They will call him The One

There's been a lot of talk about John McCain's web ad linking Barack Obama with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears lately, which has allowed another McCain ad to fly a bit under the radar: "The One," equating the Illinois senator with Moses.

Personally, I have no problem with these ads. They generate a considerable amount of attention at a minimum of cost (a necessity given McCain's substantial financial disadvantage in the race, since Obama doesn't so much support public financing when it applies to him). And they succeed in doing something the media has either been unwilling or unable to do -- poke fun of the Obama campaign. They're humorous ads running during the dog days of a presidential campaign, mid-summer. There's nothing wrong with that.

McCain has it wrong, though. Obama isn't actually Moses. Al Gore is.

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Google wants my health records

Google will not get my health records.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Google's online filing cabinet for medical records opened to the public Monday, giving users instant electronic access to their health histories while reigniting privacy concerns.

Called Google Health, the service lets users link information from a handful of pharmacies and care providers, including Quest Diagnostics labs. Google plans to add more.

The company already has a slightly uncomfortable amount of control over my personal information and speech, given my voluntary use of programs like Gmail, Google calendar, and Blogger.

Seeing highly - and creepily - targeted adds appear at the top of my Gmail inbox based on the content of my e-mails is enough to give me pause.

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When Tempted...

American Legion Magazine, 1930

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