Misery Index

First, I didn’t plan on posting anything today other than a “Happy Thanksgiving” post, however, upon awakening and looking through my feeds, this was the third thing in my feed list….

The Obama “team” loves to compare Obama to Lincoln.  This time in the Thursday-Thanksgiving edition, which is stated as being a “preview of his weekly address” (oh yippie.. four days, four releases…..), on the YouTube page there is mention of Lincoln:

“,nearly one hundred and fifty years after President Lincoln called for the last Thursday in November to be set aside to acknowledge our blessings.  …”

Obama focuses on  Lincoln and the Civil War in the opening of his now daily “show”, talking about a nation divided during the Civil War.  What is bothersome, is that the Obama team gives the impression that Lincoln is the person to give “thanks” to for making Thanksgiving official and chooses a time in our nation’s history when this country was at war with itself.  In typical Obama team style, they selectively use parts of history for their advantage, not using the entire truth.  And not giving credit where credit is due, as it was nearly 77 years after Lincoln that Thanksgiving as a national holiday was made, with celebration then being every year afterwards, by law and also making a different date the official day with the first celebration of Thanksgiving being nearly 322 years prior to Lincoln.

I find using Lincoln and the Civil War an interesting comparison.  Using the Civil War, which was about States Rights (and not slavery as many think… check your history), and a nation divided with Lincoln stating in “his first Thanksgiving decree.”  This would give the impression that Lincoln is the person to thank for making Thanksgiving official.  Wouldn’t it seem that way?  When in reality, it was George Washington, 74 years prior to Lincoln, at the time our nation’s first president, that created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States.

Additional important dates in the history of Thanksgiving include; the first Thanksgiving was in 1621, and the first official Thanksgiving in 1923.  The Continental Congress in 1777 gave the First Proclamation of Thanksgiving, one year after our nation’s official birth.  In 1789, George Washington, 74 years before Lincoln, made a proclamation and created the first national Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America.  And a bill by Franklin D Roosevelt declared Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November, as some years had five months in November.  FDR is the person who made Thanksgiving on the day it currently is, and signed it into national law in 1941.  That is the TRUE history of Thanksgiving, and on the day we celebrate it. 

The Obama team and/or Obama instead choose to use Lincoln and the Civil War as an example.  A time in our nation’s history when our own country was at war with itself. A times when it was literally brother vs. brother, and family members vs. family members (at least it was in my family with part of my family fighting for the Union, and other family members fighting for the Confederacy). And even Lincoln’s declaration was for a one time deal only.  It had to be changed to a different date in later on in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November and when it was finally made an official holiday by law. If anyone is responsible for Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the United States, to be celebrated every year, it was Franklin D. Roosevelt, not Abraham Lincoln.

Additionally, in the blog post on Change.gov, the following is posted.  Have you served today?  [Actually I serve everyday, due to being panhandled by homeless several times a day, just so they can go and buy another bottle of booze, or crack, instead of food.] 

“Watch the President-elect’s Address now – then send us your stories about the ways you or others you know serve your community:”

On the page to share your stories is stated the following:

“Share your story, tell us why service is important to you, or let us know what you’d like to see an Obama-Biden administration do to encourage service.”

This is part of Obama’s “America Services” program that he is planning.  Initially, before the Change.gov website was scrubbed, the page stated:

“ Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.” [As seen to your left]

“Obama and Biden will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that is worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.”

The page was changed to reflect the following:

“They’ll set a goal that all middle school and high school students engage in 50 hours of community service a year, and develop a plan for all college students who engage in 100 hours of community service to receive a fully-refundable tax credit of $4,000 for their education.”

What the Obamabots keep forgetting is that by making service mandatory or required, especially for children, is that it is a violation of the 13th Amendment, which prohibits involuntary servitude.  This Amendment was passed during the Lincoln administration.  How’s that for irony? 

Section 1:  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2:  Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Being a historian by trade and at times profession, using “selective information” about history to use to given an “official” speech by our soon to be President, I find this very, very interesting and very, very disturbing.  To use an example that is not correct for the actual day we celebrate Thanksgiving, and to dismiss George Washington, our nations first president who proclaimed the first Thanksgiving day for the entire country, and to forget that it was because of the Pilgrims that Thanksgiving even exists, entirely disrespectful of our Nation’s history by using selective facts, to appear to make a point.  NO matter how hard Obama tries, he can maybe “change” our future, but he can not “change” our past.

If you do care to learn the real history of Thanksgiving, read on.  If you care more about Obama’s truth about Thanksgiving, and believe anything the man says, don’t bother reading on, and just go to YouTube, watch and believe the Obama manipulation of history.