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Rufus T. Firefly
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is one way of saying it, though I prefer "mensch"
Sep 2000
time: 07:23
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It's not that I mind having a holiday in bleakest February. But when I was a kid, we had two February holidays: Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday. This was lovely, as it gave us the chance to contemplate the lives and achievements of two great Americans. Then, apparently, insane-work-ethic types couldn't stomach the loss of two whole days of productivity in one month, and so they got combined into Washington-Lincoln Day, which was stingy but still allowed us to pay appropriate homage to great men. Then, sometime later -- for reasons that remain unclear to me -- it became Presidents Day.
Let's be clear: the very concept of Presidents Day smacks of fascism. It's no longer a day to honor the achievements of one or two great men, but instead a day in honor of Our Leader, period. Presidents Day lumps Washington and Lincoln in together with Nixon and Harding and says, "let's just honor them all." By why the hell should we? Washington-Lincoln Day set the bar high; Presidents Day lowers it to a level that's probably appropriate for a nation that thinks Coors is beer and American Idol is entertainment.
And why does this matter? Well, for example, there are the results of two new polls, one by Washington College and the other by CNN-USA Today.
quote:
Asked who was the greatest president, 20 percent of those polled [by Wash. College] chose Lincoln. Reagan was picked by 15 percent, Franklin D. Roosevelt by 12 percent, John F. Kennedy by 11 percent, Bill Clinton (news - web sites) by 10 percent and George W. Bush by 8 percent. Washington was picked by 6 percent.
In the CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll, Reagan had 20 percent, followed by Clinton and Lincoln in the mid-teens and then Roosevelt and Kennedy at 12 percent. |
Bush ahead of Washington. Clinton tied with Lincoln. JFK in both top-fives. 
Of course Americans are congenital idiots with the historical memory of mayflies, but still. So I hate "Presidents Day."
There; I feel better now.
Last edited by Rufus T. Firefly on 21-02-2005 at 05:52
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Dr Strangelove
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You think that's screwed up? Around here we have a holiday known as "Lee - Jackson - King Day" in honor of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Martin Luther King. This bizarre combination came as a duboius consession to black Virginians. A few years ago the Virginia legislature couldn't bring itself to give Rev. King his own holiday so they crammed him into the already existing combo holiday set aside for Virginia's two greatest Civil War heros.
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Ecthy
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Zhonghuà Rénmín Gònghéguó
Mar 2000
time: 06:23
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you hate what? traitor!
honestly, is it allowed to say that in the United States? in our news we get to hear terrible things about that regime... children being taken out of their boxes by soldiers and... I can't say any more... you and your family are in my prayers
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loinburger
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Sweet Sauce Jones
Jul 1999
time: 00:23
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Meh, a day off is a day off.
Actually, I almost prefer the goofy government holidays. I mean, everybody travels on Memorial Day, so the roads are always packed. But hardly anybody gets Presidents Day and Columbus Day off, so they're perfect times to hit the beach. Or at least they would be if they weren't in February and October. And if there were a beach closer than the frigid and fiery waters of Lake Erie. But whatever.
And the fascism comment was the highlight of the OP.
Last edited by loinburger on 21-02-2005 at 07:10
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Patroklos
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Back home in good ole Norfolk VA
Dec 2001
time: 05:23
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quote:
Fortunately, I seem to remember them realizing the bogusness of that, and now, I believe, it is MLK day. Alternatively, it may have just been a cultural thing, with my town not acknowledging the name of the actual legal holiday. |
Fortunetly, you are wrong. It is still celebrated like that in Virginia, and no one here gives a damn. If your not an MLK fan, celebrate the other. Not a civil war buff, celebrate MLK day. If you are not woefully in the jaws of a fanatical political/cultural POV and are mature enough to see virtues in all three of those persons, celebrate both.
I celebrate both 
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Admiral
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of the peace and coexistance movement
Feb 2001
time: 00:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Patroklos
Fortunetly, you are wrong. It is still celebrated like that in Virginia, and no one here gives a damn. If your not an MLK fan, celebrate the other. Not a civil war buff, celebrate MLK day. If you are not woefully in the jaws of a fanatical political/cultural POV and are mature enough to see virtues in all three of those persons, celebrate both.
I celebrate both |
I used to live in Charlottesville, and feel that I had a grasp on the tenor of the community, which was distinctly pro-MLK, and anti the inclusion of Jackson and Lee. (of course, according to our state senator, we are the People's Republic of Charlottesville, so what do we know?).
However, even given the general support of the holiday, it is still bogus. I have studied the civil war, and personally believe that Lee was a moral man, who did not approve of slavery, but felt that he must fight for his state. I respect that. But he was the greatest threat to the restauration of the union, and that should not be celebrated. It is akin to Germany celebrating the skill of Rommel, or Guderian, both military geniuses, but not deserving of state recognition due to the regime they served. The South deserved to lose the civil war. However much people want to construe the civil war to be primarily about state's right's, the main impetuous of the civil war was the threat of an end to slavery. Even if Lee did have moral qualms about the civil war (I do not recall Jackson's position on slavery, but the same applies), he fought for the South. Bear in mind that Rommel was connected with the plot to kill Hitler in '44.
And finally, with regards to slavery, I am a fanatic. And I am proud of it.
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mrmitchell
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quote:
You think that's screwed up? Around here we have a holiday known as "Lee - Jackson - King Day" in honor of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Martin Luther King. This bizarre combination came as a duboius consession to black Virginians. A few years ago the Virginia legislature couldn't bring itself to give Rev. King his own holiday so they crammed him into the already existing combo holiday set aside for Virginia's two greatest Civil War heros. |
In Arkansas, the 3rd Monday of January (or whatever the day for MLKJr Day is) is officially entitled "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and
Robert E. Lee’s Birthdays". I've never actually heard anyone refer to it solely as "Robert E Lee Day" but once or twice in common conversation I did actually hear "MLK Jr and Robert E Lee Day".
In addition, President's Day is celebrated as it should be, "George Washington’s Birthday and
Daisy Gatson Bates Day" (Daisy Bates, IIRC, being some important leader for the Little Rock Nine.) None of this "President's Day" hoopla.
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Rufus T. Firefly
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is one way of saying it, though I prefer "mensch"
Sep 2000
time: 07:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Lefty Scaevola
"This is why I hate "Presidents Day"... "
"Presidents Day" is a myth, there is no such in the fedearal holiday statute. The only statutory designation for the 3rd Monday of February is "Washington's Birthday", no Lincoln, no other president honored or even mentioned in the law for such holiday, Just Washington. By the way, with goverment efficiancy they made sure that the Washington's Birthday holiday could never actually fall on his birthday Feb 22, the lastest the 3rd Monday in Feb can be is Feb 21. Deez, you yahoos even need a lawyer to tell you what holiday it is. |
Please do tell: what the f*ck crawled up your ass and died?
quote:
In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act, which moved the official observance of Washington's birthday from Feb. 22 to the third Monday in February. Some reformers had wanted to change the name of the holiday as well, to Presidents' Day, in honor of both Lincoln and Washington, but that proposal was rejected by Congress, and the holiday remained officially Washington's Birthday.
But in 1971, when the Act went into effect, President Nixon proclaimed the holiday as Presidents' Day, to commemorate all past presidents, not just Lincoln and Washington. This idea was never intended or authorized by Congress; nevertheless, it gained a strong hold on the public consciousness. |
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/washington1.html
Congrats on being technically correct, wrong about the larger issue, and quite the pompous ass. Well done, sir. 
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21-02-2005 05:02
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