By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, 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. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently 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, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

If you’re taking Black Friday too seriously, you’re doing it wrong. Before you go out and join the shopping madness, make sure to check out this video of two friends testing the patience of unsuspecting Target employees—you may get some new gift ideas while you’re at it.

Timothy Baptist Church — Musgokee, OK

A 17-year-old boy, after pleading guilty in a DUI manslaughter case, has received the following sentence: 

• finish high school
• complete his welding training
• stay alcohol, tobacco, and drug-free for one year
• attend church regularly for the next ten years

Something seems fishy. Wait, sentenced to church by a district court? Yeah, that would be it.

Tyler Alred was driving his Chevy pickup while slightly intoxicated in the wee hours of the morning on December 4, 2011, when he crashed into a tree. Although Tyler was fine, his passenger and good friend was not — 16-year-old John Dum was pronounced dead at the scene.

Almost one year later, Tyler appeared in the Muskogee County District Court and was offered the option of a 10-year prison sentence or a 10-year “church sentence” by Judge Mike Norman. Naturally, he chose the latter — he and his family already attend church regularly, and this would give him a “fresh start” instead of a prison record. Both families were fine with the sentence.

Now, lets take a moment and think about how constitutionally inappropriate this is.

Disregarding both the Free Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause, this is not the first time that Judge Norman has sentenced people to church. Even more concerning, Norman has acknowledged that his ruling is unconstitutional, but he believes it will “hold up.” In regards to the matter, Norman said:

I feel like church is important. I sentenced him to go to church for 10 years because I thought I could do that… I think Jesus can help anybody. I know I need help from him every day.

Norman also mentioned that Tyler can choose to attend any church of any denomination. If the teen does not fulfill his sentence requirements, he will be sentenced to jail.

The ACLU is planning on filing with the Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints. Ryan Kiesel, the director of the Oklahoma ACLU, is thoroughly disappointed with Norman, stating:

We see a judge who has shown disregard for the First Amendment of the Constitution in his rulings. Alternative sentencing is something that should be encouraged, but there are many options that don’t violate the Constitution. A choice of going to prison or to church — that is precisely the type of coercion that the First Amendment seeks to prevent.

However, the sentence cannot be challenged in court unless Tyler fights it. Since this is unlikely to occur, the ACLU must put their faith in their judicial review council.

We must remember that this isn’t a matter of overzealous Bible Belt Christians forcing themselves into matters of the state, because even a minister is against the ruling. Rev. Bruce Prescott, the executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, is worried about the sentence’s “spiritual ramifications,” saying:

I want people to go to church, but it’s not helpful for a judge to sentence someone to church … Religion is not a tool of the state, and it’s certainly not for the state to use as a tool of rehabilitation.

So, my friends, what do you think? Is the church sentence’s unconstitutionality overshadowing the judge’s good intentions?

American Studies professor Nicole King and her “Preserving Places and Making Spaces in Baltimore” class are currently engaged with rehabilitating the Curtis Bay and Brooklyn communities in South Baltimore.  Their current project, “Mapping Baybrook,” uses digital mapping and visualization technologies to convey the history and culture of the Baltimore community referred to as “Baybrook.”

The project was featured in the Maryland Gazette story “Brooklyn Park: College students celebrate Baybrook at Polish Home” on November 21.

“The students went into the community to talk to its residents, and to document and preserve a sense of place and memory of a community that emerged from the Industrial Revolution as not really Baltimore proper and no longer Anne Arundel County,” the aricle says.

“Mapping Baybrook: From Main Street to the Harbor,” an event to share what the students learned, will take place at the Polish Home Hall, at 4416 Fairhaven Ave. on Saturday, December 1^st from 1 to 5 PM.

“What people will see and hear are artwork inspired by the community and the recorded voices of residents that will serve as illustrations of the stories that came from Baybrook,” says Moore. The event will also mark the launch of the Mapping Baybrook website, which was designed in collaboration with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center.”

Collin Wojciechowski ’13, who is a student in the class, also wrote a post about the project for UMBC’s Breaking Ground blog.

“The factories have closed and the jobs have left,” said Wojciechowski. “ Oil drums and fly ash piles have replaced the homes along the waterfront. Crime is up and quality of life is down. The once proud residents have moved on or passed on and the main street that once boasted laughing children is now a major trucking throughway for petroleum distributers. The sense of community is just a distant memory. Told to grandchildren like me as a fairy tale.”

Tickets for this event cost $10 and all proceeds will support the nonprofit Baybrook Coalition.