Source: AP
This Memorial Day let us pause to remember the 1.5 million dollars our government has spent trying to add a tradition that we literally pause to remember our veterans on the holiday designated to remembering our veterans. If you pause at precisely 3 PM, you get extra irony points because that's the time that the the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance wants every American to reflect on "sacrifices of America's fallen from the Revolutionary War to the present" and "our common heritage."
Never heard of our national tradition? Apparently, no one else has either. But they've only been at it for five years. Sometimes traditions can take centuries to really take root. The commission's executive director and White House liaison, Carmella LaSpada, isn't going to give up:
I'll give you my word. Before I leave here, this moment is going to be a new American tradition. I'll do whatever it takes to make this happen.
LaSpada receives $165,000 of the commission's $250,000 annual budget.