Wow. I really am surprised by this CNN story on al Qaeda's financing. Like many, I'd assumed that bin Laden and the bin Laden construction fortune was the linchpin. Guess not, though I'm going to want more facts. That aside, the donations that fund terrorism come from the entire swath of fundamentalist Islam, especially the orthodox Wahabbi and Salafi.

Please note that this doesn't mean all Muslims are bad or that a donation was made to fund terrorism directly. One of the great misunderstandings of the Palestinian struggle for many is grasping that Hamas can be a terrorist organization and a community outreach all at once.

Here's another tangent for you ... if it was right to remove Saddam because of all his heinous acts, why haven't we had more of an accounting of the governments of Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia? Why have we ignored Darfur, Rwanda, and Timor? In for a penny, in for a pound when it comes to being world police.

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The Fred Thompson video presentation was pretty good. The Pataki speech reminds me why I mistakenly thought he'd be a good replacement for Cheney - he comes off as sincere, well-spoken without being slick, and has a McLain Stevenson regular-guyness. I don't think he could win in an election against Guiliani, but if Giuliani's negatives are enough to keep him out, Pataki would have a pretty good chance against the run of other governors likely in '08.

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The Zell Miller freakout on Chris Matthews was great TV. I only wish some producer had figured out a way to get them together. I didn't see the Miller-Blitzer talk, but it reads that Miller didn't do much better there.

Can someone get thrown out of a party? I know Miller says he won't leave the party, but couldn't they just lock him out or something?

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Yes, I know it's been a LOT of politics lately. I try to stay balanced, but sometimes that balance gets off. I'm sure come playoff time, I'll barely glance at politics. For those of you that just want to talk baseball, I'll virtually point to the great list of links at the top or the right side. For those of you that disagree and debate in comments, thank you. For the thousands that simply read, thank you. For Scott, Ken, and TFD, a thousand thank yous for your tolerance of my often indefensible positions. For George, -

- heh. You thought I was gonna get nasty, didn't you? :)