MLK Day

Sometimes we observe it, sometimes we don't.  A quick search of our archives shows we've posted on the holiday every year since 2008, but not before that.  Here's an interesting set o' facts about the holiday, from the Usual Source o' Facts as I know it:

Overall, in 2007, 33% of employers gave employees the day off, a 2% increase over the previous year. There was little difference in observance by large and small employers: 33% for firms with over 1,000 employees; and, 32% for firms with under 1,000 employees. The observance is most popular among nonprofit organizations and least popular among factories and manufacturers.^[18] The reasons for this have varied, ranging from the recent addition of the holiday, to its occurrence just two weeks after the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, when many businesses are closed for part or sometimes all of the week. Additionally, many schools and places of higher education are closed for classes; others remain open but may hold seminars or celebrations of King's message. Some factories and manufacturers used MLK Day as a floating or movable holiday. Many business that used to close on Presidents' Day now stay open on that day and close on MLK Day instead.*

I don't believe I ever got MLK Day off while I was working.  I certainly didn't get the day off while I was in the military because the Feds didn't observe MLK Day as a holiday until 1986 (I retired in 1985).  Neither one of my civilian employers recognized the holiday, either.  So, chances are you work for the gub'mint in one way or another if you have the day off today.  The rest o' you should quit goofing off and get back to work.

*I removed a lot o' the links in the above paragraph.

MLK Day

Today is the holiday but Dr. King's birthday was actually this past Friday.  This is what I put up last year around this time:

MLK Day

I've always felt uncomfortable saying "Happy Martin Luther King Day." I don't say "Happy Presidents Day" or "Happy Columbus Day" either, and I could go on about other holidays in this same space. It just doesn't seem fitting to my eyes or sound comfortable rolling off my lips.

This holiday also didn't mean a whole helluva lot to me in years past. MLK Day wasn't a holiday while I was still in the military and I worked every MLK Day after it was designated as such... the Feds and State gub'mint employees are about the only ones off today... nearly everyone else works. My only observance of Dr. King's birthday in years past was to occasionally re-read his "I Have A Dream" speech, and I performed that small act only after the the internet came into being. (I was busy being inducted into the Air Force on the day Dr. King delivered the speech at the Lincoln Memorial, so I missed it.)

But this year is different, innit? Tomorrow the first African-American man in our history will be sworn into the highest office in the land. We should ALL be proud of that fact, regardless of our political views or loyalties. While Dr. King's dream hasn't been fully realized by any means, tomorrow's inauguration of Barack Obama at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol marks the biggest symbolic step in that direction I've seen in MY lifetime. It makes me proud to be an American... so VERY proud.

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

I stand by those words one year later.  While I am NOT pleased with what Mr. Obama has done as president I remain proud of the fact America elected him.  One is tempted to speculate about the role race played in the election but I'm not gonna go there.  Not today... or any other day for that matter.  I believe the American electorate made a supremely dumb move in electing Mr. Obama but that thought is based solely upon his laughingly/shockingly (you choose) thin qualifications for the land's highest political office and his political ideology.  It's too bad someone like Thomas Sowell or Colin Powell couldn't be sitting in Mr. Obama's chair today.  Those gentlemen may or may not be more deserving but they sure as Hell are better qualified.

MLK Day

I've always felt uncomfortable saying "Happy Martin Luther King Day." I don't say "Happy Presidents Day," or "Happy Columbus Day," either, and I could go on about other holidays in this same space. It just doesn't seem fitting to my eyes or sound comfortable rolling off my lips.

This holiday also didn't mean a whole helluva lot to me in years past. MLK Day wasn't a holiday while I was still in the military and I worked every MLK Day after it was designated as such... the Feds and State gub'mint employees are about the only ones off today... nearly everyone else works. My only observance of Dr. King's birthday in years past was to occasionally re-read his "I Have A Dream" speech, and I performed that small act only after the the internet came into being. (I was busy being inducted into the Air Force on the day Dr. King delivered the speech at the Lincoln Memorial, so I missed it.)

But this year is different, innit? Tomorrow the first African-American man in our history will be sworn into the highest office in the land. We should ALL be proud of that fact, regardless of our political views or loyalties. While Dr. King's dream hasn't been fully realized by any means, tomorrow's inauguration of Barack Obama at the West front of the U.S. Capitol marks the biggest symbolic step in that direction I've seen in MY lifetime. It makes me proud to be an American... so VERY proud.

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

MLK Day

I almost put this chestnut up again... for what would be the third time.  I thought better of it, though, mainly because of this:

But this year is different, innit? Tomorrow the first African-American man in our history will be sworn into the highest office in the land. We should ALL be proud of that fact, regardless of our political views or loyalties. While Dr. King's dream hasn't been fully realized by any means, tomorrow's inauguration of Barack Obama at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol marks the biggest symbolic step in that direction I've seen in MY lifetime. It makes me proud to be an American... so VERY proud.

Last year I said "I stand by those words" and the sentiment is still sorta true.  I say "sorta" because I'm getting tired of hearing about how far we've come.  I don't need reminding, thank you.  I was there.  I saw it, "it" being Obama's election and inauguration.  I was there for Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech, too... even though I was about to board an airplane and head off to basic training at the exact moment he delivered it.  I witnessed segregation's ugly face as a child and as a young man, so I understand... as much as any white man can... what this day is all about.  We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

That said... I don't like or want to hear any more self-congratulatory BS, thank you.  The moment has passed.  We should honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Junior on this day.  And that's IT.

Happy MLK Day

Hang on to your hats…it looks like the markets are in for a wild ride tomorrow. And it won’t be a fun sort of ride, either:

Global anxiety about the prospect of a recession in the United States triggered steep stock market declines Monday, pushing the Toronto Stock Exchange down more than 600 points, or 4.79 per cent, by mid-day.

[…]

The losses were felt across the board: In London, the FTSE 100 index plunged 5.48 per cent to close at 5,578.20 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 index lost 6.83 per cent to close at 4,744,45 points and in Frankfurt the DAX shed 7.16 per cent to close at 6,790.19 points, with both markets seeing the biggest single-day losses since the 9/11 terror attacks.

The European markets followed the Asian markets in posting steep declines.

In Asia, India's benchmark stock index tumbled 7.4 per cent, while Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng index plummeted 5.5 per cent to 23,818.86 – its biggest percentage drop since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Ouch. The market is off nearly nine per cent already this year… and tomorrow looks like a bloodbath-in-waiting. Enjoy your Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, folks.

―:☺:―

In other financial news… I had my propane tank refilled this morning. Total cost: $31.34 for just a wee bit more than 11 gallons. Two weeks ago I bought eight gallons for a mere $22.00. It looks like it’s gonna be a long, cold winter. And it’ll be a more expensive winter, too.

―:☺:―

So. I’m seeing a lot of this sort of talk lately, as exemplified by Bill Quick:

I will not vote for any ticket headed by John McCain or Mike Huckabee. If McCain is the nominee, I won’t vote for any candidate. If Huckabee is the nominee, I’ll vote for the Democratic candidate. Yes, I would vote for BJ & Hillary Clinton before I’d cast a vote for that constitution-rewriting Christian reconstructionist theocrat in the making, Huckabee. In fact, I won’t vote for any ticket of which he is a part.

At the moment, probably the best I can hope for would be a Giuliani/Thompson ticket. I think that, absent Fred, Rudy would have the best leadership talents. My only problem is where he would try to lead us. But I’d vote for him. I’d vote, but with less enthusiasm, for a Rudy/Romney ticket, in whatever order, and I would vote for a Romney/Thompson ticket.

But McCain or Huckabee? Either one is a deal-breaker, and neither will get my vote. The only difference is that Huckabee will cause me to vote - for his opponent.

Which is only partly offset by this sort of talk, coming from William Kristol writing in The Weekly Standard:

Conservative editorialists, radio hosts, and bloggers are unhappy. They don't like the Republican presidential field, and many of them have been heaping opprobrium on the various GOP candidates with astonishing vigor.

For example: John McCain--with a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 82.3--is allegedly in no way a conservative. And, though the most favorably viewed of all the candidates right now, both among Republicans and the electorate as a whole, he would allegedly destroy the Republican party if nominated.

[…]

So the conservative commentariat should take a deep breath, be a bit less judgmental about these individuals--and realize that there is not likely to be a second Reagan.

[…]

So conservatives might think of John McCain as our potential TR, Mike Huckabee as our potential FDR, and Mitt Romney as our potential JFK. Support the one you prefer. But don't work yourself into a frenzy against the others. Let the best man emerge from a challenging primary process. And if there is no clear-cut winner, then the delegates at the GOP convention can turn on the fifth ballot to an obvious fallback compromise candidate, one who would be just fine with conservatives--Dick Cheney!

I like Bill Kristol, always have. His “take a chill pill” advice is good advice. People like Mr. Quick, who says he would vote for Hillary rather than Huckabee, amaze me. There is at least one Supreme who will either retire or die on the bench during the next administration, and two more who are likely to retire. An administration lasts eight years at the most, the Supreme Court lasts for generations. My “eight year” figure doesn't consider the Second Coming of the Clintons as a continuation of a previous administration, and I probably should, coz the “new” Clinton administration will be a continuation of the old. Aside from the “who will bring me more dead terrorists?” question, the composition of the Supreme Court is the second most pressing issue that will be decided this November. And people like Mr. Quick would prefer Bill and Hillary over John McCain?

You have to be shitting me.

I think Huckabee is out of it, so I won’t talk about him, specifically, and that sort of kills half my argument. But the members of the “I’ll stay home if McCain is the nominee” crowd, and that crowd appears to be substantial in size, would only be cutting off our collective noses to spite their own small-minded faces. And, the Supremes aside, I have another question for the people petulantly stomping their feet about McCain… who would you really want as Commander in Chief? Billary, who presided over one of the largest draw-downs of the nation’s military and intelligence organizations in recent times, or a bona-frickin’-fide war hero?

Oh, wait…I forgot. Billary ain’t a lock, now, are they? Well, given that we know hardly anything about what Obama would actually do… absent detailed plans, policies, and the like… are you comfortable putting the security of the nation in the hands of a guy whose platform is limited to “Change!” and “Trust me?” Hell, that applies to any Democrat, actually… but it looks like Billary and Obama are the only two left standing. Whatever. Both want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq, increase your taxes, ratify Kyoto (more accurately: its successor protocol), give us mandate a “single-payer” health care system a la the British National Health Service, and change the composition and tenor of the Supreme Court. So, if that’s your idea of what America needs, then go ahead and stay home if McCain is the GOP nominee.

Excuse me if I don’t think that’s real frickin’ smart.

―:☺:―

Today’s (From the Archives) Pic: The only photo I have… or rather, can find at the moment… of The First Mrs. Pennington in her youth. This picture is of TFMP and SN2 in our off-base apartment in Wakkanai, Japan…sometime in early 1969. Quite the sultry wench, isn’t she? (“Sultry wench” is the archaic form of “hawt,” and is in no way derogatory.) There really should be more photos from this time period hanging around somewhere, and I hope there are. About which…

SN2 and I spoke on the phone last evening and he’s going to poke around in the boxes he’s holding for me to see if there are any other photos, slides and the like lurking within. I cannot believe, figuratively speaking, all the stuff that’s missing from my photo archives. Literally speaking, it’s easy to believe… given the state of flux life was in when I collected, boxed up, and sent SN2 all that which I absolutely, positively wanted to retain. It’s entirely possible a lot of stuff got thrown out inadvertently. And that would be a shame.

Party On, Garth

A few random thoughts for starters… First (and second, and third…): I watched about an hour of the Terrible Triumvirate’s gab-fest in South Carolina last evening. It was pretty much more of the same, as I expected. The “debate” was on CNN, moderated by Wolf Blitzer, another one of those pundits/anchor people I love to hate actively-dislike. Just this on Blitzer: he sucks as a moderator, as in little-to-no control over the participants.

The situation got out of hand early, with Clinton and Obama cherry-picking negative items from each other’s voting records, past quotes, resumés, yadda, yadda, yadda, and beating the snot out of each other. Interesting, if you like that sort of thing. I don’t, and Obama got what few points were available (from me) last evening when he said “American voters aren’t interested in political sniping” or some such. The Breck Girl was feeling pretty left-out and let the audience know that, to moderate applause. Silky Pony got real old, real fast, proclaiming “eliminating poverty is my life’s mission” with every other breath. Somehow, the spectacle of a multi-millionaire tort lawyer proclaiming he’s on a crusade to eliminate poverty sticks in my craw. But his supporters eat it up, which says a lot about them, eh?

But. (heh) The biggest (heh, yet again) take-away from last night?

Hillary has a BIG ass. BIG.

That’s not a comment about Hillary the candidate, Hillary the Democrat, or Hillary the Anything Else. It’s just an observation. It’s been widely reported (although I can’t find a link) the Clinton campaign has put reporters on notice there are certain “prohibited camera angles” when it comes to photographing Hillary. CNN didn’t get the message, though, because there were several…many, actually…shots of the candidates from behind. Last night was the first time I’ve seen that camera angle, by the way, so I’m inclined to believe the “don’t shoot her from behind” stuff. To say Hill is “broad in the beam” is an understatement of massive proportions (ed: OK, enough, already.)…

Last: Watching the Terrible Trio’s repeated genuflections to MLK’s memory last evening (the debate was co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus) made me think of the Law of Unintended Consequences. It’s an unfortunate yet true fact that MLK’s memory these days serves primarily to warn out-of-towners which neighborhoods to avoid when visiting a strange city. As a matter of fact, I’ve never seen an MLK boulevard, avenue, or street in any American city I’d walk alone after nine o’clock in the evening. There ain’t no McMansions on said streets.

―:☺:―

The market is not doing all that bad this morning—much better, actually, than I thought it would. The Fed’s Emergency rate cut seems to be holding off the blood-bath. For the moment. The Dow is down about 140 points as I tap this out, with a couple of hours left in the trading day. As it’s said: “It could have been worse.” A lot worse, judging from the European and Asian markets’ performances these last two days.

―:☺:―

It’s been nearly six months since I put that NeoWORX widget in my side-bar…I’m talking about that “Are We Global Yet?” thingie that shows the number of visits one gets from all the different and various countries. It’s my favorite widget. It took about four months to break the 100-country mark, and the counter held at 95 countries for the looongest time, but we’re up to 110 countries at the moment. Being as how I’m fascinated with geography, the ‘net, and technology in general, I find it simply amazing that someone… anyone… from Djibouti, Estonia, Korea, or Romania would read my scribblings. But, to be real about it, they’re probably only looking for pissing stories. As I’m fond of saying: “Imagine the disappointment…”

―:☺:―

Interesting…

Some 3 billion fortune cookies are made each year, almost all in the United States. But the crisp cookies wrapped around enigmatic sayings have spread around the world. They are served in Chinese restaurants in Britain, Mexico, Italy, France and elsewhere. In India, they taste more like butter cookies. A surprisingly high number of winning tickets in Brazil's national lottery in 2004 were traced to lucky numbers from fortune cookies distributed by a Chinese restaurant chain called Chinatown.

But there is one place where fortune cookies are conspicuously absent: China.

Now a researcher in Japan believes she can explain the disconnect, which has long perplexed American tourists in China. Fortune cookies, Yasuko Nakamachi says, are almost certainly originally from Japan.

Everything you could conceivably want to know about fortune cookies… and then some. I used to save my favorite fortunes and tuck ‘em away inside my wallet. I was gonna quote you some of my faves, but I apparently went through my wallet and threw ‘em out sometime in the past. Probably around the time the fortunes proved demonstrably false, say 1998.

But, Hey! The article is interesting, and I still read my fortune(s). I just don't save 'em any longer.

―:☺:―

Today’s (From the Archives) Pic: The Second Mrs. Pennington will probably put out a contract on me for this, but…

That’s the lady as Rotary High School Exchange Student in Tokyo, circa 1972 or perhaps ‘73. She was a senior at the time and the fact she was required to wear a uniform really grated on her. And don’t she look oh-so-innocent? Heh. You should hear some of her stories about her and Best Bud Junko’s sub rosa exploits in Harajuku, Shinjuku, and other such points in Tokyo. As I said: heh. The girl knew how to party.

(Terrible Trio photo credit: AP)