Topic: Harry Truman

A deconstruction of Thanksgiving origins challenges the traditional pilgrim narrative, attributing the modern holiday to an 1863 proclamation by Abraham Lincoln influenced by magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale. The history of the presidential turkey pardon is traced from Harry Truman's grain conservation efforts to the formal tradition established by George H.W. Bush in 1989. Mention is made of John F. Kennedy's 1963 informal sparing of a turkey just days before his assassination.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's address to the RNC from Jerusalem was the first time a sitting Secretary of State spoke at a convention in 75 years. The last instance occurred during the Truman administration, after which President Eisenhower discouraged the practice.

The popular belief that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird is debunked as folklore popularized by a 1962 New Yorker magazine cover. While Franklin criticized the bald eagle in a letter to his daughter, he never formally proposed the turkey as a replacement. Additionally, the myth that the eagle on the presidential seal changes direction during wartime is corrected, noting Harry Truman permanently changed the eagle to face the olive branch in 1945.

The term "Southern White House" for Mar-a-lago sparked a trending controversy on Twitter. Historical precedents for secondary presidential residences are cited, including Nixon's Florida White House and Truman's Little White House in the Keys. The outrage is described as a localized Twitter phenomenon rather than a broad public concern.

The BBC segment continues by discussing Harry Truman's 1911 letter about Africa and his later desegregation of the military. The reporter claims the "white Democrats" switched to the Republican Party in response to Lyndon Johnson's civil rights push. The hosts reject this "big switch" narrative, promising to bring in more historical analysis from Pat Buchanan in future episodes.

A PBS investigative report clarifies the history of the presidential turkey pardon. While Truman was the first to receive a turkey from the National Turkey Federation, he did not pardon it. JFK was the first to spare a Thanksgiving turkey in 1963, but the ceremony was only formalized as a "pardon" by George H.W. Bush in 1989. The hosts label the "generations-old" tradition as "fake news."

The Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis, built in 1949 under the Truman administration, eventually collapsed due to poor maintenance and restrictive welfare rules. Residents recalled how the welfare department forced fathers to leave the home as a condition for families to receive aid, leading to a systemic breakdown of the black nuclear family before the buildings were demolished in 1969.

John C. Dvorak explores the recurring appearance of the number 33 in news media, linking it to Harry Truman, the 33rd president who established the modern security state. He analyzes specific articles in the Chicago Tribune and Reuters where the age 33 is highlighted, suggesting it serves as a "Code 33" for intelligence operatives to stay off the air or signal an operation. The hosts discuss how editors can slip coded messages into mainstream publications.

The show concludes with a 2009 clip of Gore Vidal discussing how President Harry Truman replaced the American republic with a "national security state" in 1947. Vidal also criticizes John F. Kennedy's presidency despite their personal friendship. The final segment features Cornel West labeling Barack Obama a "war criminal" due to drone strikes, followed by the hosts' sign-off.

The trillion dollar coin plot is compared to a 1998 episode of "The Simpsons" involving a trillion dollar bill printed by Harry Truman. The hosts also revisit the "Leo Wanta" story, involving a supposed $27.5 trillion fund created by a CIA operative to destabilize the Soviet economy. They dismiss these stories as recurring "bull crap."

The hosts discuss a list compiled by the ACLU regarding the erosion of civil liberties in the United States. Dvorak claims his research shows a geometric increase in rights loss since the Truman administration. The segment briefly pivots to a technical complaint about the transition from Flash to HTML5 and the persistence of tracking cookies.

An armada of 11 U.S. warships and one Israeli vessel recently passed through the Suez Canal, led by the USS Harry Truman. The hosts discuss the possibility of a military strike on Iran before the end of the year, with one host offering a bet on the outcome. They dismiss intelligence reports of Iranian missile threats to Europe as "saber rattling" intended to justify escalation.