Archive of entries posted on 10th October 2011

Columbus Day

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I think it was “in Nineteen-Hundred and Forty-Two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…”

Maybe it was earlier, because if it was then, the Germans would have torpedoed him.

I’ll go look it up. Be right back.

* * *

Okay, I’m back. And here’s the deal. It was a Friday, October 12, 1492 (makes a difference). At least, on the Julian calendar it was a Friday. I can’t tell you what day of the Gregorian Calendar, because Pope Gregory XIII wasn’t born until 1502. But I think it would have been a Wednesday.

Anyway, Friday October 12, 1492 is when Columbus discovered America. Which was a shock to the people already living here.

So, it’s a holiday. Columbus Day, that is. Only we don’t celebrate it on the Friday. Or a Wednesday. No, the government has decided that it’s on a Monday, and that makes it October 10th this year.

Banks are closed today, because of Columbus’ influence on the banking industry. Or something.

Post Office is closed, too. Get used to that.

Schools are closed, too. At least, I didn’t see any school buses stopped in the road loading or unloading kids while cars sped by at 55 in a 35.

So, I suppose we’re supposed to be celebrating. I’m observing Columbus Day by working at my job in Columbus.

How are you celebrating Columbus Day?

When it’s Media Whore vs Media Whore, who do you cheer for?

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I haven’t followed much of the whole Occupy Wall Street thing for a few reasons. First, unless it’s well-financed by lots of money, it’ll go away soon. Next, it’s up in New York, and that kind of stuff won’t happen around here.

Only, now, there’s an Occupy Atlanta group. Which is a little closer to home.

Now, lots of people confuse Atlanta with Georgia. Atlanta is in Georgia, but Atlanta isn’t Georgia. (Don’t make me spend a bunch of time explaining the difference; it’ll end up with you acknowledging I’m right and a lot of time wasted. Or, you could just accept what I say save yourself a lot of time and aggravation. Agreed? Good.)

The geography involved with protests being in Atlanta makes the whole protest thing suddenly relevant to people who live or work in Georgia.

Nobody really knows what they’re protesting. Maybe the Braves’ end-of-season collapse, I don’t know. Best I can tell, they saw some protests on the television and said, “Hey, we can do that!” And so they are doing that.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has decided that they’re protesting “corporate greed and the war in Afghanistan,” although it couldn’t find anyone to actually say that. They did find a fellow from Copwatch, an anti-police group, who’s not sure why they’re there, either.

Just like a pile of manure attracts flies, the Occupy Atlanta protests have attracted flies like John Lewis.

The whole left likes to make out like he’s some civil rights hero or something. He’s not. He was a media whore then, and he’s a media whore now. And, in case you forgot, he’s the little liar who made false claims that TEA Party protesters hurled racial epithets at him. They didn’t.

So there are the players: a protest group that doesn’t know what they’re protesting about and a long-time left-wing protester who got himself elected to Congress a while back.

Lewis showed up at the Occupy Atlanta the other day, wanting to show his supporte for their protests about … whatever the hell it is they’re protesting. And, he wanted to address the group. They told him “no.”

Who do you root for in this one? John Lewis, who’s way past his 15 minutes? Or Occupy Atlanta, which has camped out in Woodruff Park (where Atlanta’s homeless-away-from-home reside).

I’m sort of amused by all this. Media Whore vs Media Whore. I just wish they were a little further way.