I'm with Mike on this and I love Thomas Paine. His book,"The Age Of Reason" is well worth reading.

As to having no "manners and principles", I refer you to the left wing scum and no-nothings currently roaming our streets. Half of these "occupiers" are left wingers who want to turn this country into a socialist nation and the other half are nit-wit fellow travelers who like to march around carrying stupid signs so they can feel significant.

Excellent quote. It tells you a lot about the trouble this country is in when we expect politicians to lie. What's worse, we continue to re-elect them.

Daniel, surely you aren't trying to bolster your argument my saying that labor unions have "signed on". They use thugs and goons to bolster their positions. I won't comment further as it is silly arguing with a nit. It's like trying to teach a pig to whistle, it's impossible and annoys the pig.

Daniel, you clicked twice and sent two loads of crap, try to hold it to one hereafter, please. The people in this Occupy revolt are mainly Commies, Socialists, and nit brains who have no idea what is going on.

If you lie be sure you have a good memory.

When I tell someone the "truth", I'm actually giving them my version , their version could be somewhat different. What I think is the truth is usually just my opinion about something.

Tell everyone you meet the truth and you will soon have very few friends.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers. These are the voters that continue to re-elect the people in Washington that have ruined our economy. Instead of going to jail, they retire from "public service" in style.

"It ain't what we don't know that causes all the trouble, It's what we do know that ain't so". Can't remember who said this but I like it.

Tell the truth all the time and be prepared for trouble. If your wife asks if a certain garment makes her look fat, you may want to shade the truth a bit, or else. When people were hiding Jews from the Ghestapo, I doubt that they would want to tell the truth if asked about it. Sometimes a lie is the better way to go.

To the folk running the government, socialism seems to be their religion.

SCSURFR, I am certainly no Atheist but are you saying that an Atheist cannot be moral ? I doubt that Christopher Hitchins would agree with you if you believe that.

Reston is right that a lot of Christians don't see Jesus as a Jew. I know a man here in Austin who was a preacher in a church in Arkansas many years ago and was fired after he said that Jesus was a Jew. Hard to believe the ignorance there but it really happened.

Nasdaq7, you stole my comment. The Age of Reason states clearly Paine's view of religion. Robken has it right when he says that all religions are man made, including Christianity, an invention of Paul. Paul twisted the teachings of Jesus into the worship of Jesus.

A recent quote I read but can't remember where goes like this: "The Bible is literature, not dogma".

Many fundamentalist preachers around revolutionist times thought of Thomas Paine as an atheist. Thomas Paine with his writings had as much to do with the success of the victory over the British as anyone. Washington said that Paine kept up the morale of the soldiers and the citizens and probably saved the revolution. Paine vociferously denied being an atheist stating that he was a Deist. He disagreed greatly with the Bible thumping trinitarians of the day but was no atheist. Read 'The Age of Reason' for Paine's view of fundamentalist religion.

Edouard,Atlanta , as to the " blood of Jesus shed at Calvary", Jesus was murdered because he was a threat to the existing rulers of the time, much like what happens in N.Korea now and in the Soviet Union when Stalin was in power. If he willingly went to the cross in order to save us all from sin, then why did he say while on the cross," My God, My God, why have you forsaken me". Of couse, that assumes that he actually said that. In the quote, Jefferson is saying that the teachings of Jesus have been twisted into man made religions primarily for the control of people. All religions are man made, including Christianity which is largely an invention of the apostle Paul. He turned the teachings of Jesus into the worship of Jesus.

Hard to rate but interesting. Most religions are infected with a lot of superstition and odd beliefs. Here's one of my favorite quotes, it's from the Buddha. "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it,unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense". This goes for everything including the Bible.

Whether this country was founded as a Christian nation depends on your idea of what the word "Christian" means. If you are thinking that our founding fathers were Trinitarian- Jesus died for our sins and you better accept that or else Christians you are wrong. For an example of Jefferson's ideas and beliefs, read his letters in a book by Martin Larson, "The Essence Of Jefferson".

Who says he never said it, does anyone propose to know everything that Jefferson ever said. It's abundently true whoever said it.

Anonymous, "the elephant thing" means that when you have a BIG task you can't do it all at once. Sometimes you have to do it a little bit at a time, like walking a mile, one step at a time.

Excellent quote. If ignorance was a crime, Waffler would be doing 20 to life.

Hotel Charlie is right on target as to the U.N. During the Cold War before Russia became our "friend," U.N. representatives from the Soviet Union were invariably spies. It was an easy way to get spies into the U.S.

J Carlton, you said it before I could.