As Melanie Kirkpatrick explains in her history of the holiday, New England colonies eventually established annual general thanksgiving days. Thanksgiving as we know it arose from these days and the memory of the 1621 event, with layers of tradition added over time (the formal date in late November, the cuisine, the association with football, etc.).

For at least two decades, Chinese military leaders have debated the idea that electronic information equipment has become the primary warfighting platform — not tanks, missiles or ships but the information equipment that connects and directs them.

That we were born or immigrated to live in America ought to evoke thankfulness. Looking around the world where does one find a society, culture, or economy that matches our own and offers numerous opportunities to anyone to succeed if they think, study and behave in certain ways that promotes their own and ultimately the general welfare?

Wednesday’s arguments will illustrate something that refutes the libel that the nation is “systemically” prejudiced: Resources for reforms often are inherent in longstanding norms and existing laws.