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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Negative Commandments

To my surprise, the negative commandments were a rout for the Democrats (much like the November elections.) They won 30 - 17. (and yes all the fallacies from before are still in place here)

I say I was surprised, because politics, I suppose, has conditioned me to think of the negative commandments largely in terms of sex. This is false. As with the positive commands, the overwhelming majority of the negatives are today irrelevant; those that are not, largely have to do with how we're supposed to treat each other.

Before I continue, please take note of the methodology/critieria. As before, I am NOT attempting to determine which political philosophyhy best fits a given command; rather, I am asking one simple question: Which party is more likely to support this commandment as a matter of law or public policy. I am also not drawing any conclusions, or attempting to prove any point, save this: The idea that any one part is more bible-based than the other is absurd when 90 percent of what the Bible tells us is 100 percent irrelevant to Americans living in 2007.

GOP
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N267 A hired laborer not eating growing crops Anti-labor=GOP
N268 A hired laborer not putting of the harvest in his own vessel Ditto
N277 Judge not to decide in favor of poor man, out of pity The Dems, of course, aren't in favor of this, but they are far less likely than the GOP to write this into law
N278 Judge not to pervert justice against person of evil repute Ditto
N279 Judge not to pity one who has killed or caused loss of limb Ditto
N280 Judge not perverting justice due to proselytes or orphans Ditto
N284 Not appointing an unlearned judge Ditto
N286 Judge not to receive a wicked man's testimony Ditto
N312 Not to differ from traditional authorities
N316 Not to curse a ruler It only helps the terrorists
N318 Not cursing parents Another one that Dems wouldn't protest, but also wouldn't spearhead.
N348 Men may not lie with beasts The next six are bread and butter GOP ideas, and, unfortunately, they are what gives the GOP the reputation for being "bible-based" and "God-fearing." As I hope this exercise has show, that rep isn't deserved.
N349 Women may not lie with beasts
N350 A man may not lie carnally with another man
N355 Not having relations with a woman without marriage
N351 A man may not lie carnally with his father
N352 A man may not lie carnally with his father's brother

Democrats
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N210 Not to reap all harvest without leaving a corner for the poor The next 6 form the sort of social welfare programs no respectable Republican would ever support.
N211 Not to gather ears of corn that fell during harvesting
N212 Not to gather the whole produce of vineyard at vintage time
N213 Not to gather single fallen grapes during the vintage
N214 Not to return for a forgotten sheaf
N219 Not preventing a beast from eating the produce where working Pro-animal rights=Dems.
N232 Failing to give charity to our needy brethren Some Republicans are very generous, but no Republican wants generosity to be mandated by law, as the Torah requires. Apply this comment to the next 10 items, as well
N233 Not sending a Hebrew bondman away empty-handed
N234 Not demanding payment from a debtor known unable to pay
N235 Not lending at interest
N236 Not borrowing at interest
N237 Not participating in a loan at interest
N238 Not oppressing an employee by delaying payment of his wages
N239 Not taking a pledge from a debtor by force
N240 Not keeping a needed pledge from its owner
N241 Not taking a pledge from a widow
N242 Not taking food utensils in pledge

N251 Not wronging one another by speech Speech codes, for better or worse, are a creation of the left.
N252 Not wronging a proselyte by speech Ditto
N256 Not dealing harshely with orphans and widows Special protection for a vulnerable group? Not in George Bush's America
N257 Not employing a Hebrew bondman in degrading tasks
The Republican says: if the contract calls for you to be degraded than degraded you shall be
N270 Not leaving a person who is trapped under his burden A manly Republican takes care of himself.
N281 Judge not to listen to one litigant in absence of the other If it helps the accused, it belongs to the left.
N282 A court may not convict by a majority of one in a capital case
Ditto

N288 Not convicting on the testimony of a single witness Ditto
N290 No capital punishment based on circumstantial evidence Ditto
N298 Not leaving obstacles on public or private domain The GOP oppose regulations on public domains, and says you can do as you please in your private domain, (so long as it isn't gay sex.)
N300 Not inflicting excessive corporal punishment It helps the accused; therefore it's lefty
N306 Not to take the entire bird's nest (mother and young) Its nice to animals; therefore its lefty

I'll try to sum up later on.

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