February 28, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Science Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 28, 2018 75 year old has been Striesand is ranting that voting machines were tampered with to steal the election from HRC and is blaming Trump for the Parkland massacre (no evidence which should be a wake up call for her to speed more time in the recording studio keeping her singing skills current);Trump was meeting with Reds and Blues discussing how to make schools safe and how to move legislation that would increase background checks, ban bumpstocks and put more concealed permits in schools; on the reptilian brain front six democrats in office or running for office have returned contributions given to them by Ed Buck a mega donor to Blues due to the meth induced fatal overdose of a young male escort at Buck’s home (HRC and Obama recipients of Buck’s past political largess have not responded to calls on their plans); on the political corruption front Blue Texas State Senator Carlos Uresti convicted of 11 felony counts of fraud and bribery and facing up to 20 years in  prison is refusing to resign (why this felon has not been removed is a real mystery and justifies the low regard we mere mortals have of politicians); Cagle running for governor in Georgia announced he will kill any legislation benefiting Delta unless it drops its plans to eliminate discounts to NRA members (Delta will be out $40 million for joining the throng of corporate lemmings distancing themselves from any ties to the NRA); the All Biased Cack network has received at least 30,000 calls protesting Joy Behar’s rants against Christianity (more effective use of time would be to contact the sponsors dumb enough to keep the clueless, biased women on the air and indicate the caller’s boycott of their products due to their sponsorship of The View); on the pedophile front a 26 year old science teacher Stephanie Peterson has been arrested for having sex with a 14 year old eighth grader; in Chicago through February 27, 2018 355 people have been shot of whom 67 have died and in February through the same date 141 people have been shot of whom 31 have died (do not be surprised if at the end of February, Chicago is averaging two Parklands per month in terms of number of dead and the left and Blue leaders are silent while mostly minority shooters with handguns kill mostly minorities—a true definition of racism).

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to 50 Cent feat. Oliva; factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that your garden is not lacking in loess and a relevant quote by George Kerr on the 228 Incident in Taiwan, 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. Rare Diseases Day—created in 2008 by the National Organization of Rare Disorders to promote awareness of rare diseases that affect limited numbers of victims and to provide support for the victims and their families.

2. National Science Day—celebrating and promoting the teaching of science since 1986; in the area of STEM this nation is not turning out enough scientists and engineers to fill the high paying jobs at such companies as Google or Oracle.

3. 2005 Number One Song— the number one song in 2005 on a run of 9 weeks in that position “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent feat. Olivia. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRcnnId15BA

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “loess” which means a deposit of rich and fertile soil.

5. Don’t Swim If You Drink Like A Fish—celebrating the birth on this day in 1942 of Brian Jones one of the co-founders of the Rolling Stones who struggled with drugs and alcohol to the point he was asked by the band to leave and drowned in his pool one month later on July 3, 1969.  .

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1983 the last episode of M*A*S*H aired watched by 106 million viewers the largest number of viewers to watch a final episode of a series.

b. 1993 federal ATF Agents tried to serve an arrest warrant on Branch Davidian leader David Koresh resulting in a shoot out in which 4 agents and 6 Branch Davidians were killed leading to a 51 day standoff that ended with the storming of the complex on April 19, 1993 and the its burning to the ground killing 76 members of the sect.

c. 1998 the first flight of the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned drone allowed to file flight plans and operate in commercial airspace.

d. 2004 over a million Taiwanese formed a 500 kilometer long human chain to commemorate the brutal suppression of anti-government protests on this day in 1947 in which some 10,000 citizens were believed to have been killed by Chiang Kai-shek’s troops.

e. 2013 Pope Benedict XVI resigned as the pope of the Catholic Church, the first to do so since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.

Reflections on the 228 Incident in Taiwan: “Each man was trussed up and the lot were bound together, neck-to-neck, by heavy cords. They were headed toward the river on the outskirts of town and there could be no doubt that they would be tortured or dead within the hour.”  George Kerr, American diplomat in Taiwan and the author of Formosa Betrayed. 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.

© February 28, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 26, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Carnival Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 26, 2018 Maxine Waters the rabid ideologue impeachment queen who actually bests Pelosi at times as the lightening rod to energize Red voters at the California Dems’  annual convention was claiming Trump was mentally ill and beating the drums again for impeachment as Mueller “is connecting the dots” (HRC and the DNC may be in a rude surprise that the dots being connecting are like an errant torpedo coming back to the real collusion with the Russians, HRC and the DNC and the real smoking gun of corruption and collusion the Uranium One quid pro quo deal); Sanders who may age notwithstanding his age be thinking of a 2020 run but hobbled by allegations of his wife’s bank fraud allegations is struggling with allegations that his campaign may have colluded with the Russians against HRC (the drama never ends); while there are mounting calls for the sheriff of Broward County to resign or be recalled, the Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy who failed to enter the school and has since resigned is having his lawyer defend him for not being a coward; news today is that the Sheriff Israel is also being slammed for delaying the EMS responders’ entry into the shooting site (another reason that Israel should be fired); Trump was meeting with governors at the White House to listen to their ideas on how to protect schools from violence (not sure if Moonbeam was present but the mayor of Sanctuary City Oakland was in the news warning residents of upcoming ICE raids); the Saudi Arabia King has sacked several of its military top leaders as the war with Yemen continues in its third year and in a sign it is shedding some of its feudal past will allow women to serve in its military; on the sports front that spineless Goodell who has presided over a drop in attendance and viewing in the NFL due to the Kaepernick inspired kneeling protests may be fining Jerry Jones millions for his protest over the outrageous salary and bonuses Goodell has been awarded (why he did not fine the kneeling protestors is beyond belief); on the sexual harassment front Suzie Hardy hired by E as Bob Seacrest’s personal stylist has leveled accusations he groped her in his underwear; on the music front the ageless wonders of the music world, the Rolling Stones, have announced that they are touring the UK this year; in Chicago through February 25, 2018 350 people have been shot of whom 67 have died and in February through the same date 141 people have been shot of whom 31 have died (do not be surprised if at the end of February Chicago is averaging two Parklands per month in terms of number of dead and the left and Blue leaders are silent while mostly minority shooters with handguns kill mostly minorities—a true definition of racism).

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Usher; factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that we now have a competent lodesman on the economy and a relevant quote by Seth Shostak on radar, 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. National Carnival Day—celebrating that fun venue of rides, food and games of skill (usually rigged against the participant offering usually cheap prizes that a participant will spend a fortune on).

2. Levi Strauss Day—celebrating the durable and iconic garment essential, blue jeans, on the birthday on this day in 1829 of German immigrant Levi Strauss.

3. 2004 Number One Song— the number one song in 2004 on a run of 12 weeks in that position “Yeah” by Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lodesman” who is a person that steers a ship; thanks to Trump our ship of state is being steered properly and in the right directions compared to its last pilot.

5. Spared of a Kaine Mutiny—celebrating or bemoaning depending on your political point of view the birth on this day in 1958 of Tim Kaine Senator from Virginia and running mate of Hillary Clinton who fortunately was such a flawed candidate with a lousy campaign that the two of them were squashed in the election.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1815 Napoleon escaped from Elba enroute to entering France and his rendezvous with failure at Waterloo.

b. 1909 the world’s first motion picture color process Kinemacolor was shown to the public at the Palace Theater in London.

c. 1914 the sister ship to the RMS Titanic the RMS Brittanic was launched and like the Titanic had a short life, being sunk as a hospital ship on November 21, 1915 after striking a mine off the cost of Greece but unlike her sister of the 1065 crew and wounded soldiers aboard her, only 30 perished.

d. 1935 in a march toward WWII, Adolf Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe outlawed by the Versailles Treaty to be reformed the same day in England that Robert Watson-Watt was demonstrating a device that would lead to the development of radar which enable England to prevail in the Battle of Britain.

e. 1980 in a what took you so long moment Egypt and Israel established full diplomatic relations.

Radar has many more uses that just detecting planes, ships or missles: “The strongest signals leaking off our planet are radar transmissions, not television or radio. The most powerful radars, such as the one mounted on the Arecibo telescope (used to study the ionosphere and map asteroids) could be detected with a similarly sized antenna at a distance of nearly 1,000 light-years.” Seth Shostak Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute charged with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. 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.

© February 26, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 25, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Clam Chowder Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 25, 2018 The Dems in California at their annual convention failed to endorse geriatric Senator Diane Feinstein’s bid for another term because she can’t hobble to the left of Kamals Harris fast enough and instead voted in favor of progressive leftist State Senator Kevin de Leon even though polls show Feinstein leading him by 29 percent; from McCabe’s testimony last year that the FISA warrants would never have been sought without the fallacious anti-Trump dossier the Schiff memo and new Blue allegations that the dossier was a minor reason to obtain the warrants, the Blues are scrambling to obfuscate the real threat to our democracy that the FBI and DOJ failed to disclose the dossier was at best not authenticated or at worse false and in either event it had been paid for by the DNC and HRC (still trying to find the transcript but given Schiff’s past performance when it comes to a lack of credibility and objectivity find it hard to believe anything that comes out of his mouth other than cack); look for a recall against Sheriff Israel if he does not resign—how many calls to the Cruz household had to occur before someone realized there was a problem (we also should be looking at whether the anti-police rhetoric and action by Blues is hindering the desire or ability of cops to put their lives on the line http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2018/02/pigs-in-blanket-fry-m-like-bacon-home.html; while the Blues’ response to Parkland has been Pavlovian (more gun control) and the Reds more common sense (better background checks, end burpstocks), a more refreshing response has been that of a high school student entrepreneur Justin Rivard who has invented a device JustinKase that when used makes it impossible for a shooter to open a classroom door overcoming the weakness of merely locking the door only to have it shot through; February 23 Ridley's Believe It Or Not-This Day In History alerted the world that the day was Curling Is Cool Day and a day later for the U.S. as predicted by an episode of The Simpsons in 2010 it was, as the U.S. Mens Curling Team beat Sweden 10-7 to win the Gold Medal; in Chicago through February 24, 2018 340 people have been shot of whom 66 have died and in February through the same date 130 people have been shot of whom 30 have died (do not be surprised if at the end of February Chicago is averaging two Parklands per month in terms of number of dead and the left and Blue leaders are silent while mostly minority shooters with handguns kill mostly minorities—a true definition of racism).

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Jennifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that your cupboard of ideas on problem solving is locuplete and a relevant quote by Joseph Stalin on education as a weapon, 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. National Clam Chowder Day—celebrating a great meal whether it is Manhattan or New England and for this Alaskan brings back great memories of digging up a pail of clams at low tide off our front door in Petersburg and then making clam chowder to enjoy.

2. National Day Kuwait—slow day for holidays unless in Kuwait where the country celebrates National Day, showing the world what a unique place Kuwaitis believe their country to be especially since the Iraqis were evicted by the Coalition Forces.

3. 2003 Number One Song— the number one song in 2003 on a run of 4 weeks in that position  “All I Have” by Jenifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeSJ2YdhG5k

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “locuplete” which means amply stocked which aptly describes the amount of rhetoric the Blues and Reds all too willing to sling at each other.

5. Too Biased For Any Handler—celebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in 1975 of Chelsea Handler who once touted herself as a comedian and has now degenerated into a really too over the top rabid anti-Trumpster with rants that are not funny  but are the dog whistles of hate and discord that rational people should completely tune out.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1956 in a better late than never moment Nikita Khrushchev in a speech entitled On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences denounced the largest mass murder in history, Joseph Stalin, and the cult of personality that surrounded him.

b. 1987 Southern Methodist University became the first collegiate football team to receive what is known as the “death penalty” and was banned from any competition in 1987 due to violations of NCAA rules.

c. 1991 with the Soviet Union having dissolved, the Warsaw Pact was also dissolved.

d. 1994 at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, West Bank, Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Palestinian worshippers with an automatic rifle, killing 29 and wounding 125 before he was beaten to death by the survivors.

e. 1997 Yi Han-yong, a defector from North Korea and relative of Kim Jong-Un was murdered in Bundang, South Korea by unknown assailants who were never caught but believed to be North Korean special forces.

Reflections on our educational system and its PC slant that proves the wisdom of this mass murderer: “Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” Joseph Stalin   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.

.

© February 25, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 24, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Bartenders Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 24, 2018 The Cack “News” Network is at it again but this time really crossing the line and invading the privacy of 76 year old Trump supporter who organized a pro Trump as one of the unknowing Americans cited by the FBI when it announced the indictment of 13 Russians—Drew Griffin the Cack reporter ambushed her in front of her house with its address visible and guess what she denied any Russians were at the rally only Trump supporters she knew and as a result of that Cack dispenser she is receiving death threats; in an internet based adage of live by the sword die by the sword, Snapchat which relies on celebrity endorsements saw its market cap drop $1.3 billion when Kyle Jenner tweeted that she was saddened that no one opened Snapchat anymore; news out of the Parkland Thin Blue Line response is getting worse as two more deputies are being accused of doing the same thing, not heading to the sound of gunfire http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2018/02/in-parkland-no-running-to-sound-of-guns.html; Security Council has approved a ceasefire in Syria to give some relief to the suffering civilians there; the Blue Adam Schiff counter memo on FISA warrants has been released and was immediately attacked by the White House (when will the FISA judge hold a hearing to determined whether the FBI should be held in contempt for failing to disclose that the anti-Trump dossier without which no warrant would have been sought had been paid for by HRC’s Campaign and the DNC utilizing Russian supplied misinformation?); in Chicago through February 22, 2018 325 people have been shot of whom 63 have died and in February through the same date 116 people have been shot of whom 27 have died (do not be surprised if at the end of February Chicago is averaging two Parklands per month in terms of number of dead and the left and Blue leaders are silent).

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Ja Rule feat. Ashanti, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that none of your enemies are lochetic and a relevant quote by President Ronald Reagan on interment of Japanese-Americans, 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 Bartender Day—celebrating a profession that has been around for a very long time and today is probably 80 percent mixology and 20 percent psychology.

2. National Trading Card Day—clueless where this one came from but a good guess might be Topp or Upperdeck.

3. 2002 Number One Song— the number one song in 2002 on a run of 2 weeks in that position  “Always On Time” by Ja Rule feat. Ashanti. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tcDXJfAFVw

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lochetic” which means waiting in ambush which is exactly what Schumer and Pelosi are trying to do 24/7 to the Trump agenda.

5. A New David Copperfield--celebrating the birth on this day in 1964 of robert McLiam Wilson noted Irish novelist whose first novel Ripley Bogley, a novel about a vagrant living on the streets of London achieved critical acclaim.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1983 a special commission of the Congress condemned the forced internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII which ultimately led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 providing $20,000 to each of the 60,000 Japanese-American internees still alive.

b. 1984 Tyronne Mitchell who had lost both parents, four brothers  and a sister at Jonestown started shooting at elementary school children in the 49^th Street Elementary School in L.A. from his house across the street with an AR-15 and shotgun killing two and wounding twelve before turning the shotgun on himself and committing suicide.

c. 1989 a cargo door on United Airlines Flight 811 from Honolulu to New Zealand  blew out shortly after takeoff and blew out 9 passengers from Business Class into the Unfriendly Skies to their deaths.

d. 1991 the ground operations of Desert Storm commenced as Coalition Forces crossed the Saudi Arabia border into Iraq in operations that in 100 hours would lead to the surrender of Iraqi forces.

e. 2008 Fidel Castro retired as the President of Cuba after 32 years of dictatorship.

Reflections on admitting a wrong: “The legislation that I am about to sign provides for a restitution payment to each of the 60,000 surviving Japanese-Americans of the 120,000 who were relocated or detained. Yet no payment can make up for those lost years. So, what is most important in this bill has less to do with property than with honor. For here we admit a wrong; here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.” President Ronald Reagan on signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.   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.

.

© February 24, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 23, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Stand Up To Bullying Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 23, 2018 The Cack “News” Network is at it again true to its credo of a question of not if showing bias but always when in putting on a Town Hall Meeting in which Parkland students were told to follow the CNN script on gun control and conservatives like Dana Loesch were shouted down, booed and needed security to be able to exit the building; sounds good on paper to harden schools with retired police or military but the reality may be more complex as shocking revelations that Deputy Scott Peterson who was armed and knew that shootings were taking place refused to enter the school building and who has resigned and currently has his home being guarded by police (he was either untrained or worse was not brave enough to put his life on the line armed with only a Glock which may not be so surprising given the wave of anti-police rhetoric and the callous indifference to police deaths in the line of duty); Trump will be speaking at CPAC after the head of the NRA blasted the left and the MSM for blaming his organization; words are powerful and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has eliminated “nation of immigrants” from its mission statement when perhaps the insertion of “legal” would have been a better choice; thanks to DACA and the pool of unaccompanied minors as fertile grounds to recruit, the deadly and vicious gang MS-13 is now in 22 states (another reason why we need a secure border); in another example of a failed judicial system a third time DUI who killed an active duty vet and fled the scene, after being sentenced to six years appealed and had the sentence reduced to six months; lost in the furor of the left for more gun control after Parkland is this troubling fact: in Chicago through February 21, 2018 321 people have been shot of whom 62 have died and in February through the same date 112 people have been shot of whom 26 have died (do not be surprised if at the end of February Chicago is averaging two Parklands per month in terms of number of dead and the left and Blue leaders are silent).

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Joe feat. Mystikal, factoids of interest for this day in history, a weekend at a quaint locanda and a relevant quote by Michael Dell on charting your future, 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. International Stand Up To Bullying Day—creating awareness since 2008 that bullying whether physical or online should never be tolerated as it can have deadly consequences.

2. Curling Is Cool Day—one of the great dividends of the Winter Olympics is the ability to watch this team sport with its 44 pound stones gliding down the lane with three sweepers frantically sweeping trying to control the flight of the stones.

3. 2001 Number One Song— the number one song in 2001 on a run of 4 weeks in that position  “Stutter” by Joe feat. Mystikal. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eODhO-sA9aQ

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “locanda” which is a lodging-house or inn and a good place to be in the mountains if the slopes are covered in snow.

5. Age Is Not A Barrier--celebrating the birth on this day in 1965 of Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computer Corporation and at one time the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the longest serving CEO of a computer company.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1945 in the bloody battle for Iwo Jima, Joe Rosenthal took the iconic picture of the war showing six Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on the top of Mount Suribachi; unfortunately three of the six Marines never made it off the island alive.

b. 1954 the first mass inoculation of children with the Salk Vaccine in Pittsburgh to the relief of parents everywhere and marking the beginning of the end of this crippling and deadly disease that affected among others FDR.

c. 1974 the Symbionese Liberation Army that had kidnapped Patricia Hearst demanded a $4 million ransom which was not paid; she participated in several crimes with the SLA, was captured by the SFPD on September 18, 1975, tried and convicted and sent to prison only to have her sentence commuted by President Carter and received a full pardon from President Clinton.

d. 1983 the EPA announced its intention to buy out dioxin contaminated Times Beach, Missouri.

e. 2008 in its first operational loss on a routine mission a B-2 Bomber crashed in Guam shortly after takeoff with both crew members ejecting but leaving a $1.4 billion hole on the runway, the most expensive crash in Air Force history.

Reflections on how to map out your future: “As you start your journey, the first thing you should do is throw away that store-bought map and begin to draw your own.” Michael Dell   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

.

© February 23, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 22, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Great American Spit Out

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 22, 2018  Trump met with students, parents, and teachers from Parkland to make school safety a top priority (why schools are soft targets remains a complete incomprehensible mystery when airports or office buildings are not); Ronan Farrow who exposed that pervert Harvey Weinstein is back in the spotlight claiming Playmate of the Year Karen McDougal had a sexual relationship with Trump back in 2006 based on 8 pages of handwritten notes she wrote in 2016 either before or after her receipt of $150,000 from the National Enquirer (one can only hope the relationship which was consensual does not add more straws to his agenda and back); the anti-Trump dossier that justified the FISA warrants is back in the news as a former Obama State Department official and associate of John McCain Fred Kramer took the 5^th Amendment regarding its creation and distribution just as did Christopher Steele (really time to appoint special prosecutor to fully investigate the dossier and its impact on FISA warrants and the Uranium One deal that reeks of quid pro quo by the Clintons and their foundation); really troubling news out of the Parkland  shootings as the sheriff revealed there was an armed deputy at the school who took a position outside the  school building where the shoots were being fired but did not enter and was fired from the department (understandable if a deputy was armed with a Glock and the shooter was armed with an  AR-15 and raises questions over the idea of arming teachers with handguns to counter shooters with rifles or shotguns); on the sports front, the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team upset Canada to win the Gold Medal 3-2 prompting one Canadian to remove her Silver Medal in disgust; on the reptilian brain front, the Red Governor of Missouri has been indicted on a felony invasion of privacy involving a women with whom he was having an extramarital affair with who is now divorced from her husband; in Chicago through February 19, 2018 319 people have been shot of whom 60 have died.

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Savage Garden, factoids of interest for this day in history, the not being a lobcock and a relevant quote by anon on quitting the use of smokeless tobacco, 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. Great American Spit Out—today if you are a user of smokeless tobacco is a day to abstain from this habit that creates cancers in the mouth, lips, and tongue in addition to staining the teeth and creating a huge mess when being spit out.

2. National Margarita Day—started by Todd McCalla in the late 2000’s to spice up the gray and cold days of February although Cinco de Mayo would be the more logical choice.

3. 2000 Number One Song— the number one song in 2000 on a run of 4 weeks in that position  “I Knew I Loved You” by Savage Garden. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjnmICxvoVY

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lobcock” a person who is a bumpkin, lout, or boor, apt descriptions for most of the Swamp denizens.

5. Hard To Find A Better Way To Die--celebrating the birth on this day in 1962 of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, an avid naturalist and television personality who was stung by a stingray while filming a new show on September 4, 2006 and died of cardiac arrest.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1819 in another great real estate deal for the United States, Spain sold Florida to the U.S. for $5 million.

b. 1909 the Great White Fleet consisting of 16 battleships returned to the United States after a 14 month seven day show the flag cruise around the world.

c. 1994 CIA counterintelligence agent Alrich was arrested for spying for the Soviet Union and accepted a plea bargain of life without possibility of parole to escape the death penalty.

d. 1997 British scientists announced that they had successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly.

e. 2018 an unarmed man threw a grenade into the compound of the American Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro then blew himself up making him the only casualty.

Reflections on quitting smokeless tobacco: “Quitting is not a spectator sport. Participation is required.”  Anon   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.

© February 22, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 21, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Mother Language Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 21, 2018 On the police shooting front, an officer in Alabama and an officer in Maryland were shot and killed; on the SCOTUS front thee court will hear a case in Illinois involving the right of the state to force public service workers to pay union dues whether they agree with the unions or not (this case will put Gorsuch in the limelight and if decided in favor of plaintiff could be the death knell to public unions and their bloated and largely unfunded pension plans) and a case in California contesting the law that anti-abortion centers must disclose to their clients the availability of free or low cost abortions provided by the state; on the ”sports” front ESPN’s Jemele Hill defended her claim that Trump is a “white supremacist” on The View as ESPN wisely removed her as a co-host of Sports Center; on the sexual harassment front, a suspect was caught on video dragging a bikini clad barista in Kent, Washington out the order window at knife point and tried to rape her before  fleeing due to a car coming up to the drive in window; on the sexual harassment front USDA was holding a Black History Month for its staff only to have an employee take the stage and accuse her supervisor of having sex with her in exchange for a promotion in a relationship that continued for 8 months which she broke off when he demanded that she perform an act which she considered unnatural; Trump is listening to a group of Parkland students, parents and teachers and appears to be amenable to increased background checks and increasing the age limit to buy an AR-15; on the Olympics front the lackluster performance of the combined North and South Korean Women’s Ice Hockey Team has members from the North fearful of their well being when they return in shame to the North; in Chicago through February 19, 2018 309 people have been shot of whom 60 have died.

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Monica,  factoids of interest for this day in history, the chance to use lithogylph in Scrabble and a relevant quote by Richard Nixon on the Great Wall of China and other non physical walls,  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. International Mother Language Day—a General Assembly observance created in 2008 to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism.

2. National Card Reading Day—not sure who is behind this other than I suspect Hallmark; easy to observe by buying a card and on any subject write a note in it to keep your penmanship skills up to snuff and they send it to a friend or relative.

3. 1999 Number One Song— the number one song in 1999 on a run of 4 weeks in that position  was “Angel of Mine” by Monica. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eOuK-pYhy4

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lithoglyph” which is an engraving on stone.

5. Can You Digg It--celebrating the birth on this day in 1977 of computer programmer and geek Robert Rose who founded Digg with $1200 of his own money and subsequently raised $2.5 million of venture capital. Digg today is worth north of $250 million.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1848 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto.

b. 1921 Reza Shah in a successful coup seized control of Iran.

c. 1947 Edwin Land demonstrated in New York City his Polaroid instant developing camera which was the toast of the photographic world until supplanted by the digital camera.

d. 1952 the British government under Winston Churchill abolished the requirement of identity cards.

e. 1972 Richard  Nixon  visited China to embark on the road to normalizing Sino-American relations.

Reflections on walls: “What is most important is that we have an open world. As we look at this Wall, we do not want walls of any kind between peoples. I think one of the results of our trip, we hope, may be that the walls that are erected, whether they are physical walls like this or whether they are other walls, ideology or philosophy, will not divide peoples in the world; that peoples, regardless of their differences and backgrounds and their philosophies, will have an opportunity to communicate with each other, to know each other, and to share with each other those particular endeavors that will mean peaceful progress in the years ahead.” Richard M. Nixon speaking to reporters in front of the Great Wall of China February 24, 1972. As the debate rages over whether a wall will be built on our southern border with Mexico, wonder what Nixon’s thoughts would be if he were alive today.

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.

© February 21, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

February 19, 2018 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Prevent Plagiarism Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 19, 2018 On the Winter Olympics front in a Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime déjà vu, French figure skater Papadakis had a costume malfunction exposing her left breast to a worldwide TV audience and NBC continues to be mocked and slammed for its error and gaff prone coverage (why Megyn Kelly is not over there defies comprehension); on the tell all literature front Rince Priebus’  book The Gatekeepers   due out in March claims that Trump wanted Comey out from day one of his presidency; on the political corruption front the step daughter of Bernie Sanders running for mayor of Burlington is being tagged with nepotism allegations for being paid $500,000 over the years thanks a sweetheart deal awarded to her by Burlington College whose president was her mother (FBI is still investigating Jane Sanders for bank fraud an indictment for such activities should put an end to the feel the Berne movement); HRC proved that spending money in huge amounts does not guarantee a win but the DNC rocked by discovery of its role in the false anti-Trump dossier full of Russian generated lies is having a great deal of difficulty in raising money for the midterm elections; a pregnant Kate Middleton appeared with Prince William at the British Academy Film Awards not wearing black in support of the Times Up Movement protesting sexual harassment and was slammed (good to see our English cousins labor under the same PC nonsense as we do); in another example of how badly HRC campaigned Podesta was grilled on the issue of how the Russians knew to concentrate in states like Wisconsin and Michigan while HRC was clueless (she never stepped foot in Wisconsin); in Chicago through February 18, 2018 300 people have been shot of whom 58 have died.

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Usher,  factoids of interest for this day in history, the chance to use lixiviation in Scrabble and a relevant quote by Gerald Ford on the internment of Japanese-Americans on her philosophy of life,  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. Prevent Plagiarism Day—promoting the awareness that plagiarism is an act that should be avoided by students, aspiring authors and politicians (ironic that one of our more noted plagiarists Joe Biden is rumored to be contemplating a run for president in 2020 at the ripe old age of 78).

2. Presidents’ Day—celebrating the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two of our most noted presidents.

3. 1998 Number One Song— the number one song in 1998 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “Nice And Slow” by Usher. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFzYvjK6xk

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lixiviation” which is the process of separating soluble substances from insoluble substances by dissolving the former in water or other solvents.

5. Palimony Blues--celebrating the birth on this day in 1924 of noted actor and former marine Lee Marvin, best known for his role in Cat Ballou  and The Dirty Dozen and the palimony case brought by his live-in girlfriend Michelle Triola which the court of appeals overturned a trial court verdict in her favor to the joy of anyone contemplating a significant other rooming with him or her.

          On this day in:                                                               

a. 1913 Pedro Lascurain became president of Mexico for 45 minutes and then resigned enabling General Huerta to complete his coup and become president of Mexico. Lascurain held the record for the shortest presidency of any country.

b. 1942 President Roosevelt succumbed to the anti-Japanese hysteria gripping the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor and signed the infamous Executive Order 9066 which allowed the removal of Japanese-American citizens from the West Coast to internment camps inland. Definitely not one of our stellar moments in our history.

c. 1963 Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique was published igniting the spread of the feminist movement.

d. 1976 in a what-took-you-so-long moment, President Ford signed Proclamation 4417 rescinding Executive Order 9066.

e. 1985 William Schroeder having received a Jarvik 7 artificial heart became the first person to leave a hospital after such a procedure; he lived for 620 days but unfortunately all but 602 of which following a series of strokes that started 18 days after surgery put him into a vegetative state.

Reflections the mistake of Executive Order 9066 from the president who terminated it by Proclamation 4417: “Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim that all the authority conferred by Executive Order No. 9066 terminated upon the issuance of Proclamation No. 2714, which formally proclaimed the cessation of the hostilities of World War II on December 31, 1946.

I call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise-that we have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure liberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action shall never again be repeated.” Gerald Ford, February 19,1976

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.

© February 19, 2018 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift