Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For January 14, 2017 John Lewis may be a hero as a result of his
involvement in the Civil Rights Movement but his childish outburst that by
being scheduled as the last witness in the Sessions confirmation hearing was
like “being sent to the back of the bus,” was totally out of line (whatever
happened to the old adage “save the best for last?) and his arguments that
President-elect Trump is not a
“legitimate president” are even more so; President-elect Trump as is his style fired back that Lewis’ 5th
District was falling apart and crime infested (17.3% of the households have
income below the poverty level compared to one in nine nationally, the
unemployment rate is higher than the state and national averages and Atlanta which
lies completely within the 5th District ranks 12th in
terms of violent crimes per 100,000 residents (Lewis should be happy that a law
and order president with a top priority of job creation will be helping his
district); the world continues to be getting more dangerous as 3500 American
troops are now in Poland (shades of 10,000 troops in Berlin during the Cold War
as a trip wire to the Soviets and full scale MAD); the left is alive and well
in the form of storm trooper like threats on the UC Davis Campus to force the
Republican Club there to cancel a speech by a conservative talk show host; a
report recently released revealed that 70,000 birds have been killed near New
York’s three major airports in response to the bird strikes that brought the
flight that Captain Sully was piloting into the Hudson River; through the 13th
of January 115 people in Chicago have been shot of whom 19 have died (where is
the mayor and why in the DOJ’s response limited to finding the CPD uses
excessive force against minorities?); on an ending note that must have made
Elon Musk a happy man a SpaceX rocket carrying ten communication satellites for
Iridium successfully launched from Vandenberg and returned to land on a ship at
sea.
As always,
I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Gregory
Abbot, factoids of interest for this day in history, an observation on our
founding fathers by Christopher Hitchens, looking forward to being able to
avoid the plague of the Word of the Day “nagware,” 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. Ratification Day—this is a
day celebrating the ratification by the Confederation Congress in 1784 of the
Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War.
2. National Dress Up Your Pet Day—even though the news today featured a pit-bull biting
members of a family in Tampa who were trying to dress it in a sweater, today is
the day to dress up your pet, hopefully in clothes your animal finds
fashionable and to its liking.
3. Number One Song in 1987—celebrating the number 1 song in 1987 on a short run of 1 week in
that position “Shake You Down” by Gregory Abbot. Here is a link to him
performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc8wmLul3uwe
4. Word of the Day—the word of the day
is “nagware” which means software you download for free for a trial period and then continues to nag you to pay for it or
upgrade.
5. Give This Ship a Wide Berth—bemoaning
the birth on this day in 1946 of Doctor Harold Shipman, a British family
practitioner who suffered from pain pill addiction and before he was caught
killed over a prolonged period of time at least 215 patients by administering
lethal doses of morphine. Sentenced to three life sentences, he hung himself in
prison.
On this day in:
1. 1639 Connecticut
adopted the “Fundamental Orders” the first written constitution to establish a
government.
2. 1943 Japan,
acknowledging it had been defeated in its attempt to take Guadalcanal, began
Operation Ka, the evacuation of all of its forces on the island, literally
right under the nose of the American forces.
3. 1943 President Franklin
Roosevelt became the first president to fly in an airplane, flying from Miami
to Morocco to be with Winston Churchill to plan joint actions against the Axis
Powers.
4. 1952 NBC’s long running
news program Today debuted with host
Dave Garraway.
5. 1967 the Human Be-In
was held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and attended by some 20-30
thousand attendees. It was the prelude to the Summer of Love and introduced main street America to the hippie
movement and flower children and a growing protest against the Vietnam War. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bch1_Ep5M1s to capture the essence of the event.
Reflections on why we must
never forget our Founding Fathers and their contributions to this nation: “Without Thomas
Jefferson and his Declaration of Independence, there would have been no
American revolution that announced universal principles of liberty. Without his
participation by the side of the unforgettable Marquis de Lafayette, there
would have been no French proclamation of The Rights of Man. Without his
brilliant negotiation of the Louisiana treaty, there would be no United States
of America. Without Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, there would have been
no Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, and no basis for the most precious
clause of our most prized element of our imperishable Bill of Rights - the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Christopher
Hitchens, noted Anglo-American author, essayist and critic of Christianity. 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.
© January 14, 2017 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift
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