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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

(A great big "Thank you!" to Stogie, who, at my request, designed the graphic for this post. CLICK HERE to see the Thanksgiving graphic that Stogie created for his own site)


As most who frequent this blog know, I do a lot of moaning and groaning about the present condition of our nation.

Nevertheless, despite all of the negative things that we bloggers opine about, we Americans have so much to be thankful for! I am ever aware of that fact.

A few years ago, shortly after I began blogging, Mr. AOW and I went to our dearest friends' house to celebrate Thanksgiving. The feast was one fit for a king, the table set with the best of china and crystal, the food plentiful.

Before diving into the delectables and offering the blessing, the hostess asked each of us there, "What are you personally thankful for?"

When my turn to speak came, I found my answer easy to give. In fact, my answer sprang from my mouth without any planning. I blurted out, "I'm thankful for the Bill of Rights, which gives me the right of freedom of speech."

In 1985, when Ronald Reagan spoke the words in the video below, I didn't have much appreciation for what he said. I do now! He speaks to me across the decades (hat tip to Matt of Conservative Hideout 2.0):


This Thanksgiving 2011, let us remember the wonderful and unique blessings that WE THE PEOPLE enjoy. Let us never take those blessings for granted.

43 comments:

  1. President Reagan's political philosophy was grounded in timeless ideals, which is what made him relevant then and relevant now.

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  2. Despite all the recent events, we have much to be thankful for in our country. There is always room for hope... it's like Jello ;-)

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  3. For a future design, please consider the inclusion of the Declaration of Independence which shows the people are in charge, not the government.

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  4. Anonymous,
    I chose the Bill of Rights because of what I said at the Thanksgiving dinner table a few years ago.

    But you are right about the critical importance of the Declaration of Independence.

    Maybe Stogie will create a special Independence Day graphic for me.

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  5. amen AOW..enjoy the day with your fam and loved ones..I shall be in the kitchen!!!

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  6. Amen! I know that I have many things to be thankful for.

    We need that reminder. God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving!

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  7. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
    Thanks for sharing the video of President Reagan.

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  8. Sure, Reagan raised taxes 11 times and would be run out of town on a rail by this looney group of Republicans. Not to mention secret wars, negotiating with terrorists and trading arms for hostages.

    I am thankful we have a smart person in the White House again.

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  9. Liberal Dude,
    we have a smart person in the White House

    And he has traveled to all 57 states except for Alaska and Hawaii and signed the book at Westminster Abbey in May 2011 as "May 2008."

    And our economy is recovering too, thanks to the smartest President ever.

    [heavy sarcasm for the above]

    As for those Reagan scandals you mentioned, let us also remember Obama's Fast and Furious, Solyndra, and BrightSource Energy.

    As for negotiating with terrorists, I wouldn't go there if I were you. Obama reaches out to terrorist groups with regularity.

    Also, FYI....Every executive conducts secret deals that make citizens cringe.

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  10. I am thankful we have a smart person in the White House again.

    Michelle doesn't run the country though.

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  11. Like you, I spend a lot of time blasting what is wrong with our nation. Thank you for reminding me to be thankful that I live in such a country that I can do that!
    Happy Thanksgiving, Always!

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  12. Best wishes to everyone for a blessed and Thankful Thanksgiving. We are blessed with so much, and as difficult as these days are,we must remember from whence all bounties flow.

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  13. "I'm thankful for the Bill of Rights, which gives me the right of freedom of speech."

    Great answer. Sadly though, this is under attack every day now in the new Republik of Amerika.

    Happy Thanksgiving AOW. Enjoy the day with Mr. AOW.

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  14. Yep, have a great Thanksgiving Day.

    About your comment on the FOIA, if you don't have an attorney making the request and threatening a Federal lawsuit unless they comply, no, they'll never give you so much as a redacted piece of last years newspaper.

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  15. I'm so sorry the libs show up here and at my place, and other blogs, and they suck the air out of the posts with their blather and the responses, which are inevitable; who can resist, right?! :-) I keep them there for comic relief!

    LOVELY graphic...good job, Stogie.

    Happy Thanksgiving, AOW...God bless you and Mr. AOW and praise God that we can all see our blessings beyond our heartbreaks. Love, Z

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  16. Z,
    the libs show up here and at my place, and other blogs, and they suck the air out of the posts with their blather and the responses

    No doubt! They can't even let a positive-outlook holiday post go by without saying something inane. Of course, I knew that such would be the case because I posted a Ronald Reagan video, a magnet of sorts.

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  17. Yes, there is much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  18. Did you all see this? A Russian newscaster gives Obama the bird for Thanksgiving. I wonder if she'd marry me.
    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/23/russian-newscaster-reportedly-gives-obama-middle-finger/?test=latestnews

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  19. :+: AOW!

    November 23, 2011 3:27:00 AM EST

    Happy Turkey day they are out there in droves! :D :D :D

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  20. All of us in the west have a lot to be immensely grateful for. And a lot worth fighting for.

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  21. Black Sheep,
    I saw that video of the Russian newscaster. Pretty funny, huh?

    I don't know what the newscaster was saying, though.

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  22. Have a great one AOW, and the Mr. too!

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  23. It's always nice to hear the voice of the greatest president in my lifetime and be reminded of the sentiments he expressed so many years ago that still ring true today.

    I took a different tack with my Thanksgiving post and reminded people of the hard lesson the Pilgrims learned when they first arrived here. Redistributing the wealth means spreading misery and poverty.

    Also, found this remake of the Peanuts video with the voices of Mitt Romney and Rick Perry arguing in a debate. It's very funny:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=m900f_qCapw

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  24. I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  25. I hope your Thanksgiving Day is winding down nicely. We are as "full as ticks" per a Texas colloquialism.

    Governments which believe in human liberty allow freedom of expression. It is a beautiful gift which is extended to the citizens, and defended for the health of the nation.

    Tammy

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  26. Yes, there are a lot of ridiculous and very worrisome developments in our nation. But when I read about the joys of the revolutions in Libya, Egypt, Syria,the collapsing EU, all the brush wars in Africa and drug wars in Latin America, Iran's saber rattling etc., it becomes clear - there is no where else to go. No place is better than here DESPITE all that is going on. I am thankful that we can still have hope.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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  27. Sorry AOW, you get your facts from Fox News. Solyndra? Really? You got nothing. And our economy has grown every month that Obama was President who as you know inherited a near depression from the incompetent GOP(Bush)before him.

    Every GOP President for the past 30 years and left us with a deficit and every Democrat has has to fix the mess.

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  28. Sorry Liberaldude, you get your facts from MSNBC.

    I don't know why you guys keep bringing up Bush. 1) He was not a conservative. 2) Yes, he got the ball rolling, but Obama amplified everything he started x 4. 3) What messes did Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton clean up? Bill at least moderated on some of his earlier positions because of the Republican Congress.

    Obama was supposed to be the "savior" and the best you bring up is "Bush did it." Sounds like you are admitting defeat if you have to keep falling back on that. Then are you admitting Obama was not the "savior" after all?

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  29. Liberal Dude,
    Sorry AOW, you get your facts from Fox News.

    You're a presumptive idiot.

    At most, I watch FNC once a month for maybe 10 minutes. I grew weary of television pundits of all types long ago.

    I don't frequent Fox's web site either.

    You have no idea as to what I watch on television, so I'll clue you in (mostly reruns): Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Criminal Minds, and House. I watch my local and national/international news on CBS and NBC. And movies.

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  30. Tammy,
    Mr. AOW and are exhausted! But it's a good kind of exhaustion. We had the best Thanksgiving Day EVER!

    We no sooner returned from the first dinner at our neighbors' house than we had to head out to the ritzy section of our area for dinner with a Chinese homeschool family. I could barely eat another bite, but Mr. AOW ate two full meals, one American and the other authentic Chinese; I managed a glass of wine. And we have leftovers to carry us through the whole weekend!

    Of course, my back is killing me after all the physical demands yesterday. Why do people have such low toilets in their homes? Mr. AOW and I had a time getting him up from those low rider commodes with no handrail!

    Our time with the second family was wonderful! Aside from that culture's veneration of teachers, the lady of the house told me that, until she met Mr. AOW at a homeschool social function, she had no clue as to my "burden" (her word, not mine). Then, she went on and on about "true love."

    The Chinese family has offered to help us. I'm not sure exactly what that offer entails, but I'm not going to refuse it. At the least, they are willing to provide respite care, something I will need if I decide to attend Mr. AOW's mother's funeral when she passes -- can't be far off now as she in the last stages of Stage 7 Alzheimer's. The lady of the house and her husband assisted us with everything last night while we were visiting. Amazing! I don't get that kind of help from friends and family.

    BTW, Mr. AOW had a watershed moment yesterday. He took three steps unassisted -- no cane, no AFO brace! Don't worry; he did so safely and with me in attendance.

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  31. Mike,
    I almost did a Thanksgiving post with the same theme as yours, but then opted for my personal post.

    It's no wonder that textbooks don't teach the economic lessons of thanksgiving in Plymouth Colony. That lesson fully repudiates the Left and their goal of confiscation of wealth and private property.

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  32. AOW, I'm so very glad that you and Mr. AOW had such a wonderful Thanksgiving and were blessed with his new mobility (hopefully that continues to improve; after my mother's stroke, her first few steps out of the wheelchair were watershed moments as well) and it is surely a blessing just to have respite care from a wonderful family AND to have the leftovers!

    God bless and have a wonderful weekend!

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  33. HE WALKED without the paraphernalia? that is FABULOUS!

    I am SO GRATEFUL that you two had such a fantastic time...you deserve it, and I'm sure that Chinese family felt so honored to have you there and to help.

    LOVELY LOVELY....God bless you both! Z (and enjoy the CHINESE TAKE OUT!!..even the fungus!)??

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  34. I watched one of the parades and it suddenly occured to me to be thankful we do not live in one of the socialist/dictatorship countries like most of the world where teenages carry guns instead of clarinets and there are tanks instead of firetrucks.

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  35. Z,
    Two long years have gone by, and those three steps were the first taken without assistance or mobility devices.

    It was a stunner!

    Of course, Mr. AOW is quite weak, so he had to sleep after the exertion. Also, he knows better than to try such a daredevil deed without "being safe."

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  36. I hope you had a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Mr. and Mrs. AOW.

    There is so much that I'm thankful for.

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  37. I'm late making the rounds, but I want you to know A.O.W., that I am very thankful for you as a friend and fellow patriot.

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  38. GM,
    Thanks!

    And there's no need to apologize. I'm not making regular blog rounds during the Thanksgiving-Christmas season.

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