THANKSGIVING DAY NUGGET!!

A Connecticut Thanksgiving Proclamation
[given in 1936 in the midst of the Great Depression
See the Thanksgiving Scripture item below.  
For decades, CT students were required to learn it]


State of Connecticut


By His Excellency WILBUR L. CROSS, Governor

Proclamation

Time out of mind at this turn of the seasons when the hardy oak leaves rustle in the wind and the frost gives a tang to the air and the dusk falls early and the friendly evenings lengthen under the heel of Orion, it has seemed good to our people to join together in praising the Creator and Preserver, who has brought us by a way that we did not know to the end of another year. 
In observance of this custom, I appoint Thursday, the twenty-sixth of November, as a day of
Public Thanksgiving
for the blessings that have been our common lot and have placed our beloved State with the favored regions of earth -- for all the creature comforts: the yield of the soil that has fed us and the richer yield from labor of every kind that has sustained our lives -- and for all those things, as dear as breath to the body, that quicken man's faith in his manhood, that nourish and strengthen his spirit to do the great work still before him: for the brotherly word and act; for honor held above price; for steadfast courage and zeal in the long, long search after truth; for liberty and for justice freely granted by each to his fellow and so as freely enjoyed; and for the crowning glory and mercy of peace upon our land; -- that we may humbly take heart of these blessings as we gather once again with solemn and festive rites to keep our Harvest Home.
Given under my hand and seal of the State at the Capitol, in Hartford, this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty six and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and sixty-first.
Wilbur L. Cross

Virtual Field Trip to Plimouth Plantation from the Plimouth Plantation website
A wonderful historical look at the original Plymouth colony and the first Thanksgiving.

The Real Story Behind Thanksgiving (Nick Bunker) from the Daily Beast
What exactly was the first Thanksgiving like? Historian Nick Bunker sifts through the myths and says it was a mixture of Native American ritual, Christianity, and English patriotism. 

Here's a similar story:
Who Brought the Turkey? The Truth About the First Thanksgiving from NPR's Robert Krulwich

MUST-LISTEN NPR STORY FOR THANKSGIVING!!
Kirk Crew, Refugees Retell Vietnam Rescue Saga (Joseph Shapiro) from All Things Considered
You WILL be moved by this story.
"Paul Jacobs, retired captain of the USS Kirk, reunites with the Le family, who were helped by the men on his ship 35 years ago when he led a rescue mission that saved 20,000 to 30,000 Vietnamese refugees."

The original stories about the USS Kirk are HERE.

Giving Thanks for American Resilience (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"I've heard it a lot lately, from departing Obama administration officials, global leaders, and my family and friends. There's a sense that something is torn in the national quilt, and nobody quite knows how to mend it. I'm as prone to "declinism" as the next over-mortgaged middle-aged guy. But this Thanksgiving, let me offer some reasons why we should temper a proper concern about this future with some hope that the American essentials are still in place."

Gratitude the Hard Way (Robert Wright) from the New York Times
On Monday of this week, I got another blessing. While listening to Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate, I heard an interview with the psychologist Robert Emmons, author of “The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns” and an advocate of systematic blessing counting. He recommends keeping a “gratitude journal.”

Thanksgiving 2010: In These Hard Times, Are Americans Thankful? from the Christian Science Monitor
"Thanksgiving 2010 finds Americans politically divided and struggling financially. But poll data suggest that Americans are fiercely resilient, a quality that is strengthened by feeling gratitude."

Bless the Orange Sweet Potato (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"As we all prepare to gain a few pounds over Thanksgiving, I promise not to be a buzz kill wagging my finger about starva ... well, never mind. You see, this is that rarest of birds: a happy column about hunger."

Thanksgiving Scripture (Lincoln Caplan) from the New York Times
"In 1936, with the Great Depression persisting, the governor of Connecticut issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation so inspiring that people in the state learned it by heart as if it were scripture."

Color-Coded Terror Alerts to be Dropped by Homeland Security from the New York Times
"The nation has generally lived in the yellow and orange range. The threat level has never been green, or even blue."
Good riddance to what will be viewed as the "duck-and-cover" of America's "War on Terror."

AND, what the heck! Who said we couldn't have a bit of partisan gratitude:
DeLay Convicted of Money Laundering Charges from the Houston Chronicle
"Eight years after former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay helped engineer a Republican takeover of the Texas House and state congressional delegation, a Travis County jury Wednesday convicted him of felony money laundering in the 2002 elections."
The justice system finally caught up with this world-class jerk.  Some commentary from Eric Alterman HERE and the New York Times Editorial Board HERE.

SQUIRREL NUGGET!!
Video: Baby Squirrel Adopted by Cat and Fellow Kittens from CNN via Americablog
"Absolutely adorable.  Though I still worry that the owner is in for a surprise when baby squirrel grows up."

US HISTORY NUGGET!!
Lincoln: A Beard is Born from the New York Times
"We’ve seen its features so many times – on pennies, five-dollar bills and ads for Presidents’ Day sales – that they’ve become almost invisible. It’s hard to believe that there was a moment when it came into being, a moment when Abraham Lincoln’s face as we know it was invented."