Free Republic

Missouri state Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, wants to stop Black Friday’s blitz on Thanksgiving, so he has proposed legislation that would bar most retail stores from opening on the holiday. "Thanksgiving should be about families, not profit and greed. It's Thanksgiving Day, not Black Friday Eve,” Roorda said in a news release.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. A uniquely American phenomenon, thereÂ’s nothing better than sitting down to a hearty meal in the company of family, friends and loved ones. Thanksgiving is special in that itÂ’s about appreciating what you have with the people who mean the most to you. At the risk of igniting an ACLU lawsuit, Thanksgiving also is the start of the holiday Christmas season. While the radio stations and department stores switch to Christmas mode the day after Halloween, no one really gets into the spirit until the turkey gets roasted on the fourth Thursday of...

"The worst crime against working people," so said Samuel Gompers, "is a company which fails to operate at a profit." Gompers, of course, is known by the history books as the father of the labor union movement in America. He was founder of the American Federation of Labor. It may seem incongruous for such an important labor figure to say such a thing about profit, but Gompers appreciated something back then that perhaps a few of today's labor leaders don't. An economy without profit is an economy in deep, deep depression. Profit and the self-interest motive behind it were under...

This holiday season, while we enjoy delicious food and visiting family and friends, let's take a moment to give thanks for our many blessings. It's easy to get lost in all the bad news today -- whether it be unfavorable election results, financial troubles, a struggling economy, an overreaching federal government, crisis in the Middle East or personal struggles. Our growing list of problems often seems overwhelming and endless. It's easy to give thanks when everything is going our way. But what about the difficult times? The Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, commands us, "In everything give thanks; for...

<p>With all bad news on the tape now having a suitable "explanation", be it a prior president, a tropical storm, the weather being too hot, the weather being too cold, the weather being just right, but never, ever someone actually taking blame for the fact that life is what happens when corporate CEOs (and sovereign presidents) are busy making "priced to perfection" plans. So it is with what is now a confirmed flop of a Black Friday, which according to ShopperTrak saw sales drop by nearly 2% to $11.2 from 2011, which in turn was a 6.6% gain over 2010 (and would be revised to far lower once all the refunds and exchanges to cash took place in the two weeks later). This occurred despite a 3.5% increase in retail foot traffic to 307.7 million store visits. The nominal drop in retail sales also occurred despite a nearly 1% increase in the total US population over last Thanksgiving, and a 2% Y/Y inflation. But fear not: the ad hoc excuse for this "surprising" loss in purchasing power is already handy: it is all Black Thursday's fault, or the latest idiotic attempt by retailers to cannibalize their own future sales by diluting the exclusivity of Black Friday, and which will force all retailers to follow the sovereigns in a race to the bottom, as soon every day will be the equivalent of Black Friday. But at least retailers have another 364 years worth of excuses for the conceivable future to excuse any and all store weakness. Next year: it's all Black Wednesday's fault.</p>

CNN) - Casting aside his typical campaign attire of suits or shirts with rolled up sleeves and well-coiffed hair, a photo appeared on Mitt Romney's Facebook Friday with the 2012 GOP nominee donning a t-shirt and hugging his wife, Ann, in the kitchen. "Hope everyone had a great Thanskgiving! Much to be thankful for this year," the caption read.

My wife and I were at my parents for Thanksgiving, along with my sister. During dinner conversation, we discovered my sister was an enthusiastic Obama supporter. Unfortunately, the conversation ended up in a long political argument. My parents refused to say how they voted, but it was pretty obvious they're drinking the Koolaide too, along with my brother, who wasn't there. As you can imagine, I've been thinking a lot about this since. There's more than a little bit of regret I have from the conversation, but beyond that, I think it was the first time I've actually come face...

<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Some residents of a New York City neighborhood that suffered fire and flooding during Superstorm Sandy say thieves looted their damaged houses over Thanksgiving.</p> <p>The New York Post reports (http://bit.ly/QgcssM ) that thieves struck at least three homes in the Breezy Point section of Queens.</p>

When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, they established a system of communal property. Within three years they had scrapped it, instituting private property instead. Hoover media fellow Tom Bethell tells the story. There are three configurations of property rights: state, communal, and private property. Within a family, many goods are in effect communally owned. But when the number of communal members exceeds normal family size, as happens in tribes and communes, serious and intractable problems arise. It becomes costly to police the activities of the members, all of whom are entitled to their share of the total product of the...

A 27-year-old Maryland woman has been arrested and charged with stabbing her half-brother in the neck with a serving fork following an argument over Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, police said. Annapolis police were called to an apartment on Madison Street where they found 23-year-old Deonte Wallace in the parking lot with two stab wounds.

(CNSNews.com) - The Thanksgiving holiday comes with a series of advisories and admonitions from your favorite Uncle Sam: The Transportation Department wants you to "buckle up and slow down," especially on Sunday; the Food and Drug Administration wants you to store your medications safely when traveling; the surgeon-general wants you to "create a family health portrait" when you sit down to your turkey dinner with relatives; and the U.S. Agriculture Department wants you to "sample local businesses" when you start your holiday shopping. Aside from the by-now-familiar tips on safe food handling and turkey cooking times (found at the USA.gov...

Obama hits the links for post-Thanksgiving golfBy Sheldon Alberts - 11/23/12 11:44 AM ET President Obama hit the links for some post-Thanksgiving exercise on Friday morning, taking advantage of an unusually mild late November day in the Washington area. Obama played his round at Joint Base Andrews with White House assistant Eugene Kang, White House trip director Marvin Nicholson — the president's most frequent golfing partner — and Nicholson's brother, Walter. Obama is an avid golfer — he played his 100th round as president in June — but played less frequently during the stretch run of the election campaign. The...

It's an annual holiday tradition here at DUmmie FUnnies. We monitor how the DUmmies spend their Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now you may be asking yourself, "Self, how can the DUmmies celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas, when a) they don't have a God to give thanks to, and b) they don't believe in Christ?" Good question. Nevertheless, the DUmmies do observe these holidays, not according to the purpose for which they were created, but rather as occasions for family gatherings, where they, left-wing moonbats that they are, can interact with their normal relatives and irritate the heck out of them. So...

The fourth year of President Obama’s reign maintained his traditional omission of God from the Thanksgiving address to the nation. This break from his predecessors was vigorously defended by First Lady Michelle Obama. “Why should God get the credit for blessings that He had no part in creating?” Michelle asked. “It’s federal farm programs that ensure a robust harvest each year. It’s the FDA that guarantees the food we put on our tables is safe to eat. And it’s the generous expansion of eligibility for Food Stamps that has enabled even the poorest among us the opportunity to enjoy an...

This year Thanksgiving was marked by the issuance of a statement of infallibility: … (the)President issued a new constitutional declaration on Thursday in which he assumed sweeping powers that will not be subject to appeal… “The constitutional declarations, decisions and laws issued by the president are final and not subject to appeal.” Thankfully, it came from Egyptian President Morsi, where they are accustomed to such edicts.(snip) And I see the let’s-spoil-every-holiday crowd was busy yesterday taking offense over the message of the American Thanksgiving; complaining about the impropriety of celebrating the Pilgrims’ survival in the land of the First Peoples....

Denver, Colo., Nov 22, 2012 / 06:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The expansion of Thanksgiving weekend shopping to the holiday itself has raised concerns among both workers and clergy who worry that the change puts family time at risk. Father Sinclair Oubre, Spiritual Moderator of the Texas-based Catholic Labor Network, said the store openings are a “disturbing trend� that is “an assault on the family.� “We have almost completed the evolutionary process of having two classes of workers: those who get holidays off, and can stay with their families, and those who are forced to work, so that those who...

FULL TITLE: Thanksgiving tragedy: Two dead and more than 120 injured in massive pileup involving over 100 vehicles on foggy Texas interstate wo people are dead and more than 120 injured, some critically, after a massive pile-up today involving at least 100 vehicles that left trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the miles of wreckage. The Thanksgiving Day collision happened around 8am on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston. Extremely dense fog blanketing a section of the Texas interstate made conditions treacherous for...

1. Israeli turkeys are not like American turkeys, though I have been told that Israelis (somehow) consume more turkey by weight than people of any other country, and many kibbutzim are dedicated to turkey production. I decided on two nice chickens from the local vendor. They are easier to put in the tiny euro ovens so common in the Middle East. Oh, and Frank Perdue and Butterball don't live here. You will find feathers and other curiosities. 2. If Quebec bombarded Vermont or Mexico bombarded Texas every day with terrorist actions, sniper fire, and missile strikes for decades nonstop, as...

One would think hosts on MSNBC would be very thankful this holiday that the President they so tirelessly worked to re-elect prevailed on Election Day. But there is truly no rest for the weary, bitter leftists on Comcast's disgraceful propaganda outlet. MSNBC host and professional race-baiter Melissa Harris-Perry starts things off by trying to dampen our spirits by attacking the Thanksgiving story: “The kindergarten story that you learned about grateful Pilgrims and happy Indians is not even close to the historic reality of how European settlers brought violence, disease and land theft to the indigenous peoples who were already in...

How to Give Adequate Thanks to God. A Meditation on Thanksgiving DayBy: Msgr. Charles Pope On this feast of Thanksgiving (here in America) we do well to ponder how we ought to give thanks to God. Indeed, how can one adequately thank God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift? Is it really enough to simply kneel and say a prayer of thanks? Perhaps we should run to Church and light a candle, or visit some distant shrine? Perhaps even doing the “Snoopy dance” as we say over and over, Thank you thank you thank you”...

A Thanksgiving Reflection by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. on November 19, 2012 · For Americans, the term “Thanksgiving” conjures up images of turkey and cranberry sauce, parades and bowl games.  These “traditions” have come to mark an event made a perpetual institution of American life by President Abraham Lincoln. But why did Lincoln proclaim the last Thursday in November as a national holiday?  Because it was clear to him that the blessings of food, land, family, and freedom enjoyed by Americans are all gifts from the Creator.  But Americans, he realized, had forgotten this.  A special day was needed for...

November 22, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – For the fourth year straight, President Obama has omitted any direct statement thanking God in his Thanksgiving address. In 2009 President Obama made history when he issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation that failed to directly thank God. There was an outcry, and Obama’s subsequent proclamations have made prominent mention of God. However, as Ben Shapiro of Breitbart points out, his Thanksgiving addresses (as opposed to the proclamations), which he reads to the camera, have continued to eschew mention of God. In his 2012 Thanksgiving address, Obama says that Thanksgiving is “a time to give...

Forget all that turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, today should be a day of fasting and atonement for American “sin.” That’s according to Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Jensen, known for his hard-left politics, also calls Thanksgiving a “white-supremacist holiday.” Jensen’s opinion piece “No Thanks for Thanksgiving,” appeared on the far-left, Soros-connected website Alternet on Thanksgiving eve. In it, he wrote how Native Americans suffered because of the “European invasion of the Americas.” He went on to compare the Founding Fathers to Nazi Germany. “How does a country deal with the fact that...

Yet again, President Obama’s Thanksgiving message eschewed any direct reference to thanking God, making this the fourth straight year in which the President of the United States has ignored the central message of the holiday in favor of political grandstanding. This year, Obama’s central message was that now that he’s been re-elected, Americans should agree with all of his policies. His unity routine sounds strangely empty after a campaign in which he focused on dividing Americans: But most of all, it’s a time to give thanks for each other, and for the incredible bounty we enjoy. That’s especially important this...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ah, Thanksgiving. A little turkey, some cranberry mold, maybe apple pie with ice cream, some football on TV. Getting together with the cousins. Catching up beside the fire. Togetherness. On second thought: Scratch that. What were we thinking? This was an election year. “The Thanksgiving table will be a battleground,” says Andrew Marshall, 34, of Quincy, Mass. Like many extended families across the country, Marshall’s includes Democrats and Republicans, conservatives, liberals and independents. And so, like many families that count both red and blue voters in their ranks, they’re expecting fireworks. Things had already gotten so bad...

There are some practical reasons to be thankful.  According to coverage by Breaking Christian News, being “thankful� can give you: • Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure • Higher levels of positive emotions • More joy, optimism and happiness • Acting with more generosity and compassion • Feeling less lonely and isolated When you are faced with very real problems (health, family, money) or just a general discouragement from a loss of Hope (or “change�), it takes an act of faith to be thankful when you don’t feel like it. Thankfulness is not just a "glass half full"...

I doubt anyone will want to by 2016...

It’s wrong to say that American was founded by capitalists. In fact, America was founded by socialists who had the humility to learn from their initial mistakes and embrace freedom. One of the earliest and arguably most historically significant North American colonies was Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620 in what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. As I’ve outlined in greater detail here before (Lessons From a Capitalist Thanksgiving), the original colony had written into its charter a system of communal property and labor. As William Bradford recorded in his -- Of Plymouth Plantation, a people who had formerly been...

With the United States under direct assault from the evils of Socialism (or other forms of "Collectivism" including: Communism, or Fascism...pick your tyranny), and with Thanksgiving Day upon us, it's timely, appropriate, and necessary to visit the nation's very first attempt with Socialism, nearly four centuries ago...

SIERRA VISTA — At a time when many people around the country are planning to visit family for Thanksgiving, many of America’s soldiers are duty bound to stand vigilant in defense of the freedoms we all enjoy. And though many local soldiers didn’t get the chance to go home for the start of the holiday season, at least a few hundred still enjoyed a home-cooked holiday meal. Over the course of a few hours on Monday night, more than 300 soldiers packed into the local Chili’s restaurant to fill up on Thanksgiving delicacies. From turkey and ham to green beans,...

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 and 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...

The Pilgrims Weren't Socialists The New American 26 November 2008 When next you sing the Hymn of Harvest Home, think kindly of our Pilgrim Fathers, for they were not "communists with a small c" nor any other kind of communists, Some conservative editors and commentators in recent years have given the impression that the Pilgrims were starry-eyed idealists intent upon founding a socialist utopia in the wilderness. One such editor, zealous to refute socialism, has written: "Socialism is not a new experiment in the United States. Neither is Communism. The Socialist community was tried by the Pilgrims in New England...

Today is a day for pausing to remember how blessed we are to be here in America the greatest country under the watchful eye of God. Think of your advantages; love your family and let this day renew your resolve to fight to keep the blessings our Founding Fathers gave us. While things are as dark and dreary as they have been in our lifetime, there is room for gratitude to God for what we have. We are the people who have made this country what it is. Even though we are facing the worst the liberals can throw at...

One of my favorite Peanuts holiday specials. Charlie Brown and the gang play Pilgrim children in this re-enactment of the Mayflower voyage and the first Thanksgiving. I highly recommend this one for children. It's also nice to see something from Hollywood that's pro Western civilization.

I am not nearly as thankful as I ought to be. The two most important days of my life I often take for granted. The First Day was the day that Christ died for my sins. Jesus took the punishment for every one of my sins, even the ones I haven’t committed yet. Dreadful thought that I would live as in ingrate! Glorious thought that he would die anyway! That one day alone should be enough to cause me to live every moment in continuous Thanksgiving. Righteous Christ died for me, the ungodly. But there was another Day. The Day...

Explaining voter fraud, Benghazi and the fiscal cliff to Fox-watching family members..“The Holidays” are now officially here, and all Americans will soon have to face their extended families and listen to them talk. For many young Americans — specifically young Americans related to old white Americans — Thanksgiving and our various Winter Holidays are extra stressful, because young Americans are largely a liberal, Obama-voting bunch, and old white Americans are mostly not. Unfortunately, old white Americans spend a lot of their time being lied to by conservatives on TV, the radio and the Internet, and while that is not their...

Every family’s got one, at least. That hardcore conservative who makes every Thanksgiving get-together a nightmare by sounding off, unprompted, on how liberals are ruining this country with their taxing and their spending and their gay-marrying, and how back in my day blah blah blah. Usually you just keep your head down and stare into your turkey and try not to make eye contact with anyone. Then the next morning in the shower you remember what you should have said in response. But this year’s going to be different. Why? Because here at MSNBC, we’ve anticipated crazy Uncle Gary’s top...

…and in addition to all the other blessings you have conferred on my reflective frame I wish to thank you, Lord, for the companionship of steadfast comrades whose wit and wisdom and strength help steer me through these tempestuous seas of flattery and lies churned to fury by the ill will of demagogues.  Amen. A special thanks to all who visit here. I wish you all a peaceful, happy Thanksgiving – because there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

Ah, Thanksgiving. A little turkey, some cranberry mold, maybe apple pie with ice cream, some football on TV. Getting together with the cousins. Catching up beside the fire. Togetherness. On second thought: Scratch that. What were we thinking? This was an election year. “The Thanksgiving table will be a battleground,” says Andrew Marshall, 34, of Quincy, Mass...

On Thanksgiving Day, Americans gather with family, partners and friends to recount the benefits lavished upon us this past year. This day is a time to take stock of what we have gained after a long struggle of securing rights to share in the bounty that this nation has produced. Thanks to our hard fought efforts, we are grateful that we are beginning to see a better distribution of resources that hold the promise of enriching our lives. As we see needs being met by a multitude of re-distributive programs take effect, we are reminded of the indelible spirit of...

“Thanksgivings and Prayers for Our Nation” (1 Timothy 2:1-7)Today we are observing the Day of National Thanksgiving. The purpose of this holiday is for all Americans to gather in their churches and give thanks to God for his many blessings on our land. That’s the reason this holiday exists. Other things have latched themselves onto Thanksgiving--football and Christmas shopping, for example--so that by now the actual purpose of this day has gotten lost in the shuffle. But the reason we have the day off is to go to church and give thanks to God for how he has blessed our...

While some will spend Thanksgiving and days after it feasting on turkeys, 13 percent of Americans will rely on food stamps to avoid going to sleep hungry this holiday season. About 42.2 million Americans will eat on a budget of $1 to $1.25 per meal this Thanksgiving as the number of people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program remains high, found a new report by The Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit government watchdog group. The number of Americans relying on food stamps this Thanksgiving is equal to the populations of California and Connecticut combined. The latest data from the US...

Ah, Thanksgiving. A time for Americans to come together, be grateful for their blessings—and tell people with different politics to stuff it? That's apparently Ed Schultz's take on the holiday. On his MSNBC show this evening, gloating over his presumption that taxes will be going up on the top 2%, Schultz sent this warm 'n fuzzy message to John Boehner: "think about it over your turkey and stuffing Speaker Boehner. And by the way, you can put some gravy on that--and you know the rest of the sentence." View the video here.

  ~ Happy Thanksgiving 2012 ~ GOD BLESS AND WATCH OVER THEM, WHEREVER THEY SERVE.       Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863 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...

Jibes from the thankless shouldn’t spoil the feastAnother holiday, another war. This year, beleaguered Thanksgiving is being attacked on multiple fronts. The drive for a meatless Thanksgiving is in full swing. Rock legend Paul McCartney made his pitch in an advertisement campaign for the animal rights group PETA. The British vegetarian counsels “Eat no turkey” during a holiday founded by people who fled Britain and discovered turkey. PETA also urged President Obama not to observe the tradition of issuing a presidential pardon for a turkey since it “makes light of the mass slaughter of some 46 million gentle, intelligent birds.”...

If Abraham Lincoln released his October 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation today, it would be panned by all sides. In the statement that is considered the beginning of the unbroken annual tradition of presidential Thanksgiving proclamations, Lincoln said that God had dealt “with us in anger for our sins.” He recommended “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.” The words “sin” and “perverse” would set off the Left as overly judgmental and embarrassingly archaic. The Right would bristle at national self-criticism from the country’s commander-in-chief (at a time of war, no less). Lincoln had good reason to speak of perversity, of...

Probably what will happen next -- if, in fact, it is not already happening -- is that stores will serve their customers a complete Thanksgiving meal. Forward-thinking entrepreneurs could set up a lounge with flat-screen TVs, and that's where the men can watch football while the women shop. They could occasionally meet back at the table and graze over a dessert buffet before the women head back out into the aisles. The need to shop early after Thanksgiving is peculiarly American and apparently speaks to the need of getting a deal. Last week, in El Cajon, Calif., women were already...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I expect all of you atheists, agnostics, America-haters, smart-ass liberals who think things suck in this country, and otherwise ungrateful people to be at work on time and with your smiley faces on. We'll be there to buy our television sets a little after 8:00 PM. For the rest of you, particularly graduates of the public school system, here's a little easy-to-digest American history for you to chomp on in between bites of that dried out turkey you'll insist is "the best turkey [you] ever had."

While pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey today, President Obama absolved it with what he called a "special dispensation," making the Sign of the Cross over the gobbling turkey. It appears that Obama made a left handed, backward sign of the cross.

Almost as irritating as the war on Christmas being waged by certain atheist groups is the war on Thanksgiving dinner being waged by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as exemplified by its recent demand on President Obama.