September 21, 2017 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Autumnal Equinox

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For September 21, 2017 The death toll in Mexico City from the 7.1 earthquake has soared to at least 245 as first responders and volunteers are frantically trying to save people trapped under massive amounts of rubble from buildings that have collapsed; the obese rocket man will be soon out of fuel if the news from China is correct that the Bank of China has banned all transactions with North Korea (if it follows through the Hermit Kingdom will be toast in less than a month and hopefully the North Korean military will show some balls and execute this madman and dismantle the ICBM and nuclear weapons program); finally with the sanctions imposed by the president of any companies doing business with North Korea, we have a president that is not a feckless Obama wimp and the world is taking notice even though Blues like Hillary and Feinstein are doing the Chicken Little dance over his blunt and forceful talk; Puerto Rico has been totally devastated by Maria with the whole island without power and facing a delay of many months before power is restored; Sessions rightfully blasted California for becoming a sanctuary state compounded by the fact that our leftist AG plans to sue the federal government for moving forward to build the wall (the art of political compromise that the Blues should jump on is repeal and replace Obamacare, tax cuts, infrastructure and the wall in exchange for path to citizenship for DACCA residents); Sanders is ranting over the investigation by the FBI of his wife for bank fraud and his single payer health care plan given the chaos at the VA could be a major hot potato for Blue candidates in 2018 (what about the example of socialism demonstrated in spades in Venezuela or Cuba does this man not understand?); on the perversion front a former Arkansas female high school teacher has been charged with sleeping with 4 students; through September 20, 2017 in Chicago the number of people being shot climbed to 2750 and the death toll standing at 475 after a rare day in which no one died while the city seems to not be doing anything to prevent the killing and maiming of its minority residents—a real definition of racism which is deadly.

As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Bobby Vinton, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote by Albert Camus on the fall season on this autumnal equinox, happy you do not appear to be kef during meetings with co-workers  but 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. International Day of Peace—created by the UN General Assembly in 1981 and observed since 1982 to promote the pursuit of peace and the cessation of war and violence among nations a cause when it comes to North Korea will be enhanced greatly if China follows through with its pledge to ban all currency dealings with the rogue nation.

2. Autumnal Equinox—celebrating the first day of fall and another day closer to the end of the hurricane season that has laid waste to parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Florida and most of the Caribbean.

3. 1963 Number One Song— the number one song in 1963 on a run of 3 weeks in that position was “Blue Velvet” by  Bobby Vinton. Here is a performance of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icfq_foa5Mo The Polish Prince of Poch still going strong at 82 and hopefully drying out after being in the path of Irma along the east coast of Florida.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “kef” which is a state of dreamy or drug induced repose which seems perfect to describe the speeches of many of the diplomats other than Trump at the UN.

5.  This Jet Takes Off with Great Sounds--celebrating the birth on this day in 1958 of noted rock singer Joan Larkin better known to her fans as Joan Jett; best known for her song “I Love Rock and Roll.”    

On this day in:                       

a. 1780 Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold turned traitor and gave to the British the plans for West Point.

b. 1937 J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit.   

c. 1981 Stanford alum Sandra Day O’Connor was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to become the first female justice of SCOTUS.

d. 1996 by overwhelming bipartisan majorities Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act prohibiting the federal government from recognizing same sex marriages but allowing the states to do so. That allowance turned into a mandate almost 19 years later when SCOTUS ruled that same sex marriages had to be allowed in all fifty states (so much for federalism and the will of the people exercised through their elected officials).                                                                                      

e. 2013 radical Islamists from al-Shabaab in Nairobi, Kenya attacked the Westgate Mall and killed at least 67 people, almost all of whom were non-Muslim, and wounded close to 200. Sadly of the 10-15 killers only 4 had their one way ticket to Paradise punched.

Reflections on the beauty of the coming of fall:”Autumn is the second spring when every leaf becomes a flower.” Albert Camus noted French writer. Anyone who lives in New England will confirm Camus’ observation 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.

© September 21, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet                        

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