War: Thanks But No Thanks

The Battle of Missionary Ridge, fought the day before the "Thanksgiving Day" proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln.
The Battle of Missionary Ridge, fought the day before the “Thanksgiving Day” proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln.

When I think of Thanksgiving, I seldom think of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people dining together (likely sans turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie) in Massachusetts in 1621.

Rather, my thoughts wander to Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation inviting his fellow citizens “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”

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The Starvation of Gaza Is a Crime

I wrote about the Israeli government’s starvation of the people of Gaza in my new column this week:

There is a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes in Gaza. People are not just starving, they are being starved, and it is happening with the support of our government.

Ever since the Israeli government announced the cutoff of food, water, fuel, and power to Gaza, millions of people have been living under siege conditions. This is criminal, and it threatens the population with death from hunger and disease. Even before the war, the people of Gaza lived under severe restrictions, and now conditions are far worse as their infrastructure and homes have been destroyed and they are being deprived of the most basic necessities.

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