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26
Nov
2009
Hutchens Chronicle Talks Turkey this Thanksgiving
At the Chronicle we like to offer a helping of turkey along with the obligatory history lesson.
There have been many remarkable presidential proclamations given on this holiday of giving thanks.
Most schoolchildren in the United State are aware that the first Thanksgiving was in 1621, when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians feasted to celebrate the new colony’s first and bountiful harvest.
But it didn’t become a national holiday until 1863, when, in the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln set aside a national Thanksgiving Day which would be celebrated on the last Thursday in November 1863.
President Abe Lincoln said:
The year that is drawing toward 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 theater of military conflict, while that theater 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 defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax 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 battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness 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, tranquility, and union.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Thanksgiving, in the form in which we celebrate it, a federal holiday when banks are closed and mail is not picked up was created in 1941. The proclamations released by presidents often reflect their particular beliefs and personal interests, or currents events related to turkeys and family dinners.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman issued a proclamation with gratitude for the ending of the Second World War.
Truman said:
In this year of our victory, absolute and final, over German fascism and Japanese militarism; in this time of peace so long awaited, which we are determined with all the United Nations to make permanent; on this day of our abundance, strength, and achievement; let us give thanks to Almighty Providence for these exceeding blessings….
We give thanks with the humility of free men, each knowing it was the might of no one arm but of all together by which we were saved. Liberty knows no race, creed, or class in our country or in the world. In unity we found our first weapon, for without it, both here and abroad, we were doomed. None have known this better than our very gallant dead, none better than their comrade, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Our thanksgiving has the humility of our deep mourning for them, our vast gratitude to them.
In 1982 Ronald Reagan proclaimed his vision of what America stood for:
I have always believed that this anointed land was set apart in an uncommon way, that a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the Earth who had a special love of faith and freedom. Our pioneers asked that He would work His will in our daily lives so America would be a land of morality, fairness, and freedom.
Today we have more to be thankful for than our pilgrim mothers and fathers who huddled on the edge of the New World that first Thanksgiving Day could ever dream.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton joined the nation in gratitude for the peace and prosperity they were joining, adding that Thanksgiving is also here to remind all of us of the need to help others. He said:
But the spirit of Thanksgiving requires more than just an acknowledgment of our blessings; it calls upon us to reach out and share those blessings with others. We must strive to fulfill the promise of the extraordinary era in which we live and enter the new century with a commitment to widen the circle of opportunity, break down the prejudices that alienate us from one another, and build an America of understanding and inclusion, strong in our diversity, responsible in our freedom, and generous in sharing our bounty with those in need.
President Barack Obama, in the tradition of his predecessors, just released his first Thanksgiving proclamation. Obama’s words were:
What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving. This day’s roots are intertwined with those of our nation, and its history traces the American narrative.
Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed “by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God,” and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured nation in the midst of civil war.
We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.
As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.
As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our nation throughout the year. In doing so, we pay tribute to our country’s men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all. Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day.
We at The Sandy Hutchens Chronicle wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.
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25
Nov
2009
Detective uncovers Hillary Clinton’s middle name
Sandy Hutchens’ pulp fiction detective crew has uncovered Hillary Clinton’s middle name. Although many people think it is Rodham, it just isn’t true. Rodham is actually her maiden name.
The truth was difficult to uncover since she, as the 67th United States Secretary of State, is surrounded by the elite in security. It is just too hard to get to her in person. The phone is no easier since there are layers of assistants and receptionists to go through and none of them will talk about anything to do with her personal life. Email is useless as you just get a form response email saying “Thank you for your interest…”
Only by googling Hillary Clinton middle name and then clicking on the link to Wikipedia could the Sandy Hutchens’ team find out the truth. Her middle name is – DIANE.
Secretary of State Hillary Diane Clinton said Sunday that the Afghan government must “demonstrate there’s no impunity for those who are corrupt” by implementing new US demands.
One such measure, announced Saturday by Attorney General Ishaq Alako, is the establishment of a special court to try senior officials who, under the constitution, cannot be tried by the regular judicial system.
“Everyone knows that in Afghanistan, corruption is at a peak,” Mr. Alako told reporters. He promised to stop corruption within six months. He has claimed in the past that he has a list of top officials suspected of taking bribes, and that the country already has put 16,000 people behind bars for corruption.
David Plouffe knew that he couldn’t beat top Washington players like Hillary Diane Clinton and John McCain without changing the way the game was played. By expanding the electorate and stumping un-chartered Democratic ground, David Plouffe helped Barack Obama change the political scope in ways that no insider thought possible, even as Barack Obama’s enigmatic energy swept from state to state.
According to the Tehran Times: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Diane Clinton that Palestinians would not re-start peace talks with Israel if there was not a complete freeze on Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Despite the efforts of U.S. envoy George Mitchell, there is very few signs that the peace talks themselves, suspended in December because of the Israeli attack on Gaza, can be revived anytime soon.
“Obviously, we can’t want this more than the parties want it. I mean, that is just the way negotiations are. But the fact that the U.S. is engaged, and that we are serious about this engagement, is, in and of itself, I think a very positive message. The U.S. continues to have very serious questions about the settlements that Israel has promoted. We understand that to a large extend, it has to do with Israel security needs and fears about trying to have a defensible perimeters around Israel,” Diane Clinton told the BBC in an interview.
So those of you who were wondering Diane is the name we were looking for. Diane was a Roman goddess identified with the Greek goddess Artemis, with the Etruscan goddess Artume, and with the Greek or Carian goddess Hecate.
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was the goddess of forests and hills, child birth, virginity, hunting, often shown as a huntress carrying a bows and arrows. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her.
Artemis later became identified with Selene, a Titaness who was a Greek moon goddess, sometimes depicted with a crescent moon above her head.
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York, and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is married to Bill Clinton—the 42nd President of the United States—and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.
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29
Oct
2009
First Lady Attends Game 1
Posted by Sandy Hutchens
First lady Michelle Obama will attend Game 1 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.
Mrs. Obama’s office announced Tuesday that she will be joined at Yankee Stadium by the vice president’s wife, Jill Biden.
Major League Baseball is dedicating Game 1 to veterans and their families. Both Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden spend time visiting with military families and talking about the sacrifices they make for the country.
Earlier Wednesday, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden are scheduled to join New York Yankees players when they visit patients at a veterans’ medical center in the Bronx.
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