National Moment of Remembrance – Memorial Day, 3pm local time

The first unofficial National Moment of Remembrance was Memorial Day, May 1997 at 3pm. “Taps” was heard by Americans across the country on radio and television stations as a reminder not to forget the men and women who committed themselves with their lives to protect and defend our borders and our American Way of Life.

SEC. 4.  NATIONAL MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE.

The minute beginning at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day each
year is designated as the “National Moment of Remembrance”.

Why?

SEC. 2.  FINDINGS

(3)   the Federal Government has a responsibility to raise
awareness of and respect for the national heritage, and to
encourage citizens to dedicate themselves to the values and
principles for which those heroes of the United States died;

We could really use a “symbolic act of unity” right about now.

(5)   in House Concurrent Resolution 302, agreed to May 25,
2000, Congress called on the people of the United States, in a
symbolic act of unity, to observe a National Moment of
Remembrance to honor the men and women of the United States who
died in the pursuit of freedom and peace;

Feldenkrais and Gesellschaft Win “The Bee”

For 3 years running, the win at Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship went to the last two “men” standing. Since the first Bee in 1925, there have only been 5 other times dueling competitors took home the trove of cash and prizes.

“It was a marathon finish for these two outstanding competitors. In the 39th round, (Jairam) Hathwar correctly spelled “Feldenkrais,” a medical term used for a system of aided body movements intended to increase bodily awareness and ease tension. (Nihar) Janga immediately followed by spelling “gesellschaft,” which means a rationally developed mechanistic type of social relationship characterized by impersonally contracted associations between persons. With these correct spellings, the Scripps National Spelling Bee declared co-champions for the third year in a row.”  ~ PRNewswire, 27 May 2016

Fun Fact? You decide: The meaning of the word “Spelling Bee” is only a theory. It’s origin dates to 1875 when it was first seen in print, but it’s meaning is heavily hypothesized.

“Those who used the word, including most early students of language, assumed that it was the same word as referred to the insect. They thought that this particular meaning had probably been inspired by the obvious similarity between these human gatherings and the industrious, social nature of a beehive. But in recent years scholars have rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that this bee is a completely different word.”

“One possibility is that it comes from the Middle English word bene, which means ‘a prayer’ or ‘a favor’ (and is related to the more familiar word boon). In England, a dialect form of this word, been or bean, referred to ‘voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task.'”

My theory is Spelling Bee means to spell the letter “b.”   Yes?   No?

Welcome to Saturday’s Edition of RedState’s free-for-all Open Thread!  Go ahead and blather, blither or babble here. You’re among friends.