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Showing posts from June, 2005
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I was born under the sign of Jupiter, on a Wednesday. Hmmmmm. The Talmud (Tractate Shabbos) on Astrology Zodiac Whether Mazal depends on the day of the week, or the path of the planets: Shabbat 156a [Im-]Permissibility of using an astrologer: Shabbat 156b, Pesachim 113b [See Rashbam] The paths and hours of the planets: R. Shabbat 129b "DeKayyma" Considering varieties of eclipses to be ominous: Succah 29a Considering the Sun to be emblematic of the nations of the world, and the Moon to be emblematic of the Jews: Succah 29a One born under the sign of the Sun will be radiant and self-sufficient, and will hold no secrets: Shabbat 156a One born under the sign of the Moon will suffer bad occurrences, will destroy and build, will build and destroy, will live off of others, and will have secrets: Shabbat 156a One born under the sign of Mercury will be wise and radiant: Shabbat 156a One born under the sign of Venus will be rich and adulterous: Shabbat 156a One born under the sign of M
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The Universal Cure By EZEKIEL J. EMANUEL and VICTOR R. FUCHS The public has good reason to be worried about health coverage. After five years of relative stability, insurance premiums, prescription-drug prices and other costs have soared. This year, premiums went up nearly 14 percent, with those paid by employees increasing nearly 50 percent since 2000. The number of Americans without health insurance increased more than 5 percent just in the last year. And strikes by workers in Los Angeles and elsewhere showed that health coverage is the flashpoint of labor discord. As a solution, many policymakers are advocating small reforms like a Medicare prescription drug benefit and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Unfortunately, more services for some groups may increase costs and force reductions in coverage for others. What we need is a fair proposal that is simple, efficient and appealing to disparate constituencies. For more than a decade, as members of the medical
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Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image By BOB MOSER It's February, and 900 of America's staunchest Christian fundamentalists have gathered in Fort Lauderdale to look back on what they accomplished in last year's election -- and to plan what's next. As they assemble in the vast sanctuary of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, with all fifty state flags dangling from the rafters, three stadium-size video screens flash the name of the conference: Reclaiming America for Christ. These are the evangelical activists behind the nation's most effective political machine -- one that brought more than 4 million new Christian voters to the polls last November, sending George W. Bush back to the White House and thirty-two new pro-lifers to Congress. But despite their unprecedented power, fundamentalists still see themselves as a persecuted minority, waging a holy war against the godless forces of secularism. To rouse themselves, they kick off the festivi
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Evangelical Children's Novels Push Conversion of 'Spiritually Empty' Jews By Eric J. Greenberg They are among the most popular children's books on the market today, inspired by the evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series, which features gory depictions of the annihilation of Jews and other nonbelievers at Armageddon. "Left Behind: The Kids," an ongoing series aimed at evangelical Christian children ages 10 to 14, revolves around the adventures of evangelical teenagers who band together to form the "Young Tribulation Force," a group dedicated to overcoming physical and spiritual dangers brought on by the End of Days. With 40 titles and counting, the series has sold 11 million copies. It is published by Illinois-based Tyndale House Publishers and based on the original best-selling "Left Behind" books, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which the company says have sold more than 60 million copies. A new report has found that
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Kill Your Blogs By Richard Leader One can tell a lot about a society by the way its citizens try to attract a mate: a decade ago, the most popular career listed by 20 and 30-somethings in personal ads was that of “web developer,” most often a euphemism for being otherwise or underemployed; their peers with real IT jobs were all too busy partying it up in Soho to bother with something as quaint as a personal ad. Today, in the post dot-bomb era, young and not so young people looking for love in a stagnant economy politely refer to themselves as “ writers .” This newfound love for the world of words seems to fly in the face of objective reality. A study conducted by the NEA found that the percentage of Americans who read literature has declined by seven points over roughly that same time period. And the rate of that decline is growing sharply, with men especially turning away from such genres: only one-third of American men still read literature of any sort, even when allowing for the wid
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GOP Chairman Walks Out of Meeting By Jim Abrams -- The Associated Press Washington - The Republican chairman walked off with the gavel, leaving Democrats shouting into turned-off microphones at a raucous hearing Friday on the Patriot Act. The House Judiciary Committee hearing, with the two sides accusing each other of being irresponsible and undemocratic, came as President Bush was urging Congress to renew those sections of the post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism law set to expire in September. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the panel, abruptly gaveled the meeting to an end and walked out, followed by other Republicans. Sensenbrenner declared that much of the testimony, which veered into debate over the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, was irrelevant. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., protested, raising his voice as his microphone went off, came back on, and went off again. "We are not besmirching the honor of the United States, we are trying to uphold it," he said. Democra
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From Saccharine to Satire A brief history of the television bar mitzvah. BY Mark Oppenheimer In The Chosen Image: Television's Portrayal of Jewish Themes and Characters (1999), Jonathan and Judith Pearl argue that, although Hollywood movies tend to depict the bar and bat mitzvah as trivial or materialistic ( The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The Wedding Singer , the Ben Stiller role in Starsky & Hutch ), television has taken a far more nuanced approach: "Often great pains are taken to explain the meaning of the ceremony, its importance to the family, and its significance in Jewish life." They're right, but that doesn't tell the whole story. For the first, say, 30 years of television, it was a far more cautious medium than the cinema. It either didn't treat the religious aspect of people's lives (there were no b'nai mitzvah on, say, The Goldbergs), or it treated religion with an earnestness that would make us squirm today. By the 1980s, it was a
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BY DEREK ROSE -- DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER The federal government can bust sick people who smoke pot on doctor's orders, a divided Supreme Court decided yesterday. The 6-3 ruling was a setback for efforts to let patients legally use marijuana to alleviate the effects of chemotherapy, chronic pain, AIDS and other ailments. (M.S., Glaucoma, Cancer) Two sick California women, who brought the case against the federal government after having their pot seized in 2002, said they'd keep smoking it. "I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing," said Angel Raich, 39, of Oakland, who smokes marijuana to cope with seizures, a brain tumor, nausea and pain. "I don't really have a choice but to, because if I stop using cannabis, I would die." California and nine other states allow patients to grow and smoke pot with a doctor's recommendation. Yesterday's ruling means patients in those states can now be arrested by federal authorities. Justice Department
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FINALLY!!! AT MY LOCAL CONVENIENCE STORE: OOOOOOOOOO SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE AT LAST I'VE FOUND YOU!!!
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Does a person have only one potential soul-mate? The soul has five levels: nefesh , ruach , neshama , chaya , yechida . Each level can enliven a body. Thus, there may be several possible 'zivugim,' soul-mates, for a particular person. This depends on which level of the soul needs to be rectified in a particular lifetime.
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Ease U.S. restrictions on stem cell research Four years ago, when President Bush placed severe restrictions on the types of embryonic stem cell research eligible for federal funding, he made it tougher for scientists to pursue potentially life-saving medical advancements. That was a mistake. This week Congress has an opportunity to start correcting that mistake by passing legislation that would ease up on the federal funding restrictions. Wisconsin's congressional delegation should support the legislation, even over a threatened presidential veto. The outcome of the debate on federal support for stem cell research is especially important to Wisconsin. UW- Madison is home to James Thomson, the pioneer in human embryonic stem cell research, and the university remains a leader in the field. The research has the potential to become the foundation of a biotechnology industry that could contribute mightily to the state's economy. But the economic significance to Wisconsin pales in co
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[I've] been over what I'm supposed to say and I've got to tell you, it's pretty persuasive stuff, but is it the whole truth? It's a slice of truth, a morsel, a fraction. It's a piece of the pie, certainly not the whole enchilada, and now that I've been thinking about it, I don't think I could tell the whole truth about anything. That's a pretty heavy burden, because we all just view the world through this little piece of coke bottle. Is there such a thing as objective truth? I wonder. - Jeff Melvoin I have purposely avoiding speaking my politics on this blog. Despite being a bit of a political junkie, I wanted to keep it about spirituality and other things that interest me - but there is something going on in my America. Something insidious, frightening and I am not longer able to stay quiet. That is the movement of the Far Religious Right into the heart and soul of our Government. Either blatant or via shadow organizations. Additionally, as someone