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22956. wonkers2 - 11/21/2007 1:13:22 PM Have a great Thanksgiving, everybody. I'm headed to Washington to straighten out things in our nation's capitol. 22957. David Ehrenstein - 11/22/2007 3:17:35 AM I'm BACK!
22958. arkymalarky - 11/22/2007 4:32:22 AM And looking as fantastic as ever! Great picture. 22959. David Ehrenstein - 11/22/2007 6:15:58 AM Merci!
Here's a better one.
22960. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 11/22/2007 7:03:22 AM How nice--a real Thanksgiving, David. Welcome back and grab a drumstick! 22961. alistairconnor - 11/22/2007 2:06:24 PM Woo! Prodigal son returns...
Today is the day when the people of the Rest-of-the-world give thanks that they are not american...
(rim shot) 22962. wabbit - 11/22/2007 5:52:38 PM 
Happy Thanksgiving all!
22963. David Ehrenstein - 11/22/2007 9:30:01 PM Here are some lovely Thanksgiving Day thoughts from Everyone's Favorite Historian, Ward Churchill:
"Thanksgiving is the day the United States celebrates the fact that the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony successfully avoided starvation during the winter of 1620-21. But from an American Indian perspective, what is it we're supposed to be so thankful for? Does anyone really expect us to give thanks for the
fact that soon after the Pilgrim Fathers regained their strength, they set out to dispossess and exterminate the very Indians who had fed them that
first winter? Are we to express our gratitude for the colonists' 1637 massacre of the Pequots at Mystic, Conn., or their rhetoric justifying the butchery by comparing Indians to "rats and mice and swarms of lice"?
Or should we be joyous about the endless series of similar slaughters that followed: at St. Francis
(1759), Horseshoe Bend (1814), Bad Axe (1833), Blue Water (1854), Sand Creek (1864), Marias River (1870),
Camp Robinson (1878) and Wounded Knee (1890), to name only the worst? Should we be thankful for the scalp bounties paid by every English Colony -- as well as every U.S. state
and territory in the lower 48 – for proof of the deaths of individual Indians, including women and children?
How might we best show our appreciation of the order issued by Lord Jeffrey Amherst in 1763, requiring smallpox-infested items be given as gifts to the Ottawas so that "we might extirpate this execrable race"? Is it reasonable to assume that we might be jubilant
that our overall population, numbering perhaps 15 million at the outset of the European invasion, was
reduced to less than a quarter-million by 1890? Maybe we should be glad the "peaceful settlers" didn't
kill the rest of us outright. But they didn't really need to, did they? By 1900, they already had 98
percent of our land. The remaining Indians were simply dumped in the mostly arid and unwanted locales, where it was confidently predicted that we'd shortly die off altogether, out of sight and mind of the settler
society. We haven't died off yet, but we comprise far and away the most impoverished, malnourished and disease-ridden population on the continent today. Life expectancy on
many reservations is about 50 years; that of Euroamericans more than 75.
We've also endured a pattern of cultural genocide during the 20th century. Our children were processed
for generations through government boarding schools designed to "kill the Indian" in every child's
consciousness and to replace Native traditions with a "more enlightened" Euroamerican set of values and
understandings. Should we feel grateful for the disastrous
self-concept thereby fostered within our kids? Are we to be thankful that their self-esteem is still degraded every day on cable television by a constant bombardment of recycled Hollywood Westerns and television segments presenting Indians as absurd and utterly dehumanized caricatures?
Should we tell our children to find pride in the sorts of insults to which we are subjected to as a matter of course: Tumbleweeds cartoons, for instance, or the presence of Chief Wahoo and the Redskins in Professional sports? Does anybody really believe we should feel honored by such things, or by place names like Squaw Valley and Squaw Peak? "Squaw," after all, is the Onondaga word for female genitalia. The derogatory effect on Native women should be quite clear. About three-quarters of all adult Indians suffer alcoholism and/or other forms of substance abuse. This is not a "genetic condition." It is a desperate, collective attempt to escape our horrible reality ince "America's Triumph."
It's no mystery why Indians don't observe Thanksgiving. The real question is why do you feast rather than fast on what should be a national day of mourning and atonement. Before digging into your turkey and dressing on Nov.23, you might wish to glance in a mirror and see if you can come up with an answer." 22964. judithathome - 11/23/2007 2:23:52 AM Keoni made us the THE best Thanksgiving dinner EVER...cornish game hens stuffed with cranberry/walnut dressing, sweet potatos, baby peas, and I made a green bean casserole (I know, I know...how tacky! but it was really good!). He also made creme brulee and we have one piece of apple pie to split (and put Hagen Das vanilla ice cream over) that was left over from his office party...he makes the best pies, too. ;-)
He was disappointed because he wanted to make tiramisu but trust me, I wasn't disappointed AT ALL!
22965. judithathome - 11/23/2007 2:24:18 AM Hey, David....welcome back....lookin' good! 22966. David Ehrenstein - 11/23/2007 3:54:16 AM Good to be back. 22967. arkymalarky - 11/23/2007 5:52:05 AM Thanksgiving is all about great food, and green bean casserole is certainly tasty. I ate some for lunch. Sounds like y'all had a fantastic meal, Judith. I had two at two different places, and tomorrow morning starts a serious change. 22968. arkymalarky - 11/23/2007 6:01:51 AM And thanks for posting that, David. With Alistair's comment above it helps keep a little perspective on the holiday.
We haven't died off yet, but we comprise far and away the most impoverished, malnourished and disease-ridden population on the continent today.
I tell my students that several times each year in American History. The national rural education group I worked with for three years does a lot of work in Native American Alaskan schools, and has helped support some great programs there. The group's emphasis is on teaching students where they live and maximizing their resources, utilizing knowledge and traditions of the elders in their own environments. 22969. Magoseph - 11/23/2007 5:26:23 PM Good morning, everyone! I made a delicious yam casserole and a heavenly artichoke heart salad with black olives yesterday, all with Grand Marnier on ice—it surprised the hell out of Flexy and me that both dishes came out so well.
Next time I want to cook well, I’ll make certain the Grand Marnier is near by me. Only one problem this nice Thanksgiving Day for me--I got up during the night and finished the yams, of course with a couple of GMs. So today, I feel heavy and drunk, it doesn’t take much for me to get this way. I need a nap, so now after a brisk walk in the sun with a temperature of 39 degrees; I’m going to watch movies the rest of the day.
I’m very happy that David came back to us. Forgive me for this very selfish post.
22970. arkymalarky - 11/23/2007 5:51:54 PM Not selfish a bit. We look to the cafe for sharing our stuff like that. Sounds like y'all had a very nice Thanksgiving.
I intend to do nothing today except my routine. I've got a lot of papers to grade--simply because I've let them pile up--but I'm not doing them today. I have to have them done before Monday, but I'll to get them by then. My SIL's family does a HUGE family shop today, and I know Jex is chomping at the bits to see LSU beat the Razorbacks, but Black Friday is my favorite down-time day. SIL's family gets up at 4:00AM, meets in the middle of the first mall they hit, puts all their hands on top of each others' as they stand in a circle like a basketball team during a timeout, and yells "ONE, TWO, THREE, SHOP!!!" before they all dash in different directions for the WHOLE DAY. 22971. Magoseph - 11/23/2007 6:22:07 PM
(stolen) 22972. Magoseph - 11/23/2007 6:29:55 PM Arky--I hate to shop, especially on a day like today. I order nowadays most everything online or by phone. If we had a shopper's aides business in town, I'd be one of their best clients.
The Pointer sisters are so gorgeous, aren't they? 22973. arkymalarky - 11/23/2007 8:04:54 PM Yep.
I like to shop when there are no crowds and it's calm and relaxing. Today definitely ain't it. My SIL's family makes a big all-day family party out of it, which if I were a part of it I would probably think was fun. Out alone or with Bob or Mose or Mom or a few friends, never on Black Friday. 22974. PelleNilsson - 11/25/2007 8:58:24 PM David!! I haven't logged in here for many weeks and now the first thing I hit upon is that you are back. Welcome after these many years!
Well, if David can do it, so can I. I'm back but don't count on much activity the coming week because I have to write a paper I have delayed too long already. 22975. wonkers2 - 11/25/2007 9:00:43 PM Welcome back, Pelle! If I'm not being too nosy, what's the topic of your paper?
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