March 24, 2023 Ridley's Believe It Or Not

 

 

Parents with school kids have been released from purgatory on this Friday as strike called by the Service Employees International Union (“SEIU)any progress has been concerning obtaining a contract whose members are employed by the 2^nd largest school district in the nation has ended with no word that the SEIU and the LASUD are any closer to a collective bargaining agreement. The PAC-12’s Men’s March Madness on Thursday had one representative left UCLA which in its game against Gonzaga came out fast to lead at the end of the first half 46-33, but Gonzaga back in the second to lead by 10 only to lose it to UCLA  in the final 20 seconds then in the last 7 seconds regain it for good with and 3 pointer to win 79-76. The NIT Tournament has lost most of its luster to the NCAA March Madness but still delivers some drama as in the Sweet 16 on Thursday won by Bowling Green over Memphis State 73-60  in the handshake line after the game Memphis State Jamirah Shute sucker punched Bowling Green Elissa Brett knocking her to the floor and was charged with assault. The drama on whether Trump will be indicted continues with no indictments today but a troubling note of a package of suspicious white powder was delivered to Alvin Braggs office with an enclosed note “Alvin, I will kill you” but not with that powder as it was revealed to be harmless. I hope  you missed Ridley's Believe It Or Not these last few weeks and that you find Ridley's Believe It Or Not worth your time reading and if not please respond with an “Unsubscribe”.                                         

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not March 24, 2023
          Noted Holidays: World Tuberculosis Day:  Created by the WHO and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease on this day in 1982, the hundredth anniversary of Doctor Robert Koch’s discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis  to promote awareness of the disease that is treatable. Although some 1.5 million people worldwide die from the disease the numbers here in the U.S. are some 600 people. If you have a persistent fever, cough or night sweats that do not go away might be advisable to be tested to see if you are infected as treatment has a high rate of recovery.                     Word of the Day:  The word of the day is “algetic” which means causing or producing pain which describes to a tee the effects of inflation caused by federal soaring inflation on our lifestyle and retirement assets. 
          Number 1 Song: The number 1 song on this day in 1943 was “The Doggie in the Window” by Patti Page on a  run of 8 weeks to share with 8 other songs that achieved number 1 status. Here is Patti Page performing “The Doggie in the Window”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgkiwVsvHcY
          March 24 Famous Birthdays:  Alan Sugar, born of this day in 1947 in Hackney East London, was British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser along with being the owner and chairman of the soccer team Hotspur. He dropped out of school at age 16 and he in 1968,  started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics company  Amstrad which in 2007 he sold his remaining interest in the company in a deal to BSkyB for £125M  He is also noted for his ownership of the BBC TV show The Apprentice where contestants come to work for his company with the winner not being fired.   
           March 24 Notable Events
           1.     1921—The 1921 Women’s Olympiad, the first international sporting event for women, was held at Monte Carlo.
           2.     1989—In Prince William Sound, after taking on at Valdez, Alaska oil produced from Prudhoe Bay the Exxon Valdez ran aground at Bligh Reef to end up discharging into prime fishing grounds teeming with seabirds and sea life some 240,000 barrels of oil.
           3.     1998— Dr. Rudiger Marmulla performed the first computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation at the University of Regensburg, Germany.
           4.     2003— The Arab League voted 21-1 to require the end of the U.S. backed invasion of Iraq in search of nonexistent WMD to no effect.
           5.     2018—High school students across the nation staged a March for Life for gun control after the mass shooting at Stoneham Douglas High School where on  February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz, in a matter of 4 minutes shot and killed 14 students and 3 teachers and wounded 17 others while David Israel, the sheriff was roundly chastised and ultimately removed from his office by Governor De Santis, had his officers in a perimeter not charging to the sound of gunfire. Cruz was captured at a fast food restaurant, ultimately pled guilty and was sentenced to life without possibility of parole.
            Carl Honoré, The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter, and Live Better In a World Addicted to Speed: “After the epic Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989, the company set out to catch and investigate every screw-up, however small. It walked away from a large drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico because, unlike BP, it decided drilling there was too risky. Safety is now such a part of the corporate DNA that every buffet laid out for company events comes with signs warning not to consume the food after two hours. In its cafeterias, the kitchen staff monitor the temperature of their salad dressings. Every time an error occurs at an ExxonMobil facility, the first instinct of the company is to learn from it rather than punish those involved. Employees talk about the “gift” of the near miss. Glenn Murray, a staffer for nearly three decades, was part of the Valdez cleanup. Today, as head of safety at the company, he believes no blunder is too small to ignore. “Every near miss,” he says, “has something to teach us, if we just take the time to investigate it.” Like the RAF and Toyota, ExxonMobil encourages even the most junior employee to speak up when something goes wrong.”

© 3/24/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on events of the day
Commissioned unique poems

March 23, 2023 Ridley's Believe It Or Not

 

Today marks the 3^rd  and final day of the 3 day strike called by the Service Employees International Union whose members are employed by the 2^nd largest school district in the nation as L.A. Mayor Karen Bass who has been making solving the homeless situation in the city as priority number 1 has inserted herself into the negotiating process which hopefully will not distract her from the progress she is trying to make in the homeless arena. Biden speaking about the Violence Against Women Act made a major gaffe by claiming it was designed to “…keep guns out of the hands of domestic political advisers” when he was supposed say “convicted domestic abusers”—A true dyslexic type slip or a Freudian one wanting to disarm MAGA supporting Reds? In the sports world in a decision that will rattle the LGBTQ community big time, World Athletes, the international body for track and field and other running events has ruled that transgender females who have gone through male puberty cannot compete in women’s events. I hope  you missed Ridley's Believe It Or Not these last few weeks and that you find Ridley's Believe It Or Not worth your time reading and if not please respond with an “Unsubscribe”.                                  

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not March 23, 2023
          Noted Holidays: Start of Ramadan: Celebrating the month of fasting from dawn to dusk when the Prophet Muhammad received the first of the 5 Pillars of wisdom of Islam.
          Word of the Day:  The word of the day is “algefacient” which means cooling which if used to describe our planet runs total afoul of our host of climate change warriors. 
          Number 1 Song: The number 1 song on this day in 1944 was “Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)” by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen on a run of 7 weeks to share with 11 other songs that achieved number 1 status. Here is the Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen performing “Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8mpbJ_YYI0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8mpbJ_YYI0
          March 23 Famous Birthdays: Ayesha Curry, noted Canadian-American actress, cookbook author, cooking TV personality and wife of Stephen Curry of the San Francisco Warriors who is the God child of Stanford Women’s basketball player Cameron Brink’s parents which explains why Stephen Curry was often in the stands when Stanford played at home.
          March 23 Notable Events
           1.     1983—President Ronald Reagan announced his intent to create a defense against nuclear armed missiles with what would be known as the strategic defense initiative.
           2.     2001—The MIR Space Station, launched into orbit on February 20, 1986 and manned until April 23, 1996, reentered the Earth’s atmosphere to disintegrate  over the South Pacific near Fiji on this day in 2001.
           3.     2010—The Affordable Care Act or as it is known to its detractors, Obama Care, came into being as the law of the land.
           4.     2019— The U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces, fighting the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant for over 4 years captured the town of Baghuz, declaring enabling them to declare victory over such forces.
           5.     2021—A container ship, Ever Given, buffeted by a high wind sandstorm ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the Suez Canal to traffic in both directions for over 6 days until it was finally freed. The silver lining in the grounding is that that Egyptian Government has embarked on a canal widening project that will enable two way traffic as opposed to the delaying necessity forming convoys and waiting until the convoy coming in the opposite direction has come through.
            Opposing Famous Quotes on Notable Events Or Persons:
            Deb Haaland, Native American Interior Department Secretary under President Biden:“The provision of healthcare in America has been a major policy issue for many decades. From the establishment of Medicare & Medicaid to the Affordable Care Act, we have struggled to find a solution for not just providing access to healthcare - but also becoming a healthier population.”

© 3/23/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on events of the day
Commissioned unique poems

 

March 22, 2023 Ridley's Believe It Or Not

Today marks the 2^nd day of the 3 day strike called by the Service Employees International Union whose members are employed by the 2^nd largest school district in the nation. Although the United Teachers Los Angeles has not voted to strike it has instructed its members to not cross the picket lines which means another day of no schools open for teaching other than possibly private schools and charter schools that may not be unionized (the LAUSD has been losing students to charter schools, private schools and home schooling, a trend that has been increasing and with this strike may increase more). The grand jury that is overseeing the decision to indict or not indict Trump has reconvened with supporters of Trump and supporters for Trump’s indictment protesting so far peacefully in small numbers with indictment supporters outnumbering Trump supporters with barricades being put up in Washington, D.C. and the NYCPD on full standby alert (McCarthy is calling for calm and Trump supporters if there is an indictment will really be shooting themselves in the feet if there is anything that remotely looks like the January 6 protests).  In the March Madness for women the PAC 12 sent 7 teams and 3 Utah, Colorado, and UCLA are left to join the Sweet 16 with Stanford being the big disappointment in losing to Mississippi  54-49 to be excluded. In the men’s March Madness the PAC-12 sent 4 teams with UCLA being the only 1 to enter the Sweet 16. I hope  you missed Ridley's Believe It Or Not these last few weeks and that you find Ridley's Believe It Or Not worth your time reading and if not please respond with an “Unsubscribe”.                 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not March 22, 2023
          Noted Holidays: American Red Cross Giving Day: Celebrating the formation of the American Red Cross by Clara Barton on May 21, 1881 to provide medical care to those wounded on the battlefield and later expanded to provide humanitarian aid to those suffering from natural or manmade disasters and celebrated on the 4^th Wednesday of March by giving money, volunteering one’s time or donating blood.
          Word of the Day:  The word of the day is “alexipharmic” which means an antidote which will block the effects of deadly drugs, venom or poisons and if applied to issues like inflation would describe raising interest rates which the Fed is doing or better yet reducing the rapidly increasing amount of federal spending which obviously is not yet happening. 
          Number 1 Song: The number 1 song on this day in 1945 was “Rum and Coca-Cola” by The Andrew Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra on a run of 8 weeks to share with 14 other songs that achieved number 1 status. Here is the Andrew Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra performing “Rum and Coca-Cola”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THUmz7vvld4
           March 22 Famous Birthdays: Allison Stokke Fowler, noted pole vaulter and sportswear model, born on this day in 1989 in Newport Beach, California  who at age 15 and 16 was the top female pole vaulter in the country, awarded an athletic scholarship to Cal,  barely missed qualifying for U.S. Olympic Team and became an internet sensation when her photograph was taken at a track meet in 2007 to become the poster child for the criticism of sexualizing on the internet women in sports. Still a successful sportwear model, happily married with a daughter and a father, Al Stokke who is a premier defense attorney in Orange County and who no longer has to spend numerous hours reviewing on line material on her that crosses the line to be illegal or stalking.
           March 22 Notable Events
           1.     1972—Congress sent to the states for ratification the Equal Rights Amendment which by 1977 35 states had ratified before Phyllis Schlafly started to organize women to oppose it on grounds it would eliminate protections to women and subject them to the draft, eliminate alimony, and the tendency of courts in divorce to grant custody to mothers. Congress in 1978 by simple majorities voted to extend the ratification day to June 30, 1982 which did not help as 5 states voted to rescind their ratification and June 30, 1982 came and went leaving open the question of whether a state may rescind its ratification before the deadline for ratifying. 
          2.     1972—In a let the good times roll decision SCOTUS ruled in Eisenstadt v. Baird that Massachuseetts’ law banning the distribution of contraceptives was in violation of the 14^th Amendment.
          3.     1988—Congress overrode by margins in excess of two thirds President Reagan’s veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, the first veto of civil rights legislation since Andrew Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
          4.     1993 Intel Corporation released its Pentium chip featuring  a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64  bit data path.
          5.     2021—21 year old naturalized Syrian citizen Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa, entered a King Sooper supermarket in Boulder, Colorado armed with a semi-automatic handgun and 10 high capacity magazines which he had purchased legally several days prior to the shooting. He opened fire and killed 10 people the last of whom was a cop responding to the sounds of gun fire and wounded 1 person before engaging in a shootout and being shot in the thigh. He was arrested but not tried since he was declared  mentally incompetent to stand trial on 3 occasions the most recent of which has been in January 2023 where a judge ordered him to be confined to a state mental hospital for further treatment that the judge believed would restore to the ability to stand trial but there is a backlog 450 persons waiting to get in to state mental hospitals. 
          Opposing Famous Quotes on Notable Events Or Persons:
          Betty Ford: “I believe the equal rights amendment is a necessity of life for all citizens. The cabinet sometimes felt that I shouldn't be so outspoken.”
          Phyliss Schlafly: “Since the women are the ones who bear the babies and there's nothing we can do about that, our laws and customs then make it the financial obligation of the husband to provide the support. It is his obligation and his sole obligation. And this is exactly and precisely what we will lose if the Equal Rights Amendment is passed.”"  

© 3/22/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on events of the day
Commissioned unique poems

March 21, 2023 Ridley's Believe It or Not

 

After being shut down for most of the COVID-19 Pandemic and having to rely on online classes only which in the elementary and middle school level were devasting to students’ educational progress, the Los Angeles School District’s shutdown started today more severe that that during the pandemic as no online classes will be offered. The virus causing this shutdown is linked to humans like COVID-19 we now believe with a high degree of certainty was engineered from the Wuhan Lab, and those humans marching to the drum of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’ aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff. The strike is for 3 days and parents without childcare options or the ability to enroll in private schools not affected are going to be scrambling be able to work at home during the next 3 or longer days (the 1 silver lining in the CAVID-19 pandemic is that many companies have instituted work at home rather than being laid off). On a lighter note, Jimmy Garoppolo, formerly the QB for the 49’s in 2022 until being injured after 11 games has signed a 3 year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for $72 million with a bonus not from the team but from the Chicken Ranch Brothel in Las Vegas where 2 workers there have promised him “free sex” for life (the amateur nature of collegiate sports already shattered by NIL purists 1 hopes that college recruiters do not figure out a way to use NIL incentives to attract star high school athletes to their schools especially UNLV). It is now past lunch and so far president Trump has not been indicted in what will be a historic moment with far reaching consequences for him and for the nation. I hope  you missed Ridley's Believe It Or Not these last few weeks and that you find Ridley's Believe It Or Not worth your time reading and if not please respond with an “Unsubscribe”.                               

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not March 21, 2023
          Noted Holidays: World Poetry Day: On a day in which 22 holidays exist some most worthy, like World Down Syndrome Day or International Day for the Elimination of Discrimination and others like Slytherin Pride, your Alaskanpoet selected World Poetry Day created by the UNESCO on November 3, 1999 establishing March 21 as World Poetry “with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.”
The length of prose increased by the minutiae can easily put you to sleep

Whereas poetry appealing to the heart can easily sweep you off your feet
To drive one to the polls to elect or induced by fears or smears to defeat
Platforms in prose with cross references and footnotes send the intent far too deep
But poetry enables the speaker to sally forth to the speaker’s goals obtain
If set to music tapping your feet, clapping your hands, urge to act not restrained
No wonder Andrew Cuomo’s father whose commencement this Trustee had to endure
Remembered only briefly then flushed out from the neurons as the easiest cure
Bur Mario will always be remembered for this winning  command
To be followed by our candidates without millions to spend across the land
“Campaign in poetry, rule in prose”
If prose is not doublespeak, compromise chances can flow
If it is, greater chances of gridlock
Where needed solutions are blocked
© 3/21/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
          Word of the Day:  The word of the day is “alexia” which means the inability to read which if “barely” in front of it, sadly describes the literacy of large segments and maybe majorities of our kids in urban schools.
          Number 1 Song: The number 1 song on this day in 1946 was “ Let It Snow, Let It Snow” by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters on a run of 5 weeks  to share with 14 other songs that achieved number 1 status. Here is Vaugh Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton
Sisters performing “Let It Snow, Let It Snow” a song with many residents in the mountains of California already under massive snow drifts would not want to hear:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-0bhji_w4o
           March 21 Famous Birthdays: Timothy Dalton, noted British actor born on this day in 1946 at Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire, who is best remembered for his role as James Bond, in the 15^th and 16^th James Bond movies, Living Daylights and License to Kill   and was under contract to perform in a 3^rd James Bond film which was in preproduction in 1990 but was ensnared in a legal dispute between  UA/MGM and Eon Production and Dalton in 1994 decided it was time to move on. He has never been married but had several long relationships, 1 of which was with Vanessa Redgrave and he briefly dated Whoopi Goldberg.
           March 21 Notable Events
           1.     1952—Alan Freed presented the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
           2.     1980--In response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, President
Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.              3.     1999—Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first 2 men to circumnavigate nonstop the Earth in hot air balloon departing from Château-d'Œx, Switzerland on March 1 and landing in Egypt after voyage of  45,755 km (28,431 miles) from whence they had departed 19 day, 3 hours and 47 minutes after they had taken off.
           4.     2000—Pope John Paul II, made the first visit as a Pope to Israel.
           5.     2006—The social media giant Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams to grow into a social media giant which many conservative politicians and pundits blasted for Twitter’s censoring of tweets or banning their  accounts which protests have largely disappeared after Elon Musk acquired the company. 
           Famous Quote on Notable Events Or Persons:
           Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, talking in 1998: “We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would...That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap ... The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter ‘We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union Its Vietnam War.’”
            Burhanuddin Rabbani, President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance) in 2002: "Had it not been for the jihad, the whole world would still be in the Communist grip. The Berlin Wall fell because of the wounds which we inflicted on the Soviet Union, and the inspiration we gave all oppressed people. We broke the Soviet Union up into fifteen parts. We liberated people from Communism. Jihad led to a free world. We saved the world because Communism met its grave here in Afghanistan!"   

© 3/21/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on events of the day
Commissioned unique poems

March 20, 2023 Ridley's Believe It Or Not

 

Sadly Stanford Women did something that only 4 number 1 seeded teams in the regionals have done in the history of the tournament—get defeated by a lower seeded team to not advance to the Sweet 16 and last night marked the second time they have been so upset. The basketball gods where lightly weeping today in California over the loss. For those working parent with school age children and living in Los Angeles School District the news was definitely not well received of a 3 day strike starting on May 21^st by the teachers. The other news item of note is the pending arrest of former President Donald Trump arising out of the settlement agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels concerning her alleged affair with him which Trump has vehemently denied. I hope  you missed Ridley's Believe It Or Not these last few weeks and that you find Ridley's Believe It Or Not worth your time reading and if not please respond with an “Unsubscribe” in the message.                        

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not March 20, 2023
          Noted Holidays: Vernal Equinox: celebrated at 2:24 P.M. PST the first day of spring.
           Word of the Day:  The word of the day is “alethiology” which means the study of truth which if involved alethiology of truth to be found in the political arena would require a lantern with many more lumens capability than the one caried by Diogenes. 
           Number 1 Song: The number 1 song on this day in 1947 was “ Heartaches” by Ted Weems and His Orchestra with Elmo Tanner on a run of 8 weeks  to share with 10 other songs that achieved number one status. Here is Ted Weems and His Orchestra with Elmo Tanner whistling performing “Heartaches”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_MSCBOx46420
           March 20 Famous Birthdays: Chester Berrington born on this day in 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona was a noted vocalist for such bands as Death by Sunrise and Linkin Park but struggled with alcohol and drugs but managed to break free of his addictive habits but not his depression to hang himself on July 20, 2017 at his home in Palos Verde at age 41.  
           March 20 Notable Events
           1.     1985—Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod The Last Great Race on Earth and to prove that women wining a really grueling race was not a fluke Susan Butcher won the next 4 out of five races but had her mushing career cut short with leukemia and died from the disease on August 5, 2006 at age 51.
           2.     1987--- To the joy of thousands who had been given a death sentence after being infected with AIDS, the Federal Food and Drug Administration approved AZT to be used to treat AIDS. 
           3.     1995—The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, led by Shoko Asaha  carried out a coordinate sarin nerve gas attack on three lines of the Tokyo Metro, killing 14 and injuring some  5,500 with 1500 critically injured. Numerous members of the cult were arrested including Shoko Asaha and by November of 2004, 189 had gone to trial with Asaha and 12 others sentence to death, 5 sentenced to life, 80 received prison sentences of varying length, 89 received suspended sentences, 2 were only fined and 1 found not guilty. After exhausting all appeals, Asaha and the other 12 were executed by hanging on July 6, 2018.
           4.     2000—H. Rap Brown now known as Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin was captured after he murdered a Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and severely wounding deputy Aldranon English.
           5.     2003—The Armed Forces of the United States, Poland, United Kingdom and Australia began the invasion of Iraq to find the WMD that never existed and before we had left in 2011 cost in excess of $1.1 trillion.
           Famous Quote on Notable Events Or Persons:
           Libby Riddles Reflecting on Being the First Female to Win the Iditarod: “The moment when I won the Iditarod is going to be a pretty hard moment to beat, ever, in my whole life, really. “One of my less famous quotes was, ‘If I die now, it’ll be okay.’ Because that was just spontaneously what it felt like. It’s like, ‘Wow, how are we ever going to beat this one?’”   

© 3/20/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on events of the day
Commissioned unique poems

UN Report Calling for Gigantic Reductions in Carbon Emissions While China and India Are Racing to Build More Coal Plants

 

The UN has released a lengthy report calling for more efforts to the use of fossil for energy to rid-
May be an impossible task as coal, gas and oil produce 70% of all energy plus 60% of the electricity grid  
Made more difficult as China and India are in a massive program to build coal fired electricity generators|
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions China and India are not willing to be  carbon emission abnegators
For each step the western world takes to curb emissions for their economies at great cost
China and India will take two steps backward with new coal fired power  plants and the emission reductions are lost
Once again the U.S. and its allies are supposed to our prosperity sacrifice
While China and India are bringing large numbers of coal plants on line—no dice!
The UN report called for a global effort to carbon emissions reduce
But what is expected from the Western Gander should also be expected from the Chinese and Indian Goose
We must not crucify this nation’s economy on the cross of carbon emissions decreases
That are matched or nearly matched by Chinese and India carbon emissions increases.

© 3/20/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet

Whoopi Goldberg on The View Should Be Applauded For Castigating the SLS Shouting Down Judge Ryan As "Snowflakes"

 

This poet was outraged over the students at SLS who shut down Judge Ryan’s speech
They must have been oblivious to how acting like that in a courtroom a contempt citation would them quickly reach
But when Whoopi Goldberg castigated the students and called them “snowflakes”
I quickly realized I may have made on judging her a major mistake
I never thought from her the ideas of tolerance I would hear
Her warning to the flakes that in life people with whom you disagree will appear
The response should be to leave but not to shelter your ears
By shouting down to drown out what others may want to hear
The “snowflakes” at the SLS in Whoopi’s mind can be lumped together
With Red “snowflakes” with their views on women, people of color and drag queens tolerating only sycophants for their weather
Stormy Hostin chimed in about her love of law schools
As a place for free exchange of ideas helped by learning of debating tools
But slammed Judge Duncan for calling the hecklers as “appalling idiots”
In his defense no one volunteering his time to give a speech wants to be insidiated
For The Views’  liberal audience one hopes that they will Whoopi’s words heed
Now more than ever tolerance for opposing views this divisive nation needs

© 3/20/2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet