I have said before that I am no fan of the electoral college and that statement would stand irrespective of the results of the 2000 presidential election. Unlike Unqualified Offerings, I am more of a small-d democrat than a small-r republican. One of the most exasperating things about the electoral college is that different states… Continue reading Electoral College Modifications
Year: 2004
Ramazan and Breastfeeding
Ramazan, the month of fasting, is starting or has already started based on where you live and who you believe. Since Amber is breastfeeding Michelle nowadays, what better topic to discuss for Ramazan than pregnant and breastfeeding moms? Let’s start with some amusement from an Islam-Online chat. Question: My question is : “Is it allowed… Continue reading Ramazan and Breastfeeding
Voting Rights History
Since the election is only 3 weeks away, I was wondering about the history of voting rights in the US. As I understand it, in the early days of the United States, voting was limited to white men who also held property. However, as today, the laws then also varied by state. So the first… Continue reading Voting Rights History
Missing Her
I am watching the debate right now, but instead of live-blogging the debate, I am missing my daughter. Since Michelle was born, I haven’t been away from her for more than a few hours. But now I am out of town for 2 days. So I am missing Michelle a lot. Amber tells me Michelle… Continue reading Missing Her
Vice Presidential Debate
Here are some scattered thoughts on yesterday’s debate between Cheney and Edwards. It is difficult to watch a debate when one’s baby is being fussy. As a corollary, consoling the baby is more important than watching two politicians talk. Dick Cheney definitely lived up to his name. Cheney lied about every 30 seconds. Since Cheney… Continue reading Vice Presidential Debate
Vote for Syed Kerry
Hey, American Muslims, vote for a Syed. “New research by Burke’s Peerage reveals that Mr. Kerry is the only presidential candidate in U.S. history who has genealogical descent from Muslims, Jews and Christians.” Mr. Kerry is kinsman of the Shi’ite shahs of Persia (the most famous was Shah Abbas I, who reigned from 1587 to… Continue reading Vote for Syed Kerry
Passion and Death of Jesus Christ: Comparing the Movie with the Gospels I
Some months ago, Zack and I watched the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. Zack wanted me to say a few words about the movie on the blog. I recently decided that late is better than never in this regard. So… In this first installment of my comparison between the movie and the Gospels, I… Continue reading Passion and Death of Jesus Christ: Comparing the Movie with the Gospels I
Self Employment Help Needed
Does anyone know what all is involved in being self-employed? I am particularly interested in the tax aspects. It seems that a self-employed person has to send checks to the IRS multiple times in a year. Is that true? Another important issue is health insurance. How can one get individual health insurance? Are there many… Continue reading Self Employment Help Needed
Presidential Debate
In my obviously biased opinion, Kerry did better than Bush. But I don’t think any one of them convinced many undecided voters…
Legal Torture
Obsidian Wings has a very important post about a bill in Congress which will allow the US to legally send suspected terrorists to any country for torture. The Republican leadership of Congress is attempting to legalize extraordinary rendition. “Extraordinary rendition” is the euphemism we use for sending terrorism suspects to countries that practice torture for… Continue reading Legal Torture