Happy Thanksgiving to all

[lowspeedlife]

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! I realize not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving, being that is more of an American Holiday. It came about after a very hard year in the first sucessfull european colony. Lead by John Carver, the colonists arrived in the new world in early November, 1620 to an early winter. On the way over from Europe they had made the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that all would work together & share equally in the fruits of thier labors.  Whatever they made or built would belong to all. if they built a building or grew a crop, all would have an equal share in it. That first winter did not go well & many, including the wife of the colonies 2nd govenor William Bradford, died. Many died from starvation, some from exposure, but about half survived. govenor Carver died in the spring of 1621. Seeing that the previous months had not gone well, the new govenor Bradford decided to change things, he assigned plots of land to each family & allowed them to keep the fruits of thier labors, to do with as they wished.  Over the next year the colony prospered with the help of the local Wampanoag indians who taught the colonists to fish for Cod, plant corn & hunt for the local game. That fall they had a great feast to celebrate & thank the indians & God for thier success. that feast has carried on & become known as Thanksgiving.
 
      Scott R.

[Stan]

Better watch out, there's some down south of the 49th that'd call that communism!!! 
Stan

[lowspeedlife]

Glad you caught that Stan, It was communism, & it didn't work. that's why William Bradford changed it . those that were industrious didn't work to their full potential because they saw no reason to work for the gains of others who didn't work as hard as they. This has been the real problem with communism from the beginning, it sounds real good & it is if your the ones who don't produce. but eventually those that do the work get tired of busting their a$$es & getting the same benefits as those that don't, then production ceases.
It reminds me of a story a friend told me about when he traveled in the former Soviet Union: he came across a group pf men who had been clearing a field, they were sitting in the field drinking a bottle of vodka. he spoke with them for a while & after an hour or so he asked why they were not continuing to clear the field. they all laughed & told him that they get the same number of roubles wether they worked hard or not.

   Scott R.

[Stan]

Interesting how that applies to the executives at Goldman Sachs doesn't it?
Stan

[Johnnypig]

Well you know what they used to say in the soviet union.... "They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work"
 
                              Happy Thanksgiving to all
                                               
                                                   JP

[lowspeedlife]

Agreed Stan, they should be made to pay back every dime with interest before they are allowed to make any bonuses to anyone. I'm not into the government regulation thing but if you are going to take a government hand out then you are asking for them to tell you how to run your business. unfortunately if they pay it back it will just be wasted somewhere else.


   Scott R.