Much like the famous editorial, Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, it has become a tradition this time of year to see some newspapers reprint President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Day proclamation, it seemed appropriate to repeat here today:
George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving 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 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 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 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 enable 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 has 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 show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase 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 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
I can’t hold a candle to the prose of our nation’s first president, but I can say that I’m thankful for the health of my family, that I still have employment in debt ravaged California, for the WUWT community of people that help with content and moderations, and visit here every day, and for living in an age where I can make friends (and enemies) instantly across the globe with the click of a mouse. – Anthony
Amen
Interesting story today about food:
“World ‘Dangerously Close’ to Food Crisis, U.N. Says”
““There is no crisis at this stage, but it could come if we don’t act,” Mr. Abbassian said. “The numbers are getting dangerously close to what we saw in 2008.”
…
“In the long term, however, growing demand for food staples like corn and seed oil for use as biofuels will most likely continue to play a central role in tightening world food supplies, the United Nations warned. Roughly 7 percent of global yields of corn and other coarse grains is being used to make ethanol.
“This is a huge amount that does have an impact on the food markets and on prices,” Hafez Ghanem, assistant director general for the Food and Agriculture Organization, told reporters.
In the United States in particular, ethanol production is supported by heavy government subsidies, without which it would be largely uneconomical to manufacture.
“I think it is important for all of us to look into the wisdom of these policies,” Mr. Ghanem said.”
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/world-dangerously-close-to-food-crisis-u-n-says/?ref=science
Well, well. Even the U.N. has figured out that turning food into fuel is dumb.
pwl – I’m not sure how you intended to come across. Probably not obnoxious, but you managed it anyway.
Anthony- all the very best for you and your family. Thanks for a most excellent, informative and enjoyable site.
From a non American, to all Americans, have a wonderful thanksgiving.
“….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:”
Would God we get that back.
Pamela Gray says:
November 25, 2010 at 11:08 am
Real turkeys are very hardy and can withstand all kinds of bad weather, cold or hot. At issue is what people are used to. People are used to big breasted, genetically engineered Toms. Shoot a real turkey and roast that up. It can be just as tasty if done the old fashioned way. Just watch out for those little shotgun bullets. You can crack a molar on those.
A well-taken wild turkey may be had with a tightly choked .410 gage, and the only damage will be to the bird’s head, causing instant death. Thereafter, you’ll not have to worry over shot pellets, save for in the upper neck region.
Other than than, I discovered very early on, that when eating shot-killed game, one must of necessity very carefully chew, i.e., slowly and methodically, such as to prevent chomping down hard on said shot pellets.
Of course, that causes one to thoroughly masticate each mouthful such as to ensure the very best of digestion as well! The side benefit: You don’t eat nearly as much because slow eating also makes one feel full sooner as well.
Thanksgiving can be a time for celebrating a good summer and a bountiful harvest. It can be a time for friendships and family and being thankful for many things. It has not become overly commercial and it need not become controversial as some Hollywood big shot has tried to make it.
“Enjoy what you have, and share. John’s mom.
Peter S, no I didn’t intend to come across as obnoxious but that is how everyone who keeps insisting their invisible friends exist outside of their brains always comes across to us non-believers. If you got evidence that can be verified independently and that can refute the counter evidence I’ll stand corrected.
I think it’s very important to clarify that not all people leery of the wild claims of the alleged catastrophic AGW hypothesis are all believers in the wild claims of alleged god.
May you enjoy your family and friends on this day of giving thanks for the hard work each has done this year.
From Peter S on November 25, 2010 at 5:20 pm:
I agree, he managed it. Spectacularly.
Picking an argument with a 221-year old proclamation that used the expected language of the time? What’s next? On the Fourth of July he’ll complain about the Declaration of Independence, saying how man was endowed with those certain inalienable rights by… no one? They just happened?
Ah well, it’s Thanksgiving. God bless you too, pwl.
DocWat says: “I had friends that raised genetically modified turkeys”. Boy, I would pay big bucks to see a GM turkey or a GM animal of any kind for that matter. Your friends might be having a little fun with you. Happy Thanksgiving just the same.
DocWat says: “I had friends that raised the new genetically modified turkeys. Every time it threatened rain they would rush out to put the turkeys into their poultry shed. When I asked why, they said that if left out in the rain, the turkeys would look up at the raindrops. The rain would enter their airways and the turkeys would drown. While I never saw a drowned turkey. I frequently saw a family of six frantically herding turkeys into their shed. Presumably the wild ones are brighter.”
The drowning turkeys, like drowning polar bears, are a canard.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.asp
My mother said the “domesticated” turkeys often got sick with a disease called ‘pip.’ The difference may not have been genetic, but the result of crowding more turkeys into a smaller space. Domesticated turkeys are also, according to the link above, more likely to stampede like yahoos leaving a soccer match, resulting in loss of turkeys.
If you get the right kind of “Wild Turkey,” you don’t have to worry about shot.
Max Hugoson says:
November 25, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Minnesocold this morning: 6 F just before sunrise (predicted: 16 F).
Max today (now predicted) 13 to 14 F. 10 MPH wind = -10 F wind chill.
Translation: For MN this year, THANKSGIVING MEANS THANKS FOR THE WINTER! (We love it.)
[–snippage–]
So next – MERRY X-MASS EVERYONE ! And to ALL A GOOD NIGHT! HO HO HO!
HEY! Who you be call’n a ‘HO?’
:o)
pwl says: “Peter S, no I didn’t intend to come across as obnoxious but that is how everyone who keeps insisting their invisible friends exist outside of their brains always comes across to us non-believers. . .”
So if they do it, that excuses your doing it?
Excellent Mr Watts….. It is necessary to maintain traditions…. American exceptionalism excels by those who promote it, understand it and maintain it.
“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;”
I don’t know if turkeys will actually drown, but, I lived within a mile of a turkey farm for several years. When it rained the farmers would either cover the birds or get them inside covered cages. While they were so busied, the domestic turkeys would be standing with their heads tilted back and mouths open. I claim no knowledge of why, only what I saw.
A wag?? They were trying to see what was hitting them.
Happy thanksgiving to all my friends on the far side of the pond!
The snow is falling here tonight in Yorkshire.
Yes domestic turkeys are dumber than a bag of rocks. They are protein production units and little else.
When I worked with my local State Emergency Services office we were trying to work out a warning system for nearby residents to the Ft. St. Vrain Nuclear power plant in case it had a emergency event that required the public to shelter in place.
The logical choice in a relatively rural area, was a network of out door sirens to warn the public out doors that something was going on.
The local turkey farmers shot it down because they claimed that every time the outdoor sirens sounded they would lose a bunch of turkeys as described in the Snopes article, and no one wanted to repay them against such losses.
As mentioned here, the old saw about turkeys looking up when it rained was common knowledge and none of the turkey farmers contested that statement.
Larry
It is good to give thanks, count blessings or to simply reflect on all that is good in the world.
However I was intrigued to notice the President dated his proclamation “3d day of October, A.D. 1789”.
Was that the common way of expressing the date in the US back then? What happened in the history of the USA to cause the change from the logical sequence of “day/month/year” to the uniquely US sequence of “month/day/year”?
Happy Thanksgiving to you Anthony, your family and all of your blog readers. On Saturday we will have our annual American Thanksgiving Day meal and celebration here in Sweden with 20+ family and friends(and two turkeys at about 6 bucks a pound…$159.00 just for the birds…) gathered around the table. We have much to give thanks.
🙂
H says:
November 25, 2010 at 8:55 pm
It is good to give thanks, count blessings or to simply reflect on all that is good in the world.
However I was intrigued to notice the President dated his proclamation “3d day of October, A.D. 1789″.
Was that the common way of expressing the date in the US back then? What happened in the history of the USA to cause the change from the logical sequence of “day/month/year” to the uniquely US sequence of “month/day/year”?
Your question may be answered thusly: There were several ways of addressing that matter of calendar dates. So, in order to ‘standardize’ the matter —and abbreviate appropriately— it was agreed upon that said calendar dates be configured such as to not confuse.
But as with most other things, said standardization has not been entirely adopted, and thank goodness for that, lest we all become so ‘uniform’ as to be mere automatons, i.e., BORG (the Star Trek variety).
So much for separation of church and state.
And a special thank you to Anthony for this most excellent website.
Happy Thanksgiving to all you pilgrims, wherever you may reside.[the hell you say 🙂 . . you too big guy . . mod]
pwl, as a non-believer, I am with you. Here in Australia we get more than enough kowtowing to an imagined deity, but in the USA it must be overwhelming. God on every corner & all points between. If we could get rid of religion, at least half the world’s problems would be solved.
jorgekafkazar says: November 25, 2010 at 6:57 pm
. . . drowning turkeys, like drowning polar bears, are a canard.
Ducks are canards.
For stargazing turkeys, see:
Tetanic Torticollar Spasm
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ans-tgenes/TG6.html
Keep a watchful eye open for vibrators.
I know people are generous and the following appeal is for the families of the Pike River Miners who have been lost
A lonely death, an inexpressible grief
http://www.climateconversation.wordshine.co.nz/2010/11/a-lonely-death-an-inexpressible-grief/
the details of the appeal are here:
Richard Treadgold says:
November 26, 2010 at 3:50 pm
The BNZ have given me a little more detail. They have waived transaction fees, so everything you send will reach the miners’ relief fund.
For New Zealand residents, the bank account to credit — through internet banking or at your nearest BNZ branch — is:
Pike River Mine BNZ Appeal
Greymouth branch
02 0844 0074501-00
From overseas, the easiest donation method is with a credit card through Grab One at http://www.grabone.co.nz/dunedin-invercargill/pike-river-miners-relief-fund. If you go to the Australian site at http://www.grabone.com.au, there’s a link to the NZ site at the top of the page.
You have to register first, which is easy and painless.
PLEASE NOTE that there’s a limit of $5 per donation, but NO CREDIT CARD FEES are charged by Grab One, so to donate more, just perform multiple transactions.
Large overseas donations
For those of greater generosity wanting to donate three or four-figure amounts, you should use a Telegraphic Transfer from your local bank. As well as the basic account information shown above, you will need this:
Bank address:
Store 91,
MacKay Street,
Greymouth 7805.
SWIFT BKNZNZ22
Your transaction will cost something at your end, plus there’s a fee of $25 added at this end.
The latest news is that $1.3 million has poured in to the miners’ relief fund.
Thank you for your generosity.