February 21, 2005
Happy Presidents Day
Well, I'm working but the market is closed and the blogosphere is silent -- a pretty dull day. My friends at research arms of major Universities are working today, though they got MLK day off. Worthy of a blog post? We couldn't have had Dr. King without Presidents Washington and Lincoln. Naaah.
But here is an interesting fact: this lawyer claims that there is no paper trail for a legal change from Washington's Birthday to Presidents Day. We all act like it happened, but Jason Bezis says it didn't:
For instance, it has been widely accepted as fact and reported -- by numerous major newspapers and educational Web sites -- that Richard Nixon dubbed the holiday Presidents Day in 1971.But a Nixon archivist said last week there is no evidence the 37th president signed such a proclamation, which appears to be a myth spread, in part, by an Arkansas newspaper columnist writing in the voice of his dead cat.
Bezis, a onetime calendar monitor at a Livermore kindergarten, a former White House intern and a graduate of George Washington University, has persuaded the World Almanac and the New York Times to ditch Presidents Day for Washington's Birthday.
Kurt Vonnegut made a passionate stance for not replacing Armistice Day with Veteran's Day. I think he and Mr. Bezis both have uphill battles.
I cannot think of two men more worthy of honor than Lincoln and Washington but feel both would be more inclined to have us go to work in their honor -- not hang out at the mall. For the record, I would apply that to Dr. King as well. It would be better to send children to school to learn of his works. That's honor.