Slim pickings

The Jewish Daily Forward reports a new poll finding 62% of US Jews supporting Obama, the same percentage as this time in 2008 (Obama ended up with 78% of the Jewish vote):

The reason for Democrats’ strong showing in the poll, which was released April 3, lies in deeply rooted views of American Jews on social issues, including traditional liberal stances on improving the economy and reducing the gap between rich and poor.

“Whoever wants to appeal to Jewish voters has to go through social values,” said Robert Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, the not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that conducted the survey. “Our poll shows that you cannot appeal to these voters through the single issue of Israel.”

Also from the Forward, 81% of American Jews favor same-sex marriage (up from 76% a year ago). As I've been saying, it's just not Jewish to be conservative; it's really part of the religion.

Research suggests almost three-quarters of Jewish contributions go to non-religious causes. Jews disproportionately give to meet basic human needs like food and shelter. (Jewish World News)

As violence in Syria spills helplessly over the Turkish border, I can't help thinking about Tanzania's invasion of Idi Amin's Uganda and Vietnam's invasion of "Democratic Kampuchea", both in 1978. Do you suppose that's how this dreadful story ends as well, with the Turkish army mopping up the Assad regime? And a quieter and comfier, Sunni, dictatorship for a couple of decades? Would that be a good thing? (I know it would be better than a US invasion, but that's not saying a lot...)

No, not even slightly like this. (From Edmund Spencer's Turkey, Russia, the Black Sea, and Circassia, 1855. Wikimedia Commons.)

Wisconsin repealed their equal pay law last week, on the grounds that there's no need for it;

Repealing the law was a no-brainer for state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R), who led the effort because of his belief that pay discrimination is a myth driven by liberal women’s groups....

When [Daily Beast reporter Michelle Goldberg] ran the numbers by him, he replied, “The American Association of University Women is a pretty liberal group.” Nor, he argued, does its conclusion take into account other factors, like “goals in life. You could argue that money is more important for men.”