Sunday, April 30, 2017

April 30, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Honesty Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 30, 2017  Another day another ratcheting up of the rhetoric on North Korea as our leadership is sending crystal clear messages that we will not permit North Korea to possess a nuclear weapons hat are deliverable by missiles; if that obese dictator is the “smart cookie” Trump claims he is he needs to shut down his program or face annihilation which given the size of his conventional army would involve nuclear weapons by us; Trump attended a rally in Pennsylvania instead of going to the White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C. to be roasted by the entertainment and speakers; SpaceX made history last night by launching into space a rocket that had previously been launched into space and landed back on Earth which means that they have lowered the cost of space launches by at least 20 million; deadly tornadoes were striking Texas yesterday; Congress back in session tomorrow facing another shutdown if budget not passed which given the obstructionism of Schumer and Pelosi is doubtful; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through April 29 increasing by 6  to 1041 and the death toll remaining at 181 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Ashanti, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Abu Bakr, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1. Honesty Daycreated by Hirsch Goldberg, a noted American author, as a means of ending April which begins with April Fools’ Day to encourage honesty and straightforward communications in our political lives, relationships, business dealings and historical education; unfortunately when it comes to journalism and politics we have a long way to go due to the swamp of bias.
2.  International Day of Jazz—created by UNESCO in 2011 to promote jazz as unifying force to bring about unity and peace.
3. 2002 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2002 on a run of 10 weeks in that position “Foolish” by Ashanti. Here is a recording of Ashanti performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUPrnu3BEU8
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “retiform” which means of or like a net.
5. Wonder Gal—celebrating the birth on this day in 1985 of Israeli born actress Gal Gadot who has starred in Fast and Furious 4 and as Wonder Woman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 311 in a bad day for lions but a great day for Christians the Diacletianic Persecution of Christians came to an end. .
b. 1789 George Washington took the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States. c. 1939 NBC inaugurated daily TV broadcasting by televising President Roosevelt’s opening of the New York World’s Fair.
d. 1993 in a great day for the internet CERN announced that the www protocol would be free.
e. 2009 in a this job has its issues moment, Queen Beatrix survived an assassination attempt in the Netherlands in which 7 innocents were killed and the assassin was killed also. Queen Beatrice abdicated the throne four years later to the day of the attempt.    
Reflections on honesty: “The greatest truth is honesty and the greatest falsehood is dishonesty.” Abu Bakr, father-in-law to the prophet Muhammad. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© April 30, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 29, 2017  Another day another failed ICBM missile test by North Korea in defiance of the civilized world and more importantly China which must be very tired of the fat madman who rules North Korea; despite Maxine Water’s predictions and threats and the rabid obstruction by Schumer and Pelosi and their lackeys, Trump has survived his first 100 days and the “golden wrecking ball” is still moving forward at high speed demolishing Obama’s failed and pathetic legacy;  troubling news that the agency that oversees pipeline construction no longer has a quorum which means some $10 billion in projects are in limbo which means Trump has to ASAP bring candidates to the Senate to face the scathing criticisms and attacks by Schumer’s lackeys; in a hopeful sign that democratic ideals are not completely dead in Russia rallies albeit small were held urging Putin not to run for a 4th term in 2018 (too bad Russia does not have a prohibition of a third term like we do); for those early risers on May 6 between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. they will be treated to the Eta Aquarid meteor shower of up to 30 per hour; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through April 28 increasing  to 1035 and the death toll increasing to 181 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Janet Jackson, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Terry Glavin, noted Canadian author and journalist, hoping your behavior does not portray you in a pavonine manner, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1. Day of Remembrance of All Victims of Chemical Warfareanother UN observance since 2005 which after seeing Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people is merely a piece of paper, words not backed by action except in the case of Trump and cruise missiles. Interesting to note that North Korea is not a party to the agreement banning the use of chemical weapons but given the unstable nature of its fat leader that should no surprise anyone.
2.  Independent Bookstore Day—always celebrated on the last Saturday in April in an era when nondigital books are becoming an endangered species.
3. 2001 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2001 on a run of 7 weeks in that position “All for You” by Janet Jackson. Here is a recording of Janet Jackson performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFnPBiAk5JA
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “pavonine” which means of or like a peacock.
5. Who Do You Trust?—bemoaning the birth on this day in 1938 of Bernard Madoff, the perpetrator of the largest Ponzi fraud in American history who is now serving a 150 year term in a federal prison where he will die.
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 1968 the play Hair opened for the first of its 1750 performances at the Biltmore Theater on Broadway.
b. 1986 in a Fahrenheit 451 like moment a fire in the Los Angeles Central Library destroyed some 400,000 books.
c.  1992 after the police officers charged with beating Rodney King were acquitted, riots broke out in Los Angles and over the next three days 53 people were killed and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.
d. 2011 Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in Westminster Cathedral in a televised ceremony watched by millions around the globe.
e. 2015 a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox set the record for the all time low number of fans in attendance—0 as the stadium was closed to the public due to rioting in Baltimore prompted by the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.    
Reflections on chemical weapons and a legacy of complete failure: “In the three years since Obama invited Russia to help him renege on his 'red line' on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented 136 occasions in which the Assad regime has deployed poison gas in its war on the Syrian people.Terry Glavinnoted Canadian author and journalist. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© April 29, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

Friday, April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Workers' Memorial Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 28, 2017  A new “Cold War” in the Arctic as Russia displays its new military base in the Arctic; maybe with Trump’s latest executive order opening up our Arctic lands and waters to drilling will accelerate the need to expand our military assets in the region; Trump in an interview indicated he is very disappointed with Congressional Republicans as is probably most of the nation; rhetoric continues to escalate on North Korea with Tillerson calling for more international sanctions against this rogue nation; in a classic example of ignorance of students on college campuses Campus Reform interviewed college students at George Mason College in Virginia about Trump’s first 100 days but used examples of what Obama did which since the acts were attributed to Trump the students objected to them http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/04/28/college-students-hate-obama-policies-when-theyre-credited-trump-campus-reform worth reading; Congress with its back up against the shutdown wall due to Blue intransience on funding the wall and defunding Planned Parenthood kicked the can down a one week road by passing a stopgap funding measure (what a way to run a railroad); California has signed a contract for $278 million to repair the Oroville Dam spillway which is $100 million more than was estimated (talk about needing a builder in the governor’s chair); the HIC (hypocrite in chief) has evidently nailed his second $400 thousand speech; Trump speaking to the NRA Convention informed a cheering crowd that the eight year war on guns is over; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through April 27 increasing  to 1028 and the death toll increasing to 178 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Santana, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Walter Dill Scott, always willing to be an opsimath, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1. Workers’ Memorial Dayhonoring the workers who have died, been injured or have become ill as a result of their work and campaigning to increase safety in the workplace..
2.  Great Poetry Reading Day—commemorating another great observance during Poery Month and since today is also Kiss Your Mate Day a good day to kill two birds with one stone by reading him or her as the case may be a romantic poem preceded or followed by a kiss; always some great poetry on www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com.
3. 2000 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2000 on a run of 10 weeks in that position “Maria Maria” by Santana. Here is a recording of Santana performing the song:
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “opismath which means someone who learns or studies later in life, always a great way to keep the mind sound especially in retirement.
5. Flushed Down the Drain—celebrating the birth on this day in 1930 of Carolyn Jones noted actress who appeared in 30 films but is probably best remembered for playing Morticia in The Addams Family; but sadly had her career cut way too soon at age 53 by colon cancer.
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 1253 a Buddhist monk Nicheren founded Nicheren Buddhism by promulgating the Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.
b.  1789 mutineers on HMS Bounty put their captain William Bligh and 18 loyal shipmates into an open launch and cast them adrift. In an amazing feat of seamanship, Bligh sailed the craft to civilization on Timor over 4,100 miles away.
c.  1923 Wembley Stadium the cathedral, capital and heart of football (soccer) to players and fans of the game opened as Empire Stadium in Wembley, England.
d. 1944 nine German E-Boats, the German equivalent of our PT Boats, attacked Operation Tiger, a training exercise for D-Day, killing 976 soldiers and seamen.
e. 1988 in something out of A Thousand Ways to Die episode, fight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Landis on Aloha Airlines Flight 242 was blown to her death when a large chunk of the 737’s fuselage fell off the plane (another good reason to always have your seat belt fastened).    
Reflections on workplace safety: “The greatest asset of America today is not its fertile fields, its rich ores, its completely equipped factories or its millions in currency. The greatest asset in America is the American people. The greatest possible field for economy is not in saving materials but in promoting the safety of our people. The future of the safety movement is not so much dependent upon the invention of safety devices as on the improvement of methods of educating people to the ideal of caution and safety.” Walter Dill Scott, noted 20th Century applied psychologist in a letter to the National Safety Council,1921. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© April 28, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

Thursday, April 27, 2017

April 27, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Poem in Your Pocket Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 27, 2017  San Francisco District Court Judge William Orrick III who issued a TRO against the DOJ from banning funds to sanctuary cities is a political hack whosec politicization of the judiciary when it was revealed he has bundled over $200,000 to Obama’s campaign and should have recused himself (judiciary will lose all respect when judges allow their ideology to replace the rule of law); Trump announced that Canada, Mexico and the United States have agreed to renegotiate NAFTA; while the left continues to support legal assistance to illegal aliens, DHS head Kelly announced the formation of the Victims of Immigration Criminal Enforcement to assist victims of crimes by illegal aliens and to better track them when in custody (about time we start protecting Americans first); in yet another example of the delusional nature of the UN, it is advancing the absurd notion that repealing Obamacare is a violation of international law (time to scale back our contribution to equal that of China and use the savings to build the wall; we now know that Obama has a new title, Hypocrite in Chief, for accepting $400,000 from  a Wall Street investment banking firm Cantor and Fitzgerald to speak at the firm’s health care conference even though he spent two terms castigating Wall Street bankers; on the man versus machine front a highly intoxicated man in cooling his heels in Mountain View, CA after knocking over a 300 pound robot, a Knightscope 5 patrolling a mall parking lot (other than a few paint scratches robot has returned to duty in one piece);  almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through April 25 increasing  to 1020 and the death toll increasing to 176 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to TLC, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Gerald Ford, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1.  Poem in Your Pocket Daycelebrating on this day of National Poetry Month the putting a poem in your pocket and sharing it with others as the world needs more poets and fewer lawyers; the observance was initiated by the Office of Mayor in 2002 in conjunction with the Departments of Education and Cultural Affairs.
2.  Matanzas Mule Day—commemorating the bombardment by the U.S. Navy of a small Cuban village Matanzas which after expending a large number of shells managed to kill only one living soul, a mule who was buried by the Spaniards with full military honors.   
3. 1999 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1999 on a run of 4 weeks in that position “No Scrubs” by TLC. Here is a recording of TLC performing the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLequ6dUdM
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “noyade” which means water boarding on steroids by executing by drowning, a means  used in the 18th Century by the French.
5. Pioneer Playwright—celebrating the birth on this day in 1945 of Frederick August Kittel, Jr. better known to his fans as August Wilson, a prolific award winning playwright born to a black mother and German immigrant father whose pen was taken away from him by liver cancer at the age of 60.
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 1667 John Milton, blind and impoverished, sold the copyright to that tormentor of English majors, Paradise Lost, for £ 15.
b. 1861 Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
c. 1936 the United Auto Workers split from the American Federation of Labor.  
d. 1945 Benito Mussolini and his mistress were captured in the Northern Italian Town of Dongo trying to flee to Switzerland; they were executed the next day and their bodies hung up by their feet and displayed in the public square.
e. 1974 in a beginning of the end of the Nixon Presidency, 10,000 persons marched in Washington, D.C. demanding the impeachment of Richard Nixon who resigned in the same year on August 9, the only president to have resigned from office.    
Reflections on Watergate by one who sacrificed his reelection chances to try to heal the country by pardoning Nixon: “The political lesson of Watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant, elite guard of political adolescents to by-pass the regular party organization and dictate the terms of a national election.” Gerald R. Ford Fortunately for the Reds that lesson was not learned by the HRC campaign. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© April 27, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

April 26, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Intellectual Property Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 26, 2017  San Francisco District Court Judge William Orick III who issued a TRO against the DOJ from banning funds to sanctuary cities is the latest example of a politicization of the judiciary when it was revealed he has bundled over $200,000 to Obama’s campaign (when do answer with a yes the basic question of do we as a nation have the right to bar illegal aliens?); bombshell report from a state auditor on the University of California and Napolitano who heads it that she has created a secret fund of close to $200 million while demanding more money from the state and raising tuition (so typical of a political hack from the Blue side of the aisle); another day in the Persian Gulf and another provocative encounter by Iranian fast attack boats (after 36 such encounters in 2016 isn’t it time to sink one of these vessels the next time to stop this nonsense?); Senate heads to the White House for a rare classified meeting on the rising tensions in North Korea as Trump again vows that the “nut job” ruling that country will not be allowed to possess an ICBM; on the sports front rumor has it that Trump will end the ban on sports gambling;  on the unfriendly skies front UA has been whacked again as Simon destined to become the world’s largest rabbit mysteriously died in the cargo section on a flight from England to the United States; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through April 24 increasing  to 1012 and the death toll increasing to 176 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Next, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Svetlana Alexievich, hoping that you don’t encounter a minacious person, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1.  World Intellectual Property Daycelebrating since 2000 the importance of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets in our daily lives (look only at the stock market with companies like Facebook, Apple and Google surging to new highs to appreciate IP’s importance).
2.  Hug a Friend Day—since hugs are beneficial to the receiver and the giver this is an observance that should be observed more than one day a year.   
3. 1998 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1998 on a run of 5 weeks in that position “Too Close” by Next. Here is a recording of Next performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwEZRPkAAu8
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “minacious” which means menacing or threatening which is what Trump may use in describing to the 100 Senators the North Korean dictator.
5. Camelot Déjà Vu—celebrating the birth on this day in 1970 of Melania Trump, the second FLOTUS born outside the United States and the first naturalized citizen to occupy the position.  http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2017/04/camelot-deja-vu-with-melania-trump.html 
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 1805 in the First Barbary War the U.S Marine Corps added a second line to their hymn by capturing Derna.
b. 1865 Union cavalry cornered and shot John Wilkes Booth dead.
c. 1937 in a terrifying preview of the destruction to be caused in World War II, during the Spanish Civil War the Condor Legion of the German Luftwaffe bombed continuously for three hours the town of Guernica in Spain, killing 1,654 civilians.  
d. 1986 at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine) at the Chernobyl Power Plant a meltdown of the reactor core of Reactor 4 occurred spewing radioactive material over a large area extending to as far as Norway. It ranks as one of the worst nuclear power plant explosions of all time.
e. 2005 under international pressure, Syria, after 29 years of military domination, withdrew the last of its soldiers from Lebanon.    
Reflections on nuclear power “At that time my notions of nuclear power were utterly idyllic. At school and at the university we'd been taught that this was a magical factory that made "energy out of nothing," where people in white robes sat and pushed buttons. Chernobyl blew up when we weren't prepared.” Svetlana Alexievich , Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© April 26, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

April 25, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Parent Alienation Awareness Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 25, 2017  North Korea appears to be hell bent to remain on its collision course with the United States and South Korea and is  conducting massive live fire artillery drills and spewing out inflammatory rhetoric (scary stuff especially for the millions of South Koreans living in Seoul only a few miles south of the border); tomorrow the entire Senate has been invited to the White House for a briefing on the escalating tensions with North Korea; in an attempt to raise the PC iron curtain the students who invited Ann Coulter to speak at Cal have filed a law suit in federal court against the University for blocking her right to speak (the left thugs who use violence to prevent conservatives from airing their views should be expelled and put in jail); it what should not come as a surprise donors to Drexel are withdrawing their funding due to the inane rants of a professor George Ciccariello who wants to off the pigs and praises Venezuela as a model country (in total collapse due to socialist policies as people are starving); in yet another example of the sheer and unrelenting hypocrisy of politicians, news today is that Obama will be speaking at a health care conference put on by a Wall Street investment banking firm and will be paid $400,000 (if this is how the firm spends its dollars to listen to a speech, how dumb would someone have to be trust these people with their money or rely upon them for investment advice); almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017  through April 23, 2017 increasing by ten to 1001 and the death toll increasing by two  to 174 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Puff Daddy, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Steve Maraboli, hoping that you don’t lollygag through the day, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1.  Parent Alienation Awareness Daycreating awareness for the damage caused by a custodial parent who is hell bent out of revenge and anger to try to alienate the children from the noncustodial parent to the detriment of the children who deserve a healthy relationship with both parents.  
2. World Malaria Day—celebrated since 2007 and designed to promote awareness of this killer of close to one million people a year and raise money for eradication efforts of the carrier of the disease—mosquitoes.     
3. 1997 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1997 on a run of 6 weeks in that position “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” by Puff Daddy. Here is a recording of the rapper performing the “song”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmHMcKN8xlI
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “lollygag” which was one of my father’s favorite words which means to spend time in an aimless or lazy manner.
5. Deadly Camels—celebrating the birth on this day in 1908 of Edward R. Morrow, note CBS radio and television broadcaster who unfortunately smoked three packs of Camels a day and died of lung cancer at the way too early age of 57. 
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 1859 British and French engineers broke ground for the construction of the Suez Canal which was completed ten years later.
b. 1901 in a typical if it moves regulate it moment, New York became the first state to require license plates for automobiles.  
c. 1915 allied forces landed in Turkey near Gallipoli but unfortunately lollygagged on the beaches allowing the Turks to fortify the surrounding heights which resulted in a subsequent disaster for the allied armies and their humiliated withdrawal in disgrace after having suffered 302,000 casualties.   
d. 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson published an article describing the double helix structure of DNA and the biochemistry race was on.   
e. 1954 the first practical solar cell was demonstrated by Bell Labs. 
Reflections on parent alienation which too often is the collateral damage of divorce with victims who are truly innocent: ”Parental Alienation is an emotional act of violence that is aimed at an adult, but critically wounds a child.” Steve Maraboli, noted author and motivational speaker. From personal experience he is right on point with his observation. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© April 25, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift

 www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.

Monday, April 24, 2017

April 24, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 24, 2017  Brexit fever crossed the Channel as the French sent Le Pen into the run off against Macon; we face another potential government shutdown as the Blues are digging in their heals on the wall and funding the abortion factory Planned Parenthood; for fantasy football fans in the political arena a poll released by the Washington Post with headlines touting Trump’s low approval ratings buried at the end of the article that if the election granted the voters a mulligan they would still vote to elect Trump over the worst candidate the Democrats have ever fielded in modern times; Tom Perez is receiving flack from both sides including Nancy Pelosi (finally I can agree with her) on his inane statement that someone who is pro life cannot be a Democrat (even in the ninth month of a pregnancy?); 57 year old Peggy Whitson with 535 cumulative days in space is now the American record holder for the most cumulative days in space but still way between the world record of 879 days held by a Russian cosmonaut; the fat lunatic in North Korea is still  ranting he will destroy the USS Vinson and its task force  and incinerate Australia for its support of the U.S. as oil from China starts disappearing and coal exports shrivel up; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017  through April 23, 2017 increasing by nine  to 991 and the death toll increasing by four to 172 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Celine Dion, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Joseph Markwart, hoping that you don’t run into any junglis, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
1.  Armenian Genocide Rembrance Daycommemorating since 1919 the expulsion of Armenians from Constantinople and genocide committed against them by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) a crime against humanity that the Turks still have to come to grips with.
2. Fashion Revolution Day—commemorating the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1133 garment workers and injured  over 2500 and observed since 2014 to identify where clothes are being manufactured and to promote safer and better working conditions for those workers.     
3. 1996 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1996 on a run of 6 weeks in that position “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion. Here is a recording of her performing the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNognZzh4do
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “jungli” which is used in India to describe someone who is uncultured or wild which the denizens of the Swamp must think they are facing in the form of Donald Trump.
5. Grand Slam—celebrating not the birth of any prolific home run hitter with the bases loaded but the birth on this day in 1942 of one of only fourteen entertainers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy award, Barbara Streisand whose politics are way too much on the liberal side but at least she delivers her views with a great voice. 
On this day in:                                                                                   
a. 1704 the first newspaper in the colonies The Boston News Letter was published and continued to do so until the British evacuated in 1776 due to the presence of American cannon on the surrounding heights.
b. 1895 Joseph Slocum the first person to circumnavigate the globe single handily left Boston on the Spray a single mast sloop  oyster boat to begin his sailing feat arriving back in Rhode Island on July 3, 1895.  
c. 1922 in another making the world a smaller place the first segment of the Imperial Wireless Service proving wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England and Cairo, Egypt opened for business.  
d. 1967 Vladimir Komarov had the unenviable distinction of being the first human being to die during a space mission when the parachutes on his Soyuz I spacecraft failed to deploy properly on reentry from orbit.  
e. 1990 in a making the universe smaller moment the Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Telescope. 
Reflections on the Armenian Genocide:  Even after proclamation of the Constitution the man slogan of the Turkish policy has been ‘Without Armenians there will be no Armenian problem.’”Joseph Markwart, noted German scientist so proclaiming in 1916. What is really sad about the genocide is that Stalin and Hitler were aware of the lack of any response from the West which indicated that Hitler would be able to implement the Holocaust and Stalin could wage genocide against the Ukrainians with impunity.  

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© April 24, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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