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On February 22, we celebrate George Washington’s Birthday. Other holidays celebrate whole classes of people – Independence Day commemorates the Founding Generation… Veterans’ Day celebrates all who have served in our armed forces; Memorial Day thanks those who made the ultimate sacrifice in that service. But Washington’s Birthday is different, because on this day, we’re focused on one man. As well we should be. We’ve had 45 presidents now, and tons of military leaders, in our nation’s quarter of a millennium of history. Why is President Washington singled out? Could it really be just because he was first? When he...

The California Assembly discussed Thursday a bill that would replace Abraham Lincoln or George Washington’s birthday with International Socialist Workers’ Day as a paid holiday. California Democrat Assemblyman Miguel Santiago introduced Bill AB-3042, which would allow schools to replace Washington Day and Lincoln Day with Presidents’ Day and install an “International Workers’ Day” — conventionally known as “May Day” — as a second holiday. “I’m aghast that a bill like this would be able to get through committee,” California Republican Assemblyman Matthew Harper said to the Assembly. “Are we in competition to be the laughing stock of the United States?”...

Civic leaders, activists, artists and others are celebrating, marching and paying homage Monday to Martin Luther King Jr., marking the 30th anniversary of the federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. In South Carolina, civil rights leaders planned a march to their state capitol as in past years when their rally highlighted calls to remove the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds. The King Day at the Dome gathering began in 2000 with that call. Last July, organizers got their wish as South Carolina swiftly removed the flag which had flown at the capitol for more than 50 years after...

In 1964, Hollywood placed a call: The recently retired James Cagney was offered one of the greatest character roles in musical theater: Alfred Doolittle, the wastrel father of Eliza. It turned out for the best, as the role then went to Stanley Holloway, the talented actor who had originated the role on the stage. Cagney would have loved to play it (who wouldn’t?), but Cagney had publicly announced his retirement after filming Billy Wilder’s magnificent but taxing comedy, “One, Two, Three” in 1961. On principle, Cagney refused to be one of those actors (and he had known many!) who retires,...

I just had to use a search engine and went to Bing. They have a beautiful picture of George Washington taken in silhouette from Mount Rushmore. I then went to Google. Their page is empty. No doodle. I feel beyond sad. I know this probably comes as no surprise to you all here, but I'm just sad. It seems that all today is is just a day to get fabulous sales at department stores, and not about our Presidents. I just wanted to say I feel sad over this and this might be the only place I know who have...

George Washington's Birthday is celebrated as a federal holiday on the third Monday in February. It is one of eleven permanent holidays established by Congress. Federal holidays apply only to the federal government and the District of Columbia; Congress has never declared a national holiday binding in all states and each state decides its own legal holidays. George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar which moved Washington's birthday a year and 11 days to February 22, 1732. Americans celebrated...

HARI SREENIVASAN: Finally tonight – the connection. As far as everyone is concerned, tomorrow is Presidents’ Day, and many of the advertisements would lead you to believe that it’s a celebration of two of America’s greatest presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. [TELEVISION COMMERCIALS] But despite what almost everyone believes, tomorrow is not a national holiday known as Presidents’ Day, even the Interior Department apparently isn’t in on the secret. Under a federal law passed in 1968, the third Monday of February was officially designated as “Washington’s birthday.” No mention at all of honest Abe. HAROLD HOLZER: Lincoln has never...

-excerpt- "We need to change the focus from celebrating sales at the mall to celebrating the significance of President Washington's birth to the birth of our nation," said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., sponsor of a bill to change the holiday to Feb. 22.

  Honoring China's 'The Year of the Pig' Over the weekend, Google highlighted the Chinese New Year – the year of the pig – with a couple of the porkers dancing in place of the "Os" in its name. But today, the Internet behemoth that recognizes holidays and special events with modifications to its logo declined to recognize the birthday of George Washington, "the father of our country" and the first president of the United States. It's been able, in recent months, to highlight special honors for Percival Lowell, Edvard Munch and Louis Braille. Lowell was an astronomer, Munch an...

George Washington is one of the most recognized figures in U.S. history. But familiarity breeds contempt. More often than not, Washington is an old painting on the wall – solemn, impersonal and distant – or the subject of childhood stories and nursery rhymes. We all know that he chopped down a cherry tree and had wooden teeth. The actual Washington is much more compelling. We can all see the brilliant flourishes of Jefferson's pen, Madison's constitutional handiwork or the success of Hamilton's economic policies, and that can cause us to overlook or underestimate the magnitude of Washington's achievement. Yet he...

DEBUNKING CINDY SHEEHANHEAR ABE LINCOLN/JOHNNY CASH + PBS' NEIL CONANby Mia T, 8.31.05 (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE)   "You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East."--Cindy Sheehan "And if you think I won't say bulls**t to the President, I say move on, cause I'll say what's on my mind."--Cindy Sheehan   The trusty triad's half-truths, exaggerations and outright lies,...

Whether today should be called Washington's Birthday or Presidents Day is a question that will not distract most Americans from patriotic golf rounds and shopping excursions. But it's less a question than a crusade for Lafayette lawyer Jason Bezis. He calls Presidents Day -- with its varying interpretations and occasional, floating apostrophe -- a noxious weed strangling the venerable oak of Washington's Birthday, which happens to be the official title of the holiday in California and under federal law. On paper, he appears to be right. And almost no one cares. "The poor oak tree's leaves are withering," Bezis, 31,...

TODAY is George Washington's birthday. Except that George Washington was born on Feb. 22, and today is Feb. 16. But as far as the federal government knows, his birthday is today. It may be the CIA's fault, but without a full investigation we'll never know. We wonder what Washington would think of what Washington has done to his birthday. "They did what to what, now?" It probably would confuse him, federal bureaucratic incompetence not having been invented until after his time. He'd most likely wonder why we stand for it. "Since when do Americans let their government tell them when...

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article first appeared on NRO on Feb 17, 2003. Can you name the holiday that falls on the third Monday in February? Like most Americans, you probably think its "Presidents’ Day." Every desk calendar and car sale ad seems to confirm it. So it may surprise you to learn that its legal name is still "Washington’s Birthday." The law establishing the holiday has never been changed. For all practical purposes, of course, his day has been forfeited to convenience. We celebrate it on the third Monday in February rather than on the actual day (Feb. 22), and...

When tradition faces off against the almighty buck, smart gamblers put their money on the money. Consider one of the overlooked revolutions of the '60s: the Uniform Holiday Act of 1968, under which Congress decided that George Washington's face on the dollar bill trumps George Washington's birthday. The act provided that beginning in 1971, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, and Washington's Birthday (later demoted to the beloved "Presidents' Day") were to fall only on Mondays. For years, Florida Senator George A. Smathers, the smarmy playboy best known as JFK's sidekick in the pursuit of venereal happiness, had been the...

  It's "Washington's Birthday" by Matthew Spalding, Ph.D.February 16, 2001   Can you name the holiday that falls on the third Monday in February? Like most Americans, you probably think its "Presidents Day." Every desk calendar and car sale ad seems to confirm it. So it may surprise you to learn that its legal name is still "Washington’s Birthday." The law establishing the holiday has never been changed. For all practical purposes, of course, his day has been forfeited to convenience. We celebrate it on the third Monday in February rather than on the actual day (Feb. 22), and we...