Today marks the 90th birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela, a leader for civil rights and democracy, political prisoner of nearly 30 years and one of the main proponents in ending Apartheid. (No, President Bush, Mandela was not killed by Saddam.) Let’s hope the Black Pimpernel stays around a while longer.

For more info on why you should care about Nelson Mandela, check out the Reuters timeline, or the BE-All-END-All Source of Research Information.

MSNBC newscaster Keith Olbermann made some very harsh criticisms of President Bush and his recent comments in an online interview. Most thoroughly lambasted would be Bush’s remarks on giving up golf in wake of the Iraqi war. Read key transcriptions and view Olbermann’s commentary here.

Synthesis supporter (via advertising) and presidential candidate John McCain may not be eligible for the office he’s running for. At least that’s what some people have been chirping about on the Internet. According to an article posted by Francis Steffan at AmericanVoice.net, McCain’s candidacy may be voided by the rules of the Constitution. Steffan writes:

John McCain was born August 29, 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone, to two U.S. citizens. It’s a common misunderstanding that the zone was a U.S. territory - in fact, the U.S. had lease rights, but not territorial rights.

According to Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

A “natural born Citizen” is later defined in Section 1 of the XIV Amendment.

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This shouldn’t be much of a problem for McCain or his supporters, though. If Bush’s presidency has proved anything, it’s that what’s written in the Constitution is of little concern nowadays. But fuck it, I was voting Obama anyway.

“Karl Rove is quitting as President Bush’s senior political adviser at the end of this month.

Mr Rove says he is proud to have been a witness to history being made, during his years at the White House.”

(taken from www.tv3.co.nz)

Karl Rove is proud. To have been a witness. To history. Being made.

I don’t know a lot about politics, but even I can say that nobody in their right mind should be proud of the sort of history that’s been made during George W. Bush’s time in office.

After looking Mr. Rove up on wikipedia.org, having not known much about him myself, I found some strange lines of quote.

On January 19, 2005, Rove said George W. Bush was “one of the most intellectually gifted presidents we’ve had.”

And,

He (Rove) has often been referred to as “Bush’s Brain”

Hm.

But at least the guy doesn’t take himself too seriously. Apparently he got up and improvised a rap song with Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie of Whose Line is it Anyway?, referring to himself as MC Rove, at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington. He also claims his pasttimes are ripping off the heads of animals and stamp collecting. So either this man is really the genius, witty man portrayed, or he’s just insane enough to say something like ‘George Bush sure is smart’. George Bush, the man who for some reason can’t wipe the stupid simian smile off his face when he’s talking about the war in Iraq.