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Welcome to the Wednesday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? As many are heading out today for the long holiday weekend, we have decided to move our fan-favorite Friday’s Food for Thought post to Wednesday this week. And what better theme than the concept of ‘thanks.’ As many of us know, the Intelligence Community’s work is mainly done behind closed doors. As such, the IC often does not get the public credit that it deserves for protecting our great nation. We would like to dedicate this Thanksgiving-focused WFFT post to thanking all of those patriotic Americans who constantly and vigilantly protect our freedoms — even when we can’t see it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Why Giving Thanks Is Good For The Psyche
Count your blessings this Thanksgiving. It’s good for you. While it seems pretty obvious that gratitude is a positive emotion, psychologists for decades rarely delved into the science of giving thanks. But in the last several years they have, learning in many experiments that it is one of humanity’s most powerful emotions. It makes you happier and can change your attitude about life, like an emotional reset button. Especially in hard times, like these. Beyond proving that being grateful helps you, psychologists also are trying to figure out the brain chemistry behind gratitude and the best ways of showing it. Check out more from the Huffington Post here.

Thanksgiving and the History of America’s Long Weekends
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, unless you began celebrating early, which you probably did. Vacation-deprived Americans have perfected the art of the holiday jump-start: the Tuesday office potluck followed by the Wednesday 2 p.m. dismissal and 4 p.m. pilgrimage down Interstate 95. The official turkey dinner is tomorrow, and the official shopping is the day after tomorrow. The tomorrow after tomorrow after tomorrow? Still free! Four days stretch all the way to the sad Sunday afternoon when the only thing to do is watch the James Bond marathon on SyFy and count the waning hours to Monday morning. Thanksgiving, that cherished American tradition celebrating family, encompasses a second, more fervently cherished American tradition — that of the Long Weekend. Read more from the Washington Post here.

What Are You Thankful For?
Lingering unemployment, stock market plunges, and depressed home prices have done a number on Americans’ savings and psyches. Despite all this, on November 24, families will put aside their worries, stuff themselves with turkey and count their blessings. In these uncertain times, many of us are grateful for things we might not have appreciated in the past: A job; health insurance; old friends; a home. If you want to share what you are thankful for these days, CNN iReporters editors want to hear from you. Don’t forget to thank the IC!

The President Gives Thanks
President Obama clearly values the importance of the IC. Here he is personally thanking members of the IC for their role in the death of Osama bin Laden and their efforts in the fight against Al Qaeda.

Tags: CIA and Thanks, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, got geoint?, Thanking the Intelligence Community, Thanksgiving, USGIF