According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first Memorial Day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic Washington Race Course (today the location of Hampton Park) in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity.
The freed slaves disinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave, properly reposed with individual graves, built a fence around the graveyard with an entry arch and declared it a Union graveyard. A daring action for freed slaves to take such in the South just shortly after the Union's victory. On May 30, 1868, the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they had picked from the countryside and decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the first Decoration Day. Thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers paraded from the area, followed by much patriotic singing and a picnic.
The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the place of origin because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter. The friendship between General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who helped bring attention to the event nationwide, likely was a factor in the holiday's growth.
Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization, Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance.
Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were relatively few veterans of the Union Army who were buried in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.
The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The holidays included Washington's Birthday, now celebrated as Presidents' Day; Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.
After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all fifty states adopted the measure within a few years. Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer close on Veterans Day, Columbus Day, or President's Day, with the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and/or New Year's Eve often substituted as more convenient "holidays" for their employees. Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season."
Waterloo's designation as the birthplace took place just in time for the village's centennial observance. The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 587 on May 17 and May 19, 1966 respectively, which reads in part as follows:
Resolved that the Congress of the United States, in recognition of the patriotic tradition set in motion one hundred years ago in the Village of Waterloo, NY, does hereby officially recognize Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day...
On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a Presidential Proclamation recognizing Waterloo as the Birthplace of Memorial Day.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Don’t Get Ready, Don’t Get Set, Just Go
“The cream of enjoyment in this life is always impromptu. The chance walk; the unexpected visit; the unpremeditated journey; the unsought conversation or acquaintance.” ~Fanny Fern
Anticipating something wonderful has its own kind of thrill, like looking forward to a long planned vacation, or meticulously selecting a special gift for a special friend. Somehow the joy is magnified – doubled really – when, after the anticipation, something wonderful happens, something truly worth the wait.
But when a thrill unexpectedly drops out of the sky, well, it’s almost a sign from somewhere ethereal. Enjoying life in an out-of-the-blue sort of way can be the perfect antidote to the rigidity that so often constricts our carefully planned movements. Too often, we mistake spontaneity for wastefulness or a sense of whimsy for silliness. Embracing spontaneity is good exercise for the creative spirit, which, like a well-toned muscle, becomes stronger and stronger over time.
In many ways, spontaneity is synonymous with creativity. When you lose the ability to be spontaneous, you risk loosing creative drive. In the workplace, many managers are engaging a creative environment. Yet, some people, especially policy lovers, are afraid of spontaneity. Unfortunately, they fail to realize that all the planning and organizing and time management can never replace what we learn when we just let life happen. A lot of life’s pleasures and once-in-a-lifetime experiences happen whether you plan them, write them down or not.
So, from time to time, leave your schedule behind. After all, the unplanned moments – the ones we can’t rehearse – are very often the richest.
Anticipating something wonderful has its own kind of thrill, like looking forward to a long planned vacation, or meticulously selecting a special gift for a special friend. Somehow the joy is magnified – doubled really – when, after the anticipation, something wonderful happens, something truly worth the wait.
But when a thrill unexpectedly drops out of the sky, well, it’s almost a sign from somewhere ethereal. Enjoying life in an out-of-the-blue sort of way can be the perfect antidote to the rigidity that so often constricts our carefully planned movements. Too often, we mistake spontaneity for wastefulness or a sense of whimsy for silliness. Embracing spontaneity is good exercise for the creative spirit, which, like a well-toned muscle, becomes stronger and stronger over time.
In many ways, spontaneity is synonymous with creativity. When you lose the ability to be spontaneous, you risk loosing creative drive. In the workplace, many managers are engaging a creative environment. Yet, some people, especially policy lovers, are afraid of spontaneity. Unfortunately, they fail to realize that all the planning and organizing and time management can never replace what we learn when we just let life happen. A lot of life’s pleasures and once-in-a-lifetime experiences happen whether you plan them, write them down or not.
So, from time to time, leave your schedule behind. After all, the unplanned moments – the ones we can’t rehearse – are very often the richest.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sex is not an Affirmation for Self-Esteem
The definition of self-esteem can be stated as the reputation we have with ourselves. It is not the feeling we get from a new outfit or a compliment or the need to have sex with an acquaintance or stranger to get over a relationship. New clothes, compliments, sex and all temporary lifts make us feel good for the moment, but they have a fleeting quality that needs to be reinforced as often as the tides change in our lives. These temporary fixes are not something we can count on to be with us through life's ups and downs.
Self-esteem is earned by us, for us and is not given by nature to some and not others. We are not born with a healthy self-esteem. We must acquire it if we are to walk the path of life with peace and dignity. Some of us develop a healthy self-esteem at an early age, while others work long and hard to cultivate it.
Nathaniel Branden, author of "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem" and "The Psychology of Romantic Love", says there are three challenges of life. Number one is to have the ability to take independent care of ourselves. Number two is developing competence in all relationships and number three is resistance. We will all know pain and defeat, but the important element here is - get back in the ring. This is the sure sign of healthy self-esteem.
Life may knock us down, but our self-worth says the experience happened to me, but it is not who I am. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, young women with low self-esteem use sex hoping that their partner will like them or will desire them or perhaps think they are the best thing they’ve ever experienced and will want and need them forever. This is destructive behavior and is NOT solid footing for a healthy long-term relationship.
Self-esteem allows us to place a higher value on our bodies, including the ability to take care of our health by practicing safe sex and by knowing when and if we are ready to take the responsibility of becoming a parent. It permits us to place our own importance on our sexuality by knowing who we are in this area and then finding a partner who is sexually compatible.
The following statistics are eye opening:
Over 40 million (1 in 5) people have genital herpes and 20 million have genital warts. Many people have passed an STD to a sex partner without knowing it. Incidence of genital herpes in the United States has increased 30% over the past 20 years. The largest increase has occurred in Caucasians, about 1 million new cases. Furthermore, 1 in 4 Caucasian women are infected with the genital herpes. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that an estimated 56,300 new HIV infections occurred - a number that is substantially higher than the previous estimate of 40,000 annual new infections. African American women represented 66% of AIDS diagnoses in women.
According to the philosopher Ayn Rand, sex is the highest expression of love and the greatest tribute - of one’s own physical existence - that one can offer to another within the context of romantic love. Sex is the affirmation of one’s body and spirit - the union of bodies motivated by and in response to the intimate connection of minds and one’s mind is identical to one’s self.
I’ve always said the mind is the sexiest part of the human anatomy. Happy and healthy or a statistic, which would you rather be?
Self-esteem is earned by us, for us and is not given by nature to some and not others. We are not born with a healthy self-esteem. We must acquire it if we are to walk the path of life with peace and dignity. Some of us develop a healthy self-esteem at an early age, while others work long and hard to cultivate it.
Nathaniel Branden, author of "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem" and "The Psychology of Romantic Love", says there are three challenges of life. Number one is to have the ability to take independent care of ourselves. Number two is developing competence in all relationships and number three is resistance. We will all know pain and defeat, but the important element here is - get back in the ring. This is the sure sign of healthy self-esteem.
Life may knock us down, but our self-worth says the experience happened to me, but it is not who I am. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, young women with low self-esteem use sex hoping that their partner will like them or will desire them or perhaps think they are the best thing they’ve ever experienced and will want and need them forever. This is destructive behavior and is NOT solid footing for a healthy long-term relationship.
Self-esteem allows us to place a higher value on our bodies, including the ability to take care of our health by practicing safe sex and by knowing when and if we are ready to take the responsibility of becoming a parent. It permits us to place our own importance on our sexuality by knowing who we are in this area and then finding a partner who is sexually compatible.
The following statistics are eye opening:
Over 40 million (1 in 5) people have genital herpes and 20 million have genital warts. Many people have passed an STD to a sex partner without knowing it. Incidence of genital herpes in the United States has increased 30% over the past 20 years. The largest increase has occurred in Caucasians, about 1 million new cases. Furthermore, 1 in 4 Caucasian women are infected with the genital herpes. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that an estimated 56,300 new HIV infections occurred - a number that is substantially higher than the previous estimate of 40,000 annual new infections. African American women represented 66% of AIDS diagnoses in women.
According to the philosopher Ayn Rand, sex is the highest expression of love and the greatest tribute - of one’s own physical existence - that one can offer to another within the context of romantic love. Sex is the affirmation of one’s body and spirit - the union of bodies motivated by and in response to the intimate connection of minds and one’s mind is identical to one’s self.
I’ve always said the mind is the sexiest part of the human anatomy. Happy and healthy or a statistic, which would you rather be?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
South Louisiana’s National Impact
The ports of New Orleans, South Louisiana and Baton Rouge provide important access to world markets and sources of exported and imported raw materials. These three ports are significant to the economy of the nation. They cover 172 miles on both banks of the Mississippi River. The ports of South Louisiana, New Orleans and Baton Rouge rank third, fourth and fifteenth, respectively in total trade by port to all world ports.
According to the North American Export Grain Association, these three ports serve as a gateway for nearly 55 to 70 percent of all U.S. exported corn, soy and wheat. Barges carry these grains from the Mississippi River to the ports for storage and export. Imports to these ports include steel, coffee, fruits, vegetables, iron, metal ores, non-metallic minerals, inorganic chemicals, forest products, vegetable fats and oils, natural rubber, fertilizers and organic chemicals.
In addition, Louisiana produced – not imported - 53,034,353 barrels of crude oil in 2007. Eighteen percent of U.S. oil production originates in, is transported through or is processed in Louisiana coastal wetlands with a value of $6.3 billion a year. Almost 24 percent of U.S. natural gas production originates in or is processed in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands with a value of $10.3 billion a year.
Louisiana’s OCS (outer continental shelf) territory is the most extensively developed and matured OCS territory in the United States. It has produced 88.8 percent of the crude oil and condensate and 83.2 percent of the natural gas extracted from all federal OCS territories from the beginning of oil and gas exploration and development in the U.S.
In addition to oil and gas, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands contribute 28 percent to the total volume of U.S. fisheries.
The United States depends on the oil and gas shipped through and produced in Louisiana’s coastal zone. An economic impact study entitled “Economic Impacts of Port Fourchon on the National and Regional Economies” was recently released. Completed by Dr. Loren Scott with Loren C. Scott and Associates, the study provides evidence of the critical importance of Port Fourchon to our regional and national economies. Dr. Scott said, “We engaged in this report to find out the dollars and cents and what exactly Port Fourchon means to this country.”
According to the study, if Port Fourchon had a 3-week loss of service for any reason, it would equate to a national economic impact of $9.9 billion in sales loss, $2.9 billion in household earnings loss and over 77,000 jobs loss nationally. These figures are based on $66 barrel of oil. To paraphrase Don Pierson, Assistant Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, “This report is a valuable tool to build the economy, assets and investments in this state. We can use this to show the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce and other organizations that Louisiana ports are a major asset.”
Our recent financial debacle stemmed from greed, misappropriation of funds and the ego of many in power. The government immediately assisted a self-inflicted fiasco. Nearly five years ago, a force majeure impacted a major U.S. economic resource - South Louisiana. To date, there are many areas still uninhabitable.
Is protecting Louisiana's economic and ecological resources a trivial pursuit? Is South Louisiana a foregone conclusion? Why did BP chose to ignore what a whistleblower was about to reveal? Why did our government delay taking aggressive measures to protect one of its fragile, but abundant resources? It appears that neither the oil industry nor our government learned valuable lessons from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
Once again, South Louisiana falls victim to the “if we ignore it, maybe things will clear up on their own” mentality. However, unlike Hurricane Katrina, the effects of BP oil spill will impact more than just those residing along the Gulf Coast. In addition, it is impossible to measure the devastation, as environmental consequences will continue to unfold for many years to come.
According to the North American Export Grain Association, these three ports serve as a gateway for nearly 55 to 70 percent of all U.S. exported corn, soy and wheat. Barges carry these grains from the Mississippi River to the ports for storage and export. Imports to these ports include steel, coffee, fruits, vegetables, iron, metal ores, non-metallic minerals, inorganic chemicals, forest products, vegetable fats and oils, natural rubber, fertilizers and organic chemicals.
In addition, Louisiana produced – not imported - 53,034,353 barrels of crude oil in 2007. Eighteen percent of U.S. oil production originates in, is transported through or is processed in Louisiana coastal wetlands with a value of $6.3 billion a year. Almost 24 percent of U.S. natural gas production originates in or is processed in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands with a value of $10.3 billion a year.
Louisiana’s OCS (outer continental shelf) territory is the most extensively developed and matured OCS territory in the United States. It has produced 88.8 percent of the crude oil and condensate and 83.2 percent of the natural gas extracted from all federal OCS territories from the beginning of oil and gas exploration and development in the U.S.
In addition to oil and gas, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands contribute 28 percent to the total volume of U.S. fisheries.
The United States depends on the oil and gas shipped through and produced in Louisiana’s coastal zone. An economic impact study entitled “Economic Impacts of Port Fourchon on the National and Regional Economies” was recently released. Completed by Dr. Loren Scott with Loren C. Scott and Associates, the study provides evidence of the critical importance of Port Fourchon to our regional and national economies. Dr. Scott said, “We engaged in this report to find out the dollars and cents and what exactly Port Fourchon means to this country.”
According to the study, if Port Fourchon had a 3-week loss of service for any reason, it would equate to a national economic impact of $9.9 billion in sales loss, $2.9 billion in household earnings loss and over 77,000 jobs loss nationally. These figures are based on $66 barrel of oil. To paraphrase Don Pierson, Assistant Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, “This report is a valuable tool to build the economy, assets and investments in this state. We can use this to show the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce and other organizations that Louisiana ports are a major asset.”
Our recent financial debacle stemmed from greed, misappropriation of funds and the ego of many in power. The government immediately assisted a self-inflicted fiasco. Nearly five years ago, a force majeure impacted a major U.S. economic resource - South Louisiana. To date, there are many areas still uninhabitable.
Is protecting Louisiana's economic and ecological resources a trivial pursuit? Is South Louisiana a foregone conclusion? Why did BP chose to ignore what a whistleblower was about to reveal? Why did our government delay taking aggressive measures to protect one of its fragile, but abundant resources? It appears that neither the oil industry nor our government learned valuable lessons from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
Once again, South Louisiana falls victim to the “if we ignore it, maybe things will clear up on their own” mentality. However, unlike Hurricane Katrina, the effects of BP oil spill will impact more than just those residing along the Gulf Coast. In addition, it is impossible to measure the devastation, as environmental consequences will continue to unfold for many years to come.