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.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,

Secretary of State

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.

If government can give you access to a Lake, then it can surely bar access from that same Lake.  This is true with welfare, education, health care, and any other positive “right” the communists demand.  Not in America!  Something as mundane as water skiing takes on an entire new meaning when you consider that people want to take that right from you, especially when you consider their widespread success World-wide.

So as you enjoy a uniquely American roasted turkey, and reflect upon the freedom you have to partake in your favorite hobbies, do one thing.  Please take a look at your kids and promise them that you will damn well do your best to make sure they and the successive generations of Americans can enjoy roasted turkey and the same freedoms you do today before some soulless commmie takes away these liberties in the name of positive rights.

While you are at it, the next time you see a commie, or some OWS goof, tell him to go eat sprouts or tofu or whatever politically correct sorry excuse for a staple food he eats.  Then make haste to the biggest juiciest, hormone inspired 100% pure American beef burger you can find and be sure to slap on some American cheese and plenty of bacon.  As you savor that first bite, thank God for blessing your America and promise Him too, that you will fight!

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?

At least, like pumpkin pie, they saved the best for last.

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.

On this Thanksgiving, I give thanks for being fortunate enough to live in the United States of America; free from hunger, sheltered and safe. I give thanks to the Founders and Framers who understood the opportunity freedom from British rule presented. I give thanks for teachers who understand the difference between education and indoctrination and who do not treat people differently based on color, class, or religion. I give thanks for the consistency of family, for the unknown which lies ahead, and for the simple fact of being alive on November 24, 2012.

And to all those reading this commentary, have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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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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

any generall wante of famine hath not been amongest them since to this day.

America would never go hungry again. So this week, before you drift into your annual tryptophan-induced coma, don’t forget to give thanks to the true patron of this holiday feast: property rights.

For more on this, go here. For a contrary take on whether the Pilgrims were proto-socialists, go here.

Approximately 2.30 minutes.

Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Voices by Meredith Bragg and Austin Bragg.

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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.