The real misinformation lies within the Left's hypocrisy (UPDATE)

Apologies. I inadvertently took April off for Easter, but that's kinda important in an eternal way, so a much needed refresh. But we can't allow April to fly by without talking about Elon and The Deal.

Seems to be all the buzz for the better part of the month, particularly the latter half as the deal approached evermore certainty. From the comedy of Sears and Dice (and you better believe theBabylonBee) to the analysis of Brand and Rogan with their patented sarcasm, everybody's gotten in on this goldmine. And BOY, have the crazies gone from freakout to meltdown to pretty much revealing their hand in say, something like the last election...

This is exactly what the Machine\Left\Democrats have done to their opponents for years, you absolute 🤡 @AriMelber.

Enjoy the ride into irrelevance… https://t.co/DAdYU8YI2z

— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) April 26, 2022

Remember the rule: they'll always accuse us of doing what they've already done. 

All of this not over free speech, but the adherence to its censorship and control of any/all narratives, mind you. Peculiar how progressive Twitter accounts lost followers, while conservatives gained within days of Elon's purchase, isn't it Ari? It's like the dials were suddenly turned back. James thought so too...

At the end of two days of #TwitterFreedom I’ve added 73,000 new followers.

I don’t think anybody has fully grasped the devastating impact the pre-election suppression of free speech has had on our nation. #ThankYouElonMusk

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 28, 2022

There's a bigger picture here, though, that cuts to the heart of this 'misinformation' hypocrisy...

One thing the left is particularly good at is euphemism. Stalin made his bones as a Bolshevik thug by robbing banks in order to fund the revolution; they called it expropriation. Now the obviously desperate Progressives are pounding the table, demanding that we masses be protected from the scourge of misinformation that's poisoning our minds. Only public statements that are approved for their content by progressive partisans should be allowed to have influence. Hmmm...sounds like censorship to me.

This romance with censorship is nothing new. Back in the 1970s, after an unusually contentious local election, then–San Francisco supervisor Dianne Feinstein proposed an ordinance that would make it a crime to include a false statement in a political speech. Although I was still a registered Democrat at that time, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of Star Chamber would have to be empaneled to rule on every single political utterance.

As this is being written, Elon Musk's total takeover of Twitter has just been made official. It's within the realm of possibility that he could take a page from George Orwell and rename it The Ministry of Truth. Just kidding.

Uhh, hold on. No sooner than those words were written did the Biden Admin prove they weren't kidding about a Ministry of Truth! Newspeak, anyone? How hellishly Orwellian of 'em...

A federal speech czar? Just as the Founders imagined it, no doubt.

Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress that his agency is creating a "Disinformation Governance Board" to combat "misinformation" coming from Russia as we near this year's midterm elections. The Biden administration's new Committee on Public Information will be led by Nina Jankowicz, "a disinformation fellow" who, perfectly enough, comes to the administration from a think tank named after Woodrow Wilson. Like Wilson, Mayorkas, himself a font of untruths, does not explain under what constitutional power he proposes to oversee speech.

It gets tedious to point this out, but you can vividly imagine the thermonuclear meltdown the country would be (rightly) subjected to if a Republican president assembled a government panel tasked with weeding out "disinformation." To our technocrats' dismay, this isn't Europe, where the state can dictate allowable speech and sometimes arrests those who don't abide. Here, citizens are the ones who call out the state for peddling misinformation, not the other way around.

The pro-censorship Left, which is to say the vast majority of contemporary Democrats, now have Barack Obama on board as well. The one-time neoliberal champion of free speech -- a freedom he employed aggressively to mislead the American people when it served his partisan interests -- alleged during a recent Stanford University speech that "people are dying" from misinformation. And, you know, if censorship can save one life ...

In case you didn't catch that, here's the ridiculous ninny the government is trying to put in charge of regulating OUR speech:

You can just call me the Mary Poppins of disinformation 💁🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/eGV9lpctYn pic.twitter.com/WVQFA2bPmq

— Nina Jankowicz 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@wiczipedia) February 17, 2021

God help us as these people brazenly push us towards dystopian nightmares...

Elon Musk buys Twitter to save free speech and days later President Biden announces a Ministry of Truth.

It's like we're living through an Ayn Rand/George Orwell novel mash-up.

— Dan Sanchez (@DanSanchezV) April 28, 2022

...which is as good a segue as any to wrap up the discussion concerning the Left's hypocrisy on this...

Lurking below all of this is leftists' palpable lack of desire to defend their opinions. As Ayn Rand's fictional John Galt stated in his laying out of Objectivism, mystical ideas are the enemy of civilization. Feelings are supposed to have more weight than logic. Take climate worship, for example. There are forces that we will never understand...that are conspiring to destroy our world...unless we destroy them first by strangling the economic basis for modern life.

Standing in the way of this impending disaster is that pesky thing called common sense. Humanity didn't make it this far by not being able to make good decisions. Adversity may not be pleasant, but it can be instructive. Add to this the modern facility for the transmission of information. It started with cheap paper and web printing, then radio, and then TV. Now there are the internet, cell phones, and satellite coverage. Bottom line: It's virtually impossible to monopolize information. Hence the panicked demand for what really amounts to censorship from those who've lost their monopoly.

I mentioned earlier about controlling the narrative... keep in mind, half of these guys that I'm referencing throughout this are not conservatives. They are however believers in open, honest, free debate and opinion. When not even a liberal is safe, this is how far the radical left have lurched in their concerted effort towards total control. It's why you've got a guy like Elon Musk who's made to feel like this:

pic.twitter.com/Q9OjlJhi7f

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022

But, hey, if they wanna keep pushing people, WELCOME brethren, to the battle in this brave new world!

Related links: Biden’s Ministry of Truth: Taking a page from Mussolini and Orwell
Fox New Host Zeroes in on Why Biden Wants a 'Ministry of Truth'
Biden blasted for policing free speech with ‘dystopian’ disinformation bureau
Critics slam timing of Biden's 'ministry of truth' to police internet for 'disinformation'
The Book Club: 1984 by George Orwell with Dave Rubin
The Book Club: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand with Eric Daniels
The Book Club: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley with Sen. Ted Cruz

More: Can One Vote Make a Difference?
The Ministry of Truth is a Bucket of Lies

UPDATE: I'm guessing they smelled the midterms coming...

Orwellian Disinformation Board Scrapped

Still gonna take more than that to hold back the deluge, but don't think the Left won't pull out all the stops. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.

How Corporate America got woke

Wow! This is the best and most precise explanation I've heard, and couldn't come at a more prescient time to reinforce what the American citizenry are experiencing, many of whom work for these titans of industry, as they attempt to take control of our private lives...

How is it that Big Business “got woke?” Once the bastion of country club conservatism, it’s now a fortress of radical leftism. Vivek Ramaswamy explains this amazing and disturbing transformation.

Also, did you catch the reference in there that once again refers back to what they denied, then admitted, then said wasn't an admission of any wrong-doing? I believe TIME pridefully published something in regard to that rigging by a "well funded cabal"... always worth the reminder, even if nothing is going to be done about it. But that's for another time...

There's so much pertinent information in this five minute video, but the crux of Ramaswamy's explanation speaks volumes toward the situation many find themselves in, particularly as we move past covid: employed by companies we truly enjoyed and aligned with in so many ways, only to experience rapidly changing values that no longer reflect our own.

Related links: ‘Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam’: Entrepreneur Exposes Big Business Gone Woke
Thomas Gallatin: Why Big Business Went Woke
DeSantis vs. Disney Showdown Big Ups Florida Governor’s Standing in GOP
Texas Republicans hammer Citi’s abortion policy, calling it a ‘woke’ company in a pro-life state
Joe Rogan blasts 'woke' virtue-signaling big tech CEOs for censorship, slams big pharma execs as the 'lyingest liars that ever lied'
Outrage, Virtue Signals And Compliance Because You Were Told To, Manufactured By Big Media And Big Tech
Burger King Can't Close Its Stores in Russia...Should It Have To?
Russian Industry Responds to Boycotts Over Ukraine War: Bans Are ‘Silencing the Russian Protest Voice’
The World Economic Forum’s Woke War on Business
A skeptical look at the ‘great reset’: a technocratic agenda that waited years for a global crisis to exploit

Done with the "tolerance" of the totalitarian covid narrative

“The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.” ~ Augustine of Hippo

In searching for information on the roots of the authoritarian moves and motives experienced over the past few years by, well, every imaginable entity that wields power over us (government, news, finance, business, etc.), I ran across a superb piece from one writer who is frankly done with the "tolerance" of the totalitarian covid narrative that it was supposedly founded in. It's also of coincidence that I'm currently reading the brilliant book that this author references!

I don’t know about you, but I am done with tolerance.

None of this is to say that I have ever been an overly tolerant person of things I dislike—I am not. However, I have recently recommitted to my disdain for things I disdain.

I do not mean to suggest that I believe there should not be a relative level of tolerance. We live in pluralist societies and going along to get along is part of the equation in many cases. In addition, I am certainly not asking our governments to do anything about what is intolerable, as they themselves are the most intolerable of the lot.

Nonetheless, if the last two weeks years to slow the spread have taught me anything, it is that the leftist narrative is a wildly intolerant thing, and—at least in personal lives—there can be no room for much tolerance of the nonsense that masquerades as policy, or expert opinion, or what have you.

The leftist ethos of our day is intolerant of everything you stand for. They hate your religion, they hate your view of marriage, they hate your view of family dynamics, they hate your view of science, and they hate your view of medicine. Nowhere has this been more on display than in conversations about Covid—ugh, I hate that word at this point.

When this all started, we were told to “respect everyone’s wishes so they can feel safe.” Okay, fair enough, there is nothing wrong with giving people a little breathing room if they need it. But, after the initial scare in early 2020, it has been clear for anyone willing to take out a calculator and do some basic arithmetic that this thing never amounted to—and would never amount to—a plague of epic proportions.

No matter, math and reason need not apply when someone believes the narrative, because the narrative is the fullness of truth for someone committed to it—which is ironic because usually someone committed to the narrative doesn’t hold truth in high esteem. So, we sat back while people still held on to the narrative and stayed locked away in their homes.

Then there was news of a vaccine that would save us all, so we waited a little longer until they had as many doses as was needed to make it safe for us to take a stroll around other human beings. Then we waited a little longer until they had extra doses to be extra protected…then, when everyone was vaxxed to the max, we were told that the vaxxed couldn’t hang with the non-vaxxed…because the vax worked, but not really, but it did…but just not around the unvaxxed…because science.

At any rate, this rant about the silliness of the ins and outs of the schizophrenic nature of covidian thinking is only to illustrate that it is tolerance that got us here. Again, I do not mean that a basic level of toleration of things we do not like is somehow bad—it isn’t. However, it is tolerance of lies that got us here.

Rod Dreher may be or may not be your favorite, but the thesis of his book Live not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents is bang on. On our own, it is difficult to do anything about the macro-lies that dominate the corporate media. However, in our own lives each and every one of us confronts a lie to be lived or let-lived each and every day.

We knew it was silly that grandma or uncle so-and-so wouldn’t come out of their house to see family for six months—in fact, we knew it was a disturbed way to live. We knew it was wrong when they told us to put on masks, which have never been proven effective when dealing with a respiratory virus—especially not when the masks are old rags that hang on our rear-view mirrors. We knew it was a lie that you could ever make a “safe and effective” vaccine within a matter of months, no matter how well intended.

Nonetheless, most of us resigned to letting certain things go. “So-and-so just needs to do that to feel safe,” “so-and-so just wants to fit in,” “I will just give in to this and that because I need to save my strength for more important things.”

No!

After a few what-should-be universal truths -- Christ is Truth, Satan is the Father of Lies, and our own lies are from our hellish self, not our heavenly self -- the exclamation is further rationalized as it only should be...

Every, single, time we acquiesce to lies, we run the risk of living by them. It is a slippery slope that can become a veritable cliff if we are not careful.

How many readers have had the experience of watching a friend or family member descend into a covidian spell only to devolve from a rational person to someone who believes that their vaccine only works if someone else is vaccinated? Can you imagine how confused someone would have to be to believe that their seatbelt did not work if someone else did not wear theirs? Or how off the rocker you would have to be to think that if you had a headache, someone else also had to take an aspirin? The logic of the covidian narrative is no different: masks only work when everyone wears them; jabs don’t work until everyone is jabbed; and we are only “all in this together” when we stay as far from each other as possible.

If Covid is a serious illness, it is a serious illness of the intellect and an afront to truth itself. This paradigm did not begin with Covid, though. We were primed to live by these lies, or at least tolerate them for convenience’s sake, because we had been doing that for a long time. We have become so accustomed to lies on top of lies as the foundation of our social framework that we were not equipped to stand up for the truth.

When it came time to tell so-and-so that this plague was not a plague; or that the ear-looped handkerchief wouldn’t stop the plague that wasn’t a plague; or that medications not working unless everyone is medicated was literal proof that they weren’t, well, working; it was too late. We tolerated lies for so long that we became intolerant of truth. I might even go one step further and say that we aren’t only intolerant of truth, but we don’t even know what it is.

If you never hear something, how can you know that you have heard it when you do? I might say that I am intolerant to hot sauce, but if I have never had it, or if it has been decades since I have, then how can I even be sure that I am intolerant to it if I cannot remember what it tastes like?

There is much to hope for, however, as lies are tiresome things. The continual toleration of lies is intolerable, as man was created with an intellect and conscience, even if those things become hard to find. Lying creates a lazy and atrophied mind that eventually becomes defenseless. Yes, defenseless to lies, but more importantly, defenseless to truth. ...

It is the time to be intolerant of lies and to go on the offensive.

AMEN to that! The time in now to let loose the Lion.

Related links: PERSPECTIVES ON THE PANDEMIC
Winning the War Against Therapeutic Nihilism & Trusted Treatments vs Untested Novel Therapies
One mRNA, One Spike Protein, 1291 Diseases, Unlimited Ways to Die
About Those Pfizer Papers and the Denominator FDA Does Not Want You to See

Liberty, restraint, a role model for all: Remembering Washington

"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." ~ from Henry Lee's eulogy of George Washington

Though today marks the celebration, tomorrow the 22nd actually marks the 290th anniversary of our first president's birthday, the Father of our Country, the indispensable George Washington. And to set the record straight, today's holiday is not “Presidents’ Day.” No such holiday exists in law. Contrary to popular belief and the efforts of salesmen throughout the land, no congress nor president has ever changed this celebration (as far too few states across our land still acknowledge that truth). Nonetheless, it is in fact a celebration of George Washington’s birthday.

There are so many traits to admire about Washington, despite our misdirected woke generation's knee-jerk judgementalism of the past through a modern lens. Given the relentless war on America by our elites, it’s more important than ever to honor our heroes, starting with the man who started it all. So first, let's cover that: Washington and America’s liberty, because without the first we wouldn't have the second...

Historians have called Washington the “indispensable man.” Without him, we would have no country. ...

Washington wasn’t just the leader of our War of Independence, defeating what was the greatest military power in the world in the last quarter of the 18th century. Since the Continental Congress was so weak and indecisive, Washington was the de facto head of state from the time he took command of the Continental Army in 1775.

Before he became our first president, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Only the love his countrymen had for him could have united the nation — Federalists and Anti-Federalists alike — around the United States Constitution. He saved America once during the revolution and saved it again in its tumultuous aftermath. Washington built America with a sword and a pen.

Do you like living in a country where the rights of citizens are enshrined in a written Constitution and a method was established therein for popular sovereignty? You can thank Washington. ...

The “woke” mob hates Washington because it hates America. If it can take him down, it can get anyone. ... He was a slaveowner — a generation that can afford the luxury of criticizing the past by contemporary standards tells us. Slavery was a great evil, and one which existed for most of human history and on every habitable continent. It exists today, in other guises.

That China has enslaved the Uyghurs didn’t keep it from the honor of hosting this year’s Winter Olympics. The children who sew soccer shirts in Asian factories (some for as little as a penny an hour) are slaves in all but by name.

Karl Marx (whose writings serve as the basis for the international movement that seeks to destroy America) was a racist and an antisemite, a fact that no Marxist party has ever acknowledged. Marxism itself is a form of slavery. The masses of Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea may not have actual manacles on their wrists and ankles, but their subjugation is just as complete as if they did. An army of Simon Legrees guards their borders to keep the field hands on the plantation.

A little more than 100 years after the beginning of the war to end slavery in America, the Soviets and their East German stooges built a wall to stop their slaves from escaping. ...

A nation that allows its heroes to be debunked is doomed. And so, as the 290th anniversary of his birth approaches, let us drink a toast that echoed throughout the land when our republic was young — “To Washington and liberty.” Without the first, we wouldn’t have the second.

Also of note was Washington's restraint, a key tenet of who the man truly was... something not only our current occupant could stand to observe, but also our neighbors to the north, and many others abroad...

Washington is remembered today not only for virtues of bearing, decorum, and personal integrity, but also for making the right choices when they mattered most. ...

Cynics note that Washington was ambitious, but that is beside the point; great men must always be ambitious. A friend and biographer of Abraham Lincoln wrote that Lincoln’s ambition was “a little engine that knew no rest.” What makes a great man in power is not lack of ambition, but restraint. Washington waited for power until he was summoned by the people, and he laid it down of his own accord. In so doing, he set the great republican precedents: Power is given by the people, and it is theirs to give and nobody’s to retain too long.

Restraint also guided Washington’s approach to the law. The people had adopted the Constitution, and it was Washington’s job to obey it. In his Farewell Address, he cautioned that “the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. . . . Resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts.”

And to riff off of an MLK line, what was overall remarkable about George Washington was the content of his character, demonstrative of his status as a role model for all...

Hidden behind myth, written off by revisionists as just another dead, white, male slaveowner, Washington was in fact a man for the ages.

Born a Virginia aristocrat, he carefully cultivated his virtues — self-control, moderation, civility; his strengths physical and moral — to become the most widely admired presence first in the 13 colonies, then in the new nation.

He created two American institutions [shaping the US Army and setting the future course of American government itself]... Yet his importance goes far beyond his résumé. It was Washington who emphasized that America was a republic when he rebuked those who wanted a monarchy or an exalted president.

Likewise, he set the precedent for presidential limits by refusing entreaties that he accept a third term. “Washington’s last service to his country was to stop serving,” writes Richard Brookhiser [in his landmark 1997 book, “Founding Father”]. He was also the only slaveholding founder to free his slaves.

For all these reasons and more, there was no dissent when Henry Lee famously described Washington in death as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Far-left efforts like the 1619 Project now claim that many Americans have no reason to honor Washington. But far more accurate is the understanding reflected in the musical “Hamilton”: One of the show’s most compelling moments is the entry of Gen. George Washington as the American rebels suddenly face 32,000 British troops in New York Harbor.

It’s not just his dramatic, staccato lines (“We’re outgunned. Outmanned. Outnumbered. Outplanned”), but the fact that the guy playing him is black. The show powerfully, magically, claims America’s founders for all of today’s Americans. The principles they fought for belong to us all.

That last piece also made mention towards the end that unlike other notable presidents, Washington left no memorable lines that we continue to quote today. But maybe that's because far too often they're lost on a modern society that's too caught up in its own inundation of meaningless chaff really. So maybe let's rectify that with a few, shall we? It might become clear to us why he's not quoted more in these times...

"Government is at best a petulant servant and at worst a tyrannical master."

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Experience has taught us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession, and when the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

"But if the laws are to be so trampled upon with impunity, and a minority is to dictate to the majority, there is an end put at one stroke to republican government, and nothing but anarchy and confusion is to be expected thereafter."

"Be Americans. Let there be no sectionalism, no North, South, East or West. You are all dependent on one another and should be one in union. In one word, be a nation. Be Americans, and be true to yourselves."

"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light."

"Let me ask you, sir, when is the time for brave men to exert themselves in the cause of liberty and their country, if this is not?"

"Where are our Men of abilities? Why do they not come forth to save their Country?"

"Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do--then do it with all your strength."

"Do not let anyone claim tribute of American patriotism if they even attempt to remove religion from politics."

"It is impossible to govern the world without God. 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 implore his protection and favor."

"Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ."

On Honesty: Remembering Lincoln

Today marks what would be the 213th birthday of the most favored & pivotal 19th century president, the Rail-Splitter, the Great Emancipator, and everyone's familiar with the Honest byname, one Abraham Lincoln. And it's that latter alias that's worth highlighting in today's age of lacking honesty, integrity and truth...

The future president was first called "Honest Abe" when he was working as a young store clerk in New Salem, Ill. According to one story, whenever he realized he had shortchanged a customer by a few pennies, he would close the shop and deliver the correct change-regardless of how far he had to walk.

People recognized his integrity and were soon asking him to act as judge or mediator in various contests, fights, and arguments. According to Robert Rutledge of New Salem, "Lincoln's judgment was final in all that region of country. People relied implicitly upon his honesty, integrity, and impartiality."

As a member of the Illinois legislature and later in his law practice, he took advantage of his reputation for honesty and fairness to help broaden his constituency. His good name helped win him four consecutive terms in the legislature.

Lincoln soon moved to Springfield, Ill, and began his law practice, a profession at which he admitted there was a "popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest." His advice to potential lawyers was: "Resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation, rather than one in the choosing of which you do, in advance, consent to be a knave."

According to Judge David Davis, in whose court Lincoln practiced for many years, "The framework for [Lincoln's] mental and moral being was honesty, and a wrong cause was poorly defended by him." Another judge who had worked with Lincoln agreed, saying "Such was the transparent candor and integrity of his nature that he could not well or strongly argue a side or a cause he thought wrong." ...

By the time Lincoln was president, statements he had made previously, such as "I have never tried to conceal my opinions, nor tried to deceive anyone in reference to them," and "I am glad of all the support I can get anywhere, if I can get it without practicing any deception to obtain it" had become a source of strength for him as a leader.

Everyone, even his bitterest political opponents, knew exactly where they stood with Lincoln. Because he didn't have to waste time convincing his opponents of his sincerity, he was able to devote his energies to solving political issues and winning the war.

Lincoln as commander in chief was honest and straightforward with his generals, always telling them directly what he did and did not appreciate about them. An example of his candor is the following excerpt from a letter to Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker in early 1863:

"I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and a skillful soldier, which of course I like . . . I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the army and the government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship."

Finally, in search for the reason Lincoln was so adamant about honesty, a quote by one of his closest friends, Leonard Swett, is revealing:

"He believed in the great laws of truth, the right discharge of duty, his accountability to God, the ultimate triumph of the right, and the overthrow of wrong."

It's worth heeding these lessons towards honesty, whether discussion or debate, throughout today's authoritarian tugs within & without.

If there's one thing we should take away from Honest Abe, it's that honest conversations always approach Truth closer than totalitarian lockdowns of free speech and one-size-fits-all narratives ever will. Lest we forget...

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

Related links: The Truth 2.0
Corporate Media Is The Misinformation Problem
Mark Levin’s Epic Address To The Truckers
Dr. Malone: Media outrage over Rogan is deeper than meets the eye
Tucker: Lawmakers are panicking over this

More Honest Truth (mixed with comedy GOLD): Alexa Refuses To Play Joe Rogan's Podcast
Spotify Just BANNED These 11 Songs For Misinformation
Canadian Freedom Convoy is WINNING?!
Mass Formation Psychosis - 5 Things You Need to Know!

First Principles: Remembering Reagan

Today marks what would be the 111th birthday of my favorite president thus far in my lifetime, the Great Communicator, the Gipper, as Rush always called him, Ronaldus Magnus, the one and only Ronald Wilson Reagan. And I thought I'd share the fantastic words of one great young patriot, who so elegantly reflects on what Reagan meant not just to the conservative cause, but how he exuded American first principles for the common man...

[A]s we near two decades since his passing, President Reagan is still the most influential political figure of modern-day conservatism. Much has changed since Reagan made his exit from the political arena, and both conservatism and America as a whole need his vision now more than ever.

It is difficult to capture an extensive life such as Reagan’s in the space of a single column, but a highlight of his career was his style of messaging that made him an effective spokesman for conservatism. [W]ith Reagan’s ability to communicate enduring political principles into clear, concise and common language... the key to his success as “The Great Communicator,” was the sincerity behind his words and his ability to connect with everyday Americans.

Conservatism is about carrying on the best of what has come before us, and Reagan found much success in articulating the value of traditional ideas, patriotism, respect for the rule of law, faith, free enterprise, peace through strength, individual initiative and appreciation for our ancestors. Those principles were on display throughout his speeches, whether he was making the case for limited government in “A Time for Choosing,” delivering his famous impassioned plea for liberty at the gates of the Berlin Wall, or commemorating the sacrifices of the heroes at the beaches of Normandy.

And although he defended his views confidently, he was able to do so in a positive and respectful way. Nevertheless, in his farewell address, Reagan said, “I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: it was the content. I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things” that “came from the heart of a great nation — from our experience, our wisdom and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries.” ...

Reagan wrote that “growing up in a small town is a good foundation for anyone who decides to enter politics,” and his early years in Dixon allowed him to “get to know people as individuals, not as blocs or members of special interest groups.”

[W]hat made him appeal to so many Americans was that he was a leader to whom they could relate on a personal level. Despite his rise to success as both a Hollywood movie star and prominent political leader with dozens of influential friends and acquaintances, he always held on to the values he developed in Dixon. Reflecting on his upbringing, Reagan recalled: “I grew up observing how the love and common sense of purpose that unites families is one of the most powerful glues on earth and that it can help them overcome the greatest of adversities. I learned that hard work is an essential part of life — that by and large, you don’t get something for nothing — and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work hard. I learned to admire risk takers and entrepreneurs, be they farmers, or small merchants, who went to work and took risks to build something for themselves and their children, pushing at the boundaries of their lives to make them better.”

Those experiences left him with a true hopefulness for the future of America, but Reagan’s optimism was different from that of many politicians. His was not an overambitious idealism that government can create a path to “progress” and solve all of the challenges faced by our country, but it was rather a firm belief that America’s citizenry — ordinary people like parents, farmers, and small business owners — could best serve the needs of their country and bring about positive change through their own initiative. Reagan’s political philosophy came from the understanding that government is most effective when it seeks to create an environment where family, church, civic association, business and local community can flourish.

In his final farewell as president, Reagan remarked that “as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.” Three decades later, that advice still holds true.

Likewise, this young writers words also seem to coincidently reflect on the essence of this Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, where we implore the Lord to "keep thy Church and household continually" in His Truth, just as Reagan observed "how the love and common sense of purpose that unites families... overcome the greatest of adversities." Both should stir a true hopefulness for the future of America.

What a difference... but there is a way out

A friend sent a meme my way last week about how great last Friday was for America, and how terrible it was for the illegitimate Biden regime. Within a 24-hour window, the SCOTUS struck down Biden's OSHA mandate, the Democrats' Election Bill was dead, the filibuster survived the Senate, Biden dipped to a 33% Quinnipiac approval rating, and inflation hit a 40-year high! That last one's pretty bad for us all. The exception I had with that list was the insanity of splitting the baby on the mandates by a couple of justices, but for the most part, an exceptional day. Even CNN (yeah, those guys) got in on the bruising...

All in all, this is the new year trajectory that's needed heading into a midterm year, with some consistencies still to resolve. Never painless for the people of course. We'll unfortunately continue to be inundated with the mass formation psychosis of the past two years, with fear porn raging and pushers promising cure alls, all while ignoring risks for the sake of the narrative. But that's just the 'vid, not to miss all the destruction masked by the plandemic, domestic and abroad.

A whole year with a puppet president. It's safe to say that Biden has performed as poorly as expected on EVERY pressing issue a president is tasked to handle. Even in his first 2022 press conference, his media sycophants are full of doubt. When even the British Prime Minister is catching a clue, one might hope that would rub off on this rube, but I'm not holding my breath. 

What a difference a year makes, though. Contrast all of that with a president that did actually accomplish MUCH for America and who genuinely LOVES the country, despite what his critics thought of him...

From the attempted coup during his presidency to the actual one admittedly perpetrated despite the warnings, the powers that be left us stuck with the current placeholder. So we're left with where we find ourselves. Some would just say that we're no better off...

To the contrary, and without a shadow of a doubt, America was SO MUCH better off under Trump than Biden. It's not even close. But the cabal thought otherwise. They thought American failure would be better...

I'd wager that the vast majority of us aren't pleased nor content with this 'new norm'. So if that's the case, and you're willing to consider another path, the last year's worth of publications from Imprimis are well worth the study... but here's one in particular from Hillsdale President Larry Arnn that suits this particular discussion:

The Way Out

Here are two questions pertinent to our times: (1) How would you reduce the greatest free republic in history to despotism in a short time? and (2) How would you stop that from happening? The answer to the first question has been provided in these last two disastrous years. The answer to the second has begun to emerge in recent months. Both are worthy of study.

Arnn goes on to describe the building up of the unelected, unaccountable federal bureaucracy, who's members come from the same 'educational' institutions as today's corporatists, tech elites and media voices, and who's unified cabal has foisted the past few years of Orwellian hell on us to reduce our great republic to the growing despotism we're all experiencing. But then Arnn begins to focus on how we must defeat this rising despotism with a few exemplary stories: one about a small business in a small Michigan town, another about the more known Loudoun County, Virginia school district. But it is the summary that's the clincher, that's suggestive of the way out...

What do these two stories—one of them taking place in Hillsdale County, Michigan, a deep red county, and the other in Loudoun County, Virginia, which is deeply blue—have in common? In both stories we see reactions against violations of our rights, rights that we have by nature as human beings.

The story about Mitch Spangler is about our right to work and to store up the product of our labor so that we and our families can eat and thrive. The American Founders put this in terms of our natural right to property. The story about the parents of Loudoun County is about the natural right of mothers and fathers to raise their children. To interfere with these rights is to interfere with the nature of the human being.

These facts about nature were well known during the American Revolution, the very Revolution that is besmirched by the members of our ruling class today, just as it was besmirched by the ruling class at the time of the Revolution. It was the interference with the colonists’ natural rights by that former ruling class that led to the American Revolution. These recent stories from Michigan and Virginia show that we Americans do not seem to like that interference any better today.

In addition to the right to make a living and the right to raise our children, we have the right to participate in our government, even if we are not experts, and the right to look to the heavens and not to our ruling class for guidance. We have these rights because we—every single one of us—were born with them sewn by God into our nature, and we cannot find our earthly fulfillment without them.

If we put these facts together as a people, we will have recovered the understanding that produced the American Revolution. We will stop these current predations upon our rights. We will bring this overwhelming government back where it belongs, under the control of the people.

The signs of such a movement are emerging. Pray they are enough.

God help us this year to turn the corner in the fight against this despotic cabal, in preserving our rights for ourselves and our posterity, in restoring America to that beacon of hope, to that shining city on a hill once more.

Related link: Seems Like We’re Living In a Dystopian Story…

Thoughts towards an improved New Year

An assortment of AmericanThinker thoughts for the New Year...

New Year's Resolutions for Patriots and Heroes

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." That's commonly attributed to Confucius, whose wisdom I'm imitating. An awful lot of what I know has come from the harsh lash of experience, even when my own thoughts sufficiently counseled me to avoid the pitfalls lying directly ahead. Reflection, I've found, is most gratifying, but some of us will insist on exploring the jagged roads of hostile experience, if for no other reason than to satisfy stubborn curiosity.

In the spirit of the approaching New Year, allow me to suggest some resolutions that might keep you situated toward the first two methods above for pursuing a good life and finding peace, while sparing you some of the trouble I've sometimes refused to avoid.

In the New Year, I’ll be advocating for fundamental civil liberties

My two big advocacy issues for 2022 will be sustaining support of self-defense and opposing mandates done throughout this year. Both of those are integral for maintaining individual liberty and true security in America.

2022 will not be fun for Biden

No matter what, it's been a horrible year for President Biden. It all started when he chose to govern like Bernie Sanders rather than the moderate we were promised.

The United States In 2040 … unless…

I want us all to engage in a New Year’s Day mental exercise and extrapolate where we will be—not as a country but as a culture—in 20 years. In that span, patriot conservatives may win a midterm election or two, and perhaps even a presidential election, but the culture will continue its 70-year trend.

Why? Because presidents and senators don’t (really) determine what is taught to your kids, what messaging is being spewed forth by the Mainstream Media, what poisonous social engineering projects corporate and foundation boards are wasting their (and our) money on, what morality is currently being wafted from pulpits.

Let's ALL put our thinking caps on this year, America, for a happier New Year.

Enough of that... 'Tis the Season!

It's Christmas time! Enough of the vax madness and un-discrimination, now over a two-bit Transformer-named variant that's flipping the script. Enough of more manufactured hysteria from anti-science institutions that have failed us, led by the head Faucist and the foolish, coughing codger. So many what-ifs to consider about all of this and so much more as we round out another numbing year (fingers crossed on the next?). But no matter how much the Left tries to shame us for daring to visit our families and celebrate this great holiday season, we won't allow them to cancel Christmas with their wokeness or fear-mongering. Americans are, well, sick of it all. So let's inject a good dose of the Good News, shall we... 

...starting with some background history and rich traditions...

...and what about all those lights & decorations? This guy didn't miss a one!

But much more importantly, the Reason for the Season, the intertwining accounts of Matthew & Luke. Their overlapping chronicle of Jesus' birth provides the quintessential springboard for the Christmas celebration, the Gospel Truth of the Incarnation...

The Birth of Jesus Christ 

~ Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

~ Luke 2:1-7

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels ~ Luke 2:8-21

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

The Magi Visit the Messiah ~ Matthew 2:1-12

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Escape to Egypt ~ Matthew 2:13-15

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

And THIS is what the celebration of Christmas is all about. This is where the Good News begins, and this is where we find the strength and courage to get through the madness of the day. God knows there's so much of it in these times. May the Lord help us to set that aside for a time to give thanks to thee.

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only. begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to be come the Sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ~ John 1:1-14

Thanks Be to God!

Merry Christmas!

Some go-to Thanksgiving ingredients

It's certainly been an ebb here lately, and my apologies for that. Work and life, and life and work. But I didn't wanna miss out on giving thanks at this customary time of the year.

While it's still a little early to do a year-end review, and questionably in any semblance of optimism these days, experiencing hoax and loss and utter failure following both, there have nonetheless been cause for thanks in life and liberty towards our happy pursuits. So we must remember the goodness of God through earthly trials or prosperity, through the dark just as much as the light. Goodness can spring from it all.

And with that, I'd like to share a collection of go-to ingredients that nicely stir a sentiment of just how thankful we should be to the Almighty as Americans. 


A litany of honorable Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations...

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 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 which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled 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 hath 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 shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease 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.

~ George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

The year that is drawing toward 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 the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

~ Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving Day is one of our most beloved holidays, an occasion set aside by Americans from earliest times to thank our Maker prayerfully and humbly for the blessings and the care He bestows on us and on our beautiful, bountiful land. Through the decades, through the centuries, in log cabins, country churches, cathedrals, homes, and halls, the American people have paused to give thanks to God, in times of peace and plenty or of danger and distress.

Acknowledgement of dependence on God's favor was, in fact, our fledgling Nation's very first order of business. When the delegates to the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774, they overcame discord by uniting in prayer for our country. Despite the differences among them as they began their work, they found common voice in the 35th Psalm, which concludes with a verse of joyous gratitude, "And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long."

This year, of course, our Thanksgiving Day celebration coincides with the Bicentennial of the Constitution. In 1789 the government established by that great charter of freedom, and "the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed," were cited by George Washington in the first Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation as among "the great and various favors" conferred upon us by the Lord and Ruler of Nations. As we thank the God our first President called "that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be," we have even greater cause for gratitude than the fresh triumphs that inspired Washington's prose. We have seen the splendor of our natural resources spread across the tables of the world, and we have seen the splendor of freedom coursing with new vigor through the channels of history. The cause for which we give thanks, for which so many of our citizens through the years have given their lives, has endured 200 years -- a blessing to us and a light to all mankind.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1987, let us, in this unbroken chain of observance, dedicate ourselves to honor anew the Author of Liberty and to publicly acknowledge our debt to all those who have sacrificed so much in our behalf. May our gratitude always be coupled with petitions for divine guidance and protection for our Nation and with ready help for our neighbors in time of need.

~ Ronald Reagan's 1987 Thanksgiving Proclamation

On Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for the abundant blessings in our lives. As we gather with family and friends to celebrate this season of generosity, hope, and gratitude, we commemorate America's founding traditions of faith, family, and friendship, and give thanks for the principles of freedom, liberty, and democracy that make our country exceptional in the history of the world.

This November marks 400 years since the Mayflower and its passengers faced the unknown and set sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Propelled by hope for a brighter future, these intrepid men and women endured two long months at sea, tired and hungry, to arrive in a new world full of potential. In the winter weather that greeted their arrival, they lost nearly half of their fellow travelers to exposure, disease, and starvation. Despite unimaginable hardships, these first Americans nevertheless remained firm in their faith and unwavering in their commitment to their dreams. They forged friendships with the Wampanoag Tribe, fostered a spirit of common purpose among themselves, and trusted in God to provide for them. The following year, they celebrated a successful harvest alongside their Native American neighbors—the first Thanksgiving. This seminal event in the history of our Nation is a continual reminder of the power of faith, love, perseverance, prayer, and fellowship.

The Mayflower's arrival to the New World in 1620 also marks the arrival of the first seeds of democracy to our land. Absent the rule of a monarch in an uncharted wilderness, these early settlers resolved to create their own government through what is known as the Mayflower Compact. Defined by majority rule through elected leaders responsible for creating "just and equal laws," the Mayflower Compact represents the first chapter in the long tradition of self-determination and rule of law in America. One hundred and fifty-six years later, our Nation's Founding Fathers resolved to break free from England, building upon the Mayflower Compact to establish an enduring government whose authority came solely "from the consent of the governed."

This year, as our Nation continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic, we have once again joined together to overcome the challenges facing us. In the midst of suffering and loss, we are witnessing the remarkable courage and boundless generosity of the American people as they come to the aid of those in need, reflecting the spirit of those first settlers who worked together to meet the needs of their community. First responders, medical professionals, essential workers, neighbors, and countless other patriots have served and sacrificed for their fellow Americans, and the prayers of our people have once again lifted up our Nation, providing comfort, healing, and strength during times of uncertainty. Despite unprecedented challenges, we have not faltered in the face of adversity. To the contrary, we have leveraged our strengths to make significant breakthroughs that will end this crisis, rebuilding our stockpiles, revamping our manufacturing capabilities, and developing groundbreaking therapeutics and life-saving vaccines on record-shattering timeframes.

During this season of gratitude, we also acknowledge those who cannot be with their families. This includes the brave American patriots of our Armed Forces who selflessly defend our sacred liberty at home and abroad. And we pause to remember the sacrifices of our law enforcement personnel and first responders. We are deeply grateful for all those who remain on watch over the holidays and keep us safe as we celebrate and give thanks for the blessings in our lives.

This Thanksgiving, we reaffirm our everlasting gratitude for all that we enjoy, and we commemorate the legacy of generosity bestowed upon us by our forbearers. Although challenges remain, we will never yield in our quest to live up to the promise of our heritage. As we gather with our loved ones, we resolve with abiding faith and patriotism to celebrate the joys of freedom and cherish the hope and peace of a brighter future ahead.

~ Donald Trump's 2020 Thanksgiving Proclamation

The true story of Thanksgiving by the one and only El Rushbo...

“The first winter in the new world was an act of survival that you and I cannot possibly relate to or understand

Of paramount importance to [the Pilgrims] was living freely and worshiping God according to the dictates of their own conscience and their own beliefs. That’s what they were denied the freedom to do in England.

One of the most important legacies of the early settlers is that they experimented with socialism in the 1620’s and it did not work. Private property rights, personal responsibility saved the Plymouth colony from extinction and laid the economic foundation for the free and prosperous nation that we all enjoy today.”

~ Rush Limbaugh

...and some good, common Thanksgiving liturgy!

O PRAISE the Lord, for it is a good thing to sing praises unto our God; * yea, a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful.
The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, * and gather together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth those that are broken in heart, * and giveth medicine to heal their sickness.
O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; * sing praises upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth; * and maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men;
Who giveth fodder unto the cattle, * and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; * praise thy God, O Sion.
For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates, * and hath blessed thy children within thee.
He maketh peace in thy borders, * and filleth thee with the flour of wheat.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

The Collect.

O MOST merciful Father, who hast blessed the labours of the husbandman in the returns of the fruits of the earth; We give thee humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty; beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness to us, that our land may still yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. St. James i. 16.

DO not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The Gospel. St. Matthew vi. 25.

JESUS said, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? There-fore be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Of course feel free to garnish at will, but these are certainly some essential recipes to get the taste buds flowing and the spirit in check. We still have cause to be thankful, and we must remain so with vigilance and towards Providence.

Happy Thanksgiving!