tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post7082797386694436140..comments2024-03-14T13:25:20.613-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: What the Founding Fathers Set UpUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-70672809940170662022008-09-15T20:59:00.000-05:002008-09-15T20:59:00.000-05:00Spot on, that.Spot on, that.mchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11571641888235183785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-17923022755815049952008-09-15T17:30:00.000-05:002008-09-15T17:30:00.000-05:00To quote from Churchill, “It has been said that de...To quote from Churchill, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-62452101353521856752008-09-15T17:23:00.000-05:002008-09-15T17:23:00.000-05:00300 million people and these are the candidates th...300 million people and these are the candidates the process vomited up.<BR/><BR/>God help us all...:(mchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11571641888235183785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-71730298957754113202008-09-12T23:08:00.000-05:002008-09-12T23:08:00.000-05:00I’m contrasting Obama and Palin on their command o...I’m contrasting Obama and Palin on their command of historical facts, their ability to acknowledge difficult truths, and the sophistication of their thinking. And I didn’t criticize her, just presented her words and the facts and let people see the difference (or get defensive).<BR/><BR/>Your picture of the Founders, N.W.B., is one-sided and incomplete. Some (especially in New England) were indeed Christian fundamentalists, convinced of the rightness of their own faiths and disdainful of any non-Protestant form of worship. Others were for religious freedom, and recognized how that meant not using the power of government to enforce one creed—even the creed they believed in. Thomas Jefferson, for example, chose not to issue Thanksgiving proclamations as President because he felt that was outside his powers and duties.<BR/><BR/>One thing that hasn’t changed since the early republic is that religious partisans try to use church affiliation for political gain, to falsely paint a “party of secularism” and a “party of Christian values.” Your comment offers an example of that type of politicking. <BR/><BR/>In 1796 and 1800, the Federalists complained that Jefferson was a Unitarian, tantamount to a deist or atheist. In fact, his opponent, John Adams, had also come to adopt Unitarian beliefs. Neither man accepted the divinity of Jesus or the Bible as literal truth. But that didn’t stop the Federalists from trying to draw the same contrast you’ve tried to make.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-84360244508908818192008-09-12T15:55:00.000-05:002008-09-12T15:55:00.000-05:00I wouldn't be too quick to criticize Governor Pali...I wouldn't be too quick to criticize Governor Palin on this one. The men of the revolution lived in a Christian world, and if they had known their words would have been used to proscribe regular Bible readings from public schools, they would probably have been explicit in their support for the teaching of Christian beliefs. Ask yourself - if the Founding Father could be resurrected and allowed to vote in this election, who do you think they'd vote for, the party of secularism, or the party of Christian values? If "under God" wasn't in the Pledge, it certainly was a fundamental assumption of the society at large.Mark B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-68803024596145874312008-09-12T12:07:00.000-05:002008-09-12T12:07:00.000-05:00I think both major American political parties have...I think both major American political parties have fenced off protesters, especially in 2004. The Democrats do seem to have been the first to do the empty lip service of calling the protest zones “free speech areas” (in <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_speech_zones" REL="nofollow">Atlanta, in 1996</A>). <BR/><BR/>At that time, Obama had just won his first term as a state senator, and Palin her first term as mayor. McCain and Biden were, of course, in the Senate and therefore in a much better position to influence their parties’ conventions.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-36647751258428705312008-09-12T11:07:00.000-05:002008-09-12T11:07:00.000-05:00Although I happen to agree with him in this instan...Although I happen to agree with him in this instance, I don't think Obama support the Constitution as much as he likes to say he does.<BR/><BR/>He's certainly fairly anti-second amendment. And it's his party who sets up "Free Speech Zones".Robert S. Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06208771657848284055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-58633709649879152972008-09-11T21:27:00.000-05:002008-09-11T21:27:00.000-05:00A classic joke indeed!A <A HREF="http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003084.html" REL="nofollow">classic joke</A> indeed!J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-53030646114108840582008-09-11T20:27:00.000-05:002008-09-11T20:27:00.000-05:00Ms. Palin's comment about "under God" in the Pledg...Ms. Palin's comment about "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance reminds me of the old saw that:<BR/><BR/>"If King James' English [in the Bible] was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!"David B. Appletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01094862082373555586noreply@blogger.com