Thanks Coming Due

Turkey Day obligatory search for Depth and Meaning can be expected everywhere. Here, as well, where I appreciate your looking here for something worth reflection, and hopefully something you can act on.

But, of course, I had to go to WaPo to see how Fred Hiatt is sloughing off the press's role of truthtelling today. He does make a gesture, but of course it involves ignoring the fact that the occupied White House has made government a massive fire sale, and the proceeds are going into the pockets of WH minions.

TO MANY who follow the news, especially more skeptical readers, the annual presidential statements and speeches around Thanksgiving are just so much boilerplate, about as worthy of serious attention as those hokey presidential turkey-pardonings. But in a speech this week in Charles City, Va., President Bush had some useful things to say regarding the national day of thanks, calling it a time to "pay tribute to all Americans who serve a cause larger than themselves," including troops abroad and heroes at home, such as a Virginia Tech professor who died protecting students from a deranged gunman last spring.

Thanksgiving began as an austere occasion among settlers of a single, uniform faith who were grateful simply for having survived in the New World.
(snip)
Habits, ideas and mores can change, not always for the better. In the coming year, as in the past, the people and those who want to lead them will be tested yet again as to how well we are maintaining the public spirit in which a just democracy can flourish. The outcome will have a lot to do with how thankful we can be next year on this day.

Public spirit is a good thought, if only WaPo had the interest in it the rest of the year to demand it from the criminals in high places.

Busy day, I was the second commenter. My comment, which I know Fred awaits eagerly;

Thanks indeed are due for enlightenment and for public service, in those rare incidences where it occurs. All your readers are sincerely grateful for increasing recognition of the responsibility of this major newspaper to bring out the corruption of our executive branch. When you become aware of, and publicize, the freedoms we the people need to recoup to keep this democracy safe, then we will all be truly grateful. Meanwhile, commenters will continue to dutifully apprise you of truths you miss.

To their credit, I have to thank WaPo for featuring green thoughts as a major feature on Thanksgiving. If we don't take care of the world, oh, look, we don't have an alternate to go keep house on. From Fred Hiatt:

Intense negotiations are underway on Capitol Hill to take up CAFE standards, renewable energy and tax incentives for clean energy development in separate votes. This is encouraging news, and we urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come to an agreement. Washington must pass legislation that finally shows the world it is ready to take on climate change in a significant and meaningful way.

There you go, if those consarned congressional types will just do the job we want them to do instead of trying to wrestle public interest out of the clasp of the GoPervs, the world may survive us.

Slow day, still, my comment is second in line! The content:

Pockets of willful ignorance exist in the Congress, as evidenced by Sen. Imhofe's long tirade a very little while ago on the global warming 'fraud'. These holdouts must be bypassed if rational policy is to be instituted, and calls for bipartisanship only asks that ignorance be given equal weight with the country's needs. Yes, Sen. Reid and Speaker Pelosi will need to coordinate, but in this instance, they also need to overcome obstructionism. It would be nice to have the backing of major news organs, that are well aware of the facts of the situation and should report them.

Thanksgiving should be celebrated at WaPo with great glee, with thanks for the commenters who tirelessly point the editorial writers to the truth, lead them there and rub their noses in it.

I don't ask for turkeys, I get them every morning on a regular schedule at You Know Where. But I do earn my condiments.

In case you haven't gone and tracked it down, my commenter tag is 'jocabel', my cat's name.

In the spirit of the Day, you're welcome to register your suggestions for how we can keep the news alive and bring it to public attention for possible remedial action in the comments, and I will, indeed, read them.

Thank you sincerely.