Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863 This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving. Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops. By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. The year that is drawing towards 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 even 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 to provoke their aggression, 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 theatre of military conflict; while that theatre 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 defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe 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 battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness 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, tranquillity and Union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth. By the President: Abraham Lincoln William H. Seward, Secretary of State November, 24, 2011 On this Thanksgiving we give special thanks for our men and women in uniform - past and present that protect and defend our American way of life. May God bless you and your family on this day of thanksgiving. Sincerely, Jerry Dudley, Jr.

Meet & Greet

If you would like to host a Coffee Talk Meet & Greet at your place of business or your home please contact us at (816) 388-0040. 

Honoring All Who Served

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, 

who has given us freedom of religion. 

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, 
who has given us freedom of the press. 

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

Pastor Emanuel Cleaver Votes Against "In God We Trust"

On Tuesday, November 2, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the national motto.

For those in America who believe that faith and religion are under attack, this was likely a welcome development.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), supports and encourages the motto’s display in all public schools and government buildings. It was approved 396-9, with 2 abstentions. With 91 percent of representatives voting in favor of the measure, it’s intriguing to look at the 2 percent who voted against it. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a United Methodist Pastor, was one of that 2 percent to vote against it.

Representative
[Sort by Name] [Sort by Party]
Nay: NY-5, Ackerman, Gary [D]
Nay: MI-3, Amash, Justin [R]
Nay: CA-32, Chu, Judy [D]
Nay: MO-5, Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
Nay: CA-15, Honda, Michael [D]
Nay: GA-4, Johnson, Henry [D]
Nay: NY-8, Nadler, Jerrold [D]
Nay: VA-3, Scott, Robert [D]
Nay: CA-13, Stark, Fortney [D]

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Stand with Israel

Perhaps the greatest foreign policy issue of our day is the on-going, generational conflagration between the nation of Israel and her adversaries around the world. Of course the topic is replete with nuance and no one side is without fault; however, it is clear to me who the United States

must stand with in this conflict.

Since President Truman’s decision to recognize the State of Israel on the same day—May 14, 1948—that the Provisional Government of Israel declared there to be a Jewish state, Israel has stood with the United States. As the Islamic nations of the world, backed by the Soviet Union, made unprovoked war on the people of Israel, America stood by Israel and Israel stood by America in its political battle with the USSR. Even today Israel’s enemies—Hamas, Iran, and much of the Islamic world—back terrorist groups and ally themselves with other despotic nations and enemies of the United States, such as Russia, China, Cuba and Venezuela.

Some erroneously believe that Israel is to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that if Israel just gave up its land and was more generous in its negotiations with Hamas—a recognized terrorist organization—Hamas would benignly agree to live in peace and harmony with its neighbor; however, one need not look any further than Hamas’ own charter that calls for the “obliteration” of Israel in order to dismiss as naïve such a belief system. Hamas will not recognize Israel’s right to exist no matter what Israel agrees to (other than its own suicide).

Some erroneously believe that Jews are the cause of Middle East strife, that if the Jewish people simply ceased to exist then all would be right in the Middle East. But a little geopolitical knowledge dashes this anti-Semitic lie. The truth is clear—Islam is at war with its neighbors all

over the world. Islam is at war with the secularists in the West, with the authoritarians in Russia, with the communists in China, with the Christians in Africa, with civilization in Turkey, with India in Kashmir, with the Jews in Israel and even with each other all over the world. The truth? The Middle East conflict is merely a symptom of the cancer that is radical Islam.

Some erroneously believe that Iran should be left to its own devices, that Iran has as much right to a nuclear weapon as the United States or Russia has. They subscribe to the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) theory that a rational nation will not commit certain suicide by engaging in nuclear warfare with an equal opponent. With regard to Iran MAD is an insufficient theory. Iran and its Ayatollahs, who deny the Holocaust, are attempting to follow in the steps of their ideological cousins, the Nazis. Iran denies the Holocaust and has sworn itself to the destruction of Israel. Iran follows Shi’a Islam, a strain of Islam followed by approximately 10% of Muslims. Shi’a Islam is more akin to a death cult than to a religion as it believes in the return of the 12th Imam who will murder the Jews and bring the world under the boot of a global Islamic caliphate. Iran’s leaders believe they can haste the return of the Mahdi by starting a global war. Iran is not a rational actor—Iran is a virulent anti-Semitic state that envisions the murder of the Jewish people. Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons—no matter what!

Some erroneously believe that the Palestinians (or, more largely, Muslims) have a right to the Israeli territories, but simple history belies this notion. The Land of Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish people 1,800 years before the birth of Christ and 24 centuries before the founding of Islam. Simply put, it’s awful history to say anyone else has a claim to the Land of Israel other than the Jewish people.

Finally, Israel is the Middle East’s only true democracy. Israel has open and free elections, women’s suffrage, religious liberty, and is capitalist through and through. There are few nations that are more like the United States in their very identity. There are few other nations that have

stood by the United States through thick and thin. Israel is our friend today, tomorrow, and forever. America should stand with Israel. And as your Missouri Congressman I pledge that I will stand with Israel.

Kansas City United

     It’s been troubling me for a while now to see the way the Kansas and Missouri sides of Kansas City do battle with each other over jobs for no real tangible benefit to area workers. Job poaching is a scourge on Kansas City and adds little marginal benefit to residents of the Greater Kansas City area. Michael T. White of the UMKC School of Law brought to light a perfect example of the frivolity of job poaching. J.P. Morgan and its 800 jobs at its Retirement Plan Services offices moved four miles from 95th and Ward Parkway to Overland Park’s Sprint Campus. This inorganic economic growth is nice for incumbent politicians in campaign mode but it is of little material benefit to Kansas City residents.

     With Texas leading the charge in job poaching from other states, including Kansas and Missouri, and with Washington, D.C. centralizing the nation’s wealth in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, all people and governments of Kansas City should be uniting to fight for our mutual benefit. 

     According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Kansas City metropolitan area had an 8.7% unemployment rate in August 2011 (its most recent numbers), which is unacceptably high. In comparison, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area enjoyed a 6.1% unemployment rate as our area congressmen, specifically Missouri’s Emanuel Cleaver and his “progressive caucus,” have neglected their people’s interests for the benefit of the parasite class of Washington, D.C. As Washington, D.C. surpasses San Jose for the nation’s wealthiest area, Emanuel Cleaver’s constituents are barely treading water, wondering when their representatives will stop twiddling their thumbs as Rome burns.

     While I understand that an individual federally elected congressman has little direct impact on a local economy outside of questionably moral pork barrel (“ear mark”) spending, I declare earnestly that if I’m sent to Congress by my neighbors I will use my position of influence to bring the state and municipal governments of Missouri, Kansas and Kansas City together for an economic summit that will focus on calling a truce and working out plans for how we can do battle with Texas and Washington, D.C. for the betterment of our homes.

     I say it’s high time that we see a united Kansas City. The Civil War is long over, folks—we have an old but updated enemy. The enemy’s name is division and its bedfellow is neglect.