Random thoughts on our founding fathers

Some thoughts upon reading Jill Lepore's book, "The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle over American History":

1) In 1787 President Adams submitted and the Senate ratified unanimously the Treaty of Tripoli that ended the war with the Barbary pirates. Article 11 states:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

2) Sarah Palin caused a stir last month when she offered a bizarre summary of Paul Revere's ride:

"He who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed."

She had spoken before about Paul Revere's ride. From Lepore's book:

The former governor of Alaska arrived. She grabbed hold of the microphone. "I love Boston," she said. It's the town that the Sons of Liberty called home." She spoke of the city's history: "You're sounding the warning bell just like what happened in that midnight run and just like with that original tea party back in 1773."

The ringing of the bells seems to be important in her mind. This time she implied correctly that it was the city (of Lexington actually) that rang the warning bells rather than Paul Revere. But Sarah, "Midnight Run" is a movie starring Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin. "Ride" is the word you're looking for.