It’s a very snowy Mardi Gras Tuesday, which means it’s also National Pancake Day. Shrove Tuesday, as it is called in the UK is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent and is the perfect opportunity to use up extra eggs and fat. Here in the US, IHOP has cancelled it’s usual “free pancake day” because of COVID-19, but do not despair – you can get an IOU by signing up to be part of the MyHOP email club by March 31.
Over the weekend, the Senate wrapped up its impeachment trial of former President Trump and did not reach the two-thirds majority they needed to convict. The vote was 57-43, or 10 votes shy. Also, we passed the 151st anniversary of Utahn Seraph Young becoming the first woman to vote in an election, Susan B. Anthony’s birthday in 1820 and YouTube’s birthday in 2005.
If you only have time for one thing today: Read this story of Phillis Wheatley, shared this weekend by Lt. Governor Henderson. Wheatley was the first African American woman ever to be published. In 1775, she wrote and mailed a poem to General George Washington expressing support for him and American Independence. Washington wrote back to Wheatley to thank her for “the elegant lines” she wrote, and invited her to visit him in Cambridge at the headquarters of the Continental Army. He also made sure that her poem was printed in newspapers throughout the colonies. Despite being a slave owner himself, he “accepted Wheatley, a Black woman, and appreciated her talents.” Her letter helped challenge Washington’s views on slavery and by the end of his life, he lamented slavery as a “subject of regret” ultimately freed all of his slaves. I am sure that Ms. Wheatley would be immensely proud of the way Amanda Gorman is following in her footsteps.
Countdown
17 days to the end of the 2021 Utah Legislature (3/5/21)
57 days until the end of the Cox/Henderson administration’s first 100 days (04/14/2021)
73 days until the Biden/Harris administration’s first 100 days are up (04/30/2021)
