Dr. Hardwick,

You posted a correction to mine in September, which at the time you said was 
"a small thing."  However, in recent days you have referenced this same 
'correction' at least twice, but now claiming I implied that author, Jon 
Kukla, "had been misleading, or perhaps even dishonest."  Changing your 
words and tone in these recent claims is no longer a small thing.  Neither 
is your taking my words out of context.

To possibly reconstruct this matter at this late date, please recall that 
Ann Pemberton had claimed: "One of the more damning pieces of circumstantial 
evidence are quotes from TJ's *student diaries* (my emphasis) on the subject 
of sexual relief outside of marriage."  I then posted that she must be 
referring to TJ's Literary Commonplace Book and that Kukla apparently didn't 
reveal (to her) that this was a collection of excerpts from other author's 
literary work collected when TJ was only 15 years old and before his 
marriage.  I wanted readers to clearly understand her "damning evidence" was 
'not' from a personal diary (where all words and thoughts would have been 
entirely those of TJ.)  I believe you understood this at the time, thus a 
small thing.

It seems you recently let yourself become a little emotional, a rarity. 
That's ok.

Neil McDonald (not MacDonald)

  ----- Original Message ----- 
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 12:45 AM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] ANSWERS - Annette Gordon-Reed


> Adrian Zolkovar's statement below is downright odd.  I can't see any kind 
> of logical connection to the words I wrote.  Zolkover's comment is a 
> non-sequitor.
>
> To reprise: MacDonald implied that Kukla had been misleading, or perhaps 
> even dishonest.  This was because, MacDonald wrote, Kukla did not 
> explicitly reveal that the stuff in Jefferson's Commonplace book was not 
> actually written by Jefferson, but rather was a bunch of quotes that 
> Jefferson transcribed from other people's writing.
>
> I replied with the comment below.  A commonplace book, by definition, is a 
> collection of quotes from other people's writings.
>
> What does any of this have to do with what Jefferson was thinking about 
> when he was 15?  Yes, Jefferson was 15 when he compiled the Commonplace 
> book--but that fact is irrelevant to the implication by MacDonald, and to 
> my reply.
>
> And how does any of this relate to my maturity, or lack thereof?
>
> All best,
> Kevin
>

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