Text of Bush's Thanksgiving Day Address (USA's National "Thank God" Day)

All across America, we gather this week with the people we love, to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives. We are grateful for our freedom, grateful for our families and friends, and grateful for the many gifts of America.

On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge that all of these things, and life itself, come from the Almighty God. Almost four centuries ago, the Pilgrims celebrated a harvest feast to thank God after suffering through a brutal winter.

President George Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, and President Lincoln revived the tradition during the Civil War, asking Americans to give thanks with "one heart and one voice."

Since then, in times of war and in times of peace, Americans have gathered with family and friends and given thanks to God for our blessings. Thanksgiving is also a time to share our blessings with those who are less fortunate.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-thanksgiving-proclamation,0,2321974.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

It's because Falwell and his ilk have been out this week calling Thanksgiving a CHRISTIAN holiday. Bush is speaking in Fundie code again here.

that people will develop such an adverse reaction to hearing his name invoked over and over and over again that they begin to puke.

It will begin to sound like "yada yada yada," and people will get sick of hearing "thank God" this and "thank God" that, just like we got sick of those "Praise the Lord" people.

The Bible is a fricken' MYTH.
Get IT, a metaphor, a story. (Like My Pet Goat)
You know, like NOT real. Like GUIDELINES.
Real is the families you have destroyed with your unnecessary war.

The Bible is Not to be taken LITERALLY.
FUNDAMENTALISM is taking it LITERALLY.
You know, like the Muslim FUNDAMENTALISM the US is supposedly fighting against.

EXTREMISM is saying YOU know the TRUTH and I can't have MY TRUTH.

Well MY TRUTH says:
YOU DON'T STEAL, YOU DON'T LIE, AND YOU DON'T KILL.
What's SO hard to understand here ?

BTW, Jesus happened to live in the area you are bombing the shit out of killing innocent women and children and contaminating with DU for EONs.

Some kind of GOD you got, asshole.

BUT... Bush exploited the good book for his own political gain.

Bush turned an otherwise sacred book into his own personal Mein Kempf!

calls on people like me and these other people to speak up and say, this isn't the Christ speaking, this is a fanatic who believes God speaks DIRECTLY to him, which is extremely rare, and certainly if God was going to talk to Bush, I don't think He'd say to invade Iraq, it'd be quite negative.

My God is always present, and all knowing, and this kind of evil is talked about clearly in the Bible. Of course, I believe the Bible is meant to be a symbol, not to be taken literally in most parts, they are parables (stories), but Jesus Christ's words are quoted and sound incredibly AWESOME when read.

I pray God forgives this county for it's heinous acts lately...

.... Bush is intentionally leaving out millions of people in America who are trying exercise their right of freedom FROM religion...

Problem is- too many people say "oh well" and shrug it off.

It's not his job to evangalize or witness through the office-just like in any job.

... of Thanksgiving is that those pagan native Americans pretty much saved the Puritans' asses and kept them from starvation.

Hope y'all are thirsty, cause George brought the Kool-Aid. Seven, count them, seven references to God including the pronouns "His" and "Him". This asshole has the nerve to state "...we acknowledge that all of these things, and life itself, come from the Almighty God." I acknowledged no such thing! I am an atheist and he has no right to force his religious beliefs on me or anyone else in this country. Why have people allowed this religious extremist named George Bush to infuse his personal beliefs with OUR public government? Make no mistake of it people, Christianity is now our national religion. I wonder how long it will be before he decides to cleanse the world of those who do not believe as he does. Never-mind, he's already doing that in Iraq.

...worked GOD in more, that would have been better.

More GOD...

And by the way, why did we become cursed in this country with all the Puritans? All those Pilgrims? All those simple idiot zealots?

My wife, who is English, has never celebrated Thanksgiving. This holiday was unknown to her until she set foot on our shores.

How odd, and wonderful, to know that we're having a nice beef dinner and doing hard wood floor cleaning on Thursday.


(recount OHIO!)

right to speak of Thanksgiving. None at all.

a confusing time this year. Yes, I am thankful for every Blessing that myself and my family have received but then i find it hard to hold my head up high in front of the world to celebrate a season for giving thanks when we, as a nation, have created so much pain in this world, and when the current administration is working so hard against our constitution, our freedom of speech, religion and the press, our freedom of choice... when the deep resentment of the bush family for whatever prescott bush did not achieve or was taken away from him by the trading with the enemy act, and the failure of poppy bush to win/earn and second term in office is being scapegoated against an entire people here in this nation and in Iraq...

I am having difficulty celebrating our Blessings and mourning the loss of so many innocent iraqi civilians, as well as the loss of our freedoms here in this country at the same time. It is a bi-polar confusing time and the likes of jerry falwell and of bush's statement
"We are grateful for our freedom, grateful for our families and friends, and grateful for the many gifts of America. "
which ignores all of the heartache he has created all across the globe just makes it more bi-polar and more difficult to digest the fact that we are supposed to be giving thanks.

Bush is the cause of sadness.

United Methodist Council of Bishops said

He wasn't elected to be the nations priest. He is the President. They also said something about his "wickedness".

btw...when going up against some of the hard core * types these are great quotes. Ask the person if they think the Council are men of God. When they respond yes, ask them how the reconcile that these men don't see the same way.

Listen Herr Bush, I'm a godless blue city heathener and lemme tell you. You know what it is? It's THANKSDAD DAY! That's right.

See, I got a real great father. Not some wishy-washy ass make- believe father in Heaven. I got one right here on earth. He's great. He's helping me survive while I plug away at two graduate degrees and working. He's cooking Thanksgiving dinner for me, my mom, and my transgendered butch lesbian boifriend this holiday. He's always put a bountiful amount of food on the table, and accepted me for who I am.

Your God-- the way you and the old Testament tell it-- would have me brutally murdered.

Lemme weigh my options: my real daddy who loves me, your ghost daddy who wants me dead... I know where my loyalties lie.

And even if I didn't have such a great dad, I'd have my sweetheart who's sleeping so cute on my bed as I write, and I have a goodhearted bright mom, and I have faithful friends, and there are still people setting up great sites like this one.

I have SO much to be thankful for. Your rambo death god didn't even make the list.

Before all this is over, he could well be in that highly delusional state.

The text of President Bush's Thanksgiving Day proclamation:

All across America, we gather this week with the people we love, to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives. We are grateful for our freedom, grateful for our families and friends, and grateful for the many gifts of America.

On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge that all of these things, and life itself, come from the Almighty God. Almost four centuries ago, the Pilgrims celebrated a harvest feast to thank God after suffering through a brutal winter.

President George Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, and President Lincoln revived the tradition during the Civil War, asking Americans to give thanks with "one heart and one voice."

Since then, in times of war and in times of peace, Americans have gathered with family and friends and given thanks to God for our blessings. Thanksgiving is also a time to share our blessings with those who are less fortunate.

Americans this week will gather food and clothing for neighbors in need. Many young people will give part of their holiday to volunteer at homeless shelters and food pantries.

On Thanksgiving, we remember that the true strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of the American people. By seeking out those who are hurting and by lending a hand, Americans touch the lives of their fellow citizens and help make our nation and the world a better place.

This Thanksgiving, we express our gratitude to our dedicated firefighters and police officers who help keep our homeland safe. We are grateful to the homeland security and intelligence personnel who spend long hours on faithful watch.

And we give thanks for the Americans in our armed forces who are serving around the world to secure our country and advance the cause of freedom. These brave men and women make our entire nation proud, and we thank them and their families for their sacrifice. On this Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for His blessings and ask Him to continue to guide and watch over our nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, Nov. 25, 2004, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship to reinforce the ties of family and community and to express gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth.

GEORGE W. BUSH
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Thanksgiving Day, 1998

Thanksgiving Day is one of America's most beloved and widely celebrated holidays. Whether descendants of the original colonists or new citizens, Americans join with family and friends to give thanks to a provident God for the blessings of freedom, peace, and plenty.

We are a Nation of people who have come from many countries, cultures, and creeds. The colonial Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621, when the Pilgrims of the Old World mingled in fellowship and celebration with the American Indians of the New World, foreshadowed the challenge and opportunity that such diversity has always offered us: to live together in peace with respect and appreciation for our differences and to draw on one another's strengths in the work of building a great and unified Nation.

And so at Thanksgiving we must also remember to be thankful for the many contributions each generation of Americans has made to preserve our blessings. We are thankful for the brave patriots who have fought and died to defend our freedom and uphold our belief in human dignity. We are thankful for the men and women who have worked this land throughout the decades, from the stony farms of New England to the broad wheat fields of the Great Plains to the fertile vineyards of California, sharing our country's bounty with their fellow Americans and people around the world. We are thankful for the leaders and visionaries who have challenged us through the years to fulfill America's promise for all our people, to make real in our society our fundamental ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. We are thankful for the countless quiet heroes and heroines who work hard each day, raise their families with love and care, and still find time and energy to make their communities better places in which to live. Each of us has reason to be proud of our part in building America, and each of us has reason to be grateful to our fellow Americans for the success of these efforts.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1998, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to assemble in their homes, places of worship, or community centers to share the spirit of goodwill and prayer; to express heartfelt thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us; and to reach out in true gratitude and friendship to our brothers and sisters across this land who, together, comprise our great American family.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-third.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON
---
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted' for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d dy of October, A.D. 1789.

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Just food for thought. No pun intended. :)

AS SOON AS I HAVE SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

Who died and made him Billy Graham??

This turkey is thanking God for helping the pilgrims to endure a "brutal winter."

What about the Indians? Was the same God watching over them too?

In case he forgot, this land was the land of the Indians before we put our big feet down on their soil!

He never stops amazing me...

"On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge that all of these things, and life itself, come from the Almighty God. Almost four centuries ago, the Pilgrims celebrated a harvest feast to thank God after suffering through a brutal winter."

In case he doesn't know it, there are Americans that do not believe that life comes from the ALMIGHTY God.

He just keeps talking to his base.
He is not talking to me because I am Christian, and I don't believe that God would want us to not have a turkey on every table and good health care for everyone.

We must put up with this turkey for 5 more Thanksgiving Dinners!
I pray to God that he will free us from the grip of King George.

don't shove your religion down my throat, boyo. just cause you're all full of jesus doesn't mean i am. whadda maroon.