Tuesday, March 31, 2020

March 31, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Backup Day


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 31, 2020 the CV continues unabated with 803,650 cases worldwide and 39,033 deaths while in the U.S. which now ranks 1st in total number of cases, the number of cases has risen to 164, 785 and 3,173 deaths (as an example of how contagious the CV is, the USS Theodore Roosevelt which only days ago had 3 positive tests now has 200 with its commander calling for the entire crew to be quarantined) as the Dow closed the quarter on its worst loss in history as businesses are furloughing workers faster than a man with a bad case of psoriasis is trying to shed his dandruff, Trump is calling for a massive $2 trillion infrastructure calling solely to be focused on jobs and construction (hope Pelosi and her Blues with all their social goodies they tried and failed to get into the recent stimulus are listening as opposed to putting forth ideas not related to job creation that will be DOA in the Senate); the NHS Comfort with its 1,000 beds has docked in New York City and will beginning to take on board non CV patients (sadly massive crowds of onlookers, violating all norms and rules of needed social distancing, welcomed her and probably passed on additional cases which NYC does not need); Amazon is in potential hot water in New York for firing the leader of the walkout of its facility on Staten Island for alleged unsafe working conditions prompting a call from the state’s AG to investigate; AOC is not skipping a beat to extract political advantage out of the CV pandemic as she blasts Cuomo for suspending mortgage payments for 90 days but not rent payments although the governor has indicated no one will be evicted for 90 days due to nonpayment of rent (not to be outdone she also blasted Trump for not giving stimulus checks to illegal aliens); in a good news bad news segment for hard hit Italy, the country posted the lowest increase in deaths in 2 weeks amid news of riots and unrest in the South of the nation due to the economic collapse; the lying “It’s the Video” Queen Susan Rice ranted against Trump that he can’t stomach a strong black woman after a contentious exchange with Yamiche Alcindor at yesterday’s CV status conference (problem is that Rice has zero credibility); in Chicago, as of March 30, 2020, 522 people have been shot of whom 89 have died but in a minor miracle no deaths in the last two days; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 20 behind Chicago with 69 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to John Denver,  the fact you do not suffer from oniomania, a quote by Lyndon Johnson on a second term as president, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. International Day of Transgender Visibility—created by activist Rachel Crandall in 2009 to promote awareness of the issues, including discrimination, facing the LBGT community.
2. World Backup Day—celebrated on the 31st of March to cause people to back up their computer data so they do not wake up to April 1 as a fool with no stored data.
3. 1974 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1974 on this day on a run of 1 week in the position was “Sunshine on My Shoulders” by John Denver. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diwuu_r6GJE. The Sunshine turned into foul weather and he crashed his Rutan Long-EZ experimental plane at the Monterrey Airport practicing touch and go landings on October 12, 1997.
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “oniomania” which means an uncontrollable urge to make purchases which is not a good trait to have as we slide into a potential recession.
5. Big Carboncelebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in 1948 of Al Gore, former senator, vice president, failed presidential candidate, Nobel Peace Prize winner, self-proclaimed inventor of the internet and hypocritical environmentalist with one of the larger carbon footprints on the planet.
On this day in:               
        a. 1951 Remington Rand delivered its first UNIVAC1 to the U.S. Census Bureau.
     b. 1968 President Johnson after addressing the nation on TV on the Vietnam War startled his audience by ending with “I chose not to run and if nominated, I will not accept my party’s nomination for another term as your president.”
   c. 1992 the USS Missouri, the last serving battleship in the U.S. Navy was decommissioned in Long Beach, California and was later sent to Pearl Harbor where she is a floating museum.
  d. 1995 up and coming singer Selena was shot and killed by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar, in Corpus Christi, Texas after allegations she was embezzling money from the fan club; Ms. Saldivar was convicted of murder and sentenced to life with possibility of parole and will be eligible for parole on March 31, 2025.
 e. 1998 Netscape released the browser Mozilla source code under an open source license.
 Reflections we would do well to heed as we are in a war with an unseen enemy: “I have concluded that I should not permit the presidency to become involved in the partisan divisions that are developing in this political year. With America’s sons in the fields far away, with America’s future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world’s hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes, or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office — the presidency of your country. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.” President Lyndon B. Johnson, March 31, 1968
 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 31, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift


Monday, March 30, 2020

March 30, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Bi Polar Day


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 30, 2020 As hospitals bemoan the shortage of ventilators, it seems that the federal government has been warned for two decades that our medical system facing a severe shortage of ventilators in the event of a serious epidemic and the efforts by the federal government to remedy the shortage were not successful (sadly the MSM is always too quick to place the blame on Trump); while Cuomo calls out that this CV pandemic kills not just Blue victims, or Red victims but all Red, White and Blue victims without regard to party such that we need to band together to fight it, Nancy Pelosi has the idiocy to falsely claim that Trump has blood on his hands (she is showing the potential mental instability of too much bias, too much lust for power, maybe too much botox and too much age and should be censured by the Blue puppets in the House); in another example that the CV ignores political affiliation Blue Representative Nydia Velaquez from New York announced she has come down with a mild case of the CV; while Blue politicians may be using the pandemic to shut down 4th Amendment rights by declaring gun shops are nonessential and should be closed, the DHS is proposing to the states that they should remain open (what about fears of a social breakdown and civil disobedience do leftist Blues not understand?); while China is waging a propaganda war to absolve itself of blame for the outbreak of CV in Wuhan and sending vast quantities on anti-CV materials to countries infected, after recalling 600,000 defective Chinese masks, the Netherlands has just joined  Spain, Turkey, Georgia and the Czech Republic in rejecting  such supplies due to concerns over shoddy construction and materials and its Prime Minister warned its residents not to shake hands did exactly that a public gathering; Rachel Maddow whose bias should totally discredit her as a journalist has once again been exposed as the USNS Comfort has just docked in New York City in 10 days, ready for business, after Maddow complained in a typical anti-Trump rant that it would take weeks; while the MSM and the Blues posture and criticize, American industry like Google is stepping up to the plate announcing an $800 million donation to CV fighting efforts; while Biden is in media hiding, Cuomo is out there daily with his CV briefings which are winning great praise as he continues to assert he is not running for president (his comments that he praises Trump when his actions benefit the state are something that the Botox impacted queen Pelosi ought to pay attention to); in Chicago, as of March 29, 2020, 518 people have been shot of whom 88 have died; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 19 behind Chicago with 69 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to the O’Jays,  the fact you will hear something for which you have onomatophobia, a quote by Ronald Reagan on being shot in a failed assassination attempt,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. National Doctors Day—celebrated on this day in the U.S. since 1933 on the anniversary in 1842 of the first surgery utilizing ether to commemorate the contributions of doctors to our health and well being even more so as they are engaged on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus pandemic. 
2. World Bi Polar Day—created by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and celebrated on the anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh's birth to promote awareness of the disorder and raise funds for research and finding a cure.
3. 1973 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1973 on this day on a run of 1 week in the position was “Love Train” by the O’Jays. Here is a recording of the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vTKmVvyNRc. The band was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “onomatophobia” which means fear of hearing a certain word which for many of us would be “we here from the government and we are here to help.”
5. Relapse Is Not a Song You Want to Playcelebrating the birth on this day in 1973 of Adam Goldstein, better known to his numerous fans as DJ AM who struggled with drug addiction in his teens and early twenties to become clean and sober for several years and become a well sought after D.J. but whose success could not break free from the potential grip of addiction and died in his NYC apartment of an accidental overdose on August 28, 2009.
On this day in:               
      a. 1856 the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the Crimea War.
      b. 1867 in one of the best real estate deals this government has ever made, Alaska was purchased from Russia for the sum of $7.2 million.+
      c. 1965 a car bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 people and wounding 183 others.
 d. 1981 President Ronald Reagan was shot and almost killed exiting a hotel in Washington, D.C. by John Hinckley, Jr. and three others near him were seriously wounded.
 e. 2017 SpaceX accomplished the first orbital reflight of a rocket.
 Reflections on being shot by President Reagan:  In another note, recalling a Winston Churchill observation: “There’s no more exhilarating feeling than being shot at without result.” Ronald Reagan in a note recalling a Winston Churchill observation. entrepreneur and academic.
 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 30, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Sunday, March 29, 2020

March 29, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Vietnam War Veterans Day


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 29, 2020 The ink on the stimulus bill is barely dry, a Pelosi has already thrown bipartisanship into the ditch claiming because of Trump as the fiddler in chief on the CV, people are dying (the needed gift of civility and bipartisanship never made her 80th birthday party on Friday); Chuck Todd trying to surpass Jim Acosta  has thrown his hat in the most grandstanding by a “journalist” ring by asking Joe Biden if Trump has blood on his hands for his coronavirus response (even Biden whose campaign has an ad out attacking Trump for his response responded that the question was too harsh perhaps aware of the fact he initially slammed Trump for banning travel by Chinese here in the early stages of the epidemic in Wuhan); on the CV front, the world infection total has risen to almost 711,000 710,000 and in the U.S. to 135,499 with 2,381 deaths; De Blassio probably regretting his earlier remarks during the beginnings of the pandemic to celebrate Chinese New Year in NYC is warning people not to judge his responses to the outbreak on earlier acts; 15,000 National Guardsmen have been called up and we are starting to see communities self quarantine themselves from entrance of the virus as Florida institutes checkpoints for out of state travelers from Louisiana and New York City entering the state and threatens 60 days jail time for those who don’t self quarantine after entering the state; Rhode Island much closer to New York than Florida is now having its police stopping cars with New York license plates and sending National Guardsmen to homes to check to see if anyone has recently arrived from New York, a practice which Cuomo has threatened to sue to stop; Malaysia’s top glove maker, Top Glove Maker Bhd, which can produce 200 million gloves a day has announced that demand for its products caused by the pandemic is now twice its production capacity; Biden who has been in hidin’ had another TV interview where once again he was not asked any questions concerning his former senate staffer’s sexual harassment allegations (where is Senator Hirono and her demand women must be believed?); at a press conference today, Trump indicated the CDC social distance guidelines would be extended to the end of April and June 1 might be the return to normalcy which caused stock futures for Monday to tank; in Chicago, as of March 28, 2020, 513 people have been shot of whom 88 have died; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 21 behind Chicago with 67 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Ameridca,  the fact we celebrate Palm Sunday because of onomancy, a quote by Vitek Wadhwa on the dot.com boom,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. National Vietnam War Veterans Day—created in 2017 by President Trump to commemorate the sacrifice made by our veterans during the Vietnam War. 
2. National Mom and Pops Business Day—created by Rick Segal to honor the woman’s hat store opened by his parents called Ruth’s in Everett, MA on March 29, 1939 to honor the efforts of and contributions of small businesses to our national economy which are reeling to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic laying waste to this land.
3. 1972 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1972 on this day on a run of 3 weeks in the position was “A Horse with No Name” by America. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSAJ0l4OBHM The band is still going strong without on of its original members, Dan Peek who died in 2011.
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “onomancy” which means reaching a destination by using a donkey or an ass which is what Christ used on Palm Sunday.
5. Running for Office May Get You Published But Not Incelebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in March 29, 1916 of noted House member and Senate member from Minnesota who challenged Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and his showing in New Hampshire was sufficient to drive Johnson not to seek reelection and who was a poet who was able to get his works published after his unsuccessful run and who died a fruitful life on December 10, 2005 of Parkinson’s Disease.
On this day in:               
      a. 1973 in a why did it take us so long moment, the last American combat soldiers left South Vietnam.
      b. 1994 the Terracotta Army consisting of 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses buried with the First Emperor of China to protect him in the Afterlife was discovered in Shaanxi, China.
      c. 1984 the Baltimore Colts in the early morning hours loaded up 15 Mayflower trucks to slink out of the city to move its its equipment to Indianapolis.
 d. 1999 the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 for the first time in its history at 10,006.78 during the height of the dot.com bubble.
 e. 2010 2 female Islamic terrorists detonated suicide bombs in the Moscow Metro Subway killing 40 people and wounding some 100..
 Reflections on the glory days of dot.com: “During the dot-com days, one could take just about any company public and reap fortunes. All you had to do was to make sky-high projections for growth, say you were in the Internet space, and go along with unscrupulous investment bankers and their analysts.”Vivek Wadhwa, noted American entrepreneur and academic.
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 29, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Saturday, March 28, 2020

March 28, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Earth Hour


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 28, 2020 We all know the rich are weathering the coronavirus differently than we mere mortals but David Geffen, the founder of Dreamworks takes the cake for posting an Instagram of self quarantine on his $590 million yacht anchored off a tropical paradise; as coronavirus cases continue to soar, President Trump is considering a lock down of highly infected portions of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut for some period of time to flatten the curve of infections (not sure if he has the power to do that or whether state governors would have the power to ban residents from quarantined states); as cases worldwide in Europe and the U.S. continue to soar and the NYPD has 10% of its officers under quarantine, a glimmer of hope that the increase in deaths in Italy over the last 24 hours slowed; Cuomo after complaining of a lack of ventilators and having egg of his face after some 4,000 were found in a warehouse was backpedaling trying to explain that they were being stored as a normal procedure until they were needed; the UN whose headquarters are in NYC has donated 250,000 masks to NYC for use by its first responders and health care workers; whether because of the spring break ignorance of social isolation or the exodus of New Yorkers fearful of the virus and/or fed up with high, oppressive tax rates, Florida has become the new hotspot for the virus with 863 new cases in the last 24 hours bringing the number of infections to 3763 and the dubious distinction of being the 4th most infected state; if we didn’t have enough to worry about the virus, news of the first human to pet cat transmission of the virus came out; as restrictions on travel in Wuhan are being eased reports that may lead credence to belief that China has concealed the number of actual deaths as reports of vast quantities of urns being delivered to the funeral homes in the city; on the royal coronavirus front, 86 year old Spanish Princess Maria Teresa has died from the virus and with Prince Charles of England testing positive Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip have cancelled a number of public events and moved temporarily into Windsor Castle; Scrooge has come early to a Texas company in Austin that has notified its employees that it will deduct the stimulus checks they are going to receive from their paychecks (who ever came up with this idea at this unnamed company should be polishing up his or her resume and looking for work); Trump has signed an executive order authorizing call up of certain retired army personnel and units to fight the coronavirus; in Chicago, as of March 27, 2020, 500 people have been shot of whom 87 have died; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 22 behind Chicago with 65 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Janis Joplin,  the fact hopefully events are not producing oneirodynas, a quote by Adam Hochschild on the Spanish War,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. Earth Hour—created in 2007 by the WWF International and celebrated on the last Saturday in March by turning off you lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m. local time to show solidarity with the inhabitants of this planet.  
2. National Hot Tub Day—not sure who created this or when but given all the concern over the COVID-19 virus and social isolation closing health clubs and spas, a perfect day to fire up your hot tub if lucky enough to have one and climb into it and let the warm water and pulsating jets wash your worries away.
3. 1971 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1971 on this day on a run of 2 weeks in the position was “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin. Here is a recording of the song: https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-adk-adk_sbnt&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt&hspart=adk&p=janis+joplin+me+and+bobby+mcgee#id=0&vid=a23b22239888e631db506952e3fa0686&action=clickhttps://www.youtube.com/watch? Sadly, she could not successfully battle her heavy drinking and heroin addiction and overdosed on October 4, 11970 at the age of 27.
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “oneirodyna” which means a nightmare which is what this pandemic is giving the world as we speak and hope it will soon be over.
5. Wasted Rose Gardencelebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in March, 1986 of Bowe Bergdahl who walked off his post in Afghanistan on June 28, 2009, was captured by the Taliban and held until being exchanged in a prisoner swap for 5 Taliban leaders on May 31, 2014, and later faced court martial for desertion and after lengthy delays pled guilty and was sentenced on November 3, 2017 to be dishonorably discharged, fined $10, 00O and reduced in rank to private with no prison time.
On this day in:               
    a. 1939 Generalissimo Franco after a three year siege conquered Madrid, bringing a victorious end to the Spanish Civil War by the Nationalists.
      b. 1959 the People’s Republic of China dissolved the government of Tibet.
      c. 1978 in the case of Stump v. Sparkman    SCOTUS handed down a decision affirming judicial immunity in a case involving the involuntary sterilization of a minor African-American.
 d. 1979 a coolant leak at a nuclear reactor power generating station at Three Mile Island led to a partial meltdown of the reactor.
 e. 1990 President George H.W. Bush posthumously awarded Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
 Reflections on the Spanish Civil War: “Even Hemingway, perhaps the most intentionally non-political of American writers, became passionately partisan during the Spanish Civil War.” Adam Hochschild,noted American writer and historian.
 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 28, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Friday, March 27, 2020

March 27, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Theatre Day


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 27, 2020 After a week of Pelosi grandstanding and resistance, the House in a voice vote  passed the stimulus and sent it to the president for signature President but the markets, worried about the effects on the economy from the coronavirus pandemic were down over 900 points; AOC was in full rant mode attacking the bill on the floor for not providing for enough money to illegal aliens and too much for corporations that hire the Americans that we want to get back to work; the stench of bias from the Cack News Network was overpowering as it falsely claimed only Obama was calling for social distancing not Trump; shore leave for Navy personnel on foreign deployment used to be a great benefit but with the coronavirus pandemic now becoming a gamble as the USS Theodore Roosevelt has docked in Guam several days earlier due to 30 cases of the virus on board and another carrier in the Pacific is also reporting cases after visiting Japan; Trump who has previously defended not invoking the Defense Production Act because companies were falling over each other has slammed GM for reneging on its prior commitment to produce 30,000 ventilators and wanting more dollars for the 6,000 it is now proposing; “Creepy Feely” Joe Biden has been hit with a sexual harassment charge by a former Senate staffer which he adamantly denies (wonder if Hirono will be demanding she be believed or hide behind the sounds of silence); in a rebuff to corporate greed a growing number of corporate executives are either foregoing their salaries or reducing them; the coronavirus pandemic continues unabated with almost 600,000 500,000 cases and over 26,000 deaths worldwide with the U.S. now having the most cases and grim reminders with the news of infections of Prince Charles and Prime Minister Boris Johnson that title or position is not respected by the virus; in Chicago, as of March 26, 2020, 496 people have been shot of whom 86 have died; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 22 behind Chicago with 64 murders by shootings (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
      As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Simon and Garfunkel,  the fact hopefully your oneiric moments are peaceful, a quote by Claire Pontbriand on the Good Friday Alaska Earthquake,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. International Whisk(e)ys Day—created in 2008 to celebrate the production and consumption of Japanese, Scottish and Canadian whiskies and American and Irish whiskeys and given the anxiety and concern over the coronavirus a reason to enjoy a glass to ease your worries.  
2. World Theatre Day—created by the International Theatre Institute to celebrate the importance of theatre in our culture since 1962 but today due to coronavirus pandemic not celebrated with live performances but only online.
3. 1970 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1970 on this day on a run of 6 weeks in the position was “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G-YQA_bsOU. Sadly, the song was from their 5th and final album together and was followed by a long period of acrimony interspersed with periods of touring together..
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “oneiric” which means of or pertaining to dreams which hopefully yours are of the peaceful kind.
5. Outrunning Gerard Was Easiercelebrating the birth on this day in March, 1931 of noted actor Richard Janssen best remembered for his role as Doctor Richard Kimble in The Fugitive but sadly was a heavy drinker and 4 pack a day smoker and died from a heart attack way too early on February 13, 1980.
On this day in:               
      a. 1915 Typhoid Mary, Mary Mallon, an Irish cook and the first asymptomatic carrier of typhoid in the United States, was placed in quarantine for a second time after being released after 5 years for returning to her banned profession of a cook where she would remain until she died on November 11, 1938.
      b. 1941 officers of the Yugoslav Air Force in a bloodless coup toppled the country’s pro Axis government prompting the invasion and occupation of the country by the Germans who didn’t stop and conquered Greece.
      c. 1964 on Good Friday, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America struck South Central Alaska near Anchorage, causing 125 deaths including deaths in Crescent City, California from its resulting tsunami, and destroying the city of Valdez.
 d. 1975 after years of litigation and delay, construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began which upon completion would be sending 2,000,000 barrels of oil to its southern terminus at Valdez.
 e. 1998 in a let the good times return, the FDA approved the drug Viagra for use in male impotence, the first drug so approved.
 Reflections on the Good Friday Alaska Earthquake: “Given Alaska's strategic importance in the Cold War, the U.S. government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked feverishly to reconstruct south central Alaska-where roughly two-thirds of Alaska's population lived and most of the state's infrastructure was situated-before winter arrived. President Lyndon B. Johnson convened his cabinet to form the Federal Reconstruction and Development Commission for Alaska to upgrade facility standards and give due attention to mitigation. Johnson also requested that the National Academy of Sciences establish the Committee on the Alaska Earthquake, which led to significant documentation and study of this quake, addressing the damage, social and economic impacts, more stringent construction codes, and larger scientific questions raised by the catastrophe.” Claire Pontbirand, noted  seismologist.
 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 27, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift


Thursday, March 26, 2020

March 26, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Purple Daypeive Isazms

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 26, 2020 While the week witnessed jobless claims of almost 3.3 million due to shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Senate passed by a vote of 96-0 a $2 + trillion stimulus bill which had been delayed due to Pelosi’s last minute monkey wrench in the House with her pork bloated bill which other than funding for the Kennedy Center many of not all of its provisions were excluded and now goes to the House for a vote tomorrow (Pelosi, the aging Botox Queen celebrating her 80th birthday today has not had her political opportunism skills diminished as she gloats over the House’s role in pushing the stimulus bill forward which Reds like Kevin McCarthy blast as an outright lie); AOC in a typical inane rant is blasting the stimulus bill for not putting money in the hands of illegals; on the virus front world cases have increased to 521,086 with 23,568 deaths and in the U.S. total cases have increased to 79,785 with 1,124 deaths but some hopeful news that the rate of increase in cases is slowing down as a result of social distancing, hand washing and “stay at home” orders; while the rate of new cases may be declining,  NYC hospitals are in a world of hurt being swamped with cases and running woefully short on masks and other PPE for attending medical staff (making masks, gowns, gloves and other protective equipment cannot be that complicated and probably require little capital which raises the question of why entrepreneurs are not jumping on board to manufacture); China is intent on winning the propaganda war spreading the absolute falsehood that the China virus that originated in Wuhan the outbreak of which it concealed was caused by the U.S. Army while it is sending medical supplies to countries infected with the virus caused most likely by people travelling from China; even though we are not out the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump Administration is reviewing revising the social distancing rules in counties where the number of cases is very low (understand the economic rational but really risky health and politically if rules change and infections bounce back in spades); the Blues are milking the coronavirus pandemic to push their leftist goals by claiming that gun stores are “nonessential businesses” that should be shut down in any stay at home order (sell that to the rising number of people flocking to gun stores worried about the breakdown of the social order that may be caused by this pandemic); the 2020 Olympics, MLB and now the INDY 500 have joined the growing list of sports events that have been postponed or cancelled; in Chicago, as of March 25, 2020, 491 people have been shot of whom 85 have died but ion a major miracle none in the last 3 days ; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 20 behind Chicago with 65 murders by shootings (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
      As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Tommy Roe,  the fact that you face issues so they do not omnify, a quote by Hippocrates on epilepsy,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. Purple Day—created by Cassidy Megan, an epileptic, 2008 to promote awareness of the issues facing epileptics and to raise money to find treatment and cures for the disorder, a noble cause to fight a disorder that affects millions worldwide  but the color might also be used to promote Blues and Reds working together as Purples to solve issues critical to Americans.  
2. Legal Assistants Day—celebrating the work down by paralegals and legal assistants whose billing rates are a fraction of those charged per hour by lawyers to enable clients to obtain services to solve issues faced without being bankrupted by the fees often charged by lawyers.
3. 1969 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1969 on this day on a run of 4 weeks in the position was “Dizzy” by Tommy Roe. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_DKiTUty0. Roe is still going strong at 77 but retired from the dizzy world of music after 55 years on February 7, 2018.
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “omnify” which means to enlarge which describes to a tee what happens when one does not address problems but rather ignores them.
5. All Earscelebrating the birth on this day in March, 1931 of noted actor Leonard Nimoy best known for his role as the half Vulcan, half human Spock which he played on Star Trek from a pilot episode in late 1964 to his final film in 2013; he successfully battled alcoholism but an early cigarette smoking habit which he had discontinued in the early 80’s caught up with him and he died of complications from COPD on February 27, 2015.
On this day in:               
      a. 1945 the Battle of Iwo Jima came to an official end as the United States announced the island had become officially secured after the deadliest battle in USMC history.
      b. 1967 10,000 people gathered in Central Park for one of the many Be-ins being held that day in New York City.
    c. 1979 Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
 d. 1982 a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
 e. 1997 San Diego Sheriff’s Deputies discovered the bodies of 39 members of Heaven’s Gate a UFO cult that committed suicide in three mass suicides.
Reflections on epilepsy: “People think that epilepsy is divine simply because they don't have any idea what causes epilepsy. But I believe that someday we will understand what causes epilepsy, and at that moment, we will cease to believe that it's divine. And so it is with everything in the universe” Hippocrates
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 26, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

March 24, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Great American Takeout


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For March 24, 2020 While the economy sinks and may be going into free House Blue focus is on Christmas early goodies that have nothing to do with helping this economy and will DOA when it comes if ever to the Senate
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/whats-in-democrats-coronavirus-bill-arts-funding-union-help-and-more  and if passed would face a certain veto; the stock market lives on hopes and dreams and the mere fact the Senate is still trying to get a bill passed despite Blue resistance, the market soared today although still significantly down from its 2020 highs; even though the Blues will most likely nominate Biden who very early slammed Trump for banning Chinese travel to the U.S. as the pandemic in Wuhan was taking off, a Blue Super Pac has announced $6 million in ads to attack Trump’s response to the virus; as Blues carp on the “lack” of preparedness of the U.S. to the coronavirus pandemic, a recent John Hopkins Medical School study refutes such accusation while Trump in response to Cuomo’s relentless attacks on Trump for the lack of ventilators in New York hospitals produced a report showing Cuomo turned down the chance to buy ventilators in 2015 (in fencing we would call that a touché moment); in a chilling reminder that ignoring social distances does not work, half of the 50 guests at a 40 year old Connecticut’s birthday party earlier this month have tested positive for the virus; tested guest; we all know that journalists like Jake Tapper are anti-Trump and willing to go to any lengths to help Blues prevail, but Tapper takes the cake in a recent video interview of Joe Biden showing him how to properly cover a cough by not using his hand (another example of memory loss for Biden as Tapper also stated he learned while covering the Obama/Biden White House?); Tlaib has come up with a inane idea on the virus—give every person here, including illegal aliens of course. a preloaded debit card with a $2000 and reload it with a $1000 each month until a year has passed after the end of the virus crisis (if you believe the crisis will ever pass to end the $1000 a month payments, record your belief in the tooth fairy); Pelosi’s parenting skills on Christine next to zero as Christine implied Paul’s attacker is a modern day American hero; in Chicago, as of March 23, 2020, 474 people have been shot of whom 85 have died ; Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths is 22 behind Chicago with 63 murders by shootings (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).
      As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical link to Otis Redding,  the fact that you are somewhat omnicompetent, a quote by Paul; Farmer on attacking major health problems like tuberculosis,  secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s 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. You need only contact me for details.
1. Great American Takeout—created in response to the pandemic and the National Emergency which has devastated restaurants, Americans are urged to help by ordering takeout.  
2. World Tuberculosis Day—created by the World Health Organization on the anniversary of the birth of Robert Koch as one of eight world health days to promote the eradication of this still deadly disease that affects millions.
3. 1968 Number 1 Number One Song— the number one song in 1968 on this day on a run of 4 weeks in the position was “Sittin’ On A Dock In The Bay” by Otis Redding.  Here is a  recording of the song:
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “omnicompetent” which means skillful in all manner of things, a trait desirous to have in this era of specialization.
5. King of Coolcelebrating the birth on this day in March, 1930 of former Marine and noted actor Steve McQueen who was a long time smoker but quite in 1978 only to subsequently diagnosed as having mesothelioma which caused his death due to heart failure on November 7, 1980 while undergoing surgery to remove numerous metastatic tumors.
On this day in:               
     a. 1882 Robert Koch announced the discovery of the Mycobacterium, the bacterium responsible for causing tuberculosis.
    b. 1921 the 1921 Women’s Olympiad began in Monte Carlo, the first international women’s Olympics.
     c. 1998 Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Goldman, ages 13 and 11 respectively, opened fire in a Middle School near Jonesboro, Arkansas, killing 5 and wounding 10 who were both convicted of murder and assault and served time until becoming adults.
 d. 2003 the Arab League passed a resolution, which we in retrospect sadly we ignored, 21-1 calling for U.S. and British troops to withdraw from Iraq.
 e. 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 in an apparent murder suicide by the pilot crashes into the Alps, killing all 150 aboard.
Reflections on tuberculosis: “We've taken on the major health problems of the poorest - tuberculosis, maternal mortality, AIDS, malaria - in four countries. We've scored some victories in the sense that we've cured or treated thousands and changed the discourse about what is possible.” Paul Farmer, noted American medical anthropologist and doctor who must be wondering when do we add the coronavirus to the list of major health problems.  
 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 24, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift,
All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift