About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
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The Crows Nest
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Murtha Getting Backlogged On Apologies
Gary Gross of Let Freedom Ring sees another case collapsing on the Haditha charges. He's called for Murtha to apologize earlier, and adds another reason to the tally.
No Such Thing As 'Moderate' Islam?
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan told a television interviewer that he finds the label "moderate Islam" offensive. Shrink Wrapped has a lot more on this, but at least in the same interview Erdogan acknowledged that "radical Islam" exists, and that it's been a catastrophe. Be sure to read the whole post.
MS-NBC Gets Punk'd
Power Line has a great post on a lack of journalistic effort on the part of MS-NBC. In covering the Michael Vick story, they reported on what they thought was Al Sharpton's website proclaiming Vick's innocence. I guess Alex Johnson and two other MS-NBC reporters couldn't bother to read the title bar of the site, which proudly proclaims it as a "parody site".
New Instapundit Podcast On Pharmaceuticals
I just caught this e-mail from Glenn Reynolds about his new podcast with Richard Epstein, the author of Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but the topic is important enough to make sure I carve out time for it tomorrow. Get their first and tell me what I'm missing ....
Fed Trying A 'Stealth Easing'?
The Federal Reserve seems to have conducted a quiet campaign to steady markets that started spinning out of control, according to King Banaian at SCSU Scholars. He thinks that the Fed has conducted a "stealth easing". Be sure to read his explanation and follow his lnks.
A Shameless Bit Of Sel-Promotion
Gateway Pundit and Val at Babalu Blog note a crass PR move by Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has responded to Peru's eathquake disaster with food shipments -- and with Hugo's smiling picture on the cans. He also uses the tuna-can label to undermine President Garcia of Peru, who narrowly defeated Chavez' pal Ollanto Humalla, whom the labels extol for his "solidarity" with Chavez.
Tacky beyond belief.
Comments (23)
Posted by burt | July 14, 2007 4:48 PM
Does Osama get 72 virgins? It doesn't appear that he died as a result of jihad even if he died.
Posted by arb | July 14, 2007 5:28 PM
"He's dead, Jim."
Posted by patrick neid | July 14, 2007 5:38 PM
his dna is all over tora bora.
i've said since december 2001, until old bin shows up on the silver screen holding a current issue of his favorite newspaper, the NYTimes, he's dead.
the roswell types can state equally that we wanted him alive as much as they did to gin up war support.
whatever, he's dead a long time now.
Posted by Continuum | July 14, 2007 6:02 PM
OK, where are we at right now.
Is it,
. . . . . "Osama, wanted dead or alive"
.......................or
Is it,
. . . . . "I don't think much about Osama anymore."
I just want to make sure that I know which message Bush and Company are saying this week.
Posted by Fausta | July 14, 2007 6:13 PM
There once was a guy named Osama
who never had washed his pajama.
He got caught in the rain
when he missed his train,
and had to ride home on a llama.
Posted by AnonymousDrivel | July 14, 2007 6:14 PM
OBL gets fifty seconds on a 40-minute video? He must not be polling well in the focus groups. It must be because dead men tell no tales, and the would-be martyrs would certainly need some good tales to convince them death is a virtue of life.
Whatever the message of the video, it should be greeted with some celebration as it indicates yet again that OBL is very likely dead. Perhaps his visage will appear and be reported like "Bigfoot" sightings from now on. Of course, we'd all like the satisfaction of seeing OBL's intact corpse (well, only for the sake of identification and not because we'd like to actually preserve its integrity), but that's guaranteed not to happen.
Posted by Robert Brown | July 14, 2007 6:20 PM
It’s been “I don't think much about Osama anymore.” ever since OBL was neutralized.
It’s the Dumb Democrats who want to send 100,000 troops charging into Pakistan, searching for the corps.
Posted by pavel | July 14, 2007 6:23 PM
Hey, i dont see this video.
Help me please.
Posted by Bill M | July 14, 2007 6:25 PM
pushing rumors of a new message containing "good news from Osama bin Laden,"
Was it "good news from Osama", or just "good news" that they were pushing? I seem to remember that it didn't reference Osama directly.
I think the "good news" they were touting was the successful attacks in London, but oops,that didn't work out so well.
Remember, the tape that did show up was kind of lackluster and certainly didn't live up to it's supposed billing. We may just be seeing a dying organization trying to hype the peons into renewed interest. Certainly trotting out a years old tape of Osama (and if al-Zarqawi is in it, it's over a year old at the least) doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
As you said, Zawahiri does't sem to have a problem appearing on tape. I'd suspect that the Osama-monster is either at room temperature, or so debilitated by his diabetes that they don't dare show him for fear of appearing "on their last legs." Nothin' turns off the peons like a leader who looks to have one leg in the grave (if not the whole bod - inshalla).
Posted by McGehee | July 14, 2007 6:38 PM
He's not dead, he's pining for the fjords!
Posted by arb | July 14, 2007 6:49 PM
"Have fun storming the castle!"
Posted by snowonpine | July 14, 2007 8:45 PM
I hope his virgins all look like Helen Thomas.
Posted by cdor | July 14, 2007 8:58 PM
very funny!! how about he gets the twins...helen thomas AND madeline albright.
Posted by Mwalimu Daudi | July 14, 2007 9:04 PM
"It is inconceivable that OBL is dead."
-an anonymous Screeching Eel
Posted by Del Dolemonte | July 14, 2007 9:08 PM
Seems to me that if Ozzie wanted to prove he was alive, all he would have to do is hold up a recent newspaper headline in one of his videos.
I've been waiting since 2004 for him to hold up a Boston Globe with the headline "Red Sox Win", but so far no luck.
He's dead, Jim.
Posted by Carol Herman | July 14, 2007 9:25 PM
None of the money that funds this stuff is in a cave in Afghanistan. Or Pakistan. Sorry. The funding's coming from the Saud's. Not just for the terror. But for all the madrasses, where the recruiting is on-going. And, the bastardization of islam, continues under the most vile aucpices.
Does this mean there's gonna be a lot of arabs killing each other? Yup. They're tribal. And, their tribes do not get along.
As to Osama, he became pink spray that spritz all over a cave in Tora Bora. That he's back within the news cycles? Why get surprised. After what Musharraf did to the Red Mosque; there's no going back. And, the Saud's are desperate to regain control. How much time do they have left?
So, like the Queen of England, showing you she can manipulate the BBC; the newsmakers. Who have the evidence on film. She got them to back off, and rewind. Do you know why? The Queen's image can't be sullied with reality.
Flying bullshit is still flying fecal matter. Doesn't change reality. Even if you're brainwashed to believe the crap you see is true.
Meanwhile, years from now, ahead. When people look back; they'll see how TV worked coming into play with John Kennedy, in 1960. And, how by now we're replacing the boob tube with new ways of communicating. Settling on something as old-fashioned as word-of-mouth; when people used to discuss current events with each other, over their backyard fences.
Even if your business depended on TV for sales, that's changed, too.
As to fooling people with Osama? Such a shame.
All this terror, while not as expensive as our own military; doesn't come cheap. And, for that you need to see the cooperation of the banks all over; including in Switzerland. And, you need to see the hands of the Saudis writing the checks.
Posted by Captain Ned | July 14, 2007 9:34 PM
I can tell that my fellow Captain watched lots of TV in the late '70s to mid '80s timeframe, when K-Tel hawked remix albums of greatest hits to the unwary.
As for OBL, I can only hope he's gone the way of the magnificent Norwegian Blue Parrot (i.e. the one that wouldn't go VOOM if you put 50kV through him).
Posted by Ron Beasley | July 14, 2007 11:51 PM
The poor guy has been dead for years but al-Qaeda needs him alive and the Bush/Cheney cabal needs him alive.
Posted by Rick Moran | July 15, 2007 5:10 AM
He's not only mostly dead...
He's really, really sincerely dead.
(HT: Munchkin Coronor)
Posted by Jazz | July 15, 2007 8:46 AM
I'm sick and tired off all this trash talk about the man from you wingers. Sure, his beliefs may be different from yours in some ways, but you owe him the courtesy and respect due to any other...
Hrmm? What's that?
Oh... sorry. I thought this was a link about Barak Obama.
Posted by harleycon5 | July 15, 2007 9:10 AM
I have been saying that OBL is dead for quite some time, and I think you hit the nail on the head, capt'n.
IF OBL were alive his image would be the most powerful recruiting tool that Al Qeada would have. The simple fact that they are using some old footage is indicative of 2 things: OBL is dead, and recruitment is lagging.
I also have noted the govt verfying incredibly poor recordings of the bearded one as a dual pronged plan. First of all, by doing so, they keep him from being a martyr. 2nd, there is always the abillity of the CIA of putting their own "Osama Recording" on the net.
OBL is dead, long let he burn on the coals of hell.
Posted by Bithead | July 15, 2007 11:20 AM
Ed:
I wonder if you're aware, that the film, "The Princess Bride" is 20 years old this week. it's inconceivable that you wouldn't know, given the post title.
Posted by Carl H | July 15, 2007 1:48 PM
Forget it, Jake. It's Waziristanitown.