Expanding on the topic of Lincoln's birthday and events not noted in the U.S., I was reminded yesterday that February is Black History Month in the U.S., and that this is the first year since the founding of the U.S. republic that the president signing the declaration for the month-long recognition was himself black/African American. Which, I guess, could be taken as a good thing -- that Obama's blackness has taken a back seat to his role as a president and an individual -- or a bad one: that the media is so insensitive to the historic nature of his presidency that they ignored the historic symbolism. The friend who reminded me ascribes to the latter interpretation. I'm less sure. But who can deny that this is a historic moment?