Ridley’s Believe It Or
Not For June 27, 2017
The U.S. announced to the world and especially Russia that it has detected
signs that the Assad regime appears to be planning and preparing for another chemical
weapons attack which if true will result in grave consequences for him and his
military (if I were this barbarian killer of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, I
would not be sleeping in the same place or appearing in public lest he is
bombed or cruised into “Paradise” where he belongs; in what should come as no great surprise,
Seattle’s increased minimum wage law has resulted in much lower paychecks to
the working poor it was designed to protect due to reduced hours and lost jobs;
in a chilling reminder of the opioid crisis in Ohio in the town of Middleton,
Ohio in all of 2016 the city spent $16,000 for Narcan which is used to prevent
someone who has OD’d from dying--with 2017 not half over the city has spent
$30,000 so the city is considering not administering Narcan if the addict has
had two prior instances of receiving the drug and has not completed any required
community service (community service is not rehab and will do squat to help
those addicts and the funeral homes will be happy if the policy is implemented);
CBO released its scoring of the Senate repeal and replace Obamacare bill and
found that 20-22 million would lose insurance coverage by 2026 due largely to
the fact that the mandates would be removed enabling people to elect not to
purchase insurance, those who bought insurance would see premiums reduced by
30% and the deficit reduced by over $300 billion (the Blues unfortunately have
twisted the issue to make it about cutting taxes for, you guessed it, the rich
while Obamacare spirals down and insurance companies flee the market—what a mess
compliments of the troika of Obama, Pelosi and Reid); while the Reds were
trying to improve the Senate bill the Blues looked like a bunch of college
students in the 60’s and 70’s holding a four hour sit-in on the Capitol steps
(no wonder we mere mortals are fed up with these obstructionist clowns); Google
has been hit with a $2.7 billion fine for anti-trust violations by the EU; Rahm
Emanuel’s top priority for Chicago remains making it the premier sanctuary city
in the country as the carnage continues unabated in June with total shootings
in 2017 through June 26 increasing to 1720 with the death toll increasing
passing the 300 barrier to 301, a major tragedy that the powers to be in
Chicago seem to completely ignore except for those fortunate enough to own a
mortuary or an emergency care center.
As always,
I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Henri Mancini,
factoids of interest for this day in history, hoping we are able to inculcate
compromise and bipartisanhip in the Swamp, a relevant quote from Stanley Victor
Paskavitch of PTSD, secure
in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events
like 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 HIV Testing Day—observed
since 1995 to promote efforts to cause people who may be at risk to test for
the presence of HIV since ignorance is
not bliss either for someone infected or his or her partners also in the dark.
2. National
PTSD Awareness Day—an observance started in 2010 to increase awareness of PTSD
(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and assist victims to recognize symptoms and
to be able to seek out help (this is a problem that is not limited to veterans returning
from combat but can affect anyone who has been exposed to horrific traumatic
situations).
3. 1969 Number One Song—the number one song in
1969 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet” by Henri Mancini. Here
is a performance by him of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaA2WiyqO1E
4. Word
of the Day—today’s word of the day is “inculcate” which means to instill a
habit, idea or attitude by persistent instruction; now more than ever in the
political arena we need to inculcate a sense of civility, compromise and
bipartisanship to rid us of the toxic grip of gridlock and over the top rhetoric.
5. I’m
All Ears—celebrating the birth on this day in 1930 of Ross Perot who
formed Electronic Data Systems and sold it to GM for $2.8 billion. He ran as an
independent candidate in 1992 obtaining almost 19 percent of the vote and was
instrumental in sucking up enough Republican votes to hand the election over to
Bill Clinton. In one of the Presidential debates on October 11, 1992 he brought
the house down with his line “I’m all ears.”
On this day
in:
a. 1844 in a sad display
of religious intolerance Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of the Latter
Day Saints and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob while being held in a
jail in Carthage, Illinois.
b. 1895 the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad commenced service of its Royal
Blue from the Swamp to New York City,
the first passenger train in the U.S. to be powered by electric motors.
c. 1950 the U.S. decided
to send troops to South Korea without a declaration of war since this was to be
a “police action.”
d. 1971 after being open
for only three years, rock promoter Bill Graham closed Filmore East, known as
the “Church of Rock and Roll.”
e. 2007 Tony Blair resigned
a Prime Minister of the U.K. after 10 years in office.
Reflections on the consequences of PTSD: “PTSD
in its rawest form is a death sentence which causes many veterans and others to
execute themselves in hope to be free.” Stanley Victor Paskavich, disabled Gulf
War veteran with PTSD and poet. 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.
© June 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