June 23, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Widows' Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For June 23, 2016. Unfortunately still 211 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term as shades of the protests over the Vietnam War, Blue members of the House have been staging a sit-in on the floor of the House to protest the lack of progress on gun control and a publicity stunt to pivot from the cause of the Orlando shooting—radical Islam; disturbing report released on the growth of home grown radical Islamists in the U.S.; rumors abound that HRC is vetting Warren to be her running mate which is hard to believe given her dynamic personality as contrasted to HRC’s unlikeable and low energy mode; ICE is in hot water for not deporting a released murderer who then killed another innocent female victim in her apartment in Connecticut; Trump blasted HRC and quid pro quo corruption around the Clinton Foundation and Bill’s millions of dollars in speaking fees from companies and foreign governments with business before Hillary’s Secretary of State; in what has to be a classic example of the feds gone completely amuck, an ICE supervisor who had the idiocy to bar federal agents from questioning the idiot who supplied the guns to the Islamist couple who killed in cold blood 14 people in San Bernardino is going to be award a medal for valor—she should have been fired.

      On the Zika front more athletes are passing up the Rio Summer Olympics due to health concerns; in an era where the U.S. education system is lagging in math and science to compete in a highly technology driven world, the idiots at Wayne State University have dropped its math requirement to be replaced by a class in diversity; Britain is voting today on whether it will remain in the EU and on the shake and bake front new news of more movement on the San Andreas Fault in California to the extent that scientists are warning that the San Andreas Fault is “locked and loaded” for a major earthquake.

      As always, I hope  you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to a unique duo, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, factoids of interest, a  relevant quote from Wilma Rudolph while looking forward to enjoying some pecan sandies, blessed with a positive attitude and  secure in  the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or  anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem  at a great price  tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. International Widows' Day—another UN observance first celebrated in 2005 to create awareness of the plight and suffering of widows and their dependents when a spouse has died.

2. UN Public Service Day—another UN observance created by the General Assembly in 2003 to recognize the contributions of those in public service although one might argue at least in the U.S. with the growth of public service unions and the contributions made to politicians that it the private sector and its taxpayers that are serving the public servants as opposed to the other way around.                     

3. 1982 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1982 on a run of seven  weeks in that position “Ebony and Ivory” by legendary duo Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Here is a link to Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder performing “Ebony and Ivory.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZtiJN6yiik Great video images on why music knows no racial boundaries.

4. National Pecan Sandy Day—celebrating a tasty French shortbread cookie emanating from the Normandy region of France in which pecan bits (the sand) are kneaded into the dough. Here is an easy recipe to enjoy this tasty treat from France

http://blog.thenibble.com/2014/09/21/recipe-pecan-sandies/  Bon appétit! 

5. Even A Gazelle Cannot Outrun The Big C—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1940 of La Gazella Nera (the Black Gazelle) Wilma Rudolph who  overcame polio to become the first woman in track and field history to win three gold medals at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics but became a smoker after her athletic career ended and could not outrun throat cancer and a cancerous brain tumor to die way too young in 1994.  

On this day in:

a. 1860 in a harbinger of the deluge of government regulations to in the future plague this nation the Congress established the U.S. Government Printing Office.  

b. 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for the typewriter with its inefficient QWERTY keyboard design which has doomed us to slower typing speeds but given the time in practice, impractical to try to change.  

c. 1894 the International Olympic Committee was founded at the Sorbonne as a result of the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin who must be rolling in his grave over the spreading concerns of the adverse effects of the Zika virus on the Rio Summer Olympics.     

d. 1942 in what has to be one of the classic examples of poor navigation, Germany’s latest fighter, the Focke Wulf Fw 190 was captured intact when it mistakenly landed at a RAF Base in Pembrey, Wales.

e. 1972 President Richard Nixon and his adviser H.R. Haldeman were taped discussing plans to have the Central Intelligence Agency obstruct the ongoing investigation by the FBI of the Watergate Scandal. Too bad we do not have tapes of Hillary discussing why she set up her private server with her technical adviser Pagliano—would make for interesting theater and bring us closer to indicting this potential felon.    

Reflections on what is needed to become a true and lasting champion: Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” Wilma Rudolph Great inspirational words to live by.
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© June 23, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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