Alexander Hamilton

And lack of religion is to blame? All those things, or variants thereof, were around when as you say, religion was more publicly accepted. And as to any implication that religion exists under a rock or something, let's return to the fact that 84% of this country is Christian. An overwhelming majority of US presidents were Christian, and certainly none were any other organized religion. You can get Jesus on the TV and radio at any second of the day. There's some outcry about the oppressed Christians every effing day, and it's so tired. MOST of the country is Christian--you're hardly oppressed.

In a long line of ignorant things said over here at PPP, that's right up there. Nice work. Not only weren't the founding fathers Christian, many were avowedly non-Christian. Here's a smattering of proof. If you want more, just ask. Or maybe read a little history. "In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot ... they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer engine for their purpose." - Thomas Jefferson, to Horatio Spafford, March 17, 1814 "As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" - John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816 "I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved--the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!" - John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson "Experience witnesseth that ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." - James Madison, "A Memorial and Remonstrance", 1785 "Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced an inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." - Thomas Jefferson, from "Notes on Virginia" "[T]he government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;" United States Treaty (1796-1797) "In the circle of my acquaintance (which has not been small), I have generally been denominated a Deist, the reality of which I never disputed, being conscious I am no Christian, except mere infant baptism make me one; and as to being a Deist, I know not, strictly speaking, whether I am one or not, for I have never read their writings; mine will therefore determine the matter; for I have not in the least disguised my sentiments, but have written freely without any conscious knowledge of prejudice for, or against any man, sectary or party whatever; but wish that good sense, truth and virtue may be promoted and flourish in the world, to the detection of delusion, superstition, and false religion; and therefore my errors in the succeeding treatise, which may be rationally pointed out, will be readily rescinded." Ethan Allen "My parents had early given me religious impressions, and brought me through my childhood piously in the dissenting [puritan] way. But I was scarce 15 when, after doubting by turns of several points as I found them disputed in the different books I read, I began to doubt of Revelation it self. Some books against deism fell into my hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at [Robert] Boyle’s lectures. It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough deist." Benjamin Franklin "All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit." Thomas Paine "Washington's religious belief was that of the enlightenment: deism. He practically never used the word ‘God,’ preferring the more impersonal word ‘Providence.’ How little he visualized Providence in personal form is shown by the fact that he interchangeably applied to that force all three possible pronouns: he, she, and it."James Thomas Flexner

If there's a running back who moves the pile and carries tacklers better than Willis, name him. He's not the fastest, and he's not the shiftiest, but he's about the strongest RB I've seen since Bettis in his prime.

223 yards of offense. Total. 3 more than Trent Green had passing, and about a hundred more than LJ had rushing. I'm happy for the win, but it was hardly a thing of beauty.

Speaking of attacking Christians, I was reading revelations the other day and found the following: In the Fall of 2008, 3 years from today, (1) We'll be on the verge of electing a black guy. You've never heard of him but Revelations says he's got a good jump shot. (2) Running against the black guy are McCain and some woman who is not yet on the political map. In 3 years, you still won't have heard of her until McCain announces her name (3) We'll actually be talking about some real issues on this board (Yes, Revelations predicts PPP). (4) VABills will still be short. (5) I will still be right. There's more but I just wanted to go on record.

The jury is still out on science. --Jeb Bluth

No, you already are a bigot. How could we forget your "be suspicious of all darkies thread"? In case you've forgotten: here it is.

I agree with SDS RE Shannon. She's attractive to look at, yet I've been holding out hope for her death for a while. This was alluded to above, I think, but here's a big connection. Jack's wife killed the other driver, right? And we all remember that Jack had to choose between saving the woman who became his wife, and the other guy. That other guy had to be Shannon's dad, no? I mean, Shannon and Jack were in the hospital at the same time. Shannon's dad was killed in a car crash. QED.

This is the smartest thing you've ever said. I don't trust the government to run itself. Why would I trust it to educate and care for my children?

He was inaccurate against the Bills, and yet killed them. He's a monster QB, just not in a Peyton Manning mold. Vick is one of those rare players that you have to specifically gameplan for. In that, he's a superstar. Only a handful of other individual players garner that much attention (Moss alone comes to mind). (For example, when teams play the Chargers, they gameplan expecting the strong running game--not specifically LT. ) Vick is pretty amazing--maybe not the best passing QB, but his speed and elusiveness make him a threat every time he's on the field. I wouldn't underestimate what he brings to the QB position. The guy is a stud.

You three should go get a room together and have a fartathon.

Do you think that was funny, witty, or insightful?

Big week coming up. For anyone who still cares about cost cuts (anyone?), Congress is set to consider some 35-50 billion in spending cuts. Here's an article--it's from the NY Times, so you'll need the free subscription, or the entry code from bugmenot.com. Spending cuts

Don't like it? Don't consume as much.