March 23, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Puppy Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 23, 2017  The Reds are beginning to look like the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight as Red moderates and conservatives may not have ironed out their differences and enough members of the Freedom Caucus may vote against it (after 7 years of running against Obamacare it boggles the mind that the Reds would not have created a bill they could all back instead of waiting for a Trump upset and then have to scramble); what may be the real loser here if the Obamacare repeal goes nowhere will be tax cuts we desperately need which if not put in place will doom the Trump presidency as we will have zero chance to reach the 3-4 percent growth Trump expects; on the issue of surveillance of Trump and members of his campaign and transition team, the fat lady is singing and the tune and the notes are really chilling in the amount of surveillance by the intel community of members of the Trump campaign and transition team and the unmasking of those under surveillance and leaking of names (perhaps it is time to launch an investigation of Obama’s involvement even though that would plunge the left into terminal hysteria); worse the surveillance of some individuals has nothing to do with Russians who are believed to have tried to influence the election; the irony that today is the anniversary of the first of 12 interviews by David Frost of former President Nixon on the Watergate Scandal and the Nixon Tapes; Los Angeles which used to be called the City of Angels should now be known as the City of Anarchists issuing directives forbidding airport police or firefighter from cooperating with ICE (Sessions should convene a federal task force at the DOJ to determine whether Mayor Garcetti and other city elected officials are violating the law and if so file charges and jail them (we cannot live in an environment of anarchy); in yet another chilling reminder of the presence of terror and why we need a travel ban however temporary it may be, police in Antwerp thwarted a London copy cat jihadist killing spree, arresting a man of North African descent who was driving his car at a high rate of speed toward a crowd of pedestrians; almost like a stuck record or a remake of Groundhog Day, Chicago style,  the carnage in Chicago continues unabated with total shootings in 2017 through March 21 increasing to 656 and the death toll fortunately stuck at 119 (God help those poor minorities being shot mostly by minorities when the weather gets warmer and the shooters’ aim gets really better and there is more daylight to find and shoot victims) and yet nothing, absolutely nothing, appears to be occurring to address this blight on blacks and minorities which is what racism from a black mayor really looks like.

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, another music link to Otis Redding, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Andrew Peterson, while if serving in the military overseas your platoon is not the subject of a comisado, 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.  National Puppy Day—created by Colleen Paige in 2006 to honor mankind’s most lovable friend and to promote adoption of and spaying and neutering of puppies and rail against the puppy mills that stock far too many pet stores.

2.  World Meteorology  Day—created by the World Meteorology Organization in 1961 to promote appreciation of the importance of meteorology in predicting and forecasting weather around a different theme each year. For 2017 the theme is “Understanding Clouds,” not the internet ones but the ones we see in the skies above us.    

3. 1968 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1968 on a run of 4 weeks in that position “Sitting on a Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.  Here is a recording of him performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVjnBo96Ug

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “comisado” which means a military surprise attack conducted at night which given the night vision goggles worn by the U.S. Military will give us an advantage over forces of ISIS as we can see and they cannot.

5. Stuff the Sheepskin—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1955 of Moses Malone perennial All Star and Hall of Famer who became the first player to skip college and go directly into the pros; the fierce rebounder and prolific scorer hauled down his last rebound at the age of 60 dying in his sleep a heart attack.  

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1806 after spending three months near Astoria, Oregon the Lewis and Clark left Fort Clatsop that they have constructed to begin their return journey to St. Louis, Missouri (as a side note upon arrival to the Pacific Ocean the members of the expedition voted on the issue of whether they should move their camp to the south side of the Columbia and a slave York and an Indian squaw, Sacagawea, were allowed to vote, the first time in American history that a woman and a slave were allowed to vote).        

b. 1857 Elisha Otis’ first elevator was installed at 488 Broadway in New York City.
c.  1909 former President Theodore Roosevelt leaves for a post presidency safari in Africa sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society.

d. 1977 British journalist began the first of twelve interviews with resigned former President Nixon on the Watergate Scandal and the Nixon Tapes.

e. 1983 in what would prove to be the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union since it did not have the economic base to compete with the United States, President Reagan made his initial proposal for the Strategic Defense Initiative, a defensive system designed to shoot down incoming ICBMs.  

Reflections of the impact of puppies on human beings:  “I'll put her in charge of the puppies. I've twelve this week that need tending. How does that suit you?"
Leeli's mouth hung open. She tried to say something but instead crumpled to the floor. She had fainted with joy.” Andrew Peterson, The Monster in the Hollows.  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.

© March 23, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift