But the older I get, the more I appreciate Thanksgiving. It’s getting to the point where I almost look forward to it more. I’m now one of those annoying people who criticizes the rush to Christmas with the “it’s not even Thanksgiving yet” line.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and, really, there’s nothing left to get me that I can’t get for myself. Gifts just don’t matter as much as they used to.

Maybe it’s because for the last few years I’ve been all wrapped up in politics. The stock and trade of politics is a steady stream of complaints. Complaints about absolutely everything. Complaints about Palin, complaints about the economy, complaints about Obama, rinse, repeat… The rule is that you should never be happy or satisfied ever. Never ever.

So maybe now I treasure the idea of one day out of the year, just one day, when we can all stop focusing on what’s going wrong, and be thankful for what’s going right.

The national holiday that we celebrate annually was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln and was due largely to the work of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She explained, “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.”

Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale’s request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book.

Reportedly, the proclamation was written by William Seward, the Secretary of State responsible for buying Alaska from Russia.

Lincoln’s proclamation, 1863:

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.

I grew up listening to Patch the Pirate kid stuff. One of their songs is called “The Gratitude Attitude.” It’s supposed to be sung by a turkey and an eagle who are competing for the honor of being the guest of honor at the dinner. (Like I said, kid stuff.) Of course the turkey gets that honor and the eagle is placated by being named the national bird. Anyway, it’s a fun song. You can listen here.

I leave you with these. Happy Thanksgiving.

Well aware that the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds;

That Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint;

That all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence on reason alone; [...]

We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

Here you have an illustration of true separation of church and state. Note that it is not a separation of God from government, for it’s logic support beam is that “Almighty God hath created the mind free” and therefore it should be free. No one shall be forced to support a religion they do not believe in, etc…

Basically they wanted to get away from the European model where being Anglican or Catholic or whatever was so wrapped up into politics. They wanted you to be free to worship according to the dictates of your own conscience, or to not worship at all. So there is no religious test to run for office, etc…

To that end they established no religion. However, this did not mean that you could never mention God in the public square. To say that it did is to take away freedom of speech and religion. Extremists have redefined the separation of church and state to mean things like you can’t bring a Bible into school.

Christians sometimes go overboard with the whole “there is no separation of church and state!” thing. Of course there is. The church shouldn’t run the state and the state shouldn’t run the church. They have different functions. Personally, I’m against government money going to faith-based institutions. I was always taught that government money = government control, and the church should stay far away from that. I also believe that the state is a corrupting influence and the more married the church is to it, the more corrupt the church becomes. At some point it ceases to be about carrying out the commands of Christ and becomes about politics and power. It leads to horrors being done in His name.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Part I:

The philosophers of the eighteenth century explained the gradual decay of religious faith in a very simple manner. Religious zeal, said they, must necessarily fail, the more generally liberty is established and knowledge diffused. Unfortunately, facts are by no means in accordance with their theory. There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief is only equalled by their ignorance and their debasement, whilst in America one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world fulfils all the outward duties of religious fervor.

Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there the more did I perceive the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country.

[...]

As a member of the Roman Catholic Church I was more particularly brought into contact with several of its priests, with whom I became intimately acquainted. To each of these men I expressed my astonishment and I explained my doubts; I found that they differed upon matters of detail alone; and that they mainly attributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country to the separation of Church and State. I do not hesitate to affirm that during my stay in America I did not meet with a single individual, of the clergy or of the laity, who was not of the same opinion upon this point.

[...]

As long as a religion rests upon those sentiments which are the consolation of all affliction, it may attract the affections of mankind. But if it be mixed up with the bitter passions of the world, it may be constrained to defend allies whom its interests, and not the principle of love, have given to it; or to repel as antagonists men who are still attached to its own spirit, however opposed they may be to the powers to which it is allied. The Church cannot share the temporal power of the State without being the object of a portion of that animosity which the latter excites.

[...]

The unbelievers of Europe attack the Christians as their political opponents, rather than as their religious adversaries; they hate the Christian religion as the opinion of a party, much more than as an error of belief; and they reject the clergy less because they are the representatives of the Divinity than because they are the allies of authority.

In Europe, Christianity has been intimately united to the powers of the earth. Those powers are now in decay, and it is, as it were, buried under their ruins. The living body of religion has been bound down to the dead corpse of superannuated polity: cut but the bonds which restrain it, and that which is alive will rise once more. I know not what could restore the Christian Church of Europe to the energy of its earlier days; that power belongs to God alone; but it may be the effect of human policy to leave the faith in the full exercise of the strength which it still retains.

[...]

In the United States the sovereign authority is religious, and consequently hypocrisy must be common; but there is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America; and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.

I have remarked that the members of the American clergy in general, without even excepting those who do not admit religious liberty, are all in favor of civil freedom; but they do not support any particular political system. They keep aloof from parties and from public affairs. In the United States religion exercises but little influence upon the laws and upon the details of public opinion, but it directs the manners of the community, and by regulating domestic life it regulates the State.

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Now, when I first heard about this “glory cloud,” I figured it would at least be somewhat convincing to have caused such a ruckus. Then I saw the video. If that’s God’s glory, Heaven is going to be a serious letdown.

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On one extreme you’ve got the atheists with their panties in a twist because of a God they don’t even believe in, which I never will understand. I don’t believe in Santa. Am I all outraged at the fat guy in a red suit lying to kids? The message of the season is peace on earth, feel-good, all warm inside stuff. With cookies. If you want to spend the holidays all holed up, mad that everybody else believes in fairies, knock yourself out. But don’t spoil it for the rest of us.

On the other extreme are the people just about ready to declare holy war because someone said “tree” instead of “Christmas tree.” Is there a nativity at my courthouse? I don’t know. I don’t even know where my courthouse is. I consider that a good thing.

So yesterday as I chowed down my sugar cookies and tried to untangle a light strand so I could keep up with the Joneses, my mood was temporarily spoiled by the Christmas crossfire –

U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Pays Homage to Obama — But Not Jesus

The 63-foot Sierra White Fir lighted at the U.S. Capitol Grounds on Dec. 6 as the official 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree includes a prominently displayed ornament paying homage to President Barack Obama, but includes no ornament readily visible to a person standing near the tree’s base that uses the word “Christmas,” or includes an image of the Nativity, or bears the name or image of Jesus Christ.

On the north side of the tree–at a height of about 4 feet and easily visible to people standing near it—there is an ornament that says: “I ♥ President Obama.”

[...]

When asked whether the tree included any ornaments that mention or depict Christmas or the birth of Jesus, the office of the Architect of the Capitol, which is responsible for the tree, told CNSNews.com that it “does not have a policy nor any restrictions concerning the themes for the ornaments” that go on the tree. The office could not say, however, whether or not this year’s Christmas tree does in fact include even a single ornament that directly references or depicts Christmas or Christ.

Put aside the fact that somebody actually had enough time on their hands to go out and examine all the ornaments, and take a look at one of the comments:

Sounds Like Obama Is NOT following his U.N. adopted “RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE” RESOLUTION to be RELIGIOUSLY TOLERANT! AND IS HOGGING THE TREE FOR HIS RELIGION,…NARCISSISM.!!!!

*facepalm*

Obama is not my most favorite guy in the world, but I’m fairly certain he had a vacation to plan and couldn’t care less what kind of ornaments are on the big giant Christmas tree.

Each year the Capitol tree comes from one state. This year it came from California. Californians made and donated the ornaments. When you see an ornament loving Obama, some second-grader probably slapped it together in art class. Forgive me if I don’t share the outrage.

I’m going back to my hot cocoa. But before I do, I better check… yep. Got a few angels on there, one little nativity silhouette. I think it’ll pass.

Many Palin supporters see no one else. Can’t see anyone else (“there is no one else!”). Some are like Ron Paul supporters (sorry for the analogy) in that Palin will do and Palin only. Twenty years from now if no one has heard from Palin in ten years, they’ll still be writing in her name.

I guess I’m kind of unique in that I prepared myself for the possibility that she wouldn’t run, so when she announced her decision it didn’t bother me. I understand that many cannot let go. Okay, fine. I’m not saying that we should all forget Palin ever happened, turn our backs on the whole thing. From what I gather, this Grizzly Fest idea is an attempt to keep the Palin movement together and moving forward as a force in the coming elections, whether there’s a Palin at the forefront or not. Fair enough, and good.

But as for Palin running, draft movements, petitions, etc… all I can say is good luck. Palin has made up her mind. She’s a stubborn woman and that’s that. I think it’s over. She’s already where she wants to be.

As for the field now, yeah it sucks, but pick your poison. There is no perfect candidate. Personally, I’m leaning toward Newt (I think that’s fairly obvious) mostly because he’s coming across as the adult in a room full of kindergartners. Whether that “lean” will remain I don’t know. Not really looking to immerse myself 110% in another politician any time soon. Taking a break from that and taking it as it comes.

Hoffa’s comments:

“We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war,” Hoffa said.

“President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march…. Everybody here’s got to vote. If we go back and keep the eye on the prize, let’s take these son of a bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong,” he added.

Kudos to Palin for mentioning the comments briefly and then taking apart the real heart of the issue and not going on crying about the red meat for paragraphs.

Some labor goon calling me (or a TP elected official) an SOB and saying I need to be taken out is the last thing on earth that would ruin my day. On the contrary, I love it. It should be taken as a compliment. Tea Party America is a threat to their corrupt agenda. Wear it proudly. I do. I feel like making a t-shirt about it.

Just one little thing, Hoffa. Most TP moms and dads and young people work as mechanics and bus drivers and waitresses. They farm and work in factories and slave away for every dime. They’re the so-called “rednecks” your liberal buddies look down on and trash all the time.

Many belong to unions themselves. Some because there’s still a whisper left of what the union should be, most because they have no choice – your lot forces them to do so. You certainly do not corner the market on “working people.” Come to a Tea Party rally some time. See what working America looks like. And working America is going to break down those gates.

Oh, and don’t come crying to me about “civility” anymore either. Grow up.

A bit of backstory for those unfamiliar with the show, Buffy is a vampire slayer and the stuffy looking dudes are supposed to be the Slayer’s “Watchers,” mentors, if you will. But she blew them off a couple years before and has been on her own since. In this episode, she needs some information that they’ve got, and they’ve flown in from England to hand it over. But they’re not going to give it to her until she passes some tests that proves she can be trusted with it. It’s a big power play. Throughout the episode, people have been putting her down, and then:

It somewhat amuses me that so many people line up to write columns about how irrelevant Palin is. “Power. I have it. They don’t. This bothers them.”

Now, if only she could learn how to throw swords into walls she could have a killer TV show.

As a matter of fact, I’d pay good money to watch Roseanne debate Obama. She’s a total greenie, but it’d be entertaining anyway. If only she’d run as a Democrat:

I have to say that I actually like Roseanne as a comic. Politics is a whole ‘nother animal. She’s very pro-choice. I think the pro-life thing is probably the main reason Roseanne is not a Palin fan. At all. But at least she didn’t get nasty on Palin in this interview like she has in the past.

This is probably the first time I’ve ever actually sat down and listened to Roseanne’s political views. They’re almost libertarian. But not the conservative libertarian type, the “let’s legalize dope” type. And she’s raising macadamia nuts because apparently there’s protein in them and if we all eat nuts instead of meat we’ll stop global warming. Hogwash, but if she wants to raise nuts I don’t see the harm in it. And in a rather violent turn of philosophy we should invade Mexico and annex it. Make it Texas II or something.

And then comes the “let’s all throw away money and live a vegetable-growing commune life.” Yeah. Okay, I was halfway listening until you got to that part. At least we got a cool bumper sticker out of the deal.

Of course, I would think Malcolm for President would also be entertaining. Maybe even better:

I got up this morning in my heated and air conditioned apartment, took a shower in hot running water, ate a full breakfast, and sat down to type this up through my high-speed wireless internet. And these are the hard times. America’s in a recession.

Many are going through a tough spot. Many are out of work and can’t find a job. I understand that. But most, if not all, of those people are not starving and they still have a roof over their heads. And if you have to cut off your cable and internet and really tighten your belt, you’re still richer than most of the world.

We’re still incredibly blessed and should take a moment to count those blessings. I’ll get back to complaining about how much things suck tomorrow.

We need something light and morale-boosty. Or at least I do.

Here’s a really neat clip from 1956:

(Note: Jonas Salk created an effective polio vaccine)

Apparently that was supposed to be “racially charged” or something. Because, in the words of some, Stewart used an “Amos n’ Andy” accent. Really? Amos n’ Andy didn’t cross my mind watching that. Seemed like Stewart was, you know, using Herman Cain’s accent. Silly me. As for the reading thing, I think it may have had to do with Cain saying he only wanted three page bills. Again, silly me for not seeing the racism. But I am a simple soul who does not see a racist under every rock.

Herman Cain’s reaction: