Archive for November, 2008

What does Thanksgiving have to do with the free market or capitalism? Here’s a story about the Pilgrims where socialism didn’t work.

By Gary Palmer

On the fourth Thursday of November, Americans will gather with their families and friends to celebrate a uniquely American holiday, a day of thanksgiving, a day devoted to remembering the blessings of God.

Much to the irritation of secular liberals and Left wing radicals who dominate popular culture, media and educational institutions, Thanksgiving Day is undeniably a religious holiday. From its historic origin at Plymouth Colony to President Lincoln’s official declaration of the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens there is no denying that Thanksgiving is a government established and sanctioned religious holiday.

But there is more to the story.

First of all, the Pilgrims were not the first to declare a day of thanksgiving in America. In 1619, a year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, a group of English colonists set aside a day to give thanks for their safe voyage and arrival in Virginia. As was typical religious custom of that time, there was no feast on that day of thanksgiving. The festival of eating and drinking which the Pilgrims celebrated with their Indian neighbors occurred in 1621 and was a substantial departure from the usual custom of fasting and praying on days of thanksgiving.

It is generally known that the Pilgrims suffered terribly through their first winter in America with about half of their members dying from sickness, starvation or exposure. Even though Squanto and other friendly Indians taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn and helped them with hunting, trapping and fishing, the harvest of their crops had yielded barely enough to support the colony. In the fall of 1621, although things were still very tough, they were thankful for what they had and declared a three-day feast which they shared with their Indian friends who contributed deer and wild fowl.

That is about the extent of what most people know about that first Pilgrim Thanksgiving. The following year, the Pilgrims again failed to produce enough food to adequately sustain them. People generally don’t realize the reason the productivity was so low was due to the practice of socialism.

William Bradford, the first governor of Plymouth Colony, recorded that the colonists struggled because they refused to work in the fields. After that first winter, Bradford assigned a plot of land to each of the surviving families and all profits; benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means which they produced were to be deposited into a common storehouse and that all such persons as are of this colony, are to have their meat, drink, apparel, and all provisions out of the common stock. This meant that each member of the community was entitled to take what they needed regardless of how much or how little they contributed.

As Governor Bradford recorded in his journal, this effort to spread the wealth around the Pilgrim community was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. In other words, there was no incentive for people to work any harder than necessary.

After the dismal harvest of 1622, Governor Bradford recorded in his journal that “they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop.” As a result, Bradford and the Plymouth elders scrapped socialism and adopted a free market plan that allowed the colonists to own their land and the means of production and to keep what they produced to feed themselves or for trading. The harvest of 1623 proved that such market incentives work. Bradford wrote, “This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any other means the Governor or any other could use”.

Bradford acknowledged “instead of famine now God gave them plenty and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many.” Socialism in Plymouth Colony was a complete and tragic failure. After the colony implemented a free market system, Bradford wrote that from that point “any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day.” In fact, the harvest of 1624 was so plentiful that colonists were able to start exporting corn to England.

As you gather with family and friends this national day of Thanksgiving to give thanks to Almighty God for His blessings on America, you should also give thanks for Governor Bradford and the Pilgrim settlers of Plymouth Colony. They established the spiritual foundations for our nation and, after a miserable failure with a socialist system, they wisely laid the free market foundations which ensured our prosperity as well.

And that, as Paul Harvey would say, is “the rest of the story.”

Gary Palmer is president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families, which are indispensable to a prosperous society.

November 21, 2008

Note: This column is a copyrighted feature distributed free of charge by the Alabama Policy Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and API are properly cited. For information or comments contact: Gary Palmer, Alabama Policy Institute, 402 Office Park Drive, Suite 300, Birmingham, Alabama 35223, (205) 870-9900, e-mail garyp@alabamapolicy.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this column, please e-mail joannel@alabamapolicy.org.

Thanksgiving, First Thanksgiving, Free Market, Plymouth Colony, William Bradford, American History

Lance Cpl. Samuel Joyce, from Boston, accepts a bagfull of toys during the Toys For Tots 5k Run at Fleet Activities Yokosuka. Runners donated new toys to the local Marine’s Toys for Tots program.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday.

For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic Dreams. Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Wednesday Hero, USMC Toys for Tots, USMC, LCpl Samuel Joyce

Postville, Iowa is finding out there are downsides to encouraging and endorsing illegal aliens to come to their town. The town had previously benefited from increased funding from the State and Federal government due to an increased population made up of illegal aliens who were working at a meat packing plant in the town. On May 12th there was an immigration raid which subsequently led to the closing of the plant. The story doesn’t give any details as to why the plant closed, just places the blame on the raid. The town itself blames DHS on their situation.

Postville had the temerity to request aid from Iowa Homeland Security for humanitarian and economic disaster relief blaming DHS for their dilemma.

Some of the crushing stories relayed in the “news report” are so absurd it sounds like a satire:

The Rev. Steve Brackett, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Postville, said the grant funds will not be available to about 70 undocumented former Agriprocessors workers who were either detained in the country as material witnesses in upcoming court proceedings or recently released after serving prison terms.

The burden of their care remains with St. Bridget Catholic Church’s Hispanic ministry, he said.

Brackett said the city’s disaster declaration is appropriate.

“A raid executed by a U.S. government entity caused collateral damage that the people of northeast Iowa are having to deal with without any help from those who caused the damage,” he said.

I don’t think this town has learned a thing about being a sanctuary city for illegal aliens!

Illegal aliens, Postville IA, sanctuary city, meat packing, DHS

The Obami has said he’d be very happy to sign this bill if passed by Congress. One of the mandates of this bill would require all hospitals to provide abortion on demand without any limitations. Is this what Obami voting Catholics were looking for in “change and hope”?

Does FOCA mean an end to Catholic health care?

And the most ludicrous line out of them, surely, was about how, under Obama, Catholic hospitals that provide obstetric and gynecological services might soon be forced to perform abortions or close their doors. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Chicago warned of “devastating consequences� to the health care system, insisting Obama could force the closure of all Catholic hospitals in the country. That’s a third of all hospitals, providing care in many neighborhoods that are not exactly otherwise overprovided for. It couldn’t happen, could it?

You wouldn’t think so. Only, I am increasingly convinced that it could. If the Freedom of Choice Act passes Congress, and that’s a big if, Obama has promised to sign it the second it hits his desk. (Here he is at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event in 2007, vowing, “The first thing I’d do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.�)

I wonder what the Obami will do if all the Catholic Hospitals were to close their doors? Think of all those poor people who wouldn’t be able to get their free health care at the trauma center? All those illegal aliens that the Catholic Church likes to protect and give sanctuary to, where would they go for health care. What a dilemma!

FOCA, Freedom of Choice Act, abortion on demand, Catholic hospitals, Planned Parenthood

Looks like the State Department has sold out the very group of people who protect them. If you have a loved one who is a US contractor working in Iraq they will be subject to Iraqi judges and courts.

From Blackwater Facts:

The US and Iraqi governments reportedly have reached an agreement that would protect uniformed American military personnel from Iraqi prosecution except for serious crimes committed while not on duty, an arrangement similar to what the US has done in other countries.

But the State Department appears to have shot itself in the foot, at best, by not ensuring the same protections for the private contractors who do the job the military can’t or won’t do. Private security providers like Blackwater won’t be shielded from Iraq’s corrupt and dysfunctional “justice” system, according to news reports.

Also, it isn’t clear whether this new agreement could be retroactive. There are a number of defense contractors providing private security in Iraq so Blackwater contractors are not the only ones at risk here.

Previous post on SOFA – SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) in Iraq may expire 12/31/2008

Blackwater Facts has another post on this – US has Thrown DoD Contractors ‘Under the Bus,’ IPOA says

According to Bloomberg, “The Defense Department and State Department briefed their private contractors today on a provision of the so-called status- of-forces accord that eliminates contractors’ immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. While the agreement applies to U.S. military operations, the State Department told its contractors today that Iraq will make them subject to the same rules.

“The provision is part of an agreement that would govern U.S. military operations in Iraq after a United Nations Security Council resolution expires on Dec. 31. About 28,000 of the 163,500 people employed as Pentagon contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens,” and about 1,000 or so reportedly work for Blackwater as personal security detail professionals.

Iraq, SOFA, Defense Contractors, PSD, Personal Security Details, Blackwater, private contractors

Out of 33 questions on American Civics how do you think you’d score? Take the Quiz! It’s only 33 questions.

I scored 29 out 33 (88%). The report findings are pathetic and sad but then after this last election it doesn’t surprise me. Most people (including our legislators) are woefully ignorant of American Civics.

Of the 2,508 Americans taking ISI’s civic literacy test, 71% fail. Nationwide, the average score on the test is only 49%. The vast majority cannot recognize the language of Lincoln’s famous speech.

The test contains 33 questions designed to measure knowledge of America’s founding principles, political history, international relations, and market economy.

While the questions vary in difficulty, most test basic knowledge. Six are borrowed from U.S. government naturalization exams that test knowledge expected of all new American citizens. Nine are taken from the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that the U.S. Department of Education uses to assess high school seniors. Three are drawn from an “American History 101� exam posted online by www.InfoPlease.com. Two were developed especially for this survey and the rest were drawn from ISI’s previous civic literacy tests.

The results reveal that Americans are alarmingly uninformed about our Constitution, the basic functions of our government, the key texts of our national history, and economic principles.

Pass this quiz onto your friends and family, see how they do.

American Civics Quiz

There are many invectives and slurs used to describe President George W Bush but one thing that cannot be denied is that he and his wife Laura are a class act. I have not agreed with many of the President’s political positions or actions and have wished at times that he not take the high road but that is President Bush.

From the get go I wanted him to enlightened our citizens to the petty destruction committed by the staffers of the outgoing Clinton Administration. To investigate the evil deeds of Clinton and Gore in their fund raising and selling of the Lincoln Bedroom, speak out on Clinton’s lack of action regarding Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda etc. There were so many incidents that could have been investigated but no that isn’t in President Bush’s DNA. His constant “reaching across the aisle” to Democrats like Teddy Kennedy enraged me especially when Teddy Kennedy would turn around and stab President Bush in the back.

My heart always swelled with pride when President Bush visited the troops whether it be in Iraq or Afghanistan or a US Army post. But of course his Thanksgiving visit to Iraq will always be a memorable event for me. His unreported visits to the families of fallen troops and to Walter Reed Army Medical Center has endeared this man to the US Military. They clearly love and respect this man. They know all of his policies on the handling of the GWOT haven’t been perfect but they also have no doubt to his dedication and love of the US Troops.

I found this column which got me thinking about President Bush:

John Fanning: Bush a decent man

From the very beginning of his presidency, he’s been called a moron, a Beelzebub (Sean Penn, who cleverly added “and a dumb one�) and a son of a bitch (Democrat Paul Hackett who lost his bid last year for an Ohio congressional seat).

Other vicious and nasty names include: lying bastard, evil maniac, Fuhrer (all from the lips of Cindy Sheehan), white knuckle drunk (Martin Sheen), George bin Bush (assorted people), terrorist (a universal invective) and fascist (both implied and claimed by a variety of public figures), and “Bush lied and many died� (most leftists).

Many mistakes were committed by the previous administration, but not once has Bush brought them up, not once has he blamed his predecessor, not once has he used the actions or inactions of the previous administration as an excuse.

A number of months ago during a news conference about the death of Ann Richards, a fellow Texan and his 1994 gubernatorial opponent, Bush said, “Laura and I pray for her family. I know this is a tough time for her children. She loved her children and they loved her a lot. Running against Ann Richards taught me a lot. One thing for certain, she empowered a lot of people. A lot of people loved Ann Richards.� It was Richards who, as a keynote speaker at the 1988 Democrat National Convention, made a famously dismissive personal wisecrack at the expense of the then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, the Republican White House nominee: “Poor George, he can’t help it, cracked Richards. “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.�

And as Pelosi, Dean, Reid, Kennedy, Murtha, Schumer, Biden, Clinton and Obama continue to make him the target of a campaign of spiteful word assaults, personal attacks, void of any solutions or substance, Bush has and continues to take the high road. A truly decent man …

I’m wondering how tolerant the Democrats/Leftards will be of any vitriolic names slung at Obama in the next 4 years? Will it be okay to call Obama ‘Beelzebub’? Or will we be called racist? How about all those monkey pictures of Bush that made their way around the web, we could insert Obama’s face in those, I’m guessing that might be jailable offense.

I’m going to venture a guess that the invectives against President Bush will continue well into Obama’s term, the Leftards have to have someone to fling their anger and childish slurs, Obama’s mistakes and screwups will have to be blamed on someone and this someone will be President Bush.

I just want to thank President Bush for his obvious love of country and our troops. I would also like to ask him to please pardon Ramos and Compean as one of his last deeds in office.

President George W Bush, 43rd President, A Class Act, US President 2001-2008

The sound of Dhimmicrats gnashing their teeth is like the music of a beautiful symphony to Republicans. It should also be that sound for most Tennesseans. No party should control their legislature for this length of time. Hearing the stories of the meltdown by Dhimmicrat legislators the last couple weeks has been entertaining to say the least. One of major effects of this takeover will be the 2011 redistricting. Tennessee’s district are so gerrymandered the only rhyme or reason is to get Dhimmicrats elected and minimize Republican gains. Clint Brewer has a good write up on the changeover in Tn state politics.

On Politics: Turnabout’s fair play for state Dems

Democrats in the state House are concerned about the chamber taking on a partisan tone? Give us a break.

For more than a few years, the Tennessee State House has been the single most partisan chamber cooker in state politics here. When Democrats held the majority, Republican voices and ideas simply were not tolerated for the most part.

GOP-sponsored bills of any merit were largely killed, re-filed by Democrats under caption bills and taken by those Democrats as their own. Ideas that didn’t jibe with House Democrats offered by Republicans were simply killed in subcommittees and often never given the benefit of a full hearing.

There was also the incredible tone directed at some House Republicans by Democratic committee chairmen and their henchmen as the Republicans sought to have legislation passed. In some cases it was simply hard to believe. Perhaps the most famous exchange was between an unwitting State Rep. Stacey Campfield standing before outgoing State Rep. Rob Briley. In a video widely circulated on the Internet, Briley verbally abused and badgered Campfield in a boorish manner that certainly was one of the low points for democracy in this state’s recent history.

Yep, the chickens have come home to roost!

Tennessee, Democrats, GOP wins, Naifeh, House win,

Obviously MSNBC is keeping on this story. They’ve learned so much since Sept. 11, 2001, through two fronts on the GWOT in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This bit of video (of which I heard the audio) is just hysterical. It’s like I posted before, these Leftards are certifiable. MSNBC is calling Al Qaeda racist. These ‘tards are so clueless they think that a group of people who cut off heads to make a point will all of the sudden care about anything of Western culture. It’s like all those idiot Gay activists all over the country railing against some Christians over Prop 8 in California but you don’t see them mentioning one word about Islam and Shariah Law which condemns homosexuals. In the Middle East homosexuals are imprisoned or beat to death.

On yesterday’s program Rush played the clips of these “experts” on MSNBC (which includes Anderson Cooper the supposedly world reporter) talking about Zawahiri called the “Obami” the House Negro. It’s almost like a SNL skit, the truth is stranger than fiction.

Rush

COOPER: President-elect Obama gets a message from Al-Qaeda, the language offensive.

PHILLIPS: Zawahiri also used a racially offensive term to refer to Obama.

SHUSTER: It’s offensive in the United States.

STARR: Some of the words in this audio message extremely offensive to the President-elect.

RUSH: This is the “House Negro” line that Ayman al-Zawahiri used. Drive-Bys finally offended. Now, this next one, this is fascinating. This is great. The Drive-Bys on MSNBC have a terrorism expert, and the terrorism experts have totally changed their tune on Al-Qaeda. Now all of a sudden Al-Qaeda is a bunch of backwards Neanderthals in caves, and they have racist hiring policies. The question was asked by Alison Stewart, she spoke with Evan Kohlmann about the Al-Qaeda message, “House Negro,” from Ayman al-Zawahiri. And she asked the terrorism expert, “Why is Al-Qaeda putting this tape and message out? It’s out now. Why are they doing it now?”

KOHLMANN: Al-Qaeda is trying to counter this wave of Obamania. They are attacking Obama as a symbol of change in America. I think a better question is is that, is Zawahiri here taking a very dangerous step? Because, you know, Al-Qaeda itself has had problems with racism and bigotry within the ranks, and it was only about a decade and a half ago that Al-Qaeda was paying different salaries to its Arab members and its black African members. And the person administering that financial scheme, that payment scheme, is now the number three in charge of Al-Qaeda. He wasn’t demoted, he wasn’t punished for this, he was promoted. So I think the question is, is Al-Qaeda really in a position to be, you know, spouting off about the evils of racism when clearly they have as much problem with it as anybody else.

Bwhahahahahahahahahahaha.

And this is why the Dhimmicrats cannot protect us! And this is why liberals have a mental defect.

Rush also plays another piece from 2006 with Anderson Cooper and Jeffrey Goldberg along the Israeli-Lebanon border talking about how the language of Hezbollah is just so so anti-Semitic, this while Hezbollah is lobbing rockets into Israel. These are the buffoons that Dhimmicrats consider to be experts.

Obama, House Negro, MSNBC, Anderson Cooper, Evan Kolhmann, Al Qaeda, racist

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody
55 years old from Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended Friday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general.

At an emotional promotion ceremony, Dunwoody looked back on her years in uniform, said it was a credit to the Army and a great surprise to her that she would make history in a male-dominated military.

“Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding,” she told a standing-room-only auditorium. “Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.

“It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession,” she added. “So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?’ I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.’

“There is no one more surprised than I, except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, `Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.’”

You can read the rest of Gen. Dunwoody’s story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday.

For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Wednesday Hero, Gen Ann E Dunwoody, Support the Troops