Many of our holidays in this country are specialized versions of Thanksgiving...giving thanks to our veterans, thanks for our freedom on July 4th, thanks for a new year on January 1st, and thanks for the coming of Christ on Christmas. But Thanksgiving kind of wraps them all up into one. Yes it was started by the Pilgrims who gave thanks for making it through a tough year in the New World, with the help of their indian friends. Now we give thanks for everything, and for me, in addition to giving thanks for my wife, my kids, my family and my health, I give The Lord thanks for allowing me to be born in the U.S.A. Despite all of our foibles and complaints, this really is the greatest country in the world. We have been blessed with so many natural resources, from fertile soil, to oil, gas, coal, fresh water, iron ore, granite, the list goes on and on. And blessed with great people from all over the world, enjoying the freedoms our system of government provides. We just had an important election in which just about half the people who voted saw their candidate for president lose, yet there were no riots in the streets, no rebellious armies and military coups (other than some people in Texas saying they want to secede). President Obama will run this country for another 4 years, and then it's someone else's turn. You and I can still walk the streets in safety, go to the stores where there's plentiful, safe-to-eat food at very affordable prices, relatively speaking. More than 92% of Americans are working. Our biggest population center was hit by a massive hurricane, yet relatively few people died and the rest of the country has poured aid in to try and make them whole again. Yes, this country has problems...a huge budget deficit and a massive trade imbalance with China. And a war in Afghanistan that needs to be wrapped up. But no one is lobbing missiles at us like in Israel. We have so much to be thankful for, and I am thankful for you and for being alive at this time in history in Willmar, Minnesota, USA!
I will now make my election prediction...and it has nothing to do with who is running for office. After the election, gas prices will rise. They've been slowly falling over the last 2 months from near 4 dollars a gallon now down to about 3.20 a gallon. Mark my words...by Thanksgiving, they will be up to around 3.60, 3.70 again. And the national experts will have some reasoning like...production is down, consumption is up as the northeast recovers from the hurricane, blah blah blah. I am certain somehow the prices are being artifically maniupulated so people have something less to be angry about going into the election. Gas prices have been stable to dropping even though Hurricane Sandy savaged the populous northeast and people can't get gas because of power outages at gas stations. Which is weird because you would think the oil companies would want people mad at anti-oil Obama, but maybe the Republican House leaders have something to do with it. Some experts predict there won't be a lot of turnover in congress this election, even though their ratings are somewhere down around those of Gerry Sandusky and Mahmoud Ahmadinijad. I am glad it's election day and it will all be over soon. I'll be up all night, like I normally am on election night, but I love it...getting results, putting them on the air at 3 a.m., knowing there aren't many listeners at that time, but the loyal few are soaking it all in. For the most part, the local races have been clean, except for the Vogel-Sawatsky House race in Willmar. Outsiders poured money in and loaded the print and airwaves with deceptions and distortions on both sides. It's a shame because I know Bruce and Mary pretty well, and some of the crap that's been run is beneath both of them. Independent Zack Liebl has been the shining star in that campaign...a bright, smart young man and veteran, he's been above the fray, but because he's a member of the Independence Party, has very little chance of winning.
