WND's coverage prompts U.S. calendar giants to finally include Dec. 7 event
Posted: January 12, 2010
7:00 pm Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
 Dec. 7, 2010 marks the Islamic New Year, but not Pearl Harbor Day on all calendars produced by Blue Mountain Arts of Boulder, Colo. In the wake of WND's coverage, the company has decided to include Pearl Harbor Day in its calendars beginning in 2011. (WND photo / Joe Kovacs) |
In the wake of WND's exclusive coverage revealing the absence of Pearl Harbor Day from American-made calendars, two major publishers are doing an "about face" and will now include the day of remembrance in its 2011 editions.
San Francisco-based BrownTrout Publishers,
the largest calendar publisher in the world, tells WND it will now
include Pearl Harbor Day starting with next year's publications.
"We
have gone back into our files and added Pearl Harbor Day and never
intended to offend anyone," said Wendover Brown, publisher of
BrownTrout. "All other citations on the grids are being reviewed and
revised. We never meant to offend with our products nor promote a
political agenda."
Just hours before BrownTrout's announcement, a
Colorado-based company indicated it also was adding the American event
to its 2011 calendars.
"It's going to be there," said Bob Gall, president of Blue Mountain Arts, which has never cited Pearl Harbor Day on Dec. 7 on any of its calendars since the company's inception in 1971.
Gall confirmed the change after Jenny Rutherford, Blue
Mountain's customer-service lead sent an e-mail today stating, "Due to
customer feedback, we will be adding Pearl Harbor Remembrance days on
our 2011 calendars."
Publishers across the nation have been flooded with complaints
this week from citizens angry not only that Pearl Harbor Day has been
missing, but also that the floating date of Islamic New Year is cited
for Dec. 7, 2010, on many datekeepers.
"This
is a slap in the face to many veterans of this country," Rob Sussman of
Cheyenne, Wyo., blasted to Blue Mountain Arts in an e-mail. "What the
heck are you guys thinking to 'honor' Islam at the expense of a 'day
that will live in infamy?' If not for the U.S. victory, you wouldn't be
able to publish anything! I used to buy products from Blue
Mountain, but no longer. In fact, I'm taking back the cards I did
purchase and telling the vendor why."
Upon learning of Blue Mountain's reversal, Sussman told WND,
"I'm convinced it's because of the work you've done to raise awareness
of this very important issue! Thanks again for all of your efforts!"
Donna
Brandt of Marshalltown, Iowa, echoed the sentiment, saying, "You made
Americans aware of an issue, they spoke up and changes are being made!
Now if only our U.S. legislators would listen to us like businesses do."
As WND reported, Gall was initially unsure when WND first asked him why Pearl Harbor Day
had not been included, saying it was "really interesting why we don't. I
question the same thing. It is a significant event in our lifetime.
Good question. I don't know."
 All calendars produced by the world's largest calendar company, BrownTrout Publishers of San Francisco, make no mention of Pearl Harbor Day, but instead cite Dec. 7, 2010 as the Islamic New Year. In the wake of WND's coverage, the company has decided to include Pearl Harbor Day in its calendars beginning in 2011. (WND photo / Joe Kovacs) |
After investigating the matter, he
discovered the company had never included Pearl Harbor Day in its
publications.
He told WND today he wasn't happy with publicity on the issue, stating, "We're pretty innocent in the whole thing."
Other observances Blue Mountain Arts currently deems worthy of inclusion in its calendars are:
March 1: National Women's History Month begins
April 11: Holocaust Remembrance Day
April 21: Administrative Professionals Day
April 22: Earth Day, as well as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
May 1: May Day
May 4: National Teacher Day
May 5: Cinco de Mayo
Aug. 11: First Day of Muslim Ramadan
Aug. 26: Women's Equality Day
Sept. 21: U.N. International Day of Peace
Nov. 16: The Muslim Eid-al-Adha
Dec. 26: First Day of Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day in Ireland
The
company did not completely ignore the military, though, as Armed Forces
Day is noted on May 15 in addition to federal holidays such as Memorial
Day and Veterans Day.
 Susan Polis Schutz, co-founder of Blue Mountain Arts |
Blue Mountain Arts was co-founded by anti-war activist Susan Polis Schutz, the director and executive producer of "Anyone and Everyone," a film about parents of homosexual children.
Concerning
her film, she stated, "It is a lot easier for gay people to come out
now than it was 15 years ago. However, there is still prejudice. In
some cases the prejudice is flagrantly overt, in other cases through
more subtle biases of the mind. And there remain antiquated laws and
unequal rights that inhumanely and negatively affect gay people all
over the world."
She created Blue Mountain Arts with her husband, Stephen, and employed her son, Rep. Jared Schutz Polis, D-Colo., the first openly "gay" congressman elected as a freshman to the U.S. House. Jared actually changed his last name to Polis to honor his mother's maiden name.
According to Denver's Westword,
Jared Polis in recent years has donated heavily to Democratic campaigns
and left-leaning organizations, including giving $200,000 to MoveOn.org.
As WND first reported last week, Publix Supermarkets,
a major chain in 5 Southeastern states, pulled its free, 2010 calendar
from shelves after outraged customers flooded the company with
complaints for citing the Islamic New Year at the expense of Pearl
Harbor Day.
 The forward magazine of USS Shaw explodes during the 2nd Japanese attack wave on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. To the left of the explosion, Shaw's stern is visible, at the end of floating drydock. At right is the bow of USS Nevada, with a tug alongside fighting fires. |
A South Florida radio station, WFTL, brought the matter to light with its midday hosts, Joyce Kaufman and Jeff Katz, urging listeners to bombard Publix with their concerns.
Ironically,
while Publix did not include Pearl Harbor Day, it did find space for
National Boss Day and Administrative Assistant's Day.
 Kimberly Jaeger of Publix |
The inclusion of those non-holidays contradicts a statement last
Wednesday by Publix spokeswoman Kimberly Jaeger who explained,
"Traditionally, our calendars have solely noted holidays. Due to the
number of holidays in a calendar year, days of remembrance have not
been noted."
Publix also found room to list independence days for many
foreign countries such as Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia,
Central America, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and Trinidad
and Tobago.
In the wake of WND's reporting, the
supermarket has taken on a more apologetic tone, telling its customers,
"We would never knowingly disappoint you. We truly regret and apologize
for having done that. Our intent was never to exclude important dates
or to reduce the importance of any one day. Since our customer base is
very diverse, we make every effort to do the right thing, for the most
people."
According to WND readers, another calendar maker citing the Islamic New Year over Pearl Harbor Day is Myron Corp. of Maywood, N.J.
But not all publishers have omitted the World War II attack. The National Pen Co. of Shelbyville, Tenn., as well as the National Rifle Association and Mead are among those who take note of Pearl Harbor Day, while excluding the Islamic New Year for 2010.
It was the December 1941 attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that precipitated
America's entry into the Second World War.
The day after the Japanese onslaught, President Franklin Roosevelt declared,
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United
States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces
of the Empire of Japan."
According to the Naval
History and Heritage Command, Americans losing their lives that day numbered
2,403, including 68 civilians, most of whom were killed by improperly fused
anti-aircraft shells landing in Honolulu. There were 1,178 military and civilian
wounded.
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Joe Kovacs
is executive news editor for WorldNetDaily.com and author of the No. 1
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reveals the underreported glorious destiny of Christians, "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told."