A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
The Sweet Spell of Success - One was only 11 and the oldest topped out at 14, but many of these kids had been here before. They knew the white-hot intensity of the competition, the absurdity of some of the words they were being asked to spell on national television and the warm applause that inevitably burst from the crowd... (READ MORE)
As the World Warms, the White House Aspires - Yesterday, as the temperature pushed toward 90 degrees in the capital, global warming caused a meltdown in the Bush administration's message machine. (READ MORE)
Sunni Insurgents Battle in Baghdad - BAGHDAD, May 31 -- Sunni residents of a west Baghdad neighborhood used assault rifles and a roadside bomb to battle the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq this week, leaving at least 28 people dead and six injured, residents said Thursday. (READ MORE)
Senators Seek Legal Review of CIA Methods - The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has demanded a legal review of the CIA's detention and interrogation program for terrorism suspects as part of its version of the fiscal 2008 intelligence authorization bill. (READ MORE)
GOP Tries to Make English Official - Some Republican senators are calling the English-language requirements in the immigration bill toothless and want the bill to declare English the "national" language of the U.S. and the country's official means of doing business. (READ MORE)
RNC Faces Donor Falloff, Fires Solicitors - The Republican National Committee, hit by a grass-roots donors' rebellion over President Bush's immigration policy, has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors, The Washington Times has learned. (READ MORE)
Bush Releases Climate Proposal - President Bush yesterday announced a new, long-term plan to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming, relying on new technology instead of regulation. (READ MORE)
Israel Close on Gaza Strip Gas Deal - Israel is in advanced negotiations with British Gas to purchase natural gas from underwater fields off the Gaza Strip in a deal that could lead to a $38 million annual windfall for the Palestinian Authority. (READ MORE)
From the Front:
Northern Disclosure: Same Place, Different Time “I have always been interested and captivated by the simple soldier story. Since I am a Non Commissioned Officer I have been intensely interested in the lives and times of our soldiers. I have found it therapeutic and refreshing to see how others have traveled before us and compared their trials and tribulations to mine. As a young Squad Leader in Korea, I took a lot of time to walk the same ground as the brave and valorous veterans had been.” (READ MORE)
Michael J. Totten: Who’s Afraid of the Tribunal? “Hezbollah says the Chapter VII United Nations Security Council’s tribunal to try the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is illegal and illegitimate: ‘The resolution is a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon and an aggressive interference in its internal affairs.’ It’s hardly worth arguing with these people, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway:” (READ MORE)
Omar: Red on Red in Amiriyah “Fighting in a western Baghdad district between two insurgent groups continued for the 2nd day, eye witnesses told ITM. The clashes erupted yesterday around noon between two groups of insurgents that are competing for control in the Amiriya district, one of Baghdad's most violent and lawless districts. The two groups, teams actually, were later identified:” (READ MORE)
Gene E. Blanton: Featured Report from Iraq: The Intellectual Grunt – Part Two “CAMP HABBANIYAH, AL ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ: To the uniformed, the term ‘intellectual grunt’ may seem to be an oxymoron. Mr. Webster defines an oxymoron as ‘something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements.’ Today’s counterinsurgency is full of ‘contradictory elements,’ according to Captain Daniel H. Snyder, Company Commander of India Company, 3rd Battalion 6th Marines. His Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. James M. McGrath described Captain Snyder’s role as that of a ‘finisher’ – someone who puts the final touches on the construction of a house.” (READ MORE)
JD Johannes: Stumbling Into Success " 'He says he knows who planted the IED,' the interpreter said. Captain Gregory stood there dumbfounded... Operation Copper Landing kicked off like a lot of the company sized missions--at midnight. Starting at midnight gives the Army paratroopers of the 3-509 a tactical advantage against the would be snipers of Kharma and it is only 90 degrees at night compared with 115 degrees during the day." (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Diana West: Identifying With Jihadists -- In the U.S. Military “‘If I were a Muslim, I'd probably be a jihadist. The thing that drives these guys -- a sense of adventure, wanting to be part of the moment, wanting to be in the big movement of history that's happening now -- that's the same thing that drives me, you know?’” (READ MORE)
Oliver North: Freedom's Forgotten Front “Shortly before we arrived here, the Republic of Korea launched its first Aegis-class destroyer, the King Sejong. A few hours after we landed in this booming metropolis, the North Korean People's Army "test-fired" several Silkworm anti-shipping missiles into the East Sea between North Korea and Japan. Neither event is related to our FOX News ‘War Stories’ team being here to shoot a Korean War documentary, but surely both ‘launches’ are connected.” (READ MORE)
Charles Krauthammer: The Immigration Reform Monster “Beware legislative behemoths. Beware ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’ Any bill that is 380 pages long is bound to have nooks and crannies reflecting private deals, quiet paybacks and ad hoc arrangements that you often don't learn about until it's too late.” (READ MORE)
Amanda Carpenter: Scandal follows the Clintons “You may have read about the $146,866 jet trip a prominent CEO bankrolled for the Clintons to vacation in Acapulco but that vacation is just the tip of the iceberg in a tangled web between the Clintons, shady business deals and campaign cash.” (READ MORE)
Fred Thompson: Speaking Up for Freedom “Well, he's done it. Hugo Chavez was already systematically silencing criticism of his autocratic rule through threats and intimidation.” (READ MORE)
Cliff May: Defeating a Superpower - America’s enemies think they know what it takes “To those who see the world through a partisan prism, last week’s congressional vote to continue funding American troops in Iraq looks like a loss for Democrats.” (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: Why The Senate Amnesty Bill Would Be An Unmitigated Disaster For America “The amnesty bill in the Senate is undoubtedly one of the worst, most destructive pieces of legislation to come down the pike in the last half century...” (READ MORE)
Rich Lowry: Hillary Vs. the "On Your Own" Society “Hillary Clinton has identified a grievous flaw in the contemporary American economy: It leaves ‘it all up to the individual.’ This hateful individualism is allegedly driving income inequality and destroying the American Dream.” (READ MORE)
Chuck Muth: Bush's Attack on Amnesty Opponents “When it comes to dealing with the illegal immigration issue, President Bush and his administration are their own worst enemies. On other issues, the president is sugar and spice when it comes to Democrat opponents. But when it comes to rule-of-law conservative opposition to his ‘amnesty’ proposal, the preferred method of operation is akin to thwacking the hornet’s nest with a stick.” (READ MORE)
WSJ Review & Outlook: Fitzgerald Doubles Down “I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is due to be sentenced next week, and--just in time--Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has decided this was a leak case after all. Last week he filed a brief with the court arguing that Mr. Libby should receive a prison sentence in line with crimes that neither he nor anyone else was ever accused of committing. If the court accepts Mr. Fitzgerald's logic, the sentence meted out in this fantastic case would at least double, to a minimum of 30 months. So it goes in a case brought by an unaccountable prosecutor now requesting an unreasonable penalty based on evidence he never introduced at trial. This is America?” (READ MORE)
Kimberly A. Strassel: Latin Lesson “Say what you will about George W. Bush's plans for immigration reform, you can't accuse him of failing to understand what it is that inspires such emotion in this debate. Sitting among the optimistic yellows of the Oval Office, the president is quick to zero in on what has caused so many in his party to reject his efforts. ‘I think people worry that this round of immigration will create two Americas,’ he says, simply. Or, in his further explanation: ‘E Pluribus Duum.’” (READ MORE)
Peggy Noonan: Too Bad “What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker—‘At this point the break became final.’ That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.” (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU: New Jersey Department of “Put the Fork Down, Fatty!” “The state of New Jersey has recently announced that it will be creating a state agency to deal with the growing problem of obesity among that state's citizens. This follows on the heels of many other local and state governments taking action against trans fat and other health measures designed to slim down the collective waistlines of the state. The creation of such an agency is a dangerous political trend.” (READ MORE)
TigerHawk: John Edwards is an idiot, or thinks that we are idiots “This is predictable, but that doesn't make it any less asinine: ‘Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says a wave of mergers in the oil industry should be investigated by the Justice Department to see what impact they have had on soaring gasoline prices. During a campaign stop in Silicon Valley Thursday, Edwards planned to berate the oil industry for "anticompetitive actions" and outline an energy plan he says would reduce oil imports "and get us on a path to be virtually petroleum-free within a generation."’”(READ MORE)
The Wide Awake Cafe: The “Band of Brothers” is No Myth “The soldiers of the 875th Engineers have done great work in Iraq, clearing roads of IEDs and other explosives for the past six months. They suffered their first loss on May 26th with the death of Spc. Erich Smallwood. Another soldier, SPC Marco Robledo, was also grievously wounded in the same incident. My son is a member of the 875th band of brothers and wrote me an email of reassurance…” (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: Who are the "real" terrorists? “In my column at Townhall today I help those confused about who the real terrorists are by giving them a few hints. Remarkably there appear to be a growing number of people having trouble identifying who the ‘real terrorists’ are. Here is a hint to help them. The real terrorists are the ones intentionally targeting innocent women and children, beheading as many Americans (and Jews) as they can get their hands on, and strapping bombs to their own small kids' bodies sending them out to blow themselves up for the cause.” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: Good News and Bad News About the News “Occasionally, a national news organization will take a step away from advocacy and attempt to present useful news. Brian Lehrer who hosts his eponymous show on NPR and WNYC, in conjunction with Bobby Ghosh, the Baghdad bureau chief for Time magazine, deserve credit for attempting to shed light on the current status of the troop surge in Baghdad. Ghosh is in Baghdad and made his first report last Thursday; today was Part II, with two more to follow. Brian Lehrer asked about the comments made by several of the Democratic candidates to the effect that we need to withdraw most of our troops and confine our efforts to fighting al Qaeda. Ghosh's response was surprising and should receive wide dissemination.” (READ MORE)
ROFASix: America - The Next People's State? “There is no longer any question that a vote for Hillary will be a vote for the new socialist man in America. Socialism, once an anathema to everything precious to America is now viewed as something that can be managed, or controlled if we just 'do a little' ... sorta like Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. It began in subtle ways in the days of our grandfathers. One of the most damaging changes started in the 1930s has today created the devastating cultural effects of fiat money and central banking, yet is doesn't even raise a political eyebrow anymore. Given our educational system, it is no surprise that neither political party has a clue.” (READ MORE)
McQ: The long war “Jason Steck at the Moderate Voice writes an interesting piece entitled "What is Al Qaeda". He begins with a familiar criticism: ‘The “war on terrorism” was always a misnomer. Terrorism is a tactic and you can’t have a war against a tactic. Tactics can’t attack, they can’t negotiate, and they can’t surrender. Tactics are just tools, tools used by people. And the people who used terrorism as a tactic on 9/11 against the World Trade Center towers, in 2000 against the USS Cole, and in 1998 against U.S. embassies in Africa are a group called al-Qaeda.’” (READ MORE)
John Hinderaker: Al Qaeda Today “The Telegraph has an interesting article on the current status of al Qaeda: ‘For several years after the terrorist attacks on September 11, [bin Laden and al Qaeda's "core" group] were engaged in little else than avoiding capture and fleeing the American-led offensive in Afghanistan. Today, by contrast, they are probably secure enough to give strategic direction to al-Qa'eda cells across the world.’ The Telegraph's reporter, David Blair, says that the view of al Qaeda as a ‘franchise’ operation is probably outdated, and that the organization's leaders are now trying to take a more direct role in events.” (READ MORE)
Neptunus Lex: An Islamic Reformation? “In the Weekly Standard (again, I know) Christina Hoff Summers avers that Islam may be reformed from within, as the distaff half of its human capital growingly demands first rank status from conservative-minded idealogues who’ll have none of it: ‘(I)n the Muslim world itself there is a burgeoning movement to address the miserable predicament of the second sex.” The number of valiant and resourceful Muslim women who are devoting themselves to the cause of greater freedom grows each and every day.’” (READ MORE)
Kat in MO: Chai Tea, Mud Huts, etc “I started a series in 2005 called ‘Chai Tea’, mainly because I was trying to emphasize the way that a counterinsurgency is won. Not by bullets, but handshakes. In some respects, the Democrat party is not wrong when it insists that politics, not the military, will win the day. On the other hand, they have placed the greater emphasis on ‘world politics’ rather than the type of politics that make a difference.” (READ MORE)
Kobayashi Maru: Warming Trend Becomes Obvious... “It's warming here in Boston, I tell you! Just three months ago I was freezing my a$$ off. Now I'm sitting here in shorts with the window open. My goodness, what if this trend continues? (Kmaru pulls out calculator; quickly makes rough calculations; eyes pop out of head, cartoon-style). Yikes! If my numbers are right, things could literally reach the boiling point by this time next year--and I don't mean the pre-election political rhetoric. We should do something! Everyone should do something! (except me, of course.) Now!” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Plan B from SF “Maj. Fernando Martinez Lujan reckons political pressure will force a withdrawal, advocates Plan B thinkage, and offers his idea of what Plan B should look like. Not surprisingly, the Special Forces officer goes for a Special Forces approach.” (READ MORE)
Gribbit: Isn’t Anyone Going To Call Reid, Pelosi, Edwards, Kennedy, Murtha, and Company On War News? “In the past 2 days, we’ve had some positive news from Iraq despite the high numbers of wounded and killed in action in the past month. Last month, Harry ‘The Human Sleeping Pill’ Reid proclaimed that the War in Iraq was lost. This came as a shock to our young men and women serving in that country. This came as a shock to the Iraqi government and Iraqi Security Forces. But most of all, it didn’t reflect the reality on the ground.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: (Video) Kindergarten graduation, death cult style “Some commenter made the point in this thread that another thing leftists have in common with Islamists is that both get their kids to do their dirty work for them. That’s grossly unfair, though, given what sort of work each has in mind. Here’s the latest reminder, Exhibit ZZZ in the case against systemic Palestinian child abuse.” (READ MORE)
Bryan Preston: Shocka! RNC donations off by 40% “The steep dropoff may have led to multiple layoffs of its phone bank workers. ‘The Republican National Committee, hit by a grass-roots donors’ rebellion over President Bush’s immigration policy, has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors, Ralph Z. Hallow will report Friday in The Washington Times.’” (READ MORE)
Flopping Aces: The War On Immigration “I'm reading lots and lots of clenched fist angry type posts by various conservative bloggers nowadays over this Immigration bill. This bill definitely deserves it. A bill that allows those here illegally to remain here and become legal is crap. Forcing them to pay a fine and to get back at the end of the line isn't a bad idea but without a real wall, which will keep the next 12 million illegals from coming in this is just a temporary fix....just like Reagan did in the 80's. But I also find many on the right are just way to unrealistic on how things really work.” (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: That's What Elections Are For “E.J. Dionne Jr., my favorite Washington Post punching bag once again has forgotten how our system works. I should be happy that he is apparently so concerned for our system of government that he wrote today's column ‘Debating In Parallel Universes’; except he's forgotten how our electoral system works. You see E.J. is very concerned about the split in priorities that Pew pointed out in an April poll. Evidently he was shocked to learn that folks on the left and right have differing priorities for the country. I guess he doesn't pay as much attention to politics as an op/ed writer should.” (READ MORE)
Don Surber: The food stamp challenge: The Castro version “The month of May saw reporters across the country fall for the Food Stamp Challenge by special interest groups. Live on that $1,000 per year subsidy the average food stamp recipient receives. Subsidy, not ration.” (READ MORE)
Blue Crab Boulevard: Hello Darkness – Redux “The silence of the complicit. More than a week after the release of documents that show al Qaeda torture methods and after the release of 41 Iraqis from an al Qaeda torture chamber only Fox News and CNN have written about it and shown the American public the pictures. No other major media outlet has. But they sure had a lot of time to spout about abu Ghraib and run the pictures continuously.” (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: NPR Continues Kyoto Dishonesty “Two days ago, I pointed out that the layers of editors and fact-checkers at the AP managed to miss the fact that the Kyoto treaty got rejected almost four years before Bush took office. Apparently, the fact-checkers and editors at NPR are no better than those at the AP. In a report on developments on the climate-change issue today, NPR again falsely accuses the Bush administration of killing Kyoto (h/t: CQ reader Jeff K):” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: Who Goes There? “James Gordon Meek from the NY Daily News learns from FBI Assistant Director John Miller that the tempo of terrorist activity within the United States is increasing. Two indicators were cited. The first were surveillance warrants. ‘Miller said the 2,176 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act search warrants approved last year, compared with only 1,754 granted in 2005, mostly targeted plotters inside America.’ The second indicator were messages broadcast from al-Qaeda high command to entrepreneurial terrorist volunteers in America. ‘One measure is the record-high output of video and audio messages from Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. ... take that ball and run with it.’ But it isn't just amateur night al-Qaeda is counting on.” (READ MORE)
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