Public Thanks and Prayer to Almighty God...
...as initiated in the settlements of the Pilgrims in the 1600's, continued by the colonies under the edict of Pres. George Washington, continued by Pres. Abraham Lincoln after the Civil War, and reiterated by presidents thereafter, we Americans are thankful to Almighty God for His providence in our lives, His favors upon us as a people both individually and severally, His blessings upon us whether we believe in Him or not, acknowledging that He is the author of good that was, that is, or that will be.
...and personally I am thankful for my family, my wife Wanda, my son, Lance and his family, Jennifer, Elliana, and Micah. I have been blessed with such great relatives! I am also thankful for my blended family of Wanda's progeny: Randy and his family, Russell and his family, and Donna and her family. We are having Kyle, Donna, Kasey, and Kolt (from Liberal, KS) plus Jarrod, Jennifer, James, and Ryan (from Okla City), and Lance, Jennifer, Ellie, and Micah (from Wichita, KS) for Thanksgiving dinner today. Wanda has been working on it for over a week. I have been able to sample just one of the pecan pies (see previous post of picture of pies). I even had some of the leftover pumpkin pie filling cooked like the real thing and it was delish. After the meal, we hope to expose the city kids to the country with a first horseback ride for Ellie, Micah, and James. Even though Micah thinks his Grandad is a cowboy, he probably won't be riding the horse (last experience produced too many saddle sores).
...probably, we won't play touch football in the yard or we would have to experience football the way Andy Griffith talked about it: having to run the length of the field without fumbling or "stepping in somethin'".

Loss of Ed Bladley
...All of us mourn the loss of the fine news reporter, Ed Bradley. He gave a lighter touch, but an emotional touch to his reporting. He faced opposition initially, but eventually earned his place in TV news.

Change in the Congress
...It appears from results of yesterday's election that the makeup of the US Congress is changing again with a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and possibly a very close split in the Senate.
...The stated intentions of the possible new Speaker of the House is to remove the ban on embrionic stem cell research. I hope she is not able to do that.
...There will be some changes proposed in the conduct of the war in Iraq. That may lead to some major adjustments in homeland security.
...The other ideas are the usual promises to help the elderly with prescription medicines. The current program works fine for those who are taking drugs that cost in the range of $50-150 per month. If they spend less, they are having to pay for coverage that adds to their bill; if they are spending more, the coverage will run out before the end of the year and they will pay all the drug bill.
...One note of interest is that some of the elected Democrats were elected even though they are conservative, pro-gun, pro-life, and not the typical Democratic candidate. Perhaps, the Democratic party is beginning to recognize that the conservative viewpoint is the most popular viewpoint. Few ever run for office verifying that they are liberal in viewpoint.
...Having the first female Speaker of the House will open the door for a female candidate for President in two years. The door is already wide open for candidates of other ethnic background than white, other religion than protestant, other seniority than old.
...It also appeared that the voters spoke strongly against candidates, either incumbent or fresh, who had moral issues. As Americans, we still want highly ethical and moral leaders to govern our institutions.

We Are So Blessed
...to be born in America with all the freedoms that we take for granted.
...to have wonderful families who propagate faith in God.
...to live in these highly-technological times where we have the oppotunity to blog.
...to have churches which are so diverse that anyone can find a place to comfortably worship the Lord.
...to have plenty of food that we even prepare way more than enough to celebrate Thanksgiving.
...to have vaccines to prevent many of the dangerous diseases.
...to be able to help others in the third world countries who aren't so blessed.