Thanksgiving TV Marathon Guide: Saturday

Gaw, this line up makes yard work look good.

*After two days of stuffing and mashed potatoes, nothing fits, right? Well, feel better about yourself by tuning in to TLC’s What Not to Wear marathon? Sure, those pants may be a little snug at this point after the past couple of days of not knowing when to say “when”, but at least you’ve got style. Unlike these poor saps.

*Think your family’s dysfunctional? Well, at least you’re not the Bundys. So, it could be worse, right? Head on over to TV Land for their Married…With Children-apalooza.

*Repeat after me, “I’m getting too old for this s—!” That’s right, back-to-back-to-back Riggs and Murtaugh over on Spike with Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2 (hello, Patsy Kensit!), and Lethal Weapon 3. If you’re still hungry for more action after that, why not check out the late great Swayze as the world’s baddest bouncer in Road House, which, for my money, should become to Thanksgiving what It’s a Wonderful Life is to Christmas.

*Finally, over on Syfy, there’s a glorious block of cheese that includes such B-movie monster gems as Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus and Lake Placid 2.

Dep't. of What, Again? When will Sarah the Quitter quit quitting?

By GottaLaff

(AP Photo/The Tri-City Herald, Richard Dickin)

Going rogue doesn't mean going AWOL, Barbie:

Cheers erupted along the Columbia River on Thursday morning as Sarah Palin and her large family of “Rogue Runners” approached the start line for the annual Turkey Trot.

Oh boy! A chance to rub shoulders with Barbie McLipSchmutz in a running outfit, this time not leaning on the American flag!

I can just hear the murmers of adoration, smell the anticipation-induced sweat, taste the fangirl/fanboy fervor!

Both fun run participants and spectators who’d been waiting more than an hour in the bitter cold for a glimpse of the former Republican vice presidential candidate rushed to snap her picture with cameras and cell phones.

I hope every potential snapper got satisfaction this time. I mean, after that last fiasco in which Barbie abandoned her groupies, she wouldn't dare renege this time, right?

Palin had announced on Twitter that she would be running the 5K race, organized by the Benton-Franklin Chapter of the Red Cross.

However, she didn’t finish the race, opting to leave the course early to avoid more crowds at the end. About 40 minutes into the run, people gathered at the finish line to get more pictures of Palin started to learn that she was gone.

Ruh-roh. This can't end well.

Towards the end of the race, the officers asked Palin what she wanted to do. Palin decided to divert off the course and head back to their cars so the family could get to their Thanksgiving dinner, Pitts said.

Sarah the Quitter should quit while she's behind.

H/t: Williams1977 aka Gimmeabreak, Rumproast

Video- New York cheers 83rd Macy's Parade

A Thanksgiving tale: Woman in labor insists on being served

I'm a cynical tough old bitch, and this made me tear up. Land of plenty my ass.

ANCHORAGE — On a day when hundreds flocked to the Central Lutheran Church in Fairview for all the Thanksgiving fixings, one woman in line stood out in more ways than one: She was pregnant, in labor, and wasn't leaving without her turkey.

A neighbor had brought her Monday evening to the annual Thanksgiving Blessing, as the big pre-holiday giveaway organized by the Food Bank of Alaska and area churches is known. People line up at churches all over town for yams, cranberry sauce, potatoes, apples, stuffing, gravy mix, pie, rolls, vegetables, and a turkey and roaster -- everything they need for a feast at home.

Alan Budahl, the incoming executive director of Lutheran Social Services, was in his first day on his new job when a flustered man came up to him.

"Hey I have my neighbor," the man told Budahl. "She's in labor, and she's in the line and she won't go to the hospital until she gets her food because she needs her Thanksgiving basket."

"I said, 'Well, what do you mean in labor?' "

"Literally. She's in labor. You'll see it," the neighbor answered.

Budahl told the neighbor to bring the pregnant woman inside.

Once she got to the front, Budahl saw she was breathing through contractions. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Budahl asked.

"She said 'I need this Thanksgiving basket. I do. I do. I do. If you don't get it today, you don't get it.' "

(snip)

"She was nice. You could tell, she must be having a contraction because the look on her face was, I need it now," Budahl said.

Some teenage volunteers carried her food basket to the neighbor's car. Her daughter held her hand.

"We helped them out and away they went," Budahl said.

So how did it turn out? In all the commotion, no one got her name or which hospital she was going to.

An Obama Thanksgiving Menu, with an Extra Serving of Pie

The President also called 10 Service members to thank them for their service. The White House food sounds seriously nummy.

After some clamoring from the sparse working-the-holiday press corps, the White House has released the Obamas’ Thanskgiving Day menu.

Gone are the zucchini gratin, the gazpacho and the pumpkin mousse trifle that were Bush family favorites.

The Obamas are having an equally plentiful meal. In addition to the traditional turkey, the family is having a honey baked ham. There will also be two kinds of stuffing (oyster and cornbread), macaroni and cheese, and six -- yes, six -- different kinds of pie.

(snip)

We are told that of all of the items on the generous table, the president’s favorites are turkey and pumpkin pie.

Here is the full menu:

Turkey
Honey-Baked Ham
Cornbread Stuffing
Oyster Stuffing
Greens
Macaroni and Cheese
Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole

Banana Cream Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Sweet Potato Pie
Huckleberry Pie
Cherry Pie

On Thanksgiving, the good news is ...

By GottaLaff

As Paddy said earlier, today will most likely be a light posting day. But before I take off, I wanted to share some excerpts from an L.A. Times editorial. The good news is:

Our troops and their families. For yet another year, members of the armed forces have served with distinction in the face of renewed instability in Afghanistan and psychological and physical injuries from combat. [...]

Protesters in Iran who courageously fought back against a repressive regime and in some cases paid with their lives. [...]

Pixar, for showing once again, with "Up," that filmmakers can create a movie that's just as richly rewarding for adults as it is for children.

Barack Obama. Yes, the Nobel Peace Prize was over the top, and his popularity has dropped as Americans have learned that most of his big ideas come with a big price tag. He has nonetheless greatly improved the United States' relations with the rest of the world, set groundbreaking regulatory standards to fight climate change, overseen a stimulus program that set the stage for today's nascent recovery and begun the process of closing the disgraceful Guantanamo Bay detention facility. By the end of the year, he might even have reinvented the nation's healthcare system.

Sarah Palin, for releasing her book, "Going Rogue," just in time to remind us about how right we were to elect Obama. [...]

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, for reminding us of the uniqueness, preciousness and fragility of our national parks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for its rediscovered role as protector of the public health.

While we're at it: We like the new dedication to science and the environment at the Environmental Protection Agency too. [...]

Jon Stewart. We were disturbed when a Time magazine poll dubbed the comedian the most trusted newscaster in America, but we have to admit that his uproariousanalysis of political issues is usually smarter than anything else on TV. [...]

The legislatures of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, for legalizing same-sex marriage (even if the Maine legislation was overturned by popular vote this month).

Pilot Chesley Sullenberger III, who in January averted catastrophe in spectacular style by landing a US Airways jet with engine trouble on the Hudson River without a single fatality. [...]

Lou Dobbs, for migrating from CNN in search of a better life. [...]

Pope Benedict XVI, for affirming that "animals, too, are God's creatures" and that cooping chickens close together or overfeeding geese contradicts "the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible." We assume the pontiff will now forswear fur-lined vestments.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, for refocusing our minds on the beauty and importance of the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail along the Eastern Seaboard, even if he wasn't really there.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, for ruling that five victims of extraordinary rendition and torture deserved their day in court despite the U.S. government's claim that the case involved too many state secrets to go forward. [...]

Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video, for prompting a spate of entertaining parodies and earnest imitations by trios of women (and some men) all over the world. And putting Justin Timberlake in high heels.

We hope each and every one of you has a wonderful, healthy, and filling Thanksgiving. We are thankful for your company, and wish you a happy holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We're going to a very relaxed holiday mode around here- maybe a couple or so more posts all day. Gotta has family and I'm just a cranky old lady who needs a brain irrigation. But, I can hardly deny you the basics can I?

Here's hoping you have everyone you want around you and everything on your table that you wish.

Fossils of Martian bugs found on meteorite that landed on Earth 13,000 years ago

Jesus 'may have visited England', says Scottish academic

Rare Churchill TV screen test to be shown

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Six charged in town hall disturbance
Six people arrested in August outside a raucous town hall meeting in south St. Louis County have been charged with misdemeanor ordinance violations.

Dog with name tag 'works' drive-through window

Far out: The amazing images from the Space Shuttle's seven-day stint at the International Space Station

'Galaxy game' lets people help astronomers

Miami Herald: At museum, uncle keeps Elián story alive
Delfin González walks around the modest museum he has maintained for years inside his Little Havana home and can't help but grow nostalgic looking at the photographs, toys and clothes that once belonged to his famous nephew, Elián.

Pic via.

Video- President's Weekly Address: President Obama Delivers Thanksgiving Greeting

Think Progress: 27 Reasons To Give Thanks

By GottaLaff

I got an e-mail from Think Progress. I didn't see this on their site, so I hope it is okay that I post it in full here:

We're thankful President Obama is thinking long and hard about committing more troops and money to Afghanistan.

We're thankful President Bush feels liberated now.

We're (not) thankful Dick Cheney has elected to move from his undisclosed location to the media spotlight.

We're thankful Al Franken has gone from playing self-help guru Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live to helping rape victims receive justice from their employers.

We're thankful for the healing power of beer.

We're thankful there are some on the right who think Glenn Beck is "incoherent," "mindless," "erratic," "bizarre," and "harmful to the conservative movement."

We're thankful for long hikes on the Appalachian Trail.

We're thankful Michael Steele understands that he can't "do policy" and that no one has any reason to trust his "words or actions."

We're (not) thankful for "birthers," "deathers," "tenthers," or "tea baggers."

We're (not) thankful conservatives believe they love America so much that they can root for our President to fail and for our nation to lose out on hosting the Olympics.

We're thankful NFL players refused to "bend over and grab the ankles" for Rush Limbaugh.

We're thankful six companies have resigned from the Chamber of Commerce due to its denial of climate change science.

We're thankful Falcon "Balloon boy" Heene wasn't actually in the balloon.

We're thankful Lt. Dan Choi and Lt. Col Victor Fehrenbach bravely spoke out against Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

We're thankful Shep Smith doesn't always drink the Fox News kool-aid.

We're thankful more than 80 companies refused to lend their sponsorship to Glenn Beck's hateful rants.

We're thankful there are progressive organizations in D.C. lobbying for a two-state solution in the Middle East.

We're (not) thankful for the filibuster.

We're thankful that more than 20,000 of you stood up to Bill O'Reilly's harassment machine and called for impeachment hearings against torture advocate Jay Bybee.

We're thankful that Iran's authoritarian rulers live in fear of their own population.

We're thankful we'll no longer have to listen to nativist rhetoric on CNN and global warming skepticism on ABC News.

We're (not) thankful for bailed out CEOs who think they're doing "God's work" by doling out billions in bonuses.

We're thankful for the legacy of the Liberal Lion.

We're thankful Bill O'Reilly won't be following us home for Thanksgiving.

We're thankful a "wise Latina" sits on the Supreme Court.

We're thankful our boss helped rescue imprisoned American journalists in North Korea.

We're thankful for our readers and the support you give us.

And we at TPC are thankful for the content of this e-mail, especially the last entry.

Michelle Obama: Help feed a neighbor

By GottaLaff

Here's an e-mail from the First Lady that deserves attention:

Tomorrow, many of us will gather around the table with family and friends to give thanks over a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy -- and let’s not forget pumpkin pie!

But for some in this country, the feast will not be as bountiful. In fact, it won’t be much of a feast at all. Hunger is on the rise in America -- hitting its highest levels in nearly 15 years. A recent report released by the USDA reveals that in 2008 an estimated 1.1 million children were living in households that experienced hunger multiple times over the past year.

To combat hunger this winter, we’re launching, in coordination with the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United We Serve: Feed a Neighbor initiative -- a program that empowers you with all the resources you need to mobilize against the hunger crisis in your community. Learn how you can get started today:



Barack and I are committed to doing all we can to end hunger by making food programs more accessible to eligible families. But government can only do so much -- it will take all of us working together to put an end to hunger in America.

That’s why we’ve made it easy for you to get involved at Serve.gov. Find local volunteer opportunities like delivering meals to homebound seniors, offering your professional skills at a food pantry, or planting a community garden and sharing produce with your neighbors. You can also create your own volunteer opportunity using our anti-hunger toolkit.

This holiday season let’s recommit to serving our communities and working together to feed American families. Get started giving back today.

Thank you,

Michelle

First Lady Michelle Obama
The White House

President Obama's Thanksgiving message

By GottaLaff

An e-mail from the president:

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.

American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.

Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.

So tomorrow, I'll be giving thanks for my family -- for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.

But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.

The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.

We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.

So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.

It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.

In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.

You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished -- and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.

So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.

With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,

President Barack Obama

Nice.

VIDEO: President Obama pardons a turkey (no, not Scooter)

By GottaLaff

Because there's nothing more important, no breaking news that is more urgent:



How adorable was he with Malia? I love his girls! All three of them.

Video- White House Spoofs Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon

Some serious goofs at the White House...

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

VIDEO: President Obama, United We Serve, and the NFL Team Up

By GottaLaff



This will air during the Thanksgiving football games:

In support of his United We Serve initiative, President Obama and NFL stars Drew Brees, DeMarcus Ware, and Troy Polamalu team up to highlight the importance of fitness for America's children. The NFLs Play 60 initiative stresses that young people can live a healthy lifestyle by engaging in 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The Presidents United We Serve initiative encourages all Americans to get engaged in their communities and help create a brighter future for our nations youth through service.

There Prez O goes again, indoctrinating our children.

Macy's Parade Got RickRolled

Oh my. Someone mentioned this in the comments yesterday and I was skeptical. Guess that'll show me. h/t Greg.

And here's the background on the background, opening with: "Rickrolling is an Internet meme typically involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. The meme is a bait and switch: a person provides a Web link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand, but the link actually takes the user to the Astley video.

Imagine, millions of people rickrolled at the same time.

I'm stuffed

Kinda like these guys.

My Kind Of Thanksgiving

Yum

By GottaLaff

I don't get to eat for hours. This'll have to tide me over:

YUM!

PhotObama: "Thanks" doesn't begin to say it

By GottaLaff

First, if you missed it, please read the post below this one. I'll wait.

Are you back yet?

Still waiting... God, you're slow.

Finally here? Good.

Now. Allow me to express my sincerest thanks on this Thankgiving Day, on behalf of all of you, that we will be replacing this:

=

With this:

A-freakin'-men.