christmas

Governor Noem gives state employees 3 paid days off for Christmas (Dec 23-25)

I heard from a Minnehaha County official today that the state has told them and other counties that the State is giving 3 paid days off this year for Christmas. Counties of course rely on State employees to do business, so when the state takes a day off, counties do to. So how will the counties across the state handle it? Will they also give their employees 3 paid days off? This will be interesting to see how this is handled. While I don’t have a problem with State or County employees taking off Monday December 23, they should only be able to do without pay or use PTO, this should NOT be a taxpayer expense for essentially a religious (not government) holiday – heck, it’s NOT even a holiday – It’s two days before!

A very ‘Pogues’ Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas songs;

The first thing to say about The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” is that it is absurd when described in words.

Take an ever-soused Irish folk/punk band that includes a tin whistle player named Spider. Put them within a soaring orchestral arrangement, and task the shambolic front man with delivering a Christmas song. Make it a duet with a stage-fright afflicted singer who never quite became the pop starlet she wanted to be. The result is possibly the most sentimental Christmas song ever constructed, yet loved by people who spend December telling you, oh, how they despise sentimental Christmas songs.

When The Pogues teamed up with Kirsty MacColl to create “Fairytale of New York,” they made one of the only Christmas songs composed in the last 30 years that is likely to be heard and covered and beloved in another 50 or 100. If “Fairtytale” isn’t in your Christmas playlist, you’re doing something wrong.