Jade's weblog

Mr. Obama also has the highest approval rating of any major candidate among independents, 62 percent, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. He also has unusually low negatives, which gives him upside potential."

Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll.

The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.

Scary statistics.

Via Joel Aufrecht

Some side-effects: victims may come forward more, because they know it will be out of their hands once they make the initial allegation. Or they may come forward less, because they won't want their abuser to be arrested.

I was glad the article pointed out that people can make false reports.

Do people realize what these laws do?

I  need some advice,  regarding some  elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

• Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
• I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
• I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual un-cleanliness Lev.15:19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
• When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
• I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
• A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
• Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
• Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
• I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear pig skin gloves?
• My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-

  Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.   Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your grateful student,

The public is beginning to recognize—with increasing clarity—that the policies of President Bush and the right wing are simply failing America. That's why the right wing's rhetoric seems to be growing more divorced from reality every day.

They invoke "security" even as their catastrophic war of choice in Iraq makes American and Iraqi citizens less safe. They talk "opportunity," but practice tax cuts for the few and pay cuts for the many. They parade "compassion," even while our country suffers a record increase in poverty and job loss.

The right wing can't hide their dismal failures forever! Help cut through their smoke and mirrors, and pave the way for progressive solutions that genuinely serve the American people!

rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/project/c04/c04_dnc072704_obama.rm
Obama's keynote address.

Or, here's the text of Obama's speech at the convention. I recommend you watch the video, however.

Here's the Obama for Illinois webpage, and here's the Obama Blog.

My main objections:

- The main arguments against going to war in Iraq is not that Iraq would never have been a threat (there are potentially many threats out there) -- the argument is that it was a huge and dangerous distraction from a very real threat: al-Qaeda. If al-Qaeda attacks us again, should we attack another country that might someday be a threat, or should we attack al-Qaeda? We should have put 120 thousand troops in Afghanistan, instead of Iraq. We let bin Laden go.

- Your argument about this not being a war for oil by saying that we haven't invaded Venezuela would be more persuasive if the US hadn't been involved in a coup in Venezuela during the Bush administration.

Google on this:

United States coup venezuela


We may yet accomplish good things in Iraq. But if al-Qaeda succeeds in another major attack against the US, that will be the price.

Oh, and there's also the additional problem that Iraq has become a huge propaganda machine for anti-Americanism. Al-Qaeda is terrifically happy that we've invaded Iraq. Numerous reports have said that we're losing the war on terror, because we're not attacking the problem at its source, but instead focusing on a distraction.