Grumpy Editor

Memorial Day remembers fallen American troops

Today’s Memorial Day observance means more than backyard barbecues and store sales, reminds Grumpy Editor who is taking the day off.

Originally called Decoration Day, many people observe Memorial Day by visiting memorials and especially Veterans Administration national cemeteries where commemorative events honor American men and women who died in service during wartime periods.

 

Forget scandals, National Jelly Bean Day looms Sunday

While growing Secret Service and GSA scandals along with Washington political jousting continue to grab chunks of newspaper space, look for some editors to work in sweet stories on jelly beans on Sunday, predicts Grumpy Editor.

Why? 

April 22 is National Jelly Bean Day.  (Yes, it’s also Earth Day, but jelly beans are tastier than sand or soil.) 

Behind the tasty celebration is the Jelly Belly candy factory in Fairfield, Calif. which produces more than 150 sweet treats. 

Air in that neighborhood is filled with the aroma of chocolate, peach, cinnamon, pineapple, or whatever is being cooked up that day. 

Plant visitors can take a 40-minute walking tour where they learn it takes more than a week to make a single bean. 

The company boasts that only authentic Jelly Belly jelly beans, with the logo printed on each, is fat free, peanut free, dairy free, vegetarian, gluten free and OU kosher certified. 

Aside from munching on individual beans, among ways to celebrate National Jelly Bean Day, Jelly Belly cites: 

+  Any pastry from layer cakes to cupcakes can get a makeover with colorful jelly beans.

+  Put jelly beans in a vase as a decorative accent.

+  Place jelly beans around candles on a tray for a splash of color.

+  But most important, Jelly Belly says its beans come with instructions to eat them one at a time.  “Each flavor is so true-to-life, savor them one by one,” advises the company.

 

Grumpy Editor taking an Easter break, returns April 16

 

Grumpy Editor is taking an Easter break and will be back in this space on April 16. 

In the meantime, if  something observed in print/broadcast or on the Web gets you mumbling (or worse), send details to GrumpyEditor@cox.net.

 

Grumpy Editor, observing Presidents' Day, takes time off

With the observance of Presidents' Day, Grumpy Editor is taking the day off and will return tomorrow.

 

Lincoln’s birthday gets less attention as years go by

Few readers of Sunday newspapers were aware that yesterday marked Abraham Lincoln’s birthday ---  a sad reflection on modern editors who usually relish anniversaries as easy ways to fill up columns around ads throughout the year, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Just last week, much editorial space was filled with two lengthy Associated Press stories on English novelist Charles Dickens birthday --- three years after Lincoln’s in 1809. 

Marking Lincoln’s birthday, once widely celebrated on Feb. 12, is now combined with all other presidents on next Monday’s Presidents’ Day.

However, Illinois, in observance of the 16^th president's birthday, closes  government offices, courthouses and libraries today (since Lincoln’s birthday falls on Sunday this year).  Even there, though, honoring the occasion is limited.  A banquet, organized by the Abraham Lincoln Association, was held last night at the President Lincoln Hotel in Springfield.

In New York, the state designated Lincoln's birthday as a floating holiday in 2012 for state employees in certain bargaining units. 

Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., yesterday celebrated Lincoln’s birthday and the opening of the Center for Education and Leadership with a day of free programming and activities that started with the National Park Service commemorating the occasion with wreath-laying in front of the theater.

One of the noteworthy tributes to Lincoln came yesterday in a Christian Science Monitor story by Peter Grier, who reminded: 

“Abraham Lincoln may be the greatest of all U.S. presidents. He ended slavery, won the Civil War, and ensured that the United States would remain united in the modern world. His face is printed on the five-dollar bill and stamped on the penny. The Lincoln Memorial is one of the nation’s iconic sites. 

“But Lincoln’s Birthday on Feb. 12 is not a national holiday, and it never has been.”

In one of the few mentions on television, Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee, interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, greeted the host with “Happy Abraham Lincoln birthday.”  He responded by noting her birthday was the day prior (in 1964, at Sandpoint, Idaho).

 

Congress takes off more in 2012, finds Grumpy Editor

Wonder why there are a lower number of  Washington datelines in newspapers?  Congress has been quiet, mostly out of town.  But some action resumes today with a call of the House at 6:30 p.m., Eastern, notes Grumpy Editor.

But House members are only scheduled for six days in session this month while the Senate convenes next Monday. 

On the way to fewer sessions this year despite pressing matters, don’t look for any solid month of action in the House. February, the shortest month on the 2012 calendar (despite being Leap Year), will see the House active the most days:  14.  Among the leanest months, the House is scheduled to meet only eight days in April, three in August and five in October. 

The Senate, meanwhile, schedules a number of “state work periods” that allows members more time to spend with constituents in their home states --- and for “fact finding” trips.  For the House, time spent in home districts is called “constituent work week.” 

Despite the many days off, Washington press corps’ reports will imply that just about every day --- even during holiday periods --- carries a full slate of pursuits by lawmakers busy in the nation’s capital.

( House and Senate calendars, below.)

2012 Senate schedule, 112^th Congress, 2^nd session

Jan. 23 - Senate convenes

Non-legislative days

Feb. 20 – 24, state work period

April 2 – 13, state work period

April 30 – May 4, state work period

May 28 – June 1, state work period (Memorial Day, May 28)

July 2 – 6, state work period (Independence Day, July 4)

Aug. 6 – Sept. 7, state work period (Labor Day, Sept. 3)

Oct. 8 - Columbus Day federal holiday

Nov. 12 -  Veterans Day federal holiday

Adjournment date to be determined

 

2012 House schedule, 112^th Congress, 2^nd session 

Legislative days

Jan. 17, 18, 23-25, 31

Feb. 1-3, 6-9, 14–17, 27–29

March 1, 5-8, 19-22, 26-29

April 16-19, 24-27

May 7-10, 15-18, 30, 31

June 1, 5-8, 18-21, 26-29

July 9-12, 17-20, 23-26, 31

Aug. 1-3

Sept. 10-14, 19-21

Oct. 1-5

Nov. 13-16, 27-30

Dec. 3-6, 11-14

 

Schedules are subject to change.

 

U.S. population grows, wolf enters California, radio talk show replays, Kodak stock sinks, among year-end events

Catching up on some year-end events that Grumpy Editor feels some folks (and editors) may have missed --- 

+ The Census Bureau’s projected U.S. population going into 2012:  312,780,968.  The agency also calculated one birth is expected every eight seconds and one death every 12 seconds in the U.S. 

One would think that with more people contributing to the federal pot, taxes would be lowered much like a going-away office party in which the more participants involved mean less contributions per person toward an outlay for a gift. 

+ A dopey year-end Verizon Wireless move to yank $2 a month for online or telephone payments from each customer lasted a day before the pickpocket idea was shelved.  The “convenience fee” plan immediately triggered a lot of grumbling and complaints from users of Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodaphone Group Plc. 

It followed the bad PR Bank of America received two months earlier when it attempted to impose a $5 monthly fee for debit card use. 

+ Associated Press got excited when a lone gray wolf crossed into California from Oregon.  That warranted an eleven-paragraph report, noting the animal --- wearing a global positioning system collar since February --- had wandered more than 300 miles from its original location.  Last gray wolf spotted in California was killed in 1924. 

+ Radio listeners during the holidays heard much of “best of” (the upscale name for repeats) talk shows.  What talk show hosts and their syndicators seem to forget is that radio is hailed for immediacy.  Year-end airing of such things as preparing for Thanksgiving dinners and other “upcoming” events that have long passed is just plain stupid. 

Guest hosts should be used to keep the focus on current events in a fast-moving world.  It’s an opportunity, too, to develop fresh fill-in talent at microphones. 

+ The stock of once-booming Eastman Kodak Co. closed 2011 at 65 cents a share, compared to the year’s high of $5.85.  The struggling image and printing company’s stock sold for about $30 a share on the New York Stock Exchange as recently as mid-2007.  Its last dividend was in December, 2008. 

Three Kodak directors resigned in December as the company works on shoring up an eroding cash position.

Year-end observations conclude tomorrow.

 

Grumpy Editor, observing the holidays, returns Jan. 3

 

Grumpy Editor is taking time off to celebrate Christmas and welcome year 2012.

He --- and his grumpiness --- will return on Jan. 3.

 

Turkey-minded Grumpy Editor is taking time off

Marking Thanksgiving, Grumpy Editor is getting away from his cluttered desk today to feast on turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Turkey sandwiches will follow tomorrow.

Then, perhaps more leftover turkey dishes over the weekend.

He will return, a few pounds heavier, on Monday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

Veterans Day 2011 deals abound for past, current military

Veterans Day today finds many operations --- from restaurants to parks --- honoring those in uniform, past or present, with special deals and offers; yet the fine gestures often do not make it into newspapers, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Deals and offers range from free lunch or dinner at many restaurants to a free donut at Krispy Kreme outlets. 

Home improvement chains such as Home Depot and Lowe’s dangle 10 percent discounts.  And a number of parks, commercial and federal, offer free admissions. 

Applebee’s, in efforts to get the word out, for example, paid for half-page ads in some newspapers around the country to announce its free meals today to military veterans and active duty personnel.  With almost 2,000 locations, the neighborhood restaurant chain, an operation of New York Stock Exchange-listed DineEquity Inc., last year served more than one million meals to current or former military. 

In enjoying the attractions and to weed out those not qualified, past and present military are required to show proof of military identification. 

Compiling the many Veterans Day offers is a giant task.  Few newspaper editors assign the time-consuming chore. 

But Ryan Guina, an Air Force veteran who writes about military money topics at themilitarywallet.com goes into detail with a long list of operations that offer Veterans Day deals.  He also writes at cashmoneylife.com. 

On The Military Wallet, he explains, “the military will always be near and dear to my heart, and I want to share as much information with our nation’s veterans and family members as I can.” 

The Web site, he points out, is designed to help military members, veterans, retirees and dependents find information about military money matters including pay, benefits, legislation and more.