April 30, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Honesty Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 30, 2017  Another day another ratcheting up of the rhetoric on North Korea as our leadership is sending crystal clear messages that we will not permit North Korea to possess a nuclear weapons hat are deliverable by missiles; if that obese dictator is the “smart cookie” Trump claims he is he needs to shut down his program or face annihilation which given the size of his conventional army would involve nuclear weapons by us; Trump attended a rally in Pennsylvania instead of going to the White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C. to be roasted by the entertainment and speakers; SpaceX made history last night by launching into space a rocket that had previously been launched into space and landed back on Earth which means that they have lowered the cost of space launches by at least 20 million; deadly tornadoes were striking Texas yesterday; Congress back in session tomorrow facing another shutdown if budget not passed which given the obstructionism of Schumer and Pelosi is doubtful; 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 April 29 increasing by 6  to 1041 and the death toll remaining at 181 (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 who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Ashanti, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Abu Bakr, 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. Honesty Day—created by Hirsch Goldberg, a noted American author, as a means of ending April which begins with April Fools’ Day to encourage honesty and straightforward communications in our political lives, relationships, business dealings and historical education; unfortunately when it comes to journalism and politics we have a long way to go due to the swamp of bias.

2.  International Day of Jazz—created by UNESCO in 2011 to promote jazz as unifying force to bring about unity and peace.

3. 2002 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2002 on a run of 10 weeks in that position “Foolish” by Ashanti. Here is a recording of Ashanti performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUPrnu3BEU8

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “retiform” which means of or like a net.

5. Wonder Gal—celebrating the birth on this day in 1985 of Israeli born actress Gal Gadot who has starred in Fast and Furious 4 and as Wonder Woman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 311 in a bad day for lions but a great day for Christians the Diacletianic Persecution of Christians came to an end. .

b. 1789 George Washington took the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States. c. 1939 NBC inaugurated daily TV broadcasting by televising President Roosevelt’s opening of the New York World’s Fair.

d. 1993 in a great day for the internet CERN announced that the www protocol would be free.

e. 2009 in a this job has its issues moment, Queen Beatrix survived an assassination attempt in the Netherlands in which 7 innocents were killed and the assassin was killed also. Queen Beatrice abdicated the throne four years later to the day of the attempt.    

Reflections on honesty: “The greatest truth is honesty and the greatest falsehood is dishonesty.” Abu Bakr, father-in-law to the prophet Muhammad. 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.

© April 30, 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

April 29, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Day of Remembrance of All Victims of Chemical Warfare

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 29, 2017  Another day another failed ICBM missile test by North Korea in defiance of the civilized world and more importantly China which must be very tired of the fat madman who rules North Korea; despite Maxine Water’s predictions and threats and the rabid obstruction by Schumer and Pelosi and their lackeys, Trump has survived his first 100 days and the “golden wrecking ball” is still moving forward at high speed demolishing Obama’s failed and pathetic legacy;  troubling news that the agency that oversees pipeline construction no longer has a quorum which means some $10 billion in projects are in limbo which means Trump has to ASAP bring candidates to the Senate to face the scathing criticisms and attacks by Schumer’s lackeys; in a hopeful sign that democratic ideals are not completely dead in Russia rallies albeit small were held urging Putin not to run for a 4^th term in 2018 (too bad Russia does not have a prohibition of a third term like we do); for those early risers on May 6 between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. they will be treated to the Eta Aquarid meteor shower of up to 30 per hour; 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 April 28 increasing  to 1035 and the death toll increasing to 181 (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 who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Janet Jackson, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Terry Glavin, noted Canadian author and journalist, hoping your behavior does not portray you in a pavonine manner, 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. Day of Remembrance of All Victims of Chemical Warfare—another UN observance since 2005 which after seeing Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people is merely a piece of paper, words not backed by action except in the case of Trump and cruise missiles. Interesting to note that North Korea is not a party to the agreement banning the use of chemical weapons but given the unstable nature of its fat leader that should no surprise anyone.

2.  Independent Bookstore Day—always celebrated on the last Saturday in April in an era when nondigital books are becoming an endangered species.

3. 2001 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2001 on a run of 7 weeks in that position “All for You” by Janet Jackson. Here is a recording of Janet Jackson performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFnPBiAk5JA

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “pavonine” which means of or like a peacock.

5. Who Do You Trust?—bemoaning the birth on this day in 1938 of Bernard Madoff, the perpetrator of the largest Ponzi fraud in American history who is now serving a 150 year term in a federal prison where he will die.

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1968 the play Hair opened for the first of its 1750 performances at the Biltmore Theater on Broadway.

b. 1986 in a Fahrenheit 451 like moment a fire in the Los Angeles Central Library destroyed some 400,000 books.

c.  1992 after the police officers charged with beating Rodney King were acquitted, riots broke out in Los Angles and over the next three days 53 people were killed and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

d. 2011 Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in Westminster Cathedral in a televised ceremony watched by millions around the globe.

e. 2015 a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox set the record for the all time low number of fans in attendance—0 as the stadium was closed to the public due to rioting in Baltimore prompted by the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.    

Reflections on chemical weapons and a legacy of complete failure: “In the three years since Obama invited Russia to help him renege on his 'red line' on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented 136 occasions in which the Assad regime has deployed poison gas in its war on the Syrian people.Terry Glavin, noted Canadian author and journalist. 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.

© April 29, 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

Amtrak Over the Line

Amtrak Over The Line

Good things in life almost always come in threes that charm

Watching three ladies as a Surfliner glides by ringing its alarm

New restaurant on a patio with ambiance over the top

Cannot hear the words but suspect on things more important than how to shop

Patio full of smiles, dining patrons totally at ease

Sating slowly with culinary masterpieces that please

Service quick and to the point

Even a turkey sandwich unique with a cranberry spread to anoint

A warm gentle across the patio breeze

No wonder the swallows nesting nearby feel at ease

Ride the rails to Trevors in swallow land ready to unleash rhymic thoughts

Looking at this trio a rewarding day so easily sought

March 31, 2017 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

April 28, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Workers' Memorial Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 28, 2017  A new “Cold War” in the Arctic as Russia displays its new military base in the Arctic; maybe with Trump’s latest executive order opening up our Arctic lands and waters to drilling will accelerate the need to expand our military assets in the region; Trump in an interview indicated he is very disappointed with Congressional Republicans as is probably most of the nation; rhetoric continues to escalate on North Korea with Tillerson calling for more international sanctions against this rogue nation; in a classic example of ignorance of students on college campuses Campus Reform interviewed college students at George Mason College in Virginia about Trump’s first 100 days but used examples of what Obama did which since the acts were attributed to Trump the students objected to them http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/04/28/college-students-hate-obama-policies-when-theyre-credited-trump-campus-reform worth reading; Congress with its back up agains the shutdown wall due to Blue intransience on funding the wall and defunding Planned Parenthood kicked the can down a one week road by passing a stopgap funding measure (what a way to run a railroad); California has signed a contract for $278 million to repair the Oroville Dam spillway which is $100 million more than was estimated (talk about needing a builder in the governor’s chair); the HIC (hypocrite in chief) has evidently nailed his second $400 thousand speech; Trump speaking to the NRA Convention informed a cheering crowd that the eight year war on guns is over; 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 April 27 increasing  to 1028 and the death toll increasing to 178 (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 who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Santana, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Walter Dill Scott, always willing to be an opsimath, 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. Workers’ Memorial Day—honoring the workers who have died, been injured or have become ill as a result of their work and campaigning to increase safety in the workplace..

2.  Great Poetry Reading Day—commemorating another great observance during Poery Month and since today is also Kiss Your Mate Day a good day to kill two birds with one stone by reading him or her as the case may be a romantic poem preceded or followed by a kiss; always some great poetry on www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com.

3. 2000 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2000 on a run of 10 weeks in that position “Maria Maria” by Santana. Here is a recording of Santana performing the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLequ6dUdM

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “opismath which means someone who learns or studies later in life, always a great way to keep the mind sound especially in retirement.

5. Flushed Down the Drain—celebrating the birth on this day in 1930 of Carolyn Jones noted actress who appeared in 30 films but is probably best remembered for playing Morticia in The Addams Family; but sadly had her career cut way too soon at age 53 by colon cancer.

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1253 a Buddhist monk Nicheren founded Nicheren Buddhism by promulgating the Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

b.  1789 mutineers on HMS Bounty put their captain William Bligh and 18 loyal shipmates into an open launch and cast them adrift. In an amazing feat of seamanship, Bligh sailed the craft to civilization on Timor over 4,100 miles away.

c.  1923 Wembley Stadium the cathedral, capital and heart of football (soccer) to players and fans of the game opened as Empire Stadium in Wembley, England.

d. 1944 nine German E-Boats, the German equivalent of our PT Boats, attacked Operation Tiger, a training exercise for D-Day, killing 976 soldiers and seamen.

e. 1988 in something out of A Thousand Ways to Die episode, fight attendant Clarabelle    “C.B.” Landis on Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was blown to her death when a large chunk of the 737’s fuselage fell off the plane (another good reason to always have your seat belt fastened).    

Reflections on workplace safety: “The greates asset of America today is not its fertile fields, its rich ores, its completely equipped factories or its millions in currency. The greastest asset in America is the American people. The greatest possible field for ecoomy is not in saving materials but in promoting the safety of our people. The future of the safety movement is not so much dependent upon the invention of safety devices as on the improvement of methods of educationg people to the ideal of caution and safety.” Walter Dill Scott, noted 20^th Century applied psychologist in a letter to the National Safety Council,1921. 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.

© April 28, 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

April 27, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Poem In Your Pocket Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 27, 2017  San Francisco District Court Judge William Orrick III who issued a TRO against the DOJ from banning funds to sanctuary cities is a political hack whosec politicization of the judiciary when it was revealed he has bundled over $200,000 to Obama’s campaign and should have recused himself (judiciary will lose all respect when judges allow their ideology to replace the rule of law); Trump announced that Canada, Mexico and the United States have agreed to renegotiate NAFTA; while the left continues to support legal assistance to illegal aliens, DHS head Kelly announced the formation of the Victims of Immigration Criminal Enforcement to assist victims of crimes by illegal aliens and to better track them when in custody (about time we start protecting Americans first); in yet another example of the delusional nature of the UN, it is advancing the absurd notion that repealing Obamacare is a violation of international law (time to scale back our contribution to equal that of China and use the savings to build the wall; we now know that Obama has a new title, Hypocrite in Chief, for accepting $400,000 from  a Wall Street investment banking firm Cantor and Fitzgerald to speak at the firm’s health care conference even though he spent two terms castigating Wall Street bankers; on the man versus machine front a highly intoxicated man in cooling his heels in Mountain View, CA after knocking over a 300 pound robot, a Knightscope 5 patrolling a mall parking lot (other than a few paint scratches robot has returned to duty in one piece);  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 April 25 increasing  to 1020 and the death toll increasing to 176 (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 who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to TLC, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Gerald Ford, 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.  Poem in Your Pocket Day—celebrating on this day of National Poetry Month the putting a poem in your pocket and sharing it with others as the world needs more poets and fewer lawyers; the observance was initiated by the Office of Mayor in 2002 in conjunction with the Departments of Education and Cultural Affairs.

2.  Matanzas Mule Day—commemorating the bombardment by the U.S. Navy of a small Cuban village Matanzas which after expending a large number of shells managed to kill only one living soul, a mule who was buried by the Spaniards with full military honors.   

3. 1999 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1999 on a run of 4 weeks in that position “No Scrubs” by TLC. Here is a recording of TLC performing the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLequ6dUdM

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “noyade” which means water boarding on steroids by executing by drowning, a means  used in the 18^th Century by the French.

5. Pioneer Playwright—celebrating the birth on this day in 1945 of Frederick August Kittel, Jr. better known to his fans as August Wilson, a prolific award winning playwright born to a black mother and German immigrant father whose pen was taken away from him by liver cancer at the age of 60.

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1667 John Milton, blind and impoverished, sold the copyright to that tormentor of English majors, Paradise Lost, for £ 15.

b. 1861 Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

c. 1936 the United Auto Workers split from the American Federation of Labor.  

d. 1945 Benito Mussolini and his mistress were captured in the Northern Italian Town of Dongo trying to flee to Switzerland; they were executed the next day and their bodies hung up by their feet and displayed in the public square.

e. 1974 in a beginning of the end of the Nixon Presidency, 10,000 persons marched in Washington, D.C. demanding the impeachment of Richard Nixon who resigned in the same year on August 9, the only president to have resigned from office.    

Reflections on Watergate by one who sacrificed his reelection chances to try to heal the country by pardoning Nixon: “The political lesson of Watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant, elite guard of political adolescents to by-pass the regular party organization and dictate the terms of a national election.” Gerald R. Ford Fortunately for the Reds that lesson was not learned by the HRC campaign. 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.

© April 27, 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

www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com

Stop Fighting Start Compromising

Our daily lives are ruled by zones designated by visible signs

Our voices and acts to run free are dampened and confined

We have quiet zones near hospitals to patients’ rest protect

In schools we have drug free and gun free zones to use and violence deflect

On college campuses there are free speed zones marked with signs

Not to promote but rather to its exercise confine

There are zones that planes and drones may not fly

To terrorists and privacy intrusions deny

A red circle around any object or words with a red line diameter slanted universally means “No!”

In the land of the Swamp here is a suggestion where two more signs need to go

Before the Speaker’s and the Senate Pro Tem’s chair these words

To try to end the Congressional theater of the absurd

“Partisanship” and “Personal Attacks” encased in red circles with diameter lines at an angle through each

Forceful reminders that if we are going to get anything done across the aisle both parties must reach

The level of gridlock in the Senate has soared to new levels

With too many Blues openly comparing the President to a living, breathing devil

The art of compromise and find common goals is dead

Only demonization and rhetoric instead

Too many Reds and Blues keep tweeting they are fighting for this or that cause

Demonizing the other side’s “egregious” personal defects and flaws

Lost in the personal smears is the simple fact it becomes impossible to pass laws

Red meat to their rabid base who cheer and heartily applause

While the business of government remains in a gridlock pause

And the voters who want government to work are disgusted with this continuing partisan shock and awe

Feeling like the proverbial camel laden with more and more straw

© April 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

 www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com

Red Lobster Afternoon

Yesterday i was enroute to the Santa Ana Amtrak Station to being the trainophile that I am to take a short rail ride to San Juan Capistrano to eat a late lunch at Trevor's at the Tracks but soon realized I would not make my planned trained so stopped at the Red Lobster. My waitress was a very young Heather who was working two jobs and was just getting ready to go off station. She is an amateur artist, quite excellent and before we knew it I was relating to her about my blogs and poetry and she was showing me pictures of her paintings on her phone. While talking and listening to her this poem came to me which i read to her and told her I would post it. I hope she pursues an artistic career as the world will be a better place. Nice restaurant but if you like lobster that is taken live out a tank, go to Little Saigon--much cheaper!

Heather

Too often our youth are pushed into the higher education slot

Devoid of passion, going through the motions, praying their minds will not rot

A degree to but frame and to put on a wall

While the passion for life is in a complete stall

When the creative side of the brain rules

Who would doubt that artistic creativity cannot be taught in school

But like poets too often artists barely make a living wage

No wonder parents want a daughter to change the career page

But without passion, a creative soul chained to a lifeless path

Each day further and further from her dreams of a golden craft

Is doomed to most certainly fail

Her creative spirit wallowing in a dismal academic jail

Chained by strong steel links of an unforgiving tether

Sunshine replaced by the dark clouds of inclement weather

Waiting like a lobster for the King Crab to show her how to molt

Knowing that even with access a blog for today to the art she cannot bolt

There will come a day when parents fear of failure will relent

We will see her paintings on display and buying them will be money well spent

                                                            April 25, 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

www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com

Ann Coulter Blocked at Cal

Ann Coulter that conservative firebrand observation is right as rain

A dark day for free speech as under threats of violence her speaking engagement flushed down the drain

It is so ironic that the Free Speech Movement’s birthplace is at Cal

Which today has been turned into a free speech graveyard locale

A feckless Cal administration to the thugs simply caved

Mario Savio the icon of the FSM must be rolling in his grave

Threats of violence against Ann Coulter by the PC Storm Troopers

Ready to beat the god of free speech into a bruised and battered stupor

Depriving students of the right to Ann Coulter hear

Into the hearts of her supporters or just curious strike fear

God help us if these PC Storm Troopers can silence anyone who with their radical leftist ideas disagrees

Not by force of their argument but by physical intimidation coupled with a full scale rioting spree

Cal’s administration should have made it abundantly clear

Drone out the speaker or attacking listeners or the speakers and SWAT will appear

To immediate arrest and cart off to jail

Hopefully before Judges that will insist on a high amount of bail

Anyone who is a student arrested or caught throwing rocks or flaming cocktails  on tape

Immediate expulsion not suspension without mercy should be their fate

Professors and administrators who support violent demonstrations against free speech

Should forfeit even if tenured their right to administer or teach

We are condemning our youth to an inability to learn the skills to have rational discourse

Increasing the chasm as more are more the left wants to shut down opposing discussion by force

College should be a place for the mind to explore and learn

Not to because of a different point of view raise havoc and cars and buildings burn

© April 26, 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

www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com

April 26, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Intellectual Property Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 26, 2017  San Francisco District Court Judge William Orick III who issued a TRO against the DOJ from banning funds to sanctuary cities is the latest example of a politicization of the judiciary when it was revealed he has bundled over $200,000 to Obama’s campaign (when do answer with a yes the basic question of do we as a nation have the right to bar illegal aliens?); bombshell report from a state auditor on the University of California and Napolitano who heads it that she has created a secret fund of close to $200 million while demanding more money from the state and raising tuition (so typical of a political hack from the Blue side of the aisle); another day in the Persian Gulf and another provocative encounter by Iranian fast attack boats (after 36 such encounters in 2016 isn’t it time to sink one of these vessels the next time to stop this nonsense?); Senate heads to the White House for a rare classified meeting on the rising tensions in North Korea as Trump again vows that the “nut job” ruling that country will not be allowed to possess an ICBM; on the sports front rumor has it that Trump will end the ban on sports gambling;  on the unfriendly skies front UA has been whacked again as Simon destined to become the world’s largest rabbit mysteriously died in the cargo section on a flight from England to the United States; 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 April 24 increasing  to 1012 and the death toll increasing to 176 (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 who appears to care only about the rights of illegal aliens in his sanctuary city  (when will Chicago residents through the city council try to impeach this pathetic, inept mayor?). 

    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Next, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Svetlana Alexievich, hoping that you don’t encounter a minacious person, 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.  World Intellectual Property Day—celebrating since 2000 the importance of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets in our daily lives (look only at the stock market with companies like Facebook, Apple and Google surging to new highs to appreciate IP’s importance).

2.  Hug a Friend Day—since hugs are beneficial to the receiver and the giver this is an observance that should be observed more than one day a year.   

3. 1998 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1998 on a run of 5 weeks in that position “Too Close” by Next. Here is a recording of Next performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwEZRPkAAu8

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “minacious” which means menacing or threatening which is what Trump may use in describing to the 100 Senators the North Korean dictator.

5. Camelot Déjà Vu—celebrating the birth on this day in 1970 of Melania Trump, the second FLOTUS born outside the United States and the first naturalized citizen to occupy the position.  http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2017/04/camelot-deja-vu-with-melania-trump.html 

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1805 in the First Barbary War the U.S Marine Corps added a second line to their hymn by capturing Derna.

b. 1865 Union cavalry cornered and shot John Wilkes Booth dead.

c. 1937 in a terrifying preview of the destruction to be caused in World War II, during the Spanish Civil War the Condor Legion of the German Luftwaffe bombed continuously for three hours the town of Guernica in Spain, killing 1,654 civilians.  

d. 1986 at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine) at the Chernobyl Power Plant a meltdown of the reactor core of Reactor 4 occurred spewing radioactive material over a large area extending to as far as Norway. It ranks as one of the worst nuclear power plant explosions of all time.

e. 2005 under international pressure, Syria, after 29 years of military domination, withdrew the last of its soldiers from Lebanon.    

Reflections on nuclear power “At that time my notions of nuclear power were utterly idyllic. At school and at the university we'd been taught that this was a magical factory that made "energy out of nothing," where people in white robes sat and pushed buttons. Chernobyl blew up when we weren't prepared.” Svetlana Alexievich , Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster. 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.

© April 26, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

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