Legislative Update 38

November 28, 2008

Dear Friends,

I hope you are all enjoying a relaxing and happy Thanksgiving weekend. It is a testament to the spirit of our country that despite the hardships we face at home and abroad, we continue to gather with our families and churches to thank God for his many blessings.

A few weeks back, I had a chance to learn a little bit more about Thanksgiving when my two year old daughter pulled a small book off the shelf and was insistent that I read to her. While Ellen cannot read, she loves flipping through books and will not take a nap or go to sleep without having Laurie or me read to her. This time, the book that Ellen selected was a small collection of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and writings. I thought this was an odd choice for a two year old so I tried to talk Ellen into the more manageable Goodnight Moon but she wasn’t backing down and I saw pretty quickly that this wasn’t a fight I could win. So I thumbed through the Lincoln book, looking for something brief, and came across his "Proclamation of Thanksgiving."

Against the backdrop of a country strongly divided, President Lincoln called on Americans 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." Continuing, he urged Americans to "implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union."

Since reading this to my daughter, I have learned that many scholars credit Lincoln’s Secretary of State William Seward with writing this proclamation. Regardless of its authorship, it is clear that President Lincoln appreciated the necessity of drawing together in a spirit of thankfulness to solicit God’s guidance.

I strongly doubt that Ellen understood much of what I read but I’m glad that her persistence led me to this little passage from our history.

As you continue to enjoy the weekend, I wanted to make you aware of another, more recent, political book that has just been published. It’s titled Mississippi Fried Politics: Tall Tales from the Back Rooms and it was written by Andy Taggart and Jere Nash. This morning, I received an e-mail from Mr. Taggart telling me that he and Jere would be at the Gulfport Barnes and Noble on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to sign copies. I’ve flipped through the book and think it's a great supplement to their book Mississippi Politics. If you have any political junkies on your Christmas list, you may want to check it out.

How to Contact Me

If you have any questions or concerns, I invite you to call me on my cell phone at 228-326-7649 or e-mail me at bjones@house.ms.gov. Please feel free to forward this report to folks in our district and let me know if I need to add someone to my list.

I will also be posting my updates and House related news on my campaign website at www.electbrandonjones.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Brandon