{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=4F99CDA3-5E28-4E9E-BCD4-AB1F7A802471", "Weekly Column: Freedom to Be Thankful", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By Rep. Kristi Noem \r\n\tBy July, Halloween candy fills the shelves at Target, Wal-Mart and our local grocery stores.\u00a0 And before our kids can say \u201cTrick or Treat,\u201d you can find Christmas decorations everywhere with almost no mention of turkeys or cornucopias \u2013 unless we\u2019re talking about taking advantage of the early bird holiday sales that is.\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t be that way.\u00a0 We should have the freedom to be thankful.\r\nNo, the world hasn\u2019t necessarily dealt us a perfect hand this year.\u00a0 Sioux Falls was hit by an ice storm that left tens of thousands without power for several days.\u00a0 In October, west river was hit with an unprecedented blizzard that impacted the livelihoods of hundreds more.\u00a0 But the power did came back on and we have friends and neighbors rallying around those impacted by Winter Storm Atlas, donating money and offering a shoulder to lean on.\u00a0\r\nYes, the nation\u2019s economy has failed to recover.\u00a0 The country\u2019s unemployment rate seems to rise unrelentlessly.\u00a0 But like the portrait Norman Rockwell painted during the Great Depression, many of us will still gather together this Thanksgiving with others.\u00a0 For at least a moment, we will focus on being thankful for our blessings.\r\nAnd of course, partisanship sometimes seems to have stalled progress in our federal government.\u00a0 But our country still recognizes the freedom of speech.\u00a0 We can vote and when a new voice comes to power, we are confident that violent riots won\u2019t erupt on the streets.\u00a0 We can vocally disagree and then come together at the same dinner table on Thanksgiving to break bread with \u201cthe other side.\u201d\r\nStill, not all our sons and daughters will be home this Thanksgiving.\u00a0 They will be serving their country in Afghanistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and elsewhere.\u00a0 But the bombs and missiles that fall across the Middle East are far removed from our homes, schools, and places of worship.\u00a0 We must be thankful that we have a freedom from that kind of fear because of their service and the sacrifices made by all our veterans.\r\nAnd when all else fails, here in America, we have the freedom to worship.\r\nThis Thanksgiving, let us pause before the holiday shopping season sets in to give thanks for the food, family, friends, and fellowship that surround us on this day.\r\nLet us be grateful for those who are overseas maintaining our liberty, defending our freedom of speech and worship, and fighting to make sure we are free from fear.\r\nLet us give thanks.\u00a0 After all, we have so much to be grateful for.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=4F99CDA3-5E28-4E9E-BCD4-AB1F7A802471"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.426947932690382, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}