Posted on 09/10/2005 4:46:12 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
Lincoln holiday on its way out
By Phil Kabler Staff writer
A bill to combine state holidays for Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays into a single Presidents’ Day holiday cleared its first legislative committee Wednesday, over objections from Senate Republicans who said it besmirches Abraham Lincoln’s role in helping establish West Virginia as a state.
Senate Government Organization Committee members rejected several attempts to retain Lincoln’s birthday as a state holiday.
State Sen. Russ Weeks, R-Raleigh, introduced an amendment to instead eliminate Columbus Day as a paid state holiday. “Columbus didn’t have anything to do with making West Virginia a state,” he said. “If we have to cut one, let’s cut Christopher Columbus.”
Jim Pitrolo, legislative director for Gov. Joe Manchin, said the proposed merger of the two holidays would bring West Virginia in line with federal holidays, and would effectively save $4.6 million a year — the cost of one day’s pay to state workers.
Government Organization Chairman Ed Bowman, D-Hancock, said the overall savings would be even greater, since by law, county and municipal governments must give their employees the same paid holidays as state government.
“To the taxpayers, the savings will be even larger,” he said.
The bill technically trades the February holiday for a new holiday on the Friday after Thanksgiving. For years, though, governors have given state employees that day off with pay by proclamation.
Sen. Sarah Minear, R-Tucker, who also objected to eliminating Lincoln’s birthday as a holiday, argued that it was misleading to suggest that eliminating the holiday will save the state money.
“It’s not going to save the state a dime,” said Minear, who said she isn’t giving up on retaining the Lincoln holiday.
Committee members also rejected an amendment by Sen. Steve Harrison, R-Kanawha, to recognize the Friday after Thanksgiving as “Lincoln Day.”
“I do believe President Lincoln has a special place in the history of West Virginia,” he said.
Sen. Randy White, D-Webster, said he believed that would create confusion.
“It’s confusing to me,” he said.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, suggested that the state could recognize Lincoln’s proclamation creating West Virginia as part of the June 20 state holiday observance for the state’s birthday.
Proponents of the measure to eliminate a state holiday contend that the numerous paid holidays - as many as 14 in election years — contribute to inefficiencies in state government.
To contact staff writer Phil Kabler, use e-mail or call 348-1220.
Just preventing a cybersquatter from grabbing #1000.
Just preventing a cybersquatter from grabbing #1000.
Dang double posts!
Burn the bandwidth mini!
Congrats!! you got the 1000th.
Another accomplishment in your life and a great one at that.
Tu ne cede double posts=10.
Ok Mini?
Actually I have enjoyed them, especially when they support a refutation of the obtuse brand of manure that you've been peddling around here. I'd say the good ship 'Unfair Economic Practices Led the South to Leave' is listing heavily to port and taking on water rather quickly [lol].
For what it's worth, the City of Charleston is one of the oldest seaports in the United States dating back to 1670. At the time of the American Revolution it was the fourth largest city in the Colonies, and several of the wealthiest Americans lived in Charleston at that time. The only impediment to Charleston's establishment of a shipbuilding industry prior to enactment by Congress of the Navigation laws [imo] was the predominantly foppish nature of it's inhabitants.
I don't know where you guys find all the time to gather this data / information but it's a good history lesson (some of it seems like minutiae but still worthy of tucking away) so.....thanks
New York outpaced its rivals through good fortune and determination. It was blessed by geography: A large, protected port that remained free of ice throughout most of the year, its closeness to the open sea, and a river that provided it with easy access to a vast hinterland gave it a privileged start. New York's merchants, capital rich and risk taking, used these endowments to good advantage by dredging shallow passages in the harbor, and by forging canals and railroads that enlarged the city's hinterland ever more. But more important in the story of New York's rise than geography or even infrastructure were the commercial enterprises that its merchants built. Here, where the Hudson meets the Atlantic, they fashioned trading houses that connected the British industrial economy to the cotton plantations in the American South. New Yorkers bought cotton in the South for transport to Liverpool, returning in their sailing vessels the bountiful goods of Britain's industry to equip and clothe western farmers, northern workers, and southern plantation owners. Once they drew this trade into their port, it was all but impossible for others to compete. Advantages in trade, in turn, could be translated into other enterprises. Drawing labor from the densely inhabited streets along the East River, manufacturers large and small produced ever more printing presses, carriages, books, and ready-made clothing, supplying not only New York's unrivaled urban market but also much of the rest of the nation. Along the fine boulevards of southern Manhattan just north of the Battery, bankers, insurance agents, and lawyers set up shop and lubricated the machinery of trade and production. Strategically placed at the center of a rapidly growing economy, New York's bankers, manufacturers, and merchants reaped proceeds from the cotton fields of Louisiana, the iron works of Pennsylvania, the sugar plantations of Cuba, and the railroads extended throughout the nation.
The Monied Metropolis: New York City and the Consolidation of the American Bourgeoisie, 1850-1896 -- Read it? Worthwhile?
The only one of these that doesn't apply to New Orleans is that it doesn't remain free of ice throughout most of the year. It stays that way ALL year.
As for the rest, it simply illustrates that New Yorkers were better capitalists. Ironic from a bunch of people who keep citing Mises. And yet, despite all that, the south had a higher per capita income (by a good chunk) and most of the richest people in the country.
Out of facts and using AD Hom attacks?
Try reading and research.
Out of facts and back to the AD Hom attacks again.
The MLK "holiday" is the only one I can't practically defer. It occurs in the final timecard period of the fiscal year. If my project responsibilities make it impossible to take the day off or my hours worked exceeds 80 for the time period, the company just pockets the "holiday" pay. There is no deferral because all unused "holiday" time is wiped off the books at the end of the fiscal year.
The day after Thanksgiving has been an official paid holiday at my current and all former employers for the last 30 years.
No, it's quite the opposite I would say. Here's a sampling from some of your recent posts to me.
"...But we all know you are not interested in facts, but ongoing nonsensical bloviations."
"...You seem to confuse obfuscation with rational debate. So, go ahead and enjoy yourself."
"...You always ignore facts running counter to your pantsload posts."
"...refrain from playing the "its quite possible" game...that's for children."
Could it be that you've resorted to these prevarications in order to avoid answering the question...
"If the City of Charleston was funding the dredging project in 1857 [as you have claimed] and had purchased the General Moultrie from New York for that purpose, why was the dredgeboat charging 66cents per cubic yard for the work, and who was paying the bill?"
Sure Maxi.
Spot on, Mini.
That, and the fact that it's twice as far away.
From Europe, sure. On the other hand, it's much closer to the southern cotton plantations, and the interior access provided by the Mississippi is superior to that of New York.
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