Happy Thanksgiving

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Somewhere I lived, a radio station would put this song on loop all day so their employees could be home with their families. Someone told me it is a tradition in New England, but I don’t know if that is true. Maybe more of a habit. I knew a guy who would put that station on and listen to that song all day. He may have been the person who told me it was a New England tradition, but it was long ago.

The first time I heard this song in full was on the way back to Massachusetts from a trip south for some reason. I was driving through Stockbridge and I came upon a cop, who had pulled over a car full of libertarians. You could tell they were libertarians by their unpleasant demeanor and the “John Galt” stickers on their AMC Pacer. The cop was beating them with his flashlight along the side of the road.

I stopped and offered to help him beat the libertarians. He was more than happy to let me join in on the fun. Before long others had stopped and joined in on the beating of the libertarians. There’s really nothing like the holiday season to bring out the best in people. It was one of those times when you really understood the meaning of a holiday like Thanksgiving. All of us have a reason to give thanks, even if it just that we were never a libertarian or defective in some similar way.

Thank you to everyone who supports the effort. I truly appreciate it. Thank you to those who participate in what is regarded as one of the best comment sections on this side of the great divide. It is one of the things I count as a blessing. Whenever I’m out in the real world talking about this stuff, I’m always asked how I managed to create such a fun and informative comment section. I hope everyone has a wonderful day in whatever way in which you give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

76 thoughts on “Happy Thanksgiving”

  1. WBCN had a tradition of playing Alice’s Restaurant every Thanksgiving.

    WZLX may still play it since they have some of the older disc jockeys but their “death by classic rock ” format makes it unbearable to listen to.

    The libertarian bashing ? Mildly amusing I guess. They’re fairly pathetic. Anytime they field a candidate the election results are always embarrassing.

    The blog success is do to your work ethic , intelligence and mostly balanced outlook. I enjoy the daily postings and the comments that follow.

    A belated Happy Thanksgiving

  2. I’m thankful tonight for all the folks who have commented and voted on my posts, and all those who have posted something that made me think and respond. It doesn’t matter if you agreed, criticized or voted up or down. You made me think and rethink my ideas and concepts. Steel sharpens steel. Best to all of you.

    • Blessings upon you, Z man, for your wisdom and insight and daily posts that I so look forward to. Thank you to all the commenters, from whom I learn and laugh. Until we can have a community IRL, this blog more than suffices. Deeply appreciate all my online friends and confidants.

  5. I only wish that beating could have been delivered to a younger me. I am thankful for at least coming to my senses after becoming a parent (and for being a parent to a wonderful little girl). Thanks for the laughs as well as the insight, Mr Z Man.

  6. My brother married a Yankee from Rhode Island. One year they brought one of her weird, spergy male cousins with them to Thanksgiving dinner, who introduced my Boomer parents to this “Alice’s Restaurant” on Thanksgiving thing. I dig the occasional whiny protest song from the 60’s (My favorite is “Eve of Destruction,” specifically the punk cover version by DOA) but ol’ Arlo drove me out of the room after about eight minutes.

  7. Among the many great deeds than our host will be remembered for is the Great Realization that Libertarians are not our people.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours my Dissidents.

  8. Happy Thanksgiving, Z and the commentariat.

    Hardly a day goes by that I don’t learn something here, and perhaps more importantly, this “thing” has grown from a comment section into a community. And even “more more” importantly, persons are taking steps to extend this virtual community to actual communities. So thank you all (well most of you anyway 🙂 for your insights, observations, teaching, inspiration, and support.

    • 感恩節快樂. I too am thankful for every last drop of wisdom that can be gleaned from the host and the commenters at this address.

  10. I’m thankful for this blog, and its comment section, which has somehow maintained a happy middle between food fight and circle jerk without need for heel-on-face moderation despite the constant inflow of new participants. It’s a collective good whose value I’m happy we are all mindful of preserving.
    Happy Thanksgiving to our host and all who comment here.

  11. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Anybody else hear “Singing in the Rain” in their heads, reading of the thumping of the libertarian?

  12. I’m thankful for people like Z and all the others that participate in this site and make it one of the best out there. The freedom of association we’ve got here is outstanding.

    God bless.

  13. I’m thankful for our host’s work ethic, which vastly surpasses my own. And for the many great commenters. I want to especially thank AB Prosper, who rarely gets the upboats he deserves. But to everyone, thank you. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s no hope. There’s always Our Thing. And rope.

  15. Yeah, Thanksgiving again, that day of roiling and conflicted emotions. Alone, because family can be a cross or a joy but you never know which on any particular occasion. Heater is broken; so house is 54 F and trending down and soon will be cold enough to see my breath indoors. But my heart is aglow with gratitude for Zman’s punditry and the commentariat it inspires. This cyber sanctuary has become one of the highlights of my daily life over the past couple years. Thank you all, and may you all be well in everything that is to come.

    • That’s why I push for Community because then we would never be alone because we would always have open invitations to others houses…

      • Bare is brotherless back.

        In that vein, the other day I was mulling over something on the drive in to work and what emerged was: How many people are there in your life where, if they walked in your door and said “I need your vehicle and ten thousand dollars” your first answer would be “Okay, sure” and not “Why” or “Are you crazy?” Now that’s a little beyond community, but it got me thinking.

        Personally I came up with more than three, but fewer than ten. FWIW.

    • Camping supplies- a Buddy Heater, $60, propane bottles, even at Malwarts
      Plus, lots of candles in glass, for safety, really makes a difference (and a fan to direct the warm air down)

      Edit: Oops- you got electric? The small $20 space heaters, thats what I use all winter, they’re fine.

      (In South Dakota now, so I know it well)

      And Happy Thanksgiving to you and to all!

  17. Happy Thanksgivings to everyone. Hoping you are all able to spend the day with those closest to you.

    If you are searching for good Thanksgiving music try listening to Charles Ives ‘ Thanksgiving and Forefather’s Day. It is part of a longer Holiday Symphony. He was a New Englander. He wrote a lot of religious choral music and a lot of Americana themed compositions.

    He was also politically active. He tried to limit the damage congress could do to the nation by introducing a bill that would hold them to no more than 10 legislative referendums per year.

    https://youtu.be/v92-KzgGacs

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ives

  20. And a Happy Thanksgiving to all. Z if the vodka was any good can grab another bottle whilst out here. And if anyone has a spare berth, have a 14 y/o that seems to have magically transformed into “Zuul” (Ghostbusters) for the weekend. Shipping is free. Turkey’s in. Balvenie 14 goes in the glass in 45 mins. Toodles!

    • Brother if I took them in they would never want to come back 😉 I have to force my son’s friends to go spend Thanksgiving with their families so the families will let them come back…

      • It’s just one of those phase of life things. It’s the youngest and she gained her expertise in ‘button pushing” from the older three. Like many things it will pass

  22. If you are going to tease us with Thanksgiving stories of beating Libertarians with a flashlight, some of us would have liked to know what kind of flashlight. Christmas is just around the corner.

      • A D-cell MagLight that holds at least three batteries. I have one like that. I also have one of MagLight’s Solitaire lights. Take one AAA battery and is always in my pocket. |It’s surprisingly bright but too small for Libertarian beating.

          • And when you tire of hand-to-hand bludgeoning, the end cap of the 4D maglite can be unscrewed and the batteries launched by using it as a sort of redneck atlatl. Instant missile weapon. Ask me f2f sometime how I know.

  23. Holidays are hard in the twilight (not my personal twilight, I’m fairly young, but this Winter for the West). On Halloween, as I was getting candy ready for the kids, I thought, “This is going to end up being a social experiment of Robert Putnam-esque proportions.” Sure enough, I put the light on and the candy out, and no one came (not just to my house, but throughout the whole neighborhood). Like Tucker Carlson pointed out about motels once being for families on road trips and now for cooking meth, I guess only upper-class people can now enjoy the things that working class whites of past generations took for granted, like trick-or-treating. I’m not getting together with friends or family for Thanksgiving, but that’s all for the best. If I had to hear any crap about the genocide of the friendly natives, some feminist would be losing an eye to a dinner fork.

    • Growing up in the 70s/80s, Halloween on my block was a very tame affair. I lived on a longish street, with a total of 65-70 homes. On Halloween afternoon, we kids would walk up one side and down the other. At least 80% of the homes were receptive to us. We knew the names of almost everyone of them (and addressed them using honorifics and their last names) and they knew us. Our parents stayed home while we went out and did our thing. Now, my mom’s house, on the same block, gets swarmed by brown hordes from outside the neighborhood, driven there by parents and dropped off so that they can fill their bags with freebies. Many of them don’t even bother with a costume. It’s just “gibs me dat”. Fuck them. They get nothing.

    • Joey,

      We dont need you in jail for Poke-ahontas in the eye. Best pass on the extended family holiday meal.

  25. Your story truly brought a smile to my face and good cheer in my heart. Thanks Zman for your always interesting blog.

  26. For those younger than us Boomers, the movie derived from “Alice’s” is a wistful introduction to the mentality of the 1960s: anti-Establishment, anti-Vietnam War (really anti-draft), anti-morals. To a tolerable soundtrack, especially at the end Joni Mitchell’s “Songs to Aging Children Come.” In the background, you still can see the old, weird, free America. Which the Left abused. Then they took over and oppressed us.

    OK, Boomer.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGMzuo6jwjU

  28. What’s incredibly valuable about this space is that everyone seems genuinely invested in making a better future for our progeny; it reminds me of what countrymen do for one another. It’s also a humbling place – I know I can always learn something here.

    Z-man – thanks for your investment of time/energy, for providing us with online community and camaraderie. May God grant you ever-increasing avenues for speaking truth and reality.

    As for the rest of us … May God grant us patience and restraint today when we hear family members say stupid things.

    • Hear, hear! I also give thanks to Z-Man and the commentators. I finally found a place where people were doing more than complaining about or debating the minutiae of the evil that is being imposed on us and progeny.

      Everyone here is trying to figure what we can DO to protect our close and extended family, both now and in the future. We’re still groping in the dark, but at least we’re trying. And given the resourcefulness of our people, I truly believe that we’ll win in the end.

      • Amen Brothers we have been chosen just for the simple fact that we have awakened first to build something for ourselves and our Brothers who still slumber… Happy Thanksgiving to you both and hopefully will see you both f2f in this coming year…

      • You’re an inspiration to me, Citizen! I always find your comments insightful and to the point. Keep up your commenting!

    • I was a daily consumer of black pills until I found this site. Nothing has contributed more to a change in my attitude, behavior, and overall demeanor than being here every day. (In fact, it’s the only thing — everything and everyone else around me is telling me to throw in the towel. That’s going to change after the New Year after I make a few more life changes.)

      I’m not done turning the carrier around yet in the ocean, but I’m getting there. I won’t say it’s saved my life, but it (and a little book called “Sanction” by Roman McClay) has helped me kick a serious addiction, driven out despair, and spurred me to sketch out a plan for how I’ll live the rest of my life. I’m extremely thankful for Z-Man and the many commenters here. Every day is a sort of “Dutch Uncle” talk, as they used to say — and I don’t have anyone IRL who would’ve done that for me. I’ve gotten off the couch, put away the toys, stopped my complaining and raging at things I can’t control, and taken responsibility for myself again after a period of wandering in the wilderness and nearly giving up. Many, many thanks to everyone here.

      • Good for you Brother that’s what we hope happens when we comment here that more people will wake up and start building up themselves then others and then Community…

      • “Turning the carrier around” … I use that word-picture all the time. Right 2 degrees rudder won’t get you there fast, but it WILL get you there (in a calm sea). Will have to check out “Sanction.” Another little book I recommend is “The Disciplined Life” by Robert Taylor.

        • Ayatollah,

          Good on you, Brother. Steady goes it. Perseverance.

          Too many of Our brothers and sisters are asleep. Many are in despair, or self-loathing or negatively addicted by some means or another. We all have a duty to change ourselves and lead Ours out of the desert.

          I like your carrier analogy. I wish you the most heartfelt success on your journey. Embrace the setbacks that’ll surely come and prepare for them as best you can… and when that isn’t enough just simply press on. You are a descendant of the greatest people to have ever strode this world.

          We aren’t close to done yet and neither are you, Brother.

          • Thank you all for the encouragement. It’s a long trip. The stumbling block for many is the temptation to give up and drop into old habits of sarcasm, derision, and self-pity — all of which of course say more about the person deploying them than actual reality.

            The old show “Hee Haw” had this great song that my dad used to bellow out at me as a teenager whenever I started moping around. “Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me.” I try to keep it in mind every day.

            We’ve gotta’ stick together.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IW_RyaMjbc

  29. Very thankful I heard you on M20C and spent the time listening to the backlog ZMan. This place has some of the best simple wisdom I’ve seen on this side, especially as it seems so much of the other content has tailspinned into Blackpills and the need to have the hottest new takes 3-5 times a week.

    Enjoy yourself ZMan, you’ve earned it.

    • Great to see you here Mr. Aurelius! For those who have never heard the Exodus Americanus podcast, especially you younger fellows finding your way in the world, I recommend giving them a listen. Trips on the house boat are a combination of relaxation, humor, life lessons and some great commentary on the state of clown world 2019-20. Great to see crossover in the folks in the various flavors of our thing. We need to stick together to build a future that is worth living in.

  32. I used to love an old blog, long gone – wherein the author hated and loathed hipsters the same way you hate libertarians. He’d write poetry – good poetry – about how he set their beards on fire, dropped urban bee-keepers into wood chippers, and fire green haired land whales out of military cannons, and use their spaghetti-armed boyfriends to snake his toilet.

    You are a poet in your own way too, Z. I give thanks for YOU. It’s good to see somebody else who sees what’s going on, and going wrong… and can still keep a sense of humour and be intelligent about it. We are all going to have to be smarter, more organized and more resourceful in the days ahead… and it’s good that guys like you are on the job working toward that.

    Have a great thanksgiving.

    • If anyone wants a full nauseating primer on what a libertarian is look up Nick Guillespi/Dave Smith interview. Full display in sperged libertarianism.

      Happy Thanksgiving to all.

  33. “But, but, but… The non-aggression principle,” ’twas heard in between the sweet wet thumps of the sleek black maglite wishing the libertarians a Happy Thanksgiving.

    • It all depends on how you define aggression and what is the proper response to it. If you aggress against me (piss me off), I feel killing you is justified. I might not do it, but I would be justified.

      If there were no State to stop me, there would be fewer assholes in my town. I think Robert Heinlein wrote about a scenario of killing people for any reason to be legal in one of his books. I recall from a dim memory he wrote something like “after the first 30 days all the assholes had been killed”.

      The Rothbardian libertarians are not the same as the beltway girly boy libertarians. But even they don’t appreciate all out revenge enough.

      Anyway, happy Thanksgiving.

      • Stranger in a Strange Land? Outside of war or self defense, getting pissed off enough to contemplate murder makes you sound like a queefing feminist, TBO.

  34. This comments section is on my gratitude list. Pretty high up. Like, ‘giving me hope for the future’ and ‘these are my people’ high. Also, ‘startling the dogs by laughing out loud’ at times high.

    Next year in Whitopia!

    • Doc you’ve hit it on the head for me too,

      I’m blessed and thankful. I’ll have family I love around me today. Good employment, health, and purpose.

      I’d never thought an interwebs anything would give me reason to be thankful. I don’t do posting, ain’t me. Here is different. Y’all give me hope for Our People. Additional purpose. Dispelled the feeling I was alone in Noticing a world gone mad.

      It’s appreciated, Zman and fellow commentators… From the recesses of my heart to God’s ears I’m truly thankful for you all.

  35. Someone else can have seconds with my portion of Arlo – it gives me the hippy-jeebies. More wine & red meat for me. And abuse your wine aunts and Insty-thot cousins for me, too. No holiday here, just working & watching the snow fall.

    Glade hoytider, all.

    It’s no-NAP November. Go into the streets and beat a lolbert today. And he will know why.

  36. Plugging Ann today. She has a good article on Thanksgiving for Dummies over at Ann Coulter.com.
    Dodging hatchets and avoiding being roasted alive over an open fire was the common practice for the American continents inhabitants before us white supremists showed up.
    Happy Thanksgiving!

  38. Happy Thanksgiving. I can no longer recall when or how I first found Zblog, t wasn’t only the articles that immediately impressed me but also the comments section. As Z points that out, I found it such a rare thing that it was easy to choose to support the effort when the opportunity was presented. I was and remain grateful for this community.
    You’re #1 on my speed-dial. (I organize my browser favorites)

    • I also can’t remember how I got here but I’m glad I did. It’s been my first stop every day for about a year. For a one-man shop, it’s an impressive accomplishment. The mystery is why there aren’t more trolls. SJWs like to flood the zone with poz and hate.

      Happy Thanksgiving to all the folks on this side.

  40. I’m thankful that there are other guys out there who see despite all the gaslight.

    Maybe the Zman, in a grand gesture of peace, will annually pardon one libertarian.

    On second thought … nah!

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