Federal Holidays: which, why, and whether or not. (for Larry)

[GoCometsGo]

I see a distinct difference between "endorsing" a holiday and "recognizing" or "acknowledging" a holiday. So I say go ahead and give government workers time off in RECOGNITION of certain holidays... just don't spend any taxpayer dollars on it... ie; time off without pay.

[PonderThis]

[quote='PonderThis' pid='236207' dateline='1349748095']
Well, I think you're a big fat liar that scams the government and doesn't pay taxes either, but that's another story, isn't it?
That's simply an ad hominem attack, that's all that is.

You can't wiggle out of your obvious lying so you try to get personal with me. Pretty low but scum usually is.

And, false patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, as has been previously pointed out. You don't offer much else.

There nothing false about TVguy ... nothing. I say what I think and mean what I say.
I love my country and I won't put up with some lying arrogant dipshit who looks down on our soldiers and denigrates them and then tries to say he loves his country.
Our soldiers deserve the ultimate respect regardless what our government tells them to do.

That's undoubtedly exactly how the folks in Nazi Germany felt, too.

[Larry]

I'm just accustomed to a forum that was so well moderated that it no longer needs to be, except in extreme cases.

Yeah. This ain't that place. A thicker skin is required here, cupcake.

[Larry]

[quote='PonderThis' pid='236207' dateline='1349748095']
Well, I think you're a big fat liar that scams the government and doesn't pay taxes either, but that's another story, isn't it?
That's simply an ad hominem attack, that's all that is.

You can't wiggle out of your obvious lying so you try to get personal with me. Pretty low but scum usually is.

And, false patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, as has been previously pointed out. You don't offer much else.

There nothing false about TVguy ... nothing. I say what I think and mean what I say.
I love my country and I won't put up with some lying arrogant dipshit who looks down on our soldiers and denigrates them and then tries to say he loves his country.
Our soldiers deserve the ultimate respect regardless what our government tells them to do.

That's undoubtedly exactly how the folks in Nazi Germany felt, too.

Exactly how much do you toke per day? You stopped making even a little sense......

[PonderThis]

Exactly how much meth do you snort per day?

[Larry]

Exactly how much meth do you snort per day?

Dude, you are 30 years to late for that to mean anything to me. How about you and your weed? 10 minutes ago?

[csrowan]

Back to the topic at hand...

Here's the first three existing federal holidays and my personal opinions on them.


New Year’s Day
A celebration about the end of the last year and the beginning of the new one. One could make the argument that the Gregorian calendar is only one of multiple calendars, and it is associated with the Catholic Church, so it doesn't fit my criteria for an acceptible holiday. However, the celebration has nothing to do with the religion, and the Gregorian calendar is the de facto international standard. As such, I take no issue with keeping New Year's Day as a federal holiday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_calendar



Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(aka Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
I'll take a page from the New Hampshire legislature that created Civil Rights Day in 1991. I think that Dr. King would have no objection to celebrating what he fought for, rather than his day of birth. Celebrating it on or around his birthday is not objectionable to me, since he is one of the more memorable civil rights activists in our nation's history. And I think it would be a far greater tribute to his memory to celebrate his ideals and how far things have come, and to work on how much farther they need to go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luth...g,_Jr._Day



Washington’s Birthday
(aka Presidents' Day)
Technically, this holiday is Washington's Birthday, but it is generally referred to as Presidents' day. It was the first federal holiday to honor a US citizen. He certainly is a famous character in our history, and he did much that I consider worthy of appreciation. But of the two options, I prefer Presidents' Day. On the other hand, having a federal holiday honoring the office of President would be like having a holiday honoring a royal family (well, not quite, but similar). Perhaps Civil Servants' Day instead?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents_day



More to come...

[PonderThis]

Exactly how much meth do you snort per day?

Dude, you are 30 years to late for that to mean anything to me. How about you and your weed? 10 minutes ago?

Meth has lifetime effects, and besides, only assholes use it anyway. That tells me all I need to know.

[tvguy]

[quote='PonderThis' pid='236207' dateline='1349748095']
Well, I think you're a big fat liar that scams the government and doesn't pay taxes either, but that's another story, isn't it?
That's simply an ad hominem attack, that's all that is.

You can't wiggle out of your obvious lying so you try to get personal with me. Pretty low but scum usually is.

And, false patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, as has been previously pointed out. You don't offer much else.

There nothing false about TVguy ... nothing. I say what I think and mean what I say.
I love my country and I won't put up with some lying arrogant dipshit who looks down on our soldiers and denigrates them and then tries to say he loves his country.
Our soldiers deserve the ultimate respect regardless what our government tells them to do.

That's undoubtedly exactly how the folks in Nazi Germany felt, too.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with what ever people thought about Nazi soldiers.

What it does have to do with is someone who doesn't understand the meaning of the word respect. I think you are a hateful little man with a chip on your shoulder. You seem to have a problem with any man who is hunter , a fisherman, a cop or a soldier, or even sports.
I think you have a problem. I think maybe you are coward who needs to find a way to put down anyone who does anything that indicates they are not.

[PonderThis]

And, I think you've never found a form of killing you're not fond of, be it animal, human, or otherwise.

[csrowan]

Would you both PLEASE take this argument to another thread?

[tvguy]

And, I think you've never found a form of killing you're not fond of, be it animal, human, or otherwise.

Really? Because I like firearms? I'm not to wild about electrocuting or poisoning people or running them over with my car.

Poor Ponder, the more you lie the worse you get at it.

[tvguy]

Would you both PLEASE take this argument to another thread?

Sure, not a problem.

[oregon 67]

I'm just accustomed to a forum that was so well moderated that it no longer needs to be, except in extreme cases.

From the peanut gallery: This is tame.

[csrowan]

Back to the topic at hand, again...

Here's my take on Memorial Day.


Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It was started to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War.

Remembering fallen soldiers can be done without glorifying or justifying war, or celebrating the US Armed Forces. You are taking the time to reflect on those who gave their lives in service of their country.

However, this leaves out those who served their country and did not die. Well, we have a holiday for that, too: Veterans Day.

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that, if you're going to honor fallen veterans and all veterans, you can certainly do it on the same day without dishonoring anyone.

So, Memorial Day (version 2.0). A day to remember the sacrifices made by those who have served or are serving in the US Armed Forces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day



(don't worry, I'll still address Veteran's day, too)

[Larry]

Exactly how much meth do you snort per day?

Dude, you are 30 years to late for that to mean anything to me. How about you and your weed? 10 minutes ago?

Meth has lifetime effects, and besides, only assholes use it anyway. That tells me all I need to know.

Does ignorance hurt much?

[tvguy]

I'm just accustomed to a forum that was so well moderated that it no longer needs to be, except in extreme cases.

Yeah. This ain't that place. A thicker skin is required here, cupcake.

[csrowan]

Three more federal holidays and my opinions on them.

Remember, if I had my druthers, I'druther not have any federally endorsed holidays, and replace them with evenly spaced federal vacation days. These are my opinions on the specific holidays, under the hypothetical situation that I could change them,get rid of some, but still have to have some.



Independence Day
This is celebrating a specific event, the day we declared our independence as a country. Try as I might, I can't come up with an argument against it that I find logical and fitting my pre-stated guidelines. I may not approve of the uber-patriotism and flag waving that many people seem to think it requires, but that's not the government's fault.

I do think we should stop calling it 4th of July, and call it by its real name.

A fun quote, part of a letter from John Adams to his wife, showing that we're not as far off from the original intent as it may seem:

The second day of July, 1776, [the date the resolution of independence was approved... close enough] will be the most memorable epoch 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 shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independenc..._States%29



Labor Day
Meant to celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers, this has pretty much lost all meaning for the majority of the population (except for those people, like me, who never actually knew what it was about in the first place).

I think, historically, it was certainly an important holiday. But culturally and technologically, we have moved so far past that point, that this holiday is no longer needed.

On a side note, I can't wait until Civil Rights Day is no longer needed! (formerly MLK Day, under my hypothetical changing of the holidays).



Columbus Day
Well, you already know my opinions on this, from the other thread, but for posterity's sake, here we go...

Columbus was, demonstrably, a cruel, base, and vicious man. Yes, he sailed ships over here, and yes, that was an historically important event in the eventual creation of the United States of America. But to have a federal holiday dedicated to a genocidal narcissist is morally repugnant to me.

If you must have a holiday related to the 'discovery' of the Americas, how about Landing Day? Though, I would prefer a more multicultural and non-revisionist Day of the Americas.




Veterans Day is next...

[Tiamat]

Rowan's been a member for what? 5 weeks, and already there's a thread specified for Larry.

[csrowan]

Well, he asked, and I felt it needed to be in a separate thread. I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say.




And for anyone who wonders, I'm self employed, still building back clientele after a long illness, and work in front of a computer all day long. I also read fast and multitask well. That's how I can justify spending so much time on the forum. If you cared...