Fingertoe.com

Apparently al-Jazeera only published the parts of the bin Laden tape that didn't help president Bush.

New York Post Online Edition: news

Officials said that in the 18-minute long tape — of which only six minutes were aired on the al-Jazeera Arab television network in the Middle East on Friday — bin Laden bemoans the recent democratic elections in Afghanistan and the lack of violence involved with it.

On the tape, bin Laden also says his terror organization has been hurt by the U.S. military's unrelenting manhunt for him and his cohorts on the Afghan-Pakistani border.
(emphasis mine)

Posted by at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Don Barbieri is running an add in which he mentions his opposition to the (not yet proposed) State Income Tax. I suspect that this is a clever way of being deceptive. A Congressman doesn't have any control over how the state taxes it's citizens. They only have (a microscopic amount) control over how the federal government taxes us.

By saying he opposes the State Income tax, he gives the impression that he opposes taxes, but he never says that.

Posted by at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

War is an imperfect science, but the Bush administration is actually doing pretty darn good all things considered. The Fourth Rail has a good disccusion about this tonight.

the fourth rail: The Politics of Failure

When we invaded Iraq, I figured we would be lucky to gain control of the country without losing 1000-1300 soldiers.. If Iraq had put up a sustained defence, I am certain we would have. We did incredibly well. It is still a war, and war is ugly. The fact that it is ugly doesn't mean that the Army or the President are failing to do their jobs.

It's not a video game, it is a war. In war, people try to kill, and sometimes they succeed.

Posted by at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Orson Scott Card is quite sharp.

World Watch - October 24, 2004 - Emotions, the Draft, UnBush, Black Voters, and Local Candidates - The Ornery American

Here's the gist of Kerry's secret plans: Whatever Bush did, Kerry would have done differently.

But what I don't get is: If Bush is out of office and Kerry is in, how will Kerry know what Bush would have done so that he can do the opposite?

Kerry has carefully created himself as the "UnBush." So in the absence of Bush, will Kerry continue to exist?

I think OSC may be the inventor of the Blogsphere.... Ender's Game had a substantial plotline about Ender's teenaged siblings gaining power and influence using technology like I am using now.

Posted by at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Bible Gateway : LUKE 16:13;

Luke 16

13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

WorldNetDaily: IRS: Churches can't pray for Bush victory

In this case, the government may not have passed a law prohibiting free exercise of religion, but they put out a good enough bribe to get people to compromise their beliefs.

I would like to see a flat value added tax replace our current income tax system. This would remove the IRS's power to censor churches.

I don't believe a church would be wise to endorse a specific candidate, but they should be free to discuss issues such as poverty, abortion, euthanasia, war, sexuality, and gambling without being censored

Unfortunately certain candidates choose a ton of unbiblical stances, and biblical knowledge is a powerful ad against these candidates.

Posted by at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Brian P. Golden is a three-term Democrat representing Boston in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He is a major in the Army Reserves and served on active duty with the U.S. peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and at the Pentagon during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Guess who he is endorsing for President???

Posted by at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Another win for the Bloggers over mainstream media. Somehow the highly trained journaists and all of their layers of fact checking failed to notice the impossiblity of 380 tons of explosives being hauled off by a few looters.

Captain's Quarters

Bottom line this operation would take the resources of AN ENTIRE COMPANY (approx. 100 men) OVER TWO WEEKS, good Intel to know exactly where the "right" explosives were hidden and a means of breaching huge steel doors and concrete of an ASP.

The Kerry campaign doesn't really care about the truth, and is shooting themselves in the foot by blaming Bush for this looting. According the NBC, when our troops arrived at this location, they found lots of weapons, but not the explosives in question. This was not looting, but a concerted efford by Saddam to hide or dispose of his weapons. It is likely that Saddam did this with other weapons as well. I would guess that the Iraqis have been moving weapons around for 12 years, and are actually quite good at it.

When the Democrats can blame Bush for losing weapons, it seems that they are happy to admit that Iraq had them. Otherwise, they say that there where no WMD in Iraq. Is the American Public really going to let them have it both ways?

Posted by at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Hog on Ice is chastizing Bush for Allowing Pearl Harbor to be bombed. (Sarcastically of course)

Almost every Kerry supporter I know blames Bush for at least one thing that is totaly beyond his control. I think every time I talk about the situation in the middle east with one of these people, they tell me that it is Bush's fault that we are dependant on oil. this is silly. It is not his fault that Saddam invaded Kuwait. It is not his fault that the UN inspections failed for 12 years. It is not his fault that Al Queda was not punished after bombing the Wolrd trade center in 93, Our embasies in Africa, the USS Cole.

Posted by at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Call me a conservative wacko, but this is way too wrong:

Horse baptised for church funds

Posted by at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I just returned from Redding CA... We flew into Sacremento, drove all the way up I-5 to Redding, and stayed in the Redding area for 2 whole days and drove back to the Sacremento airport.

During the entire trip I saw exactly 0 John Kerry signs. (And I looked)

Posted by at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I didn't think it would ever happen, but Michael Moore admitted that Bush didn't lie about something!

Stop slacking off, Moore tells nonvoters - The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA

"There's a reason that they're saying Kerry is the No. 1 liberal in the Senate," said Moore. "It's because he is the No. 1 liberal in the Senate."

Posted by at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Yahoo! News - Americans Going to Canada for Flu Shots

I think this whole flu shot is being blown way out of porportion.

The human race endured for thousands of years before the advent of the Flu shot.

The media indicates that x number of seniors die each year from the flu. It doesn't indicate what percentage of these seniors where vaccinated however. The evidence seems to show that vaccines don't work too well on people with poor immune systems. Of course it is the people with poor immune systems who are most likely to be killed by the flu.

VACCINE RISK AWARENESS NETWORK - "Flu Shots...Do They Really Work?"

Influenza vaccine efficacy drops to 30-40% among the elderly, this group being the main "target" for flu shots. CDC attributes lack of influenza vaccine efficacy in the elderly to their "decreased immunologic response." (6, 7)

Past studies of Type A (H3N2) influenza vaccine in nursing home patients yielded an average of only 27% efficacy, with four studies demonstrating vaccine efficacy at 0, 2, 8 and 9% (6). Poor vaccine efficacy can even occur when the vaccine virus is "essentially identical" to that causing the outbreak (5). For influenza B vaccine, studies range from 0% to 36% effective, averaging 21% (6).

It seems to me that much of the problem with the flu shot shortage stems from the centralized purchasing of vaccines by the goverment. Awarding these huge contracts limits the number of companies that can compete in this market, and as a result we are highly dependant on few vendors.

Posted by at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out Ashley's Story if you have not seen it. This is what a campaign ad should be.

Posted by at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Lots of good discussion about how taxes, the welfare system and the like relates to faith.

Radical Congruency » Jesus on Income Redistribution

Posted by at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Idaho won by 13 points!

Yahoo! Sports - NCAA Football - Box Score

Posted by at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Today I heard a Democratic negative radio spot criticizing gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi for opposing efforts to normalize trade with Cuba.

The odd thing about this is that the Cuban normalization's biggest proponent was Republican Senatorial candidate George Nethercutt. He got legislation past over the objections of the republican leadership and the republican president allowing some trade with Cuba. When Castro didn't buy, Nethercutt went down and had a chat with him and eventually Castro did begin purchasing our ag products again.

It is odd that the Democrats would highlight one of the crown jewels of Nethercutt's congressional career. Rossi's position on this is quite irrelevant really. Without the hard work of Nethercutt, there wouldn't have even been an issue to be either side of. The embargo is a federal issue, not a state issue. The Ad did a good job of laying out all of the reasons that Nethercutt's work was beneficial to Washington state.

Posted by at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

My Way News

The vice president stated no objection when Edwards, a North Carolina senator, brought up Mary Cheney during their debate last week. Edwards expressed "respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing."

Cheney thanked his opponent for the "kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."

What that leaves out is that quote was the entire statement Cheney made.. He didn't use any time to discuss the issue. He didn't want to go there. Plus, Edwards didn't try to cram words into the mouth of Mary Cheney. I would venture a guess the Kerry has never had a conversation of any depth with her. There are pleanty of other examples he could have used.

Posted by at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Google finally has a service that should deal effectively with my disorganization.

About Google Desktop Search

Over the last few years I have realized how much time and energy we waste filing everything. Half of the time I go to find something that I know I have seen before, and I have to look 4-5 places before I finally find it.

Seems silly to me that we have to file everything when there are search engines out there that can index the entire worldwide web and deliver search results within seconds.

For a while now I have been forwarding stuff that I want to remember to my gmail account. I then can search this data by keyword later.

Google's desktop looks like the solution I have been looking for except for one minor detail - I only see a Windows version...

Posted by at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I think Kerry made to mistakes in yesterday's debate.

One was capitalizing on Cheney's Daughter's sexual orientation. If she wants to discuss this she is free to do so. For him to speculate about what she would say is inappropriate. It should be her choice. Cheney obviously was not comfortable discussing this in the VP debate. I have not seen his daughter parading in the spotlight, and I would assume that is by choice. Kerry is insensitive to take that choice away from her.

The "Marrying up more than others" comment was awkward and potentially insensitive. There are too many ways to take this, and none of them are positive.

Kerry's character is a key issue for his campaign. I agree with his mother. Integrity, integrity, integrity. I think he comes accross as an opportunist, and somebody willing to say what it takes to get elected. This is not integrity.

Bush on the other hand does what he says, and says what he does, whether people like it or not. this is integrity. Kerry would have been wise not to call attention to this issue.

Posted by at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now the real fun begins. I don't think the debates are going to decide the election.

Now is prime time for dirty tricks. I think that Kerry is a distinct disadvantage in this department of the campaign. The issue is twofold. 1, everyone knows that Bush was a sinner, and 2 all of his closets have been thouroghly searched. The DWI charge in the 2000 election didn't break his campaign. I don't think character is as heavily weighted an issue on the incumbant. We already know him, and like him or hate him.

Kerry's problem as I see it is that his skeletons are not well hidden. When you go before the Senate and accuse people of systematic rape, it doesn't take a dirty trick to use that against you. The POW anti-Kerry crowd is going to now be louder than ever. They are discussing the repurcussions of actions that everyone knows the Kerry took, so there is no room to dismiss them as liars like the Swift boat vets where.

It will be interesting to see if Kerry's military records get pried out. I would suspect that he was not attending his reserve drills and stuff when he was so busy traveling the country protesting. All of the Texas Air National Guard stuff could really hurt Kerry if it turns out that he was just as guilty as Bush. The president has been wise to avoid Kerry's military record, but Kerry did make some comments that could turn out to be quite hypocritical if he didn't fullfill his service. You would think that if this dishonorable discharge story had wings, it would have flown by now, especially with the way the Vets have lined up against him. But if It doesn't have wings, why doesn't Kerry just sign the form 180 that allows his military records to be released? He must be hiding something.

Posted by at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This stuff is definately worth listening to.

Stolen Honor: Documentary

There is no denying the things the John Kerry said in 1971 about Veitnam Vet's systematically commiting rape and murder.

The Swift boat vets could be doubted. But these guys are telling of the effects that John Kerry's actions had on them. There is no room for debate here. Kerry said what he said, and these folks hate him for it. If you listen, you will understand why.

Kerry can't dispute these allegations. We have all heard what he said in 1971. There is no way he can say these guys are politically motivated. Their anger is too real, too well placed, and to reasonable. The only way to fend off this message is to take away these patriotic American's first amendment rights to tell us what they think of John Kerry and why.

Posted by at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Wizbang

He should be ashamed of himself.

Posted by at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

This is good news I think:

Yahoo! News - Supreme Court to Hear Commandments Case

It seems to me that if you can take a science fiction writer's teachings and make a religion out of it, as people have done with L. Ron Hubbard, and some are attepting to do with George Lucas then all secular writings should be banned as well.

Every writing comes from a worldview. All worldviews either include some form of God, or exclude some form of God. It is impossible to discuss moral issues and issues of justice without having a worldview.

I don't think that there is much of America left that values the 10 commandments. Adultry is not a crime. Coveting is a core American value. It is difficult to honor the father and mother who are absent, or unknown. We are expected to lie nearly all of the time. Most every business is open on the sabbath. It is considered intolorant if you don't accept that there are other Gods who are equally worshipable. I would guess that the vast majority of the time that the Lord's name is used in this country, it is being used in place of a swear word.

America seems to look at the 10 commandments as a checklist of rebelous actions to take.

Putting up a monument does not a religion establish.

Posted by at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am too heavy. Need to lose weight.

I am pretty sure that the reason I am too heavy is that I eat too much. (And eat mostly junk)

So here is attempt 1 at dieting, Josh style. Every time I eat, I will blog. To save my regular readers the agony of the boring posts, they will be at Josh Eats

Check it out occasionally and scold me. My theory is that if I have to blog it, I will think twice about eating it..

Posted by at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Question on Iraq....

Seems to me, that we are not out manned in Iraq. If we see a target and we want to take it out, we have every capability to get the job done. We are also very capable of defending the key installations that keep the march towards democracy on track.

Soldiers are getting killed by sneaky individuals using car bombs and the like, not by overwelming manpower.

If we send extra troops to Iraq, wouldn't that just put more targets in the feild for the enemy to strike at?

Posted by at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Captain, I'm Picking Up Liberals... | Gadgetopia

The app connects out to the FundRace.org campaign fundraising database, and provides a Democrat/Republican Geiger Counter that reads the political leanings for whereever you are.

Apparently you can now use your GPS celphones to tell you the political leanings of your location! Wacky!

Posted by at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Orson Scott Card always has something interesting and compelling to say.

World Watch - September 26, 2004 - Is Iraq a "Mess"? Who Is Recruiting for Osama? - The Ornery American

Sometimes a President chooses wrong. That's inevitable. Much of a President's job is guesswork, based on the best available information. But as long as we aren't electing prophets to be President, we'll end up with presidents who make human errors, and who have advisers who also make errors -- despite their best effort.

Hindsight means nothing to me. We need a vision for the future. Bad things have happened, and will continue to happen.

Whining about history does nothing to improve the future. What kind of leader would Bush be if he was allways spewing half empty analysis of the situation like Kerry does?

The Democrats are angry at the president for not accepting his mistakes. I don't know what good would come from pointing out your weaknesses to your enemies.

Posted by at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Well, the Northwest Cable news channel has finally stopped the all-volcano all the time coverage.

My big question is this: After seeing what happened in 1980, why would 3000 people crowd the park to see what will happen this time? If it is 1/8th the explosion of 1980 won't they at the very least be buried in several inches of Ash? I was a good 200 miles from the last eruption, and I remember it shutting everything down for quite a long time.

I too would like to see the explosion. Perhaps from a good safe vantage point like Mt. Hood Oregon..

Posted by at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Idaho is no longer 0 for.... This weekend they defeated the mighty Eastern Michigan Eagles!

Yahoo! Sports - NCAA Football - Box Score

Time for the confrence scedule now

Posted by at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

The Guardian quotes Justice Scalia as saying "I even take the position that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged."

Sex creates tension. It doesn't releve it. I agree with Scalia on most issues. I hope he clearifies this statement. Sex without permenent commitment is nearly always destructive to the psyche and to the soul. It is something that can never be undone.

Update. As I should have suspected, this quote was taken out of context... Here is SfGate's version of the quote:

"Let me make it clear that the problem I am addressing is not the social evil of the judicial dispositions I have described. I accept, for the sake of argument, for example, that sexual orgies eliminate social tension and ought to be encouraged," Scalia said with a smile.

Posted by at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments ()