Other sites

I’ve had some time to surf and found some interesting websites:

• One People’s Project: an active anti-racist site. I get an oblique mention there.
• Citizens against Hate. On Thursday evenings, they have a podcast that is worth listening to.
• Sorry Everybody website. Photos of folks who were dismayed at the outcome of the 2004 Presidential election.

There is one blog of interest that I don’t wish to link to. If you want to go there, you can find a link from here; scroll midway down to the KKK guy’s response. (yep, THAT KKK) Yes, the site that that site links to is a site that contains standard “hate” speech, but the author of that blog has a skilled poison pen. I detest his point of view, but admire his writing skill.

Ok, and I really hesistate to do this. So, I’ll come out and say it. I was totally against the Iraq war. I don’t like illegal immigration (I am a play by the rules guy), though I think that we ought to target big business who make it a point to not pay American workers a fair wage and instead try to hire illegals. And yes, I oppose President Bush.

But look who takes some (and I mean some) of the same stands, and supports Ron Paul for President: David Duke. (yes, I love his version of the Support the Troops yellow ribbon).

No, I don’t support Ron Paul; I support Barack Obama and any of the other “big three” plus Richardson. But there was a time where I at least said “hey, why don’t I give Paul’s campaign a few bucks since he seems to have a sensible Iraq war policy”. Do I ever regret saying that now! THAT is a peril of being too “one issue” minded.

Stange times make for some strange bedfellows, at least on isolated, and I mean isolated issues.

Now for some interesting flics:

John Edwards

Redstate update on political independents

Barack Obama in San Antonio

Before you dismiss this as fluff, what he said about the crowds is right; we had a crowd of 17,000 in 7 F weather to watch him in Springfield.

Hillary Clinton, showing her leadership instinct. This is an older video, but this best expresses her appeal.

1 July, 2007

Workout notes 11 miles, most on the hike and bike; 100% walking, mostly a 13:30-14:00 minutes per mile. It was warm; there were many others out.

This course features a tough 2 mile climb at the end.

Later this week I am to sub for my yoga teacher, hence I need to practice my routine.

Last June 2007 Saturday

Running and walking: my downhill progression.

1982, Moblie Alabama, as a young Ensign running my only sub 40 minute 10K (39:50)
(Bill Rodgers won in just under 29 minutes)

2000, Madison Half Marathon (now called the Mad City Half Marathon)

2007, FANS 24 hour walk (badly undertrained)

Oh well; at least I am still moving forward.

Some other bloggers worth reading:

Dus7 talks about growth of new neurons, marijuana and its role in combating depression. The article is short and well referenced.

Recursivity talks about how religious fundamentalism can lead someone to think that committing genocide is a good thing (think: the book of Joshua in the Bible)

Yes, I know, Mao, Stalin and Pol-Pot were atheists, but Adolf Hitler was a Roman Catholic and never completely went away from theism. And he had support from the church, at least in Germany.

Sam Harris: writes a hypothetical essay defending witchcraft.

Richard Dawkins: scorches Michael Behe’s latest book (which argues that beneficial genetic mutations are too improbable to occur sans devine order; Dawkins notes that the mutations themselves are necessary for even “within species variation” found in human driven breeding (such as dog breeding).

Ouch!

Democratic Debate: Factcheck weighs in; the big 3 candidates were truthful; the second tier ones made some gaffes.

Summary
We caught a few candidates off base at the third debate among Democratic contenders for the 2008 presidential nomination:

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson claimed one in five of “the African people” are infected with HIV/AIDS. That’s not even close. The actual rate of infection for sub-Saharan Africa is 5.8 percent.
* Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich claimed that “our tax dollars right now are being spent overwhelmingly on war and military buildup.” In fact, all defense spending amounts to just 23.6 percent of the budget, or about half what is spent on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs.
* Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel claimed that 70 percent of prison inmates are African Americans. Actually, the figure is 40 percent.

However, most of the factual claims that we were able to check were accurate, or reasonably close. What we’re unable to check out, lacking a time machine, is whether any of these candidates can deliver on some of the expensive promises they are making. The promises include universal health care, day care and college opportunities for all children, rebuilding New Orleans, and a new U.S. military effort to enforce a “no fly” zone in Sudan, among other things.