Thomas Jefferson and the Reign of Witches

Garrison Keillor just read this on A Prairie Home Companion. From one of Thomas Jefferson's letters:

A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches passover, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight,restore their government to it's true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war & long oppressions of enormous public debt. But who can say what would be the evils of a scission, and when & where they would end? Better keep togetheras we are, hawl off from Europe as soon as we can, & from all attachments to any portions of it. And if we feel their power just sufficiently to hoop us together, it will be the happiest situation in which we can exist. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, & then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost,for this is a game where principles are the stake. Better luck, therefore, to us all; and health, happiness, & friendly salutations to yourself.

Adieu.

Thomas Jefferson

P. S. It is hardly necessary to caution you to let nothing of mine get before the public. A single sentence, got hold of by the Porcupines, will suffice to abuse & persecute me in their papers for months.

The Porcupines?

UPDATE 11-09-04: So, Babs Streisand has posted the same passage on her site? But she edits out that part about "hawling off from Europe." She probably felt that you, dear reader, weren't sophisticated enough to put the quote into historical context. Because she's an elitist! But the important point is: I give credit to Garrison Keillor. I am not about to try to fool you into thinking that I'm the type of guy that has random Jeffersonian quotes rattling around my brain ready to trip off my tongue the second I sense a corollary to these troubled times. No, I'm more likey to come up with a quote from Star Wars.

Like Princess Leia regarding the Bush Iraq Plan:

"This is some rescue- when you came in here didn't you have a plan for getting out?"