Speak of the devil...

Speaking of Osama bin Laden...now he's surfaced with a video just in time for the elections. Funny how we haven't been able to catch him.

The Christian Science Monitor reports of his growing mystique in the Arab world, that he's seen in many eyes as the romantic, lone figure to stand up to and elude the United States.

The failure to capture this wealthy Saudi (I emphasize this because the news reports would lead you to think he's Afghani) certainly is an embarrassment to U.S. military and civilian intellgence agencies.

Again, I wonder, why have they been unable to capture him, even with a $25 million price tag on his head?

And what part of the sudden turn to war on Iraq was to distract attention away from this matter? I certainly felt that was part of the intention at the time, and it still seems very likely.

I've just gotta wonder.

In the meantime, I voted last week, thanks to the early voting polling station near my office. I sure hope my vote gets counted.

I watched a Central Florida preacher on TV yesterday doing his political bit, asking how would Jesus vote? and using the fundamentalist touchstone questions about same-sex marriage, etc.. etc.. etc. My reaction is, never in a million years for Bush.

Former Mayor Giuliani of New York was on TV too, doing his Bush pitch. One of the things he accused Kerry of is, "He's against war." I don't think the mayor realized how this sounded. I kinda think Jesus would be against war, too.

Shouldn't war be the very last resort, after all else has failed, and when we are in imminent peril? The situation in Iraq was not even close. Yet our young people were thrown into it -- thrown to the wolves. Thousands more Iraqis died.

What kind of "intelligence failure" was this, when Hussein had actually complied with UN demands? We seem to be full of "intelligence failures" in the Middle East, including one on the effectiveness of "Shock and Awe." And we're at much more risk than ever before, thanks to the Bush administration.