How holidays were born in the United States and the choice of issuing holidays by each state. In the United States, federal holidays are designated by Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. § 6103). The 11 recognized federal holidays are New Year's Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington's birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Inauguration Day. The... (587 views)
Tips on How to Tip During Holidays It seems that tipping for Christmas isn't just a New York phenomenon — some exotic ritual performed by big spenders in the land of doormen, taxis, and Broadway. Tipping is a show of appreciation for the people who make your life easier in big and small ways. Those people are not your friends exactly, but theyre more intimate than mere acquaintances (they've folded your... (6 views)
Paris Side Trips Create an Atmosphere of Medieval Times As I walked through a narrow path avoiding the brush of nettles, I passed into a clearing of crows circling a beige-blanketed wheat field. It was a familiar setting that I had seen many times before. It was here that Van Gogh created his memorable ''The Wheat fields with the Crows,'' one of 78 paintings completed in 70 days before his death in July 1890 in this medieval... (152 views)
Shifting Attention: Transmission Makes a Manual seem Vintage I used to think that when I lost the thrill of shifting gears, it'd be time to throw dirt on the pine box. (363 views)
The Controversy Surrounding the Festival of Kwanzaa What is Kwanzaa?Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated in the African-American community. It is a celebration of family, community, and culture, and it is the fastest growing holiday in the United States. It is thought that about 18 million celebrants around the world recognize Kwanzaa each year. Baltimore, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New Orleans, New York, and... (2819 views)
December 18 2006 Legal Blog Roundup This week's article has been inspired by every lawyer's favorite pastime: complaining. Don't deny it. Those in our profession live to gripe about everything under the sun; that's just what we do. I've really started things off on a high note, huh? I'm sure this is going to be a really positive and spiritually uplifting article. (16 views)
Paralegal Profession Expands in the Philippines The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved the incorporation of Asian Advocates for Paralegal Practice, Inc., granting it ''juridical personality,'' according to an article in The Manila Times. (627 views)
The case of appropriation of school funds vis- Last week the Supreme Court turned down appeals in two cases it might usefully have heard. One case came from Kansas, the other from Hawaii. The cases had nothing in common, but they involved interesting points of law. Besides, the court needs something to do. (21 views)
Gift Cards Exposed Uncertain what to get your child's teacher, the mailman, or your exercise partner? More and more of us are reaching for gift cards. Attractive because they allow the recipient to pick exactly what they want, gift cards come in all colors, varieties, and denominations. They also come with more restrictions than you may realize. (38 views)
Spas have become Florida's Fountain of Youth In 1513, when Ponce de Leon landed on the sun-drenched shores of the land he called Florida, legend has it that he was in search of the fabled fountain of youth. The fountain still exists, but only as a tourist attraction, in the beautiful old city of St. Augustine. (80 views)
Bold changes help Harley find sweet spot It's getting harder to make fun of Harleys.Over the years, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of lampooning a Harley's traditional tendency to leak fluids like a butchered hog, shed parts like a stripper and accelerate as if it were tied to a hydrant. But those days are over. (343 views)
ONCE MORE INTO THE ABYSS The Supreme Court heard argument on Monday in two important cases. Ordinarily I would have been there to hear them. On Monday I stayed home. (18 views)
Electronic documents is a must for all litigation cases On December 1, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) relating to e-discovery went into effect. (142 views)
Honoring and Celebrating Paralegals Untiring Behind the Scene Work There are days dedicated to mothers, fathers, grandparents, bosses, and secretaries. There are days dedicated to the earth, to veterans, to the American flag, and to the planting of trees. From National Popcorn Day on January 19 to Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 23, special holidays call our attention to things and/or people we may take for granted in everyday life. (6842 views)
Singing a Holiday Tune or a Debt Dirge? For many people, the season of giving is also the season of guilt. It's a miserable feeling to be shopping for holiday gifts with a credit card that already has a big balance hanging over your head. It's a helpless feeling of drowning, with the shore nowhere in sight. (8 views)
Spirit of Christmas past in the Rockies GRANBY, Colo. - When we think of Christmas, we think of home. There's the tree and traditions, the music and the annual rediscovery of decorations we collected over a lifetime, each with a story. And there's the smell of holiday baking drifting in warm currents through the house, taking us back to past Christmases when families had time to draw close and create the... (33 views)
Aura of respectability: Saturn creates a solid move-up car For a division of General Motors that was budget-starved for the last decade, Saturn's new sedan casts a bright Aura. (8 views)
Microsoft Releases Vista to Businesses Microsoft Corp. launched its first new computer operating system in five years Thursday, saying that despite delays, the product's emergence is perfectly timed for PC users who increasingly need to coordinate information from a dizzying array of sources. (9 views)
The case of music artist, professional singing and copyright Let us suppose, to be supposing, that an enterprising pornographer decides to seek a new market for his dirty pictures. He surmises, correctly, that law students have minds as dirty as the minds of, say, journalism students. So he puts together a law review filled with photographs of nekkid ladies. (4 views)
Holiday Deals for Online Shoppers This year, as in years past, I will shop almost exclusively online for holiday gifts. I love the convenience, the fact that I don't have to take along my toddler (except for rides in our swiveling office chair), and the ease of using comparison shopping sites like Froogle to bargain-hunt. (6 views)
Mother Nature rules the land of Kenya Vastness. A sky has it. A sea. In Kenya's case, the entire country offers vistas filled with a kind of nobility and vibrant colors that must have marked the first stroke of time. (212 views)
Big ESV falls short of Cadillac experience General Motors builds so many variants of its full-size SUVs that the differences end up being six of one, a half-dozen of the other between those at GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac. (26 views)
Panel debates ban on violent video game sales to minors A new Oklahoma law banning the sale of violent video games to children could be declared unconstitutional, according to a panel of experts who spoke at the First Amendment Congress of Oklahoma. (13 views)
One for the Cops First the good news: The Supreme Court will hear argument early next year in the sad case of a 19-year-old who tried to outrun some Georgia cops and wound up a paraplegic. (48 views)
November 27 2006 Legal Blog Roundup With so much going on this week in the world of legal blogs, you've probably been tossing and turning all night, worrying that you were going to miss out on hearing about some cataclysmic legal event or brilliant commentary. Well, take a deep breath. You can all rest easy. I've done all the digging for you. I've got all the treasures of this week's legal news right here. (6 views)
The First Posthumous Pardon by the President of the United States in 1999 A court-martialed U.S. Army officer. The only woman ever executed in Georgia's electric chair. The first African-American heavyweight world champion boxer. Jamaica's first national hero. A foul-mouthed comedian. What do these people have in common? (419 views)
Shopping Strategies for Serious Bargain Hunters The average consumer will spend a tidy sum this season - anywhere from $800 to $1,125 - to win the affections of their loved ones and keep the economy chugging along. (33 views)
Fabulous first nights When it comes to New Year's Eve, Boston throws one heck of a party. It's called First Night and it's alcohol-free and family friendly - a community celebration of the arts that marks the passage from the old year to the new with art, ritual and festivity. (228 views)
People's choice: Mercury Montego builds on customer-satisfaction award As the dark clouds and shorter daylight hours of winter settle in, the safety features and all-wheel drive of the Mercury Montego sedan are as comforting as a bowl of hot soup. (6 views)
Nintendo Launches Wii, Challenging Sony More than a thousand fans lined up in Times Square for the Sunday launch of Nintendo's entry into the holiday season's field of competing video game consoles, the cheap but innovative Wii. (8 views)