The
death count in Maui still stands at 111 with only 6 victims ranging from age 71
to 90 having been identified and 4 more with names and age not released pending
notification of family members with 58% of Lahaina searched for bodies and the number of missing
persons has dropped from 1,300 to some 1000 as cell phone service is starting to be restored. The director of
emergency services on Maui has resigned as the fingers of blame over the cause
and the response are beginning to point with Hawaii Electric in the spotlight
for failing to deelectrify parts of its system as strong winds were buffeting
the island and the island’s vaunted disaster warning systems of sirens not
having been triggered. Hawaii Electric which closed on 8/7 the day before the
fires began at $43.70 closed on Thursday at $12.03 and now trading at $13.21 as
investors probably fear a PG&E déjà vu that followed the disastrous
wildfires that burnt the town of Paradise, California to the ground. Hawaii
Electric is being blasted for only spending $250,000 in 2 years on its wildfire
suppression plan to instead focus on
developing alternative renewable energy. Explosive allegations by the Maui Land
Company that owns several residential subdivisions and agricultural lands that the
Maui Commission On Water
Resource Management delayed its request for water until it was too late to
fight effectively the fire. Georgia
State Senator Colton Moore who is spearheading a move to impeach Fani Willis is
claiming to have 3/5 of both houses to support impeachment though Governor Kemp
has stated he sees no evidence of such support. The House Oversight Committee
has released redacted bank records showing transfers from Russian and Kazakhstani oligarchs
while Biden was the Vice President to Hunter Biden and his associates bringing the total to
over $20 million. A new poll out shows that Hispanic support for Biden has
fallen from 63% in the 2020 election to 46% today with inflation being the
major reason for the decline. In the U.K. 33 year old neonatal nurse Lucy Letby
at the Countess of Chester Hospital was convicted of murdering 7 babies and
attempting to murder 6 others and now is awaiting sentencing. Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, a 56-year-old dual citizen of Canada and
France, was sentenced to 262 months behind bars in Washington, D.C., for
mailing a letter containing the poison ricin in 2020 to the “Ugly Tyrant Clown” President
Trump which was fortunately intercepted at a mail sorting facility and never
delivered.
August 18, 2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Noted Holidays: National
Bad Poetry Day: Created by Ruth and Thomas Roy of Wellcat Holidays who
obviously have never read any of my poems and celebrated on this day. If bad
poetry drives you berserk go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com.
Word of the Day: the word
of the day is “assot” which means to intoxicate or stupefy with drink.
Song of the
Day: The number 1 song
on this day in 2013 was “Blurred
Lines” by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell on a run of 12 weeks to
share number 1 status with 10 other songs achieving number 1 ranking while 8
acts, including Robin Thicke, achieved number one status for the first time.
Here is a music video with lyrics of Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell performing “Blurred Lines”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU
August
18 Birthdays: “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”—Robert Redford: Born on this day in 1936 in Santa Monica is an
Academy Award winning actor and director and founder of the Sundance Film
Festival. He was the first actor since Bing Crosby to have appeared in a top 10
grossing film three years in a row.
August 18 Historical Events in Rhyme
1. On
this day in 2019 in a ceremony to warn people climate change’s spread/A funeral
was held for the Okjökull Glacier which in
2014 had melted all its ice and declared dead/6.5 square miles of thick ice on
a Iceland dormant volcano top/ What
will be the fate of all glaciers if our greenhouse emissions we do not bring to
a stop.
2. On this
day in 1977 Steve Biko an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa was arrested at
a road block/For violating a ban that prohibited him from leaving St. Andrews Town/
held without trial for 522 days in a cell locked/Interrogated and brutally beaten
on his head and body all around/In September from beatings he was in such bad condition/He
was thrown nude and shackled into an SUV/To be driven over 700 miles to a
prison with a hospital in Pretoria for admission/On September 12 he died from
extensive brain injuries, the 21st person in 12 months to die in
prison the world would see.
3. On
this day in 1965 the U.S. Marine in Operation Starlite/Launched against a VC
stronghold the first of many major ground fights/At of cost of 203 Marines
wounded and 45 dead/over 600 VC killed and large quantities of weapons captured
before the surviving VC fled/The battle resulted in 2 Medals of Honor and 1
Silver Star to award/The first of many acts of heroism in a war that over time
a majority of Americans came to deplore.
4. On
this day in 1945 with Japan having already announced its surrender intent/the Soviets
having received from the U.S. 149 landing support ships/A Soviet invasion force
of over 9,000 men off to Shumshu Island in the Kurils was sent/ As the first
step to the Kurils and the Home Island of Hokkaido grip/The Soviets showed
amphibious landing skills they lacked/The Japanese fought with skill and
determination/Killed more Soviets that the Japanese lost during their
attack/The Kurils were taken but the plans to take Hokkaido went into permanent
hibernation.
5. On
this day in 1920 Tennessee became the 36th State/To put an end to
women’s desire to vote long, long wait/Ratified the 19th Amendment
to send women voters to the polls/But Jim Crow voting registration laws like
literacy tests and poll taxes kept many non-White off the voting rolls.
Famous Quote on Women’s Suffrage-- Bruun,
Erik and Jay Crosby eds. Our Nations Archives: “On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment—giving
women the right to vote—was ratified, ending more than seventy years of
political pressure by suffragists. Ironically, the amendment came three years
after the first woman, Jeannette Rankin, had been elected to the House of
Representatives, and eight years after Julia Clifford Lathrop was named
director of the Children's Bureau, representing the first time a woman headed a
federal agency. Also in 1920, the League of Women Voters was organized to
educate women about politics and promote the status and rights of women. Three
years later, the first version of women's equal rights amendment was submitted
to Congress.”
© August
18, 2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on Events of the Day
Unique Commissioned Poems for Special Events
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