Saturday, October 21, 2023

October 20, 2023 Ridley's Believe It Or Not

 

                Finally some good news on the American hostage front as it has been confirmed the Judith and Natalie Raanan, who originally were taken by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the  armed wing of Hamas, from the Nahal Oz kibbutz in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip for humanitarian reasons and to show the Hamas is not the blood thirsty barbarians portrayed by Biden. Qatari was supposedly engaged in arranging the release and no information available on what amounts if any of money were paid. But before we pop the corks, 11 Americans are still unaccounted for and some 200 Israelis are being held as hostages.
            On additional moneys needed on the numerous chaoses we face on multiple fronts, the $106 billion requested by Biden is allocated: (1) $61.4 billion in additional aid for Ukraine; $14.3 billion for additional aid for Israel, $10.6 billion of which is military aid; (2) $13.6 billion for border protection, including $1.2 billion to counter fentanyl, to pay for 1,300 new CBP agents, 1,600 asylum offices and 375 immigration judge teams; (3) $7.4 billion for countering China including $2 billion for the World Bank to counter PRC financing in developing countries; and (4) $9 billion for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza (which hopefully like past humanitarian aid will not line the pockets of Hamas to obtain more weapons and build more fortified tunnels.
             On the dysfunctional Red Speakerless front, a third vote was held by the Reds giving Jordan even fewer votes to drop him out of consideration and the move to give the interim speaker McHenry more powers seems to be in a quagmire. With Jordan now removed from the race at least 8 Reds have tossed their hat into the ring to present at a candidates’ forum on Monday with a first round of voting scheduled on Tuesday. Gaetz whose idiotic motion to remove McCarthy without having an acceptable candidate to replace him has the chutzpah to blame the House for voting down Jordan as the finger of blame for any damage to the Republican 2024 election chances should be pointed directly at Matt Gaetz who should face a primary challenge.
           On the Gaza Hospital attack front, very refreshing to see Rep Ted Lieu blast the NYT for its jump the gun reporting on the Gaza Hospital Attack when the rocket in question causing damage came from Hamas. Oblivious to such criticism the NYT has rehired Palestinian freelancer Soliman Hijjy who contributed to the erroneous Gaza H hospital story and once effusively praised Hitler for the Holocaust.
            On the remote hiring front, Amazon has warned its employees that if they are not in the office working at least 3 days a week, as opposed to working remotely, they will be subject to dismissal.
             On Black Lives Matter front, where supporters of the BLM attacked those promoting the idea that “all lives matter” ridiculed such an idea since it failed to prioritize the need to end oppression of blacks, Squad member Summer Lee in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza is now touting that “all lives matter” (could it be that she is making the call because Palestinians are not white?)
              Divorce is too often a painful process both financially, physically and emotionally especially where custody of children and support are involved and too often it is fraught with danger to the parties, lawyers and, as we just found, judges as Maryland Washington County Circuit Court Assistant Judge Andrew Wilkinson was gunned down outside his home after earlier awarding custody of a child to a woman involved in Pedro Argote’s divorce case, who is a person of interest believed to be armed and dangerous.
            On the Ivy League’s Antisemitism and Pro Hamas front, an Associate Professor at Cornell praised the Hamas attacks as exhilarating prompting a law school there to call for an independent commission to investigate the extent of antisemitism on campus and at Harvard where 31 student groups signed a letter blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks which will have an immediate pocket book effect on Harvard as wealthy donors will refuse to send money to the university and do not be surprised if offers to graduating seniors who signed letter of protest against Israel are withdrawn.
              October 20, 2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet 
            Noted Holidays: National Chicken and Waffles Day created on this day in 2021 by Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles which was founded here in Long Beach by Herb Watson after moving here from Harlem; the serving of chicken and waffles is a mainstay of both Pennsylvania Dutch and American Soul Food. If you are up for the combo of waffles and crispy fried chicken there are 7 outlets in Southern California,, including 3 in Orange County before she passed.
             Word of the Day: The word of the day as we continue with words starting with “b” is  “bathophobia” which does not mean what a person on a heavy dose of opioids should fear but rather a fear of falling from high places.
             Song of the Day: The number 1 song on this day in 1958 was “It’s All in the Game” by Tommy Edwards on a  run of 7 weeks to share number 1 status with 13  other songs achieving number 1 ranking. Here is a recording of Tommy Edwards performing “It’s All in the Game”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtizr2G_7Bk
                 October 20 Birthdays: “Where’s Waldo, Where’s the Czar”: Celebrating or bemoaning depending on your political affiliation the birth on this day in 1964 of Kamala Harris in Oakland to after dropping out of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary race before the first primary due to cellar like approval rankings to become Biden’s pick for VP and become the first female VP, one heartbeat or stroke away from the oldest living president. Ridiculed for being appointed the border czar who has been according to most critics a total MIA.
                October 20 Historical Events in Rhyme
              1.      On this day in 2011 Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was trying to from Sirte flee/His convoy was attacked by NATO planes and into a village survivors sought safety/Rebel forces outgunned the survivors and soon had Gaddafi in their hands/In a few moments he was lying dead face down in the sand.
              2.      On this day in 1991 after fire fighters against a brush fire on the night of the 19th thought they had won/Near noon, hot spot flared up and the Great Oakland Hills firestorm had begun/With winds blowing the flames at 65+ miler s per hour/Flames knocking out 17 pumping stations’ power/Rendering firefighters with water now lacking to fight the wind-blown flames/In the afternoon the winds were tamed/Finally in the came to a halt/The fires could no longer over streets and structures vault/ After 72 hours the firefighters for good were able to the fires end/ but not before 2843 homes and 453 multifamily units were destroyed and for medical care 150 and 25 to the morgues send.
              3.      On this day in 1973 with the impeachment walls coming nearer his way /President Nixon fired the top 2 leaders of the DOJ/For their failure to fire the Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox/Causing Solicitor General Richard Bork to do the job to become to the left forever a pox/Who 14 years later were able to avenge his act/  “Borking” his confirmation of his nomination to SCOTUS by Reagan by a vote of 58-42 a majority lacked.
              4.      On this day on a football field in an Oklahoma A&M game in 1951/ The scourge of Jim Crow was nowhere done/Drake led by African-American QB Johnny Bright, a Heisman Trophy candidate came to play/The Oklahoma A&M players vowed he would be injured that day/Knocked unconscious 3 times by vicious late hits by Wilbanks Smith with the final hit breaking his jaw/Nationally viewed as testimony of the hate toward blacks that was used to justify the Jim Crow laws/A Pulitzer Prize for the photographs of the hit/NCAA amended its rules to make Smith’s acts illegal and to ejection submit.
              5.      On this day in 1947 with the “Red Scare” growing in leaps and bounds/The House Unamerican Activities Committee opened hearings on Communist infiltration in Tinsel Town/Studios created for artists, directors, writers and others in the creation of films  blacklists/Banning from being employed in the business suspected or admitted Communists.
              Quote on the “Johnny Bright Incident” by Johnny Bright: “What I like about the whole deal now, and what I’m smug enough to say, is that getting a broken jaw has somehow made college athletics better. It made the NCAA take a hard look and clean up some things that were bad. The thing has been a great influence on my life. My total philosophy of life now is that, whatever a person’s bias and limitation, they deserve respect. Everyone’s entitled to their own beliefs.”

© October 20, 2023 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com
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