Happy Presidents Day, Hugo Chavez
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| Jose Cruz - Agencia Brasil |
| Hail to the Chief |
For those miserable s.o.b.'s (myself included) who didn't get today off, here's a little factoid you can bore your colleagues with around the water cooler.
Did you know that today is neither the birthday of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln -- the two dead presidents who we are supposed to observe on this day?
In 1971 Congress moved the holiday from Washington's actual b'day (February 22) to the third Monday of the month. Why? So that government workers and bankers could enjoy a three-day weekend while the rest of us slave away like we do every Monday.
That's why this Presidents' Day I'm choosing to honor Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Sure, he's a ruthless despot masquerading as a charismatic populist. But I can't think of a head of state who has as much to celebrate today as Chavez.
Yesterday the Venezuelan president won a referendum allowing him to run for president indefinitely. I head on the radio this morning that he has said he may serve until 2040. So here's to you, Hugo. I know you -- of all people -- would never sanction a holiday that gives the bureaucrats and capitalists the day off while we the proletariat work away. Viva la revolucion.
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