Our Thanksgiving Message:Sincerely From Your Sound Of Cannons Staff

We're probably going to shut down Sound Of Cannons for the upcoming Turkey holiday early this year. Short of a truly catastrophic event (though that's an everyday occurrence in Europe and Soetoro's White House these days) we'll keep the postings down to a minimum. Several of our editors are headed out this weekend (we wish them safe travel) while our tech department will take a truly deserved whole week off. Your Chief Editor will be traveling north early next week for a big Martha Stewart-esque feast of epic proportions.

We may unveil an SOC e-mail address for our faithful readers to start directly communicating with the Sound Of Cannons staff if we get over our tryptophan poisoning soon enough.

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Now, our holiday thoughts to you, dear reader:

~Please, please travel as safely as possible. Give the assholes on the road and in the air a wide berth. The TSA will have their comeuppance soon; but for now just get to your destination to see family.

~Be thankful that there is still some common sense in the world, though in short supply, it's still there

~Hug your kids, hug them 'til they get sick of it. We're all parents here at SOC, and our outrage for the wrongs of the world stem from our concern for the futures of our children. They truly are our future and need us all fighting for them now while they have no say.

~Be thankful for family and all the crap they represent. Families are not the Norman Rockwell ideal and most of the time they're painful reminders of how short our patience can be and at worst, a true reminder of our mortality. But they're what binds us together and they're worth fighting for, in the political sense. Even your grumpy socialist uncle who thinks Obama is doing a bang up job deserves a smile on Thanksgiving Day.

~If it's appropriate, talk current events over the cheesecake or pumpkin pie. Get other viewpoints and gently add your own. Without using a warhammer to beat it in, offer something for others to think about: whether it be freedom, socialism, disaster preparations, financial planning or whatever. People sometimes need to be cajoled into thinking correctly.

~Give a prayer of thanks for your own successes and victories in life. Use the long holiday weekend to ponder and think of the strategies you'll need to make 2011 successful. Make plans for your family's financial and physical well-being. Maybe 2011 is the year to get a second passport, explore relocation options outside the country, buy that get-away cabin in the woods for emergency preparedness or to start storing food for any potential disruptions in the future. You don't need to get it all done over a holiday weekend, just start putting some thought towards it during some time hopefully not glued to sports on television.

~Take the time to enjoy the good moments at your Thanksgiving celebration. We're only around on this ride once. While the world seems to be coming apart at the seams, take some joy in the little things, even if it's a 3-bean casserole!