Free Republic

Yup. Trent and Boehner. Same as it ever was.

LOSERS!!!

No doubt white boys beating a black woman.

Rest in pieces,commie.

Each year at this time school children all over America are taught the official Thanksgiving story, and newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines devote vast amounts of time and space to it. It is all very colorful and fascinating.

It is also very deceiving. This official story is nothing like what really happened. It is a fairy tale, a whitewashed and sanitized collection of half-truths which divert attention away from Thanksgiving's real meaning.

The official story has the pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21. This first winter is hard, and half the colonists die. But the survivors are hard working and tenacious, and they learn new farming techniques from the Indians. The harvest of 1621 is bountiful. The Pilgrims hold a celebration, and give thanks to God. They are grateful for the wonderful new abundant land He has given them.

The official story then has the Pilgrims living more or less happily ever after, each year repeating the first Thanksgiving. Other early colonies also have hard times at first, but they soon prosper and adopt the annual tradition of giving thanks for this prosperous new land called America.

The problem with this official story is that the harvest of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.

In his 'History of Plymouth Plantation,' the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. He says the colony was riddled with "corruption," and with "confusion and discontent." The crops were small because "much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable."

In the harvest feasts of 1621 and 1622, "all had their hungry bellies filled," but only briefly. The prevailing condition during those years was not the abundance the official story claims, it was famine and death. The first "Thanksgiving" was not so much a celebration as it was the last meal of condemned men.

But in subsequent years something changes. The harvest of 1623 was different. Suddenly, "instead of famine now God gave them plenty," Bradford wrote, "and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God." Thereafter, he wrote, "any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day." In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to begin exporting corn.

What happened?

After the poor harvest of 1622, writes Bradford, "they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop." They began to question their form of economic organization.

This had required that "all profits & benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means" were to be placed in the common stock of the colony, 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." A person was to put into the common stock all he could, and take out only what he needed.

This "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" was an early form of socialism, and it is why the Pilgrims were starving. Bradford writes that "young men that are most able and fit for labor and service" complained about being forced to "spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children." Also, "the strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes, than he that was weak." So the young and strong refused to work and the total amount of food produced was never adequate.

To rectify this situation, in 1623 Bradford abolished socialism. He gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced socialism with a free market, and that was the end of famines.

Many early groups of colonists set up socialist states, all with the same terrible results. At Jamestown, established in 1607, out of every shipload of settlers that arrived, less than half would survive their first twelve months in America. Most of the work was being done by only one-fifth of the men, the other four-fifths choosing to be parasites. In the winter of 1609-10, called "The Starving Time," the population fell from five-hundred to sixty.

Then the Jamestown colony was converted to a free market, and the results were every bit as dramatic as those at Plymouth. In 1614, Colony Secretary Ralph Hamor wrote that after the switch there was "plenty of food, which every man by his own industry may easily and doth procure." He said that when the socialist system had prevailed, "we reaped not so much corn from the labors of thirty men as three men have done for themselves now."

Before these free markets were established, the colonists had nothing for which to be thankful. They were in the same situation as Ethiopians are today, and for the same reasons. But after free markets were established, the resulting abundance was so dramatic that the annual Thanksgiving celebrations became common throughout the colonies, and in 1863, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.

Thus the real reason for Thanksgiving, deleted from the official story, is: Socialism does not work; the one and only source of abundance is free markets, and we thank God we live in a country where we can have them.

There are three factions of the pubbie party:

1. The religeoous right.
2. The libertarian wing.
3. The moderates.

See tagline.

No, Reagan cut taxes, but he had a dem congress which drastically raised spending.

Bush but taxes, but had a republican congress that drastically raised spending.

But Bush only vetoed one bill. Stem cell funding, of all things.

He could have vetoed the budgets, and insisted that there was no "bridge to nowhere" or other earmarks. But he did not. He passed the budgets.

Except for stem cells.

What an ass.

Anyone that opposes contraception is an idiot.

If you say you are a cop, and you are not, anywhere, anytime, it is illegal.

Folks who claim medals they did not win should face mandatory jail time. One year, minimum.

Especially because they are mostly liberals.

If you asy you are a cop, and you are not, anywhere, anytime, it is illegal.

Folks who claim medals they did not win should face mandatory jail time. One year, minimum.

Especially because they are mostly liberals.

No, without you, we would have attracted a lot more votes that were otherwise driven to the other side.

I myself almost did not vote because of religeous nutjobs. The day of voting, I held my nose and decided to do it one last time. And I was one of the 537 Volusia county voters who put W over the top in 2000. Stood on a street corner with a W sign during the recount. Poll watcher, and member here since 1997.

If you nutjobs are still around next election, I might vote dem.

BTW, when you respond, please fall on the floor and talk in tongues, nutcase.

Perhaps evangelicals should stage a mass "talking in tongues" and "falling down on the ground in spasms" rally at the mall in DC?

That would show them.

If the Boy Scouts decided that only celibate (unmarried) guys could be scoutmasters, do you think we would end up with more gay scoutmasters, less, or the same?

Of course it happens, all the time.

So it is OK for nature to kill, and you should do nothing about it?

If God decides to make a woman miscarry at one day, should we do nothing?

What about one week?

What about one month?

What about 28 weeks?

When do we intervene? Or do we intervene? Who decides?

What if a woman miscarries at 15 weeks? Should we do what we can to save it?

Just making sure of your position.

So if a woman and a man conceive, but the single cell does not implant into the uteres, but is discharged instead, it should be saved and nursed to life?

Is that your position?

Dane, you are well known here as apposing the fence.

All embryos are life, right? So Miscariages should involve 911, and everything possible should be tried to save the fetus.

Even if it is one week. Even if it is a little ball of cells, or even one cell.

Right, everyone?

Good.

I know Martinez. I lived in Orlando when he was there, and sttill live in Florida. Was married to a cuban woman, and hired many latins over the years.

There is no such thing as a latin caucus. I am not slamming latins at all, but I do know this:

Latins are very prejudiced against other latin countries. Cubans hate mexicans, columbians hate mexicans and cubans, argentinians hate them all.

Neither Martinez, nor anyone, will unite the latins, although that is his dream, and Bush's. Mel hates the fence.

Coming to us soon, thanks to union goons, communists, socialists, democrats, and all around buffoons.