Canada Day is the national day of Canada celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire.
Tag: Holidays
Happy New Year’s Eve
Center of town. Woodstock, Vermont. “Snowy night” (1940) by Marion Post Wolcott
Published by the Library of Congress
Happy Holidays
May you receive all the compliance gifts you’ve dreamed of.
Cats Decorating Christmas Tree by Louis Wain in the Detroit Publishing Company Collection at the Library of Congress
Independence Day and Compliance
What better way to celebrate the independence of the United States than by taking the day off from work, grilling meat, and watching stuff blow up. I’m doing the same thing on the blog and taking a vacation.
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. ”
– John Adams on July 3, 1776 to his wife (via A Tradition of Celebration by the Adams Family Researched by James R. Heintze)
Fireworks display by Agiorgio
CC BY SA
Compliance and Patriots’ Day
And the shot heard ’round the world
Was the start of the Revolution.
The Minute Men were ready, on the move.
Take your powder, and take your gun.
Report to General Washington.
Patriots’ Day honors the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War. That means Paul Revere and William Dawes mount their horses to re-create the warning: “The British are coming!” That means battle re-enactments in Lexington. That means the Boston Marathon passes through. That means a Red Sox home game.
What does this have to do with compliance or business ethics? Nothing.
Patriots’ Day is a Massachusetts holiday. Since Maine was once part of Massachusetts, it is also a holiday in Maine. Although they switch the possessive to Patriot’s Day.
So I’m out of the office.
Sources:
- Patriots Day on American Experience
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 12J – Patriots’ Day
- Maine Stat. Rev. 9-B, § 145 (pdf)
- Boston Marathon course map
Happy New Year
New Year’s Eve is a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. You may also add an excessive amount of alcohol, an expensive dinner in a crowded restaurant, or a long wait for Chinese food delivery.
I’m sure there is a compliance story in there somewhere, but I’m just going to enjoy taking some time off during the long weekend. Enjoy the end of your year and the start of the next.
Happy Holidays
W.A. Rogers Editorial cartoon from 1902 published in Harper’s Weekly
Uncle Sam standing smiling at Christmas tree laden with warships, telephones, an automobile, a fat man labeled “The Trusts,” and skyscrapers; with bags of money at its base.
(The things that make Uncle Sam happy have not changed much over the last 100 years.)
Halloween and Compliance
A compliance professional can turn the fun and chaos of Halloween into a boring night on the study of procedure. Here, I’ll prove it.
Let’s start with costumes.
Have you imposed a “no costume = no candy” rule. Perhaps you merely skimp on the older kids who have skimped on dressing up. If you, like me, are suddenly living in winter you need to figure out what do with the kids who are all bundled up fighting the cold. They might all look like Eskimos tonight instead of zombies and superheroes.
Perhaps you are afraid to skimp because those older kids who didn’t put much effort into a costume may put more effort into toilet paper and eggs. Are you willing to compromise on your rule because you are afraid of the repercussions. How would that reflect on your compliance program?
Let’s move on to technology.
What about using Halloween metaphors to remind yourself about protecting your computer? Try the FCC:
- Are cyber ghouls and online scammers feasting on your computer? This Halloween, learn how to stop them at OnGuardOnline.gov.
- Don’t let someone decide to be you for Halloween. Read more about online identity theft at OnGuardOnline.gov.
- Don’t let computer security worries haunt you at night. OnGuardOnline.gov says download software updates and patches often.
- Garlic? Stake through the heart? OnGuardOnline.gov says only the latest security software protects you from online vampires.
- Zombie warning! Update your security software often to protect your computer from zombie bots. Read more at OnGuardOnline.gov.
- Don’t let old security software spook you. Keep firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware software updated, and visit OnGuardOnline.gov.
- Beware of online tricks this Halloween and enable your computer’s firewall. Find out more at OnGuardOnline.gov.
- Don’t let a virus ruin your computer’s Halloween spirit. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for tips to keep your computer virus-free.
- Don’t be a “phish” for Halloween. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov to learn how to spot computer scams that try to hook your personal info.
- When you tell kids about Halloween safety, tell them about online safety too. To learn how, read Net Cetera at OnGuardOnline.gov.
- If you leave your laptop for ‘just a sec,’ it could become someone else’s Halloween treat. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov to learn more.
- Can you spot an internet scam dressed up as a great deal? Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for tips on how to spot online frauds.
And let’s put a little scare into you while your little ones are running around the neighborhood.
A team of local law enforcement agencies in Milwaukee are going door-to-door in search of sex offenders who are breaking their compliance rules. “Offenders are not allowed to have anything related to trick-or-treating that includes bowls of candy Halloween decorations, pumpkins. They can’t have their porch light on indicating that the residence is participating in any trick-or-treat activities,” said Melissa Othmer of the Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole.
Boo!
The jack o’ lantern Death Star is by Noel Dickover with instructions on his site, Fantasy Pumpkins, on how to create one yourself.
Happy New Year
There is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game.
Fourth of July and Compliance
What better way to celebrate the independence of the United States than by taking the day off from work, grilling meat, and watching stuff blow up.
In colonial Boston, official proclamations were read from the Old State House balcony, looking down State Street towards Long Wharf.
Each July 4th, the Captain Commanding of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company reads the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House. The reading of the Declaration of Independence dates back to July 18, 1776, when Colonel Thomas Crafts performed this duty for the first time.