John McCain said in 2004 that if the sovereign Iraqi government made it clear it wanted us to leave, we would leave. And now Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that he would like U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2010, similar to what Barack Obama advocates. That leaves McCain with basically three choices, columnist Dick Polman wrote:
“He can flip-flop on what he said in 2004, and position himself even to the right of Bush, whose administration now speaks of ‘joint aspirational time horizons’ for withdrawal.
“He can ease his way toward Obama’s position on Iraq, just as he has lately on Afghanistan, thereby demonstrating that the wisdom gap on national security is a lot smaller than he’d like it to be.
“Or he can try to ride out this whole embarrassment, and hope that relatively few swing voters take notice.”
Randy Pausch, 47, the Carnegie Mellon computer science professor whose “last lecture” has been viewed more than 10 million on the Internet and became a best-selling book, has died of pancreatic cancer. In the lecture, Pausch discussed his childhood dreams, how he has helped others achieve their dreams, and how you can achieve your own dreams.
Though Barack Obama holds a 6 to 8 percentage point lead over John McCain in national polls, McCain has closed the gap in three key battleground states. The two are now in a statistical dead heat in Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota, according to a new poll. And such states are likely to decide who wins in November.
Most Americans still aren’t inclined to get serious about energy conservation – and President Bush still isn’t inclined to push it. The energy debate centers on Bush’s dubious idea (seconded by Rep. Todd Tiahrt) that offshore drilling is a cure for gas prices.
But conservation remains the easiest and cheapest solution to U.S. energy needs, according to many experts.
By driving 5 percent less, keeping tires inflated and slowing down, Americans immediately could save 1.3 million barrels of oil a day – nearly twice the amount of oil that eventually could be gained daily from drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to the Alliance to Save Energy, a conservation group.
The Kansas Coliseum’s future dimmed the moment Sedgwick County voters approved the downtown arena tax in 2004. Still, county commissioners have a lot to consider before they hang a “for sale” sign on the Coliseum and its grounds, excluding the pavilions. What about the talk early on of keeping the Coliseum arena for “dirt events” such as monster truck shows, rodeos and even circuses? Will the Intrust Bank Arena truly serve all the needs? And surely 280 acres of prime land off I-135 in the fast-developing Park City area would be worth more in the marketplace than the $22 million they’re valued at, especially if sold off in pieces. Further complications include deciding what to do about the RV park, the cell towers and, perhaps toughest of all, the Coliseum site’s 26 acres of protected habitat for a spotted skunk. Is there a business or megachurch that could give the old Coliseum arena, as is, a new purpose?
John McCain said in 2004 that if the sovereign Iraqi government made it clear it wanted us to leave, we would leave. And now Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that he would like U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2010, similar to what Barack Obama advocates. That leaves McCain with basically three choices, columnist Dick Polman wrote:
