Ridley's Believe It Or Not--This Day In History: March 2019

Sunday, March 31, 2019

March 31, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Cesar Chavez Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 31, 2019 Amidst reports that the “mother of all caravans is being formed to include upwards of 20,000 illegals according to Mexico’s Interior Secretary Sanchez
Cordero as Trump met good his threat to cut aid to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras while Blues continue to insist the crisis at the border is not real only manufactured (anyone taking that position is completely ignorant and out to lunch refusing to address asylum which is being scammed and could be solved in a heartbeat by requiring seekers to seek asylum at the American Embassy or consulates in their host country and if not granted or applied for be subject to immediate deportation); Pope Francis has slammed those who want to build walls and barriers to keep migrants out (sadly this argument bolsters Pelosi’s criticism that walls are immoral; Trump is serious about his threat to close the border if Mexico and Central America do not step up their nonexistent efforts to halt the illegal migrations (as has been done and applauded in the past by Presidents Nixon and Reagan); Reps. AOC and Ayanna Pressley are pushing back on Blue House leadership’s plans to protect Blue incumbents from primary challengers; the reptilian brain may have claimed another victim, Joe Biden, who has been charged by 2014 Blue Lieutenant Governor candidate Lucy Flores of unwanted sexual advances (Biden has denied but promises to listen respectively and the nation wonders whether since this involves a Blue, Hirono will be ranting the accuser must be believed); Rashida Tlaib who is pushing impeachment is alleging that Obama looked her straight in the eye and stated “I am proud of you.”; Senator Feinstein who lost all credibility with her delayed ambush of Judge Kavanaugh is fuming because President Trump has not consulted with Queen Di Fi over two proposed nominees to the 9^th Circuit (what does she expect--that Trump will receive an objective listening to his ideas—what a joke); on the lobster front going into the summer lobster fishing season, lobster fisherman are facing a decline of herring which is the preferred bait fish for lobster traps; as of March 30, 2019 429 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 74 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder have a suspect being charged this year).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to John Denver, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you are employed as a palingman; a relevant quote from Cesar Chavez on farm workers, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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 Back Up Day—on the eve of April Fools today is a great day to back up your data to avoid be caught nude and empty from a data perspective.

2. Cesar Chavez Day—created by President Obama in 2014 to honor the accomplishments of Cesar Chavez in the agricultural labor relations field to improve labor conditions and wages of farm workers.

3. 1974 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1974 on a run of 1 week in that position was “Sunshine on My Shoulders” by John Denver. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diwuu_r6GJE Unfortunately there was no sunshine on his shoulders on October 12, 1997 and he crashed his plane into Monterey Bay and died.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “palingman” which means a seller of fish or eels which is one smelly profession to be involved in at the retail level.

5. Carbon Footprint Hypocrite—celebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day of Al Gore who has served as a Representative and Senator from Tennessee and Vice President under Clinton. After losing to Bush he became a leading activist against climate change and global warming although he probably has one of the largest carbon footprints on the planet and on global warming is probably the epitome of do as I say not as I do.

On this day in:

a. 1931 a Transcontinental & Western Air airliner crashers near Baazar, Kansas, killing 8, including University of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne..

b. 1951 Remington Rand delivered the first UNIVAC I to the U.S. Census Bureau.

c. 1968 after ending a speech on how to limit the war in Vietnam, President Johnson stunned the nation with his vow that “I shall not seek nor will I accept my party’s nomination to run as your president for another term.”

d. 1990 about 200,000 protestors took to the streets of London to protest the implementation of a poll tax.

e. 1992 in an end of an era moment, the USS Missouri, the last active battleship in the U.S. Navy was decommissioned in Long Beach to later become a floating museum in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Reflections on being a farm worker: ” Farm workers are society's canaries. Farm workers - and their children - demonstrate the effects of pesticide poisoning before anyone else.” Cesar Chavez
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 www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com for just This Day in History.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

March 30, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Bipolar Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 30, 2019 Schumer and Pelosi and all the other Blues with their heads in the sands claiming that there is no border crisis and that Trump’s Declaration is manufactured need to open their ears and eyes and listen to Obama’s head of DHS Jeh Johnson who claims “By anyone's definition, by any measure, right now we have a crisis at our southern border. ” as the U.S. is on track to have 100,000 apprehensions of illegals this month; current and former engineers at Boeing are alleging that Boeing and the FAA rushed to approve of the security system on the 737 Max and ignored design flaws that may have contributed to the two crashes; on the war on religion front Buffalo airport has joined San Antonio airport in banning Chick-fil-A over the perception of its owners’ anti LGBTQ views (totally outrageous to bar a business from a public space on anti-religious grounds and those of faith out to flock out in droves to protest and better yet eat more chicken); Judge Gleason an Obama appointee has just thrown out Trump’s reversal of Obama’s drilling ban in the Arctic (difficult to become energy independent when judge’s step in to insert their bias); Bozo O’Rourke who wants to tear down the existing barriers along the border and personifies the open border mentality of the Blues opened his campaign with a rally in El Paso seeking to become the illegal alien supporter king; TGI Fridays has been sued for $5 million for selling potato skins that are not potato skins; after rightful indignation over Kim Foxx’s decision to not prosecute Smollett, she has indicated she is open to an independent investigation of her decision; as of March 29, 2019 416 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 73 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder have a suspect being charged this year).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Roberta Flackerica, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you are not prone to palaver; a relevant quote from Carrie Fisher on bipolar disorder, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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 Doctors Day—honoring the contribution of doctors to our public health and well being and celebrated on this day as it marks the anniversary of the first surgery in this country under general anesthesia on this day in 1842 by a Doctor Crawford Long who used ether to anesthetize his patient and remove a tumor from his neck.

2. World Bipolar Day—created to promote awareness of the disease that causes rapid mood shifts and to promote research in finding cures and treatments of a disease that is believed to be the 6^th leading cause of disabilities.

3. 1973 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1973 on a run of 1 week in that position was “Killing Me Softly With His Song” by Roberta Flack. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgl-VRdXr7I Slowed down by a stroke several years ago, she is still going strong at 82.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “palaver” which means to talk idly or profusely which is too often the norm among politicians.

5. In the Genes—celebrating the birth on this day in 1937 of Warren Beatty, noted younger brother of Shirley MacLain, who is best known for his role in Bonnie and Clyde.

On this day in:

a. 1870 Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.

b. 1961 the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs which outlawed narcotics and other drugs with similar effects except for prescribed purposes was signed in New York City.

c. 1972 North Vietnamese forces in large numbers crossed the DMZ to begin the Easter Offensive into South Vietnam to enhance their position at the Paris Peace Talks.

d. 1981 President Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley< Jr. whose bullets also wounded three others and who was confined to institutionalized psychiatric care until September 10, 2016.

e. 2017 SpaceX launched the world’s first successful reflight of an orbital class rocket.

Reflections on being bipolar from one who suffered from the disorder: “’m fine, but I’m bipolar. I’m on seven medications and I take medication three times a day. This constantly puts me in touch with the illness I have. I’m never quite allowed to be free of that for a day. It’s like being a diabetic.” Carrie Fisher who died on December 27, 2016 after 4 days in intensive care with cocaine and heroin in her system after experiencing a medical emergency on a plane coming back from Europe 15 minutes before landing in Los Angeles four days earlier.

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 www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com for just This Day in History.

Friday, March 29, 2019

March 29, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Vietnam War Veterans Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 29, 2019 Unicorn LYFT has gone public and will begin trading today at approximately 7:45 EDT; just when you thought that Pelosi might try to govern her unruly divided flock by telling them impeachment was not worth it, she reverted to her true form, praising and defending lying Schiff for his work as chair of the House Intel Committee as all Republicans on it demanded his resignation for his lying on the issue of collusion and slammed AG Barr’s summary for being condescending and arrogant (ironic that Barr has committed to release all of the material in the Report he can subject to holding back on sources and methods, grand jury material and classified material so why is she on the attack?); San Francisco awash in used needles, urine and feces in the street and homeless on the sidewalks is facing a NIMBY backlash to a proposed homeless shelter in the form of a crowd funding effort to fight it that has already raised $60,000 (naturally this effort is in Pelosi’s Congressional District); on the public school brainwashing front, an unnamed Houston school teacher of 7^th graders has given the students an assignment to review several essays critical of Trump and then check multiple choice conclusions that include that Trump responses that he should be impeached with none complimentary or objective or neutral (needless to say parents are outraged and this peudo teacher has sadly received death threats); Harry Reid is suing the maker of a fitness device for causing him to fall, losing his eye sight and forced to retire from the Senate and is also in the news for failing to endorse Elizabeth Warren and blasting AOC 70% tax on the wealthy proposal saying Americans will not support quick radical change (bring the temperature to boil slowly so the lobster dies before it’s too hot to escape the pot); Nicolas Cage after being married and divorced three times has come up with the perfect minimize the alimony strategy-move to annul 4^th marriage after 4 days; Elizabeth Warren is praising the resignation of Wells Fargo CEO Allan Sloan and demanding an investigation of crimes committed under his leadership at Wells Fargo (shareholders may have to brace themselves on this news); many Blues are replacing POW/MIA flags with Transgender Equality flags in their offices to protest Trump’s ban of transgenders serving in the military; as of March 27, 2019 405 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 70 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder have a suspect being charged this year).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to America, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that we need more action and less palabra in the Swamp; a relevant quote from Vivek Wadhwa on the dot.com bubble that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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. Vietnam War Veterans Day—honoring the service of Vietnam War Veterans since March 29, 1974 in a miserable war in which over 58,000 Americans lost their lives and hundreds of thousands were wounded before the last combat and support troops were withdrawn on March 29, 1973.

2. No Homework Day—celebrated on the last Friday to give all students a respite over the weekend from homework assignments.

3. 1972 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1972 on a run of 3 weeks in that position was “A Horse With No Name” by America. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSAJ0l4OBHM

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “palabra” which means word or idle talk which probably describes most politicians, all palabra and no action.

5. In the Genes—celebrating or bemoaning the birth of Billy Carter on this day in 1937 who became the poster child of why presidents in some cases need to be only children and who while during Jimmy Carter’s presidency he gained notoriety by starting a beer company Billy’s Beer and was involved in a scandal with Libya which may have tanked Carter’s reelection bid against Reagan. Sadly like his father and sister he contracted and died from pancreatic cancer on September 25, 1988.

On this day in:

a. 1961 the 23^rd Amendment to the Constitution, giving residents in the Swamp the right to vote in presidential elections was ratified.

b. 1974 the Terracotta Army, a collection of terracotta sculptures of soldiers and horsemen buried with Qui Shin Huang in 210-209 B.C., the first Emperor of China, to protect him in the afterlife was unearthed in Shaanxi Province, China (definitely should be on one’s bucket list if it is ever again on exhibit here).

c. 1984 the Baltimore Colts loaded up their possessions and sneaked out of Baltimore in the night to move the team to Indianapolis.

d. 1999 the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 at 10,006.78 for the first time during the dot.com bubble.

e. 2010 two female jihadists from Dagastan detonated suicide bombs during morning rush hour in the Moscow Metro Subway 40 minutes apart, killing 40 and wounding 100.

Reflections on the dot.com bubble that was doomed to be popped:” During the dot-com days, one could take just about any company public and reap fortunes. All you had to do was to make sky-high projections for growth, say you were in the Internet space, and go along with unscrupulous investment bankers and their analysts.” Vivek Wadhwa noted technology pundit and entrepreneur.

Thursday, March 28, 2019

March 28, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Children's Picture Book Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 28, 2019 On the religious liberty front, the City of San Antonio is being investigated by the Texas AG for banning Chick-Fil-A from its airport due to its owners’ aversion to the LBGT community which they believe violates their Christian beliefs; on the anti-Trump front, the Eric Holder perhaps the most politicized AG to hold the office after wisely deciding not to put his tarnished political record into the ring by joining Cuomo questioning when was America ever great (shades of Michelle Obama from a man who politicized the DOJ in a way not seen before and who has obviously forgotten the efforts of the Greatest Generation in World War II or their fathers who pulled Europe’s chestnuts out of the fire in World War II and who has been the benefit of millions of legal aliens coming to improve their life; while Schiff, Swalwell, Nadler and Waters continue to push the discredited collusion delusion narrative, Trump blasts the disgraced top brass of the FBI and vows to release the FISA warrants and applications that should prove to be a chilling abuse of power; a federal judge has ruled the FBI must turn over the documents on which it was relying upon to keep Comey’s memos of conversations with Trump secret (this two year agony we have endured can be directly traced to the false anti-Trump dossier which Comey leaked to the media which led to the appointment of the special counsel; instead of thanking his lucky stars for his get out of jail card, hoaxer in chief, Smollett, has had his lawyers demand an apology from Chicago which has responded by demanding payment of $130,000 spent in investigating the hoax (once again as the former chief of staff of Michelle Obama weighed in with Kim Foxx who recused herself but not her office, this sordid mess reveals two systems of justice, one for mere mortals and the other for those with money and political connections); in a blatant example of why blacks can be racist also, in Savannah, Georgia a campaign meeting for mayor barred the press from entering unless they were members of the black press; Trump has backed away from a funding cut for the Special Olympics, taking away another point of attack of the Blues in 2020 and proving once again how hard it is to rein in spending; in a new book revealing the snit fits on The View Barbara Walters threatened to quit if leftist Rosie O’Donnell resigned which she did not; not much chance of bipartisanship in Puerto Rice where the governor called Trump a bully and if he got close to him he would punch him in the face (classic example of what is wrong with our political discourse and the Democratic Party); in an unprecedented move every Republican on the House Intel Committee has signed a letter because of Schiff’s continued lying and leaking on the Russian collusion hoax demanding he resign as chairman (given his lack of character and integrity it will not happen but another example of the poisoned political atmosphere in the Swamp); frustrated with the delays of the Blues in the Senate, McConnell is considering the suitcase nuclear option to vote on failed votes to end filibuster whether such votes be approved which would require only a majority; as of March 27, 2019 404 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 70 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder have a suspect being charged this year).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Janis Joplinl, factoids of interest for this day in history, the some paizogony with your mate; a relevant quote from Edward Teller on nuclear reactors and Jane Fonda, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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 Hot Tub Day—if you are fortunate enough to have a hot tub today is the day to turn off your cell phone and relax in it until your hands are wrinkled and let the warm waters and hydro jets soothe your stress away.

2. Children’s Picture Book Day—like we learned to crawl before we learned to walk the first step toward reading is having a picture book read to a child.

3. 1971 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1971 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXV_QjenbDw Sadly this great talented performer died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970 before the record was released in 1971.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “paizogony” which means necking, love play which is always appreciated before engaging in sexual relations with your mate.

5. Bad Deal—celebrating or bemoaning the birth of Bowe Bergdahl a U.S. Army soldier who deserted his post in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009 and was captured and held prisoner by the Taliban until being exchanged for 5 high ranking Taliban fighters being held in Gitmo; he was charged with desertion which he ultimately pled guilty to and was dishonorably discharged and reduced in rank from sergeant to E1.

On this day in:

a. 1933 Imperial Airlines City of Liverpool was sit on fire while in the air by a passenger who jumped to his death from 200 feet before crashing to the ground killing the remaining 14 on board to become the first airplane in flight to be destroyed by sabotage.

b. 1978 SCOTUS in the case of Stump v. Sparkman upheld judicial immunity of a judge who had ordered sterilization of a female minor without her knowledge or consent.

c. 1979 a coolant leak in Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor 2 prompted a partial meltdown and evacuation of the surrounding area but fortunately no deaths or injuries; the reactor has been dormant since and is expected to close in 2036.

d. 1990 the President George H.W. Bush posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Jessie Owens who with 4 Gold Medals in the Berlin 1936 Olympics single handedly defeated the myth of Aryan supremacy.

e. 2006 massive demonstrations occurred in France to protest the First Employment Contract designed to encourage employment of employees under the age of 26 entering the job market by making it easier for employers to fire them.

Reflections on Jane Fonda and Three Mile Island:” On May 7, a few weeks after the accident at Three-Mile Island, I was in Washington. I was there to refute some of that propaganda that Ralph Nader, Jane Fonda and their kind are spewing to the news media in their attempt to frighten people away from nuclear power. I am 71 years old, and I was working 20 hours a day. The strain was too much. The next day, I suffered a heart attack. You might say that I was the only one whose health was affected by that reactor near Harrisburg. No, that would be wrong. It was not the reactor. It was Jane Fonda. Reactors are not dangerous.” Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb By coincidence Three Mile Island disaster occurred 12 days after the release of The China Syndrome which garnered Fonda a Best Actress nomination.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

March 27, 2919 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Theatre Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 27, 2019 Chicago police department and mayor continue to fume over prosecution’s decision to drop case against Smollett after Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff interceded on his behalf with Kim Foxx the state’s prosecutor while he continues to show no remorse and continues to lie about the incident (video of Michelle dancing with Smollett adds credence to the idea of two classes of justice one for mere mortals and the other for the Obamas, Clintons and their friends); Kamala Harris with a straight face indicated she was confused over the decision when it had to be clear to her that money and connections walk and justice for all merely talks); CNN continues to shovel cack as Chris Cuomo and others at CNN continue to push their propaganda narrative that the Mueller Report was wrong that there was collusion with the Russians; ESPN’s pivot away from injecting politics was dealt a blow when Max Kellerman excoriated Tiger Woods for opining that we should respect the office of the president calling a man who went to Stanford “dumb”; the Trump administration will soon be proposing reform of Fanni Mae and Freddie Mac; amid reports that the Border Patrol is releasing illegals from detention because of overcrowding the MSM and the Blues continue to ignore the pleas of the Border Patrol that there is a crisis of unprecedented proportions and tout the false narrative that there is no crisis https://www.foxnews.com/us/large-illegal-immigrant-groups-crossing-us-mexico-becoming-daily-occurrence-pushing-agents-to-breaking-point; Tommy Hilfiger has just joined The Gap, Lord and Taylor and Ralph Lauren in closing their flagship stores on Fifth Avenue as the decline in brick and mortar continues to devastate the retail sector; Wendy Williams who recently revealed her struggle with drugs and alcohol had left a rehab facility to be found drunk and rushed to the hospital after her husband’s mistress had given birth to a baby; we send legislators to the Swamp to legislate not to become spineless wimps to vote “present” as 43 Blues and Bernie Sanders did on the Green New Deal passed by the House (I believe that all Blue presidential candidates led by the illegal alien supporter Queen Kamala Harris voted shamefully “present”); Rockland County in New York, hit by a measles epidemic, has banned all minor children from public places (another example of the anti-vaccine zealots’ endangering the public health of this nation); the struggle over abortion and the judicial activism to hinder the states’ abilities to restrict or regulate it is alive and well as a federal judge William Osteen, appointed by President Bush has struck down North Carolina’s law to prohibit abortion after 20 weeks except in limited cases to protect the health of the mother; as of March 29, 2019 392 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 67 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder have a suspect being charged this year).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Simon and Garfunkel, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact if you are in front of a jury, the pais would be favorably disposed to your case; a relevant quote from Dennis Powers on one of the tsunamis created by the Good Friday Earthquake, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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 Whisk(e)y Day—celebrated since 2009 on the birthday of noted beverage critique Michael Jackson and in parenthesis as Scottish, Canadian and Japanese whiskies have no “e” but American and Irish do.

2. World Theatre Day—created by the International Theatre Institute in 1961 create awareness of the importance of the theatre to our culture and promote theatrical performances around the globe.

3. 1970 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1970 on a run of 7 weeks in that position was “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_a46WJ1viA

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “pais” which means a panel from which a jury is drawn which explains the rise in high priced jury selection consultants in an effort to stack the odds of a favorable verdict.

5. The Octaves Have It But Not Perfect—celebrating the birth on this day in 1970 of noted singer Mariah Carey who has sold over 200 million records and is one of the few singers to sing in four octaves but capable of making big mistakes when her 2016 New Year’s Eve lip synching Times Square performance was a disaster.

On this day in:

a. 1964 on Good Friday an earthquake registering at 9.2 struck Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and causing massive damage to Anchorage and almost leveling Valdez and killing 12 with the resulting tsunami slamming Crescent City, California.

b. 1977 a KLM 747 and Pan Am 747 collided on a fog shrouded airport in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing all 583 persons on board.

c. 1981 Solidarity staged a warning strike in Poland when 12 million Polish workers walked off their jobs for 12 hours.

d. 1990 the U.S. began broadcasting anti-Castro messages on TV Marti to Cuba.

e. 1998 in a let the good times for the elderly roll, the FDA approves the use of Viagra for erectile dysfunction.

Reflections on one of the tsunamis spawned by the Good Friday Earthquake:” "It was like a violent explosion. A thunderous roar mingled with all the confusion. Everywhere we looked, buildings, cars, lumber and boats shifted around like crazy. The whole beachfront moved, changing before our very eyes. By this time, the fire had spread to the Texaco bulk tanks. They started exploding one after another, lighting up the sky," recalled Peggy Coons in The Raging Sea by Dennis Powers.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

March 26, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Purple Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 26, 2019 when it comes to the economy Representative AOC is a total naïve buffoon as her New Green Deal would bring this country to ruin as McConnell is forcing a vote today in the Senate that will force the Blue presidential wanna-bes to take a stand; John Brennan is the first anti-Trumpers to eat crow on the issue of collusion with the Russia, admitting he may have made a mistake (his pompous calls of Trump being guilty of treason revealed the extent of his bias animus on his plate); Jessica Tarlov whose positions on which I often disagree has come out to demand Schiff and Swalwell put up or shut up on their claims of having evidence of collusion they have solemnly touted but sounds of silence to back up their claims; James Clapper whose credibility on collusion and surveillance belongs in the crapper lamely tried to defend his commentary on Trump on CNN but failed; Adam Dershowitz certainly not a rabid member of the right and probably one of the most respected legal scholars in the country alleged he was banned from CNN because he did not toe the anti-Trump line on the Mueller probe; on the keep America safe front two interceptor missiles from the Marshall Islands intercepted a dummy ICBM over the Pacific Ocean; disgraced porn lawyer Michael Avenatti came out swinging claiming the Los Angeles lawyers he allegedly embezzled are politically linked to Trump (if he is found guilty this soon to be disbarred lawyer should have the book thrown at him including prison time); the Pentagon has informed Congress that it has transferred $1 billion to fund construction of 57 miles of barriers on the Southern border; another conservative judge has cleared the Judiciary Committee and should move to confirmation on the leftist 9^th Circuit with 51 more judges in the pipeline; Venezuela continues to wallow in chaos and the incompetency of Maduro as it has been hit with another massive power outage;cve as of March 24, 2019 382 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 65 have died.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Tommy Roe, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that some of your garb contains paillettes; a relevant quote from Terry Truemann on seizures, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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. Purple Day (U.S. and Canada)—inspired 9 year old epilepsy victim Cassidy Megan in Nova Scotia and first celebrated on March 26, 2008 to create awareness of the disease of epilepsy and fund research for treatment and cures; if you see someone wearing purple they are most likely supporting the observance.

2. Legal Assistants Day—celebrating like the adage behind every successful man there is a good woman, behind every successful lawyer there is often a very competent paralegal at a fraction of that lawyer’s billing rate.

3. 1969 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1969 on a run of 4 weeks in that position was “Dizzy” by Tommy Roe. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arpidGq8SlA

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “paillette” which means a spangle or sequin which are great decorating touches for one’s garb.

5. The Perfect Birthday Gift Compromise—celebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in 1940 Nancy Pelosi of “you have to pass it to know what’s in it” infamy and the rabid foe of a needed wall on the southern border as being immoral, ineffective and expensive and back with a vengeance to slam Trump; best birthday gift for this partisan hack would be the gift of compromise to legislate as opposed to investigate.

On this day in:

a. 1967 thousands of people gathered in NYC’s Central Park for one of many be-ins.

b. 1982 a ground breaking ceremony was held for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

c. 1991 Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay formed Mercosud, a common market for members and associate members in South America which included Venezuela until it was suspended in 2016.

d. 1997 police discovered 39 bodies from a mass suicide near San Diego who were formerly members of Heaven’s Gate, a UFO religious group that believed in extraterrestrials that were traveling in UFO’s.

e. 2015 Saudi Arabia began its military intervention in Yemen which has led to death of Yemenis, many of whom have been civilians.

Reflections on epilepsy:” A big seizure just kind of grabs the inside of your skull and squeezes. It feels as if it's twisting and turning your brain all up and down and inside out. Have you ever heard a washing machine suddenly flip into that bang-bang-bang sound when it gets out of balance, or a chain saw when the chain breaks and gets caught up in the gears, or an animal like a cat, screeching in pain? Those are what seizures felt like when I was little.” ― Terry Trueman, Stuck in Neutral

Monday, March 25, 2019

March 25, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Seward's Day (Alaska)

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 25, 2019 Schiff, Nadler and Waters continued to deny reality despite Mueller’s finding of no collusion and no finding of obstruction of justice (total liars who need to be replaced in 2020); predictably the celebrity market is in a huge snit fit of denial over the summary of the report; media speculation of whether Trump will dial back on his attacks on the media and focus on his agenda or whether he will go after Obama and the FBI leadership for its role in the FISA abuses and the Russian collusion delusion (Comey and McCabe need to be held accountable); classic theater as Maddow was in tears and Mathews was absolutely livid over the Report’s lack of a collusion finding; Bette Midler made a fool of herself by claiming Trump has gotten away with crimes, conveniently blind to the fact that the criminal who got away with crimes with her server and destruction of e-mails was Hillary Clinton; Netanyahu has cut short his trip and Washington, D.C. and is returning to Israel after rockets fired from Gaza wounded 7 civilians; the Earth dodged a meteor bullet in December when a meteor with 10 times the force of the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima exploded 15 miles above the planet over Japan; the Viking Sky cruise ship after hundreds of passengers were helicoptered off it was able to restart its engine and made port at Molde; British Prime Minister Theresa May has until the end of next week to get a Brexit deal though Parliament and may be facing the resignation of key Cabinet members to force her to resign; as of March 24, 2019 379 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 65 have died.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Otis Redding, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact your parents were skilled in paedotrophy; a relevant quote from Jon Krakauer on his job as a commercial fisherman, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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. Seward’s Day (Alaska)—celebrated on the last Monday in March to commemorate the signing of the signing of the Alaska Purchase Treaty with Russia on March 30, 1867.

2. Medal of Honor Day—created by an act of Congress in 1990 and first celebrated on March 1991 to honor the acts of Medal of Honor recipients.

3. 1968 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1968 on a run of 4 weeks in that position was “(Sittin’ On) The Dock in the Bay” by Otis Redding. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVjnBo96Ug

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “paedotrophy” which means the act of rearing children which single moms often face challenges in performing.

5. Better When Short—celebrating the birth on this day in 1925 of noted short story author Flannery O’Connor who sadly after battling lupus for 10 years died on August 3, 1964.

On this day in:

a. 1965 Civil Rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully completed their 4 day 50 mile march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama.

b. 1969 during their honeymoon John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their Bed-in for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton which ended on March 31.

c. 1979 the first functional Space Shuttle, Columbia, was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be prepared for launch.

d. 1995 WikiWikiWeb, the world’s first wiki was released to the public by Ward Cunningham.

e. 1996 the European Union Veterinarian Committee banned the export of British beef due to mad cow disease.

Reflections on commercial fishing in Alaska:”I've had a lot of crappy jobs, but one of my favorites was working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. What I loved about it was, you got paid for what you caught.” Jon Krakauer, noted American author of non-fiction books. As a former commercial salmon seiner in Alaska for six summers can agree with Karkauer’s feelings.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

March 24, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Tuberculous Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 24, 2019 We got a summary of the Mueller Report which clearly indicated no collusion by Trump or anyone associated with his campaign with the Russians and a conclusion by the AG and Rod Rosenstein of no obstruction of justice (time for the Nadlers, Waters and Schiffs of the left eat crow and hang their pathetic lying heads in shame) despite the fact that Blues and MSM are in a meltdown fantasy mode with Blues vowing to ramp up investigation of Trump beyond collusion and into his and his family’s dealings searching for the impeachment nail (time for Americans to with one voice yell enough—time to cease the mantra of investigation and replace it with legislation not resistance to solve our pressing issues); now that Mueller has completed his report Barr faces a critical decision of when or if he commences prosecution of Comey and others in the FBI and DOJ whose misdeeds started this witch-hunt and damaged the administration for almost two years and cost us over $25 million (the FBI has been corrupted and as of today no one has been held accountable); AOC is in a snit fit that her inane Green New Deal will come to a vote in the Senate to expose the idiocy of her ideas and force Blue presidential candidates to take a stand on a bill that would cripple this nation’s economy (hands down this women is replacing Pelosi as the best thing since sliced bread to energize Republican and Independent voters to vote against Blues); Biden and Sanders are the number one and two respectfully choices of Democratic voters to run for president with the illegal alien supporter queen Harris trailing at 8% tied with Bozo O’Rourke at 8% also; leftist actress Milano is in the news again demanding that Hollywood boycott Georgia after its senate passed a bill banning abortions after a fetal heart beat is detected; rabid anti-Semite IIlahan Omar is in Southern California for a fund raiser for CAIR and was greeted by hundreds of protestors; on the Brexit front, a million people marched in London demanding the referendum be voted on again as May continues to struggle getting an exit deal passed by Parliament; on the education front Trump has signed an executive order tying federal funding of university research to compliance with freedom of speech and a prestigious NYC high school that requires an entrance exam to get in is being slammed for admitting only 7 blacks in its freshman class of 785 (another indictment of public schools and why charter schools may be the preferred alternative?); as of March 22, 2019 371 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 61 have died.

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, the fact you are able to disagree in a pace manner; a relevant quote from Shawn Otto on the Exxon Valdez oil spill, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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 Tuberculosis Day—created by the WHO in 1995 to promote awareness of the scourge of tuberculosis and the need to effectively combat it especially in developing countries.

2. International Day for Achievers—honoring those who have achieved success in their organizations or fields of work or study.

3. 1967 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1967 on a run of 1 week in that position was “Penny Lane” by The Beatles. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-rB0pHI9fU

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “pace” which means in respectful disagreement which is a skill in the world of ad hominem attacks in the Swamp which is sadly lacking.

5. No Great Escape—celebrating the birth on this day in 1930 of noted actor Steve McQueen most remembered for his role in The Blob, Magnificent Seven, and The Great Escape. A heavy smoker and drinker; he died of mesothelioma in 1980.

On this day in:

a. 1921 the 1921 Women’s Olympiad, the first women’s sporting event, began in Monte Carlo.

b. 1958 rock and roll legend Elvis Presley was drafted by the U.S. Army.

c. 1976 the Argentina military overthrew the government of Isabel Peron to institute a 7 year dictatorial regime.

d. 1989 the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound after leaving Valdez, Alaska spilling 240,000 barrels of oil into pristine fishing grounds.

e. 1998 in a great example of bad or nonexistent parenting, 11 year old and 13 year Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Goldmen opened fire at students and teacher in Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas killing 5 and wounding 10.

Reflections on the Exxon Valdez oil spill: “The Exxon Valdez oil spill is a case in point: litigation took decades to make it through the courts and was ultimately resolved for a fraction of the actual loss. Clearly, this route to accountability is ineffective, unjust, and inefficient.” ― Shawn Lawrence Otto, The War on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters, What Can We Do About It?