Bush Declares Jan. 2 a Day of Mourning to Honor Ford (feds get day off from work)

[Herman Munster]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSCrw6Fc1iLg&refer=home

Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush declared Jan. 2 to be a national day of mourning after the death this week of former President Gerald R. Ford.

Bush ordered government agencies and departments to close that day, except for offices essential to national security. The Nasdaq Stock Market announced it will close to honor Ford, and the New York Stock Exchange also may shut. The last declared day of mourning was after former President Ronald Reagan's death in 2004, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

For the day of mourning marking Reagan's passing, government offices and U.S. financial markets closed as the nation's attention was focused on the funeral. The NYSE hasn't made an announcement on its schedule.

Ford, who rose to the presidency after the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974, died Dec. 26 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 93.

[MrCoffee]

1. day off! woo hoo!

[SoCalDem]

8. I'm sure people will all be holed up in their houses, glued to the TV

watching the somber events.. NOT!!

They will be out shopping (hey that's patriotic too)..or just kicking back before their arduous 3 day week :)

I'm sorry, but if a president dies in office or within 5 years of the end of his/her term, that's one thing, but to spend all that money on a showy funeral for a person who has not been "on the scene" for decades is just silly..

I keep having flashbacks to all those pomp and circumstance Soviet funerals we had for a while there..

[MrCoffee]

10. i'm not begrudging anybody a three day week, my mail carrier deserves it

[SoCalDem]

17. I'd like to give my carrier a break too

That poor guy carries tons of mail to us, and 99% of it ends up in the recycle bin.

I told my husband we need a trash can right by the mail box, so he can just dump all the junk right in it, and not have to wedge it all intot he mailboxes..

[Beaverhausen]

21. But lots of people get a check at the beginning of the month

and now will have to wait another day. For some people it could be a day too long.

[bicentennial_baby]

24. No...

The checks come in before the holiday, if the holiday is on the 1st and that's when they normally get it. Same goes for if the 1st is on a Sunday.

[monktonman]

2. Looks like Ford died just in time.

Now shrub has even more time to come up with a new Iraq strategy.
Thanks Gerry.

[HockeyMom]

3. I don't get Martin Luther King Day Off

Dr. King was a far, far, better man than Gerald Ford.

[Beaverhausen]

4. This is a bit much for an unelected president, is it not?

Was there this much hoopla when Reagan died? Was there a fed day off?

[MrCoffee]

5. yes there was.

[Beaverhausen]

7. oh. well- jesus christ...they have New Years Day off, why can't they mourn that day?

seriously...I mean...does the whole government have to stop?

[MrCoffee]

11. oh yeah, there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth...

or they'll sleep in.

I'm all for three-day weeks. Enjoy it, govt employees!

[Beaverhausen]

14. I know- they can go shopping!

[Dr.Phool]

15. You can't mourn and watch football at the same time.

Unless your team loses.

[Beaverhausen]

18. HELLO!!! Michigan is playing on New Years!

Aren't they?

[MrCoffee]

20. isn't the Rose Bowl on the 3rd?

[MidwestTransplant]

6. I wonder if the Simpsons episode with G Ford will be on too.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. I'm waiting for * to be caught on tape, referring to Henry Ford. n/t

[LTR]

12. I think this is typical

I recall it happened with Reagan, probably others.

Sounds customary to me.

[tulsakatz]

13. cool!!

does that mean state govts too? I'm supposed to pay a speeding ticket on Jan 2, so I guess that means I have 1 more day to pay the ticket!!

[Doctor_J]

16. I remember when Clinton did this for Nixon's death

Rush had the Limbeciles in an uproar over giving people a day off of work.

Didiots - evil or stupid?

[ewagner]

19. I like THE RUDE PUNDIT's eulogy...

The nicest thing that can be said about the dead man is that Gerald Ford wasn't bugf##k insane, and these days that is not faint praise.

Read the rest here:
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

[Marr]

22. I'm surprised he didn't make it January 3rd. You know-

to put off those Congressional investigations a day longer.

:)

[KatyaR]

23. Is that so he can have one more day of vacation?

:mad:

[kestrel91316]

25. If this means the banks will be closed I think that's called

a "bank holiday" (more than 3 days in a row closed) and is illegal.

But when did THAT ever stop him??

[Mnemosyne]

26. I think plenty of people will work that day,

shredding evidence and wiring the place for Dem sounds.