The Brew: Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington

On this Monday, we’d like to bring you some little-known facts in honor of President’s Day.

But first, a question: Is it “President’s Day”? or “Presidents’ Day”? Or even “Presidents Day”? Enquiring minds want to know whether it belongs to one president, a group of them, or is just an admission that our nation has had multiple presidents, and therefore we should all get a day off. If you know the correct answer, please email us at ContactUs@stream.org. Until then, we’re just going to pick one and go with it.

President’s Day Isn’t a Federal Holiday

First: There’s no such thing as President’s Day unless you’re a retailer gimmicking your way to high sale numbers over a three-day weekend.

The third Monday in February is, per law, officially recognized as Washington’s Birthday to honor George Washington, born on February 22. But on March 13, 1968, H.R. 15951, known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, was introduced in the House of Representatives with the purpose of marshalling all the federal holidays previously scattered throughout the work week into a more uniform observance on Mondays. According to Britanica, congressmen discussed renaming Washington’s Birthday “President’s Day” in order to simultaneously observe Abraham Lincoln’s Feb. 12 birthday , but Congress rejected the name change.

Sometime between H.R. 15951 passing Congress that June and taking effect on January 1, 1971, President’s Day became the commonly accepted name. It’s a nice gesture to remember all the presidents throughout U.S. history — but let’s be honest, there are probably more past presidents whose exit from the White House we’d like to celebrate rather than their entrances. So, while we like a good sale as much as the next person, we say, “Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington, and thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate the day.”

Presidential Movies

If scoring a good deal on a mattress or new appliance isn’t your thing today, might we recommend a presidential-themed movie to help you make the most of your day off? Here are some of our favorites:

Washington’s Armor (2022/PG) is a new film from Capernaum Studios, and the first time a producer has tackled a biopic on him for the big screen. It is set 20 years before the Revolutionary War, showing events leading to the French and Indian War, and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime!
Lincoln (2012/PG-13), starring Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln, is a good biopic showing Lincoln’s struggle to end the Civil War and slavery. Hollywood took some liberties to appeal to a wider audience, but it’s still a good depiction of the anguish Lincoln might have felt during the Civil War.
Dave (1993/PG-13) stars Kevin Kline as a double for the president who is then recruited by the Secret Service when the “real” president has a stroke and is unable to perform critical functions. It’s a hilarious take on what happens when someone who is not a career politician is handed the reins of government — and perhaps a funny look into the future of what we’re experiencing right now with President Donald Trump’s Department of Governmental Efficiency breaking eggs all over the Deep State.

 
State of the Union (1948) Directed by the legendary Frank Capra, this film stars Spencer Tracy as the reluctant presidential candidate Grant Matthews who has no idea of the comprises the “machine” will ask him to make in order to win.
Reagan (2024/PG-13) shows pivotal events in the life of Ronald Reagan that would eventually lead him to run for president of the United States. Dennis Quaid turns in a laudable, respectful performance for the great man he was cast to portray.

You might notice that a few R-rated films are missing from this list. While they’re worth mentioning, we wanted to stick to films a family with teenage children could watch together and discuss. If you watch any of these today or have a favorite we didn’t mention, tell us about it on our social media channels.

Vance Visits Munich

Vice President JD Vance traveled to Germany last Friday for the Munich Security Conference, where he delivered a speech worthy of the history books.

Vance addressed the censorship of Europeans’ speech, noting, “Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners.”

THIS IS A MASTERCLASS.

J.D. Vance, speaking to countless European leaders: Unfortunately, when I look to Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to the Cold War’s winners… Brussels was warning citizens they plan to shut down social media during times of… pic.twitter.com/xTOyrjQTFX

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 14, 2025

He spoke of individuals like Adam Smith-Connor, a Briton who was arrested and convicted of “breaching a safe zone” when he did not move from the spot where he was praying outside an abortion clinic. Likewise, in a fashion reminiscent of the Secret Police, last March German cops conducted raided the homes of people suspected of posting antifeminist comments on social media as part of the nation’s attempt to combat “misogyny on the internet.”

Although no arrests were actually made, the major problem is that these raids were carried out selectively, with the police determining that “misogyny” is “hate speech,” then went online to hunt for people to prosecute — regardless of the context in which their posts were made. The raids were conducted with the intent of intimidating people into silence. One can’t help but think of Minority Report when it comes to going after people for “thought crimes”; as we saw in that film, it’s a great way to needlessly destroy someone’s life.

Speaking of Practices Not Okay in America …

Last week, Dr. Yasir Qadhi — who, according to his own website, is “recognized as one of the most influential Muslim scholars in the United States” — posted a video on social media proposing a new residential development called Epic Ranches near Plano, Texas.

A planned community in Texas is not news-breaking. What is unique about this one, though, is that Qadhi envisions it as a “Muslim paradise” — sparking a robust conversation across the twitterverse about whether that includes sharia law.

Announcing the launch of EPIC Ranches, a housing opportunity open to anyone who wants a home next to EPIC City (open to non-Americans as well).

This ambitious project is like no other: we are building an entire community from scratch! Islamic Schools, college, masjid,… pic.twitter.com/kaZjvTwRt9

— Dr. Yasir Qadhi (@YasirQadhi) February 12, 2025

We can just imagine what the marketing campaign for that might look like:

“Come to Epic Ranches — where you can leave your doors unlocked at night because we chop off the hands of thieves!”

“Enjoy an idyllic life in Epic Ranches, where women wear burqas in the triple-digit temperatures, just like in Iran!”

“Welcome to Epic Ranches, where no dog will ever poop on your lawn … because we kill them.”

“Tired of all that LGBTQ indoctrination at your kids’ schools? Move to Epic Ranches, because you DEFINITELY won’t find anything like that here.”

“Men, make your home in Epic Ranches. Here, you’ll have ALL the rights — to everything.”*

*Non-citizens welcome; infidels need not apply.

Last May, Stream contributor Raymond Ibrahim shared a piece titled “Cautionary Tale: Egypt’s Islamic Present Could Be the West’s Sharia Future,” which seems very timely right now.

You know, we can’t help but think of another film, Back to the Future Part 2, when Marty McFly must travel back in time to prevent his neighborhood, Lyon Estates, from becoming a violent ghetto under the control of Biff, the local thug.

Along The Stream…

Speaking of Raymond Ibrahim, later today we’ll have a video he posted explaining how Muslims exploit the Bible to justify their hatred of Christians and Jews.

Meanwhile, Tim Furnish brings us the shocking details of a recently released report on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — and why it should most likely be purged by DOGE. Look for a second piece by him sometime in the near future explaining its role in the 2020 election fraud.

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of what could happen when sharia law comes to a community near you.

The post The Brew: Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington appeared first on The Stream.

Source link