Thomas Jefferson, in his own words

Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law. — letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. — Notes on Virginia, 1782

Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear. — Letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting “Jesus Christ,” so that it would read “A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;” the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination. — in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom

I concur with you strictly in your opinion of the comparative merits of atheism and demonism, and really see nothing but the latter in the being worshipped by many who think themselves Christians. –letter to Richard Price, Jan. 8, 1789

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and State. –letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802

History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes. — to Alexander von Humboldt, Dec. 6, 1813.

In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. — letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814

What’s in the water in Missouri?!

If you think this is silly, you’re not alone. And you’re probably not living in Missouri.

Two branches of a public library in Savannah MO have moved the book “And Tango Makes Three” from its children’s section to the non-fiction section. Why? Because the book is based on the true story of Roy and Silo – two male penguins who adopted an abandoned egg in the 1990s at the NYC Central Park Zoo.

It seems some parents in Savannah were concerned about the “undertones” of the book. Apparently two male penguins getting together to raise a baby penguin just screams, “HOMOSEXUAL!” At least in Missouri. Read more.

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In other Missouri news, the state legislature wants to pass a non-binding resolution recognizing Christianity as the “majority” religion.

A Missouri House resolution stating that “voluntary prayer in public schools, religious displays on public property, and the recognition of a Christian God are not a coalition of church and state” has made it through the committee process and is scheduled for a floor vote as early as today (Thursday, March 2.)

(…)

The resolution, which is concurrent with the Senate, does not have an enacting clause, and therefore “is just a political statement about Christianity,” said Rep. John P. Burnett (D-Kansas City), a Rules Committee member who voted against passing the resolution to the full House.

The resolution states that:

“Whereas, our forefathers of this great nation of the United States recognized a Christian God and used the principles afforded to us by Him as the founding principles of our nation…

“Whereas, as elected officials we should protect the majority’s right to express their religious beliefs while showing respect for those who object…

“Now, therefore, be it resolved…that we stand with the majority of our constituents and exercise the common sense that voluntary prayer in public schools and religious displays on public property are not a coalition of church and state, but rather the justified recognition of the positive role that Christianity has played in this great nation of ours…”

Someone should send the legislators of Missouri a copy of all the writings of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the other Founding Fathers – the majority of whom who were Deists, not Christians. They themselves made it very clear in their personal and public writings that the United States was not a country founded on Christianity.

On June 10, 1797, John Adams – signer of the Declaration of Independence and 2nd President – signed the Treaty of Tripoli. This treaty was unanimously approved by Congress – which made no objection to the following wording:

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion — as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen — and as the said States have never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries. (emphasis mine)

Thomas Jefferson mentioned only a “Creator” in the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution avoids all mention of any religion. Jefferson wrote later than an attempt was made to add a reference to “Jesus Christ” in the Constitution, but that it was voted down.

Will Lightning Strike??

Do you think Marion “Pat” Robertson’s God will send a stroke to someone (or several someones) at the National Religious Broadcasters. Will he perhaps barbeque them with a divine thunderbolt?

Marion “Pat” Robertson – founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network – was denied a seat on the National Religious Broadcasters’ board of directors. There were 33 board seats, and 38 contenders, including our good friend Marion.

Marion’s spokesperson is making nice, saying Marion was expected to step aside anyway. (Oh, really? Then why run for a seat???)

Read more here.

PS. In case you’re wondering about “Marion” – it’s Mr. Robertson’s real first name. I’ve heard rumors that his initials M.G. stand for Marion Gail, but I haven’t been able to confirm this.

Saturday Miscellany

Update: (3/5 @ 9:44a) WOW – not even a full day after transferring my blog to WordPress, and I’ve been tagged by the DoD! Spc. C. Flowers of CENTCOM’s “blogger patrol” was kind enough to let me know I hadn’t linked to CENTCOM’s web site.
CENTCOM=concern trolls?

Georgia10 at DailyKos tells us that the military has a “blog team” with one mission: Checking blogs and contacting bloggers to correct “misinformation”. From the Defense Dept’s website:

McNorton said the team contacts bloggers to inform the writers about any given topic that may have been posted on their site. This outreach effort enables the team to offer complete information to bloggers by inviting them to visit CENTCOM’s Web site for news releases, data or imagery.

The team engages bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information. They extend a friendly invitation to all bloggers to visit the command’s Web site.

(…)

Flowers is one of three people who read blogs and try to drive Internet readers to the CENTCOM Web site, where readers can learn more about operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

“We needed to do something to make people aware of the fact that we had this clearinghouse of photos and information,” Flowers said. “We can get the whole story out there. We let them know we have a Web site.”

Detainees’ Names Released

Speaking of the US Military, the names of the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay were released after a federal judge ordered the Pentagon to release the information. From the Associated Press report:

After four years of secrecy, the Pentagon handed over documents Friday that contain the names of detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The Bush administration had hidden the identities, home countries and other information about the men, who were accused of having links to the Taliban or al-Qaida. But a federal judge rejected administration arguments that releasing the identities would violate the detainees’ privacy and could endanger them and their families.

(…)

In another document, a detainee identified as Abdul Hakim Bukhary denies he is a member of al-Qaida but acknowledges he traveled from his native Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan to fight U.S. forces, and says he met Osama bin Laden about 15 years ago while fighting in Russia. He praises his captors for running a good prison.

“Prisoners here are in paradise,” he says. “American people are very good. Really. They give us three meals. Fruit juice and everything!” Still, he says, he wants to return to his family.

Duke Cunningham goes to prison.

Can DeLay, Frist, and the multitude of scandal-ridden Republicans be far behind? From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a decorated fighter pilot in Vietnam who admitted taking $2.4 million in bribes from two defense contractors, was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in federal prison.

Asked to put the dimensions of Cunningham’s corruption in perspective, Thomas Mann, an expert on Congress at the Brookings Institution, said “we haven’t seen anything like” the magnitude and duration of Cunningham’s crimes since the Teapot Dome scandal of the 1920s. (emphasis mine)

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns imposed the sentence after prosecutors argued for the maximum 10 years and defense attorneys suggested six years because Cunningham, 64, is suffering from various physical ailments, as well as depression. The San Diego County Republican resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy to commit bribery in November.

(…)

The judge recommended the prison term be served in a federal facility near Bakersfield. Burns also ordered that Cunningham pay $1.8 million in back taxes and penalties, plus $1.85 million in restitution based on the bribes he received.

The San Diego Union Tribune tells us some Cunningham’s stuff will be auctioned on March 23rd. The proceeds will be used to reimburse the agencies that investigated Cunningham. Some of the items up for bid:

MINT WATER, C/O UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, APPROX 6,000 BTLS TOTAL, 2 BTL SAMPLE @ EG&G LOS ANGELES, CANNOT BE EXPORTED TO CANADA, MEXICO OR IRAN, CANNOT BE SENT TO FOREIGN TRADE ZONES (EXPORT ONLY), 500 CTNS
BALLPOINT PENS, HOME DEPOT CENTER, APPROX 2,500 PCS TOTAL, SAMPLE ON DISPLAY, 7 CTNS
BRACELET, 14KY, BLOCK LINK, 6 5/8″ LONG X 9.2MM WIDE, W/TWO ROWS OF BLOCK LINKS ON THE OUTSIDE, CENTERED BY ROUND DIAMONDS, ALTERNATING BETWEEN 2.2MM ROUND BRILLIANTS PRONG SET & 1.2MM ROUND SINGLE CUT ILLUSION SET DIAMONDS, 30 BRILLIANTS & 29 SINGLE CUT DIAMONDS, ATW 1.45CT, K-L/I1, 18.6 DWT, 1 EA
SCOTCH, GLENFIDDICH & BALVENIE, APPROX 156 BTLS TOTAL (EXPORT ONLY), 14 CTNS
2000 FERRARI 360 MODENA, MANUAL, CHARCOAL GREY, 8 CYL, ODOMETER READS 8,427, VIN:: ZFFYU51A6Y0119986 – JUST ADDED!

You can learn more about the items up for bid here, the Treasury Department’s website.