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

Sunday, June 30, 2019

June 30, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Social Media Day oeive It

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 30, 2019 Biden continues to display why he would be in elected the Gaffe-in Chief when at a fund raiser in Seattle at the home of a gay activist he stated that progress had been made by the GBGT community since a joke by a businessman about a gay waiter 4 years ago would no longer be acceptable, a comment not well received by the gay supporting audience; Castro has the gall in view of resistance by his party and Obama appointed federal judges to Trump’s attempts to seal the border to claim Trump has failed in his attempt to secure the border (what a dismal hypocrite); Trump, Jr. was also attacked by Trump for retweeting the obvious that Harris did not descend from American slaves by from slaves of rich Jamaicans where slavery was abolished in 1834 with all slaves emancipated in 1838 (if we are dumb enough to pass reparations, Harris will be sol to receive any); Trump and Kim met at the DMZ in a photo op to push the narrative that talks on denuclearization are continuing which the Blues castigated almost en masse that he was coddling dictators yet on the other side of their hypocritical mouths they demand diplomacy instead of military action with respect to Iran; in a sign that lake water purity is improving in Lake Erie and the Great Lakes, millions of May flies have been swarming in Ohio in swarms large enough to be detected on local weather radar systems; Bernie Marcus the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot at age 90 is supporting Trump, calls Sanders a clear and present danger to entrepreneurship and will donate the bulk of his estate to his Marcus Foundation which among other things is funding research in autism; Schwarzenegger’s love child was not invited to his daughter Christine’s wedding with Chris Pratt as his two daughters have no relationship to their half-brother; while the Blue candidates are in a rush to judgment to adopt Medicare for all, Congressman Tim Ryan, barely registering in the polls is castigating the plan which would end private insurance as “not the way to go”: the political hack head of the DNC Tom Perez is defending the plan to include medical care for illegals as it is not a “handout” (ignoring the fact that millions who work illegally without social security are paid under the table and contribute nothing in taxes on a drain on our social services); through June 29, 2019 1247 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 229 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder has a suspect being charged this year).

1. International Asteroid Day—created in 2004 to commemorate the striking of the Earth at Tunguska, Siberia on this day in 1908 by an asteroid that was the largest and most damaging asteroid in modern times and to raise awareness of the need to create defenses against strikes from major sized asteroids.

2. Social Media Day—created by Mashable on June 30, 2010 to create awareness of the impact of social media on global communication and increasingly to create awareness of the ability of social media to censor conservative ideas and impact election by driving viewers away from conservative sites.

3. 1959 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1959 with 6 weeks in that position was “The Battle of New Orleans* by Johnny Horton. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CnPv_1SVh0 The noted singer lost his battle with life as his career was taking off on November 5, 1960 when he was killed at the far too early age of 35 on a highway bridge in Texas by a drunk driver.

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 “pervicacious” which means obstinate which describes the MSM anti-Trump bias in spades.

5. World’s Oldest Teenager—celebrating the birth on this day in 1929 of the World’s Oldest Teenager, Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand for almost 30 years, several game shows and New Years’ Eve celebrations in Time Square until slowed by a stroke in 2004; Father Time crossed the stage for him at age 82 on April 18, 2012 following prostate surgery.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Johnny Horton, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you avoid being pervicacious in your discussions of issues; at work, a quote by Amy Schumer on social media, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1953 the first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.

b. 1966 the National Organization for Women was founded.

c. 1986 SCOTUS in Bowers v. Hardwick ruled that states could ban homosexual acts between consenting adults, a case which was overruled by SCOTUS in 2003 by Lawrence v. Tribe.

d. 1990 East Germany and West Germany merged their two economies.

e. 2013 19 firefighters died fighting wildfires near Yarnell, Arizona.

Reflections on social media by a comedienne whose party wants to shadow ban conservative thought: “I'm super grateful that there wasn't social media when I was a kid, but that sort of self-doubt crept in at a young age. It's bullying. It's the comments here and there, and maybe somebody says something to you that they don't even mean to be a mean-spirited comment, but they'll just kind of say it to you in passing.” Amy Schumer cousin of Chuck Schumer.

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 oe 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 for just This Day in History go to www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com.

June 30, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Saturday, June 29, 2019

June 29, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Sceleroma Awareness Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 29, 2019 After being excoriated by the illegal alien queen Harris who brazenly is and condemned for offering T-shirts with the logo “That Little Girl Was Me,”, Spartacus chimed in against Biden slamming him for insensitive racial language when on Friday he claimed the the “next kid wearing a hoodie could be the next poet laureate (disagree with Biden’s policies and economic record but Blues behind him are becoming way to PC sensitive); at the G-20 Trump hit back at Carter for his claim that Trump was an illegitimate president due to Russian meddling and asserted he was a terrible president which he was and slammed Harris for getting too much credit in the debate (wonder what nickname he will pick for the illegal alien queen to torpedo her candidacy?); on the Chinese tariff wars, Trump announced at the G-20 that Chinese telecom giant Huawei will be allowed to purchase goods from American suppliers and reports indicate that the U.S. may delay imposing tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese goods as trade talks will continue (is Trump caving or part of a sound negotiation strategy?); Luisa Alvarez, a first responder with the NYPD bomb squad who testified with Jon Stewart before Congress on the lack of funding for first responders who have come down with life threatening diseases due to responding to 9/11 has died two weeks after his testimony from colon cancer (not a stellar moment for our legislators especially Blues more concerned about the welfare of illegals); in a 180 from Horace Greeley’s advice to “Go West” a new study that to find affordable housing, prospective homeowners struggling to find affordable housing to buy should look East especially Pittsburgh (values may be down as many cheap houses are in the East where high taxes predominate and people are leaving in droves flooding the markets with houses for sale); Judge Haywood Gilliam, another unelected judge appointed by Barack Obama, has quashed Trump’s plans to divert military funds to curtail the invasion that is swamping our southern border and creating havoc with our security; an heir to the Disney fortune, Abigail Disney, has called for a ‘wealth tax” to support ameliorating the inequality of income (best way as Gates, Bezos and Zuckerberg and others have proved is to support policies that encourage entrepreneurship like lower taxes and less crushing regulations); through June 27, 2019 1221 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 227 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder has a suspect being charged this year).

1. World Scleroderma Awareness Day—created by the Systemic Scleroderma World Congress in Florence in 2010 to be celebrated on June 29, the birthday of noted painter Paul Klee who suffered from the disease and died on this day in 1940; the disease is an auto immune disease that affects the connective tissue and is life threatening with no known cure as of yet.

2. National Camera Day—celebrating the invention of the camera which has changed the world by creating records of what the world really is or what the viewer would like to alter it to be and through the use of body cams, security cams, and ubiquitous cell phone cams has made the world a much safer place albeit with some loss of privacy as collateral damage.

3. 1958 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1958 with 7 weeks in that position was “The Purple People Eater* by Sheb Wooley. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9H_cI_WCnE The noted singer and actor was forced into retirement in 1999 and four years later at the age of 82 on September 16, 2003,the leukemia Purple People Eater visited him for the last time.

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 “perstringe” which means to restrain or censure which describes to a tee what Pelosi needs to do with the antics of AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

5. Don’t Hold the Mayo—celebrating the birth on this day in 1861 of noted American surgeon William James Mayo, co-founder of the world renowned Mayo Clinic.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Sheb Wooley, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you avoid are not subject to perstringe; at work, a quote by Tim Cook on the iPhone, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1880 France annexed Tahiti.

b. 1956 the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was passed which created our Interstate Highway System.

c. 1975 Steve Wozniak tested his prototype of the Apple I computer.

d. 2006 SCOTUS in Hamsden v. Rumsfield ruled that the trial of Guantanamo detainees by military tribunals was unconstitutional.

e. 2007 Apple released its first mobile phone the iPhone.

Reflections on the iPhone: “I think the iPhone is the best consumer product ever. That's what I feel about it. And it's become so integrated and integral to our lives, you wouldn't think about leaving home without it.” Tim Cook, president of Apple and commencement speaker at Stanford this year.

June 29, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Friday, June 28, 2019

June 28, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Body Piercing Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 28, 2019 Iran is probably shaking in its boots as the Senate voted 50-40 not to approve a resolution requiring Trump seek approval before military action against Iran; the body of MacKenzie Lueck has been found and Aoola Ajayi has been arrested (a handyman has come forward and revealed that Ajayi had contacted him to build a concealed room complete with hooks); Harris played the race card in spades on Biden and a man who has fought for racial justice looked like a gutted fish after Harris attacked him relentlessly all the way to the bank (second best day fund raising day for her); while the Blues running for president as expected continue to hold on for dear life to the collusion delusion, former President Jimmy Carter who really should know better has thrown his 94 year mind into the ring by claiming Trump is illegitimate because of Russian intervention (the years of being involved in nuclear submarines may have finally impacted his mind); in only the 4^th time in history astronomers detected an asteroid the size of a car before it blew up entering the atmosphere with a force of 6,000 tons of TNT; while Venezuela is being plunged into total economic darkness, the path of the total solar eclipse expected July 2, 2019 will hit South America far to the south; the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team beat France 2-1 by Rapinoe’s two goals in the quarterfinals today; SCOTUS has agreed to hear the Trump Administration’s attempt to end DACA next term (will be heard during the 2020 election race which should be a polarizing event in the race); at the G-20 Trump will be meeting with Putin and with Chinese President Xi Jinping (markets are waiting with baited breath to see what progress if any on trade issues will develop); through June 27, 2019 1197 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 225 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder has a suspect being charged this year).

1. Insurance Awareness Day—have no idea where, why or who originated this day but must have been either an insurance company or broker who wanted to create awareness of the need to protect life and property with insurance.

2. International Body Piercing Day—celebrated on the birthday of the “Granddaddy of Body Piercing,” Jim Ward who was born on this day in 1941 but I am clueless as to when or who created it only that in promotes the use of body piercing as an essential element of fashion in a growing number of people.

3. 1957 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1957 with 4 weeks in that position was “Love Letters in the Sand* by Pat Boone. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ENzT9k1LRs The noted singer, actor and writer is still going strong at 85 which he celebrated on June 1 of this year.

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 “perspicacious” which means astute or clear minded which is what we need in our leaders but sadly too often find lacking.

5. Receiver Cross:—celebrating the birth on this day in 1961 of hard throwing quarterback for Stanford and the Denver Broncos John Elway whose receivers often had small crosses on their chests after catching a bullet from Elway.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Pat Boone, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you avoid are perspicacious in your dealings with issues; at work, a quote by John Kasich on affirmative action, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1969 the Stoneham riots between police and gay attendees at a gay nightclub began in New York City, marking the beginning of the Gay Pride Movement.

b. 1978 SCOTUS ruled in the case of Bakke v. The Regents of the University of California that admissions based on quotas was unconstitutional.

c. 1987 for the first time in modern history a civilian target was targeted with chemical weapons, mustard gas, when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht.

d. 1997 Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the third round of a Heavyweight Championship Fight.

e. 2001 Slobodan Milosevic was extradited to stand trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and after undergoing a 5 year trial died in his cell from a heart attack without a verdict.

Reflections on affirmative action: “Affirmative action has a negative effect on our society when it means counting us like so many beans and dividing us into separate piles.” John Kasich, former governor of Ohio and sadly so right on this issue.

June 28, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Thursday, June 27, 2019

June 27, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National PTSD Awareness Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 27, 2019 In a sign that Americans are fed up with the crisis at the border, Pelosi has caved and will bring the Senate passed funding bill with no restrictions on border enforcement which will most likely pass despite the howls of AOC; 10 wanna-bes appeared on the stage to face Rachel Maddow’s pro left softball questions on which to rage (slammed for softball questions when it looked more like them playing T-Ball not in any way to prepared to debate Trump in the fall); in a surprise move two Mostly Slanted Negative Biased Cack news pundits declared Trump the winner in last night’s softball debate tournament; the charge of open border support must be getting under the Blues’ skin as De Castro who supports decriminalizing illegal border crossings claims with a straight face that he is not in favor of open borders as he slammed O’Rourke; De Blasio touted his call for a 70% tax rate on the wealthy while Rep Gabbard’s Google searches have increasd exponentially as Americans learned that she had volunteered to serve in a medical unit in a combat zone in Iraq for 12 months; new leaders at ICE as the head of DHS is immersed in hot water over allegations he leaked information about planned ICE raids and fought to have ICE agents stand down; SCOTUS punted on the issue of a question of including immigration status of respondents and sent the case back to the District Court for more fact finding on the rationale behind the question (California with its leading number of illegals must be pleased its loss of residents fleeing the state will be offset by illegals who cannot vote in the first place); in some unpleasant news for Boeing, the FAA has found some new software glitches in its 737 Max line further delaying its return to service;

through June 26, 2019 1192 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 224 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder has a suspect being charged this year).

1. National PTSD Awareness Day—observed on the day since 2014 to promote awareness and seek cures and treatment for the 6% of our population that will experience an event that will create post traumatic stress syndrome in their lifetime.

2. National HIV Test Day—celebrated first on June 27, 1995 to encourage people to test for the presence of the HIV virus since you cannot stop the spread or begin recovery if you do not know you are infected.

3. 1956 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1956 with 6 weeks in that position was “The Wayward Wind* by Gogi Grant. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD_4IzbsbOM The restless wind stopped blowing on her face at the age of 91 on March 10, 2016.

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 “persiflage” which means idle chatter which is what you want to avoid in the work place when you have deadlines.

5. Blind and Deaf But Not Dumb:—celebrating the birth on this day in 1880 of noted author, suffragist, and activist Helen Keller who infected with a disease that left her deaf and blind but she overcame these difficulties to lead a very productive life.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Gogi Grant, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you avoid persiflage at work, a quote by Helen of what can be seen, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1950 in response to the invasion by North Korea, the U.S. decided to send troops to South Korea to repel the invasion..

b. 1974 President Richard Nixon made a state visit to the Soviet Union, the first president to do so but the trip did not prevent the continuation of the Watergate investigation and his subsequent resignation.

c. 1976 El-Al Flight 139 was diverted by hijackers after leaving Athens and diverted to Benghazi where it was flown to Entebbe, Uganda where later Israeli commanders landed to rescue all but four of the 102 Jewish hostages who remained.

d. 2007 Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister of the U.K. after serving 10 years.

e. 2008 Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was reelected as president in a landslide after his opponent had withdrawn a week earlier due to violence his supporters; facing impeachment 10 years later and under house arrest, he resigned in 2018.

Reflections on what can be seen: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller

June 27, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

June 26, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Refrigeration Daymjun

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 26, 2019 What a difference over 100,000 apprehensions of illegals a month makes as the Blues and their MSM lackeys have finally shed their false narrative that the crisis on the border is a Trump manufactured crisis and have now asserted there is a humanitarian crisis and have blamed Trump for it and the House response to the Border Patrol’s request for more agents, judges, and shelters is a $4.8 billion aid bill that does nothing to allay Border Patrol’s concerns, hinders the building of more security measures and funds legal services of illegals contesting asylum denials (Blues won’t admit they are for open borders but all of their acts and nonacts clearly support that position and all the negative consequences that stem from it like crime, drugs, gangs, lower wages and employment especially among blacks and Hispanics); in a Kavanaugh sexual assault déjà vu allegation, a 75 year old woman E. Jean Carroll, who is promoting her book What Do We Need Men For, has made the accusation that Trump groped her 23-24 years ago in a York City building but never reported it until now and admitted to Anderson Cooper that she found the incident sexy (MSM salivating all open this but looking life fools for rushing to interview without corroboration); a House Committee led by Rep. Cummings has issued a subpoena to Kellyanne Conway over alleged Hatch Act violations on strict party lines other that RINO Amash voting with the Blues setting yet another battle between the House and president over the applicability of the doctrine of Executive Privilege and the right of federal employees to voice their opinions on appearances on news shows; Mueller will testify before Nadler’s Judiciary Committee on July 27 in what should be an explosive hearing with Reds primed to exploit the bias of Mueller’s team, the origin of the anti-Trump dossier and its role in the FISA warrants, and the corruption in the FBI in the Trump investigation (or as Trump would say witch-hunt); the optics of the failure of the Blues to act on border security ware starkly portrayed as a man and his daughter drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande (yet another example of the dangers of a perceived open border presented by Blues to illegals living in Central America):

Beth Chapman, the wife of Dog the Bounty Hunter Chapman, is dead from throat cancer after being put in a medically induced coma several days ago; chilling news to high taxing, high spending governors like Newsom and Cuomo, low tax states are ramping up efforts to attract residents from high tax states to move due to the SALT $10,000 limitation on deductibility on state and local taxes (Newsom’s problem is exacerbated by his proclivity of spending for benefits to illegal aliens while the state leads the nation in homelessness); Natalie Harp who has battled bone cancer most of her life was called up on stage at the Faith and Freedom Conference that Trump was speaking at to credit Trump for being her Good Samaritan by passing the Right to Try bill which has given her the ability to fight her cancer that before had her in a life of pain and confined to a wheel chair through June 25, 2019 1187 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 223 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder has a suspect being charged this year).

1. International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking—created by the U.N. General Assembly in 1987 and celebrated on this day since 1989 to promote awareness of the dangers to users and society of the use of illegal drugs and the abuse of legal prescription drugs in order to try to reduce the deaths and other harmful effects arising out of the use or abuse of drugs.

2. World Refrigeration Day—created by the U.N. due to the support of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers and first celebrated on this day in 2019; the world would be a much less comfortable place without the efforts of these professionals in our cars, homes, plants, offices, indoor places of entertainment or shopping.

3. 1955 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1955 with 7 weeks in that position was “Cherry Prink (And Apple Blossom White)* by Prado Perez and his Orchestra. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj64NlRnpDY Prado Perez known as the King of Mambo died at age 72 on September 14, 1989 from a stroke but his music and Orchestra live on with his son as conductor.

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 “perscrutation” which means a thorough investigation which is what Trump had to endure on the collusion delusion and Hillary did not on her illegal private server she used to hide classified information.

5. No Longest Yard:—celebrating the birth on this day in 1980 of noted quarterback Michael Vick whose promising career with the Atlanta Falcons was put on with a 23 month suspension due to sentencing to federal prison for dog fighting matches in 2007 with no football played there ala Burt Reynolds as Paul Crewe in The Longest Yard. He bounced back after release to play with the Philadelphia Eagles (Comeback Player of the Year 2010), New York Jets and ending with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015, with a record for rushing yards by a quarterback of 6,130 yards.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Prado Perez, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you approach problems with perscrutaton to find the solutions thereto, a quote by James Watson on the benefits of the Human Genome Project, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1948 William Shockley filed a patent for the grown-junction transistor, the first bi-polar transistor.

b. 1974 the Universal Product Code on a package of Wrigley Chewing Gum was scanned for the first time at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

c. 2000 the Human Genome Project announced a “rough draft” of the sequence.

d. 2003 SCOTUS ruled in the case of Lawrence v. Texas that the prohibition of homosexual activity between consenting adults is unconstitutional.

e. 2015 SCOTUS ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the 14^th Amendment guarantee the right of same sex couples to marry.

Reflections on benefits of the Human Genome Project: “The ever quickening advances of science made possible by the success of the Human Genome Project will also soon let us see the essences of mental disease. Only after we understand them at the genetic level can we rationally seek out appropriate therapies for such illnesses as schizophrenia and bipolar disease.” James D. Watson the co-discoverer along with Francis Crick of DNA 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 oe 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 for just This Day in History go to www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com.

June 26, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

June 25, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Vitiligo Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 25, 2019 The bloom may be off the rose for Mayor Pete and his campaign may be headed for defeat as he was heckled by blacks for the shooting of a black and his police union for calling for FBI on the shooting is fighting back (shades of Dukakis’ Alfred E. Newman moment in a M-1 tank); Stephanie Grisham who was formerly spokeswoman for Melania Trump has been named to replace Sarah Sanders; Biden is facing rough sledding as “Middle Class Joe” as it was revealed he made millions giving speeches after leaving office, has purchased a $3,000,000 beach house and living in a 12,000 square foot mansion and a NYT columnist blasts Biden’s appearances as an actor who can’t remember his lines (you have to be in trouble when the left leaning NYT attacks you); Booker has revealed once again his lack of spine in pursuing the nomination after attacking Biden’s remarks on working with segregationists opened up possibility of meeting with noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan who has called Jews “termites”; on the collateral damage front on Blues’ plan to increase federal minimum wage to $15 an hour a franchisee of Hooters in Florida and Alabama has written an op-ed that the plan will put him out of business (plan must be also eliminating or reducing tip credit which allows employers to count tips up to $5.12 per hour); Trump ran on transparency when it came to justices and produced a list of potential conservative SCOTUS nominees but Biden the front runner has a list which he has as of yet refused to reveal (Red ads soon coming out to blast him over his secrecy); Blues on a open border are like a Massiff that won’t release his powerful grip on a bone and have loaded up the $4.8 billion emergency funding bill for humanitarian aid to the illegals with restrictions on enforcement of our immigration laws that may result in veto by Trump (the most effective humanitarian aid is a clear message that if you come here illegally you will be deported); Megan Rapinoe, a star player for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is being blasted by Trump for her refusal at the World Cup to stand for the National Anthem, put her hand over her heart or sing it (thank you very much Colin Kaepernick for starting this mess); the Russian Bear keeps coming out of its lair as one of its more advanced cruise missile frigates has docked on a visit to Cuba; through June 25, 2019 1177 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 222 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, 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).

1. National Catfish Day—created by the U.S. Congress by proclamation and celebrated since 1987 to recognize and promote the aquaculture of catfish as an inexpensive sustainable source of protein and the creator of thousands of jobs.

2. World Vitiligo Day—created in 2011 to promote awareness of the defect which causes a loss of pigmentation and affects 1-2% of the population, the most famous of which is Michael Jackson who died on this day in 2009.

3. 1954 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1954 with 10 weeks in that position was “Little Things Mean a Lot” by Kitty Kallen. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C7SzKv2uLU She lost her voice at the London Palladium for 4 years in 1955 but came back under a pseudonym singing in small venues to record 13 career hit songs but lost her life at age 94 on January, 7, 2016.

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 “pernor” which means one who takes rents or received benefits from estates, properties or other things of value which if in California with its sky high rents means if a pernor you are in seventh heaven.

5. Sing a Song of Vanity:—celebrating the birth on this day in 1945 of noted singer and songwriter Carly Simon who was once married to James Taylor and is still performing today. Here is a recording of her number one song “You’re So Vain” the second verse of which she revealed in 2015 was about Warren Beatty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZmCJUSC6g Here is the 4^th verse she wrote for the song that she never included and to this day the person mentioned has not been revealed: “A friend of yours revealed to me that you’d loved me all the time / Kept it secret from your wives / You believed it was no crime.

You called me once to ask me things / I couldn’t quite divine / Maybe that’s why I have tried to dismiss you, tried to dismiss you / And you’re so vain.”

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, music links to Kitty Kallen and Carly Simon, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you are wise enough to have become a pernor, a quote by Bruce Cummings on the lack of exit plans for wars, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1910 Congress passed the Mann Act which outlawed the transportation of females across state lines for “immoral purposes” a vague standard that was used to selectively prosecute those out of favor for years; it was amended to delete “immoral purposes” with “any sexual act for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense.”

b. 1950 the Korean War began with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.

c. 1978 the rainbow flag was flown for the first time in San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade.

d. 1984 Prince released his most successful album Purple Rain which sold 1.5 millions copies.

e. 1998 in a blow to fiscal sanity SCOTUS ruled in the case of Clinton v. United States that the Line Act Veto of 1996 was unconstitutional.

Reflections on wars including the Korean War: “In fact the United States has had no exit strategy since 1945, except in places where we were kicked out (Vietnam) or asked to leave (the Philippines): American troops still occupy Japan, Korea, and Germany, in the seventh decade after the end of World War II. Policymakers – almost always civilians with little or no military experience (Acheson is the archetype) – get Americans into wars but cannot get them out, and soon the Pentagon takes over, establishes bases, and the entire enterprise becomes a perpetual-motion machine fuelled by a defence budget that dwarfs all others in the world.”
― Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History Wise observation but in Vietnam we did not leave soon enough and over 58,000 soldiers paid the ultimate price and in the Philippines World War II preempted our decision to leave in 1946.

June 25, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Monday, June 24, 2019

June 24, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World UFO Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 23, 2019 While Blue run cities are awash in homeless, San Diego the largest city run by a Red Mayor, has seen its homeless population drop by 6% while to the north L.A.’s homeless population has soared by 16 % because unlike Garcetti’s run L.A. the city is tackling the problem head on having built 3 bridge shelters, a facility for homeless to store belongings and proposing to build a 4^th (with an unemployment rate at all time lows and some businesses competing for hiring released felons with an address opposed to the street, should not an effort be made to assist the homeless in finding a job?); after tooth and nail battling with the ACLU, Orange County has received the go-ahead to close down a massive tent city complete with human waste and used needles near Disneyland and move the homeless therein into a shelter for a month or vouchers for motels for a month coupled with job training, medical care and drug rehab services while L.A. and San Francisco remain inundated with homeless, needles and human waste as Blues are too occupied on the needs of the illegal aliens flooding into the nation to come to the table to address the problem; golf used to be a way to spend a pleasant afternoon riding or walking a course but not in a Santa Maria mobile home golf course where 5 golfers got into a dispute with 5 dead, including the shooter and the shooter’s home and others burnt https://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2019/06/5-golfers-shot-dead-on-santa-maria.html; Iran seems not to have gotten the message as it is touting that Iran can shoot down many more drones and must think they have bullied Trump into a nonresponsive corner over their actions against two tankers and the drone even as Trump will announce increased sanctions and Pompeo is moving forward to end the exemptions that have enabled Europe to buy Iranian oil; returning from the campaign trail to South Bend, Buttigieg was heckled at a town meeting called to discuss the shooting of a black by a South Bend white officer and in the view of Fox and Friends looked weak and detached from the community (could be for Mayor Pete his Alfred E. Newman moment:

https://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2019/06/alfred-e-newmans-m-1-is-town-hall.html ); the NBA may become mired in the PC movement on the issue of whether in view of the large percentage of black players the owner of the franchise can continue to be called “owner”; Mexico is auctioning off homes and safe houses used by cartel drug members and using the proceeds to assist communities marginalized by drug violence (may want to save some of the proceeds to be used on its southern border as Guatemalan refugees vow to keep coming to the United States through Mexico; on the music front great news for Rolling Stones fans as Mick Jagger announced he has recovered from heart surgery and the American portion of their tour will continue (at 75 and with a 2 year old Mick verges on superhuman); through June 23, 2019 1172 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 222 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, 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).

1. World UFO Day—created by the World UFO Day Organization in 2001 but UFO believers celebrate on two days, June 24 marking the anniversary of one of the first UFO sightings when Kenneth Arnold flying near Mt. Rainier witnessed 9 flying objects maneuvering at high speed on this day in 1947 and the other July 2 marking the anniversary of the Roswell UFO incident; not sure how to celebrate the event other than to on the issue of whether we are not alone in the universe, keep an open mind and look up into the heavens occasionally.

2. Museum Comes to Life Day—celebrated first on June 24, 2006 but really should be celebrated on December 19, 2006 the day of release of A Night at the Museum in which the exhibits did come alive to the consternation of Ben Stiller in the role of a night time security guard so maybe the day honors the imagination of children and those who yearn to have moments reliving their childhood imagining the exhibits at a museum came to life.

3. 1953 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1953 with 10 weeks in that position was “The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart?)” by Percy Faith and his Orchestra with vocal by Felicia Sanders. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPDF2ORPOFQ Considered the founder of “mood music” a beat in his heart could no longer be found at the age of 67 on February 9, 1976 and his vocalist Felicia Sanders preceded him by over a year from lung cancer on February 6, 1975.

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 “pernicious” which means destructive, ruinous or fatal which describes the effect of socialism on economies even one so robust as ours to a tee.

5. The Long or Short of It All:—celebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day of Brad De Long a professor of economics at UC Berkeley, who worked in the Clinton Administration’s Department of the Treasury and was a supporter of Barack Obama yet somehow claims to have been influenced by Milton Friedman.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Percy Faith and His Orchestra with vocals by Felicia Sanders, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you are quick to point out the pernicious effects of socialism, a quote by George Carlin on the existence of UFOs, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1948 Soviet Union blockaded surface travel between West Berlin and West Germany leading to the Berlin Airlift that in the following 321 days broke the back of the blockaders with 272,000 flights bringing in thousands of tons of supplies to West Berlin causing the Soviets to recognize failure and reopen the borders.

b. 1957 SCOTUS ruled in Roth v. U.S. that the obscenity was not protected by the First Amendment which opened the door to subsequent cases for the old men and women on the court to decide what was obscenity.

c. 1973 in the evening hours an unknown arsonist started a fire at the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar located in a 3 story building in the French Quarter of New Orleans, killing 32 and injuring 12 others. Rodger Nunez who had been ejected earlier that day was for some time a prime suspect but was never charged as he committed suicide in November, 1974.

d. 2002 after climbing a hill called Igandu in Tanzania and believing the brakes were malfunctioning, the engineer stopped the train to inspect the brakes only to have the train roll backwards and, after picking up way too much speed, derailed, killing 281 and injuring over 600 of the 1,200 passengers on the train for the worst train accident in African history.

e. 2010 in a match that was played over three days for a total record playing time of 11 hours and 5 minutes John Isner of the U.S. defeated Nicolas Mahut in the first round of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Reflections on the existence of UFOs: “To my way of thinking, there is every bit as much evidence for the existence of UFOs as there is for the existence of God. Probably far more. At least in the case of UFOs there have been countless taped and filmed and, by the way, unexplained sightings from all over the world, along with documented radar evidence seen by experienced military and civilian radar operators.” ― George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?

June 24, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Sunday, June 23, 2019

June 23, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Widows Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 23, 2019 While Blue run cities are awash in homeless, San Diego the largest city run by a Red Mayor has seen its homeless population drop by 6% while to the north L.A.’s homeless population has soared by 16 %; another Don Quixote, retired admiral and former Congressman Joe Sestak, has announced he is running for president on the Blue ticket bringing the total to 25 ( he will have the distinction of probably being the only sane person among this pathetic group of leftists); another police officer gunned down, this time in Sacramento in an ambush that took the life of rookie officer Tara O’ Sullivan with the alleged suspect Adel Sambrano Ramos with a criminal rap sheet in custody after an eight hour standoff; in a glowing example of persistence can pay off, Wilkin Castillo, injured while playing for the Cincinnati Reds 10 years ago after a 10 year odyssey of bouncing around the minor leagues returned to the Miami Marlins to hit a winning two run double; in North Carolina lottery players were excited to learn they had won the state’s $7.8 million prize only to learn that more than 2,000 players had picked the numbers, thereby reducing their winnings to less than $3,900 each (prophetic that the numbers picked were 0-0-0-0); Beth Chapman, the wife of Duane Dog Chapman, is in a medically induced coma battling throat cancer (she is not a smoker but Duane is a heavy one and there is speculation that her cancer is from second hand smoke; new report is out detailing that the U.S. leads the world in the amount of human sex trafficking and not just because illegals are bringing children with them to scam the asylum system and sadly law enforcement is not devoting a lot of dollars to address the problem; Mark Morgan, the acting director of ICE has proclaimed that the president’s delay of sweeps that were supposed to start this weekend and delayed to see if Congress can craft a solution will not impair his goal of deporting illegals here in the nation (given the Blues’ quest for an open border, don’t hold your breath on Congress coming to the table to solve this problem); in a reaffirmation of adage that luxury sells, Bernard Arnault of the luxury goods maker luxury goods maker LVMH Moet Hennessy - Louis Vuitton has just joined the $100 billion net worth club now populated by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates; through June 21, 2019 1165 people have been shot in Chicago of whom 220 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating and why the appointment of a special prosecutor should be applauded, 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).

1. International Widows Day—created by the Loomba Foundation and celebrated since 2006 as a UN sponsored observance to highlight the plight of the hundreds of millions of widows around the globe who suffer from poverty and social stigmatization due to the deaths of their husbands.

2. United Nations Public Service Day—created by the UN General Assembly in 2003 to commemorate and honor those engaged in providing public service to their communities.

3. 1952 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 1952 for 2 weeks in that position was “Here In My Heart” by Al Martino. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCgmhrJtMFI Considered one of the great Italian-American pop singers, his heart ran out of room for life and he died of a heart attack 6 days after his 82^nd birthday on October 13. 2009.

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 “perissology” which means pleonasm or using more words than necessary which is what we often have to endure from long-winded politicians.

5. Marriage CEO:—celebrating the birth on this day in 1929 of June Carter Cash, noted singer, songwriter, and author who won 5 Grammys and was married to Johnny Cash for 33 years many of which both struggled with addiction but had a love so strong that Johnny Cash died four months after June died on May 15, 2003 from complications in a heart valve transplant surgery.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Al Martino, 5 factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you refrain from using perissology in your speech patterns, a quote by Gwen Moore on access by females to contraception, 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.

On this day in:

a. 1960 in a let the good times roll moment; the FDA announced the approval of Envid produced by Searle as an oral birth control contraceptive.

b. 1972 President Nixon and his Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman were caught on tape on using the C.I.A. to obstruct the F.B.I. investigation of the Watergate break-in.

c. 1972 Title IX of United States of Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to prohibit sexual discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funding.

d. 2013 Nick Wallenda became the first person to successfully walk over the Grand Canyon on a tightrope.

e. 2016 the UK votes 52 to 48% to leave the European Union and after almost three years finds itself not withdrawn as Theresa May’s party has frustrated the will of the people voting in favor of the referendum.

Reflections on oral contraception: “It is essential that the women's preventive coverage benefit, including contraception, be available to all women, regardless of what health plan they have or where they work - as Congress intended. Providing access to birth control just makes good sense.” Gwen Moore, Black Blue Congresswoman from Wisconsin a Whip of the Black Caucus
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 oe 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 for just This Day in History go to www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com.

June 23, 2019 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet