Thanksgiving was made an official holiday by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as “A Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer.”

Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled “General Thanksgiving,” the decree appointed the day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

While there were Thanksgiving observances in America both before and after Washington’s proclamation, this represents the first to be so designated by the new national government.

Here is what George Washington had to say:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

George Washington, President

The latest online scam is a phony email supposedly from the IRS. The subject line reads: Notice of Unreported Income.

The rest of the message looks like this:

Taxpayer ID: alisa-00000448089147US
Tax Type: INCOME TAX
Issue: Unreported/Underreported Income (Fraud Application)

Please review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website (click on the link below):

review tax statement for taxpayer id: alisa-00000448089147US

Internal Revenue Service

The line in blue in the email is a hyperlink to a phony website that is basically a vehicle to steal your identity.  This email has been received by –and frightened a lot of seniors. If you receive an email like this it is totally phony. do not under any circumstances click on the link in the email –just delete the entire message.

The American Seniors Association (ASA) was started in 2005 as an alternative to AARP. Although AARP bills itself as a non-partisan organization, they have become more and more political over the years causing many members to shy away from the organization. Another complaint was that AARP was essentially becoming a big insurance company and the profits from those activities changed their perspective from helping members to helping themselves.  This gave rise to an organization with a different mission.

Here is the ASA Mission Statement

The American Seniors Association’s mission is to provide seniors with the choices, information, and services they need to live healthier, wealthier lives.

Our members’ dignity and security matter most to us, and that’s why thousands of Americans every year turn to the American Seniors Association for the help they need.

We offer our members better choices to help with:

• Medicare
• Insurance
• Prescription Discounts
• Travel Services
• Auto Club
• Information on Where to Find the Facts

We are driven by a uniquely American philosophy that starts with the understanding that government doesn’t tax and regulate “things.” It taxes and regulates “people.” Individuals like you and me. That’s why we treat every member as an individual, with a different story and different priorities, freely united as individuals to provide each other with better values in the services we want and need.

ASA has been running a program this year where AARP members can send in their AARP card when they join and receive their second year of membership free. So far this offer has resulted in hundreds of thousands of torn AARP cards arriving at their offices. ASA membership costs $15 per year.  Click here to learn more about ASA.

Data just out from the National Council on Aging  show that the number of seniors looking for work has swelled more than 120% to over 1.8 million in the last year. Within that group, those who were 75 and older increased by 80 percent.

There are some 29 million seniors – those 55 and older – employed or actively looking for work in the United States, which is about 18 percent of the civilian labor force. And their numbers are expected to grow. Seniors from the early phase of the baby boom are now retiring at the rate of 14,000 per day. That number is expected to increase 12-15% by the end of 2010.

According to a story from the Reuters News services  “This economic crisis has had just a horrible impact on the entire population, but it has had a very severe impact on older people,” said Sandra Nathan, workforce development vice president at the National Council on Aging.

Nathan said her organization was seeing a record number of people seeking assistance with job training and employment. “Before people used to retire and stay retired. Now what we have are people 75 years old and older who are still in the workforce,” Nathan said.

With a national unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, the highest in more than 25 years, the odds are stacked against older Americans seeking work. An array of new or expanded programs, however, are aimed at leveling the playing field.

The U.S. government has allocated stimulus dollars to bolster programs targeted at getting older workers onto private payrolls and off of the shaky U.S. social security system. Even individuals over 75 are being encouraged to get training and job hunting help.

We are seeing this effect here at Official Geezer Guide as more and more seniors are looking for information and ways to supplement their retirement income.  Both traffic to the site and sales of Geezer Guides are up sharply.

I just returned from visiting my sainted mother who lives in Alexandria, VA, just across the river from Washington DC.  The rest of the country may be grappling with a recession –but not DC. Thanks to out-of-control government spending, DC is booming!

Everywhere we went the restaurants were full, shopping malls were crowded, real estate was selling and I saw more Mercedes, BMWs and Porsche’s than you would see in Beverly Hills.

And jobs are going begging.  When we went to one of the largest shopping malls in suburban Virginia, almost every store had a sign out that they were hiring.  Every government agency is hiring. The new US Patent Office in Alexandria is hiring over 5,000 people which is kind of strange since patent applications have fallen since the recession began. Obama said he would create jobs –and he is. But it’s looking like most of them will be in the Washington DC area.

And don’t forget the lobbyists.  Since Obama was elected back in November, the number of registered lobbyists has increased over 40%.  There are now over 30,000 lobbyists throwing money and favors at the 435 members of the House and 100 Senators.

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