Thursday, May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Biographers Day


Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 16, 2019 On the demographic front with pro life groups claiming that since Roe v. Wade millions of abortions have occurred amidst news that the U.S. birth rate has fallen to the lowest level in 32 years with potentially profound effects on social programs such as Medicare and Social Security, the abortion debate rages on in Missouri and Alabama while AOC rants on that women should not be having children if because of climate change, the children so conceived will be dead in 12 years (on the climate change front, California is looking at a forecast of 2 feet of snow and the Midwest is bracing for a flurry of winter storms); the SAT test adversity factors looking at a student’s economic and social factors continues to expand to more high schools (shades of affirmative action déjà vu); Whoopi Goldberg rightfully mocked Bill de Blasio’s announcement of his running for president claiming he has been a total failure as mayor of New York City while co-hosts Behar and Hostin had the temerity to to tout his “accomplishments (Blues need another hack like de Blasio like they need a hole in the head); O’Rourke whose campaign seems dead in the water was live streaming his haircut at a barbershop in El Paso (feel sorry for the stork that drew the short straw and was saddled with the task of delivering him); in a stiff upper lip moment a driver in England was fined and his license suspended for and outrageous amount of garbage in the front seat of his car https://www.foxnews.com/auto/driver-fined-dangerous-fast-food; Trump is announcing his comprehensive immigration plan which will end chain migration and visa lottery migration, focus on immigrants with needed skills, speed up adjudication of deportation hearings and require asylum seekers to file in their home country (border is a total disaster which even some brave Blues are agreeing that this is the case, but any chance for meaningful reform is probably dead but every American between now and the election who is killed by an illegal will give Reds a chance to slam Blues ala Willie Horton); the troika of deception and lies, Comey, Clapper and Brennan are at each other’s throats as the DOJ probe of the Russian collusion hoax has begun (jail time for the three would be a great idea); through May 14, 2019 794 people  have been shot in Chicago of whom 158 have died (what makes the Smollett case so frustrating is that it forced the city of Chicago to allocate scarce detective resources when in only 9% of the shootings resulting in murder have a suspect being charged this year).
1. Biographers Day—celebrating the first meeting in 1763 between noted biographer James Boswell and a remarkable man of letters, Samuel Johnson, who would become the subject of Boswell’s noted biography.
     2. U.S. Nickel Day—commemorating the minting of the first 5 cent coin on this day in 1866.
3. 2010 Number One Song—the number one song on this day in 2010 on a run of 1 week in that position was “OMG” by Usher feat. Will.I.Am. Here is a recording of the song:  https://www.ask.com/youtube?q=usher%20ft%20will%20i%20am%20omg&o=759433&l=sem&qo=saLink 
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “o” to words beginning with “p” is “parvipotent” which means having little power which in the era of PACs and lobbyists describes the lot of ordinary voters to a tee.
5. Addictive High—bemoaning the birth on this day in 1861 of Herman Webster Mudgett better known as H.H. Holmes was was one of America’s first serial killers who murdered some 20-200 victims before being caught, tried, convicted and hanged on May 7, 1896.  
    As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Usher feat. will.i.am, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you are not subject to being parvipotent, and a relevant quote from Xi Qinsheng on the Cultural Revolution, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, 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.
    On this day in:                                        
a. 1960 Theodore Maiman operated the first optical laser (a ruby laser) at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
b. 1966 China issued its infamous “May 16 Statement” marking the beginning of the 10 year Cultural Revolution which proved to be a complete disaster in terms of economic growth and repression.
c. 1988 U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a report indicating the addictive of power of tobacco was similar to heroin and cocaine.
d. 1991 Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the U. S. Congress. 
e. 2005 in a what took you so long moment, Kuwait’s National Assembly voted in favor of allowing women’s suffrage by a 35-23 vote. 
Reflections on the Cultural Revolution: “We were told that we needed to use violence to destroy a class, spiritually and physically. That was justification enough for torturing someone. They weren’t considered human anymore. If they were the enemy, they deserved to be strangled to death, and they deserved to be tortured. This was the education we received… the Cultural Revolution brought out the worst in people and the worst in the political system.”
Xi Qinsheng, former Red Guard Sick philosophy from a nation that we should consider an existential threa to our way of life
 
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   www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com for just This Day in History.
© May 16 , 2019  Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

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