alaskan poet: 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Selfie With A Tiger? Go To Jail

When it comes to regulating behavior the minds of politicians are a fertile field

Common sense becomes a casualty; from the politicians it can no longer us shield

In New York taking a selfie with a tiger or other big feline with claws

Is now at the first of the year against New York law

Anyone who is dumb enough to put a face next to a lion is lacking one too many screws

That is not what any level headed person would do

In New York also if you want to pierce your pet’s ears

It will land you in jail after the first of the year

California shoppers are in for a rude surprise

This summer they will see the plastic bag’s demise

No more spontaneous trip to the market to buy food to open one’s pantry doors

Carry reusables in the car at all times the preferably washed before heading into the store

Two more states and the D.C. join the Purple haze creep

Step by step the War on Drugs is going down to defeat

Just a few examples of the tendency to control and in our lives intrude

No wonder we feel safer when the pols are on a vacation interlude

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2014 Year In Review

Another year finally comes to a close

Father Time is moving as fast as he can to hand over the 2015 show

The newborn year with all the chaos is having second thoughts

So much chaos on the planet wondering what the future will plot

A Winter Olympics to showcase Putin’s Sochi resort

A veneer of peace and harmony which soon in the Crimea and Ukraine would be cut short

Russian troops on the move with an energy stranglehold on the EEC

The old Bear flexing claws against those in the East desiring to be free

Even a civilian airliner was shot out of the sky

While on the ground civilians in large numbers continued to die

From our President more speeches, more golf, some sanctions like minute slaps on the wrist

In a more dangerous world our President still seems to lack the will to the forces of evil resist

Cutting and running in Iraq so ISIS could large junks of Iraq and Syria seize

While beheading the “unfaithful” by this group so ineptly labeled the JVs

More golf, more speeches and some gnat like air strikes

But little heavy weapons for the Kurds that are fighting for their lives

Iran continues on its march to obtain some nukes

Despite universal condemnation and universal rebuke

The war on fossil fuel continues without let up or fade

Although fewer Blues in the fall received a reelection grade

Scandal upon scandal from the VA to the IRS

Finally our President is losing the millennials and the mainstream press

Police shootings of unarmed black males, riots in the streets, shops burned to the ground

What will it take to turn this economic ship of state finally around?

The answers may not be apparent but this nation still possesses a resilient thread

Even as the Chinese economy is surging ahead

If we can somehow put the Feds on a starvation diet of new regs

Our New Yyear babe might prove to have some very strong legs

If our imperial president in his final two years of his term

Of the compromise style of LBJ or Reagan he would try to learn

We might actually find adults in the room as opposed to ideologues

We just might not get mired down in the gridlock bog

Hope springs eternal in the American soul and mind

Let’s hope so as we finally leave 2014 behind.

At least the Cardinal won its bowl game and oil prices are taking a nose dive

In 2015 we might actually prosper as opposed to just trying to survive.

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Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 31 History New Years Eve

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 31, 2014: Trust your resolutions for the New Year are being framed in a fashion that you will be able to achieve and, as always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Dirk Stikker, with a smile on your face, looking forward to ringing in the New Year, 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, 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. New Year’s Eve —celebrating world wide the end of the year with fireworks and unfortunately too many traffic fatalities from celebrants celebrating in excess.

2. First Day of Hogmanay in Scotland—celebrated with excess by the Scots by first footing with gifts and fireball swinging.

3. 1970 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1970 My Sweet Lord by George Harrison.

4. Universal Hour of Peace Day—celebrated since 1995 from 11:30 p.m. on the 31^st to 12:30 a.m. on the 1^st. Sadly, we humans track record for maintaining peaceful thoughts is not a good one but one hour is better than none.

5. National Champagne Day—Hopefully in moderation as you toast in 2015 with a resounding singing of Auld Lang Syne.

On this day in

a. 1907 the first New Year’s Celebration was held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square.

b. 1951 the Marshall Plan ended after distributing over 13 Billion Dollars of aid to rebuild Western Europe.

c. 1983 AT&T and its Bell Telephone companies was broken up by the U.S. Government as an illegal monopoly.

d. 1999 in a dark day for mankind, Boris Yeltsin resigned as the first president of the Russian Federation and was replaced by Vladimir Putin.

e. 1999 in a we built it but cannot keep it moment, the U.S. turned over control of the Panama Canal to Panama.

Reflections on the Marshall Plan: “Churchill's words won the war; Marshall's words won the peace.--Dirk Stikker, Foreign Minister of The Netherlands, 1948-1952

Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 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

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Monday, December 29, 2014

Obama Can't Miss Tee Off Time No Matter What

Certain things are etched in stone

Learned almost from the day we are born

The Sun will rise tomorrow; the tides will come in

The Earth will continue its 24 hour spin

Add to that bit of lore the President must not miss a tee off time

No matter what, no matter the scandal or crisis into the cart he must climb

A couple both captains months in advance were to be married on the 16^th tee

A life as a couple with common dreams now set free

But for this President golf comes first and foremost above even matters of state

This poor couple’s plans of I do would just have to wait

After all when a President who cannot lead hears the tee off call

Mere mortals’ plans to get married just have to be stalled

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Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 29 History Pepper Pot Soup Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 29, 2014: Trust your resolutions for the New Year are being framed in a fashion that you will be able to achieve and, as always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Chief Seattle, with a smile on your face, looking forward to a piping hot bowl of pepper pot soup made the old fashioned way with tripe, 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, 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. Young Man’s Day —commemorating not the hit single by the Village People in 1978 Y.M.C.A. but the founding of the first YMCA facility in America at Boston in 1851.

2. It Was A Good Year Day—celebrating on this day in 1800 the birth of Charles Goodyear, who was issued a patent #3633 for the vulcanization of rubber which ultimately enabled the onset of the automotive age.

3. 1969 Number One Song—celebrating what we in California still really need the number one song on this day in 1969 Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by B.J. Thomas.

4. Pepper Pot Soup Day—celebrating Washington’s and FDR’s favorite soup—perfect for a cold winter day to warm the body and soul.

On this day in

a. 1860 the first ocean going ironclad the HMS Warrior was launched by the Royal Navy.

b. 1890 in another black day for this nation in dealing with its Native Americans soldiers from the Seventh Cavalry killed over 300 men, women and children Sioux at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

c. 1959 physicist Richard Feynman gave a speech “There’s plenty of room at the bottom,” which is regarded by many as the birth of nanotechnology.

d. 1997 Hong Kong began the killing of all of its 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a deadly strain of the flu virus.

e. 1998 in a belated at best moment, the leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologized for the genocide that killed over a million Cambodians.

Reflections on Wounded Knee and genocide and why all of us as human beings regardless of race, color or creed of the victims must rise up and insure with one voice, one act, Never Again: “My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain...There was a time when our people covered the land as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor, but that time long since passed away with the greatness of tribes that are now but a mournful memory.” Chief Seattle, The Chief Seattle’s Speech noted 19^th Century Squamish Indian tribe chief Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 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

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Saturday, December 27, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 27 History National Fruitcake Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 27, 2014: Trust Santa visited your home with gifts that you do not want to take back and not lumps of coal and your heart and soul received the gift of peace. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Marlene Dietrich, with a smile on your face, knowing that after a Christmas feast with friends and family you have the will power to avoid a slice of fruitcake even though it is National Fruitcake Day, 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, 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. Constitution Day —make sure you are sitting down when you read that today celebrates the Constitution of North Korea enacted in 1998 that among other Koreaspeak grants the right of free expression, freedom of religion and a fair trial limited of course by Article 81 which requires citizens to "firmly safeguard the political and ideological unity and solidarity of the people," and Article 82, which requires that citizens observe "the socialist standards of life." What a crock!

2. National Fruitcake Day—celebrating the food often soaked in brandy to preserve it so it can be given back to someone else as opposed to eating it not those mentally challenged.

3. Bombshell Day—celebrating not a new bomb but rather the birthday on this day in 1901 of the original blonde bombshell Marlene Dietrich, born in Germany but who became an American citizen who was a staunch anti-Nazi and who during World War II is reported to have sold more war bonds than any other celebrity and who performed before more than 250,000 troops.

4. 1968 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1968 I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye—another classic.
On this day in
a. 1929 in a reminder moment that Vladimir Putin is an evil person Joseph Stalin as head of the Communist Party ordered the liquidation of the kulaks as a class of people.

b. 1945 the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were created by 29 nations.

c. 1978 Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of Franco’s dictatorship.

d. 2001 China was granted normal trade relations with the United States despite its persistent currency manipulation, theft of traded secrets, price dumping, and infringement of trademarks all designed to create the huge trade deficit we now face.

e. 2004 radiation from the largest extrasolar explosion ever witnessed on this planet from magnetar SGR 1806-20 reached Earth.

Reflections on a better way to conduct one’s self: “Sex. In America an obsession. In other parts of the world a fact.” Marlene Dietrich Maybe that’s why we have so much adultery, pornography and prostitution.

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Friday, December 26, 2014

Merry Christmas Greeting Rage Equals Lost Plane Seating

Talk about taking the spirit of Bah Humbug to new heights

A man with a hair trigger of rage was kicked off an American Airlines flight

Rage arising over delay, a middle seat, no space in the luggage rack, babies screaming in his ear?

Not condoned but at least understood but to receive a greeting for Merry Christmas cheer?

Whatever happened to tolerance and understanding of other creeds?

If a simple “Merry Christmas” touched him off only imagine what a real issue might lead

The passengers’ applause as he was led off the plane perhaps in bad taste

Hopefully, this unnamed Scrooge will not let this learning lesson go to waste

Life on this planet can be full of worry and stress

But rage is an emotion surrounded by strangers one should suppress

Save the anger on a plane for being bookend by two 300 pounders while in a middle seat

On a long flight in coach with the lack of leg room all attempts to find sleep too easy to defeat

While the hyperactive kid keeps pounding your back with his feet

And the man on the left the slop fed into an air bag soon meets

And the man on the right after a night on the town a foul odor secretes

Just when you are ready to descend to the ground a weather delay soon greets

But “Merry Christmas?” Give the rest of us me a break

Put this man on the Do Not Fly List for the other passengers’ safety sake.

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Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 26 History Boxing Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 26, 2014: Trust Santa visited your home with gifts that you do not want to take back and not lumps of coal and your heart and soul received the gift of peace. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Mao Tse Tung, with a smile on your face, knowing that after a Christmas feast with friends and family you have the will power to avoid candy canes even though it is National Candy Cane Day, 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, 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. Boxing Day —celebrated in England and most nations that were former members of the British Commonwealth; it is a day when servants and trades people receive gifts from their employers usually encased in a box that once contained a gift that the employer opened on Christmas Day.

2. DACS Day—celebrating another great American event of retailing ingenuity—the Day After Christmas Sales. I you missed being jostled and pummeled in the malls and frustrated over not finding a parking place after enjoying the peace and tranquility of Christmas with your family and friends, this day is for you.

3. Leap Forward Then Two Leaps Back Day—celebrating not a new rave dance step but rather the birthday on this day in 1893 of Mao Tse Tung, long time leader of the Chinese Communist Party whose 5 year economic plan known as the Great Leap Forward was a disaster and abandoned in 1960.

4. 1967 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1967 Hello Goodbye by the Beatles.

5. National Candy Cane Day—celebrating a means to get rid of all the excess candy canes that were used as tree decorations or stocking stuffers and not consumed.

On this day in

a. 1799 4,000 mourners attended the funeral of George Washington, eulogized as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of Americans.”

b. 1846 the Donner Party trapped in the high snows of the Sierra Nevada mountains started to cannibalize their members who had died, a act of desperation followed many years later when an Argentinean rugby team’s plane crashed into the Andes.

c. 1862 in another black mark on this country’s race relations with its Native American population, 38 Native American were hanged at Mankato, MN, the largest mass hanging in U.S. history. Abraham Lincoln pardoned over 300 Sioux even as there was a clamor not to even though the Republican Party would lose votes in Minnesota, stating, “I could afford to hang men for votes.”

d. 1963 the Beatles released in the U.S. I Want to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There launching Beatlemania on an international level.

e. 1982 for the first time Time’s Man of the Year was a nonhuman, the personal computer.

Reflections on when even leaders with dictatorial powers need to admit they were wrong and not blame the weather: “The chaos caused was on a grand scale, and I take responsibility. Comrades, you must all analyze your own responsibility. If you have to fart, fart. You will feel much better for it." Mao Tse Tung Unfortunately, the ability to take responsibility is a trait our President seems in most cases to lack.

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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 25 History Christmas

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 25, 2014: Trust Santa visited your home with gifts and not lumps of coal and your heart and soul received the gift of peace. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Toni Sorenson, with a smile on your face, knowing that after a Christmas feast with friends and family you saved room for a slice of pumpkin pie, 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, 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. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

1. Christmas —celebrating a day in which all of you I hope under the tree or in the stocking also found the lasting and most valuable gift, the gift of peace to enjoy today and to give and enjoy each and every day in the waning days of this year and in 2015—Merry Christmas.

2. National Pumpkin Pie Day—celebrating a Christmas dinner ending treat.

3. Whistler’s Day—celebrating not that unique ability to make an audio affirmative response to Lauren Bacall’s classic cinematic question but rather the birthday on this day in 1899 of one of the classic icons of all acting Humphrey Bogart, who like far too many smokers died of lung cancer far too early at the age of 57.

4. 1966 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1966 I’m a Believer by the Monkees.

On this day in

a. 336 A.D. the first documented celebration of Christmas in ancient Rome; for the first 300 years following the birth of Christ, even as Christianity spread and grew Christ’s birth was not celebrated and in Rome was overshadowed by the pagan festival of Saturnalia when Romans feasted, exchanged gifts and gave alms to the poor.

b. 1815 the Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest performing arts association in the United States gave its first performance.

c. 1868 as a means to reunite the country President Andrew Johnson the first president to be impeached but not convicted granted amnesty to all Confederate soldiers.

d. 1914 sadly on the Western Front, the Christmas Truce which began on Christmas Eve ended and the dogs of war were once again released with all their maiming and killing fury. The event is memorialized in the cinema and at http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-truce-1914.html

e. 1974 in what has to have been a wakeup call for White House security obviously as 2014 proved not listened to, Marshall Fields dressed in Arab clothing drove his Impala through a White House gate stopping a few feet from the entrance and after four hours of negotiations because he had claimed the presence of explosives surrendered.

Reflections on Christmas gift giving: ““Christmas is about giving from the heart more than giving from the store.” Toni Sorenson noted American author On this brief quote Toni is directly on point to the potential disappointment of retailers who need Christmas to survive.

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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Ridleys Believe It Or Not December 25 History Christmas Eve

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 24, 2014: Trust your gifts are all wrapped and you are enjoying Christmas Eve. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Charles Dickens, with a smile on your face, knowing that this should be the day to enjoy some egg nog, 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, 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. Christmas Eve—celebrating a time when children should be taking No-Doz secretly so they can try to stay awake to see Santa coming down the chimney with their presents—magical time! If a parent cherish it as their beliefs in Santa like a pond in Death Valley will quickly evaporate.

2. National Egg Nog Day—celebrating a great way to sit next to a fire and reflect on one’s gratitudes and blessings.

3. What Gift To Put Under A Sitka Spruce Christmas Tree—if your last name is Hughes, it would be a baby boy Howard Hughes born on this day in 1905 who grew up to be a very wealthy but reclusive man in his later years and sadly ridiculed for building a gigantic wooden float plane nicknamed the “Spruce Goose” which flew once on November 2, 1947 for one mile at an altitude of 70 feet and is now ensconced at an airplane museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

4. 1965 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1965 Over and Over Feel by the Dave Clark Five.

On this day in

a. 1826 the Egg Nog Riot began at the U.S. Military Academy caused by copious amounts of whiskey being smuggled into the Academy and consumed in excess in egg nog.

b. 1865 in a black mark on this nation’s social history and dealings with black Americans, the Klu Klux Klan was formed.

c. 1906 Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first radio broadcast consisting of music and a reading from the Bible.

d. 1914 after four months of slaughter in the trenches in World War I, on Christmas Eve the “Christmas Truce” began with Germans and British soldiers putting down their arms and venturing out into No Man’s Land to exchange gifts, fraternize, and play soccer. Sadly, the truce did not continue past Christmas and on the 26^th the killing and maiming continued. The event is memorialized in the cinema and at http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-truce-1914.html

Reflections on Christmas Eve: “I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” ~Charles Dickens Now more than ever as 2015 is near, words to live by especially in the halls of Congress and the White House not only during Christmas but also during the rest of the each day.

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Christmas Truce 1914

On Christmas Eve we either are frantically searching for last minute gifts or secure in the knowledge that all the gifts needed to be purchased have been and better wrapped and under the tree, enjoying the tranquility of sharing a spiced egg nog with a loved one reflecting on 2014 and looking forward to 2015. One would hope in either case the gift of peace made the cut and is on your list. A 100 years ago on this day in 1914 British and German soldiers started a two day Christmas Truce on sections of the Western Front, walking out into No Man's Land to exchange gifts, fraternize and play soccer. If in the midst of carnage bitter enemies could do that and for two days enjoy the gift of peace, so can we in our daily lives. I wrote this poem in 2001 and posting it for the first time. Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Truce 1914

This year, we strain to hear the silver bells

Over dark waves of misfortune whipped into frenzy by the Martian winds

With wave after wave of passions seeking martyred eternal dates,

How does one find peace?

Maybe, you search not in Macy’s, Target, Wal-Mart or Neiman Marcus

Or the nooks and crannies of each shopping mall or e-com site,

But rather a snow covered field in Flanders

Where Tommy and Fritz on one cold Christmas Eve day

Left the security of a trench

To use their fingers to shake hands,

Not to pull triggers,

To use their voices, not to bark commands,

But to sing softly….

Silent Night, Heil’ge Nacht, Alles schlaft, all is bright,

To exchange gifts instead of shells,

To play soccer instead of the losing game of war,

To score the goal of peace.

If they could, so can we.

Maybe not for a lifetime,

But at least for more than one day

With the lifeboat filled with love, peace, and tolerance,

Rowing easily to the tranquil shore

And the soft refrain…..

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men.

MICHAEL P. RIDLEY aka the Alaskanpoet

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 23 History Festivus

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 23 2014: Trust your Taco Tuesday and Popeyes Fried Chicken $1.29 two piece chicken special (eat more chicken so Foster Farms spends more money on half time entertainment at the Foster Farms Bowl on the 30^th in which the Cardinal is playing) is a great one and you are basking today in the extra minute or so of daylight over the 21st and that you do not have to brace for any more days of battling the crowds in the malls. As always I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from an amazing woman Madam C. J. Walker, with a smile on your face, knowing that this may be the day to try some Pfeffernuesse (if you like it get back to me), 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. You need only contact me for details.

1. Humanist Light—celebrating a secular approach to the future and way of life as opposed to religious and celebrated by humanists since 2001 although not sure if the Humanist children are thrilled by a house devoid of the magic of Santa and the absence of a tree with lights and an abundance hopefully of wrapped gifts under it.

2. Festivus—observing a parody created on this day by an episode of Seinfeld on this day in 1997 objecting to the commercialization of Christmas, now diluted by the tepid “Happy Holidays”. Give and look to receive the gift of peace on the 25^th and go to http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2014/12/alaskanpoets-reflections-on-christmas.html

3. National Pfeffernuesse Day—celebrating what has to be a first for this highly evolved omnivore a snack he has never heard of nor tried but originates from Europe and involves a cookie which has very enticing ingredients including my favorite pepper.

4. 1965 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1965 and my return home from Stanford as a freshman and dancing to Over and Over by the Dave Clark Five.

5. Entrepreneurship Colors Are Green Only—celebrating the accomplishments and birthday on this day in 1867 of a remarkable woman that even back then proves that opportunity in this country exists regardless of race, gender or creed—Madam C. J. Walker, who by founding Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, a leader in hair and skin products for blacks, became the first black female millionaire in this country.

On this day in

a. 1823 another day that will stand in monument to the need for more poets and less lawyers, the most read, recited and parodied poem in American history, The Night Before Christmas was anonymously published. One of these days in the future hopefully people will say the same about Land of the Midnight Sun http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2009/07/land-of-midnight-sun-full-version.html

b. 1947 in the first steps of the electronic revolution the transistor’s properties were demonstrated at Bell Labs.

c. 1968 the captain and its crew of the USS Pueblo illegally seized by the North Koreans in international waters were finally after almost a year of brutal treatment and torture by the North Koreans were released. The feckless response by the U.S. to this act of aggression is worth reading about in Act of War by Brad Cheevers.

d. 1972 in a tribute to the character that rugby, a sport played by this poet, builds, the rugby players who survived a crash in the Andes and were able to survive by eating the dead were rescued due to a ten day hike through the Andes in the winter by two of their teammates to reach help.

Reflections on what it takes to succeed and what it takes to build companies which entrepreneurs build not the federal government and the jobs that, contrary to what Hillary Clinton states, corporations create: “I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground. I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.” Madam C. J. Walker” Is anyone in D.C. listening to voices like this woman? Doubt it!

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Selfie With A Tiger? Go To Jail

2014 Year In Review

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 31 History New Years Eve

Monday, December 29, 2014

Obama Can't Miss Tee Off Time No Matter What

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 29 History Pepper Pot Soup Day

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 27 History National Fruitcake Day

Friday, December 26, 2014

Merry Christmas Greeting Rage Equals Lost Plane Seating

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 26 History Boxing Day

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 25 History Christmas

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Ridleys Believe It Or Not December 25 History Christmas Eve

Christmas Truce 1914

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Ridley's Believe It Or Not December 23 History Festivus

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