Where The Lie Of “You Can Keep It” Began

The only flaw in the logic here is that this assumes that the “America” that Native Americans knew prior to colonial settlements wasn’t up to par.

Inventing Thanksgiving

The Article: Inventing Thanksgiving by Brian Awehali in AlterNet.

The Text: Every year, as Thanksgiving approaches, I am filled with profound ambivalence. Even as a child, the standard Thanksgiving story always seemed too simple, too wholesome, and too peaceful to be true or truly American. Finally, past the faux-historicism of school textbook-styled Pilgrims and Indians, I was able to delve into the actual construction of the story of Thanksgiving. And, in this way, I learned just how fabricated and utterly bizarre this American “holiday” really is.

In 1621, at Plymouth Plantation on Massachusetts Bay, 50 Pilgrim settlers joined with at least 90 Native guests in a three-day feast which is now traditionally cited as the “First Thanksgiving.”

In reality, this seasonal, quasi-secular New England harvest celebration was not repeated in Plymouth and was in fact forgotten until a reference to it was discovered almost 200 years later, in a contemporary book known as “Mourt’s Relation.”

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Food Stamps And Thanksgiving

On November 4th, Congress voted to make additional cuts to the food stamp program, negatively impacting 47 million Americans. Tomorrow, as we celebrate the American values of glut, decadence and trans fats, take a moment to consider what one Thanksgiving meal might mean to those quite a bit less fortunate than you.

News Anchor Lets Loose On Who Really Owns America

When a business can reap a bigger return on a congressperson’s loyalty and legislation than they can a relatively unpredictable stock, chances are they’ll invest in the congressperson. As Dylan Ratigan so loudly proclaims, that’s been happening for over two decades. Joke’s on you, voters. The dollar is worth more than the vote.

World’s First Marijuana Retail License Issued In Colorado

The Article: World’s First Marijuana Retail License Issued In Colorado by Jodie Gummow in AlterNet.

The Text: The world’s first-ever marijuana retail license has been issued in Central City, Colorado this week, according to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

The recipient of the license, ‘Annie’s’, a dispensary operating as a medical marijuana center, is yet to receive its state license.

Nonetheless, businesses in localities across Colorado are scheduled to begin selling pot to adults beginning January 1, 2014.

MPP’s Mason Tvert, who co-directed the successful campaign, welcomed the historic move:

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