May 7, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Military Spouse Appreciation Day

 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not May 7, 2021
        CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues the new year with cases now over 157 million at 157,445,828 cases (156,677,623 yesterday), 19,497,697 of which are active, 137,951,128 closed with 134,669,973 recoveries (97.62% and 97.62% yesterday ,and 3,281,155 deaths (2.38% and 2.38 % yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises (have no idea why the comparatively large improvement in deaths and recoveries yesterday).
       CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 33 million at 33,411,491  (33,369,192 yesterday) with 6,669,153 active cases of which 9,162 (9,279) yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now still at .14% of active cases and now another blip down to decrease the number of serious or critical cases to increase the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 20,109),  26,742,338 closed, with 594,186 deaths (2.22% and 2.22% yesterday) and with 26,147,522 recoveries (97.78% and 97.78% yesterday). Our death rate percentage continues to slowly improve and after many months is now .16% lower than the world rate after the world’s spike in improvement and now .16% higher than Canada which has the socialized type of medicine Biden may well want to implement here but has approved 4 vaccines as opposed to our 3, one of which J&J is now no longer on hold.
        Standing: On a deaths per million population measurement on a steady climb to 1788 the U.S. ranks behind Hungary the new number 1 which has had a huge surge in deaths (2947), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2446), Belgium (2101), Italy (2028), Brazil (1960) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us, Peru 1895, and the UK (1871) which had passed us despite leading world in testing),  and Poland (1837)  and slightly better than Spain (1685), Mexico (1677), Portugal (1670), France (1622), Romania new entry (1506), Argentina (1455),  Sweden (1396) that never closed its economy down like we did but has recently been experiencing a steady rise in  deaths,  Chile (1397), Switzerland (1229) and Bolivia (1114).
       Tests: We have now conducted 455,844,688 tests (now at 1,370,371/M) compared to number 2 now France at 1,195,995/M) as we are conducting more tests in number and on a per capital basis for all nations (other than those nations that contain small populations like Bahrain, Denmark, Israel, Malta, Singapore and UAE) other than the U.K. which remains as king of the mountain with respect to tests at 2,392,987/M.
        CV Open Gate: Lost in the pronouncements by Biden and his lackeys that there is no crisis of illegals surging across the border is that fact that COVID-19 is alive and well and spreading in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has moved up to 11^th on my list of deaths from the pandemic at 1677/M and the 3 countries in the Northern Triangle in terms of active cases and deaths per million are as follows even though the data may be suspect as underreported:

                   Guatemala:  Activecases:     14,429     423Deaths/M
                   Honduras:     Activecases:   131,510     548Deaths/M
                   El Salvador:   Active cases:     2,331     329 Deaths/M   

        US Vaccinations: As of 5/7/2021 254.8 million stuck at 2.09 million per day in the last week sounds impressive but if the rate does not increase it will take us now increased to some 4 months to have 75% of the population vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity. In California 32,367,810 total doses have been given (77.7% of doses received slightly more than the U.S. average of 77.9%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has fallen from 25^th to 30^th out of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 33.6% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 33.4% has moved up from 30^th to 28^th tied with  Kentucky among the 50 states.  A long way to go to get herd immunity in terms of getting vaccines received into arms and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to other states which means a great reason to recall this inept and hypocritical governor.              Non CV News: For those of us tired of listening to Psaki’s mistakes and covering up Biden the news today that she would be leaving in less than a year is good news (her replacement will have the same tough job of trying to hide the growing signs of dementia racking Biden); the April jobs report came out and it was a huge disappointment with only 266,000 new jobs added (already Blues are jumping on the statistic to justify the massive national debt busting “infrastructure” bill); Chauvin who has been convicted and has filed for a new trial due to jury misconduct and influence and  his 3 fellow officers in the Floyd case who are going to trial in August on lesser charges have been charged by the feds for depriving Floyd of his civil rights under the color of law; the more the past of expanding real estate tycoon and founder of the BLM is scratched the more it looks like we are dealing with a committed Marxist who praised the thoughts and deeds of Mao (next large corporation that is shamed under the false rubric of “white guilt” that doles out dollars to BLM should remember Marx’s warning that “we will hang the last capitalist with the rope he sold us.” 
       Zuckerberg who was trying to spend millions to influence elections has just been hit with a new Florida law that bans private money for election administration; Where’s Waldo, who in her 44 days of being the immigration czar has refused to visit the border, is proposing millions of aid to be sent to the Northern Triangle to address the “root causes” of migration (ignoring the fact that illegals remit billions to their home countries and stopping the wall and reversing Trump’s border policies are the real “root causes” of this crisis); in a wakeup call to our one party state in California, California has lost population for the first time in its history as more people fed up with high taxes, regulations, crime and illegal immigration are leaving the state; in Florida a school teacher spanked a disruptive 1^st grader with a paddle after the child’s illegal alien mother asked her to because the child had threatened to call police if she was spanked and the illegal alien filed a criminal complaint which fortunately the DA determined was not warranted and teacher will not be prosecuted; Big Tech has told supporters of free speech, the cornerstone of our democracy, to in essence pound silicon, leave it to the political cartoonist to put their censorship in comparison to the activities of the Soviet Union during the Cold War:                                                        

        Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is back to show that through May 6, 2021, gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 1115 persons shot of whom 195 have died.
       As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a video musical link to “Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer, that you are not a remuant person and a quote by David Gerrold on integrated circuits,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Mother’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. Please contact me for details on the pricing.
       1. Be Best Day—created by First Lady Melania Trump on this day in 2017 to promote the end of bullying and to encourage children to excel and avoid drugs despite the ridicule she received from the MSM.
      2. Military Spouse Appreciation Day—proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan on  April 17, 1984 to recognize the importance of military spouses to our military forces by proclaiming May 23 as the day to have spouses recognize their importance which day was changed to the Friday immediately preceding Mother’s Day.
       3.  1986 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1986 was “Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer on a run of 1 week in that position to join 30 other songs reaching number 1 and 19 other acts who achieved their first number 1 status. Here is a video recording by Robert Palmer of “Addicted to Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcATvu5f9vE Palmer was am English singer/songwriter who performed from 1964-2003 but sadly consumed 3 packs of cigarettes a day and died from a heart attack on September 26, 2003 at the age of 54.
       4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “remuant” which means restless or fidgety, a trait that unnerves most people.
       5.  True to His Nickname—celebrating the birth on this day in 1976 of Michael Murphy whose nickname was the “Protector” who was a Naval Lieutenant and Navy Seal who was killed in Afghanistan when his troop came under attack and needed help which caused him to leave cover to head up a mountain and expose himself to enemy fire to be able to contact air assets for help and in so doing was shot 14 times but still completed the call to save his men and then die on June 28, 2005 and be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor as the first member of the U.S. Navy to be so honored since the Vietnam War.                     On this day in
       a. 1952 in what would prove to be a very smart move by a misnamed man, Gerald Dummer published the concept for the integrated circuit, which formed the foundation for all computers.                              
         b. 1992 203 years after it had been proposed, Michigan ratified the 27^th Amendment to the Constitution which was then added banning Congress from giving itself mid-term raises.
       c. 1998 Mercedes Benz bought Chrysler Corporation for $40 billion in the largest merger of industrial companies.
       d. 1999 Pope John Paul II visited Romania, the first Pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism of 1054.
         e. 2004 freelance radio tower repairman Nicholas Berg after having been abducted by Islamic terrorists was beheaded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an act videotaped and shown on the internet. This scumbag was given a one way ticket to Paradise on June 7,2006 when an American F-16 dropped 2 500 lb. bombs on a safe house he was having a meeting with jihadists.

        Reflections on integrated circuits: “In the entire history of the human species, every tool we've invented has been to expand muscle power. All except one. The integrated circuit, the computer. That lets us use our brain power.”— David Gerrold, noted American science fiction screenplay writer and author.
          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.

© May 7, 2021 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire, Beyond Compare
A Unique Gift, All Recipients a Lasting Gift

 

May 6, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Day of Prayer

 Ridley’s Believe It Or Not May 6, 2021

        CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues the new year with cases now over 156 million at 156,677,623 cases (155,813,271 yesterday), 19,259,013 of which are active, 137,309,267 closed with 134,040,047 recoveries (97.62% and 97.61% yesterday ,and 3,269,220 deaths (2.38% and 2.39 % yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises (have no idea why the comparatively large improvement in deaths and recoveries yesterday).
      CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 33 million at 33,369,192  (33,320,979 yesterday) with 6,669,775 active cases of which 9,279 (9,400) yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now still at .14% of active cases and now another blip down to decrease the number of serious or critical cases to increase the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 19,992),  26,699,417 closed, with 594,006 deaths (2.22% and 2.23% yesterday) and with 26,105,411 recoveries (97.78% and 97.77% yesterday). Our death rate percentage continues to slowly improve and after many months is now .16% lower than the world rate after the world’s spike in improvement and now .15% higher than Canada which has the socialized type of medicine Biden may well want to implement here but has approved 4 vaccines as opposed to our 3, one of which J&J is now no longer on hold.
       Standing: On a deaths per million population measurement on a steady climb to 1786 the U.S. ranks behind Hungary the new number 1 which has had a huge surge in deaths (2936), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2433), Belgium (2098), Italy (2025), Brazil (1951) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us, Peru 1888, and the UK (1871) which had passed us despite leading world in testing),  and Poland (1825)  and slightly better than Spain (1683), Mexico (1677), Portugal (1670), France (1619), Romania new entry (1501), Argentina (1455),  Sweden (1395) that never closed its economy down like we did but has recently been experiencing a steady rise in  deaths,  Chile (1397), Switzerland (1227) and Bolivia (1111).
         Tests: We have now conducted 454,453,202 tests (now at 1,366,188/M) compared to number 2 now France at 1,189,567/M) as we are conducting more tests in number and on a per capital basis for all nations (other than those nations that contain small populations like Bahrain, Denmark, Israel, Malta, Singapore and UAE) other than the U.K. which remains as king of the mountain with respect to tests at 2,374,8305/M.
        CV Open Gate: Lost in the pronouncements by Biden and his lackeys that there is no crisis of illegals surging across the border is that fact that COVID-19 is alive and well and spreading in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has moved up to 11^th on my list of deaths from the pandemic at 1677/M and the 3 countries in the Northern Triangle in terms of active cases and deaths per million are as follows even though the data may be suspect as underreported:

                   Guatemala:  Activecases:     14,393     422Deaths/M
                   Honduras:     Activecases:   131,600     542Deaths/M
                   El Salvador:   Active cases:     2,323     329 Deaths/M   

         US Vaccinations: As of 5/6/2021 252.0 million falling to 2.09 million per day in the last week sounds impressive but if the rate does not increase it will take us now increased to some 4 months to have 75% of the population vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity. In California 31,997,303 total doses have been given (78.0% of doses received slightly more than the U.S. average of 77.6%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has finally moved from 27^th to 25^th  tied with Illinois  out of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 32.9% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 32.8% is still stuck at 30^th among the 50 states.  A long way to go to get herd immunity in terms of getting vaccines received into arms and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to other states which means a great reason to recall this inept and hypocritical governor.
        Non CV News: We need the corruptive influence of “dark money” into our political system like the proverbial hole in the head but Biden’s Chief of Staff is a premier Blue dark money head and Biden’s Administration has some 60 similar based leftists already serving in his administration; maybe there is a gleam of hope that the left will realize they are not meant for elective office as Atlanta Leslie Ann Bottoms has seen bottom because of her ineptness and has indicated she will not seek reelection; in another example the total breakdown we are facing in our society, a female 6^th grader in  a Rigby, Idaho Middle School has shot and wounded  a custodian and 2 students before being disarmed by a teacher; Biden’s National Day of Prayer was another example of the fact he has lost it in terms of mental acuity in which God was not mentioned or alluded to (if not God who are we supposed to pray to?—a rock, a door knob or our favorite pet?); Gascom, facing recall must believe as a leftist that he is above the law as he refuses to seek the death penalty against Heather Barron and Kareem Leiva for the torture murder of Barron’s  10 year old son Anthony Avalos ( hope this outrage from the conduct of this Soros funded idiot spawns thousands upon thousands of recall signatures); News surfacing that the Melinda and Bill divorce may not be an amicable one but still hopes that the divorce will not impact the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
      Pfizer has been hit with a good bad 1-2 punch with the goods news being that its vaccine works against the CV-19 variants but the bad news is that the Biden Administration is pushing to have Pfizer waive its patent protection; Mayor Lightfoot whose city is under daily color on color shootings and murders going through the roof has been quietly lobbying against the end of qualified immunity for cops; Biden who has a proclivity of wearing masks where the CDC says are not needed, throws caution to the wind to meet former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalind, 96 and  93 years old respectively and who would want guests wearing facial masks.                 

                                                          

                                 

        The left is on a full court press to get liberal justice Stephen Breyer to retire so Biden can replace him with a younger jurist which has prompted Diane Feinstein to denounce the move while Rep. Omar is ranting incessantly to have the Senate end the filibuster so the left can pack the court with leftist judges while Biden is still president.
        Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is back to show that through May 2, 2021, gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 1115 persons shot of whom 195 have died.
        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a video musical link to “We Are the World” by USA for Africa, that you enjoy not encountering remora in career endeavors and a quote by Bob Hope on USO,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Mother’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. Please contact me for details on the pricing.              1. International No Diet Day—created by Mary Evans Young in the UK in May of 1992  and now expanded to numerous countries to promote acceptance of one’s normal body size which given the fact that obesity is a growing problem in developed countries as it too often leads to diabetes, strokes, heart attacks and joint problems and with CV still running rampant greatly increases the chance of death if someone has become infected.
        2. National Day of Prayer—created by Congress in 1952 and calling upon all citizens to turn to God in prayer and meditation on the first Thursday of May although this year in Biden’s proclamation any reference to God did not survive the cut.
       3.  1985 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1985 was “We Are the World” by USA for Africa on a run of 4 weeks in that position to join 26 other songs reaching number 1 and 16 other acts achieved who their first number 1 status. Here is a video recording by USA for Africa of “We Are the World”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AjkUyX0rVw The song sold over 20 million copies and raised millions for famine relief in Africa, was written by Ritchie and Jackson in a day, and assembled a group of incredible talents to perform, all of whom checked their egos at the front door of the recording studio.
        4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “remora” which means a hindrance or a drag which describes the progressives’ view of the Senate’s filibuster’s effect on the transformative agenda they want to push down conservative and moderate throats.
       5.  Hurricane Winds Finally Blow Free—celebrating the birth on this day in 1937 of professional boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who was arrested, tried and convicted for a triple murder he did not commit and spent 19 years in prison proclaiming his innocence. He was ultimately released without bail following a successful writ of habeas corpus in the federal courts in November 1985   and when the state, having lost its appeal of the habeas corpus ruling, elected not to retry the case again, had the charges dismissed. He lived as a free man until he died of prostate cancer at the age of 76 on April 20, 2014.
         On this day in
         a. 1937 the German zeppelin Hindenburg that used highly flammable Hydrogen for its lift as opposed to inert Helium, the export of which to Germany had been banned by the U.S., burst into flames while docking at Lakehurst, New Jersey killing 36 passengers and crew while news cameras caught survivors running for their lives from the flames and a radio announcer tearfully and hysterically broadcasting the horrific carnage.
          b. 1941 Bob Hope performed at March Field his first USO show that started a string of USO performances for those serving in the military that would last until 1990.
          c. 1949 EDSAC the world’s first practical digital stored program computer ran its first operation.
          d. 1998 Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s iMac.
         e. 2010 at 2:32 p.m. the Dow Jones already having slid down over 300 fell down some 600 points in 36 minutes before starting to recover that crash by close of the market in a wild volatile market move known as the “Flash Crash.”

          Reflections on USO performances: "Believe me when I say that laughter up at the front lines is a very precious thing — precious to those grand guys who are giving and taking the awful business that goes on there. There's a lump the size of Grant's Tomb in your throat when they come up to you and shake your hand and mumble 'Thanks.' Imagine those guys thanking me! Look what they're doin' for me. And for you."- Bob Hope

          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.

© May 6, 2021 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire, Beyond Compare
A Unique Gift, All Recipients a Lasting Gift

 

May 5, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Cinco de Mayo Day

 Ridley’s Believe It Or Not May 5, 2021

        CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues the new year with cases now nearing 156 million at 155,813,271 cases (154,973,948 yesterday), 19,361,692 of which are active, 136,451,579 closed with 133,196,702 recoveries (97.61% and 97.61% yesterday ,and 3,254,877 deaths (2.39% and 2.39 % yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises (have no idea why the comparatively large improvement in deaths and recoveries yesterday).
     CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 33 million at 33,320,979 274,659 (33,274,659 yesterday) with 6,705,251 active cases of which 9,400 (9,451) yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now still at .14% of active cases and now a blip down to decrease the number of serious or critical cases to increase the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 19,871),  26,615,728 closed, with 593,134 deaths (2.23% and 2.23% yesterday) and with 26,022,594 recoveries (97.77% and 97.77% yesterday). Our death rate percentage continues to slowly improve and after many months is now .16% lower than the world rate after the world’s spike in improvement and now .15% higher than Canada which has the socialized type of medicine Biden may well want to implement here but has approved 4 vaccines as opposed to our 3, one of which J&J is now no longer on hold.
         Standing: On a deaths per million population measurement on a steady climb to 1783 the U.S. ranks behind Hungary the new number 1 which has had a huge surge in deaths (2923), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2429), Belgium (2095), Italy (2020), Brazil (1939) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us, Peru 1879, and the UK (1871) which had passed us despite leading world in testing),  and Poland (1811)  and slightly better than Spain (1680), Mexico (1674), Portugal (1670), France (1615), Romania new entry (1496), Argentina (1446),  Sweden (1394) that never closed its economy down like we did but has recently been experiencing a steady rise in  deaths,  Chile (1388), Switzerland (1227) and Bolivia (1108).
       Tests: We have now conducted 453,054,365 tests (now at 1,362,005/M) compared to number 2 now France at 1,182,168/M) as we are conducting more tests in number and on a per capital basis for all nations (other than those nations that contain small populations like Bahrain, Denmark, Israel, Malta, Singapore and UAE) other than the U.K. which remains as king of the mountain with respect to tests at 2,356,092/M.
        CV Open Gate: Lost in the pronouncements by Biden and his lackeys that there is no crisis of illegals surging across the border is that fact that COVID-19 is alive and well and spreading in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has moved up to 11^th on my list of deaths from the pandemic at 1674/M and the 3 countries in the Northern Triangle in terms of active cases and deaths per million are as follows even though the data may be suspect as underreported:

                   Guatemala:  Activecases:     14,551     420Deaths/M
                   Honduras:     Activecases:   131,097     537Deaths/M
                   El Salvador:   Active cases:     2,325     329 Deaths/M   

        US Vaccinations: As of 5/5/2021 249.6 doses million now falling to 2.13 million per day in the last week sounds impressive but if the rate does not increase it will take us now increased to some 4 months to have 75% of the population vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity. In California 31,670,889 total doses have been given (77.8% of doses received slightly more than the U.S. average of 77.6%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has finally moved from 28^th to 27^th out of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 32.4% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 32.3% has fallen from 28^th to 30^th among the 50 states.  A long way to go to get herd immunity in terms of getting vaccines received into arms and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to other states which means a great reason to recall this inept and hypocritical governor.
        Non CV News: As Oracle and the Nashville City Council came to a deal on Oracle’s new research facility that will include a $175 million construction inducement, a commitment by Oracle to invest over $1.2 billion and the creation of over 8,000 high paying high tech jobs, Caitlyn Jenner was lambasting Newsom for the flight of California businesses and his hypocrisy during the pandemic (she is a true rarity—a fiscal Red conservative and a Red moderate social policy supporter); while Facebook evidently panders to the cartels for their ad money to entice illegals to smuggle into this land, the company has banned Trump for life (Orwellian assault on free speech justified by algorithms written by leftists); the long knives in the Reds are being unsheathed to use against Liz Cheney to remove her from her leadership post in the Reds as she strikes back bemoaning Trump supporters as a cult; South Carolina has found a novel way to circumvent the problems of supply and medical ethics of using drugs to execute the condemned and appears to be bringing back the firing squad  which is quick and evidently painless, although potentially bloody (Gary Gilmore déjà vu ending the Furman ban on executions by being shot by gunfire in Utah); Kurt Bardella, appearing on Joyless Reid’s biased show had the inanity to proclaim the Trump and the Reds were a greater threat to American than Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban combined (great sense of tolerance from this radicalized Blue).
         Pseudo biased “journalist” Brian Stelter whose inane rants make us want to seek from him shelter was applauding Facebook’s permanent Trump ban; Antonio Hurtado, a U.S. citizen  who was the captain of the boat that was washed into the cliffs at Point Loma and destroyed with 33 illegals pulled from the water and at least 3 died, has been arrested for smuggling the illegals, many of whom told the Border Patrol they had paid $15-$18,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. (so much for the theory the illegals are fleeing poverty which is not a reason for asylum); in Biden’s inane view of the world, illegals who are illiterate, low skilled and whom we do not need are welcomed into this nation yet 17,000 Afghans who worked as translators for our military during the war in Afghanistan and are hanging by a slender thread as if we do not bring them with us most if not all run a great risk of becoming dead; Bezos Blue Orchard company on July 20 will launch into space with 1 seat auctioned off to the highest bidder, go up 60 some miles, create 3 minutes of weightlessness and then return via parachute to Earth (how dumb does a person have to be for a very brief ride into space and then back?); Garret Rolfe, the Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rashard Brooks who fired at him with a taser taken from one of the officers trying arrest him and was fired the next day and although he has been charged with murder will now have a job as the Atlanta Civil Service Board ruled the city violated its own rules in firing him. 
       While Giuliani has had his home search by FBI leave it to a pollical cartoonist to reveal the politicization and double standard of justice of the FBI to our detriment:                                                    

        Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is back to show that through May 2, 2021,  gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 1101 persons shot of whom 195 have died.
         As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now” by Phil Collins, that you enjoy having time to remigate and three quotes by President Ronald Reagan on his visits to Bitburg and Bergen-Belsen,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Mother’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. Please contact me for details on the pricing.
         1. Cinco de Mayo Day—celebrating the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla on this day in 1862 and the celebrations of which now appear to have surpassed St. Patrick’s Day in terms of alcohol consumed.
         2. Bike to School Day—not sure who created this or when it started but suspect it was not observed last year as the teachers’ unions were already holding school children hostage by closing the schools due to the pandemic but albeit far too slowly their damaging grip is being lessened but not fast enough in California.
         3.  1984 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1984 was “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now” by Phil Collins on a run of 2 weeks in that position to join 19 other songs reaching number 1 and 14 other acts achieved who their first number 1 status. Here is a recording by Phil Collins of “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuvtoyVi7vY Collins is a British singer and drummer best known for his career with Genesis, a productive solo career and a 5 year retirement ending in 2015 to spend time with his family, and being the wealthiest drummer after Ringo Starr.
         4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “remigate” which means to row which is a great way to exercise either on the water or in a gym on a machine.
         5.  First Action Star Up in a Cloud of Smoke—celebrating the birth on this day in 1914 of noted screen and stage actor Tyrone Power who was a pilot in the Marines during WWII who unfortunately had a 3-4 pack a day habit along with numerous pipe bowls that contributed to his early death on November 15, 1958 while being airlifted to a hospital in Madrid. His pregnant wife gave birth to his son Tyrone Power, Jr. two months after his death.
         On this day in
        a. 1891 to the joy of music lovers, the New York City Music Hall, later renamed the Carnegie Hall, was opened to the public for the first time with Tchaikovsky conducting the first performance there.
          b. 1973 Secretariat, noted Triple Crown Winner, won the 1973 Kentucky Derby at the bub 2 minute time of 4 1:59²⁄₅ , a record that still stands today.
          c. 1981 Bobby Sands after a 66 day hunger strike protesting British Army activities in Northern Ireland, died in Long Kesh Prison. 
       d. 1985 President Ronald Reagan briefly visited the German military cemetery at Bitburg that also contained the graves of 49 members of the Waffen SS to lay a wreath in a visit that generated much controversy and also delivered a speech at the site of the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen.
         e. 1994  18 yr. old teenager Michael Fay was caned in Singapore for stealing some road signs and vandalizing 10 cars.

           Reflections on the attending the Bitburg German military cemetery and Bergen-Belsen: “These [SS troops] were the villains, as we know, that conducted the persecutions and all. But there are 2,000 graves there, and most of those, the average age is about 18. I think that there's nothing wrong with visiting that cemetery where those young men are victims of Nazism also, even though they were fighting in the German uniform, drafted into service to carry out the hateful wishes of the Nazis. They were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps.” Ronald Reagan on his Bitburg visit.

"I know you and Nancy don't want me to go through with this, but I don't want you to change anything when you get over there, because history will prove I'm right. If we can't reconcile after forty years, we are never going to be able to do it". Ronald Reagan to his Chief of Staff Michael Deaver responding to criticism he not visit the Bitburg military cemetery.

“All these children of God, under bleak and lifeless mounds, the plainness of which does not even hint at the unspeakable acts that created them. Here they lie, never to hope, never to pray, never to live, never to heal, never to laugh, never to cry… And then, rising above all this cruelty, out of this tragic and nightmarish time, beyond the anguish, the pain and suffering, and for all time, we can and must pledge: never again.” Ronald Reagan speech at Bergen-Belsen
            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.

© May 5, 2021 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire, Beyond Compare
A Unique Gift, All Recipients a Lasting Gift

 

May 4, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Anti-Bullying Day

  

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not May 4, 2021
         CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues the new year with cases now nearing 155 million at 154,973,948 cases (154,024,171 yesterday), 19,304,738 of which are active, 135,668,310 closed with 132,427,286 recoveries (97.61% and 97.61% yesterday ,and 3,241,024 deaths (2.39% and 2.39 % yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises (have no idea why the comparatively large improvement in deaths and recoveries yesterday).

            CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 33 million at 33,274,659 (33,210,536 yesterday) with 6,715,861 active cases of which 9,451 (9,416) yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now still at .14% of active cases and now a blip up to increase the number of serious or critical cases to decrease the reduction from the  29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 19,820),  26,558,798 closed, with 592,409 deaths (2.23% and 2.23% yesterday) and with 25,966,389 recoveries (97.77% and 97.77% yesterday). Our death rate percentage continues to slowly improve and after many months is now .16% lower than the world rate after the world’s spike in improvement and now .14% higher than Canada which has the socialized type of medicine Biden may well want to implement here but has approved 4 vaccines as opposed to our 3, one of which J&J is now no longer on hold.

          Standing: On a deaths per million population measurement on a steady climb to 1781 the U.S. ranks behind Hungary the new number 1 which has had a huge surge in deaths (2909), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2406), Belgium (2091), Italy (2016), Brazil (1926) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us, Peru 1872, and the UK (1871) which had passed us despite leading world in testing),  and Poland (1802)  and slightly better than Spain (1676), Mexico (1674), Portugal (1669), France (1612), Argentina (1432),  Sweden (1388) that never closed its economy down like we did but has recently been experiencing a steady rise in  deaths,  Chile (1387), Switzerland (1225) and Bolivia (1104).

       Tests: We have now conducted 451,246,395 tests (now at 1,356,591/M) compared to number 2 now France at 1,181,187/M) as we are conducting more tests in number and on a per capital basis for all nations (other than those nations that contain small populations like Bahrain, Denmark, Israel, Malta, Singapore and UAE) other than the U.K. which remains as king of the mountain with respect to tests at 2,341,512/M.

        CV Open Gate: Lost in the pronouncements by Biden and his lackeys that there is no crisis of illegals surging across the border is that fact that COVID-19 is alive and well and spreading in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has moved up to 11^th on my list of deaths from the pandemic at 1674/M and the 3 countries in the Northern Triangle in terms of active cases and deaths per million are as follows even though the data may be suspect as underreported:

                   Guatemala:  Activecases:     14,627     418Deaths/M
                   Honduras:     Activecases:   131,097     537Deaths/M
                   El Salvador:   Active cases:     2,326     328 Deaths/M   

         US Vaccinations: As of 5/4/2021 247.8 million falling to 2.19 million per day in the last week sounds impressive but if the rate does not increase it will take us now reduced to some 3 months to have 75% of the population vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity. In California 31,468,937 total doses have been given (77.6% of doses received slightly less than the U.S. average of 77.8%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has not moved from 28^th out of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 32.1% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 32.0% has risen from 29^th to 28^th tied with Oregon.  A long way to go to get herd immunity in terms of getting vaccines received into arms and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to other states which means a great reason to recall this inept and hypocritical governor.

         Non CV News: As Facebook Algorithm Censors meet to determine whether to ban Trump from Facebook, Trump has created his own site to communicate with his followers— https://www.donaldjtrump.com/desk; Facebook is shedding users like a man with bad dandruff as www.parler.com is back so banned Twitter users can tell the Rasputin like Dorsey to pound internet sand; the super-rich do things differently than we mortals, as it has been revealed that when Bill Gates married Melinda he required a long weekend each year with his former ex-girlfriend Ann Winblad which evidently he enjoyed during his marriage now headed for divorce (sounds so very French like her maiden name, as the Gates’ marriage therapist talked about their desire to have a cordial divorce); in yet another example of how close to total fraying our social fabric is facing BLM protesters, including some who were armed, stormed the outdoor dining area of La Chasse restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky prompting one white patron to produce a pistol and point at the protesters (fortunately several of the demonstrators pushed the protesters back and no one was shot but 5 protesters were arrested including a felon illegally possessing a firearm); the Chinese rocket used to launch the core part of its planned space station will reenter the Earth on May 6^th but the military will only have a few hours to calculate where any pieces not burned up will fall;

         Joyless Reid, the perfect example of the left’s mantra if you do not agree with us completely blasted a parent objecting to “critical race theory” being taught to her elementary school child angrily claiming she is not a racist to which Reid piously claimed “of course she is”; in another example of the corruption of the MSM, PolitiFact in the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency has done 13 fact checks on him and 100 posts defending him (a free press no more only, other than Fox and a few other outlets, mere lackeys for the DNC); Chauvin’s lawyers have filed a motion for a new trial citing numerous errors that deprived their client of a fair trial but did not assert  the fact that he lied on his questionnaire whether he had attended a BLM/Floyd protest where a surfaced photo shows him in a t-shirt “off the neck” nor the obvious intimidation of Maxine Waters if the jurors did not convict; Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet is facing new issues and ¼ of the planes have been grounded with no projected date when the grounding will be lifted; Where’s Waldo has spent 41 days without a press conference and has not come within over a hundred miles of the border as the tidal wave of illegals continues unabated but she has talked to the leaders of Japan and Finland seeking their advice (what a complete crock).

           While critical race theory is being shoved down our throats against our will and what many believe is not in the best interests of our kids’ education or this nation, leave it to the political cartoonist to reveal the danger of teaching it in our schools:                                         

        Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is back to show that through May 2, 2021,  gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 1085 persons shot of whom 192 have died.
         As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, that you enjoy being a relict in your career and a quote by Gerald Casale on the Kent State Shootings,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Mother’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. Please contact me for details on the pricing.

        1. Star Wars Day—celebrated for the first time on this day in 2011 at the Toronto Underground Cinema as a pun on the Jedi wish “May the Force be with you. The number of Star Wars fanatics continue to increase each year as the films keep rolling out.

      2. International Anti-Bullying Day—started in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2011 and recognized by Canada on February 27, 2008 and now on the last Wednesday in February. The UN General Assembly adopted International Bullying Day to be celebrated on this day starting in 2012. Celebrants are urged to wear pink and promote the end of bullying physically, by phones and on the internet.

        3.  1983 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1983 was “Beat It” by Michael Jackson on a run of 7 weeks in that position to join 16 other songs reaching number 1 and while 9 acts achieved their first number 1 status. Here is a recording by Michael Jackson “Beat It”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0 Sadly Jackson couldn’t follow the lyrics of his song and beat it from an inept doctor Conrad Murray who injected him with propofol that caused him to go into cardiac arrest and die on June 25, 2009. Murray was arrested, tried, convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to 4 years, serving 2 and being paroled.

         4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “relict” which means left behind which was the feeling many Trump supporters were feeling which propelled him to victory in 2016.

         5.  36 Year Marriage Up In Smoke—celebrating the birth on this day in 1941 of noted singer and songwriter Nickolas Ashford who teamed up with Valerie Simpson, his wife of almost 37 years as a dynamic songwriter duo creating a plethora of hits and their song “Solid for Barack” was played at Barack Obama’s Inauguration, Sadly Ashford was a smoker and was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009 and died on August 22, 2011, 4 days before his wife’s 65^th birthday.

           On this day in

          a. 1904 the U.S. acquired control over the Panama Canal Zone to begin construction of the Panama Canal after a French attempt had failed miserably, hobbled by malaria and Yellow Fever which the Americans were ultimately able to keep under some semblance of control, which was not opened to traffic until August 15, 2014 at the cost of some 5300 lives due to accidents and deadly tropical diseases.

         b. 1946 on May 2 Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Clarence Carnes, Marvin Hubbard and Miran Thompson, prisoners at Alcatraz overpowered two guards and held them hostage, broke into the guards’ weapons room and tried to open a locked outer door to be able to seize a boat but the guard with the keys turned them all over but the key to outer door was hidden by him. Both guards were killed by Cretzer with a Thompson Submachine Gun and Shockley, Carnes, and Thompson returned to their cells but the other 3 elected to fight it out until a troop of Marines from Treasure Island arrived on May 4 to quickly quell the riot and kill the 3 prisoners but not before 17 guards and 1 prisoner were injured. Carnes, Shockley and Thompson were tried and convicted for the murder of the 2 guards with Carnes because of his age of 19 receiving another life sentence and Shockley and Thompson received a death sentence and were both executed at San Quentin on December 3, 1948.

           c. 1979 Ohio National Guardsmen sent to Kent State University Campus opened fired on students protesting the Vietnam War and our expansion of it into Cambodia, killing 4 unarmed students some in the back and some merely walking to class and wounding 9 others. A Kent State Student, John Filo with the last shot on his role of film in the camera took a photo that would become the iconic photo of the anti-Vietnam War movement, capturing 14 year old Mary Ann Vecchio screaming over the dead body of Kent State Student Jeffrey Miller whom she had just met:                                                         

     d. 1982 20 British sailors were killed during the Faklands War when the HMS Sheffield was hit by an air borne Exocet missile.

           e. 1998 after receiving his guilty plea to escape the death sentence, a federal judge sentenced the “Una Bomber” Theodore Kaczynski to 8 life sentences without possibility of parole for his bombings over a period of 17 years that killed 3 and injured 23 and he is now rotting at age 78 in ADX Florence, a Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

           Reflections on the shootings at Kent State from a student there on that day: “It completely and utterly changed my life. I was a white hippie boy and then I saw exit wounds from M1 rifles out of the backs of people I knew...”Gerald Casale, who went on from the experience to co-found the punk rock band Devo and is still performing today.

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

© May 4, 2021 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire, Beyond Compare
A Unique Gift, All Recipients a Lasting Gift