A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Hillary raises $26 million for '08 “Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign yesterday announced she raised $26 million since announcing her bid Jan. 20, a record-setting pace that nearly equals what the entire Democratic field raised in the same period from the last election.” (READ MORE)
Britain sending envoy to Tehran “Britain intends to send a senior Royal Navy officer to Tehran with a face-saving plan to win the release of 15 sailors and marines, officials said amid confirmation of direct contacts with Tehran over the matter.” (READ MORE)
Smuggled aliens to sue Texas deputy “Two illegal aliens plan a multimillion-dollar civil rights lawsuit against a Texas deputy who was sentenced to prison over an April 2005 incident in which the lawman shot at an alien-smuggling vehicle that he said had just tried to run him down.” (READ MORE)
'Walking dead' cross line into Afghanistan to kill “Gazing out at the wheat fields, a haggard police chief pointed to the distant goat paths leading from Pakistan's territory of North Waziristan. Known here as ‘Osama bin Laden's children’ or ‘the walking dead,’ nearly two dozen suicide bombers entered Khost province over those paths in the past year.” (READ MORE)
Democrats To Widen Conflict With Bush “Even as their confrontation with President Bush over Iraq escalates, emboldened congressional Democrats are challenging the White House on a range of issues -- such as unionization of airport security workers and the loosening of presidential secrecy orders -- with even more dramatic showdowns..” (READ MORE)
Visiting Iraq, McCain Cites Progress on Safety Issues “After a heavily guarded walk through a newly fortified Baghdad market, Sen. John McCain declared that the American public was not getting ‘a full picture’ of the progress unfolding in Iraq.” (READ MORE)
From the Front:
IraqPundit: Iraq and the Arab Strategic Vision “Have you been wondering what ‘policymakers and strategic analysts in the Arab world’ think of Iraq these days? If not, I don't blame you: No region on Earth has a worse strategic track record than does the Arab world. All you're going to get from these guys is the same old Arab Nationalist line that has kept the Arab world going nowhere for decades.” (READ MORE)
Michael J. Totten: Hope Over Hate: A Lebanon Diary “My American friend Noah Pollak visited Beirut and South Lebanon with me on my last trip. He flew to Beirut from Jerusalem (via Amman.) His long-awaiting essay has now been published in Azure Magazine. Here is an except:” (READ MORE)
Omar: Midnight Company. “I often find myself in arguments with people about the behavior of American soldiers when they search homes and many of the people I talk to base their argument and negative impression on the footage of some raids we see on TV or on experiences of presumed relatives or friends. When I try to counter the idea of 'they knock down doors unnecessarily, steal jewelry and treat people bad' by saying that there must be a good reason the troops sometimes act rough and that 'for every reaction there must have been an action' I often get the response of ‘what do you know about that? The Americans never searched your home’ Well, last night they did…” (READ MORE)
The Calm Before the Sand: Tired... “I've been really shitty about these posts, haven't I? I'm not sure what it is. Ever since R&R, I've tried to write at least a half-dozen posts, all of which got scrapped. Leave, I suppose, was excusable--after all, I had a wife to catch up with--but with everything going on in Recon, I feel as though I'm letting myself, and readership down. I'm just tired, I guess.” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Donald Lambro: Don't forget the tackle box “If the latest Democratic subpoena threats in the White House firing of eight U.S. attorneys sounds like a fishing expedition in search of wrongdoing, that's because it is.” (READ MORE)
Armstrong Williams: Good News, Good News “The point of mentioning these good stories is not so much to create awareness for these particular breakthroughs and deeds, but more to remind us that good is all around us - sometimes we just have to look for it. We live in a fallen world, a world where sex, sports, and shopping is glorified, while education, manners, and morals are pushed aside.” (READ MORE)
Burt Prelutsky: In Defense of Fences “Although there were divided opinions on all the issues, the one that created the most heat and, I suspect, the least light was the matter of illegal immigrants. You couldn't even get everybody to agree it was a problem. For those who favored open borders, ‘undocumented workers’ was the term of choice. In the end, it all came down to the same old liberal/conservative argument.” (READ MORE)
Harry R. Jackson, Jr.: Global Warming on the Hot Seat “A few days ago, I sat on the set of CNN’s Washington studio. The lights were as bright as the sun in this plush high tech setting. Everything about the office and the organization was very impressive.” (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: Constitutional End Runs “EJ Dionne Jr. is proud of the fact that Maryland is trying to make an end run on the Constitution; specifically, the Electoral College.
You see, the folks in many ‘blue states’ are still (after 7 friggin' years) ticked off that Al Gore isn't President, even though he won the popular vote. It's not the first time that's happened in our history, and, unless the deconstructionists get their way, it may not be the last.” (READ MORE)
Victor Davis Hanson: Bellum Interruptum “On the early morning of February 28, 1991, over a half-million United Nations-sponsored coalition troops on land, sea, and air were about to crush the final core of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army that just seven months earlier had stormed into Kuwait and ravaged the country.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Red on red mania: Sunni insurgents kill two Al Qaeda capos in Baghdad; Update: Dire assessment at Powerline “Well, who knows. Assuming it’s true it sounds like it happened within the past few weeks or months, which adds some background to last week’s AQ car-bomb assassination of one of the leaders of the 1920 Revolution Brigades. Roggio thinks the 1920 Brigades might themselves be splitting into pro- and anti-AQ wings.” (READ MORE)
Augean Stables: Palestinian Suffering: Who’s Responsible? “Few people have suffered more constant misery and daily oppression in the last 50 years than the Palestinians. The key issue, however, concerns not the amount — although it has obviously been grossly exaggerated — but the source of that suffering. There are wildly varying accounts of who is to blame. Our purpose here is not to assess how much blame to assign – that everyone must do on their own – but to list the major contributors to Palestinian suffering, and what is the nature of that contribution.” (READ MORE)
David Allender: The Truth was Massacred: A Clear-Eyed View of Haditha “The media has waged a successful campaign against the Haditha Marines. With hearings on the horizon, the accused have very little public support–even among patriots who should know better. Nearly a year ago, Congressman Murtha pronounced the Marines guilty, basing his conclusion on pictures in Time magazine. The media ran more Haditha stories, quoting Murtha, who was quoting them, and so a My Lai was made out of nothing.” (READ MORE)
TigerHawk: Speculating about Iran's motives “Stranded as I am in the Newtown, Pennsylvania Starbucks -- I am waiting for my son to finish choir practice at the George School -- I have a few minutes to speculate about Iran's motives in the current crisis over the imprisoned British sailors. Let's set the table. Our astute and regular commenter Escort81 rather directly makes the case that Iran's motives go beyond the resolution of a case for trespassing:” (READ MORE)
Fjordman: Fatalism and the Loss of Western Cultural Confidence “On my essay about glossocracy, the government of the word, by the word and for the word, reader kepiblanc suggested that the Western culture of self-destruction should be called seppukultur, from the Japanese word ‘seppuku,’ the ritual suicide by disembowelment which was a part of the Samurai code of conduct, more commonly known as hara-kiri. I find the word intriguing, but it isn’t entirely accurate.” (READ MORE)
Paul Weston: Is European Civil War Inevitable by 2025? (Part 1) “If I were to tell you that within twenty years Europe could find itself engaged in a civil war so bloody it made WWII look like a bun fight, you might logically consider me a candidate for the men in white coats. You would be wrong, however. Based on the demographic evidence collated for this article, such a scenario looks not merely possible, but inevitable. In 2005 European males aged 20-40 outnumbered Muslim males of a similar age by 18:1. By 2025 this ratio could drop to a mere 2:1.” (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Kos: I have no Obama “Lefty would-be king (or queen) maker Kos dumped on Barrack Obama. The senator’s sin? Telling the truth. ‘If President Bush vetoes an Iraq war spending bill as promised, Congress quickly will provide the money without the withdrawal timeline the White House objects to because ‘no lawmaker wants to play chicken with our troops,’ Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday.’” (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House: Brits Ready to Stick it to the Iraqis to Get Their Hostages Back “Spurned at the UN when they asked for a strong condemnation of Iran for taking British military personnel as hostages and helplessly watching as the European Union denied their plea to enact sanctions, Great Britain finds itself alone – out on a diplomatic limb with nothing to do but grovel before Ahmadinejad and humiliate themselves in asking for the return of their people:” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: When Will They Ever Learn? (Part II) “A few days ago I wrote about how difficult it was for a young woman to learn some uncomfortable things about herself. (When Will They Ever Learn?) She had a powerful need to not-know that part of her character, her habitual way of interacting with important people in her world, consistently led to behavior that was self-defeating. She could not begin to alter her behavior until she recognized her own contribution to her dysfunctional life. Once her own unconscious tendencies were made more available to her she could start the arduous process of change.” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: McCain Talks, Walk “Leftie blogs snark on it: Yeah, him and who’s Army? But I haven’t seen any of them do that. * Imagine, forcing the military to venture out into the open! How dare Arizona have an economy! McCain says, a shocker for any regular AP readers, that the American people may not be getting the full picture on the success of the surge.” (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Pakistan's Civil War “Events over the past week highlight the deteriorating situation in the country - Over the past week, the Taliban have been very active in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. The Taliban attacked the town of Tank, re initiated its turf war with the Uzbeks in Waziristan and continues to consolidate gains in Kohat and Bannu. But perhaps most disturbing event isn't the slow disintegration of the Pakistani state at the fringes, but the open defiance from the Taliban in the heart of Pakistani capital.” (READ MORE)
Flopping Aces: The Liberal Trainwreck Rolls On “Quite a liberal laughfest it's been this week huh? From the Democrats adding billions of pork to a Iraq surrender bill in order to get it passed and then not having the decency to send it to the White House before they take a little vacation (troops be damned), to CNN allowing a Clinton staffer to give his ‘unbiased opinion’ on the 2008 election without telling anyone he was employed by Clinton, to the Speaker of the House visiting our enemy, to Diane Feinstein's cronyism in which she sold our troops down the river for monetary gain, to a large whale of a liberal stating on national TV that terrorists should not be called evil while in the same breath stating our Government was behind 9/11.” (READ MORE)
Reformed Chicks Blabbing: The Democrats are going to over play their hand “They plan to go through with their agenda, giving no thought to the consequences of their actions. Bush has promised to veto 16 pieces of legislature and if he goes through with it, then what will the Democrats have? Nothing. They'll have nothing to show for their effort.” (READ MORE)
Dan Riehl: Dems Strong On Defense: Just Not For Us “According to the Washington Post, while America is struggling with two difficult wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the war on terror, the Democrats are planning to broaden the front by increasing their attacks ... on Bush. And they intend to do it in ways that will weaken America's ability to fight terrorism anywhere it is found.” (READ MORE)
Kat in MO: Vandalism Is Not Free Speech “Lately, I've had the unfortunate displeasure of having my car vandalized, my flag torn off my antennea and it was broken. The ‘support the troops’ magnets were tossed in the mud puddle. I just figured it was some local young idiots with nothing better to do. I have also had the unfortunate displeasure to learn that many have been suffering the same fate. Namely, ‘support the troops’ magnets have been taken or torn up and left on the car.” (READ MORE)
Andi: Bush-Bashing Over Walter Reed Visit and a General I'm Becoming Less Fond of By the Day “President Bush paid a visit to troops at Walter Reed on Friday, something he's done may times in the past. In their quest to pin all things wrong on President Bush, media outlets and liberal-leaning blogs have, not surprisingly, chimed in. The implications and charges range from, surely President Bush should have known things were broken as many times as he's visited Walter Reed to what took President Bush so long to get over to Walter Reed after the WaPo story broke? To this was a mere photo opportunity for President Bush. Each of these complaints are silly, partisan and reveal much more about the authors of this garbage than they do about President Bush.” (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: The Daily Kos Take On The Chocolate Jesus “The same liberals who are absolutely terrified of offending Muslims by simply showing an inoffensive picture of Muhammad take every opportunity to promote the most perverse, obnoxious, anti-Christian art and sentiments. Then, oddly enough, they usually turn right around and try to convince Christians to vote for them. It's a never ending cycle of raw hatred and pandering.” (READ MORE)
4 Mile Creek: Crocodile Tears From Murtha “The Democrats, at least as far as the Presidential candidates and their strategist go, are sure that the Iraq war can be won, and that it will be obvious to most American's that it can be won by election time, 2008. That's why they are so desperate to legislate a defeat for US forces, and a victory for al Queda.” (READ MORE)
Michelle Malkin: John Doe vs. the moonbats “The left-wing blogosphere is up in arms over the John Doe movement and manifesto. It's telling, isn't it, that HuffPo and company are outraged not at CAIR and the litigious imams--but at me:” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed: Iran, The New South Africa “Missouri took the first steps among the states to divest their portfolios of any foreign corporations doing business with Iran, a move they started last year. Now eight other states have begun to follow suit, and the latest state may make the biggest impact of all. California has just passed legislation that would transfer billions of dollars away from foreign investments:” (READ MORE)
Grim: War for Profit “This post begins as a response to a commenter, but it is meant to be something more than that. It is meant to be a permanent response to a line of bad thinking, so that we can simply direct future comments along these lines back here. The commenter referenced this Stephen Gowans piece, which essentially reiterates an old charge: America's government is the main problem with the world, because corporate interests drive her to wage wars so that they can profit from those wars.” (READ MORE)
Amy Proctor: Heathen Artist Crucifies Christ Anew for Easter “Bottom Line Up Front: An irreverent sculpture of Christ is to be exhibited in a Manhattan hotel this Monday just in time for Holy Week. For Christians, Lent is a season of preparation for the pinnacle of the religious year, Easter. It leads us through a dessert of fasting, prayer, penance and reflection so that we can more thoroughly anticipate the resurrection that follows the crucifixion.” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: The Fight for the Rebound “The recent mock siege of the British embassy in Teheran by ‘demonstrators’ hurling stones and firecrackers, pretending to be outraged at Whitehall's arrogant refusal to ‘apologize,’ was described by the Times of London as ‘hampering diplomatic’ efforts to solve the crisis. That remark by the Times underscores how badly they misunderstand the game Teheran is playing.” (READ MORE)
Yankeemom: Tell it to the Soldiers “I don’t have much good to say about The House or The Senate right now. Haven’t for quite a while actually. There they sit in their political grandiosity and do their dammdest to cut off our military at their knees and undermine the CIC. Now a select few are in the Middle East insulting our tenuous allies and making nicey nice with our enemy against the wishes of the administration. So the soldiers they are stabbing in the back have to take even more risks to protect their worthless hides.” (READ MORE)
Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.
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