August 7, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Taxpayer Appreciation Day

 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not August 7, 2021       

            CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues on an increasing basis with cases now over 202 million at  202,844,431 cases (202,228,427 yesterday); 16,299,510 of which are active, 186,744,921 closed with 182,247,922 recoveries (97.70% and 97.70% yesterday, and 4,296,999 deaths (2.30% and 2.30% yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises but which has been stuck on the same death rate for many weeks until the drop to 2.30% from 2.31% on the 5th.
            CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 36 million at 36,501,794 (36,447,123 yesterday)  with 6,017,648 active cases of which 13,172 are serious or critical, (13,081 yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now on a serious upswing due to Delta virus up to .022% of active cases and now a steady increase in the number of serious or critical cases to decrease the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 16,099, 30,484,146 closed, with 632,932 deaths (2.08% and 2.08% yesterday) and with 29,851,207 recoveries (97.92% and 97.92% yesterday). Our death rate percentage has been stuck at 2.08% since July 12, 2021 and now .22% lower than the world’s death rate.

             Standing: On a deaths per million population measure on a steady   but slow climb to 1900 the U.S. ranks behind Peru (5880) the new number 1 which has had a quantum leap in deaths previously unmatched which was a change in the classification to give Peru the a new method of reporting to have a fatality rate of 9.31% of total cases now; Hungary the new number 2 has had a huge continuing surge in deaths with the increase now slowing down and improving slightly to  3.86% of its closed cases have died (3118), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2649),   Brazil (2623) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us and Italy, Columbia newly added to the list  (2372),  Argentina (2349), Belgium (2170), Italy (2124), Poland (1992), and the UK (1908) which had passed us despite leading world in testing and now has new deaths barely increasing),  and slightly better than Mexico (1869), Chile (1863), Romania (1797), Ecuador newly added to list (1772), Spain (1753), Portugal (1718), France (1715), Bolivia (1516),  Sweden (1438) that never closed its economy down like we did, and Switzerland (1251). 
              Tests: We have now conducted 543,573,390 tests (1,631,715/M) just passed by France at 1,651,495 who is now 1^st  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 3,658,575/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 been passed by Argentina and newly added Columbia to move down to 12^th  on my list of deaths from the pandemic  at 1869/M with a fatality rate of 9.59% of closed cases 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 (regardless of number we need no more cases):

                     Guatemala:  Active Cases:  39,709 Deaths/M 586
                     Honduras:    Active Cases: 194,706 Deaths/M 806
                     El Salvador:  Active cases:     8,728 Deaths/M 413
              US Vaccinations: As of 8/7/2021 350.6 million doses,  up from .694 million per day to .712 million per day (down to 6 months to go for 75% of population vaccinated) and in California 90,333 per day (90,321 yesterday) which means if the rate does not increase it will take us still some 4 months to have 75% of the population of California vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity (other than Flip Flop Fauci who may believe that 90% is required).  In California 45,772,034 total doses have been given (88.7% of doses received to exceed the U.S. average of 86.2%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has not moved from 16^th  of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 53.5% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 50.1% has moved down from 16^th to 17^th  among the 50 states.  A long way to go still 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: The border crisis is increasing exponentially with infected aliens increasingly being add to the mix and being released if we are lucky with court dates and promises to appear; appalling photos of tents crammed above capacity on floors waiting to be processed and released; Mayorkas who had the insanity to claim there is no crisis is facing calls for his impeachment (not a chance in hell unless some of the Blue border state reps join in but real chance if Blues are swept from power in 2022); the reptilian brain is alive and well in the Blues (sadly also in the Reds) as “rising star” in the Arizona Democratic Party Arizona State Representative Tony Navarrete has been arrested for sexually abusing a male minor and to their credit the Arizona Democratic Party quickly demanded he resign; Elise Stefanik who is pregnant and expecting her child this fall has slammed a news broadcast questioning her ability to perform her duties during her maternity leave as being blatantly sexist; life is good for Barack Obama as guests descend on his Martha’s Vineyard property for a gala birthday being celebrated by the high and mighty elite with a bow to the Green New Deal of a meatless menu; thousands of Parisians are taking to the streets to protest starting Monday that the French will need a vaccine passport to enter many public places (wonder when we get hit with the same requirement that in a silver lining will gut the opposition to requiring voter ID since if you need a passport to enter a theater or restaurant hard to argue that voter ID is not need to enter a polling place; an explanation why Cuomo will not resign is a simple one—his home is the Albany Governor’s Mansion which he would have to vacate and he owns no real property at the present time (but if prosecuted and convicted on the criminal complaint just filed this pervert will have a nice prison cell with 3 meals a day); Hogs rule and whiners drool as some 700,000 visitors are expected to descend on Sturgis, South Dakota during the next 10 days thumbing their noses as the threat of spreading COVID-19; the Dixie Fire in California has risen to over 500 square miles and still burning and has just torched the historic mining town of Greenville; the USA Women’s basketball team was its 7 Olympic Gold Medal in a row against Japan 90-75 and 2 of its players, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, may have played their last Olympic game after each picking up their 5^th team Gold Medal; as De Blasio is trying to introduce in NYC a vaccine passport to enter many public locations, leave it to the political cartoonist to graphically portray the invasion of the worms of rot in the former Big Apple:       

              Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is alive and well to collect data to show that through August 6, 2021, gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 2681persons shot of whom 460 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 “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, the fact that you are able to detect sciolism in a very short time; and a quote by Niall Ferguson on the effects of banning drugs like thalidomide, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Labor 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 pricing.
              1.  Taxpayer Appreciation Day—proposed by Ralph Nader in 1999 to honor the contributions made to this economy and culture by the efforts of taxpayers funding a variety of necessary and needed governmental expenditures.
              2.  Purple Heart Day—created by the Purple Heart Foundation in 2014 to commemorate the award of the Purple Heart for any member of the U.S. Armed Forces who has died or been wounded in battle or by friendly forces.   
                 3.  1981 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1981 on this day was “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield on a run of 2 weeks in that position to join 16 other songs that achieved number 1 status and join 9 other acts that achieved their first number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Here is a recording of “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYkbTyHXwbs  This Australian born singer has struggled with depression, had a two year relationship with Linda Blair when she was really young and is now one of us becoming an American citizen in March of 2006.
              4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “sciolism” which means superficial pretentions of knowledge which describes to a tee when noted actors with parts that make them appear to be brilliant then pontificate as if they were the geniuses that they portrayed in their script.
              5.  Hard to Bridge the Gap--celebrating the birth on this day in 1927 of Carl Switzer noted child actor best known for his role as “Alfalfa” in Our Gang but struggled to find adult roles as he aged and ended up being a dog trainer and breeder and ended up by shot and killed over money owed to him on January 21, 1959.
              On this day in:
               a. 1944 IBM introduced the first program-controlled calculator the Automated Sequence Controlled Calculator best known as the Harvard Mark I.
               b. 1962 pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey, a reviewer with the FDA, was awarded the U.S. President’s Award for Distinguished Civil Service for her refusal to authorize the sale and use of the drug thalidomide which was later shown to cause severe birth defects in some 10,000 babies born in Europe during its use as a medication to treat morning sickness.
               c. 1978 as a result of decades of dumping of toxic chemicals, President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency at Love Canal a neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York which was designated a Superfund site that took 21 years to clean up.
               d. 1987 open water long distance swimmer Lynne Cox with the permission of the Soviet Union became the first person to swim between the United States and the Soviet Union leaving Little Diomede in Alaska and swimming 2.3 miles to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union in waters with a temperature of 43º F.
                e. 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Barry Bonds, Jr. hit his 756^th home run to surpass Hank Aaron’s record set 33 years earlier; he would finish his career with 762 home runs.
                Reflections on the banning of thalidomide: “The rationale for the FDA's rigid standards is to avoid the sale of a drug like thalidomide. But the unintended consequence is almost certainly to allow many more people to die prematurely than would have died from side-effects under a less restrictive regime. We count and recount the costs of such side-effects. We do not count the costs of not allowing new drugs to be made available.” Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution

                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.

© August 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

August 6, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not August 6, 2021       

            CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues on a slowing down basis the new year with cases now over 202 million at  202,228,427 cases (201,412,529 yesterday); 16,150,212 of which are active, 186,078,215 closed with 181,790,595 recoveries (97.70% and 97.70% yesterday, and 4,287,620 deaths (2.30% and 2.30% yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises but which has been stuck on the same death rate for many weeks until the drop to 2.30% from 2.31% on the 5th.
            CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 36 million at 36,447,123 (36,190,896 yesterday)  with 5,980,010 active cases of which 13,081 are serious or critical, (12,709 yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now on a serious upswing due to Delta virus up to .022% of active cases and now a steady increase in the number of serious or critical cases to decrease the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 16,190, 30,467,113 closed, with 632,641 deaths (2.08% and 2.08% yesterday) and with 29,834,472 recoveries (97.92% and 97.92% yesterday). Our death rate percentage has been stuck at 2.08% since July 12, 2021 and now .22% lower than the world’s death rate.

             Standing: On a deaths per million population measure on a steady   but slow climb to 1899 the U.S. ranks behind Peru (5878) the new number 1 which has had a quantum leap in deaths previously unmatched which was a change in the classification to give Peru the a new method of reporting to have a fatality rate of 9.31% of total cases now; Hungary the new number 2 has had a huge continuing surge in deaths with the increase now slowing down and improving slightly to  3.86% of its closed cases have died (3118), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2649),   Brazil (2623) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us and Italy, Columbia newly added to the list  (2372),  Argentina (2349), Belgium (2170), Italy (2124), Poland (1992), and the UK (1907) which had passed us despite leading world in testing and now has new deaths barely increasing),  and slightly better than Mexico (1869), Chile (1859), Romania (1796), Ecuador newly added to list (1772), Spain (1753), Portugal (1716), France (1714), Bolivia (1514),  Sweden (1438) that never closed its economy down like we did, and Switzerland (1251). 
              Tests: We have now conducted 542,891,847 tests (1,629,669/M) just passed by France at 1,651,4950 who is now 1^st  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 3,658,575/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 been passed by Argentina and newly added Columbia to move down to 12^th  on my list of deaths from the pandemic  at 1869/M with a fatality rate of 9.63% of closed cases 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 (regardless of number we need no more cases):

                     Guatemala:  Active Cases:  38,424 Deaths/M 5829
                     Honduras:    Active Cases: 193,263 Deaths/M 799
                     El Salvador:  Active cases:     8,728 Deaths/M 413

              US Vaccinations: As of 8/6/2021 349.8 million doses at up from .699 million per day to .694 million per day (down to 6 months to go for 75% of population vaccinated) and in California 90,321 per day (91,034 yesterday) which means if the rate does not increase it will take us still some 4 months to have 75% of the population of California vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity (other than Flip Flop Fauci who may believe that 90% is required).  In California 45,677,059 total doses have been given (88.8% of doses received to exceed the U.S. average of 86.5%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has  moved up from 17^th tied now with Illinois to 16^th  of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 53.4% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 50.0% has moved up from 17^th to 16^th  among the 50 states.  A long way to go still 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: Chilling reminder video of the rampant deadly crime surge as a surveillance camera captured a dark skinned woman pulling out a pistol in broad daylight and executing 42 year old Delia Johnson while she was conversing with a group of people in New York City after Ms. Johnson had attended a funeral; maligned Chris Cuomo is going on a supposedly long planned vacation and a one hour special on AOC, that icon of objectivity and tolerance (real question should be whether the vacation will morph into a termination or demotion off his anchor status); if any of the 11 sexual harassment victims sue Cuomo the state of New York will be liable for any judgment as his harassment occurred in the course of his employment and on state property (the gift that keeps on giving Andrew); New York has a law requiring all state employees to undergo an annual training session on sexual harassment but attestation form that indicates the person has had such training in Cuomo’s case was signed by his aide not him which raises the logical question did he obtain such training (safe bet most likely given the fact he seems clueless as to what is or is not sexual harassment is not a chance the training was received); 2 off duty Seattle police officers who were in Washington during the January 6, 2021 demonstration have been fired although they claimed they had left before the storming of the Capitol occurred; lobbyists for the real estate industry spent some $100 million to unsuccessfully prevent the termination of the eviction ban which has been replaced with a ban that will expire on October 31 (with the jobless rate now down to 5.1% and employers begging for workers it would be a rare person not able to find a job to start paying rent so the non-corporate landlords who provide a really large proportion of the rental property in this nation can start receiving rent so they are not being bled to death financially with mortgage costs); the snit fit between Biden and De Santis continues but with De Santis getting the last laugh and goring Biding big time with his retort—What else has he forgotten? (since the answer is almost everything due to dementia has been forgotten, the better retort would have been what if anything can he still remember?); as the government considers a vaccine mandate and more and more private companies are considering vaccination as a condition of employment, leave it do the political cartoonist to graphically portray the loss of our liberties:                                                                            

              Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is alive and well to collect data to show that through August 5, 2021, gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 2660 persons shot of whom 455 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 “Magic” by Olivia Newton John, the fact that you do not have sciapodous; and a quote by Albert J. Beveridge on the beliefs of the Bull Moose Party, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Labor 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 pricing.
              1.  Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony—commemorating the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on this day in 1945 and held every year since 1947 and a grim reminder of the total folly a nuclear war would entail in terms of death and destruction and adverse climatic changes caused by a nuclear winter arising from such exchange.                 
             2.  International Beer Day—created by Jesse Avshalomov in 2007 and celebrated on the first Friday in August since 2013 to celebrate the beers made in all nations and cultures   as a link to a beverage what was first brewed in Sumeria some 6000 years ago.     
             3. 1980 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1980 on this day was “Magic” by Olivia Newton John on a run of 4 weeks in that position to join 16 other songs one of which was by John Lennon which was achieved by him posthumously as the 4^th artist to achieve that distinction, that achieved number 1 status as 6 acts achieved their first number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Here is a recording of “Magic” by Olivia Newton John: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDmjEN-6ekE  This talented singer has been waging a long fight against breast cancer but is still with us.
             4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “sciapodous” which means having large feet which with a size 17 shoe describes Shaq O’Neill to a tee.

              5.  I5 Minutes of Fame Trumped by Art That Lives a Lifetime--celebrating the birth on this day in 1928 of noted pop artist Andy Warhol who achieved fame and fortune with paintings like a Campbell’s Soup Can but his 15 minutes of fame ran out on February 22, 1987 when he died in his sleep of an irregular heart beat while recovering from gall bladder surgery.
              On this day in:
               a. 1912 The Bull Moose Party met in the Chicago Coliseum to nominate Teddy Roosevelt to run for president of the United States to receive more votes that the Republican nominee Taft but to lose to Woodrow Wilson.
               b. 1926 in a closing the curtain on silent films, Warner Brothers released the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore in the Vitaphone format.
               c. 1960 Fidel Castro nationalized all U.S. and foreign owned property in Cuba following his overthrow of Cuba Dictator Batista.
               d. 1991 Tim Berners-Lee published his ideas for a World Wide Web and WWW made its appearance on the internet and the internet age is on.
                e. 2011 a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter with 38 Seals and other soldiers and one war dog was shot down by a RPG in combat operations in Afghanistan, killing all aboard for the largest single day fatalities during our long war in Afghanistan.
                Reflections on the platform of the Bull Moose Party: “We stand for a nobler America; we stand for a broader liberty, a fuller justice; we stand for intelligent co-operation instead of reckless competition; we stand for mutual helpfulness instead of mutual hatred; we stand for equal rights as a fact of life instead of a catch-word of politics; we stand for the rule of the people as a practical truth instead of a meaningless pretense.” Albert J. Beveridge

                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.

© August 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

August 5, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National IPA Day

 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not August 5, 2021       

            CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues on a slowing down basis the new year with cases now over 201 million at  201,412,529 cases (200,857,375 yesterday); 15,839,724 of which are active, 185,572,805 closed with 181,296,806 recoveries (97.70% and 97.69% yesterday, and 4,276,499 deaths (2.30% and 2.31% yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises but which has been stuck on the same death rate for many weeks until today’s drop to 2.30% from 2.31%.
            CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 36 million at 36,190,896 (36,140,136 yesterday)  with 5,771,597 active cases of which 12,709 are serious or critical, (12,577 yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now on a serious upswing due to Delta virus up to .022% of active cases and now a steady increase in the number of serious or critical cases to decrease the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 16,562, 30,419,299 closed, with 631,362 deaths (2.08% and 2.08% yesterday) and with 29,787,937 recoveries (97.92% and 97.92% yesterday). Our death rate percentage has been stuck at 2.08% since July 12, 2021 and now .22% lower than the world’s death rate.

             Standing: On a deaths per million population measure on a steady   but slow climb to 1895 the U.S. ranks behind Peru (5876) the new number 1 which has had a quantum leap in deaths previously unmatched which was a change in the classification to give Peru the a new method of reporting to have a fatality rate of 9.31% of total cases now; Hungary the new number 2 has had a huge continuing surge in deaths with the increase now slowing down and improving slightly to  3.86% of its closed cases have died (3117), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2645),   Brazil (2613) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us and Italy, Columbia newly added to the list  (2364);  Argentina (2338), Belgium (2169), (Italy (2123), Poland (1991), and the UK (1905) which had passed us despite leading world in testing and now has new deaths barely increasing),  and slightly better than Mexico (1860), Chile (1856), Romania (1796), Ecuador newly added to list (1767), (Spain (1752), Portugal (1714), France (1712),, Bolivia (1512),  Sweden (1438) that never closed its economy down like we did, and Switzerland (1251). 
              Tests: We have now conducted 540,508,495 tests (1,622,566/M) just passed by France at 1,632,860 who is now 1^st  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 3,645,704/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 those illegals crossing the border and in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has been passed by Argentina and newly added Columbia to move down to 12^th  on my list of deaths from the pandemic  at 1860/M with a fatality rate of 9.65% of closed cases 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 (regardless of number we need no more cases):
                     Guatemala:  Active Cases:  36,978 Deaths/M 579
                     Honduras:    Active Cases: 192,989 Deaths/M 795
                     El Salvador:  Active cases:     8,156 Deaths/M 410
              US Vaccinations: As of 8/5/2021 349. million doses at up from .677 million per day to .699 per day (down to 6 months to go for 75% of population vaccinated) and in California 91,034 per day (90,681 yesterday) which means if the rate does not increase it will take us still some 4 months to have 75% of the population of California vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity (other than Flip Flop Fauci who may believe that 90% is required).  In California 45,571,605 total doses have been given (88.8% of doses received to exceed the U.S. average of 86.7%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has  not moved from 17^th tied now with Illinois  of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 53.3% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 49.9% has moved down from 16^th to 17^th among the 50 states.  A long way to go still 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: Biden may prove once again that political promises are like American treaties made with Native Americans—meant to be broken when it comes to his pledge of no increases in taxes for Americans earning less than $400,000  as an increase in the federal gas tax may be required after the Congressional Budget Office projected the “bipartisan” infrastructure bill will result in a $456 billion addition to the federal deficit (a pilot program of taxing based on miles driven is included in the bill); the sex scandal of Andrew Cuomo and the role of Chris Cuomo in advising him and refusing to cover in the slightest mention it has created 3 new anchor monkeys at CNN of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil--Alisyn Camerota, Brianna Keilar, Kate Bolduan    (such blatant bias and hyprocisy as their level of on air outrage would be off the charts if this reptilian brain Cuomo were a Red as opposed to a Blue); as more and more parents are rising up in rage over CRT being shoved down their children’s throats and Red controlled states are seeking to ban the teaching of CRT in public schools the teachers unions which have shown during the pandemic fighting to reopen the schools are no friends of schoolchildren, the National Education Association Rhode Island  has filed for a TRO and permanent injunction to prevent a FOIA request on CRT at  filed by a mother of two in elementary school in South Kingston, Rhode Island, Nicole Solas from being complied with; Fauci is sounding the alarm that the rapidly spreading Delta variant may mutate further and become more lethal which if true would really call for a massive uptick in the below 700,000 a day vaccinations occurring now but sad his credibility over the COVID-19 Wuhan Lab origin and his funding of research there has been torched; Biden’s transparency is of the deeply leaded glass variety as one of his key advisers who is a special employee Anita Dunn, co-founder of SKDK, a political consulting firm with many clients heavily interested in the Biden agenda, is set to return to SKDK without revealing any of her financial information required by law; as crime surges and polls show Americans opposing the inane “Defund the Police” movement, leave it to the political cartoonist to display the ability to shift gears to change a position that will be a sure looser:                                                            

              Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is alive and well to collect data to show that through August 3, 2021, gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 2625 persons shot of whom 451 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 “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer, the fact that you do not have sciaphobia; and a quote by Alan Greenspan on President Reagan’s firing of the air traffic controllers, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Labor 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 pricing.
              1.  National IPA Day—created by Asheley Rouston and Ryan Ross and celebrated on the first Thursday starting in 2011 to commemorate the production IPA which first made its scene due to its high hop content to be able to sail to India from Great Britain as the humidity and high temperatures there made brewing a challenge.
              2.  National Oysters Day—celebrating that delicious mollusk bivalve that has been farmed since Roman times and the species not found on your dinner plate generate pearls for jewelry.
              3. 1979 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1979 on this day was “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer on a run of 5 weeks in that position to join 23 other songs that achieved number 1 status as 10 acts achieved their first number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Here is a video  recording of “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzxW4eu9heY This talented singer died too soon from lung cancer on May 17, 2012 at the age of 63; she had smoked in her youth but was exposed to second hand smoke in her club performances for many years and may have had a disposition for the disease in her family.
              4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “sciaphobia” which means a fear of shadows which may be a healthy fear given the surge of crime in our Blue run urban areas.

              5.  It’s All in the Name—celebrating the birth on this day in 1911 of Spangler Arlington Brugh, noted prolific movie and television actor best known to his fans as Robert Taylor who was a three pack a day smoker from boyhood and who had the unpleasant surprise after surgery to remove a portion of his right lung due to suspected “valley fever” of having the doctors discover lung cancer which killed him on June 8, 1969.

              On this day in:
               a. 1962 actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in the morning from an overdose of barbiturates.
               b. 1974 in a move certain to bring about the fall of the existing government of South Vietnam, Congress imposed a $1 billion limit on all aid to South Vietnam which fell to the advancing armies of North Vietnam on April 30, 1975.
               c. 1981 President Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 air traffic controllers who were striking illegally and refused to return to work as ordered; their union was decertified and strikers were banned for life from employment with the federal government and the government was able to initially restore 50% of the flights cancelled due to absence of flight controllers.
                d. 2012 Wade Michael Page, a 40 year old former Army vet and white supremacist, entered a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin armed with a semi-automatic pistol and shot and killed 6 worshippers and wounding 4, 1 of whom later died, and then as police arrived killed himself with a shot to his head.
                 e. 2015 in an example of complete ineptitude the EPA caused a spill of waste water from the    Gold King Mine, releasing 3 million gallons of toxic metal tailings into the Animas River in Colorado.  
                 Reflections on the firing of the air traffic controllers by President Reagan: “Perhaps the most important, and then highly controversial, domestic initiative was the firing of the air traffic controllers in August 1981. The President invoked the law that striking government employees forfeit their jobs, an action that unsettled those who cynically believed no President would ever uphold that law. President Reagan prevailed, but far more importantly his action gave weight to the legal right of private employers, previously not fully exercised, to use their own discretion to both hire and discharge workers. " Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman 

                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.

© August 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

August 4, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not White Wine Day

 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not August 4, 2021       

            CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues on a slowing down basis the new year with cases now nearing 200 million at  200,857,375 cases (199,957,754 yesterday); 15,733,664 of which are active, 185,123,711 closed with 180,856,023 recoveries (97.69% and 97.69% yesterday, and 4,267,688 deaths (2.31% and 2.31% yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises but which has been stuck on the same death rate for many weeks but an unforeseen spike in deaths should resulted in the rate remaining at 2.31%.
            CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 38 million at 36,140,136 (35,907,196 yesterday)  with 5,731,451 active cases of which 12,577 are serious or critical, (11,890 yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now on a serious upswing due to Delta virus up to .022% of active cases and now a steady increase in the number of serious or critical cases to decrease the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 16,694, 30,408,685 closed, with 631,148 deaths (2.08% and 2.08% yesterday) and with 29,777,537 recoveries (97.92% and 97.92% yesterday). Our death rate percentage has been stuck at 2.08% since July 12, 2021 and still and .23% lower than the world’s death rate.

             Standing: On a deaths per million population measure on a steady   but slow climb to 1895 the U.S. ranks behind Peru (5874) the new number 1 which has had a quantum leap in deaths previously unmatched which was a change in the classification to give Peru the a new method of reporting to have a fatality rate of 9.31% of total cases now; Hungary the new number 2 has had a huge continuing surge in deaths with the increase now slowing down and improving slightly to  3.86% of its closed cases have died (3117), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2645),   Brazil (2613) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us and Italy, Columbia newly added to the list  (2360);  Argentina (2332), Belgium (2168), (Italy (2123), Poland (1991), and the UK (1904) which had passed us despite leading world in testing and now has new deaths barely increasing),  and slightly better than Mexico (1855), Chile (1849), Romania (1796), Ecuador newly added to list (1764), (Spain (1750),  France (1712), Portugal (1713), Bolivia (1510),  Sweden (1438) that never closed its economy down like we did, and Switzerland (1250). 
              Tests: We have now conducted 540,149,577 tests (1,621,514/M) just passed by France at 1,632,870 who is now 1^st  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 3,632,748/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 been passed by Argentina and newly added Columbia to move down to 12^th  on my list of deaths from the pandemic  at 1855/M with a fatality rate of 9.68% of closed cases 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 (regardless of number we need no more cases):
                     Guatemala:  Active Cases:  35,548 Deaths/M 576
                     Honduras:    Active Cases: 191,829 Deaths/M 790
                     El Salvador:  Active cases:     8,156 Deaths/M 410
              US Vaccinations: As of 8/4/2021 348.1 million doses at up from .673 million per day to .677 per day (down to 6 months to go for 75% of population vaccinated) and in California 90,681 per day which means if the rate does not increase it will take us now some 4 months to have 75% of the population of California vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity (other than Flip Flop Fauci who may believe that 90% is required).  In California 45,467,015 total doses have been given (88.8% of doses received to exceed the U.S. average of 86.7%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has  moved down from 16^th  to 17^th tied with Utah  of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 53.2% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 49.8% has moved up  from 18 to 16^th among the 50 states.  A long way to go still 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: After the governor of Missouri pardoned the McCloskeys for their gun display to protect themselves, that noted  rent evader and unpaid rent judgment defendant Cori Bush was prompted to threaten Mark McCloskey that “his day will come” (what many believe is a death threat seems to have prompted not a peep from Pelosi or any of her puppets terrified by the Squad ); Biden proved once again his is all words and no action conflict avoidance as although he says Cuomo should resign he will not call him to do so nor weigh in on impeachment; on the CRT front Russ Voight a former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump has filed FOIA requests seeking documents between the pro CRT group Abolitionist Teaching Network and the Department of Education (perhaps better named the CRT and Systematic Racism Brainwashers); Cuomo is not yet running for reelection but already aping Biden’s Bunker Strategy by hiding from the public in true Where’s Waldo style ( https://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2021/08/wheres-waldo-andrew-cuomo-hiding-in.html); not only does it appear that Cuomo will fight efforts to have him resign or be impeached it looks like this bully will allow no quarter as Dani Lever who was on his communications staff until leaving for Facebook in August 2020 has been revealed as  a key player while working at Facebook in disseminating Lyndsey Boylan’s confidential personnel files to journalists trying to discredit her; the stench from CNN keeps getting more and more overpowering as in addition to anchor Chris Cuomo airing not one word on his brother’s sexual abuse scandal, CNN’s Director of Communications was Cuomo’s former Communications Director which may explain CNN’s MIA on any reporting of the scandal; Bill and Melinda are officially divorced and on an interview with Anderson Cooper, Bill expressed regret that  he had had any meetings with Epstein which he claimed were for the sole purpose of encouraging his philanthropy (give him the benefit of the doubt as a marriage of 27 years is a terrible thing to toss into the trash); CNN shedding viewers like someone with a bad case of dandruff has gone a week without having any program be watched by at least a million viewers (when does the red ink from sponsors leaving or ad prices cratering cause pink slips or at least salary cuts?); the “Biden Recovery” on the backs of the Warp Speed vaccines may be running out of gas as the ADP jobs report showed only 330,000 new jobs in July after 680,000 in June; 80 year old drummer Charlie Watts who is recuperating from an unspecified surgical procedure will recuperating at home and will miss the Rolling Stones tour in the U.S. this fall; as Chris Cuomo is ridiculed for not covering his brother’s sex scandal leave it to the political cartoonist to portray his focus instead of journalism:                                                                                                
               Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is alive and well to collect data to show that through August 3, 2021, gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 2616 persons shot of whom 451 have died.
               As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a  recording musical link to “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb, the fact that you have never had to endure being the target of a schwerpunkt; and a quote by Robert McNamara on the August 4 Gulf of Tonkin “attack”, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Labor 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 pricing.
              1.  Coast Guard Day—celebrating the formation of the Coast Guard, originally called the Revenue Service, on this day in 1790 that with a fleet of 10 revenue cutters would enforce the nation’s first tariff laws and received its present name when a law enacted by President Wilson on January 28, 1915 merged the Life Saving Service with the Revenue Cutter Service. In addition to maritime search and rescue and boating safety the Coast Guard is on our maritime front line against the importation of drugs, counterfeit goods and illegal aliens.
              2.  National White Wine Day—created by the “Queen of Holidays” noted wine enthusiast and free lance writer  Jace Shoemaker Galloway which is a holiday easy to observe by enjoying a glass of your favorite white wine.
              3. 1978 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1978 on this day was “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb on a run of 7 weeks in that position to join 19 other songs that achieved number 1 status as 11 acts achieved their first number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Here is a video  recording of “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxA3FVUwvk He looked so full of life performing the song at 20 years old but to be dead from addiction on March 10, 1985 5 days after his 30^th birthday.
              4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “schwerpunkt” which means in a military attack the main point of attack which cannot be used in our effort against the flood of illegal aliens across our border as there is not main point of effort.

              5.  Someone Special to Report Special—celebrating the birth on this day in 1970 of noted Fox journalist William Brett Baier who is the anchor for Special Report well known for Jen Psaki’s  ire toward him during another birthday boy on this day Barack Obama who during his administration was on an anti-Fox witch hunt (a FOIA request unsurfaced her email of October 23, 2009 where she referred to Baier as a “lunatic” and vowed to place “some dead fish in the fox cubby”—great training for Biden’s Press Secretary).

              On this day in:
               a. 1989 after earlier in the year great fires had occurred in Seattle and Ellensburg, in Spokane, Washington, the Great Spokane Fire broke out and when it finally burnt out 1 person had been killed and 32 blocks, virtually the entire business of the city had burnt to the ground or dynamited to stop the fire’s spread.
               b. 1964 2 whites Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman and 1 black James Chaney, all of whom were Freedom Riders protesting Jim Crow Laws in the South, were found dead from gunshots near Philadelphia, Mississippi after disappearing on June 21,1964.
               c. 1964 after the US Maddox had been attacked by 3 North Vietnamese PT boats, the Maddox and the Turner Joy, which is now moored in Bremerton, Washington as a floating museum, claimed they were attacked North Vietnamese PT boats again which prompted LBJ to go on TV denouncing the attack and go to Congress for passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to get drawn into the national nightmare of the Vietnam War; unfortunately,  the attack never existed but the march to disaster had started and would not end for the U.S. until the Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973.
               d. 1987 the FCC rescinded the “Fairness Doctrine” requiring broadcasters to present opposing views on issues such that issues were presented fairly.
               e. 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in warehouse without safety precautions for six years after being seized from the MV Rhosus exploded with a force of 1.1 kilotons of dynamite (5% of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima) to kill 218 people, injure some 7,500, cause $15 billion in damages  and render 300,000 residents homeless.
                Reflections on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 4, 1964: “   "...And ultimately it was concluded that almost certainly the [August 4] attack had occurred. But even at the time there was some recognition of a margin of error, so we thought it highly probable but not entirely certain. And because it was highly probable—and because even if it hadn't occurred, there was strong feeling we should have responded to the first attack, which we were positive had occurred—President Johnson decided to respond to the second [attack]. I think it is now clear [the second attack] did not occur..." –Defense Secretary Robert McNamara What a waste caused by a radar readings of waves and sonar readings of the American ships own propellers.                             

                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.

© August 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