3. 1967 Number One Song—the number one song in 1967 on a run of 4 weeks in that position was “Windy” by the Association. Here is a performance by the band of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsY8l0Jg3lY

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “incede” which means to advance majestically which is something Hillary wanted to do all the way to the White House but failed due to her unlikeability.

5. Sing a Song of Vanity—celebrating the birth on this day in 1945 of noted singer Carly Simon who is best known for her hit song “You’re So Vain” linked forever to the total eclipse of the Sun on March 7, 1970 witnessed by this poet in New Haven, Connecticut without the need for a Lear Jet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZmCJUSC6g

On this day in:

a. 1876 in a bad day for the 7^th Cavalry, Custer and his men were wiped out to a man by the Sioux led by Crazy Horse at the Little Big Horn River in Montana.

b. 1910 in a let the good times no longer roll Congress passed the Mann Act which prohibited the transportation of females across state lines for immoral purposes; the ambiguous language was used for decades to selectively prosecute politically undesirables.

c. 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea (67 years later the world is still plagued with a third generation fanatical thug starving his people to pursue nuclear weapons).

d. 1978 the rainbow flag representing gay pride was flown for the first time at a San Francisco Gay Pride Day Parade.

e. 1998 SCOTUS in the case of Clinton v. City of New York ruled that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 was unconstitutional, removing a really effective tool to reign in runaway government spending that is killing our future generations with unsustainable debt levels.

Reflections on a course of action with respect to North Korea we may not be able to follow as the sands run out: “As a Korean War Veteran, I know too well the troubling nature of war. This is why I will always support a diplomatic answer before military intervention.” Charles B. Rangel, former long term Blue Congressman from Harlem. Sadly with respect to Kim Jong Un diplomacy unless China steps up to the plate and closes its borders and joins the U.S. in a blockade of North Korean ports and issues an ultimatum that this lunatic and all members of his family are deposed, diplomacy will not work and we will be forced to exercise a military option to terminate his autocratic and ruthless rule. 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.

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Sunday, June 25, 2017

June 24, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Armed Forces Day (UK)

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 24, 2017 The Blues remain mired in the Russian collusion delusion while new facts surface that Obama knew of Russian hacking attempts months before the election and other than a private conversation with Putin did nothing (given his feckless foreign policy no wonder Putin continued his hacking attempts but it is time for Trump to realize that hacking is not about him but about the integrity of our electoral process and the lights need to be burning late at the Pentagon to craft a cyber response and prevent hacking in the future); the Saudis and other Arab neighbors have had it with Qatar and have put forth a list of demands relating to terrorism funding, Iranian support, Turkish base and the closing of that Islamist rag Al-Jazeera; the list of Red Senators opposed to the Senate bill repealing and replacing Obamacare has risen to 5 (Trump really needs to get involved in the negotiations); on the terror front the Saudis foiled a suicide bombing attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca trapping the bomber in his apartment, forcing the Islamist to blow himself up; Trump is still working on sanctions against China to prod them to join efforts in regime change in North Korea like sanctioning Chinese companies that do business with North Korea and revoking student visas of Chinese students; Venezuela is in a downward spiral with angry protestors attacking an air base; Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 23 increasing to 1675 with the death toll increasing to 294, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to the Beatles, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping that you will not have to listen to any inaniloquent utterances, a relevant quote from Nikita Khruschev on the Berlin Blockade, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. Army Day (Venezuela)—slow day for holidays in U.S. but if dumb enough to be visiting Venezuela due its economic and political crisis, one could celebrate the victory of independence forces led by Simon Bolivar over the Spanish at the Battle of Carabobo on this day in 1821 which led to the ultimate independence of Venezuela from Spain.

2. Armed Forces Day—celebrated since 2006 in the United Kingdom to commemorate and honor the service of past and present members of the British Armed Forces.

3. 1966 Number One Song—the number one song in 1966 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “Paperback Writer” by the Beatles. Here is a performance by the band of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmVwo2DxkGg

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “inaniloquent” which means prone to foolish or empty babbling which we get far too much over from the leftist media or progressive Blues.

5. Stay Away from the Tower—bemoaning the birth on this day in 1941 of Charles Whitman, Jr., who on August 1, 1966 after killing his wife and mother entered the Texas Tower at the University of Texas, killed 3 people and then went up to the 28^th floor observation desk and for the next 96 minutes shot and killed at random 11 people and wounding 31 others before being shot and killed himself by security forces. An autopsy revealed the presence of a brain tumor which may have been the cause of his suicidal behavior that horrific day.

On this day in:

a. 1314 in a great day for the Scots and a bad day for the British, the Scots led by Robert the Bruce decisively defeated the English in the Battle of Bannockburn.

b. 1880 the first performance of O Canada was held at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.

c. 1948 the Cold War became very close to a real war when the Soviets in defiance of treaty obligations stopped all surface traffic in and out of West Berlin to West Germany. Fortunately the blockade was broken by the Berlin Airlift and we did not have to go to war with the Soviets.

d. 1973 an arson attack of the gay bar The Upstairs Lounge in the French Quarter of New Orleans killed 32 people.

e. 1982 British Airways Flight 9 with 248 passengers and 15 crew aboard flew into a volcanic ash cloud from an erupting Mt. Gallunggung in West Java causing the plane to become a glider as all four engines failed; fortunately for all aboard the pilot was able to restart all engines and land safely in Jakarta.

Reflections on the Berlin Blockade ”We’re closing Berlin off. We’re going to roll out the barbed wire and the allies are going to stand there like dumb sheep.” Nikita Khrushchev Fortunately for Berliners, Truman was not a dumb sheep and the Berlin Airlift he authorized broke the back of the Soviets (can you imagine the non response of Barack Obama had he been president?). 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.

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Friday, June 23, 2017

June 23, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Widows Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 23, 2017 One can only pray that McConnell can pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and find 50 votes to repeal Obamacare to send it to reconciliation with the House (Schumer is the chief obstruction Swamp denizen whose “wolf in sheep’s clothing” castigation of the proposed bill should go down as one of the most pathetic deceptive speeches in history on the Senate floor); no Senator or House member should be allowed to leave the Swamp until a repeal and replacement of Obamacare and tax cuts are passed—no more MIA business as usual nonsense while the recovery hangs by a slender thread of failed expectations!; Mueller, given his long term friendship with Comey when it comes to him and his team of Clinton donors, probably does not have an objective bone in his body but has a carte blanche to spend as much money as he wants to investigate an expanding, never ending probe of collusion and obstruction of justice witch hunts that will only delay what this country really needs—jobs, tax cuts, security, and infrastructure (when does Trump say enough and fire this Comey plant, take the heat and move on to solve our pressing potential economic problems that may devastate us mere mortals living outside the Swamp?); gruesome news coming out of the Hermit Kingdom of Kim Jong Un’s depravity in killing and the methods of killing any perceived opponents (if there ever was a case for regime change ala snipers, drones, MOAB or sadly even nukes look no further and followed by massive food aid to a starving population); in another art trying to imitate life moment Johnny Depp in England was “joking” about assassinating President Trump ala Booth (when will the left tone down the anti Trump rhetoric and put away the dog whistles of hate and violence?); Rahm Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings in 2017 through June 22 increasing to 1660 but the death toll unchanged at 292, a major tragedy that the powers to be in Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a mortuary.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to the Byrds, factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping that our politicians will not display impudicity in dealing with the pressing issues facing us, a relevant quote from Freddy Fender on birth control, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. International Widows Day—a UN ratified day to promote awareness of the economic and social difficulties faced by widows following the death of their husbands.

2. United Nations Public Service Day—created by the UN General Assembly in 2003 to recognize and promote the contributions of public service to our communities although too often public service workers due to the contributions of their unions to political office holders are blessed with wages higher than the private sector and bankrupting pensions that private sector workers can only dream of.

3. 1965 Number One Song—the number one song in 1965 on a run of 1 week in that position was “Mr. Tambourine Man” by the Byrds. Here is a performance by the band of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPqAvgN6Tyw

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “impudicity” which means shamelessness, a character trait which most politicians in attacking their opponents possess in spades as they stand on the pulpit of hypocrisy.

5. Almost Borked by Leftist Dorks—celebrating the birth on this day in 1948 of Associate Justice of SCOTUS Clarence Thomas who barely survived a savage attack by Anita Hill over bogus sexual harassment claims and the Blues eager to Bork another conservative nominee and has become one of the conservative pillars of the court.

On this day in:

a. 1894 the International Olympic Committee was established at the Sorbonne.

b. 1926 the College Board administered the first SAT.

c. 1960 in a let the good times now roll without concern moment, the FDA approved the use of Enovid as an oral contraceptive.

d. 1969 in a move which created the modern software industry, IBM announced that henceforth it would price its hardware and services separately.

e. 2014 in a classic pull the wool over the civilized world’s eyes, the barbarous Assad convinced the world that all his chemical weapons previously being used on his own people which created the “red Line in the sand” by our feckless former president had been removed for destruction, a deception that was revealed in April of this year when he dropped nerve gas on a town in Syria, prompting a nonfeckless Trump to launch dozens of cruise missiles against the Syrian base that had launched the planes.

Reflections on the need for birth control on the anniversary of the introduction of the pill: ”Whenever I run into prejudice. I smile and feel sorry for them, and I say to myself, ‘There's one more argument for birth control.’” Freddy Fender, noted Mexican American singer who sadly died of lung cancer at the early age of 69. 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.

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