More than any other day of the year, families by the millions will give thanks today for America’s abundant and affordable food supply. The impressive bounty on display contrasts sharply with claims that more stringent federal regulations are needed to ensure food safety. Despite the fact that America’s food supply is superior to every other in the world, legislation now pending in the Senate would grant vast new powers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate how food is grown, processed, and sold. Underlying the power grab is …
As truly an American holiday as Thanksgiving is, it was not actually made a formal federal holiday until 1941. And it wasn’t even routinely celebrated nationally on the fourth Thursday of every November until after President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Address in 1863. Still, the holiday does have a strong basis in our nation’s history—a history that is all too often left untold. As described by Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford in his diary Of Plymouth Plantation, the first Pilgrim winters in America were tough. The colonists failed to produce adequate …
The Associated Press reported yesterday that “cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior U.S. officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially with government-approved federal security details.” The article goes on to report that while the rest of the public is still subject to either a body scanner or “an intimate personal pat-down,” as of Friday the Transportation Security Administration had exempted pilots from the procedure, and then on Tuesday they added flight attendants to the exemption list. Americans have every …
As millions of Americans spend today fervently practicing commerce, we bring you these thoughts faith, property and prosperity which first ran last year on Thanksgiving. There is much talk these days of how conservatives need “new ideas” in these troubled economic times. And as we look at our nation’s troubled landscape, there is much work that needs to be done if we are going to return economic prosperity to the country. But as we sit down to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends and family, recalling the true story of the …
Thanksgiving was not formally made a federal holiday until 1941. However, it has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November annually since President Abraham Lincoln delivered the address below in 1863. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Heritage Foundation. 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 …
Of the many influences that shaped the American concept of liberty, the first and most formative was faith. More than anything else, religion formed the backbone of colonial culture and defined its moral horizon. This religious character was largely a product of the fact that many came to the New World in search of religious liberty—to freely practice and spread their faith. As a whole, America’s Founders were strongly religious. Thanksgiving proclamations, as official statements of the American president, underscore the Founders’ faith. Some were more traditional, such as John …
Here’s an encouraging note as Thanksgiving gatherings give way to Christmas shopping during the current economic meltdown: When older adults feel grateful for what they have in tough financial times, they’re less likely to be depressed than fellow seniors or middle-aged Americans who don’t feel grateful. And when older adults frequently go to church or otherwise are more deeply involved in their faith, they’re more likely to be grateful during tough times than peers who aren’t. So, clinging to your faith is good for your mental health? That’s what the evidence …
There is much talk these days of how conservatives need “new ideas” in these troubled economic times. And as we look at our nation’s troubled landscape, there is much work that needs to be done if we are going to return economic prosperity to the country. But as we sit down to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends and family, recalling the true story of the Pilgrims should remind us all that the core principles that have made this nation great are unchanging, and that we risk ruin if we abandon …
He or she is at it again. An electronic circular, originating elsewhere at Heritage and signed only “A Conservative,” marks Thanksgiving by recalling the Pilgrims’ fleeting flirtation with socialism 387 years ago — whilst establishing Plymouth Colony under William Bradford’s leadership. (“A Conservative” last week e-circulated thoughts on how the Electoral College benefits an ungrateful electorate.) Herewith the contents of the latest e-circular, headlined “Giving Thanks for Capitalism”: When we bow our heads this week in thanks for our many blessings, we should recall the Pilgrims’ early lesson in the power of free markets. …
