February 2, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Groundhog Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For February 2, 2017 Ironic that Washington, D.C. on Groundhog Day looks like a scene from the movie Groundhog Day with the Blues on the committee hearing the proposed new EPA head boycotting the vote and the Reds amending the rules to allow a vote and sending Pruitt’s nomination to the Senate floor, exactly what happened yesterday with Mnuchin’s and Price’s confirmation vote (childish behavior unbefitting a Senate by the Blues which if the economy improves which it should the Blues in 2018 are going to be decimated); ironic also that at the cradle of the Free Speech Movement at Cal, rioters forced the cancellation of a speech by conservative  Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos smashing windows, starting fires, and throwing rocks at the police who made no arrests (shutting down free speech because one disagrees with a person is and outrage which prompted a presidential response the if universities deny free speech maybe federal funding to them should be banned); to add insult to injury the President of the UC campuses is proposing that Cal become a sanctuary university (giving the feds an excuse to bar federal funding); in a move that should have the Blue plantation masters shaking in their boots, President Trump met with the new generation of black leaders excluding ideologues Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson

to discuss how former gang members in Chicago can work to reduce the black body count in Chicago which is totally out of control; in yet another example of fake news fueling the anti Trump rhetoric and why we need Muslim help in the war against radical Islam Imam Husham Al-Hussainy, a leader of a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan spoke to reporters to reveal that Mike Hager who had gone on TV to protest that his mother was prevented by Trump’s executive order from returning to the U.S. from Iraq for needed medical treatment and died had flat out lied as his mother had died several days prior to the executive order being signed; on the weather front Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow which means another six weeks of winter; ending on a sad note through Tuesday as President Trump is raising the possibility of sending in federal agents to Chicago, the number of  mostly blacks were shot by mostly blacks in Chicago for the first day of February stood at 8 and from Mayor Emanuel and the BLM nothing but the sounds of silence. 

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, music links to Usher and Billy Joel, factoids of interest for this day in history, a reflection on groundhog behavior by Bill Vaughn, hoping in you are able to avoid your spouse’s or significant other’s emacity urges, 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. Groundhog Day—commemorating the efforts of local groundhogs to predict when winter will end for if a ground sees his shadow he will retreat into his burrow and we will endure six more weeks of winter. Adopted in the U.S.in 1887 when the editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit began promoting the town’s groundhog as the official Groundhog Day Meteorologist but like weathermen groundhogs are inaccurate and even the most famous Punxsutawney Phil has been accurate only 37 percent of the time.
          2. World Wetlands Day —celebrating since 1997 the contributions of wetlands to human activity and the planet; the day was selected as on this day in 1971 the Convention on Wetlands was adopted.

          3. Number One Song in 2002 —celebrating the number 1 song in 2002 on a run of 6 weeks in that position “U Got It Bad” by Usher. Here is a link to Usher performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3IWTfcks4k

          4. Word of the Day—the word of the day is “emacity” which defines a husband’s worst nightmare that his wife has a bad case of emacity which means a fondness for buying things.     

           5. Uptown Girl—celebrating the birth on this day in 1954 of Christie Lee Hudson better known to her fans as Christie Brinkley, one of the true super models of all times and still modeling. Here is a music link to her performing with her 2^nd  husband Billy Joel in his hit record “Uptown Girl”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCuMWrfXG4E .  

 On this day in:

 1. 1922 Ulysses written by James Joyce was published.

 2. 1925 dog sleds arrived in Nome, Alaska led by Balto whose statute is in Central Park bringing diphtheria serum to end the epidemic that had taken hold.  

 3. 1935 Leonarde Keeler administered polygraph tests to two assault  suspects, the first time that polygraph tests were admitted as evidence in a U.S. criminal trial and were instrumental in obtaining convictions.

 4. 1989 the last armored Soviet column leaves Kabul, Afghanistan.

 5. 1990 South African president F.W. de Klerck announced the unbanning of the African National Congress and promised to release Nelson Mandela.  

Reflections on Groundhog Day:  “The Groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears.” Bill Vaughn, noted columnist 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.

© February 2, 2017 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

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