April 22, 2020 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Earth Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 22, 2020 On the CV front although the number of new cases in the U.S. dropped 34% from yesterday a day of wins does not a war win as bowing to pressure Tyson shut down a hog processing plant in Iowa that produces 4% of the nation’s pork and will be testing all of its 2200 employees; so;aclosds As the U.S. starts creeping toward a reopening of its economy with growing protests across the nation over lock downs, the CV pandemic across the planet continues with some evidence it is slowing down with   59,043 new cases (6.41% decrease in new cases)  increasing the total to 2,614,803 cases, 1,718,017 of which  are active, 896,786 of which have been closed with 714,319 recoveries (79.65% .1% increase in recoveries) and 182,467 deaths (20.35%); in the U.S. which has the dubious distinction of leading the world, new cases of 12,342 (34% decrease in new cases) have brought total cases to 831,086  with 701,375  active cases and 129,711 closures, 46,249 of which have been deaths (35.66% up from yesterday’s (35.13%) and 83,462  of which  have been recoveries (64.34% down from yesterdays 64.87%),  while total testing has ramped up to 4,275,802,  an increase of 142,904  over yesterday; the House is moving toward voting on the massive new stimulus bill approved by the Senate and McConnell is suggesting a pause on federal aid and an amendment to the Bankruptcy Code to let states declare bankruptcy to possible looming deficits (suggestion to Newsom why not start cutting back spending by terminating aid to illegal aliens and doing deals like the $1 billion Maskgate, the contract for which with the Chinese company you refuse to divulge to the public?); Trump has issued an executive order freezing legal immigration for 60 days to prevent companies from hiring legal immigrants for jobs that out of work Americans could do (like the Pavlovian dog, she is Pelosi immediately slammed the order as a “distraction;” Witless Whitmer having been previous caught awarding a CV related CV tracking program to a data collection arm considered by many to be a front for Blues and having had to rescind it as finally done something smart—taking a 10% cut in her $159,000 salary and urging her staff to take a 5% cut (small step in right direction but if Blues hound that we are all in this pandemic together, much greater pay cuts to politicians especially since many recently unemployed have crashed state unemployment offices and have yet to receive any unemployment compensation); Chris Cuomo who broadcast his supposed emergence from quarantine in his basement may have aped Brian Williams’ infamous under fire lie in Iraq moment when we find on Easter in violation of his quarantine he had a public altercation with a bicyclist far from his home; in Chicago, as of April 21, 2020, 718 shootings of whom 136 have died (so much for the effectiveness of Chicago’s stay at home order); Baltimore with a fraction of Chicago’s population and hoping against all hopes that 2020 will not be a record in terms of deaths remains at 52 behind Chicago with 84 murders (when will Chicago and Baltimore get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of people of color by people of color and when will the left focus on the problem of color on color shootings in Blue run cities which have been more deadly and more numerous than random mass shootings?).

       As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a musical video link to Sinnead O’Connor, the fact that you appreciate orchidaceous people, and a quote by Kevin Tillman on the dedication of Pat Tillman’s statute at Sun Devil Stadium, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, 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.

1. Earth Day—created by UNESCO in 1970 and first celebrated on this day in 1970 to promote and support environmental protection for the planet and now celebrated in most nations of the world.

2. Admin Day—celebrating and honoring the work and contributions of secretaries, receptionists, administrative assistants, and other administrative support professionals even as voice mail and voice recognition software and the computer reduce the ranks of receptionists and secretaries.

3. 1990 Number One Song— the number 1 song in 1990 on this day on a run of 4 weeks in the position was “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinnead O’Connor. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-EF60neguk. This Irish singing Coleen has been married four times to males and has 4 children but admits to be being a lesbian and converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada' Sadaqat and still performs.

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day which is a quasi big word in honor of the observance is “orchidaceous” which means exceptionally beautiful which even though Vanity Fair believes she does not merit its cover describes Melania Trump to a tee.

5. Wealth Creates Chance to Die Out of Bed—celebrating the birth on this day in 1944 of Steven Fausset who made millions in the securities business renting space on Wall Street and clearing transactions but is better known for his records and adventures in balloons, sailboats, gliders, and powered aircraft. He was an aviator of exceptional breadth of experience and became the first person to achieve a solo balloon flight around the world (finally succeeding on his sixth attempt and in 2002, became the first person to complete an uninterrupted and unrefueled solo circumnavigation of the world in any kind of aircraft. His luck ran out doing what he loved to do-in a light aircraft on September 3, 2007 and not returning; his death was confirmed when a hiker on September 28, 2008 discovered his identification card which led to a discovery of the plane’s wreckage and his bone fragments.

 On this day in:               

 a. 1977 the world got smaller and more connected when optical fiber was first used to transmit live telephone messages.

 b. 1983 the German magazine Stern claimed that the “Hitler Diaries” had been discovered in East Germany, a claim that was subsequently proven to be a hozax.

 c. 2004 Pat Tillman, a player for the Arizona Cardinals who had turned down a new contract for $3.6 million over 3 years and enlisted to become a U.S. Army Ranger in 2002, was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.

 https://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/search?q=pat+tillman for a fitting poetic tribute to a very brave American.

 d. 2008 the Air Force retired the last F-117, the first stealth aircraft, in service.

 e. 2016 the Paris Agreement relating to climate change mediation goals was signed; in June 2017 President Trump indicated the U.S. intended to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and will be able to do so on November 4, 2020, 1 day after the election.

Reflections on Pat Tillman: “Pat spent his whole life trying to be him the best possible person he can possibly be. He didn’t focus on money, he didn’t focus on fame, he didn’t focus on a pretty statue. It was ‘How do I make myself the best person’ in all these different facets of his life, and ASU gave him that opportunity to do that.” Kevin Tillman on the dedication of the Pat Tillman statute at Sun Devil Stadium at ASU.

        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.             

© April 22, 2020 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

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Statute To Honor Pat Tillman San Devil Stadium

Safety

There was a man, who played safety for a professional team,

He not only tackled, he hit so hard, milk would be separated from cream.

He was paid millions to play his boyhood game in packed stands,

Buffeted by the waves of sound from cheers and clapped hands.

Too small for college, too slow for the NFL, but very, very intense,

Never would you say this man held back or stood upon the fence

Pac-10 defensive player of the year, football was his desire path.

225 men ahead, in a world of speed and strength, would intensity take hold and graft?

Franchise record for tackles, always at full, unchecked speed,

Never one to follow, always, by example, lead.

Bright as well as intense, but more so loyal to his most inner core.

Even when the Rams offered his salary times 16, he shook his head and closed the door.

9/11 shook the nation, filled with grief, resolve and a desire to resist;

But only this safety walked away from 3.8 million and as a Ranger did enlist.

Not since Rocky Bleier risked his life and limb in Vietnam,

Has an NFL player for country put himself at risk of harm.

But his nation was in a war of shadows and enemies of the night,

Sworn to bring to her knees this nation of thousands of shining lights.

A safety who could today be safe waiting for training camp to dawn,

Lies dead in Afghanistan waiting for transport to an eternal, tranquil Arlington lawn.

Freedom is never free, never has been, never, ever will.

Pat Tillman, a safety, joined the countless others who willingly paid the ultimate bill.

As we enjoy our comfort and safety, please stop for a moment, pause and reflect,

Pray for the soul of Pat Tillman, who left safety, and died picking up our check.

May this statute of Pat at Sun Devil Stadium remind us to never, ever forget

The sacrifices of those putting nation before fortune and to whom we owe a great debt

Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

©April 24, 2004

ESPN Blasted By Pat Tillman's Mom For Award of the ESPY Award To Prince Harry

 

Pat Tillman must be in disbelief rolling in his grave
Thinking that ESPN wanting to grant an award named after him must be depraved
Tilman walked away from millions from the NFL to in the Rangers enlist
Committed to with the same energy on a football field the enemies of this nation resist
His career as a Ranger in Afghanistan came to a deadly friendly fire end
And an all too typical of the Army’s cover your ass trend
Engaged in a coverup on his death’s friendly fire cause
Which failed and in dishonoring his death was flawed
A statue honoring him in front of the Cardinal’s Stadium stands
A petition to have the NFL retire his number has been started by his fans
ESPN has created the ESPY Award honoring his service and connection to sports which bears his name
This year’s winner is Prince Harry for his service of 10 years and contributions to the Invictus Games
Tilman’s mother while not denigrating the Prince’s service or contribution to sports
Rightfully believes the Tillman Foundation’s award selection comes up short
Harry’s first term was assigning air strike targets from the safety of a desk looking at a computer screen
His second as an Apache pilot in support of troops on the ground, fast and nimble and hard to hit or be seen
Harry, as a Royal, probably dangerous missions would rarely get
And by not receiving the award one prays Tilman’s service and sacrifice Americans will not forget

© 7/1/2024 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet

 

Ridley's Believe It Or Not November 6 History Safety Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—November 6, 2014: Finally the voters have spoken and one can only hope the gridlock in Washington will come to an end. As always hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a quote from Nelson Mandela, with a smile on your sunscreened face, enjoying a great sandwich, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event or the coming Christmas, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient.

      1. International Day for Prevention of Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict—observed by the U.N. and W.H.O.

      2. Safety Day—commemorating the birthday on this day in 1976 of Pat Tillman, free safety for the Arizona Cardinals who quit professional football to enlist in the U.S. Army and was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.

    3. March Madness—celebrating not the NCAA basketball tournament in March, but rather the birthday of the iconic composer of marches—John Philip Sousa on this day in 1852.

      4. Basketball Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1861 of John Naismith, the inventor of the game of basketball.  

      5. National Nachos Day—celebrating a great snack; perfect treat  when you have people over to watch a football game during the weekend. 

On this day in

      a. 1869 in the first intercollegiate football game, Rutgers defeated Princeton 6-4.

       b. 1947 Meet the Press made its debut.

       c. 1962 the U.N. passed a resolution condemning the apartheid policies of South Africa calling upon all nations to severe economic relations with the country.                                  

Reflections on apartheid:”During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Nelson Mandela
- 20 April 1964. Rivonia trial

Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join almost 150 growing followers and please 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. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest.

www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not  Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times

© November 6, 2014 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

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May 17, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Hypertension Day

 Ridley’s Believe It Or Not May 17, 2021

        CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues the new year with cases now over  163 million at 164,256,136 cases (163,583,358 yesterday), 17,878,458 of which are active, 146,377,678 closed with 142,973,955 recoveries (97.67% and 97.67% yesterday ,and 3,403,723 deaths (2.33% and 2.33 % yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises.
       CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 33 million at 33,745,541 (33,701,226 yesterday) with 5,949,355 active cases of which 7,849 (7,999) yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now down to .13% of active cases and now another blip down to decrease the number of serious or critical cases to increase the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 21,422), 27,796,186 closed, with 600,515 deaths (2.16% and 2.17% yesterday) and with 27,195,671 recoveries (97.84% and 97.83% yesterday). Our death rate percentage continues to slowly improve and after many months is now .17% lower than the world rate.
         Standing: On a deaths per million population measurement on a steady climb to 1805 the U.S. ranks behind Hungary the new number 1 which has had a huge continuing surge in deaths with the increase barely slowing down and 4.42% of its closed cases have died (3031), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2513), Belgium (2124), Italy (2058), Brazil (2043) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us, Peru (1975), Poland (1896) and the UK (1872) which had passed us despite leading world in testing and now has new deaths barely increasing),  and slightly better than Spain (1698), Mexico (1694), Portugal (1672), France (1649), Argentina (1559), Romania (1546),  Chile (1450), Sweden (1406) that never closed its economy down like we did but has recently been experiencing a steady rise in  deaths,   Switzerland (1234), and Bolivia (1144).
        Tests: We have now conducted 467,023,949 tests (now at 1,403,733/M) compared to number 2 now France at 1,249,144/M) as we are conducting more tests in number and on a per capital basis for all nations (other than those nations that contain small populations like Bahrain, Denmark, Israel, Malta, Singapore and UAE) other than the U.K. which remains as king of the mountain with respect to tests at 2,495,025/M.
         CV Open Gate: Lost in the pronouncements by Biden and his lackeys that there is no crisis of illegals surging across the border is that fact that COVID-19 is alive and well and spreading in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has moved up to 11^th on my list of deaths from the pandemic at 1694/M and the 3 countries in the Northern Triangle in terms of active cases and deaths per million are as follows even though the data may be suspect as underreported (regardless of number we need no more cases):

                   Guatemala:  Activecases:     11,586     434Deaths/M
                   Honduras:     Activecases:   138,157     594Deaths/M
                   El Salvador:   Active cases:     2,385     336 Deaths/M   

       US Vaccinations: As of 5/17/2021 272.9 million doses and finally after one day of a small increase a significant drop to 1.62 million per day in the last week sounds impressive but if the rate does not increase it will take us now back to some 4 months to have 75% of the population vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity. In California 35,114,892 total doses have been given (79.4% of doses received to equal the U.S. average of 79.4%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has not moved from 27^th out of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 38.4% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 37.1% has  moved  down from 23^rd tied with Alaska to 24^th among the 50 states.  A long way to go to get herd immunity in terms of getting vaccines received into arms and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to other states which means a great reason to recall this inept and hypocritical governor.
        Non  CV News: The debilitating virus of Wokeness appears to be spreading in the last bastion of our society that most people still trust as Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier has been relieved of his Space Force Command for writing a article condemning critical race theory and Marxism (the left idiots don’t understand the being PC or woke is counterproductive to deter aggression and defeat it if you can’t deter it; most of us believe that every member of the House has be vaccinated and protected against the viral spread but Pelosi rejecting the science of the CDC is keeping remote voting in the House till July 3^rd  instead; Witless Whitmer caught lying on her charted trip to Florida is facing more flack when we now find that the chartered plane was not licensed to passengers to fly ( this pathetic excuse for a governor adheres to the rule that laws are for you and I can as governor defy); Blue Governor Wolf of Pennsylvania had to post that June 19^th which the polices unions in Pennsylvania support was to be observed because of the racism of shooting blacks by the police (no wonder the unions whose members put their lives on the line to protect all races were outraged); while Blue Governors adhere to the mantra of shut down the economy to prevent CV spread, Texas has just report a day when no one from COVID-19 ended up dead; in an all too familiar story, to Maryland Police officers trying to serve a warrant in Charles County were shot but managed to leave the residence where the shooter was found dead from either a  self-inflicted gunshot or by a police bullet; in the armed struggle between Hamas and Israel, over 3,100 rockets have been fired into Israel with Israel responding with massive air strikes against the homes of Hamas commanders and miles of underground tunnels; the Blue mayor of Del Rio, Texas is blasting Biden and his Blues for the chaos of an open border, so bad that illegals storming the border, cut the fence around a school causing it to be shut down.
          A petition has been signed by 1500 people and growing to have the NFL retire the jersey number of Pat Tillman of the Arizona Cardinals who volunteered as a Ranger after the attacks on this country and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004; leave it to the political cartoonist to follow the money unfortunately from Obama/Biden to Iran to Hamas to the rockets that are in a deadly swarm being shot into Israel:                                                    

         Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is back to show that through May 14, 2021,  gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 1236 persons shot of whom 212 have died.
         As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a video musical link to “Always Be My Baby“ by Mariah Carey, the fact that you are able to avoid retromorphosis  and a quote from Dan Siegel after meeting with SLA members Bill and Emily Harris in 1975 to discuss their possible surrender and book deal, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, 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. Please contact me for details on the pricing.

          1. World Hypertension Day— created by World Hypertension League on May 14, 2005 and celebrated thereafter on May 16, 2016 and celebrated since then on May 17, 2006 to promote awareness of what many have called “the Silent Killer and the need to monitor one’s blood pressure with a diet and appropriate exercise.

2. Stepmother’s Day—created in 2000 by 9 year old Lizzie Capuzzi to honor her stepmother Joyce and who sent a letter to Senator Santorum indicating stepmothers should be honored which the Senator placed in the Congressional Record. Being a stepmother is a difficult position to step into and those children who have been blessed with loving and caring ones are very lucky indeed.
         3.  1996 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1996 was “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey on a run of 2weeks non continuous in that position to join 8 other songs reaching number 1 while 8 acts achieved their first number 1 song. Here is a video recording by Mariah Carey of ”Always Be My Baby”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfRNRymrv9k Mariah with her 5 octave range singing voice to go with her estimated over $500 million net worth is known as the “Songbird Supreme” and is going strong at the young age of 52.
         4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “retromorphosis” which means a change for the worse which many conservatives believe where the Progressives like The Squad want to take this nation.
         5.  Drugs Make It Hard to Surface—celebrating the birth on this day in 1955 of David Townsend, noted musician and guitarist for the band Surface who had great success from 1989-91 and disbanded in 1994 to reform again in 1999 to release their 5^th studio album Love Zone and were planning a reunion tour which was cancelled since Townsend died from a drug overdose on October 26, 2005.
         On this day in
         a. 1974 400 officers of the LAPD and other federal and state agencies surrounded a house located at 1466 East 54th Street, Los Angeles that was occupied by 6 members of the Symbionese Liberation Army and engaged in a massive shootout with them for over 2 hours with the police firing 5,000 rounds and the SLA members shooting 4,000 before 2 SLA members were shot and killed and the 4 others succumbed to the fires that finally started from the numerous cannisters of tear gas lobbed into the house.
         b. 1983 in response to a FOIA request filed by the Appalachian Observer, the Department of Energy released classified documents detailing the largest mercury contamination event ultimately revealed to be 4.2 million pounds at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
        c. 1990 the General Assembly of the World Health Organization eliminated homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
        d. 1995 Shawn Nelson, an Army veteran, stole a M60 Patton tank, fortunately with no ordinance aboard, from the California National Guard Armory in San Diego, to go on a televised rampage, knocking down utility poles and fire hydrants and crushing 40 parked vehicles before getting stuck on a highway median and losing a track which enabled a California Highway Patrolman who was also in the Marine Corps Reserve to climb up on the turret and cut the bolts holding the hatch closed with bolt cutters and shoot Nelson to death when he would not stop trying to move the tank and refused to climb out and surrender.
        e. 2006 the USS Oriskany, one of the few Essex Class aircraft carriers completed after World War II, after serving in the Korean War and Vietnam War and decommissioned on September 30, 1976 and on this day was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida landing upright in waters shallow enough to not be a hazard to navigation but accessible to recreational divers to create an artificial reef.

       Reflections on the Symbionese Liberation Army: “They were incredibly naive and simplistic. They had an attitude or view of the world that reminded me of people who didn’t read the newspapers or hadn’t any sense of history. They actually believed that by carrying out these so-called revolutionary activities they were going to draw great support from a majority of the working class and poor people.” Dan Siegel, an active former activist while at Berkeley, after a 1975 meeting with Bill and Emily Harris, 2 SLA members, to discuss negotiating their surrender and possible book deal.
       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.

© May 17, 2021 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire, Beyond Compare
A Unique Gift, All Recipients a Lasting Gift

May 17, 2021 Ridley's Believe It Or Not World Hypertension Day

 

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not May 17, 2021
        CV World Cases: The CV pandemic across the planet continues the new year with cases now over  163 million at 164,256,136 cases (163,583,358 yesterday), 17,878,458 of which are active, 146,377,678 closed with 142,973,955 recoveries (97.67% and 97.67% yesterday ,and 3,403,723 deaths (2.33% and 2.33 % yesterday) to continue the slow trend of increased cases with increased recovery percentages and decreased death percentage with some plateaus, dips, and rises.
       CV USA Cases: Total cases now over 33 million at 33,745,541 (33,701,226 yesterday) with 5,949,355 active cases of which 7,849 (7,999) yesterday and 8,599 on 3/25/2021) (now down to .13% of active cases and now another blip down to decrease the number of serious or critical cases to increase the reduction from the 29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 21,422), 27,796,186 closed, with 600,515 deaths (2.16% and 2.17% yesterday) and with 27,195,671 recoveries (97.84% and 97.83% yesterday). Our death rate percentage continues to slowly improve and after many months is now .17% lower than the world rate.
         Standing: On a deaths per million population measurement on a steady climb to 1805 the U.S. ranks behind Hungary the new number 1 which has had a huge continuing surge in deaths with the increase barely slowing down and 4.42% of its closed cases have died (3031), aping Hungary in terms of increase in deaths Bulgaria (2513), Belgium (2124), Italy (2058), Brazil (2043) which has been hit with a rapid rise in deaths and cases and passed us, Peru (1975), Poland (1896) and the UK (1872) which had passed us despite leading world in testing and now has new deaths barely increasing),  and slightly better than Spain (1698), Mexico (1694), Portugal (1672), France (1649), Argentina (1559), Romania (1546),  Chile (1450), Sweden (1406) that never closed its economy down like we did but has recently been experiencing a steady rise in  deaths,   Switzerland (1234), and Bolivia (1144).
        Tests: We have now conducted 467,023,949 tests (now at 1,403,733/M) compared to number 2 now France at 1,249,144/M) as we are conducting more tests in number and on a per capital basis for all nations (other than those nations that contain small populations like Bahrain, Denmark, Israel, Malta, Singapore and UAE) other than the U.K. which remains as king of the mountain with respect to tests at 2,495,025/M.
         CV Open Gate: Lost in the pronouncements by Biden and his lackeys that there is no crisis of illegals surging across the border is that fact that COVID-19 is alive and well and spreading in the Northern Triangle and Mexico which has moved up to 11^th on my list of deaths from the pandemic at 1694/M and the 3 countries in the Northern Triangle in terms of active cases and deaths per million are as follows even though the data may be suspect as underreported (regardless of number we need no more cases):

                   Guatemala:  Activecases:     11,586     434Deaths/M
                   Honduras:     Activecases:   138,157     594Deaths/M
                   El Salvador:   Active cases:     2,385     336 Deaths/M   

       US Vaccinations: As of 5/17/2021 272.9 million doses and finally after one day of a small increase a significant drop to 1.62 million per day in the last week sounds impressive but if the rate does not increase it will take us now back to some 4 months to have 75% of the population vaccinated which many believe is necessary to develop herd immunity. In California 35,114,892 total doses have been given (79.4% of doses received to equal the U.S. average of 79.4%), but even with the pressure of a recall to be scheduled this fall which hopefully end Newsom’s term, California has not moved from 27^th out of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 38.4% of its population fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 37.1% has  moved  down from 23^rd tied with Alaska to 24^th among the 50 states.  A long way to go to get herd immunity in terms of getting vaccines received into arms and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to other states which means a great reason to recall this inept and hypocritical governor.
        Non  CV News: The debilitating virus of Wokeness appears to be spreading in the last bastion of our society that most people still trust as Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier has been relieved of his Space Force Command for writing a article condemning critical race theory and Marxism (the left idiots don’t understand the being PC or woke is counterproductive to deter aggression and defeat it if you can’t deter it; most of us believe that every member of the House has be vaccinated and protected against the viral spread but Pelosi rejecting the science of the CDC is keeping remote voting in the House till July 3^rd  instead; Witless Whitmer caught lying on her charted trip to Florida is facing more flack when we now find that the chartered plane was not licensed to passengers to fly ( this pathetic excuse for a governor adheres to the rule that laws are for you and I can as governor defy); Blue Governor Wolf of Pennsylvania had to post that June 19^th which the polices unions in Pennsylvania support was to be observed because of the racism of shooting blacks by the police (no wonder the unions whose members put their lives on the line to protect all races were outraged); while Blue Governors adhere to the mantra of shut down the economy to prevent CV spread, Texas has just report a day when no one from COVID-19 ended up dead; in an all too familiar story, to Maryland Police officers trying to serve a warrant in Charles County were shot but managed to leave the residence where the shooter was found dead from either a  self-inflicted gunshot or by a police bullet; in the armed struggle between Hamas and Israel, over 3,100 rockets have been fired into Israel with Israel responding with massive air strikes against the homes of Hamas commanders and miles of underground tunnels; the Blue mayor of Del Rio, Texas is blasting Biden and his Blues for the chaos of an open border, so bad that illegals storming the border, cut the fence around a school causing it to be shut down.
          A petition has been signed by 1500 people and growing to have the NFL retire the jersey number of Pat Tillman of the Arizona Cardinals who volunteered as a Ranger after the attacks on this country and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004; leave it to the political cartoonist to follow the money unfortunately from Obama/Biden to Iran to Hamas to the rockets that are in a deadly swarm being shot into Israel:                                                    

         Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is back to show that through May 14, 2021,  gun violence involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago is alive and well with 1236 persons shot of whom 212 have died.
         As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest for this day in history, a video musical link to “Always Be My Baby“ by Mariah Carey, the fact that you are able to avoid retromorphosis  and a quote from Dan Siegel after meeting with SLA members Bill and Emily Harris in 1975 to discuss their possible surrender and book deal, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift for any memorable events like Father’s Day, 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. Please contact me for details on the pricing.

          1. World Hypertension Day— created by World Hypertension League on May 14, 2005 and celebrated thereafter on May 16, 2016 and celebrated since then on May 17, 2006 to promote awareness of what many have called “the Silent Killer and the need to monitor one’s blood pressure with a diet and appropriate exercise.

2. Stepmother’s Day—created in 2000 by 9 year old Lizzie Capuzzi to honor her stepmother Joyce and who sent a letter to Senator Santorum indicating stepmothers should be honored which the Senator placed in the Congressional Record. Being a stepmother is a difficult position to step into and those children who have been blessed with loving and caring ones are very lucky indeed.
         3.  1996 Number 1 Song USA—the number 1 song in 1996 was “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey on a run of 2weeks non continuous in that position to join 8 other songs reaching number 1 while 8 acts achieved their first number 1 song. Here is a video recording by Mariah Carey of ”Always Be My Baby”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfRNRymrv9k Mariah with her 5 octave range singing voice to go with her estimated over $500 million net worth is known as the “Songbird Supreme” and is going strong at the young age of 52.
         4.  Word of the Day—the word of the day is “retromorphosis” which means a change for the worse which many conservatives believe where the Progressives like The Squad want to take this nation.
         5.  Drugs Make It Hard to Surface—celebrating the birth on this day in 1955 of David Townsend, noted musician and guitarist for the band Surface who had great success from 1989-91 and disbanded in 1994 to reform again in 1999 to release their 5^th studio album Love Zone and were planning a reunion tour which was cancelled since Townsend died from a drug overdose on October 26, 2005.
         On this day in
         a. 1974 400 officers of the LAPD and other federal and state agencies surrounded a house located at 1466 East 54th Street, Los Angeles that was occupied by 6 members of the Symbionese Liberation Army and engaged in a massive shootout with them for over 2 hours with the police firing 5,000 rounds and the SLA members shooting 4,000 before 2 SLA members were shot and killed and the 4 others succumbed to the fires that finally started from the numerous cannisters of tear gas lobbed into the house.
         b. 1983 in response to a FOIA request filed by the Appalachian Observer, the Department of Energy released classified documents detailing the largest mercury contamination event ultimately revealed to be 4.2 million pounds at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
        c. 1990 the General Assembly of the World Health Organization eliminated homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
        d. 1995 Shawn Nelson, an Army veteran, stole a M60 Patton tank, fortunately with no ordinance aboard, from the California National Guard Armory in San Diego, to go on a televised rampage, knocking down utility poles and fire hydrants and crushing 40 parked vehicles before getting stuck on a highway median and losing a track which enabled a California Highway Patrolman who was also in the Marine Corps Reserve to climb up on the turret and cut the bolts holding the hatch closed with bolt cutters and shoot Nelson to death when he would not stop trying to move the tank and refused to climb out and surrender.
        e. 2006 the USS Oriskany, one of the few Essex Class aircraft carriers completed after World War II, after serving in the Korean War and Vietnam War and decommissioned on September 30, 1976 and on this day was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida landing upright in waters shallow enough to not be a hazard to navigation but accessible to recreational divers to create an artificial reef.

       Reflections on the Symbionese Liberation Army: “They were incredibly naive and simplistic. They had an attitude or view of the world that reminded me of people who didn’t read the newspapers or hadn’t any sense of history. They actually believed that by carrying out these so-called revolutionary activities they were going to draw great support from a majority of the working class and poor people.” Dan Siegel, an active former activist while at Berkeley, after a 1975 meeting with Bill and Emily Harris, 2 SLA members, to discuss negotiating their surrender and possible book deal.
       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.

© May 17, 2021 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
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