Thanksgiving: The First and Essential American Holiday

Rich Terrell

Thanksgiving: The First and Essential American Holiday  "Many Americans -- Christian, Jewish and secular -- find Thanksgiving to be their favorite holiday of the year.  And for good reason beyond the joy of a feast.  Thanksgiving was the first holiday of the Pilgrim forefathers, who spoke of their voyage to the New World in terms of a flight from persecution to freedom, much like the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt to reach the Promised Land.

"Thanksgiving is the holiday that made the other American holidays possible.  Without the Pilgrims having courage, a quest for adventure, and a willingness to sacrifice and risk everything, and absolute faith in their cause and calling, they never would have embarked on the unseaworthy 94-foot Mayflower. Were it not for their dream and determination to find freedom of conscience and religion in the New World there may have never been a July 4th Independence Day or many of the other American holidays we take for granted and celebrate every year.

"After a harrowing passage across the Atlantic -- one that included wild pitching and broadside batterings by gale force winds and ferocious seas that caused the splitting of one of the ship’s main beams -- the Mayflower was blown off course from the intended destination of the established Virginia Colony to wilds of Cape Cod. The Pilgrims knew not where they were nor how to proceed, so they beseeched the Almighty for favor in a safe arrival and in establishing a new and independent settlement. 

"Now in sight of land after a frightening voyage and facing hunger from depleted provisions, some of the secular Mayflower passengers were clamoring for rebellion.  And so, under the direction of Pilgrim leaders William Brewster and William Bradford, the drafting of a governing agreement was undertaken to quell unrest and ensure the establishment of a unified settlement that would be acceptable to both their Christian brethren and the secular crewman and merchant adventurers who made up about half the 102 people aboard the Mayflower. That governing document, known as the Mayflower Compact was introduced “solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another,” and it was specifically referred to as a covenant. A covenant is an unbreakable agreement -- with precedents being made between God and towering figures of Jewish history -- such as Abraham, Noah, and Moses." . . . Full article

Scott Powell is a senior fellow at Discovery Institute and managing partner of RemingtonRand LLC. Three generations of his family lived in the Peabody Bradford House, built by a great grandson of Governor William Bradford in 1760 in Kingston, MA. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Jared: The Birdbrain Of Alcatraz

In New York City alone, at least 10,000 people -- mostly minorities -- are not dead because Rudy Giuliani revived the idea of punishment for criminals, in lieu of understanding them.

Ann Coulter  "In the systematic dismantling of common sense in America, Jared Kushner's "sentencing reform" bill is the coup de grace — a Mack Truck hurtling down the highway about to take out thousands of Americans. The Idiot Army is already in place to fight and win this battle.

"Jared and the hip-hop artists currently advising him have decided that too many people are in prison. If you think you've heard this before, you have: Genius insights of this sort have preceded nearly every major crime wave this country has experienced, from Philadelphia to California to a bloody period known as "the Warren Court."

"As anyone with an amoeba's understanding of recent history knows, beginning in the early '60s, assorted heads-up-their-asses liberals jettisoned logic, common sense and a basic understanding of human nature by releasing criminals from the prisons where they belonged.

"Instead of punishing criminals, we would give them social services, education and job training -- with the implied understanding that they wouldn't move next door to any of the reformers. The experts assured a disbelieving public that these policies would reduce crime.

"As Thomas Sowell writes in The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, the stage was set. Liberal criminologists' soft-on-crime policies were in place. We only needed empirical evidence.

"THE RESULTS: Crime rates skyrocketed. Murder rates suddenly shot up until the murder rate in 1974 was more than twice as high as in 1961. Between 1960 and 1976, a citizen's chances of becoming a victim of a major violent crime tripled."

"Prior to this period, crime had been declining for three decades.

"Thousands of Americans were murdered, raped, assaulted, disfigured and robbed as a direct result of the exact same policies that Jared and his assistant, Donald Trump, are trying to foist on the country right now.

"Then-Princeton professor John DiIulio Jr. looked at the consequences of a single order by a Carter-appointed judge, Norma Shapiro, that put a population cap on Philadelphia prisons in the 1990s. In an 18-month period between 1993 and 1994, 9,732 prisoners released as a result of Judge Shapiro's order were re-arrested for committing 79 murders, 90 rapes, 701 burglaries, 959 robberies, 1,113 assaults, 2,215 drug offenses and 2,748 thefts.

"It took more than a decade of Reagan and Bush judges, Republican mayors and governors, and the endless complaints of ordinary people to produce the low crime rates we have today. Their formula was: Do the precise opposite of whatever the ACLU, the Brennan Center for Justice and The New York Times recommend.

"In New York City alone, at least 10,000 people -- mostly minorities -- are not dead because Rudy Giuliani revived the idea of punishment for criminals, in lieu of understanding them.

"Progressive young hipsters living in Brooklyn today have no concept that their trendy neighborhoods would be uninhabitable war zones but for Mayor Giuliani. If you don't have order and safety in big cities, you can't have anything else.

"In 1991 the U.S. murder rate was well over twice what it is today. " . . .

Lesbian couple with hidden cameras searched for baker who would decline to make a wedding cake

“Despite the couple’s claim that they were ‘[s]tunned, hurt, and offended,’ facts discovered during investigation shows that the couple had intentionally been searching for a business that would ‘discriminate’ against them, wearing hidden microphones to catch a business owner in the act,” outlined the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund.

The Bridgehead  "Shortly after gay marriage was legalized in the US by the Supreme Court, one major LGBT activist and donor had an announcement to make about the future plans of the movement: It was time to “punish the wicked,” he said. The “wicked,” by the way, is now shorthand for “those who have religious objections to gay marriage.”

     "We’ve seen that unfold now for three years. Bakers, photographers, and other professionals have been targeted over their moral objections to same-sex marriage. After Jack Phillips won the Masterpiece Cakeshop case at the Supreme Court, LGBT activists promptly badgered him with new requests (including a request for a cake topped by the Devil performing a sex act) until they secured his refusal to bake a cake celebrating gender transition, and dragged Phillips back into court.

     "LGBT activists like to innocently claim that they have no choice but to persecute these Christian business owners, because it is impossible for them to carry on knowing that someone has deeply held moral objections to celebrating their relationship with them in a professional capacity. Some activists spend time phoning different establishments, attempting to ferret out opponents to the LGBT ideology in order to destroy their reputations through boycotts, protests, and social media vitriol. And as the Christian Post reported this month, some show up prepared for war:

Two lesbians who filed a complaint against a Christian baker after she declined to make a cake for a same-sex celebration wore hidden microphones to record the refusal, according to a press release from the baker’s attorneys.“The evidence shows that this was all a set-up to get money and to destroy Cathy for her Christian faith,” said Charles LiMandri, attorney with the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund. “The couple never intended to actually celebrate their marriage with a custom cake from Tastries. We hope as this case moves forward, the full truth will come to light.”The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently filed a new lawsuit against Cathy Miller of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California, seeking financial damages for emotional distress suffered by the two women.. . . “Tastries’ explicit refusal to sell the Rodriguez-Del Rios a wedding cake because they intended to celebrate their wedding so devastated the couple that they considered purchasing a premade, non-wedding cake from a grocery or big box store,” the complaint reads. “Once exciting, planning their wedding reception became a painful and emotionally upsetting process.”The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund opines, however, that the women’s claims don’t add up.“Although the lawsuit claims ‘Eileen and Mireya did not know what to do’ after the incident, the record shows the couple immediately took to social media, and within 30 minutes Miller began receiving death threats and emails containing images of people engaging in depraved sexual acts. News crews arrived shortly afterward,” the organization outlines.. . . Miller’s attorneys say that they learned during the investigation stage of the case that the women had come prepared with hidden microphones, which raised questions about their motives.

     "In other words, these women were functioning as activists and were fully intending to destroy this baker’s life should she decline to cooperate with their request. They were actively attempting to find someone who would refuse them, so that they could claim to be traumatized, demand money, and initiate a digital lynching of their target. This is malicious and unacceptable behavior—and the LGBT war on Christians who disagree with them has emboldened these sorts of people:" . . .

Thanksgiving Must Be Abolished

Daily Wire  "Around this time every year we are treated to multiple news articles explaining how we ought to deal with our racist conservative relatives at Thanksgiving. These articles, in my opinion, miss the point entirely. We shouldn’t be dealing with our racist conservative relatives at Thanksgiving dinner at all because we shouldn’t be having a Thanksgiving dinner in the first place."
. . . 
"Just consider how the average Thanksgiving dinner unfolds, according to what I read in my gender studies textbook: A group of barefoot women are locked in the kitchen for days, forced to prepare a sumptuous feast for their domineering husbands. The men all drink scotch and smoke cigars in the living room while laughing about the underpaid employees they fired right before the holidays. Finally the food is brought to the table and the men scarf it down while shouting homophobic and ethnocentric slurs. Then they retreat to the basement to tell racist jokes while the women clean the dishes and slink meekly off to bed. Studies show that most Thanksgiving observances happen exactly like this. It is essentially The Handmaid’s Tale but with gravy.

"As a tolerant and appropriately guilt-ridden white man, I have long since withdrawn from these kinds of “celebrations.” Instead, I invite 20 of my closest minority friends to come to my house and insult me for three hours. It gives marginalized people a chance to express their frustrations, and it reminds me that I am scum and my ancestors were a blight on the Earth. We finish the evening by sharing a communal bowl of vegan yogurt. It is a lovely tradition and I simply can’t understand why it hasn’t caught on across the country.

"Well, I suppose the average white person isn’t nearly as enlightened as yours truly. That’s why the government should force the issue. Thanksgiving must be abolished. It is time for us to move past these primitive customs."

Judge dismisses female genital mutilation charges in historic case

On September 30, 1996, the female genital mutilation law was signed, with Reid stressing: “There is no medical reason for this procedure. ... It is used as a method to keep girls chaste and to ensure their virginity until marriage, and to ensure that after marriage they do not engage in extramarital sex.”

Detroit Free Press  "In a major blow to the federal government, a judge in Detroit has declared America's female genital mutilation law unconstitutional, thereby dismissing the key charges against two Michigan doctors and six others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to the cutting procedure in the nation's first FGM case.
"The historic case involves minor girls from Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, including some who cried, screamed and bled during the procedure and one who was given Valium ground in liquid Tylenol to keep her calm, court records show.
"The judge's ruling also dismissed charges against three mothers, including two Minnesota women whom prosecutors said tricked their 7 -year-old daughters into thinking they were coming to metro Detroit for a girls' weekend, but instead had their genitals cut at a Livonia clinic as part of a religious procedure.
"U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman concluded that "as despicable as this practice may be," Congress did not have the authority to pass the 22-year-old federal law that criminalizes female genital mutilation, and that FGM is for the states to regulate. FGM is banned worldwide and has been outlawed in more than 30 countries, though the U.S. statute had never been tested before this case. 
" 'As laudable as the prohibition of a particular type of abuse of girls may be ... federalism concerns deprive Congress of the power to enact this statute," Friedman wrote in his 28-page opinion, noting: "Congress overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit FGM ... FGM is a 'local criminal activity' which, in keeping with long-standing tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress."  . . .

Socio Political Journal

"The newly elected self-declared socialist congresswoman for New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, just hit at Republicans for so-called “drooling” at the chance to criticize her and said that instead of standing at the ready to go public with all her mistakes and missteps, they ought to instead “actually step up enough to make the argument they want to make.”"OK. Invitation accepted. So here goes: Socialists don’t belong in American politics."Socialists don’t even belong in American society."President Donald Trump may call the media the enemy of the people. But that title, that badge, that phrase of scorn and derision, more rightly belongs on the chest of those who say they’re American but at the same time claim political adherence to socialism, either formally — through the party, and its various offspring parties — or informally, in ideology."Drum them out."Yes, that’s right, socialists are the enemy of America, the antithesis of the American dream, the bold-face opposers to all that the Founding Fathers represented — to all that patriots over the long, sometimes bloody decades have fought to preserve."A pretty smile doesn’t change that fact. An engaging personality doesn’t change that. A pretended compassionate concern for the working guy doesn’t change that, either."Neither do polls showing certain segments of U.S. society, like millennials, actually see socialism as a favorable form of government."Socialists. Don’t. Belong."Ocasio-Cortez, as part of her congressional duties, has to take this oath — and, ostensibly, adhere to its principles during her years of service: “I, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”"How can she seriously utter those words when every fiber of her being stands in direct opposition to their original meaning?" . . .

Full article.

Obama-appointed federal judge gives green light to Central Americans seeking asylum

Judge Tigar Strikes Again  The writer refers to his article from about two years ago.

. . . A federal judge ruled recently that an inmate serving a life sentence for murder in California must receive sex-reassignment surgery at taxpayer expense.
The inmate was Rodney James Quine, 57, twice married and the father of two daughters. I write “was” because while in prison he changed his name to Shiloh Heavenly Quine. Quine began living as a woman in 2008, when prison officials authorized hormone treatments at taxpayer expense. Quine then began pushing for a sex change operation, to be paid for by California taxpayers like everything else in prison.
Enter Barack Obama. In 2013 Obama appointed Jon Tigar to the federal bench. Tigar, who evidently shares Obama’s fascination with the world of the transgendered, assigned himself to Quine’s case and appointed a team of San Francisco lawyers and the Transgender Law Center to represent Quine. The result of Tigar’s ruling in Quine’s favor is that the state of California must now provide sex reassignment surgery for prison inmates.  . . .

Judge blocks Trump asylum changes: Caravan can demand protections even after illegal entry  "A federal judge blocked President Trump’s new asylum crackdown policy early Tuesday, ruling that federal law allows anyone — including illegal immigrants who jumped the border — to demand protections once they reach U.S. soil.

"The decision is a major dent to the administration’s efforts to derail the migrant caravan camped out on the U.S.-Mexico border, undercutting Homeland Security’s efforts to funnel those people to the legal border crossings.

"Under U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar’s ruling, they can demand asylum no matter how they enter, and even if they don’t have a real claim, which the administration fears will restore the enticement to attempt to sneak in.

"Judge Tigar, an Obama appointee to the federal court in the Northern District of California, blocked a rule Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued just weeks ago that had said illegal immigrants caught after jumping the southwest border would not be allowed to make asylum claims.

"The judge ruled that contradicted the Immigration and Nationality Act, which he said clearly gives even illegal immigrants a pathway to claim asylum." . . .

Thanks, Judge! Caravan migrants take judicial ruling as green light to enter the U.S. illegally  "Caravan migrants have heard a lefty judge's ruling to block President Trump's executive order halting asylum claims from foreigners who have illegally crossed into the U.S., and sure enough, are taking it as a 'ready-set-go' opening gun. They're telling the press they're set to illegally enter the U.S. because the penalty for entering illegally is now off, thanks to the Ninth Circuit's lefty Judge Jon S. Tigar. It's just as I suspected would happen yesterday, because people know an incentive when they see one." . . .

. . . "So obviously, with the U.S. border being heavily fortified with concertina wire and additional personnel, there's potential for confrontation as large numbers of people decide to enter illegally. According to Homeland Security SecretaryKirstjen Nielsen, who was in San Diego yesterday, there about 6,200 of them camped out in Tijuana and another couple thousand in Mexicali, lined up and expecting to file phony asylum claims to enter the U.S. and work awhile as their cases are adjudicated in the backlogged courts. Only 9% are likely to be able to substantiate their claims, she said. So now, with their hopes up and hopes likely to be dashed of easy entry to the U.S., there's likely to be confrontation."

Trump Calls 9th Circuit Court a 'Disgrace,' Says Asylum Ruling Will Be Overturned by SCOTUS  . . . "President Donald Trump railed against the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and federal Judge Jon Tigar, who on Monday blocked the administration's plan to restrict asylum claims at the southern border as the migrant caravan begins to collect in Tijuana, Baja California Norte.
. . . "Tigar, a 56-year-old England native, was nominated to the Northern California bench by Barack Obama in 2012. 
""The Ninth Circuit -- we're going to have to look at that," Trump told reporters before departing for Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Md." . . .

CNN vs the White House, the episode continues.

Rich Terrell

'SNL' mocks CNN's Trump coverage

CNN Contributor Makes Racist Claim About White GOP Women  . . . "One of the more insane stories the guys talk about is a recent CNN segment where liberal Kirsten Powers suggests women who vote for President Trump are enabling white supremacy and racism. Isn’t this ironic? Leftists want to empower women and call for them to think for themselves, but I guess that only applies if you are one of them." . . .

Off-teleprompter Obama rambles, nearly incoherently attacking American global warming skeptics

"We could have electricity and smartphones and all that stuff which would buy us probably another 20, 30 years for that technological breakthrough that's necessary," Obama continued. "The reason we don't do it is because we are still confused, blind, shrouded with hate, anger, racism, mommy issues."

Thomas Lifson  "Back in 2008, when he was addressing vast throngs in Berlin and Mile High Stadium, Barack Obama was, we were assured by most of the Smart Set, one of the greatest orators in history. That was but one of the many ways in which he was overrated by those anxious for the first black president to be a brilliant champion of the Democratic Party, “bending the arc of history” toward progressivism.

"Those of us who paid attention to his speaking abilities when he was not reading a prepared text were already skeptical, with his stalling the completion of his thoughts with  “uh…uh” and mispronunciations (“corpse-man”) and outright errors (“57 states” speaking “Austrian” in Austria) painful evidence that this was no Winston Churchill, and not even a passably well-educated man.

"But at least he had the discipline of a White House staff behind him, presumably briefing him before he opened his mouth in public.

"Yesterday, in an utterly friendly venue (an Obama Foundation event) and a friendly audience, Barack went so far off the rails into incoherence that I am wondering if Obama has reverted to the habits of his choom gang days." . . .

Arrogant Barack Obama mockingly explains how he thinks he’s better than everyone he’s worked with.

Brutal and Pragmatic Honesty – President Trump Releases Statement on Kashoggi and Saudi Arabia…

The Last Refuge  "President Trump, not necessarily the White House – but rather, President Trump, releases an absolutely pitch-perfect statement that encapsulates the myriad of interests that have sought to exploit, manipulate, leverage and utilize the murder of Jamal Kashoggi.

"This entirely accurate and brutally honest statement by President Trump will drive the left-wing media, specifically WaPo, NYT and CNN, absolutely bananas:

The President wrote:

After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States. This is a record amount of money. It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for the United States. Of the $450 billion, $110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors. If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries – and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!
The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.
Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. . . .

. . .
 As President of the United States I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm. Very simply it is called America First!  ~President Donald J Trump

Did Democrats steal Orange County?

Monica Showalter  . . . "It's an interesting circumstantial case, because it was funny how so many "found" ballots showed up for so many House seats after the election was done, with all of them favoring the same party, which just happened to be the direction of the one-party state that was counting the ballots.  Funnier still, it's amazing how all of those found ballots, in each and every case, amounted to just enough to tip the congressional seat to the Democrats.  The coincidences seem just a little too strong. 

"Fischer is right that all of the press attention seemed to be on the east coast, where judges were brought in to restore order.  There were no such challenges of that kind in California.

"In fact, the strongest of the Orange County Republicans, Young Kim, who had a large-margin three-point victory on election night, same as Democrat Katie Hill, who defeated Republican Steve Knight uphill in the nearby Santa Clarita vicinity, somehow lost that entire lead in the continuous counting, while Hill's margin by contrast didn't make a dent.  Funnier still, the newspapers, though they insisted that 100% of the votes were counted, never acknowledged that Young Kim had won when it seemed as though she had on election night.  It was like some kind of fix was in.

"One other thing that makes me suspicious is that the secretary of state, Alex Padilla, pretty well asked voters to certify only that they were residents of the state on the mail-in ballot form, not that they were citizens. " . . .

Then there is Florida...3000 Votes 'Disappear' From Florida Recount Tally