A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention updated throughout the day…so check back often. This is a weekend edition so updates are as time and family permits.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
NFL Suspends Falcons' Vick Indefinitely - The NFL suspends Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick indefinitely Friday, following Vick's admission in court papers that he was deeply involved in an illegal dogfighting. (READ MORE)
DNC May Deny Florida Slots at '08 Convention - Florida lawmakers angrily assailed the Democratic National Committee and its chairman, Howard Dean, saying he is threatening to "disenfranchise" the state's voters by considering a plan to invalidate the state's presidential primary. (READ MORE)
Terror Suspect List Yields Few Arrests - The government's terrorist screening database flagged Americans and foreigners as suspected terrorists almost 20,000 times last year. But only a small fraction of those questioned were arrested or denied entry into the United States... (READ MORE)
Swiss Court: Yukos Case Is 'Political' - Switzerland's supreme court has issued an unusual, high-profile rebuke to the Kremlin, ruling that Russia's continuing investigation of the Yukos oil company is politically motivated. The court ordered Swiss authorities not to turn over bank documents that Russia is seeking... (READ MORE)
A Crisis of Conscience Over Refugees in Israel - Israel's decision to close its doors to asylum-seekers from Darfur and all other non-Jewish refugees has Israelis and Jews around the world struggling with their distinct identities of Israel: a Jewish state with a Jewish people, or a state born from the Holocaust with a determination to challenge future genocides and succor their victims. (READ MORE)
DNC Strips Florida Of 2008 Delegates - The Democratic National Committee sought to seize control of its unraveling nominating process yesterday, rejecting pleas from state party leaders and cracking down on Florida for scheduling a Jan. 29 presidential primary. (READ MORE)
After Iraq Trip, Unshaken Resolve - When Rep. Jan Schakowsky made her first trip to Iraq this month, the outspoken antiwar liberal resolved to keep her opinions to herself. "I would listen and learn," she decided. (READ MORE)
Double Bombing Kills At Least 42 in Hyderabad - Two bombs exploded Saturday night in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, killing at least 42 people and seriously injuring about 50, officials said. The first bomb went off just after 7:30 p.m. in an amusement park during a laser light show, killing nine people in an area filled with families. (READ MORE)
Straight and Narrow - Sean McKinney of Gaithersburg knew he wanted to join the military when he was about 6, playing with G.I. Joe action figures and dreaming of the day he could wear a uniform. (READ MORE)
Florida Warned on Early Primary - Florida Democrats will forfeit their votes in selecting a presidential nominee unless they delay their state election by at least a week, the national party said yesterday. (READ MORE)
Hamas Wields Brutal Control - With both legs badly bruised from a vicious beating, Shaher Abu Oda can get around only with a painful shuffle. In the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, however, he is just one of many young men bearing limps, plaster casts and stitches... (READ MORE)
Border Patrol Chief Rejects Mission Against Aliens, Drugs - A Border Patrol chief at one of the nation's most dangerous Southwest border crossings says the agency's mission doesn't include apprehending illegal aliens or seizing narcotics — perplexing front-line agents and angering a congressional critic of illegal immigration. (READ MORE)
Bomb Near Shrine Kills 7 - A car bomb exploded yesterday near Baghdad's most important Shi'ite shrine, killing seven persons and wounding dozens as authorities imposed new security restrictions to prevent attacks on Shi'ite pilgrims ahead of major religious ceremonies south of the capital. (READ MORE)
Giuliani Sees Ruin Under Democrats - A Democratic president would raise taxes and ravage the economy, Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph W. Giuliani said yesterday. (READ MORE)
From the Front:
Jake's Life: Home - I am happy to say that as I am writing this I am not in Iraq, I am not in Kuwait, I am not holding my rifle, I am not wearing cammies, I'm actually not even sweating. I am sitting at a kitchen counter in Palm Springs, CA. I just got done swimming, grilling and eating, and I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE SECOND of it. (READ MORE)
Ralph Peters: Senator Warner's Bad Withdrawl Symptoms - Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) is one of the great states men of our time, a man of integrity and devotion to our country. He's never been a mere politician - the sort who regard a visit to our troops as a campaign photo op. But this time he's wrong. (READ MORE)
Matt Sanchez: Are there really atheists in foxholes? - Col. Frank Whismur is a soft-spoken, 25 year veteran and Army Chaplain. In his own words, Col. Whismur explains why the military needs chaplains. In this audio interview, the Chaplain tells the story of a soldier who struggled after shooting an Iraqi citizen who was a passenger in a vehicle that was driving in the wrong direction at a check point. (READ MORE)
Fightin' 6th Marines: I can't open my email! - This entry is about some of the most loved and hated guys in the Corps. We all love it when the phone is working, the email is connected, and the internet pops up in a blink of the eye. Our Communication Marines (for those of you that do not have to wear the desert digital leisure suit, these are our "IT" guys) work around the clock to keep our electrons flowing. When the email is working, we love them! When the system is down... you guessed it! Nonetheless, without them, we could not bring you information through VOX. Pfc. Brian Jones spent a day with the Gods of Wire. (READ MORE)
Desert Flier: Fleet Marine Force Qualifications - On November 10, 1775, in Tunn Tavern, Philadelphia, Samuel Nicholas was commissioned to raise two battalions of Marines. As the Marine Corps. first commandant, Samual Nicholas was tasked with raising a Continental Marine fighting force for the protection of combatant naval vessels as a young nation sat on the cusp of a full British invasion (not The Beatles; the other invasion) mere weeks before the signing of the Declaration of Independence by our forefathers. (READ MORE)
Wesley Morgan: Riding with 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division - For my last embed, I went back to the unit I’d visited with Gen. Petraeus: Col. Jon Lehr’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad. After waiting around at the landing zone for a couple of hours, the sergeant coordinating the flights finally barked out that the First Team Express –- the Black Hawk shuttle that circulates to the various Forward Operating Bases of the 1st Cavalry Division –- was arriving, and as a pair of birds descended onto the tarmac the other passengers and I filed out to board them. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Debra J. Saunders: Bookless Versus Clueless - When a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll found, as reported by the Associated Press, that "liberals read more books than conservatives," the president of the Association of American Publishers promptly shoved her foot in her mouth. (READ MORE)
George Will: Seeking Harbingers - French libraries are said to file their nation's constitutions -- there have been more than a dozen since 1789; the current one is a relatively ancient 49 years old -- under periodicals. Now Nicolas Sarkozy, France's peripatetic new president, has created a commission on constitutional reform. (READ MORE)
Kevin McCullough: Why Liberals Always Protect Perverts - When liberals are given the choice between acting decently or choosing the riches of perversion - liberals prefer perversion. (READ MORE)
Paul Jacob: Unhappiness is a drawn gun - Reason has suffered shipwreck, and the captain stands at the shoreline telling us all is fine. (Alert: This is a metaphor. Do not aim at the mentally feeble. Do not aim at educators.) (READ MORE)
Frank Pastore: Christians, Elvira Arellano, and Sanctuary - What Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago gave to Elvira Arellano and her son Saul for a whole year was not really ‘a sanctuary’ but more accurately ‘a hideout.’ (READ MORE)
Austin Hill: Immigration: The "Other" Mom From Mexico - Let me tell you about a mom from Mexico, who came to the U.S. You probably think that you've already heard that story. But I've got one you probably haven't heard yet - - and I'll get to it in a moment. (READ MORE)
Robert Bluey: Liberals Target Union Watchdog - The Office of Labor Management Standards, the federal government’s union watchdog agency, has recouped more than $100 million for American workers since 2001. But the increased oversight on unions hasn’t gone over well with liberals in Congress, who are trying to slash the agency’s budget for next year. (READ MORE)
Bill Sali: Freedom of religion, Christianity go together - Some people say it is wrong for me to speak in defense of the importance of Christianity's role in our country's founding and it continuing significance to the life of our nation. (READ MORE)
Doug Giles: A Sanctuary for Demoniacs - I have nothing against friendly foreigners who want to get the heck out of their banana republic and get a legal life over here in the land of plenty. I feel your pain, hombres. Well, not really. Actually, I have no idea what kind of gruel you have to slog through while I live on a marina in Miami next to a world-class golf course. (READ MORE)
SFC MAC: Hildabeast: Another terrorist attack on U.S. would boost GOP – “Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday raised the prospect of a terror attack before next year’s election, warning that it could boost the GOP’s efforts to hold on to the White House.” To quote Dan Akroyd: “Hillary, you ignorant slut”. She’s afraid another attack by terrorists on this country would give the Republicans a rise in the polls? (READ MORE)
Michael Fumento: Huffington Post ups Iraqi deaths past 1 million - As of August 14th, 1,019,627 Iraqis "have been killed due to the U.S. invasion" according to Robert Naiman in a blog at the Huffington Post. His methodology, however, as you might guess, is a bit wanting. He starts with a 2006 Lancet study that he says calculates 600,000 Iraqi civilians killed in the war as of July, 2006. (Actually, the study said 655,000 but then you can't expect Naiman to read actual studies or even their abstracts or conclusions.) (READ MORE)
The Marching Camp: Haditha - The Democracy Project is the best source for the slow disintegration of Jack Murtha and the Anti-Victory Left's pet "war crimes" case, the so-called Haditha Marines. All of the junior NCOs and enlisted Marines have had an Article 32 hearing which resulted in recommendations of dismissal of charges. General Mattis has acted favorably on several of those recommendations, others are still pending. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Bush is making the economy too good - “But questions remain about how long the West can weather the problems that come with low unemployment.” — Matt Gouras of the Associated Press. Damn that George Bush. He is making things too good for the American people. (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: HuffPo genius to Peter Pace: Arrest this man and relieve him of command - Like Fisk’s embrace of Trutherism in the course of denying he’s embracing Trutherism, this turd’s found a rich vein of “nuance” in calling for a partial military coup. Bush would continue to execute his civilian domestic duties, he assures us; it’s just that he’d presumably have to do so from a brig, after he’s been court-martialed and imprisoned. An advanced case of BDS here, to be sure, but they’ve been known to happen. (READ MORE)
The Hatemongers Quarterly: Extreme Opinions, Extreme Ignorance - A few days ago, dear reader, one of the junior editors at "The Hatemonger's Quarterly"--let's just call him "Chip"--found himself at an old friend's home. Although "Chip" had not seen this longtime pal for some time, he recognized that he was of very different political beliefs. As a result, it came as no surprise to "Chip" to hear that his buddy aimed to attend an anti-Iraq War rally in Kennebunkport, Maine. (READ MORE)
Cassy Fiano: G.I. Joe: "Real American Hero" no more - Who remembers playing with G.I. Joe as a kid? For those of us who grew up with normal childhoods, instead of the moonbat-infested, politically correct childhoods forced onto kids today, G.I. Joe was the action figure to have. It was originally started in the 60s as a WWII soldier, with soldiers from other countries (Germany, England, and believe it or not, France), but saw its most successful sales during the resurgance in the 80s, with the Real American Hero, or RAH line. (READ MORE)
Jay Tea: Rise To Vote, Sir! - OK, I'm going to the well yet again over NOW -- but this time, only tangentially. The issue of election fraud is a convoluted one. I'm going to simplify it a bit (probably too much) and bring one aspect of it down to the least complicated level I can. To win an election, one must win more votes than one's opposition. All issues aside, it boils down to two principles: get people who support you to vote, discourage those who oppose you from voting. Nearly every electoral tactic can be reduced to those two principles. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Maliki: Hillary, Levin Should Tend Their Own Villages - Nouri al-Maliki may have a knack for American politics, even if he has proven somewhat disappointing in Iraqi politics. After Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin demanded Maliki's resignation or ouster, the Iraqi Prime Minister reminded them that they should concern themselves with their own turf and not his: “Iraq's beleaguered prime minister on Sunday lashed out at American critics who have called for his ouster, saying Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Carl Levin need to ‘come to their senses.’” (READ MORE)
Dafydd: How Dare the Dictator Spy on Radical Mosques! - This could get interesting (and potentially ugly): An imam and a pizzeria owner were convicted of supporting terrorism... and they're now appealing, claiming the National Security Agency's Terrorist Surveillance Program violated their constitutional rights. First, just the facts, ma'am: “After a bloody raid by American military forces on an enemy camp in Rawah, Iraq, on June 11, 2003, a Defense Department report took inventory. Eighty suspected terrorists killed. An enormous weapons cache recovered. And, in what the report called “pocket litter,” a notebook with the name and phone number of the imam of a mosque halfway around the world, here in the state capital.” (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: Subprime Hypocrisy? - Is there some new found hypocrisy in Congress's reaction to the sub prime mortgage market? Steve Chapman at the Chicago Tribune thinks so, and I'm inclined to believe him. He points this out early in his most recent piece "Illusions of Home Ownership; Subpar remedies for subprime loans". In the old days, financial institutions that refused to lend to people with low incomes or imperfect credit were accused of victimizing the needy. Today, financial institutions that make many loans to those same people are found guilty of the same crime. (READ MORE)
Democracy Project: Haditha: Ware, Sharratt, Tatum, Wuterich, Mattis - The Haditha cases, so far, are progressing as I’d expected: hollow or weak charges, inadequate investigations, able defense work revealing much not covered or downplayed by the initial news reporting rush to judgment, judicial relief for the defendants (although their lives and pockets, otherwise, have been scarred and picked clean), and little or no reflection by the major media on their own hysteria. (READ MORE)
Dymphna: Dining Out à la Haram - Last week’s big stink in Turkey arose from a pile of risotto. The Turkish Interior Minister Osman Gunes was served the delicacy by the governor of Mugla, Temel Kocaklar. Mr. Gunes was so taken with his meal that he called for the chef to ask how it was made. Upon learning that the risotto had contained a glass of wine, the Minister went off his trolley and fired the provincial governor. (READ MORE)
Average Gay Joe: For some, defeat IS victory - Remember the mini-brouhaha the other day when President Bush spoke about completing the job in Iraq lest we have a recurrence of the disaster we faced after withdrawing from Vietnam in 1973? Democrats blasted the President for supposedly “being against Vietnam before he was for it” while their online sycophants sang chorus with “honesty, consistency and integrity have no meaning to George Bush”. (READ MORE)
Neptunus Lex: An imperfect comparison - Much has been made, both better and worse, of President Bush’s comparison of the war in Iraq - and the potential consequences of failure there - with the national disgrace that followed hard upon the heels of our betrayal of allies in Vietnam and Cambodia. In the WSJ today, former Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan reaches even further back in to evoke the ghosts of Normandy, relaying the tale of a hot-air ballooning trip that landed short in the fields of an octogenarian Norman farmer: (READ MORE)
McQ: You really have to wonder where this woman has been - I’m talking about Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and her recent trip to Iraq. But the real test came over a lunch with Gen. David H. Petraeus, who used charts and a laser pointer to show how security conditions were gradually improving — evidence, he argued, that the troop increase is doing some good. Still, the U.S. commander cautioned, it could take another decade before real stability is at hand. Schakowsky gasped. "I come from an environment where people talk nine to 10 months," she said, referring to the time frame for withdrawal that many Democrats are advocating. "And there he was, talking nine to 10 years." (READ MORE)
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