Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The President Pardons "Courage". Why I Am Thankful For Our President.

I am thankful for a lot of things. My kids, a roof over my head, great friends and ohana, help with my health, and trying to get better, and thankful thqat  I can rest and recover from my illness. I am thankful that my girls are growing up, tall and proud, and secure in who and what they are and what they stand for. I'm thankfull that after 30 years of living here, I am still here, lucky live Kaua'i.

But this year there is something a bit extra special to be thankful for as well, and that is being thankful for our President. I was a real "Mama for Obama" during the campaign and I wept before, during and after the inaugueration..tears of joy of course. Yep, I'm a weeper.


When I read the Presidents pardoning of "Courage" the turkey, it just brought home all the reasons I just adore my president. He has kids, two girls, and is bi racial, just like me. His wife Michelle is 5 foot 10 almost as tall as me. He is cool, hip, and someone I can totally relate to. He believs in things that I beleive in too. And he does things exactly the way I would do them, if I were president.


Just read this transcript. All of the wonderful qualities of our President and the First Family come out in this speech. I am thankful for our president. You should be too!


HERE IS THE TRANSCRIPT:


The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

Remarks by the President on Pardoning of the National Turkey

North Portico

11:41 A.M. EST
     THE PRESIDENT:  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.  Welcome to the White House.  On behalf of Sasha and Malia and myself, we're thrilled to see you.  I want to thank Walter Pelletier, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and Joel Brandenberger, its president, for donating this year's turkey.  His name is "Courage," and he traveled here from Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he was raised under Walter's own precious care.
     (Turkey gobbles.)
     THE PRESIDENT:  There you go.  (Laughter.)
Now, the National Turkey Federation has been bringing its finest turkeys to the White House for more than 50 years.  I'm told Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson actually ate their turkeys.  You can't fault them for that; that's a good-looking bird.  (Laughter.)  President Kennedy was even given a turkey with a sign around its neck that said, "Good Eatin', Mr. President."  But he showed mercy and he said, "Let's keep him going."  And 20 years ago this Thanksgiving, the first President Bush issued the first official presidential pardon for a turkey.
Today, I am pleased to announce that thanks to the interventions of Malia and Sasha -- because I was planning to eat this sucker -- (laughter) -- "Courage" will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate.  Later today, he'll head to Disneyland, where he'll be grand marshal of tomorrow's parade.  And just in case "Courage" can't fulfill his responsibilities, Walter brought along another turkey, "Carolina," as an alternate, the stand-in.
Now, later this afternoon, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will take two of their less fortunate brethren to Martha's Table, an organization that does extraordinary work to help folks here in D.C. who need it the most.  And I want to thank Jaindl's Turkey Farm in Orefield, Pennsylvania, for donating those dressed birds for dinner.  So today, all told, I believe it's fair to say that we have saved or created four turkeys.  (Laughter.)
You know, there are certain days that remind me of why I ran for this office.  And then there are moments like this -- (laughter) -- where I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland.  (Laughter.)  But every single day, I am thankful for the extraordinary responsibility that the American people have placed in me.  I am humbled by the privilege that it is to serve them, and the tremendous honor it is to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the finest military in the world -- and I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to every service member at home or in harm's way.  We're proud of you and we are thinking of you and we're praying for you.
When my family and I sit around the table tomorrow, just like millions of other families across America, we'll take time to give our thanks for many blessings.  But we'll also remember this is a time when so many members of our American family are hurting.  There's no question this has been a tough year for America.  We're at war.  Our economy is emerging from an extraordinary recession into recovery.  But there's a long way to go and a lot of work to do.
In more tranquil times, it's easy to notice our many blessings.  It's even easier to take them for granted.  But in times like these, they resonate a bit more powerfully.  When President Lincoln set aside the National Day of Thanksgiving for the first time -- to celebrate America's "fruitful fields," "healthful skies," and the "strength and vigor" of the American people -- it was in the midst of the Civil War, just when the future of our very union was most in doubt.  So think about that.  When times were darkest, President Lincoln understood that our American blessings shined brighter than ever.
This is an era of new perils and new hardships.  But we are, as ever, a people of endless compassion, boundless ingenuity, limitless strength.  We're the heirs to a hard-earned history and stewards of a land of God-given beauty.  We are Americans.  And for all this, we give our humble thanks -- to our predecessors, to one another, and to God.
So on this quintessentially American holiday, as we give thanks for what we've got, let's also give back to those who are less fortunate.  As we give thanks for our loved ones, let us remember those who can't be with us.  And as we give thanks for our security, let's in turn thank those who've sacrificed to make it possible, wherever they may be.
Now, before this turkey gets too nervous that Bo will escape and screw up this pardon -- (laughter) -- or before I change my mind, I hereby pardon "Courage" so that he can live out the rest of his days in peace and tranquility in Disneyland.
And to every American, I want to wish you, on behalf of myself, Malia, Sasha, and Michelle, the happiest of Thanksgivings.  Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)

Happy Thanksgiving. Aloha.

Thanksgiving-Turkey Pardening- Hawaii Style

Pardoning of the Turkey at the White House-A White House Preview-


OK, So here is my take on the whole mainland "Thanksgiving Holiday". Why can't you people just drop the whole Pilgrim/Indian thing and have a national day  of thanks without stirring up that whole "We came, we saw, we conquered" business?  I mean it's like having a "Confederate Slavers Day" or something. Now that we all know what really went down after this whole romantisised "We all sat down to dinner, after Squanto taught us how to plant corn" thing, after which you massacred my relatives, and eventually sold me off after the 60's sweep to a nice white Catholic couple, the whole idea of the "Mainland" style hypocritical "Thanksgiving Day", with its cherubic and innocent looking little Pilgrim and Indian boy and girl cutouts and cute turkeys means absolutely nothing to me.


In fact, it sparks a lot of anger across Indian Country I am sure, to be reminded each year of how, after you gave these illegal aliens, (Who are now standing at the border as Patriots telling the South Americans to get off their continent and go home ) food, shelter and clothing, and taught them how to feed themselves they went off and sucker punched you, took all the land, killed all your people and herded you into reservations and pretty much forgot about you. Yep, I bet that makes Native Americans real thankful.


Now lets look at the way Hawaii does it, local style. We actually have got this whole "Thanksgiving" thing down. After all, most people here aren't Native American, although there are some here but not enough to make a real dent in things. In Hawaii, Thanksgiving Day truly is a day to give thanks for what you have, with aloha, and invite people over, and sit in the garage, and eat a mixture of local food and mainland food, and really and truly be thankful for what we have without the whole Pilgrim/Indian thing over our heads at the dinner table.


Of course we don't need the Pilgrims, we have mainlanders, and the struggle of Kanaka Maoli to be even recognized as a people, after being illegally overthrown. No, we can't celebrate that coming to the table and hanging out as friends yet. The Hawaiians, have given and given, and no one even made a table to share a meal with them yet. So our version of the whole Pilgrim thing can't actually be celebrated yet.


So instead, we sort  of keep Thanksgiving Day, as a real "Thanksgiving Day". We celebrate with everyone together just for the sheer joy of having a holiday and eating a lot, kanikapila, and for the guys usually watching some football.  Yep, in Hawaii, we do it up royal. We got the right idea. We don't think about that whole mess going on on the mainland, mainly because we are in the middle of our own mess.


So let's be thankful for what we have got, and not what we don't. Lets eat until we are tired. Let's all get together as one big happy ohana.


Because come Monday, we will resume where we all left off.


Aloha. and  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!