Thanksgiving 2007--UPDATED REGULARLY

Hi all! A very happy, healthy and whole Thanksgiving to all of you! I'll be going out and grabbing Thanksgiving posts and adding them.

My first is by John Stossel courtesy Betsy about the famine in Plymouth. Can you say a socialistic experiment gone wrong? Once the settlers got capitalism, it was all good. Thus, Thanksgiving. He notes:

What Plymouth suffered under communalism was what economists today call the tragedy of the commons. But the problem has been known since ancient Greece. As Aristotle noted, "That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it."

When action is divorced from consequences, no one is happy with the ultimate outcome. If individuals can take from a common pot regardless of how much they put in it, each person has an incentive to be a free rider, to do as little as possible and take as much as possible because what one fails to take will be taken by someone else. Soon, the pot is empty and will not be refilled -- a bad situation even for the earlier takers.

What private property does -- as the Pilgrims discovered -- is connect effort to reward, creating an incentive for people to produce far more. Then, if there's a free market, people will trade their surpluses to others for the things they lack. Mutual exchange for mutual benefit makes the community richer.

UPDATE 1:
Ace talks about post-T-day dieting. Don't want to get fat to begin with? What's wrong with you? It's Thanksgiving. Really, it's the carbs. Ditch 'em. That means you'll be eating turkey and well, turkey. Have a salad, some cranberries, a dab of sweet potatoes and a thin slice of apple pie. Avoid potatoes, stuffing, pecan pie, bread and all the other "fixins". Don't eat like a pig and you'll be fine. Go out for a walk before the game starts. No harm done. If you choose to eat like a pig and forgo post-nosh puking, the best bet is to put yourself into ketosis. That's essentially the Adkins diet--deprive your body of carbohydrates so your liver starts breaking down fat for energy. You'll be fine. Really. Step up your exercise while eating only protein, fat and veggies and you'll drop weight.

UPDATE 2:
Are you guilty about feasting on Thanksgiving? So do Leftists, but for other reasons. Sez Michael Medved:

"The notion that now you have a major school system sending out a message that, no, rather than expressing thanks we should emphasize guilt on this holiday — that is sick, it is destructive and it is anti-American."

More Thanksgiving anxiety for those with eating disorders. As we've already seen, if you eat and/or have relatives, T-day can be anxiety-provoking. Get over it, anorexics!

If you're in a giving mood, you can get a free laptop if you buy one for a kid in Africa. They look cool, but I wonder if a kid needs food more. My kids want to adopt a kid--you know send money every month. Any good organizations?

UPDATE 3:
LaShawn Barber is thankful to blog and that her blog is read by important people.

Mark Steyn recounts the history of Jingle Bells. Will anyone be dashing through the snow, what with Global Warming and all? Oh, and Steyn explains why America and Thanksgiving are great.
UPDATE 4:
What to overlook when you're with your relatives and what to remember, by Gina Cobb.

Kinds of Turkeys. Some from Washington, but they won't be there for long.

And your fatigue? Not the turkey's fault. H/T Brendan Loy. Brendan Loy is almost a dad! Only a few weeks left. Something to be thankful for, for sure.

Michelle Malkin reminds us: STOP Before You Gripe. An absolute must read!

Here's one more thing to be thankful for: Hillary isn't president.....yet. UPDATE: Oh, and neither is Monica Lewinsky, but some prefer her.

Reasons to not be thankful for the press. 300,000 reasons to be thankful for Democracy.

UPDATE 5:
Abe Lincoln's original intention for Thanksgiving. And the post-modernists' butchery of Thanksgiving as a demonstration of gluttonous narcissism. I'll have a big, fat helping of myself and my own world view, thank you!

More on surviving the holidays and challenges, too. Stay sane out there people!

Thoughts on justice, or lack thereof. And why to be thankful this isn't a communist nation and be thankful for free speech. Paul Belian notes:

It is worse. These habits also haunt Western Europe. America’s first amendment, which allows people to say what they want, even if it is deemed offensive to others, is simply anathema to Europeans. The great 20th century American journalist H.L. Mencken once said: “The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one’s time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.” The Europeans failed to stop the oppression at the beginning.

We will go the way of Belgium, if we aren't willing to acknowledge threats to free speech. Right now, it's coming from the unlikeliest of places, but it's a place Europe is used to.

Comical holiday horror--go here for turkey laughs.

UPDATE 6:
I'm thankful for blogging and Thomas Jefferson would be, too. Faux freedom of expression is pronounced amongst the artsy fartsy types. You'll find the real thing on blogs.

China can keep their products from those post-holiday sales. As they deny our troops a good time, I say BUY AMERICAN! More American product links here. This won't make a difference. I know you're lining up for that $800 42" flatscreen at Wal-Mart, but still. China and freedom don't seem to mix.

More, later!

UPDATE 7: Thanksgiving Day 8:25 AM CST

James Lileks shares what he's thankful for and has great retro pictures, too.

Personally, I'm thankful for a the links I've been thrown by some big bloggers, including Instapundit, The Anchoress, John Hawkins and others! My readership is steadily building and I'm thankful for you readers, too!