April 18, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Patriots' Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 18, 2016 Unfortunately still 277 days to go in President Obama’s   pathetic lame duck term but political theater is alive and well as celebrities who appear so intelligent when reciting a script admit they signed up as independents for the wrong party, New York gears up to vote tomorrow and in a break from political theater 108 year old Lynn Balmer, believed to be the oldest WWII female veteran will be honored today by being flown out of Chico, CA in a WWII biplane trainer—age is always a state of mind and an alert to uninstall Quick Time from your computer. I trust your Monday is proving to be a great one; and as always, I hope  you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to Elton John, factoids of interest, a  relevant quote from the most unlikeable Hillary Clinton while looking forward to sharing some animal crackers with your kids or grandchildren, blessed with a positive attitude and  secure in  the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or  anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem  at a great price  tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. International Day of Monuments and Sites—another UNESCO observance since 1983 to create awareness of the need to preserve historical sites and monuments which unfortunately as we have seen in Iraq and Syria, the fanatics of ISIS have no qualms about destroying.

2. Patriots’ Day/ Boston Marathon—commemorating the anniversary of the shots heard round the world and the running of the Boston Marathon which the top three males were Ethiopians and as were the top two females.                                 

3. 1975 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1975 on a run of two weeks in that position Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John. Here is a link to Elton John performing Philadelphia Freedom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhyMvQ_N7Zc      

4. National Animal Crackers Day—celebrating a really great way to relive your childhood by munching on a few animal crackers.

5. Shrink Your Waistline Not the Kids—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1953 of Rick Moranis, noted actor who has appeared in films like Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters.  

On this day in:

a. 1906 a massive earthquake and resulting fires from ruptured gas lines destroyed much of San Francisco while killing hundreds.

b. 1924 in a moment loved by those wanting to forestall the march of dementia, Simon and Schuster published its first crossword puzzle book. 

c. 1942 a raid of 16 B-25s was launched from the USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo, Kobe, Yokahoma and Nagoya which so alarmed the Japanese that they decided to once and for all defeat the U.S, Navy at the Battle of Midway which was a complete disaster for the Japanese.      

d. 1961 the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was executed by 22 nations (now by 190); the convention provides the cornerstone for how nations deal with each other’s diplomats and embassies codifying such concepts as diplomatic immunity.  

e. 2007 SCOTUS in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart, which serves as a reminder of how important this election will be now that Justice Scalia has died, ruled 5-4 that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was constitutional. You have to wonder what was going through the minds of the four liberal Justices who voted to overturn the law.    

Reflections from HRC on pro life supporters: “Now, extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups, we expect that from people who don’t want to live in the modern world, but it’s a little hard to take from Republicans who want to be the president of the United States,” Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Abortion is one of the most difficult issues a woman may have to face but aborting an unborn in the third trimester of a pregnancy unless absolutely necessary to save the life of the mother sounds like murder.    

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© April 18, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
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