Presidential Poultry Pardon Is Poetic, but Ultimately Paltry

Every citizen knows the President—along with state Governors—have the right to grant pardons to citizens who have committed a crime.  With one stroke of a pen, they can overturn convictions of people they think deserve a second chance.  And those convicted persons can go free.

This pardon procedure apparently applies to dinner birds as well.  Ever since George H.W. Bush in 1989, the U.S. President has given pardons to large turkeys just days before Thanksgiving, the holiday where Americans consume 45 million turkeys.

The story goes that this turkey pardoning actually started in the Lincoln administration when the President’s son begged his dad to let the holiday bird go, claiming it had as much right to live as anyone else.  The kind Mr. Lincoln gave in, and the bird was spared.

However, do you know what happens to the birds whose lives are “spared” by the Leader of the Free World?  You can read more about last year’s Presidential turkey pardon here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/presidential-turkey-pardon_n_2160129.html.  Spoiler alert: it doesn’t turn out so well for the turkeys.

Have a good holiday, everyone.  And remember not to gobble down your food at the Thanksgiving table!

President Obama pardons a turkey prior to Thanksgiving.

November Doesn’t Honor All Veterans Equally

November in the U.S. is a time to honor the military veterans who served the country in times of war and peace.  As talks on immigration reform stall in Washington, a specific group of immigrants is holding its breath: ones who fought in World War II but whose children aren’t allowed to immigrate here.

One such soldier is John Aspiras, Jr., who fought in a guerilla unit against the Japanese army in the Pacific.  Aspiras is among tens of thousands of Filipino vets who got citizenship through a special immigration bill in 1990.

Along with his wife, Aspiras now lives in Los Angeles, but their 50-year-old daughter remains in the Philippines.  Lines are especially long for immigrants from the Philippines.  At age 86, Aspiras reminds legislators, “I'm not getting younger, if you know what I mean."

One person in Washington may have heard him. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii is proposing a bill to exempt immigration limits on children of Filipino war veterans.  The rationale: if they risked their lives for this country, they ought to be able to spend their golden years with their children at their sides.

For the children of veterans like John Aspiras, let’s hope members of Congress stop their partisan bickering and push ahead with reasonable immigration reform this month.  Now, that would be a way to honor our veterans.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/1azpW81.

Hallowe’en Traditions

The American holiday of Hallowe’en comes on the last day of October.  It is one of those holidays where schools and businesses are not closed, and not everyone celebrates.  However, if you want to join in the fun, I really encourage you.

If you’ve seen Hallowe’en, you think it’s all about costumes and parties.  But where did it come from?

Originally, the holiday is a recognition of November 1 in the Christian church as All Saints Day.  One of the meanings of “saint” is a friend or relative who has died before you.  Hallowe’en comes on the evening before All Saints Day and is spelled with an apostrophe between the two E’s.  “Hallowe’en” is an abbreviation of All Hallows Eve(ning).

In the United States, whether people do or don’t celebrate All Saints Day in church, they don’t usually think of Hallowe’en as a religious holiday.  It is just a day for dressing up in costumes.  Because the theme of the day was inspired by dead people, you will see lots of costumes related to death, for example, ghosts or skeletons.  At school parties and later in the evening, children can be seen dressing up like their favorite superhero.  

Flo (from Progressive Insurance Co.)

Adults often have competitions at parties to see who can dress up most creatively.  Last year, my nephew and niece went to a costume party dressed up as the spokespeople for two national insurance companies, Flo and Mr. Mayhem. (NOTE: Flo is short for Florence. Mayhem means chaos, confusion, complete disorder.)

If you are someone who likes parties or likes to dress up, ask your American friends about what they do to celebrate Hallowe’en.  Maybe they’ll invite you to a party!  

Mayhem (from Allstate Insurance Co.)

For more about Hallowe’en customs, click here.

Here is some advice on how NOT to dress for Hallowe’en.

Finally, here is somewhere to go if you are shopping for costume ideas.