The
death count in Maui rose by 1 to 111 with only 5 victims ranging from age 71 to
90 having been identified with most of
Lahaina not yet searched for bodies and but the number of missing persons has
dropped from 1,300 to some 1000 as cell phone service is starting to be restored but the fingers of
blame over the cause and the response are beginning to point with Hawaii
Electric in the spotlight for failing to deelectrify parts of its system as
strong winds were buffeting the island and the island’s vaunted disaster
warning systems of sirens not having been triggered. Hawaii Electric which
closed on 8/7 the day before the fires began at $43.70 closed trading today at
$12.03 as investors probably see a PG&E déjà vu that followed the
disastrous wildfires that burnt the town of Paradise, California to the ground.
Hawaii Electric after consulting with California wildfire experts drafted a wildfire
suppression plan to install more insulated conductors, fire retardant poles and
more aggressive monitoring technology, only to spend $250,000 in 2 years in that endeavor to focus on developing
alternative renewable energy. Liberal academics are weighing in on the recently
surfaced Oher/Tuohy’s allegations by trashing the Blindside as a white
liberal fantasy needing the fallacy of helping blacks to feel good but at least
these pundits are so far not raising the claim that despite Bullock’s stellar
Oscar winning performance she should turn in her Oscar. Eric Adams and Governor Hochul are in a snit
fit over Hochul’s castigating him for his handling of the migrant crisis as he
is now demanding an executive order that would prevent rightfully concerned
local communities from barring asylum seekers no matter how bogus their claim or
dangers to the communities they entail. Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of
Richmond” is still taking the internet in the millions of viewers and liberal Senator
Chris Murphy who had the temerity of sharing it because “it is a good tune” and
because Anthony sings about “soullessness of work, s--- wages and the
power of the elites” was slammed by the left even though he ended his tweet with
the false claim that the left has better solutions to all problems than the
right. (such intolerance for non-conforming views no matter how small the
departure!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqSA-SY5Hro
Hillary who is jumping for joy over Trump’s 4 indictments to vent her invective
still after 6 years of losing her expected coronation may be surprised that a
hurricane approaching California and the Southwest strengthening to a Cat 2 is
one “l” short of being named after her— Hurricane Hilary is expected to make
landfall on Friday. Another Stanford golfing phenom, Rose Zhang, has left Stanford
to pursue a LPGA career and to in her very first tournament to finish if first
place, which many believe will be followed by many, many more.
August 17, 2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Noted Holidays: Thrift
Shop Day: Celebrating a sure way to tame the inflation beast by
shopping at a thrift shop operated by a charity such as Goodwill or the Salvation
Army which started selling used goods in 1902 and 1897 respectively. Not sure who
created this day or when but shopping at a thrift shop is a one two punch
against inflation, a bargain for the shopper and the satisfaction that their
dollars are going to help a worthwhile cause.
Word of the Day: the word
of the day is “assoil” which means to absolve or acquit which the
left is praying is not the outcome of any of the 4 Trump indictments and his
supporters are praying that that is the outcome of all indictments.
Song of the
Day: The number 1 song
on this day in 2014 was “Rude” Magic
on a run of 6 weeks to share number 1 status with 9 other songs achieving
number 1 ranking while 6 acts, including Magic, achieved number one status for
the first time. Here is a music video with lyrics of Magic performing “Rude”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIh2xe4jnpk
August
17 Birthdays: “Call Me ‘Dude’”—Sean Penn: Born on this day in 1960 in Santa Monica who started acting by
appearing on an episode of Little House on the Prairie directed by his
father but with Fast Times at Ridgemont High cast as a stoner who popularized
the term “dude” was off to the acting races to ultimately receive two Academy
Award Nominations and 2 Oscars during the course of his long and multifilm
career. Married 3 times including a first one with Madonna and migrated into directing
and now noted for his film on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine when he also
gifted one of his Oscars to Zelensky with the note to bring it back to Malibu after
Ukraine won the war.
August 17 Historical Events in Rhyme
1. On
this day in 2008 in the Olympics held in Beijing/To Michael Phelps neck a
record 8 gold medals his wins would bring/He remains the greatest swimmer ever
to dive into a swimming pool lane/His total Olympic medals record of 32 with 28
gold will long reign/Hard to imagine how difficult it will be for an athlete to
more attain/ Despite the often “Records are made to be broken” refrain.
2. On
this day in 1998 to avoid being with a charge of perjury being hit/President
Clinton admitted he had had with Monica Lewinsky “improper relationships”/Then
on national TV he admitted to the American people on Lewinsky he had lied/ But the “Comeback Kid” managed a
guilty verdict after his impeachment to defy.
3. On
this day in 1978 Double Eagle II with a 3 man crew/Took advantage of the
winds from the U.S. that easterly in direction of Europe blew/Became the first
balloon to cross the Atlantic powered only by the prevailing winds/To land near
Paris 137 hours after their journey from Prescott, Maine would begin.
4. On
this day in 1969 just before midnight Hurricane Camille came ashore/As a CAT 5
it was one of the 4/To hit the U.S. and the second strongest after the Labor
Day Hurricane of 1935/With recorded sustained winds at 175/Causing massive
flooding and $1.43 billion in damages and leaving 259 bodies that did not their
encounter with it survive/as a CAT 5 Hurricane she was aptly named/ “Perfect” as
a killing and destructive storm she could not be restrained.
5. On
this day in 1962, 18 year old Peter Fechter and his friend Helmut
Kulbeik tried to escape into West Berlin/To jump from a window onto the “death
strip” and climb a 2 meter wall topped with barbed wire and they would be
in/Helmet made it but Peter was shot without warning in the hip/And fell back into
the “death strip”/The East German guards watched him slowly for an hour bleed
out/Scornful of the West Berliners loud and angry shouts/7 years after German
reunification and 35 years after Fecher had died/2 East German guards Rolf
Friedrich and Erich Schreiber on the charge of manslaughter were tried/Convicted
of manslaughter but sentenced to no prison time/Only 20 and 21 months
respectively of probation for their crimes.
Famous Quote on Clinton/Lewinsky Scandal
by E. James Lieberman, Washington psychiatrist: “It reminds me of the Titanic.
Lots of power. Big. Sexy. Thinks he's invulnerable, like the builders of the
ship. And here is this 21-year-old iceberg.”
© August
17, 2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
Poems on Events of the Day
Unique Commissioned Poems for Special Events
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