[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 154 (Friday, November 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13315-S13316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN THANKSGIVING
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, as the City of New Orleans and countless
other communities along the U.S. gulf coast continue to clean up from
the twin disasters that were Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as Florida
reels from yet another major hurricane there, as U.S. casualties in the
Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts soar above 2,000, and as scandal engulfs
the White House itself, it might seem difficult to find anything to be
thankful for on this Thanksgiving.
For many families in the United States this holiday season, the
tables, if tables they can find to set, will be set with fewer plates
than usual, and the fare might be somewhat skimpier than in years past.
Their homes are in ruins, their jobs lost, their friends and family
members scattered, and their prospects for rebuilding the lives they
once knew are uncertain. It can be difficult to take the long view in
the face of such circumstances, or to reflect on history with any
equanimity, even though history is replete with examples of recoveries
from terrible disasters. One has only to think of Hurricane Camille, or
the Great Depression, or World War II, or the San Francisco earthquake,
the great Chicago fire, to find evidence that out of the ashes of war
and devastation can come the rebirth of cities, communities, and
economies. There is hope.
There is also much worth celebrating as families sit down to their
Thanksgiving tables. We may be grateful that the loss of life to the
hurricanes was not greater. We can all celebrate the tremendous
outpouring of support that spontaneously erupted from the hearts,
hands, and wallets of Americans outside the gulf coast disaster zone
and from friends around the world who were glad to come in their turn
to our assistance as the United States has in the past come to theirs.
Communities all along the periphery opened their doors to welcome
refugees from the storms, and volunteers flooded into the area in such
force that relief organizations were overwhelmed. The public response
to the gulf coast disasters was truly inspiring and heartwarming. It
proved that a core value of this Nation, its sense of community,
remains strong and vital.
We can also celebrate the ability of our Nation's first responders to
learn from their mistakes. While the planning and response to Hurricane
Katrina was in most people's estimates pretty abysmal, the preparation
for and response to Hurricane Rita was a little better. And,
unfortunately for the people of Florida, they have gotten a lot of
practice in the last couple of years, and their preparations for and
response to hurricanes is well rehearsed. There is much we can learn
from these terrible
[[Page S13316]]
events, and hope that we take those lessons to heart.
The brightest spot in the war in Iraq is the performance of our
troops. Day after dangerous day, they do their duty. They patrol, they
seek out insurgents, they struggle to provide a secure environment for
the rebuilding of that nation. Day after day, they face down their own
fears and travel those lethal roads to take the battle to the enemy.
However one may feel about the path that led us to Iraq, we can feel
nothing but love, pride, and respect for our men and women in uniform.
Whatever the circumstances under which we sent them there, through
misread intelligence or misleading rhetoric, the U.S. military has
gone, and gone again and again, and performed their duties with courage
and dedication.
Even the scandal that now haunts the White House, and which is
beginning to wash over the President's closest advisors, may give us
cause for celebration, and not for any partisan reasons. As Americans,
we may be thankful for living in a nation in which no man is king, to
rule at his own whim and to undermine his detractors at will and
without consequence. We may be thankful for our system of government,
with its checks and balances between the three branches of government
firmly established in our Constitution. And we may celebrate the wisdom
of guaranteeing freedom of expression and the existence of a free
press.
Though the wheels of government may sometimes grind exceedingly
slowly, we can be grateful that they still can be pushed and cajoled
into conducting their oversight functions and asserting those checks
and balances. That is what keeps this country strong. President Abraham
Lincoln said ``Let the people know the truth and the country is safe.''
Whatever may be the final outcome of the investigation into possible
retribution by the White House against Ambassador Wilson and his wife
for Wilson's role in unmasking a fraud in the government's case for
going to war in Iraq, the Nation is safer and better off for having the
means for citizens, acting through their elected officials and their
legal system, to challenge possible abuses of power.
So even in these dark days, there is cause for thanksgiving. I hope
that the recent dip in gasoline prices will allow families to come
together, pull out the good china and set a beautiful table overflowing
with all the dishes that make this feast so memorable and so
mouthwatering: turkey, roasted, grilled, smoked, barbequed or deep
fried; stuffing in all its regional variations with herbs or oysters or
sausage or cornbread; hams coated in pineapples and cloves or cured
with smoke or sugar; cranberries served jellied or chopped, with
oranges or not; green bean casserole with a crown of fried onions;
yeast rolls or biscuits dripping with butter or gravy; sweet potatoes
in casseroles or with marshmallows and brown sugar; and pies--glorious
pies with spicy pumpkin topped with whipped cream, and fruit pies in
flaky shells, topped with cheese or ice cream. Americans know how to
cook, and all the variations on our traditional Thanksgiving meal
surely mean that this feast will never settle into routine.
Thanksgiving. Can there be a better day? It starts with parades to
watch for the youngsters. Then the action in the kitchen heats up,
competing with football games and the happy arrival of guests for our
attention with a whole array of enticing aromas and clattering noises.
The meal itself is wonderful, with family and friends around the table
giving thanks and meaning it. And after the meal, in the warm glow of a
full stomach, there is time for companionship as the leftovers are put
away and the dishes are washed. The evenings are primed for walks in
the cool weather, or short naps, or other sports, before the leftovers
make their first reappearance. There are few days like this, devoted
entirely to family without the distraction of, say presents at
Christmas or Easter egg hunts. Thanksgiving is the one time we can
really focus on all that we have to be thankful for just by looking
around that table. My wife Erma and I have so much to be thankful for,
and I know that she joins me in wishing a very happy thanksgiving to
all Americans. May each of you, no matter how desperate your present
circumstances may be, be blessed and see all that you have to be
thankful for.
Mr. President, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I would like to close
with a poem by Charles Frederick White, written in November 1895. His
words serve to remind us that Thanksgivings past were not very
different than today.
Thoughts of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is coming soon,
That long remembered day
When nature gives her blessed boon
To all America.
On that glad day, in all our land,
The people, in their wake,
Give thanks to God, whose mighty hand
Deals blessings good and great.
The roast goose, steaming on the plate,
The sweet potato cobbler,
The cranberry sauce, the pudding baked,
The seasoned turkey gobbler,
All these delights and many more,
From north, south, west and east,
Do all the nation keep in store
For this Thanksgiving feast.
Alas, for those who are denied
This blessed boon of God!
May all the needy be supplied
Like Israel by the rod.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
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