The religious war has begun

Poll: Nearly half of Americans for limiting Muslim-Americans' rights
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — 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.

Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.

"It's sad news. It's disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. "The nation is at war, even if it's not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface."

The survey found 44% favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.

The survey showed that 27% of respondents supported requiring all Muslim-Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29% thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and fund-raising.

Cornell student researchers questioned 715 people in the nationwide telephone poll conducted this fall. The margin of error was 3.6 percentage points.

James Shanahan, an associate professor of communications who helped organize the survey, said the results indicate "the need for continued dialogue about issues of civil liberties" in a time of war.

While researchers said they were not surprised by the overall level of support for curtailing civil liberties, they were startled by the correlation with religion and exposure to television news.

"We need to explore why these two very important channels of discourse may nurture fear rather than understanding," Shanahan said.

According to the survey, 37% believe a terrorist attack in the United States is still likely within the next 12 months. In a similar poll conducted by Cornell in November 2002, that number stood at 90%.

That was not cool at all, and thank you Marty for the tip.

In other news, the AP is reporting that Simon Rosenberg will not let Iowa and New Hampshire go first.

WASHINGTON - If Simon Rosenberg decides to run for Democratic Party chairman, he won't be able to count on much support from Iowa and New Hampshire.

"Iowa and New Hampshire should not go first in the primary calendar, and we need to create a system that allows other states to have equal footing," said Rosenberg, president and founder of the New Democrat Network, a centrist issue advocacy organization based in Washington.

"I have no problem with Iowa and New Hampshire being part of the early states, but their days as the sole arbiters of who our nominee is should come to an end," he said Friday.

The 41-year-old Democratic activist wants states with more diversity and from different regions of the country to have more of a role. Rosenberg plans to announce after the holidays whether he will run for Democratic chairman.

The Democratic National Committee formed a 40-member panel a week ago to study whether to shake up the dominance that Iowa and New Hampshire hold in presidential nominations.