Kathleen,

Apologies for leaving the stuff I'm replying to on a message. I do a lot of 
different things via email, and sometimes it is necessary to have what I'm 
replying to showing on the message. It is often a series of msg that need 
such, and I may not be as diligent at changing back my settings as I could 
be. I will point out, that if more than one message is attached to my reply, 
it is because the person I'm replying to has left what they replied to on 
the message. So, if I don't get the setting changed quickly enough, I beg 
the pardon of the list.

That said, I will point out that the most specious part of the argument over 
whether TJ did or did not father Sally Hemings children, is that saying he 
did besmirched a "great founding father". As I have noted before, whether or 
not one has sired illegitimate children is not a deciding factor in one's 
ranking as a founding father. Others in that designation did so, and it is 
likely we do not know the full extent of such since it was not necessarily a 
point of pride. The qualifications for Founding Father do not include 
sainthood. If it did, not even George Washington would make the cut, as 
pointed out in Henry Wiensik's book "An Imperfect God".

Read "Passionate Sage", a book that is mostly about John Adams, but includes 
a lot of comparisons between Adams and Jefferson. The book also explores how 
each philosophy is playing out in the present. While Jefferson was 
optimistic about the future, the pessimism projected by Adams is suitable 
for study in the present circumstances.

Anne




Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org 

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