By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

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I love Thanksgiving.  It is uniquely American and uniquely right.  We celebrate God and Country and enjoy family time absent the stress and distraction of the more commercialized holidays.  There is no need to deconstruct “Jesus Clause” or explain to our children that our Lord and Savior rising from the grave has nothing to do with eggs and bunnies.  Who came up with that bunny laying egg thing anyway?

Recently, I visited with a man from Mexico who is in the U.S. legally, on a work assignment for a large corporation.  He was telling me how much he was looking forward to his first American Thanksgiving.  He will celebrate with friends either at their home or the others’.  I asked about the menu.  “Roast turkey with all of the trimmings” he quickly replied with a contagious enthusiasm.  This, from a man whose favorite staple is tamales.  He has never tasted a real roasted turkey, the American way.  I was going to ask about deep frying it…next year, I thought.

His simple menu selection and his use of the word “trimmings” flooded my mind instantly with thoughts about that unique dish, roasted Turkey.  We have celebrated Thanksgiving and that fine tryptophane laden meat at different times, with friends from Germany and friends from Russia.  It is always great to talk about the other traditions that are uniquely American, and more than just food.

I remember water skiing with friends from Europe on the amazing Lake of the Ozarks.  We rented a boat, filled a cooler with all kinds of libations, and enjoyed the heck out of a sunny July day.  As we sat quietly taking a break from the action and taking note of all the beautiful lakefront homes, they began lamenting how this would never be allowed in Europe.

In Europe, if you tried to put a motorized boat on a lake, the environmentalists would decry the degredation to the environment and pass laws to stop you.  If you tried to build a house on a lake, the communists would insist that the land belonged to all of the people and no one privately.  They went on, but the point should be clear.  In America, we are defined by putting individual rights first, starting with the Pilgrim’s quest for a place in which religious worship was every man’s exclusive domain.  These rights extend far beyond that to include the individual’s right to own land and be secure in that land and enjoy it for his or her own use.  Our uniquely American Government is designed on “negative rights”, or the right to be free FROM government, as opposed to the positive rights the socialists pursuit as to be given BY government.

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Politico writes today that both parties have much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving holiday.

For Democrats: Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, Ohio’s SB 5 referendum, Operation Neptune Spear (which killed Osama bin Laden), Kentucky governor Steve Beshear, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

(Letting Democrats take credit for the bin Laden mission is like letting the Pilgrims take credit for Indian corn. And arguably, Republicans should also be thankful for Pelosi and Warren…)

For Republicans: American Crossroads, Rep. Bob Turner (NY-9), Solyndra, Marco Rubio, and… Andrew Breitbart:

No one played a higher-profile role in taking down Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner than Breitbart, the 42-year-old conservative media entrepreneur who posted a series of sexually charged electronic photos the disgraced former congressmen sent to women. And Breitbart, the founder of the popular conservative site Big Government wasn’t shy about claiming credit: On the day Weiner acknowledged his wrongdoing in a news conference, Breitbart actually beat the Democrat to the podium, from which he boasted of his success in front of rolling cameras.

Breitbart is no garden-variety provocateur. Media-savvy and eminently quotable, he revels in skewering liberals — and conservatives love him for it. Just a year earlier, Breitbart came under fierce criticism for taking out of context Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod’s remarks, in an attempt to claim an administration scalp, but the Weiner episode proved he’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Republicans are thankful he’s back and eagerly await his 2012 adventures.

Why only Republicans?

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Looking at the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia Beach coast, I occasionally see US Navy ships on the horizon, F-18 Hornets flying in formation, the Coast Guard helicopter overhead, and porpoise darting in and out of the waves; it’s just a part of the scenery. Having lived in Glenview, Illinois, in the years prior to the naval base closing, and outside Annapolis, Maryland, for a year, I’m very used to seeing our men and women in uniform and experiencing a military presence where I reside. What changes for me is a deeper appreciation for the job our military performs and for the freedom we cannot take for granted.

Most of the time I can go about my life following a routine that includes working on the Constitutional Literacy curriculum for our BasicsProject.org website, writing articles about the relevance of our Fundamental Law, taking my daily constitutional along the beach, and performing the chores that demand my attention, but never far from these distractions is the daily reminder that there are men and women who have dedicated themselves to our security; who have placed their lives in harm’s way to protect this absolutely ordinary life I am privileged to lead.

Perhaps the best way to really understand this reality is to contrast it with another. Around the world there are people who live in countries where citizens have never experienced the freedoms that our government was instituted to protect, who will never have the opportunities afforded to Americans to innovate, lead, and maintain the lifestyle to which we are accustomed. It is almost obscene to think that in some countries, children are subject to diseases long eradicated in our own country, hungry because there is never enough food to satisfy their appetites, and whose safety is at risk because fighting factions are unconcerned about the accidental loss of life during skirmishes and all out war between groups vying for power.

Every four years we experience an election in this country in which power of office is transferred peacefully from one person to another. How many Americans have endured a coup, war between an enemy power and our troops on native soil, or lived with the uncertainty which can stem from a majority faction taking power and changing the laws under which we operate. This is because our written Constitution was designed to preserve our rights while providing the stability to grow stronger and wealthier as a nation.
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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss calls for Obama not to seek reelection, the striking amount of American’s who struggle to feed their families, and the millions now classified as “near poor.”

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

The Hillary Moment
Poll: Mitt Romney’s net unfavorability doubles in swing states
America’s new poor
Older, Suburban and Struggling, ‘Near Poor’ Startle the Census
An Unprecedented 26 Million Americans Are Now Underemployed

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The Pilgrims founded their colony at Plymouth Plantation in December 1620 and promptly started dying off in droves.

As the colony’s early governor, William Bradford, wrote in “Of Plymouth Plantation“:

That which was most sadd & lamentable was, that in 2. or 3. moneths time halfe of their company dyed.

When the settlers finally stopped croaking, they set about creating a heaven on earth, a society without private property, where all worked for the common good. Everything was shared. Especially bitching and moaning about working for the common good. Bradford again:

Yong-men that were most able and fitte for labour and service did repine that they should spend their time and streingth to worke for other mens wives and children, with out any recompense….And for men’s wives to be commanded to doe service for other men, as dresing their meate, washing their cloaths, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brooke it.

With nobody working, everybody was suffering. And in case you think nobody was working simply because they couldn’t understand a damn thing Bradford was saying, chew on this: In 1623, Bradford and the other leaders

…assigned to every family a parceel of land…this had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more torne was planted then other waise would have bene by any means the Govr or any other could use, and saved him a great deall of trouble, and gave farr better contente.

In no time at all

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This week we cram muscle shirts, pat downs, Thanksgiving, and North Korean aggression into one audio file. Peter gets the inside scoop on the National Review cruise from Rob (live from the Miami airport) and James. Then we get serious with John Bolton to discuss North Korea’s missile attack on the south. Will the TSA handle Rob’s junk? Tune in and find out. For links and music from this podcast or to comment directly to us, please visit us at Ricochet.com.

At the Thanksgiving dinner table we sat back, sated with turkey and all the fixins’. And as is our custom, we began reminiscing of times gone by, family members who have passed on, and others we’ve not seen for a time.

The discussion around the dinner table this year was no different. Over coffee and pie, we talked of old times, fond memories, laughter, wistfulness, future prospects, and hope mingled with thanks for our blessings, past, present and future.

The conversation turned to news of an elderly relative, a self-made man whose manner and behavior had changed markedly over the past few years. Now well into his years, this man had always been a rugged sort, a man of the earth who made a living by the sweat of his brow and the brawn of his muscle, tending his large farm and considerable holdings. His thriftiness is legendary among relatives and friends who joke that he still has his first dollar. He worked long hours from sun-up to sundown, so his financial conservatism was understandable and in many ways laudable.

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