Welcome back to another installment of the Watercooler, RedState’s daily Open Thread! Today, we’ve got a Classic Watercooler feature I thought would be worth us all taking a moment to think on as possible discussion fodder.

Classic WC: Musings on Thankfulness (November 22, 2017)

I thought since Thanksgiving is upon us I’d maintain a little tradition I’ve picked up and kept on every year that I’ve participated in various internet communities, from wargaming to aviation to scale modeling to politics to firearms, and bring it to RedState–and with all the news about treacherous politicians and duplicitous media, I thought we could use a little something positive to brighten spirits for the holidays. Just one simple question I’d like to invite you all to ponder whether you post an answer here or not, and I’ll go first: What are YOU thankful for this Thanksgiving?

For me, in no particular order since all of these have been of great importance to the life I’ve lived and making me the man (or something passing for one) I am today:

• Having been lucky enough to live a life where I’ve never known real need and little want–never had to learn what it’s like to worry about keeping the heat on or a roof over my head or where my next meal’s coming from.
• Living in a country where I have the freedom to pursue whatever path my heart and mind lead me to that my body and means will let me, rather than someplace that forcibly pounds “square pegs” into whatever round hole needs filling.
• My family, what few I have still living, and friends, what few of them I’ve had and managed to stay in touch with.
• A supportive Significant Other who’s put up with my crazy ass through all these years across the many miles of a long-distance long-term relationship, who’s been there to support me through some of my darkest times of loss over those years and despite being an internalizing, go-it-alone sort sometimes letting me in to help her with hers, and not only tolerates my gun-nuttery but encourages it and even wants to Join The Fun herself. (When your GF is a foreign national that thinks the principles of the Second Amendment should be not just USA but worldwide, and include anything that can be kept and borne by a single operator, anytime, anywhere, by anyone not a danger to self or others, you know you have a keeper–I just wish we could get the cross-border issues and a few other things squared away so I could put a ring on her finger, even with the knowledge that such a union would be more likely For Poorer than Richer and In Sickness than Health.)
• Stronger and better men than I who’ve taken the watch through the night in faraway lands and on our streets defending the homeland so all I have to watch over is my humble little homestead, such as it is, and those dwelling therein.
• The many, many men and women who’ve generously shared their wisdom and experiences with me over the decades, most asking nothing in return, the others asking only that I share with others as they shared with me, or that when the time comes for their stories to be told that I make sure they’re told right.
• A just, merciful and wise Creator who truly does, as Bismarck said, take special care of fools, children and the USA, and for some reason utterly incomprehensible to any except Him, particularly takes better care of me than I deserve.
• Far better people than I who tolerate my presence within their ranks, and help keep me generally tacking along the right path toward becoming something better than what it is my nature to be.

Well, that’s enough from me… I yield the floor to you guys, for anyone who feels like sharing to do so.

So, what are y’all expressing your thankfulness for this Turkey Day?

This Week (And Last!) In History

• Sunday, 11/11: Cherry Valley Massacre, 1778; Louisa May Alcott publishes first story, 1852; WWI fighting ends, 1918
• Monday, 11/12: Abigail Adams writes in support of breaking with Britain, 1775; Sherman burns Atlanta, 1864; Ellis Island closes, 1954
• Tuesday, 11/13: Patriot forces occupy Montreal, 1775; segregation struck down, 1956; Vietnam Vets Memorial dedicated, 1982
• Wednesday, 11/14: Birth of Naval Aviation, 1910; Battle of Ia Drang begins, 1965; Mariner 9 probe enters Martian orbit, 1971
• Thursday, 11/15: Articles of Confederation approved, 1777; victory at Guadalcanal, 1942; Intel introduces first single-chip commercial microprocessor, 1971
• Friday, 11/16: Fort Washington falls, 1776; Federal Reserve opens, 1914; Alaska Pipeline authorized, 1973
• Saturday, 11/17: First session of Congress in DC, 1800; Longstreet lays siege to Knoxville, 1863; “Heidi game” forces sportscasting rules changes, 1968
• Sunday, 11/18: Railroads across US and Canada establish Standard Time, 1883; “Steamboat Willie” released, 1928; Jonestown massacre, 1978
• Monday, 11/19: Jay’s Treaty signed, 1794; Gettysburg Address, 1863; National Review‘s first issue published, 1955
• Tuesday, 11/20: New Jersey (oh, the irony) first state to ratify Bill of Rights, 1789; Marines land on Tarawa, 1943; Windows 1.0 public release, 1985
• Wednesday, 11/21: Mayflower Compact signed, 1620; Edison reveals phonograph, 1877; Son Tay POW-camp raid, 1970
• Thursday, 11/22: Blackbeard killed off North Carolina coast, 1718; Hood begins Franklin-Nashville counteroffensive, 1864; JFK assassination, 1963
• Friday, 11/23: Battle of Chattanooga begins, 1863; American forces leave Veracruz, 1914; IBM’s Simon introduced as world’s first smartphone, 1992
• Saturday, 11/24: Texas Rangers established, 1835; Battle of Lookout Mountain, 1863; Apollo 12 splashdown, 1969; D. B. Cooper skyjacking, 1971

Today’s Birthdays: “Witch of Wall Street” Hetty Green, 1835; counterterrorism expert Richard Marcinko, 1940; actor-filmmaker Harold Ramis, 1944; businessman George Zimmer, 1948

Holidays Around the World: It’s Armed Forces Day in Greece and Bangladesh. Ukraine has Air Assault Forces Day, and it’s World Television Day.

This Week In History is compiled with assistance from History.com and Wikipedia. Something interesting not listed here? Please share in the Comments section–this is an Audience Participation Encouraged featurette.

Gratuitous Gun Giveaways

• *American Handgunner magazine, for a Sig-Sauer P320-M17 pistol: http://americanhandgunner.com/giveaway/
• *Guns Magazine, for a pair of Taurus G2G 9mm pistols, SIG M400 Tread rifle, CZ CZ82 pistol, or 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle: http://gunsmagazine.com/giveaway/
• Davidson’s Gallery of Guns, for a Henry AR-7 .22LR Survival Rifle Pack or Big Boy .44 Magnum lever-action rifle: https://ggg.galleryofguns.com/
• Aero Precision, for a custom AR15: http://gvwy.io/ixtzmqn
• GrabAGun, for a Walther PPQ M2 Q4 TAC 9mm pistol: http://grabagun.com/giveaway

*Note: FMG Publishing giveaways require you to provide an FFL dealer’s info at entry. Aero Precision giveaways give me one entry each per person who uses my referral link.

RedState Slack – Realtime Chat and Private Messaging for the VRWC

Several of us commenters put heads together to address some longstanding desires for features the Disqus platform lacks like private user-to-user messaging, and we’ve started up a Slack server for private messaging and chat. If you’d like to join the fun Slacking Off after hours, your invitation to the party is here.

RedState Slack is not officially endorsed or authorized by the staff, advertisers, management or ownership of RedState, Townhall Media or Salem Communications. It is intended to complement the RedState Disqus comment platform, not compete with it. While we have made every reasonable effort to provide a secure platform, user assumes all risks.

Public Service Announcement for “Sanctuary State” Residents
If you would like to report illegal aliens, please call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (347-2423). They will need to know names, locations (either work place or residence) and any other specific information you can provide. Visit http://www.ice.gov for more information.

Quote of the Day

It never pays to deal with the flyweights of the world. They take far too much pleasure in thwarting you at every turn.–Sue Grafton

As always, the Watercooler is an Open Thread. And as so eloquently coined by ntrepid, “Thanks for the click! Your effort helps fund future posts of this nature.”

Copyright Diamondback, 2018; publication license granted exclusively to RedState. If you’re reading this anywhere BUT RedState, you are seeing STOLEN PROPERTY. Opinions expressed in the preceding piece are solely those of the author and in no way reflect on those of the staff, advertisers, management or owners of RedState, Townhall Media or Salem Communications.

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