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

Friday, May 8, 2020

May 8, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not V-E Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 8, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues nearing the 4,000,000 mark in cases with 116,608 new cases (a 3% increase compared to a 1.85% increase yesterday) to bring the total to 3,997,920 cases, 2,347,270 of which are active, 1,650,650 of which have been closed with 1,375,527 recoveries ( 83.33% compared to yesterday’s 83.19%) and 275,123 deaths (16.67% compared to yesterday’s 16.81%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases`and the president’s valet testing positive with new cases of 38,291 have brought total cases to 1,315,897 (a 4.89% increase compared to yesterday’s 1.67% increase) with 1,015,879 active cases and 300,019 closures, 78,299 of which have been deaths (26.08% compared to yesterday’s 26.2%) and 221,720 of which have been recoveries (73.9% compared to yesterday’s 73.8%), while total testing has increased to 8,564,177, an increase of 432,641 from yesterday; on the bogus Russian collusion front released transcripts from interviews with former Obama official Evelyn Farkas show a severe case of Schiffitis as she touted that she knew that there was evidence of Trump collusion only to admit to House investigators that that was not the case; House Intel Committee reveal that touts to MSNBC and CNN to the contrary top Obama officials had no empirical evidence of Trump collusion with Russia; McCabe has admitted that the FBI was unable to prove the accuracy of the Steele Dossier that was the cornerstone of the FISA warrants obtained time and time again to spy on Carter Page; in a rebuke to Nadler, SCOTUS has blocked the release of grand jury transcripts on the Mueller probe; Nate Silver has attacked the MSM for its reporting on the increase in CV cases but not disclosing the increase may be due in large part to increased testing (since Trump’s re-election hopes will rise or fall based on public perception of his handling of the virus be alert to MSM’s attempts to cook the narrative to damage his re-election chances; in a hint to Michelle Obama that she should stick to her garden, critics have largely panned her “Becoming” release on Netflix; Harris and Sanders are now proposing a $2,000 a month payment retroactive to March for all residents, including to no one’s surprise illegal aliens, earning less than $120,000 a year until the pandemic ends and for three months later (kiss this nation’s fiscal future goodbye for good and get ready to buy wheelbarrows to carry the inflation devastate currency to pay bills); in potential good news for dairy farmers, some studies are indicating Vitamin D consumption lowers morbidity rates for CV patients; with 33,5 million Americans now jobless and seeking unemployment which continues to be a great struggle, protests are spreading especially in states with stay at home orders with no termination dates; Lori Loughlin and her husband lost their bid to have the charges dismissed by alleging prosecutorial misconduct; in Chicago, as of May 7, 2020, 855 shootings of whom 160 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is now 57 behind Chicago with 103 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, the fact that you are not guilty of osmidrosis since gyms are closed down and a quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower on V-E Day, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. Victory in Europe Day—celebrating the unconditional surrender by German forces to the Allies bringing an end to WWII in Europe which caused the death of millions of soldiers and civilians.

2. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Password Day—celebrating the creation of the Red Cross and Red Cross and the noble work they do during military conflicts and natural disasters.

3. 2005 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 2005 on this day on a run of 1 week in the position “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IH8tNQAzSs This 5’7” rapper dynamo has sold over 120 million records but has had a recent past of dealing with epileptic seizures.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “osmidrosis” which means the emission of foul smelling sweat which is the collateral damage of a good workout.

5. Managing a Campaign Not Like Running a City—celebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in 1961 of Bill de Blasio, failed Blue presidential candidate and Mayor of New York where his actions validate the Peter Principle and who has been castigated by the NYPD and ridiculed by others for his handling of the CV pandemic.

On this day in:

a. 1902 Mount Pelee on Martinique erupted, killing some 30,000 people.Quotes

b. 1945 thousands of sailors in Halifax given shore leave to celebrate the end of World War II in Halifax with nowhere to eat or drink or see a movie rioted and resulting in 3 men dead (2 from alcohol poisoning, and 1e a possible murder), 363 arrested, 654 businesses damaged and 207 establishments looted to some degree with some 65,000 quarts of liquor, 8,000 cases of beer and 1,500 cases of wine had been "liberated."

c. 1972 in a what took us so long moment, President Nixon announced his order to start placing naval mines in the harbors of North Vietnam to halt the flow of weapons being sent to that country.

d. 1980 the World Health Organization confirmed the eradication of small pox.

e. 2019 19 year old British patient Isabelle Holdaway after undergoing a lung transplant became the first patient to be treated with genetically modified phages to combat a drug resistant infection and better yet she survived.

Reflections on the triumph of V-E Day: "Humility must be the measure of a man whose success was bought with the blood of his subordinates, and paid for with the lives of his friends." Dwight D. Eisenhower

Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.

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Thursday, May 7, 2020

May 7, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Day of Prayer

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 7, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues with 70,598 new cases (a 1.85% increase compared to a 3.36% increase yesterday) to bring the total to 3,881,312 cases, 2,283,581 of which are active, 1,597,731 of which have been closed with 1,329,223 recoveries (83.19% compared to yesterday’s 82.98%) and 255,096 deaths (16.81% compared to yesterday’s 17.02%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases with new cases of 20,967 have brought total cases to 1,277,606 (a 1.67% increase compared to yesterday’s 3.13% increase) with 987,278 active cases and 290,328 closures, 76,052 of which have been deaths (26.2% compared to yesterday’s 26.53%) and 214,276 205,268 of which have been recoveries (73.8% compared to yesterday’s 73.47%), while total testing has increased to 8,131,536, an increase of 169,193 from yesterday; Dallas County State District Judge Eric Moyé had his judicial overreach hand slapped by the Texas Supreme Court that ordered Dallas Salon owner Shelly Luther to be released from jail (only in America do we release prisoners from jail due to the pandemic and put people in jail for violating shut down orders of businesses deemed to be “nonessential”); Governor Abbot has banned the jailing of Texans for violating shut down orders as the Texas AG observed “This is America not China; the DOJ has just announced that it is dropping the case that never should have brought against Flynn after the lead prosecutor Van Graek withdrew from the case over allegations he withheld exculpatory evidence (fired and disgrace James Comey who should be in trial for his activities delusionally claiming “The DOJ has lost its way) ; Justice Ginsburg just released from the hospital has authored a unanimous SCOTUS opinion reversing and castigating the liberal leaning 9^th Circuit for reversing a conviction of an immigration consultant who was convicting of advocating illegal immigration after the court following argument called in several third parties to present arguments to overturn the conviction not argued by the parties; SCOTUS in another unanimous ruling overturned the convictions in the case known as Bridgegate; the Blues’ firewall of black voters showed another sign of cracking as Daryl Strawberry will be one of the guests on the Trump Campaign’s webcast “Faith in America: Black Voices for Trump”; as the justification for the Mueller probe is crumbling big time, Lying Schiff is still stalling and not releasing documents on the Russia probe that will clearly show no collusion as Reds are fed up with Wray’s being MIA with respect to the corruption at the top of the FBI that allowed the travesty and attempt to take down a duly elected president to occur; in Chicago, as of May 6, 2020, 844 shootings of whom 155 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is now 56 behind Chicago with 99 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludicris, the fact that you make it a habit to osculate your spouse or significant other on a regular basis and a quote by Franklin Graham on National Day of Prayer, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. National Day of Prayer—created by the U.S. Congress in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on April 17, 1952 and now celebrated on the first Thursday in May and with the coronavirus raging and this country needing all the help it can get to fight it, maybe prayer could be the spiritual vaccine we need.

2. World Password Day—created by Intel Security in May, 2013 to promote good password habits like creating strong passwords, changing them frequently and not using obvious ones like “1,2,3,4,5” in order to prevent hacking of on line accounts and to maintain privacy and security.

3. 2004 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 2004 on this day on a run of 12 weeks in the position and the song in the longest run was “Yeah” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8 This talented singer has sold over 80 million records worldwide.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “osculate” which means to kiss which is always a good habit to do with your spouse or significant other before leaving for work.

5. Hard to Escape a Stalker—celebrating the birth on this day in 1940 of Angela Olive Stalker, a noted English author better known to her fans as Angela Olive Parker who was a heavy smoker and died of lung cancer that stalked her on February 18, 1992.

On this day in:

a. 1945 on the same day that General Jodl on behalf of Germany signed unconditional surrender documents effective the next day, U-Boat 2336 off the coast of Scotland sank the freighters, Avondale Park and Sneland I, the last two ships sunk by the Kreigsmarine.

b. 1952 the concept of an integrated circuit, the foundation of computers, was first proposed by Geoffrey Dummer.

c. 1992 Michigan in a better late than never moment ratified a 203 year old proposed amendment which became the 27^th Amendment which prohibited Congress from increasing or decreasing salaries until the next term.

d. 1998 Mercedes-Benz bought Chrysler for $40 billion in the largest industrial merger ever and formed Mercedes Chrysler.

e. 2004 independent radio tower contractor Nicholas Berg after having gone to Iraq was beheaded by Islamists who had kidnapped him earlier.

Reflections on the National Day of Prayer: “At a time when our country is waging two wars, approval ratings for Congress are at historic lows, unemployment is at a 70-year high and financial institutions have collapsed around us, I can't imagine anyone seriously opposing a National Day of Prayer.” Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and a noted evangelist is his own right.

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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Nurses Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 6, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues with 123,753 new cases (a 3.36% increase compared to 2.5% increase yesterday) to bring the total to 3,810,714 cases, 2,259,040 which are active, 1,551,674 of which have been closed with 1,220,468 recoveries (82.98% compared to yesterday’s 82.71%) and 255,096 deaths (17.02% compared to yesterday’s 17.29%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases with new cases of 38,167 have brought total cases to 1,256,639 (a 3.13% increase compared to yesterday’s 2.08%) increase) with 977,250 active cases and 279,389 closures, 74,121 of which have been deaths (26.53% compared to yesterday’s 27.26%) and 205,268 of which have been recoveries (73.47% compared to yesterday’s 72.74%), while total testing has increased to 7,962,343, an increase of 427,308 from yesterday; Cuomo has taken his head out of the sand over his nursing home order that condemned 100’s of elderly patients residing there to their deaths to assert the volunteer medical personnel that answered to his call for help will be subject to New York’s rapacious income tax rates; instead of uniting the social fabric seems to be coming apart as in Texas a rouge judge with no power to shut down business has jailed a Texas salon owner who opened her business to be able to feed her family, prompting the Texas AG to vow to pay her fine and demand her release and two Texas representatives to get illegal haircuts in protest as the nation’s worst mayor Di Blasio and his Police Commissioner have ruled no 1^st Amendment rights to public protests with a straight face of hypocrisy as Di Blasio is photographed with his wife in a closed public park; Harley Rouda in a close race with Michelle Steel was caught with his hypocrisy pants down after being seen at a Orange County private beach after slamming residents who violated Gruesome Newsom’s closed beach order; in a moment akin to a 4 year old temper tantrum rant Number 2 Blue Hoyer says Blues will return to the Swamp when CV Relief Bill is ready (aka funds for museums, states and cities and a host of pork that has nothing to do with economic recovery or fighting CV); Lying Schiff who has been blocking release of Russian probe documents has received a letter from our head of Intel indicating documents can be released and implying if Schiff won’t he will; in Chicago, as of May 5, 2020, 839 shootings of whom 154 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is now 55 behind Chicago with 99 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to 50 Cent, the fact that if needed you are blessed with a good ostiary and a quote by Erin Pettengill on nursing, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. International No Diet Day—celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1992 to promote acceptance of one’s own body size instead of always going on diets that after weight loss result in most of the weight coming back promoted by those observing the observance by wearing a pale blue ribbon.

2. National Nurses Day—celebrated first in the United States in 1954 to recognize the contributions of nurses to our public health and well being, truly angels of the ward and bedside and the thin line between the patient and doctors’ handwriting and those with lacking bedside manners.

3. 2003 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 2003 on this day on a run of 9 weeks in the position was “In da Club” by 50 Cent in his first number one song. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qm8PH4xAss This talented rapper started out selling crack cocaine when he was 12 but managed to move on to a successful music career, overcoming some serious run ins with the law.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “ostiary” which means a doorman which is much needed requirement for upscale co-ops or apartments in New York City.

5. Hard to Make the Transitiont—celebrating the birth on this day in 1939 of noted child actor Chet Allen who sadly failed to make the transition to adult roles and after several bouts in psychiatric hospitals committed suicide on June 17, 1984 by taking 5 times the prescribed dose for his anti-depressant medications.

On this day in:

a. 1935 in an attempt to help this nation to climb out of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7034 to create the Works Progress Administration.

b. 1945 Mildred Elizabeth Gillars, better known to GIs as Axis Sally, ended her last broadcast for the Nazis; she was uncovered in Berlin on March 15, 1946, was tried for treason and became the first woman to be convicted of treason against the United States in March 1949 and sentenced to 10 to 30 years and was released June 10, 1961.

c. 1949 EDSAC the first practical electronic digital-stored program computer ran its first operation.

d. 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and French Prime Minister Francois Mitterrand officiated at the official opening of the Channel Tunnel connecting France and the United Kingdom.

e. 2010 in a hold on to your hat moment, the DOW fell some 1,000 points in 36 minutes to recover almost all of the loss before the closing bell some 52 minutes later.

Reflections on what it means to be a nurse: “We often think of nursing as giving meds on time, checking an Xray to see if the doctor needs to be called, or taking an admission at 200 a.m. with a smile on our faces. Too often, we forget all the other things that make our job what it truly is caring and having a desire to make a difference.” By Erin Pettengill, noted nurse in a children’s hospital and missionary.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

May 5, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Cinco De Mayo;

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 5, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues with 90,244 new cases (a 2.5% increase) to bring the total to 3,686,961 cases, 2,220,468 which are active, 1,475,564 of which have been closed with 1,220,468 recoveries (82.71% compared to yesterday’s 82.39%) and 255,096 deaths (17.29% compared to yesterday’s 17.61); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases with new cases of 25,391 have brought total cases to 1,218,472 (a 2.08% increase) with 959,112 active cases and 259,360 closures, 70,713 of which have been deaths (27.26% compared to yesterday’s 27.83%) and 188,647 of which have been recoveries (72.74% compared to yesterday’s 72.17%), while total testing has increased to 7,535,035, an increase of 300,087 from yesterday; at a time when we must united to fit COVID-19, sadly the pandemic is becoming politicized as the House wants to investigate Trump’s handling of it and call Fauci, which Trump has refused although has consented to his appearing before the Senate; Andy Lack the head of NBC News with a surname so appropriate in highlighting objectivity or absence thereof is stepping down as the New York Attorney General announced an investigation into sexual harassment during his tenure; in the fight against the CV pandemic one thing has been consistent, the models predicting cases and deaths have been consistently wrong as the University of Washington’s IHME’s draft model which has been leaked shows deaths increasing to 135,000 through August as deaths have dropped in the U.S. for 5 days in a row (the report was disavowed by the DHS as more and more states are opening up their economies); in another example of our civil liberties being sacrificed in the name of fighting this virus Kansas City Mayor, Quinton Lucas has ordered that churches may not have more than 10 people in attendance and should get track of attendees; while the left is jumping for joy that the COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity to implement their progressive agenda and defeat Trump, Trump may seize the opportunity to tie stimuli aid to cities and states to an ending of their inane and dangerous sanctuary city policies: the United Kingdom has just achieved the dubious distinction of surpassing Italy for the most deaths from COVID-19; Michelle Obama who some Dems are touting as a candidate who can beat Trump was basking in her Netflix documentary blaming the loss in 2016 not on HRC’s failed campaign and unlike ability but rather on voters who did not vote (watch MSM leftists like Don Lemon extol her virtues akin to someone who walks on water); Andrew Cuomo who used to be the left’s Golden Boy for his reporting on the CV in New York is now under condemnation for his order sending CV patients to nursing homes to infect and kill residents and for the fact that nursing homes have underestimated the deaths from CV in them which now stand at 4,813; in Chicago, as of May 4, 2020, 831 shootings of whom 149 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is now 54 behind Chicago with 95 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Ashanti, the fact that you are not being exposed to events that cause oscitancy and a quoted by Ronald Reagan on his visit to Bitburg Military Cemetery, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. Cinco de Mayo—celebrating the defeat by a Mexican Army outnumbered 2 to 1 of an invading French Army at the Battle of Puebla. Unfortunately like another massive partying holiday St. Patrick’s Day, celebrations may be somewhat dampened by the closures of bars and restaurants and stay at home orders due to the COVID pandemic.

2. International Day of Midwives—celebrated first this day in 1991 to commemorate the contribution of midwives to the birthing of children in areas where hospitals are not available or parents want the birth to occur at home.

3. 2002 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 2002 on this day on a run of 10 weeks in the position was “Foolish” by Ashanti for her first number 1 release. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUPrnu3BEU8 This talented singer and actress will be turning 40 on October and is going strong with over 15 million records sold.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “oscitancy” which means yawning or sleepiness acts which many people exposed to a long-winded political speech are prone to do.

5. Stand By Your Surgeon—celebrating the birth on this day in 1942 of the First Lady of Country Music, Virginia Pugh, better known to her fans as Tammy Wynette and best known for her song “Stand By Your Man” and who endured 26 surgeries in her lifetime, an addiction to pain pills, 5 marriages and died too early at the age of 56 on April 6, 1998 of cardiac arrest.

On this day in:

a. 1961 in a better late than never but still short moment, Mercury 7 Alan Shepard became the first American into space in a suborbital flight after Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had orbited the Earth once on April 12, 1961 and successfully returned.

b. 1973 Secretariat broke the 2 minute barrier by winning the Kentucky Derby with a time of 1:59.4 a record which has never been broken.

c. 1985 President Reagan visited a German Military Cemetery in Bitburg for which he received a fair amount of complaints and then to the Belsen-Bergen Concentration Camp where some 50,000 inmates died under appalling conditions.

d. 1994 teenager Michael Fay received 4 strokes of the cane to become the first American to be caned in Singapore after he vandalized a train.

e. 2010 massive protests began on this day with 3 demonstrators killed and thousands upon thousands of Greeks protested the austerity provisions adopted by the government as a condition to receiving a 110 million € bailout from the European Union and would continue off and on through October 18, 2012.

Reflections by Reagan on his visit to Bitburg Military Cemetery: “"Our duty today is to mourn the human wreckage of totalitarianism, and today, in Bitburg Cemetery, we commemorated the potential good and humanity that was consumed back then, 40 years ago." Ronald Reagan May 5, 1985.

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Monday, May 4, 2020

May 4, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Star Wars Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 4, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues with 33,028 new cases (a .93% increase in total cases compared to 2.2% yesterday) to bring the total to 3,596,717 cases, 2,180,100 of which are active, 1,416,617 of which have been closed with 1,167,095 recoveries (82.39% compared to yesterday’s 82.29%) and 249,522 deaths (17.61% compared to yesterday’s 17.71%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases with new cases of 8,591 have brought total cases to 1,193,081 (a .75% increase compared to yesterday’s 2.14% increase) with 945,192 active cases and 247,889 closures, 68,978 of which have been deaths ( 27.83% compared to yesterday’s 27.74%) and 178,911 of which have been recoveries (72.17% compared to yesterday’s 72.26%), while total testing has increased to 7,234,948, an increase of 59,172 (great improvement from several weeks ago); in a rare moment of putting themselves behind the needs of others, McConnell and Pelosi have turned down’s Trump’s offer to have all members of Congress tested saying it is more important to test first responders (McConnell is 78 and Pelosi is 80, not what you would call spring chickens and the average age of senators and congressmen at the beginning of the 115^th Congress is 61.8 and 57.8 respectively which puts a lot of them in the most at risk category for COVID-19; the Biden/Tara Reade scandal gets more complicated as the Secretary of the Senate responded to Biden’s plea to release whatever complaint Reade may have filed that she is prohibited by law from doing so (bizarre and wonder if Biden or his advisers had the mental prowess to know that that would be the response); the NYT finally published something worth reading in an opinion piece by Elizabeth Breuning who opined that it is time for the Dems to consider a Plan B not involving Joe Biden; China continues its militaristic expansion with a stealth bomber the H-2 bomber which may be introduced this year and capable of carrying nuclear weapons (is it time for the U.S. to consider an upgrade to its small and aging B-2 fleet?) the Trump Administration is considering a push to admit Taiwan to W.H.O.; Lemon an “anchor” for the Cack News Network has gone off the deep end with rants that Obama was smarter and better looking and a better president than Trump and Michelle was more accomplished and better looking than Melania (classic proof he is like a car lemon and that TDS causes severe cataracts on the eyes of those infected); on the CV front 15 states are opening parts of their economies today and Kroger and Costco alarmed over the real possibilities of meat shortages announced they would be limiting meat purchases; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their quest for financial security announced they would be coming out with a “tell-all” book about them and the royal family in August; in Chicago, as of May 3, 2020, 825 shootings of whom 148 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is now 56 behind Chicago with 92 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Janet Jackson, the fact that you enjoy being oryzivorous and 2 quotes by General Robert Canterbury on the Kent State Shootings, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. Anti-Bullying Day—created by the UN in 2012 to promote an end to bullying and supported by the wearing of a pink shirts; the day is celebrated internationally but many countries like the United States and the United Kingdom celebrate it on February 28/29.

2. Star Wars Day—celebrated to honor George Lucas’ Star War movies as today is a play on “May the Force” be with you and observed by many wearing costumes portraying many of the characters in Star Wars films.

3. 2001 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 2001 on this day on a run of 7 weeks in the position was “All For You” By Janet Jackson. Here is a recording of the song: https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-adk-adk_sbnt&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt&hspart=adk&p=janet+jackson+all+for+you#id=3&vid=ec08ee42df88f9a2aa381a63662418b0&action=click This youngest member of the talented Jackson family has sold over 100 million records but may be best remembered for her breast being exposed during Super Bowl XXXIII Half Time Show.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “oryzivorous” which means rice eating which certainly describes maybe Oriental diners to a tee.

5. Putting the Brakes on Racing and Life—celebrating the birth on this day in 1940 of Peter Gregg, who was one of America’s most successful l race car drivers, with 152 wins out of the 340 races he entered but sadly after being banned from racing in June of 2008 after finishing third at the Le Mans 24 Endurance Race, he committed suicide on December 15, 1980.

On this day in:

a. 1932 mobster Al Capone began serving his 11 year sentence for tax evasion but he would be released early on compassionate grounds due to his mental state caused by syphilis to become one of the first patients in 1942 to receive penicillin but the disease had progressed to far and his mental state had become that of 12 year old and died of heart failure on January 25, 1947 after having had a stroke 4 days earlier.

b. 1959 the first Grammy Awards Ceremony was held in 2 locations simultaneously at the Beverly Hills Hilton and the Park Sheraton in New York City.

c. 1970 28 members of the Ohio National Guard sent to Kent State University to disband students protesting the U.S. and South Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia suddenly opened fire with 67 shots being fired in 13 seconds on unarmed students many of whom were walking to class carrying books, killing 4 and wounding 9 others, 1 of whom was paralyzed permanently. Sadly the victims received no justice from the criminal justice system and after their civil tort actions were dismissed by the judge settled for $675,000.

d. 1978 the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher became the United Kingdom’s first female prime minister.

e. 1998 a federal judge in Sacramento sentenced the anarchist “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski to 4 life sentences plus 30 years for sending bombs that detonated on being opened, killing 3 people and wounding 20 others while creating a reign of terror.

Reflections on bogus justification and real reason for on Kent State shootings: "Guardsmen on the right flank were in serious danger of bodily harm and death as the mob continued to charge. I felt that, in view of the extreme danger to the troops at this point, that they were justified in firing." General Robert Canterbury’s remarks after the shooting in justification. “These students are going to have to find out what law and order is all about." General Canterbury’s remark before the shooting to someone pleading with him not to order his troops forward to the demonstrators in a skirmish line.

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Sunday, May 3, 2020

May 3, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Free Press Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 3, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues with 73,967 new cases (a 2.2% increase in total cases compared to 1.65% yesterday) to bring the total to 3,555,338 cases, 2,157,225 of which are active, 1,398,113 of which have been closed with 1,150,482 recoveries (82.29% compared to yesterday’s 81.83%) and 247,631 deaths (17.71% compared to yesterday’s 18.17%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases with new cases of 23,718 have brought total cases to 1,184,490 (a 2.14% increase compared to yesterday’s .99% increase) with 937,864 active cases and 246,626 closures, 68,407 of which have been deaths (27.74% compared to yesterday’s 29.2%) and 178,219 of which have been recoveries (72.26% compared to yesterday’s 70.8%), while total testing has increased to 7,174,746, an increase of 675,916 (great improvement from several weeks ago); the slogan of the NYT of “All the News That’s Fit to Print” needs to be changed to “All the Views That Are Fit to Mock” as it comes out with a call for the DNC to create a “independent panel” to investigate the charges against Biden which was rightfully ridiculed by journalists (what are they smoking there with that idea?); Tara Reade is standing by her story and alleging she didn’t file a police report after experiencing the treatment Anita Hill was subject to during the Clarence Thomas hearings and is complaining against death threats and online harassment against her and her family; Witless Whitmer extended her draconian stay at home orders as peaceful protestors entered the Capitol some with open carry weapons which is allowed under Michigan law and blasted the demonstrators as the worst kind of racists; on the homeless front, hundreds of homeless in Denver have tested positive and FECES City has fallen way short of leasing 8,250 hotel rooms to house the homeless as only 2,741 rooms have been leased with 1,130 of those being unoccupied due to lack of hotel staff or other “failures of preparation”; if planning a trip to France might want to reconsider as France is extending its health emergency to July 24 and requiring all travelers arriving to quarantine themselves for 2 weeks; good news on the carnivore lovers front as beef output in the U.S. has tumbled as more closed meat processing plants are beginning to open; in another example of the CV bringing out the best in people, Larry Connor, founder and CEO of the Connor Group summoned his employees by video conference and informed them he would be giving them as a bonus the $1.6 million he had made in the stock market recently; in Chicago, as of May 2, 2020, 813 shootings of whom 148 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is now 58 behind Chicago with 90 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Santana feat. The Product G&B, the fact that you are a competent in orthographer and a quote by Tom Wicker on freedom of the press, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. Sun Day—created by proclamation of President Jimmy Carter in 1978 to promote the expansion of solar power.

2. World Press Freedom Day—created by UNESCO to promote a free press an institution which is under assault in dictatorial countries like China and Russia but also here as the MSM becomes more and more the bastion of advocacy journalism and more and more like the publicity arm of the DNC through acts of commission and more troubling acts of omission (like initially near silence on Tara Reade’s allegations against Biden).

3. 2000 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 2000 on this day on a run of 10 weeks in the position was “Maria Maria” By Santana feat. The Product G&B. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPLV7lGbmT4 The band albeit with many personnel changes other than Carlos Santana who will turn 73 in July is still going strong.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “orthographer” which means a correct speller, a skill rapidly fading away with Windows Spell-check.

5. Put Your Money Where Your Beliefs Are—celebrating the birth on this day in 1940 of David Koch, a co-owner of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S., who became a fund raising nemesis of the Democratic Party contributing millions to Republican candidates while also do the same in philanthropy and to the joy of liberals died on August 23, 2019.

On this day in:

a. 1957 to the joy of baseball fans in Los Angeles, Walter O’ Malley agreed to move the Brooklyn Dodgers to Loas Angeles.

b. 1978 in an omen for the future Digital Equipment Corporation sent the first unsolicited commercial e-mail (later to be known as Spam) to every known ARPANET address on the West Coast.

c. 1999 southwestern Oklahoma City was hit by a F5 tornado with the highest winds ever recorded at 301 +or- 20 m.p.h which killed 45 people, injured 665 and caused over $1 billion in damages.

d. 2001 the United States lost its seat on the UN Humans Rights Commission which it had held since the Commission’s founding in 1947 when countries with stellar human rights records like Russia, People’s Republic of China and Saudi Arabia are members.

e. 2015 2 Islamists attacked an anti-Muslim event in Garland, Texas at the Curtis Carswell Center held in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack and after shooting an unarmed guard in the ankle were sent to Paradise by an off duty police officer.

Reflections on freedom of the press: “If the true freedom of the press is to decide for itself what to publish and when to publish it, the true responsibility of the press must be to assert and defend that freedom… What the press in America needs is less inhibition, not more restraint.” Tom Wicker, noted deceased political reporter and columnist for the New York Times. Sadly in the era of advocacy journalism too often the decision is also made on what not to publish that which conflicts with the “journalist’s” advocacy.

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Friday, May 1, 2020

May 1, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Workers Days 1Ridle

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 1, 2020 The CV pandemic across the planet continues with 54,236 new cases (a 1.65% increase in total cases compared to 2.44% yesterday) to bring the total to 3,358,157 cases, 2,053,363 of which are active, 1,304,794 of which have been closed with 1,067,703 recoveries (81.83% compared to yesterday’s 81.6%) and 237,091 deaths (18.17% compared to yesterday’s 18.4%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world in total cases with new cases of 24,742 have brought total cases to 1,105,808 (a .99%% increase compared to yesterday’s 2.34% increase) with 884,727 active cases and 221,081 closures, 64,562 of which have been deaths (29.2% compared to yesterday’s 29.56%) and 156,519 of which have been recoveries (70.8% compared to yesterday’s 70.44%), while total testing has increased to 6,498,830, an increase of 205,518 (improvement from several weeks ago but still far short of the 300,000-500,000 tests needed; the FDA has just announced approval for the use of Gilead’s remdeservir in treating CV patients after a study showed it reduced the treatment time form 14 days to 11; Hidin’ Biden, looking like in the words of Geraldo Rivera “looking like a deer caught in the headlights” came out of his basement to appear on Morning Joe, about as anti-Trump as MSM can be to strongly and categorically deny the allegations of Tara Reade, urging the press to investigate the allegations and refusing to allow the release of his papers at the University of Delaware (even though reports were that Dem operatives had access); in a where’s Waldo moment speculation remains rampant as to the whereabouts and status of Kim Jong Un; documents released on the Flynn case reveal grave misconduct by the FBI officials like Strzok and Paige with the FBI not trying to determine the truth but rather to get Flynn to lie so he could be prosecuted or at least filed and threatening to go after his son if he did not plead guilty (if the FBI can do this to a prominent official any mere normal citizen should really be concerned); while Gruesome Newsom is threatening to criminalize Orange County beach goers the County has released 7 high risk sex offenders for fear they will be infected with corona virus in Orange County Jails (Blues like Kamala Harris safe with police protection are pushing big time to have federal and state prisoners released to avoid contracting coronavirus which has a familiar ring to it like Cuomo ordering nursing homes in New York to admit admittees from hospitals and hospices who have tested positive and then infect residents who then die like flies); Governor Cuomo who was the fair haired super hero on detailing the progress of the coronavirus is now being slammed for New York’s mismanagement, waste and nursing home deaths; Newsom is now in the same boat as Witless Whitman as Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach City Councils voted to sue him for closing the beaches; in Chicago, as of April 30, 2020, 774 shootings of whom 143 have died but none in the last two days (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is still 54 behind Chicago with 89 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to TLC, the fact that you are competent in orthoepy and quotes by Donald Rumsfield and Laurence Silberman on the Iraq War, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. International Workers Day—created by the Second International in 1891 to commemorate the Haymarket Riot in the U.S. on this day in 1886 and to promote the cause and goals of labor.

2. Law Day—first proclaimed by President Eisenhower on February 5, 1958 and first observed on May 1, 1958 to promote adherence to the rule of law and established as a counter weight to May Day.

3. 1999 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 1999 on this day on a run of 4 weeks in the position was “Scrubs” By TLC. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Q4m1IJPu8&list=RDj6Q4m1IJPu8&start_radio=1&t=24 This African-American female trio is one of the most successful female groups in history behind only the Supremes and is still performing today although without one of its original members Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes who was killed in 2002 in a traffic accident in Honduras..

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “orthoepy” which means the study of correct pronunciation.

5. An Ear For the Elevator Pitch—celebrating the birth on this day of Richard Riordan, the last Republican Mayor of Los Angeles and note corporate lawyer and successful venture capitalist and private equity investor.

On this day in:

a. 1931 the Empire State Building was opened in New York City.

b. 1956 a vaccine for polio was released by Jonas Salk.

c. 1971 AMTRAK took over the service of passenger rail service in the United States to begin its long history continuing to this day of losing billions of dollars.

d. 1999 in a better late than never moment, the body of climber George Mallory who disappeared in June of 1924 trying to climb Mt. Everest was discovered on the mountain.

e. 2003 in what became known as his “Mission Accomplished” speech but later should have been known as “A Jumping of the Gun” speech, President George W. Bush declared on the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California that combat operations in Iraq were over.

Before and after reflections on WMD in Iraq: “January 20, 2003 - “His regime has large, unaccounted for stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, including VX, sarin, mustard gas, anthrax, botulism and possibly smallpox. And he has an active program to acquire and develop nuclear weapons.” –Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, January 20, 2003.

March 31, 2005 - “The intelligence community was absolutely uniform and uniformly wrong about the existence of weapons of mass destruction (in Iraq).” - Laurence Silberman, co-chairman, Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States regarding weapons of mass destruction on March 31, 2005. Talk about a trillions of dollars mistake on our part, not to mention the lives lost and bodies wounded physically and emotionally.

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