Today, February 16, is Presidents' Day, a holiday that began as a tribute to the first U.S. president, George Washington. In fact, in some places it is still called Washington's Birthday, and that is the official name still recognized by the federal government. The day became a government holiday in 1885. It was celebrated on Feb. 22, which is Washington's actual birthday. In 1971, the holiday was moved to the third Monday in February. Though it's still officially Washington's Birthday, the day has become known as Presidents' Day to recognize both Washington and Lincoln. Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States (though he is the 43rd man to be president, because Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th). See suggestions for learning names of presidents in order at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/15/AR2009021501546.html

Obama will sign ARRA, the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, on Tuesday in Denver.

Free Searchable Database of Barack Obama Speeches - 2002-2009
askSam: "Search the full text transcripts of more than 200 speeches by United States President and former Senator, Barack Obama. Search keywords and phrases, search by speech title, speech date, or speech location in more than 200 Obama speeches."

The librarian who operates The Wall Street Journal's news research library--which is set to close with the elimination of her job and another staffer's--said in a memo to other librarians that the shutdown is both a personal difficulty and a hit to news coverage.
"When I asked who will do research for the reporters, I was told, 'No one,'" the memo from Leslie A. Norman, posted on a librarian list serve last week, stated. "The reporters will probably be using a Lexis product called Due Diligence Dashboard . . .
lisnews.org February 11, 2009

The word "lexicon" can be used as a synonym of "dictionary," and the word "lexicography" refers to the practice of dictionary making. Both of these words, as well as "lexical," derive from the Greek word "lexis," meaning "word" or "speech." A fourth descendant of "lexis" is "lexiphonic," an adjective describing one who uses pretentious words for effect. "Lexis" should not be confused with the Latin "lex," or "law," which is used in legal phrases such as "lex non scripta," meaning "unwritten law." http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl

Definitions of lexis: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:lexis&ei=SL-SSZzZCaH4NL_ozPkL&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

In order for some small birds to survive and maintain a core temperature far exceeding the 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit of humans, they must consume about three times their body weight, on a daily basis. http://www.wgbh.org/cainan/article?item_id=2625828

To your health
Red beans, berries, and vegetables are in the high antioxidant ranking of a 2004 USDA study. The researchers found that Russet potatoes, pecans and even cinnamon are all excellent, although lesser-known, sources of antioxidants, which are thought to fight cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's. See chart at http://hdlighthouse.org/treatment-care/care/hdltriad/diet/updates/1116antioxidant.php

crestfallen (KREST-fo-luhn)
adjective: Dispirited or disappointed by having one's hopes dashed
From allusion to the drooping crest or comb of a bird, such as a rooster
From Latin crista (tuft) A.Word.A.Day

February 16 is the birthday of historian and philosopher Henry Adams, (books by this author) born in Boston, Massachusetts (1838). His grandfather was John Quincy Adams, and his great-grandfather was John Adams. He did a lot of writing about politics and history, but he's most famous as the author of The Education of Henry Adams, one of the first modern American memoirs. It was privately printed in 1907, and no one paid attention to it. But when it was republished in 1918, after Adams' death, it won the Pulitzer Prize. The Writer’s Almanac