First Thanksgiving Proclamation

The first United States Thanksgiving Proclamation, by President George Washington, issued on October 3, 1789. (See the original)

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.


Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.


And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.


Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.



Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Pres. Bush's last Thanksgiving...

Here are the best pictures of Pres. Bush pardoning the White House turkey over the last 8 years:

Come on, you're gonna miss him, you know you will!

America is Taking Crazy Pills!!!

One of the most frustrating things about the McCain loss is that the reasons I dislike McCain are the same reasons he should have won.  John McCain was the true candidate of change.  He has a long history of defying Republicans and working with Democrats.  As a conservative, this has driven me nuts, but supposedly America was looking for more bipartisan leadership, a unifier ... and they settled on the most liberal Senator with no record of reaching across the aisle.

After the bitter 2000 primary battle, McCain held a grudge against the new President Bush and Republicans.  He voted against the Bush tax cuts.  He worked with Democrats for McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform - which conservatives believe is unconstitutional because it restricts free speech; the McCain-Edwards-Kennedy Patients' Bill of Rights - which conservatives opposed as undue government interference in the free market; McCain-Lieberman global warming - which conservatives do not believe is man-made and thus cannot be stopped; McCain-Kennedy amnesty for illegals - which conservatives are vehemently against.

On all these positions, McCain is more than moderate, he is liberal, joining up with some of the most liberal members of the Senate.  Clearly he can work well with others and make compromises with the left - which I don't like, but America professes to love.  Oh, and I almost forgot - McCain was rumored to be considering changing his party affiliation in 2000 before Sen. Jeffords made the leap and gave the Senate to the Democrats.  McCain was also rumored to be on John F. Kerry's VP list.

He further irked conservatives when he joined the Gang of 14 - the group that forced a compromise in the impasse of judicial confirmations.  When Democrats wouldn't allow the full Senate to vote up or down on judicial confirmations, conservatives wanted to go for the "nuclear option," which would only require a majority, rather than 60 votes to bring them to the floor.  A Republican argument against going nuclear is that when Democrats come into office, they will also use the nuclear option for their judges.  Well, we didn't end up going nuclear, but mark my words, the Dems WILL.  

So these are all the things that have happened over the last 8 years to make me dislike John McCain, but then he became the Republican presidential candidate.  McCain being infinitely

 better than either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, I had to put aside my qualms and back him.  I had to continue to defend him even though, through the course of the campaign, he pledged to include Democrats in his cabinet, considered Lieberman for VP, supported the bailout, continued to oppose drilling in ANWR, and attacked Obama for not taking public financing.  All of which are anathema to conservatives, but should have endeared him to Americans looking for change in Washington.

McCain was the anti-Bush candidate, the candidate of change, the unifier, the true maverick, the bipartisan compromiser willing to throw out his ideals in the name of consensus - all of which I HATE and yet I supported him and America, wanting all these qualities, went for OBAMA!

I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!

Related posts:

McCain Aides are Taking Crazy Pills!!!

"Republicans" for Obama are Taking Crazy Pills!

The Media are taking Crazy Pills!

Obama Supporters Are Taking Crazy Pills!

I FEEL I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!

How to Survive Election Day

...without feeling like you're taking crazy pills!

The best advice I can give is to turn off your tv, computer, and radio (unless you're listening to Rush) for the next 24 hours and focus on one thing: getting to your polling place and voting McCain.

Nothing that the media can say before the polls close means anything.  It's all speculation - pro-Obama speculation based on skewed polls at that.  Republicans are historically underrepresented in election and exit polls - plus many Republicans will lie and say they voted Obama, while many Democrats will lie and say they're Republicans or Independents who voted Obama.  Polls mean nothing, it's the votes that count.  We can still turn this thing around!

The media want Obama to win - you know it and I know it.  So don't torture yourself watching their spin - it is meant to depress and demoralize you so that you give up and don't bother voting.  They'll tell you how bad it looks for McCain and that it will be an early night - maybe inexperienced Obama voters won't go to the polls, but don't let that be you!

They'll tell you about record turnout in heavily Democratic areas - don't listen: they say this every year and this year many Democrats may vote their gut and vote McCain.  They'll talk about court orders to keep Democratic strong hold polls open late - again this happens every year and what can we do about it?  They'll call races too close to call for Obama - people on the West Coast do not pay attention, get out there and vote McCain no matter how it looks, your vote is important, too!

There will be plenty of time to freak out once the votes start coming in if Obama wins, why stress the whole day over nothing?  For your sanity and nerves, stay away from the media until 7 or 8pm - or later if you can stand it - and VOTE MCCAIN!

"Don't give up, don't ever give up." - Jimmy V.