Monday, February 20, 2012

259 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Letter From the Editor

Hello Rundowners! Welcome to another edition of The Daily Rundown!

As it is Presidents Day (!), this is more like a special edition. There will

be no news; I will just be talking about Presidents Day in only four

columns.

Happy Presidents Day,

Gabe Fleisher

Editor, Writer, and Everything Else Imaginable

The Daily Rundown

By George, Its Called Washingtons Birthday!

The story of Presidents Day is an interesting one that is not well

known, and it starts in 1879, when the U.S. Congress named

February 22nd

Washingtons Birthday, as it was the late George

Washingtons Birthday.

It wasnt until 1889, however, that Washingtons Birthday was

expanded from a holiday for D.C. federal offices to all federal

offices across the country.

So, this is the first holiday to directly honor one American citizen,

and when it was founded, Abraham Lincoln, still seen as a radical,

not a hero, for abolishing slavery, had been dead for 14 years.

In 1951, a man named Harold Stonebridge Fische formed the

President's Day National Committee, to attempt to establish a

Presidents Day on March 4, as Rundowners know, the original

date of Presidential inaugurations.

The bill to create Presidents Day, however, was stalled in the

Senate. For now, Harold Stonebridge Fische would have to be

content with what happened: the governors of most states

proclaimed that March 4 was Presidents Day, and Washingtons

Birthday remained untouched. Until

1971, when an act of Congress was signed into law moving

Washingtons Birthday to the third Monday in February, as

opposed to having it on February 22 every year. This bill was

called the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, and it pointed out that it

was more beneficial for American families to celebrate holidays,

including Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, on a

Monday. The irony of it all is that, under the terms of this law,

Washingtons Birthday can fall between the 15th

and the 21st, so it

will never fall on either Washingtons or Lincolns birthdays.

To me, even more interesting is that an earlier draft of the Uniform

Monday Holiday Act, which included not only moving

Washingtons Birthday, but also renaming it to Presidents Day,

failed in committee.

Ever since then, Washingtons Birthday has been observed on the

third Monday of February, today. And ever since the 50s, and

especially since the 80s, we have called it Presidents Day!

So What About the Others?

The first thing people ask when you tell them the story of

Washingtons Birthday is What about the others? Do we celebrate

the other Presidents? The answer is yes:

Lincolns Birthday Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey,

New York, and New York, among other states, celebrate a holiday

called Lincolns Birthday, or Abraham Lincolns Birthday, on

February 12.

Presidential Proclamation The President can also proclaim

holidays that have the same status as Congressionally-proclaimed

holidays. For example, two Presidents have proclaimed April 13 to

be Thomas Jefferson Day.

Presidents Day Some states have Presidents Day when the

country is officially having Washingtons Birthday.

Political Party Holidays The tradition has emerged for political

parties to have fundraising holidays. The Democrats celebrate

Jefferson-Jackson Day, while Republicans have Lincoln Day,

Reagan Day, or Lincoln-Reagan Day. None of these holidays have

an official date, although they are usually celebrated in February or

March.

By State Other than that, sometimes states will proclaim state

holidays on the birthdays of Presidents born in that state.

For example, May 8 is Truman Day in Missouri, as it is his

birthday. In Massachusetts, May 29, Kennedys birthday, is named

Presidents Day, and officially celebrates all the U.S. Presidents

who hail from Massachusetts.

Editorial:

Presidents Day Sale! This Year Only: Selling

What Presidents Day Really Means

Because It Certainly Doesnt Mean Sales By Gabe Fleisher, Editor, The Daily Rundown

What does Presidents Day mean to you? Does it mean that you wont have to go to work or school? Or does it mean there wont be any mail

or bills? Maybe you think about how the banks and other stores will be

closed. Sadly, to most Americans, Presidents Day means an excuse to go shopping. Because thats what its turned into. Dont get me wrong: its a blast of market genius! Having blowout sales while kids across the country have three or four days off school its pretty smart. However, its not what Presidents Day means.

This year, some of the best sales over the weekend were at Old Navy, a

store that wasnt founded until 1994. By then, George Washington had been dead for 200+ years. Abe Lincoln for around 130. Does that mean

we should totally forget about the holiday we established in their honor?

Some of our Presidents risked their Lives,fortunes, andsacred honor. Many others made tremendous contributions to American society. And thats how you remember them? By having a 75% off sale? Presidents Day means those 200 years ago. It means the people that risked so much so you could live a peaceful, democratic life, and this

holiday means thanking them. This Presidents Day, I challenge all of you to think about what Presidents Day really means, and to think about and thank all 43 Presidents.

Question of the Day

Editorial Once again, I ask for your opinion on what I wrote in my

latest Editorial. And, of course, what does Presidents Day mean to

you?

Question of the Day The two Presidents most closely associated

with Presidents Day are Abraham Lincoln and George

Washington, two of our best Presidents, both of whom were born

in February. Butthere are two other Presidents who were born in

this second month. Can you name one?????

Bonus Its Presidents Day, so its a good day for an extra

Presidential trivia question: Can you name all eight of the

bighead presidents at the top of the Rundown?