Regarding Jefferson, our trip to Williamsburg was very eye-opening. After sitting and listening to the "slaves" talk about the "current" situation, it seems that the Revolutionary War may have been more about slavery than the Civil War.

It really was - it was an incomplete revolution, so the Civil War was inevitable. It was like Jefferson wrote "All men are created equal", then thought, "uh oh, this is going to piss off all the rich slave owners, I better invent a race theory to put whites at the top." It was all about money! Then the Cherokee - they willingly assimilated into white culture, then when people wanted their lands in Georgia they were told they were savages and forceably moved off their land.

History is so depressing. Humans have done horrible things to each other in the name of religion or on behalf of profit.

Thomas Jefferson was not the nicest person. After reading how he treated his best friend of more than 50 years, John Adams, I wanted to bitch-slap him. A lot of what he did was to gain fame amongst his peers. He enjoyed playing politics a lot, and was so not above stabbing someone in the back to make himself look good. Sounds like a lot of people in the SCA, huh? In any case, people thoughout time have always been evil, and not excellent, to each other. Unfortunately, we all should be used to it by now. The Jedi are all but extinct, and the Empire is taking over everything.

To give our founding fathers some credit there were those (Jefferson amoung them) who wanted to abolish "black slavery" at the founding of our country. They had some hard decisions to make and sometimes you have to pick your fights, no matter how distasteful it might seem. When the decision was coming down on whether to stick to their guns on the slavery issue and alienate the south (thereby losing their support for the revolution) or let the slavery issue go and keep the support of the south the path was clear. Without all the colonies they could not be successful. (United we stand, divided we fall.) At the time Adams knew this issue would eventually have to be addressed (as well as others such as Franklin.)

Sorry, the nickel was in the "American History" teacher slot. This is something we spend some time discussing in class. An example of how complex our history really is.

Yes, but read his "Notes on the History of Virginia", where he pretty much states that blacks are an inferior race to whites. Not cool.

you know coke has bottling plants all over the world, not just columbia, and I hate to say it the site given is more or less giving standard operating procedure of the public in Columbia. I just read a recent issue of Nat'l Geo on this. The currency of of columbia is cocaine base - no that not an figure of speech. Even doctors receive payment in cocaine base. You pay for car repairs, groceries, and hookers with it. Murder is common place all across columbia. People turning up missing, tortured and

We can't apply our standards on others, it's not a perfect world. Most corporations have to work within the corrupt system to even exist there. Alot of times they get in over their heads thinking they can do it leagally. Think how much worse the people would be if the plant wasn't there with the modest wages they get.

A friend of mine's sister went to china to adopt a kis, the adoption was only a few hundred dollars and a plan e ticket, they had to take $8000 just for bribes. Columbia is like that too only they will shoot ya.

Wow, that's something about the cocaine as currency. The world is so damn complicated!