Scalia: It Is A Lie That Gov't Cannot Favor Religion Over Secularism

[happyslug]

45. Linen was the preferred paper, they were transferred to parchment only later if at all

Linen had been the preferred paper since the 1300s when it reached Europe (China had it since before the time of Christ, but kept the production of it secret till the Mongol Conquest).

As to quill pens, you had ways to write down such debates even at that time period. Using a Quill and pen is NOT that hard ONCE YOU GET USE TO IT. Later Congresses, still in the Quill pen period, did produce transcript of what was said in any debate. Thus it could be done and had been done, but the first transcriber had been a Federalist Hack who obtain the position through connections NOT competency.

As to Jefferson letter of 1819, it is hard to give it any weight to what the First Amendment was intended to be. Jefferson was in Paris at the time seeing the French Revolution first hand. The French did NOT embrace separation of Church and State till 1905 (and that decision seems more as an attack on the Pope for his actions at that time period NOT for any real move to seperate church from state). Thus how much weight do you give a private letter from a person NOT involved in the actual writing of the Bill of Rights?

I blame Grant, if he had NOT used that quote in 1875 when he asked for an Amendment to prohibit public support for any schools run by any religion, that phase would be dead today, but Grant revived it and used it and it entered into the American Lexicon as what the First Amendment is suppose to say, when it does not.