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SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS GOES   BOINK

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Calvin And Hobbes- Scientific Progress Goes Boink

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4th THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER IN THE US

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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2020 occurs on Thursday, November 26. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Thanksgiving at Plymouth

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers-an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
READ MORE: Why Did the Pilgrims Come to America?

Did you know? Lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu.
READ MORE: What's the Difference Between Puritans and Pilgrims?
Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower's original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Native American who greeted them in English.

Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims' first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony's Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American's "first Thanksgiving"-although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time-the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the first Thanksgiving's exact menu, much of what we know about what happened at the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow, who wrote:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower's sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations
READ MORE: Who Was at the First Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving Becomes a National Holiday

Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened the year's harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of fasting and thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as well.

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country's war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.

In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.

In 1827, the noted magazine editor and prolific writer Sarah Josepha Hale -author, among countless other things, of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb"-launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent scores of letters to governors, senators, presidents and other politicians, earning her the nickname the "Mother of Thanksgiving."

READ MORE: How the 'Mother of Thanksgiving' Lobbied Abraham Lincoln to Proclaim the National Holiday

Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to "commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife" and to "heal the wounds of the nation." He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt's plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving Traditions and Rituals

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621.

Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird-whether roasted, baked or deep-fried-on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.

Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy's department store since 1924, New York City's Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has "pardoned" one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.

Thanksgiving Controversies

For some scholars, the jury is still out on whether the feast at Plymouth really constituted the first Thanksgiving in the United States. Indeed, historians have recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America that predate the Pilgrims' celebration. In 1565, for instance, the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilé invited members of the local Timucua tribe to a dinner in St. Augustine, Florida, after holding a mass to thank God for his crew's safe arrival. On December 4, 1619, when 38 British settlers reached a site known as Berkeley Hundred on the banks of Virginia's James River, they read a proclamation designating the date as "a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Some Native Americans and many others take issue with how the Thanksgiving story is presented to the American public, and especially to schoolchildren. In their view, the traditional narrative paints a deceptively sunny portrait of relations between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people, masking the long and bloody history of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands. Since 1970, protesters have gathered on the day designated as Thanksgiving at the top of Cole's Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, to commemorate a "National Day of Mourning." Similar events are held in other parts of the country.

Thanksgiving's Ancient Origins

Although the American concept of Thanksgiving developed in the colonies of New England, its roots can be traced back to the other side of the Atlantic. Both the Separatists who came over on the Mayflower and the Puritans who arrived soon after brought with them a tradition of providential holidays-days of fasting during difficult or pivotal moments and days of feasting and celebration to thank God in times of plenty.

As an annual celebration of the harvest and its bounty, moreover, Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents and millennia. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest. Thanksgiving also bears a resemblance to the ancient Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. Finally, historians have noted that Native Americans had a rich tradition of commemorating the fall harvest with feasting and merrymaking long before Europeans set foot on their shores.
Get the history behind the holiday. Access thousands of hours of commercial-free series and specials with HISTORY Vault

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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2020 occurs on Thursday, November 26. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

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Global Network of organisations who educates people in debate in order to give young people a voice for their ideas. Young people have a lot to say; debating provides a platform for them to speak up and be heard in a safe and structured environment.

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Useful tips on how to Debate on Amirite.com

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http://www.amirite.com Every Opinion Matters SIGN UP NOW

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With the first televised debate between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney upon us, I thought I'd pass along some tips for winning your next debate. Sure, you might not be on a national stage, but whether that debate occurs in the question-and-answer period after a speech, with a fellow panelist in front of a crowd, or in a new business meeting, you can take some cues from the pros. My decades of work in public relations have taught me a few things about wooing the crowd, and besting your opponent (while staying humble). Here's how it's done:
Gather your thoughts before you deliver the zinger.
When I media train an Inc. 500 CEO who's preparing for a live interview on, say, CNBC, I tell her about her rights. Those rights include thinking before speaking. So, when a pit bull reporter begins his interrogation with something like: "Ms. Smedley, isn't it true that Smedley & Smedley executives take more vacation days than any competitor in your industry?" Ms. Smedley already knows to take a deep breath, lean back and repeat the question. This provides a few, critical seconds with which to reflect and respond in a calm and measured way: "On the contrary, Smedley & Smedley's work-life balance ratio is best-in-class, and enables us to attract and retain the most talented executives in the field."

That's exactly what Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen did when Republican challenger Dan Quayle said he had the same level of experience as John F. Kennedy. "I served with Jack Kennedy," said Bentsen. "I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Zing!
Remember the non-verbal components of a debate.
Who can forget Al Gore's endless sighing during the 2000 debates against Republic contender George W. Bush? As a Time Magazine piece at the time noted, "It (Gore's non-verbals) sparked endless mockery as did his leaving the podium and coming within inches of Bush during a response." When I work with CEOs, I purposely bait them to see how they'll handle confrontation. I videotape their responses, show them how out-of-control they appear and then work with them to take a more statesmanlike tack. The same is true with listless speakers. I'd be a rich man today if I had a dollar for every time I said to a CEO I was training at the time, "If you're not excited about your message, why should your audience be?" Mind the non-verbals, and always use positive, proactive gestures to reinforce a point.
Be self-deprecating (but never be dumb).
I'm a big believer in using self-deprecating humor to show vulnerability and project more authenticity in a speech or debate ("I, myself, may be clueless as you suggest, Mr. Pencilneck. But, the men and women with whom I work possess more than a century's worth of knowledge on the topic." Nice, no? That said, there's a fine line between authenticity and being authentically out of touch with reality. Case in point: Third Party candidate Ross Perot's 1992 Vice Presidential running mate, Admiral James Stockdale, who opened his debate by asking, "Who am I? Why am I here?" Viewers had no clue as to the answer to that question and, sadly, neither did Stockdale. Be self-deprecating, but counter balance it with thoughtful, carefully-crafted rhetoric.
Admit fault.
To err is human. To forgive divine. But, too many executives, caught up in the heat of the moment, refuse to admit they erred in a previous comment. This can kill a speech, panel discussion or debate. I always counsel clients to admit fault, but then bridge back to a key message. "Yes, Ms. Hammertoes, I did serve 30 days for driving under the influence. But, having performed 100 hours of community service, I feel I've become an even better leader in the automotive industry. In fact, I think it's one of the reasons we were just ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power survey." Back in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford said in a televised debate, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe." There most certainly was, but Ford refused to back down. Needless to say, a guy by the name of Carter ended up winning the election.
Turn a perceived weakness into a memorable strength.
In the 1984 presidential debates between President Ronald Reagan and Democratic contender Walter Mondale, there was genuine concern that Reagan had lost a step and was simply too old to run for re-election. When a reporter raised the point, Reagan sighed, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Even Mondale laughed out loud. I do the same thing whenever a prospect asks us about our global breadth and depth. "Do we have feet on the ground in Uzbekistan, no? But, if you're looking for the Who's Who of the best PR practitioners in this country, just look around the room. Our Who's Who always trumps their Who's That?"

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With the first televised debate between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney upon us, I thought I'd pass along some tips for winning your next debate. Sure, you might not be on a national stage, but whether that debate occurs in the question-and-answer period after a speech, with a fellow panelist in front of a crowd, or in a new business meeting, you can take some cues from the pros.

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DOCTOR SMARTPHONE

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Thomas Doukhan

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oral de restitution