Sep 072015
Sep 072015
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LABOR DAY: WHAT IT MEANS
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
LABOR DAY LEGISLATION
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
FOUNDER OF LABOR DAY
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”
But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
Putin Shares Terrible Workout Video
Information, Political
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Sep 072015
A video has been released by the Kremlin that shows Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev lifting weights and using various other exercise equipment at Putin’s Black Sea residence of Bocharov Ruchei, near Sochi. After their workout, the two are then shown grilling meat and drinking black tea together.
If the video is meant to make Putin look strong, it failed. In it, he looks old and his exercise form is terrible.
Every fitness guy knows the laws of the gym. Don’t curl in the squat rack, never skip leg day, and ALWAYS focus on form. That last bit is especially important if you’re going to share a workout video with others (for showoff purposes). If you commit a fitness felony, you suffer the consequences: enter Vladimir Putin. The president of Russia took a break from posting questionable shirtless selfies to give us a glimpse of how he and his prime minister Dmitry Medvedev build their political pecs.
M&F Deputy Editor Matt Tuthill had some scathing critiques, saying Putin is “Russian” (sorry, had to do it) his cable work.
“His cable crossover form is crap,” Tuthill says. “[That’s] weird because it’s such an easy exercise. His reps are fast and bouncy. That exercise is all about getting a good contraction, and it doesn’t look like he’s getting any. Meanwhile, the prime minister [Medvedev] is doing some legit pullups. It’s telling that we only see Putin doing lat pulldowns. Whenever two guys are working back and it’s time for pullups, the weaker guy always opts for pulldowns.”
We’re not just casting stones here, M&F is all about correcting these problems. Here’s how that move SHOULD look. Unfortunately, we don’t have a fix for Putin’s very non-Putin use of workout gloves.
Sep 072015
Random Riddle: 9-7-2015
Riddles
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Sep 072015
| The word FACETIOUSLY contains the six vowels: A-E-I-O-U and Y in their alphabetical order. Can you find another English word that does the same? |
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