December 20, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Eve of Winter Solstice Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 20, 2016 The Fat Lady that really counts sang with gusto as the Electoral College voted to elect Trump with the attempt by the left to flip electors a total disaster with Trump losing two delegates and Clinton five with three more prevented from joining the defection (if HRC and the Blues were not in such a blaming snit, nice symbolism would have been in those states where electors are  not bound to vote according to who won the state to call upon  her electors  to vote for Trump); you have to pity Obama as it seems every time we see a video of him playing golf yet again, in some place in the world like Ankara, Jordan or Berlin, there is a horrific radical Islamist attack, murdering the Russian Ambassador in Turkey, in Berlin killing 12 German shoppers at a Christmas market and injuring 48 with a lorry, ala Nice, France and in Karak, Jordan at a very popular tourist attraction killing 10 people and wounding 34 others before Jordanian security forces killed the 4 members of the Obama designated JV team; in what has to be the ironies of ironies or the hypocrisy of all hypocrisies, President Obama is cautioning President-elect Trump against the overuse of executive orders (a bit of legacy elimination panic on his part?); in yet another example of fraud that is pervasive in federal entitlement programs, the GAO has just conducted another sting of Health.gov revealing continuing failure to follow mandates on verifying information and income levels before enrolling people with false information in the ACA and approving subsidies; President-elect Trump invited billionaire Carlos Slim, the largest investor in The New York Times to his Florida estate for dinner (would have liked to be in that room when the discussion turned to the construction of the wall and the bias of the paper).

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  music links to the New Vaudeville Band, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Gary Zukav, looking forward to enjoying a plate of fried shrimpy, blessed with a positive attitude and the ability to absquatulate from a difficult or embarrassing situation  and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. International Human Solidarity Day—created by the UN General Assembly in 2005 to promote global solidarity with efforts to eradicate poverty, encourage economic development and promote peace, all lofty goals in an age of increasing tension and stress from globalization.

 2. Winter Solstice Eve—celebrating the day most of us sun lovers have been looking forward for most of 2016 since the summer solstice, the eve of the shortest day of the year as after tomorrow the days start getting longer and longer.

3. 1966 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1966 on a run of 3 weeks in that position “Winchester Cathedral” by the New Vaudeville Band.  Here is a recording of a the New Vaudeville performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_RfFmJ5nA

4. National Fried Shrimp Day—celebrating another way to load up on calories when you are enjoying shrimp that have been rolled in batter and then lowered into a pot of boiling cooking oil.  

5. Faster Than a Speeding Bullet—celebrating the birth on this day in 1942 of the second man to win an Olympic Gold Medal and be inducted into the NFL’s Hall of Fame, Bob “Bullet Bob” Hayes who was one of the fasted men ever to play the sport, but even with his phenomenal speed, he could not out run alcohol and drug abuse and died at the age of 59 from prostate cancer and liver failure.

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1924 in a we wished we would have kept him here longer moment, Adolf Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison in Bavaria after serving 264 days for leading the failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch the prior year.

b. 1946 one of the most acclaimed films of all times, It’s A Wonderful Life, starring Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart, was released to enjoy not box office success but six Oscar nominations, only one of which an Oscar for Technical Achievement was awarded for of all things a method of using artificial snow.

c. 1971 the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders was founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris.

d. 1987 in the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history, the ferry Dona Paz sank after hitting the oil tanker Vektor in the  Tablas Straits in the Philippines, taking an estimated 4,000 passengers and crew to Davey Jones Locker with her.

e. 1991 in a chilling reminder of how difficult but how critical it is to get radical Islamists to assimilate into our society, a Missouri court sentenced Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their 16 year old daughter Palestina who in their culture had become too Westernized because she had taken a part time job without their permission, listened to rap music and dated an non Muslim. These fanatics were sentenced to death but diabetes beat the state executor with respect of Zein and Maria’s sentence was commuted to life without parole and she died in prison in 2014 at the age of 70.   

Reflections on the Eve of the Winter Solstice of the soon to begin winter: “The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly masterfully extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory. Gary Zukav, noted American spiritual teacher and author of four New York Times Best Sellers 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.

© December 20, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

December 19, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Goa Liberation Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 19, 2016 The Fat Lady that really counts is singing today as I type voting as members of the Electoral College to end the nonsense of the celebrities’ temper tantrums threatening to leave the U.S. on Trump’s election (given his tax cut they at least will be able to buy a bigger mansion, have more security guards and staff and upgrades on their clothes, wine and brie), the childish rants of Diane Pelosi, and the hollow promises of a pathetic, obese director to pay their fines if they flip; President Obama in hopefully his last public display of delusion announced during his press conference that the United States is viewed in the world as stronger and more respected that when he took office—can hear the laughter from Beijing, Moscow and Tehran despite the distance;  in Turkey, a jihadist shouting “ Remember Aleppo Allah Akbar” shot and killed the Russian Ambassador visiting an art exhibition on video and was then killed by Turkish security forces (too bad they were not able to wound him and take him prisoner to extract information); in what looks like another jihadist inspired Nice copycat killing, a truck ploughed through a Berlin Christmas market killing nine and injuring many others but the driver escaped and is on the run (really hope the police capture him alive to extract useful intel); the Clinton blame game continues on all cylinders with Bill Clinton ignoring his role in meeting Lynch on her private jet but blaming “angry white males” and FBI Director James Comey while other insiders to the campaign are heaping blame on Huma Abedin (when will they ever acknowledge the reason for the loss—Hillary Clinton and her ongoing baggage of deception, disdain and lies and her penchant for secrecy evidenced by her private email server); never let it be said that the job killing EPA did not go down swinging as it released proposed regulations that would decimate mining in this country (hopefully day one those proposed regulations are thrown into the trash by the Trump Administration); Christine LeGarde, the head of the IMF, was found guilty of negligence while serving as Finance Minister of France in 2008 but dodged a fine and jail sentence; on a final note but somewhat bizarre if true (have to be careful in the era of fake news) a woman in Australia found a highly venomous three foot tiger snake in her Christmas tree hiding out with the tinsel, lights and ornaments.

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  music links to the Dave Clark Five and Phil Ochs, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Phil Ochs, while trying to ignore the warnings of you dentist to enjoy some hard candy, blessed with a positive attitude and the ability to absquatulate from a difficult or embarrassing situation  and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. Goa Liberation Day—celebrating if in India and condemned if in Portugal the ending on this day in 1961  of 451 years of  Portuguese rule of Goa by military force in a war that lasted 36 hours but still  killed less than 60 members of the Portuguese and Indian military.

 2. In Desperation Word of the Day—since there are no holidays and observances on this day worthy of note other than Goa Liberation Day today a new entrant “Word of the Day” which will add to your erudition and be permanent in 2017 replacing the daily food holidays: “Absquatulate” which is the act of leaving a place suddenly and quickly which is something that Trump supporters can hardly wait to see when it applies to the denizens of the swamp.

3. 1965 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1965 on a run of 1 week in that position “Over and Over” by the Dave Clark Five.  Here is a recording of a very young and clean cut the Dave Clark Five performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ji1MMXoAVk

4. National Hard Candy Day—celebrating the creativity of confectioners that started to appear in the 17^th Century in Europe to satisfy our inherent sweet tooth to the joys of dentists everywhere.  

5. He’s Not Marching Anymore—celebrating the birth on this day in 1940 of noted American singer Phil Ochs who was a prolific song writer and protester of the Vietnam War who sadly battled mental illness and alcohol abuse and hanged himself in 1976.

Here is a recording of him performing one of his noted songs “I Ain’t Marchin Anymore”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv1KEF8Uw2k  

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1606 the Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed departed from England with settlers who would later land at what become known as Jamestown, Virginia.

b. 1977 George Washington’s Continental Army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to endure a winter of misery, starvation, disease and death that came close to breaking the back of the American Revolution.
c. 1974 Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as Vice President of the United States pursuant to the 25^th Amendment to serve with President Gerald Ford who had been elevated to President of the United States following the resignation of Richard Nixon.

d. 1984 the joint Sino-British Declaration transferring Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997 was executed.   

e. 1998 President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives but saved by the Blues in the Senate from being found guilty.

Reflections on an observation that is close to being right but not quite:”The fortunes of the entire world may well ride on the ability of young Americans to face the responsibilities of an old America gone mad.” Phil Ochs Change “young” to “deplorable” and “old” to “establishment and swamp denizens” and go the head of the class. 
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.

© December 19, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

December 18, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not UN Arabic Language Day It

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 18, 2016 The chickens of another failed Obama foreign policy come home to roost as Aleppo falls as Russians have replaced us as the new sheriff and power in the Middle East; Michelle Obama in a classless anti Trump snit that America is now without hope (what a crock of you know what from her garden-- http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2016/12/michelle-is-out-unhealthy-non-accepting.html; don’t hold your breath but our feckless CinC is pledging a cyber counterattack on Russia for its hacking of the DNC and Hillary’s campaign (what should outrage us more that fact that Podesta was hacked or what the hacks revealed?); Podesta remains out to lunch asserting that Russians hacked the DNC because they wanted Trump to win so he could by Putin’s lap dog (the only dog on the campaign was Hillary arfing like one); in a 20/20 is always better AG Lynch admitted that she regretted her secret meeting with Bill Clinton aboard her private plane in Phoenix (did she regret because it raised valid questions of impartiality or because it was another bale of straw loaded onto a heavily loaded camel’s back?); 769 homicides in Chicago as of December 17, 2016 when 4 people in Chicago’s South Side were added to the butchers bill (the only slim silver lining in this storm cloud of death is that if the daily murder rate average for this year of 2.2 continues, Chicago will by only 2 additional victims not reach 800 homicides); in another chilling reminder of why a wall must be built with sensors to detect the construction of tunnels, the head of the CDC warned that we are facing an pandemic of fatal overdoses from opiods (one of the reasons perhaps why our life expectancy was flat or slightly declined as overdose victims are more likely than not teens or young adults.

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to the Supremes, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Richard Flanagan, while trying to banish the image of a young piglet taken from its mother so you can enjoy a roast suckling pig dinner, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. International Migrants Day—created by the UN General Assembly in 2000 to highlight the problems facing migrants fleeing civil war, religious persecution and poverty more visible that ever before in the Middle East as millions are fleeing to escape the carnage in Syria and Iraq caused by the Syrian Civil War and ISIS.

 2. UN Arabic Language Day—celebrating since 1973 the adoption by the UN of Arabic as one of its official languages (regardless of what language used it seems that a lot of what you hear at the UN comes from the Tower of Babel.

3. 1964 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1964 on a run of 4 weeks in that position “Come See About Me” by the Supremes.  Here is a recording of the Supremes performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW0FzANIAyk

4. National Suckling Pig Day—celebrating what would help push people into becoming vegetarians—the practice of slaughtering a piglet between the age of 2 to 6 weeks and roasting it whole.  

5. Always a Man behind a Camera from an Early Age—celebrating the birth on this day in 1946 of iconic director and producer Steven Spielberg noted for such award winning films as Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List and Jaws who was shooting movies with an 8 millimeter camera at the age of 12. 

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1958 the United States successfully launched into orbit Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite which broadcasted this tape recorded message from space by President Eisenhower: “This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means I convey to you and to all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere."

b. 1972 in what we should have years ago to force the North Vietnamese to come to the table, Richard Nixon announced the recommencement of B-52 bombing raids on North Vietnam which lasted for 11 days called Linebacker II after the Paris Peace Talks had collapsed.
c. 1990 the UN Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families was adopted. d. 1978 Cleveland became the first major American city since the Great Depression to default on its bond obligations.   

d. 2002 Governor Gray Davis announced that the budget deficit for California would be $35 billion almost double what had been projected over a month prior during his reelection campaign; recall petitions were circulated and in a special recall election on October 7, 2003, Gray Davis became the first governor in California to be recalled and replaced with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

e. 2015 marking an end of an era of industrialization the Kellingley Colliery, England’s last deep coal mine was closed.

Reflections on migrants: “We're a migrant nation made up of people who've been torn out of other worlds, and you'd think we would have some compassion.” Richard Flanagan noted Australian author 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.

© December 18, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

December 16, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Boston Tea Party Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 16, 2016 The post election theater keeps getting more and more bizarre as the head of WikiLeaks swears the Russians did not hand over the leaks of DNC officials and Obama draws another red line this time in cyberland after being the cyber security Rip Van Winkle for eight years by indicating the U.S. will responds to Russian cyber attacks (another if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor promise?); President-elect Trump hit the nail on the head at a thank-you rally when he stated to the effect that if Obama’s administration allegedly knew about Russian knew about Russian influence why did they wait until HRC lost and the light bulbs went on that Obama’s legacy would be shredded did they spring into action?; Trump Trauma continues as the left is down to its last and short straw to keep President-elect Trump out of the oval office with a rabid, bitter and in some cases death threats to have electors go rogue and not vote for Trump by claiming he is unfit and using as an example he “wasn’t nice to Mitt Romney” (what is this world coming to?); on the sports front the entire Minnesota football team is threatening to boycott its Holiday Bowl game with Washington State after the university suspended ten players over an alleged sexual assault in which police declined to arrest; Bowe Bergdahl is in court on pretrial court martial matters on pins and needles waiting for Obama to respond to his request for a pardon; tonight and tomorrow are the last two nights of the Newport Beach Christmas Parade—an event that one would not want to miss as the decorated boats are spectacular.

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to the Singing Nun, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Ayah Bdeir, while looking forward to enjoying any item of food covered with chocolate, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day—created by unknown creators to line the bottom of the barrel for holiday and observances; wear that ugly sweater you received for Christmas last year but if you do you may not be able to return it on the 26^th.

2. Boston Tea Party Day—celebrating one of the iconic protests against Britain and the East India Company when colonists dressed as Native Americans   on this day in 1773 boarded three ships loaded with tea in Boston Harbor and tossed 343 chest of tea into the waters—the fuse to the Revolutionary War was now lit to explode at Concord and Lexington in 1776. To celebrate the day, dump the contents of on bag of English Breakfast Tea into your toilet and flush.

3. 1963 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1963 on a run of 4 weeks in that position “The Singing Nun” by Dominique.  Here is a recording of Dominique performing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO7cD6qmydo

4. National Chocolate Covered Anything Day—celebrating a great way to feed the chocolate addiction beast—I vote for almonds or macadamia nuts.

5. Always Good to Have a Second Career to Fall Back on—celebrating the birth on this day in 1949 of Billy Gibbons noted American guitarist and founder of ZZ Tops but best noted for his full and long beard which means if not playing in a gig, he could always this time of year play Santa Claus. 

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1811 in a reminder that there are very few places on this planet immune to earthquakes, the first two of four very severe earthquakes, the most powerful in the continental United States east of the Rockies. hit New Madrid, Missouri.

b. 1907 in a display of growing American naval might, The Great White Fleet with its sixteen battleships began its circumnavigation of the globe.
c. 1947 William Shockley, John Bardeen and William Brattain built the first practical point-contact transistor and the electronic age was about to begin in spades.

d. 1978 Cleveland became the first major American city since the Great Depression to default on its bond obligations.       

e. 2014 in another chilling reminder that the most likely victims of radical Islam are fellow Muslims Tahkit-i-Taliban fanatics attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan and slaughtered 145 people mostly children.

Reflections on the transistor: “The transistor was a small plastic unit that would take us from a world of static bricks piled on top of each other to a world where everything was interactive.” Ayah Bdeir, founder of LittleBits an open source modular library that snap together with magnets.

 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.

© December 16, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

December 15, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Bill Of Rights Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 15, 2016 The Fat Lady at the Fed cleared her throat and began to sing and raised rates by 25 basis points adding $50 billion a year to our budget deficit (the sheer magnitude of the national debt hole that Obama  dug for us will be coming home to roost big time as the Fed slowly raises rates); the Blues in total leadership shambles about to elect a rabid anti-Semite and supporter of the Nation of Islam as the head of the DNC are in panic mode as Trump reaches out to two Democratic Senators to discuss a possible joining of his cabinet (given the leftward drift of the Blues and the fact that in 2018 a far greater number of Blues will be up for election and if Trump succeeds in turning this country around economically which smart money should be betting on, in the interests of job security could be a smart move even though it would increase the balance to 54-48; in yet another example of why we need to drain the parasites from the swamp, an audit of travel expenses of 27 IRS employees revealed an exorbitant tab of $1.4 and a complete failure of the IRS to exercise any control of lavish expenditures (the only silver lining which is another example of why public service has done a 180 becoming taxpayer service so the taxpayers are serving the government is that the waste was “only” $1.4 million); when it comes to climate change versus eagles, bald and golden, the eagles lose as wind turbine operators can now kill up to 4200 of the birds without fine or penalty, four times the current limit thanks to Obama’s latest regulations; on a final note and yet a further example of why the politicized CIA and the Obama administration simply cannot be trusted the Intel agencies refused to provide briefers to a House Intelligence Committee request for a classified behind closed doors briefing of the alleged Russian interference (maybe because there was none and Obama once again does not want to be made a fool again in the remaining 36 days we have to endure his incompetence).

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Bill Mahar, while looking forward to enjoying a few of your favorite cupcakes, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. Bill of Rights Day—created on this day in 1941 in the opening dark days of World War II to commem0rate the 150^th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

2. International Tea Day—celebrated first in 2005 to promote awareness of the issues facing workers and producers in tea producing countries and the contribution tea is and has been making to the global economy. 

3. 1962 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1962 on a run of 5 weeks in that position “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  Here is a recording of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons performing the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8yvnqHmFds

4. National Cupcake Day—celebrating a great snack and perfect addition to child’s lunch panel or sack.

5. A Nonclose Shave Is Not a Vice—celebrating the birth on this day in 1949 of Don Johnson noted for his stuble beard and role as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice. 

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1933 to the dismay of the mob, the 21^st Amendment  overturning the 18^th Amendment (Prohibition) became effective.

b. 1939 Gone With The Wind, the highest inflation adjusted motion picture, premiered at the Loews Theater in Atlanta Georgia.
c. 1960 73 yr. old Richard Pavlick was arrested for planning assassinate JFK by blowing himself up and might have succeeded but did not proceed as JFK was with his wife and kid. Subsequently arrested an confined to a mental institution and released after Kennedy was assassinated.  

d. 1973 the American Psychiatric Association voted 13-0 to remove homosexuality from its list of psychiatric disorders.       

e. 1978 President Carter announced that the U.S. would recognize China and sever all diplomatic ties with Taiwan (explains why China is in such a snit after President-elect Trump spoke with the President of Taiwan).

Reflections on the Mahar Corollary to the Bill of Rights: “We have the Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities.”Bill Mahar, noted comedian and talk show host. Agree with his observation as it has a certain JFK Inaugural Address ring to it. 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.

© December 15, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

December 14, 2014 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Monkey Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 14, 2016 It’s High Noon at Trump tower as large number of tech CEOs from America’s largest tech companies, most of whom supported the failed candidacy of HRC, are converging on Trump Tower to meet with the President-elect Trump, his chief of staff and adviser Paul Thiel with Trump focusing on these companies bringing jobs back to America and using technology to streamline government (talk about a cleaning of the Aegean Stables like task); Rick Perry has been named to head the Department of Energy, a department he once vowed to dismantle (hope he holds true to that vow as we are still suffering from the crony capitalism of DOE deals like Solyndra); when it comes to green, Jill Stein and the Green Party really know how to spend it as almost $1 million of the $7.4 million raised for the pathetic recount effort went to staff, administrative and consultants plus another $1.6 million to fill the voracious as usual legal trough; whereas Obama has proven to be the great divider, Trump’s moves to reach out to the black community represent promising signs that he will be the great unifier; if the left wing media and pathetic celebrities on The View think that President–elect Trump lacks the temperament to have access to the nuclear codes they should be going ballistic (no pun intended) over the drunken rants of Kim Jong Un as North Korea moves closer to nuclear weapon launch capability to hit South Korea, Japan and American bases in the Pacific (at some point in time unfortunately sooner than later we and the Chinese are going to have to come to the conclusion that this unstable dictatorship needs to be wiped out to the last family member and their nuclear facilities destroyed regardless of the collateral damage); in an “I left my sanity in San Francisco” moment, San Francisco is doubling down on its defiance to remain a Sanctuary City by committing taxpayer dollars to defend deportation proceedings against illegal aliens (the city is putting itself at risk of losing millions upon millions of federal funds); in a “I should have stayed in rehab a bit longer moment” Jamal Goodwin checked himself out of rehab, took a cab to a Malvern bank, robbed it of $5,000 and sped off in the cab but left a duffel with $2700 in cash and his ID in the cab and was quickly arrested thereafter (drugs, alcohol and robbing banks definitely do not mix).

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances (sadly another bottom of the barrel day),  a music link to the Marvelettes, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Kathleen Brehony, while looking forward to enjoying a bowl of bouillibaisse (killer recipe for it below), blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. Monkey Day—created on this day in 2000 by MSU art students Casey Sorrow and Eric Mullikin to create awareness of and appreciation for those primates genetically so very much like us. 

2. Roast Chestnut Day—created by Holiday Insights in 2015 to create and excuse to take a deep breath and relax in front of the fireplace with some hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts (remember to with a knife create a cross on each one before placing in oven or it will explode rather than opening up) to prepare for the chaos of juggling Christmas party invitations with the need to shop for gifts and the need to complete projects that must be completed prior to year end for business and tax reasons. 

3. 1961 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1961 on a run of 1 week in that position “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes.  Here is a recording of the Marvelettes performing the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=425GpjTSlS4

4. National Bouillabaisse Day—celebrating a great seafood soup that originated in Marseille that contains a variety of fish, shellfish, vegetables (celery, leeks, onions, potatoes and tomatoes) and spices and Provencal herbs. Here is a killer recipe patterned after the bouillabaisse created by Guillaume Sorrieu, at L'Épuisette, in Marseille, France.   http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/bouillabaisse-238411

5. Lottery of Death—celebrating the birth on this day in 1916 of Shirley Jackson a noted American author who wrote The Lottery and who heavily influenced Stephen King but lost in the lottery of life as she was a heavy smoker and overweight and died at the early age of 48 from heart failure in her sleep. 

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1836 the bloodless confrontation between Michigan and Ohio known as the “Toledo War” involving disputed claims to 468 square mile strip of land near Toledo known as the Toledo Strip came to an end with Michigan ceding it to Ohio and receiving in exchange statehood and 3/4 of the Upper Peninsula from the federal government. 

b. 1902 the Pacific became a smaller ocean for communications as the Pacific Commercial Cable Company laid the first telegraph cable between San Francisco and Honolulu.
c. 1903 the Wright Brothers failed in their first attempt to fly the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk as it stalled after three seconds barely taking off, causing minor damage to the aircraft.

d. 1964 SCOTUS in the case of Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States ruled that Congress could use the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to prevent discrimination in lodgings. e. 2012 in a dark day for American elementary school education, 20 year old Adam Lanza after killing his mother went to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Sandy Hook, Connecticut and killed 20 children aged 6 and 7 and six staff members before killing himself as first responders started to arrive.

Reflections on the terrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary on the 4^th anniversary of the carnage of young lives: “Bullying is a factor in many, if not all, of these incidences of school violence. If I hear of a shooting at a school, I can immediately describe the shooter because they are predominately white males, have access to guns and they feel unconnected, shut out, left out.” Kathleen Brohony, noted American writer and clinical psychologist The link to being bullied is another reason that schools should have zero tolerance for that activity.  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.

© December 14, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift

December 13, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not National Violin Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 13, 2016 Pelosi’s daughter and Podesta, whose leaked emails certainly revealed the disgust the Blue elite has for blacks and Hispanics and everyday working Americans that are not of the West Coast or Northeast wine and brie crowd, are still on their Quixote quest to get Electors to switch under the guise of investigating hacking (won’t work  http://alaskanpoet.blogspot.com/2016/12/podesta-and-young-pelosi-desperations.html); Trump announced Tillerson as his choice for Secretary of State despite howls of concern over his dealings with Russia voiced by Blues and surprisingly some Reds; in yet another example of why Americans are fed up with the political elite denizens of the swamp, the Commander in Chief of Hypocrisy, Obama who has missed almost half of his daily intel briefings slammed Trump for missing as President-elect those that are repetitive and while he was on that rant slammed Trump and his transition and campaign team for alleged ties with Russia (amazing from the lips of a man whom Putin and the rest of the Russian government have zero respect for because of his feckless nonleadership); Boeing has announced  a $16.8 billion deal with IranAir which has been accused of transporting arms and fighters to Iran’s sponsored terrorist groups (Congress is already vowing to block the deal as Air Bus must be licking its chops in anticipation of replacing Boeing if that happens); the swamp will be receiving more denizens as Boeing announced that it is moving its defense unit headquarters to Washington, D.C.; great theater still playing at Trump Tower as Bill Gates paid a visit as did rapper and 2020 hopeful Kanye West, fortunately without his wife Kim or his sister-in-law Caitlin Jenner; in a PC reminder that no place is safe from the scourge of PC, an Italian priest in Cremona, Italy banned a nativity scene in the local cemetery because it might offend Muslims (Italy with 3.7 % of its population being Muslim is going to face major problems like the rest of Europe if it cannot get Muslims to assimilate and cease their support of Sharia); on the entertainment front very refreshing to see that the pro gun control movie Miss Sloan is a complete box office flop while the latest Star Wars movie is being boycotted due to its rumored anti-Trump scene—not only do “deplorables” vote but they also vote with their pocketbooks.

          As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  a music link to Elvis Presley, factoids of interest for this day in history, a relevant quote from Taylor Swift, while looking forward to enjoying a bowl of ice cream (killer recipe for homemade ice cream using beer as one of the ingredients), blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. National Violin Day—celebrated always on the 13^th of December to honor the most popular bowed instrument that evolved from the medieval fiddle in the 15^th Century and is the musical cornerstone for orchestras playing classical music.

2. Pick a Pathologist Pal Day—celebrating another whimsical observance created by Thomas and Ruth Roy on the theory that if you have a friend who is a pathologist once you are no longer with us, he or she will go the extra mile to figure out how and why you have passed (it’s the bottom of the holiday and observance barrel). 

3. 1960 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1960 on a long run of 6 weeks in that position “Are You Lonesome Tonight” by Elvis Presley.  Here is a recording of the King performing the song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cS5aCozhcA

4. National Ice Cream Day—celebrating one’s favorite reason to scream as long as one is in a warm house with a fire roaring in the fireplace.  If you have an ice cream making machine and do not have kids in the house, here is a recipe for Raspberry Lambic Ice Cream with beer: http://www.thenibble.com/REVIEWS/MAIN/desserts/beer-ice-cream2.asp   

5. Dancing in the Rain—celebrating the birth on this day in 1989 of the top of the charts singer and songwriter Taylor Swift who started writing songs at the precocious age of 5 and who with a simple letter to Tim Cook that went viral forced Apple to cancel its plans to not pay artists during the three month trial of Apple Music. 

On this day in:                                                                                   

a. 1636 the Massachusetts Bay Colony formed three militia regiments to defend the colony against attacks by Pequot Indians defending their ancestral lands; the date is considered as the date of founding our National Guard.

b. 1769 Dartmouth College was founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock with a royal charter granted by King George III on land donated by the royal governor John Wentworth.
c. 1962 NASA launched Relay 1, the first active repeater satellite which was used to broadcast television signals from Earth across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

d. 1972 Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt began their third and final “Moonwalk” from the lunar landing module of Apollo 17 and became the last human beings to walk on the surface of the Moon.        

e. 2006 the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities was adopted by the UN’s General Assembly.

Reflections on happiness by one very talented artist who also was smart enough to not the join the lemmings like Madonna and Katy Perry in support of and campaigning for HRC: “Life isn't about how to survive the storm. It's about how to dance in the rain."

Taylor Swift 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.

© December 13, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 

Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire beyond Compare

The Perfect Gift All to Receive a Lasting Lift