Kiefer Sutherland may face jail for having been driving under the influence of alcohol. According to reports on CNN and the BBC, Sutherland was arrested Friday for failing a sobriety test after having made an illegal u-turn. Sutherland is known best for his lead role as Jack Bauer on television series “24.”
Hussein could have been “bought out” for $1 Billion
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein offered to leave Iraq one month before the start of the US-led invasion in 2003.
Hussein proposed to be “bought out” for USD $1 Billion, according to a conversation between President George W. Bush and then-Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. In addition to the $1 Billion sum, Hussein wished to take information pertaining to weapons of mass destruction along with him.
The conversation had been recorded by a diplomat while the two statesmen met at the US President’s ranch in Texas on February 22, 2003. This is according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais which also posess transcripts of the conversations and Danish newspaper Politiken.
For those that have read the history books (or for those of you that remember those days) in 1984 Democratic Presidential nominee Walter Mondale spoke boldly: “Let’s tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.” What’s significant about this statement? It portrayed Mondale as a big-goverment spender who will raise taxes.
The lesson to be learned from above is to not make statements and take positions that will give the opponent a free ride on bashing a campaign into oblivion. Walter Mondale’s experience is significant in the 2008 Presidential Election for one reason: supporting an unpopular and controversial position will not get a candidate elected. This is exactly how John McCain is running his campaign.
From his campaign website:
“John McCain agrees with retired Army General Jack Keane that there are simply not enough American forces in Iraq. More troops are necessary to clear and hold insurgent strongholds; to provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies; to halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm Sunni and Shia militias; to dismantle al Qaeda; to train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units. Accomplishing each of these goals will require more troops…”
The page concludes by saying that “The American people also deserve to know that the path ahead will be long and difficult.”
While John McCain may be true to his position and believe that he is honest and truthful in giving the American people “straight talk,” his answers and thoughts on how to address the war in Iraq will ultimately lead him to lose the Republican primary election. The reason for this is that continuing a long and unpopular war is not what the American people want to hear.
Links:
David Palmer endorses Barack Obama
Dennis Haysbert, who plays the fictional 24 President David Palmer, has donated to the campaign of the real-life Barack Obama. This appeared on a list of celebrity donors to both the Obama and Clinton campaigns.
Microsoft Boasts of Blue Screens of Death
In an apparent comical stunt Microsoft has posted on their site a Screen Saver that mimics infamous Blue Screens of Death (also known as BSOD’s). Now BSOD’s are nothing to be proud of, but I wonder — is there a greater conspiracy here to get the public to accept that BSOD’s are part of the computer use experience?