A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Pope hits Iraq violence, immigration and sex scandal - Pope Benedict XVI yesterday urged President Bush to do more to protect Christians from violence in Iraq and to promote humane solutions to the problem of illegal immigration and then chided America's Catholic bishops for their bad handling of the sexual abuse crisis. (READ MORE)
Clinton revisits Wright's role - Sen. Barack Obama was treated like the Democratic front-runner for the first time in a debate last night — fielding hard questions about his ties to a 1970s domestic terrorist, his racially divisive church and his electability. (READ MORE)
Taiwan Strait tension cools off - The United States sent three aircraft carrier strike groups to waters around Taiwan after China told U.S. officials last year there was high risk of a military incident after Taiwan's March 22 presidential election, according to Pentagon and military officials. (READ MORE)
Seoul's new chief brings sea change - The recent presidential and parliamentary elections mark a sharp turn in South Korea's political climate, with voters weary after spending billions of dollars in hopes of promoting peace with North Korea only to see the North develop and test an atomic bomb. (READ MORE)
Blogger garners fame after 'Bittergate' - Mayhill Fowler is no longer an unknown California blogger. In the past 48 hours, she has generated international press coverage, a profile in the New York Times and sparked furious discussion among journalists, pundits and campaign strategists. (READ MORE)
Court upholds lethal injection - The Supreme Court yesterday upheld Kentucky's use of lethal injections for death-row inmates in a 7-2 vote, describing the process as "more humane" and ending a national halt on executions. (READ MORE)
China snubs CNN apology over Cafferty remarks - BEIJING (AP) -- China on Thursday snubbed an apology from CNN over remarks by one of its commentators as a wave of verbal assaults on foreign media raised concerns over coverage at this summer's Beijing Olympics. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu rejected CNN's explanation that commentator Jack Cafferty was referring to China's leaders - not the Chinese people - when he described them as "goons and thugs." (READ MORE)
Obama Pressed in Pa. Debate - PHILADELPHIA, April 16 -- Sen. Barack Obama repeatedly found himself on the defensive here Wednesday night as he sought to bat away criticism of his remarks about small-town values, questions about his patriotism and the incendiary sermons of his former pastor in a potentially pivotal debate six... (READ MORE)
Iraq Reassigns Chiefs Of Basra's Army, Police - BAGHDAD, April 16 -- The Iraqi government said Wednesday that it was reassigning the top military and police commanders in the southern city of Basra, three weeks after a crackdown on Shiite militias there that was widely criticized as a poorly planned offensive that failed to disarm the fighters. (READ MORE)
Huge Gap Predicted In Supply Of Food - TOKYO, April 16 -- North Korea is facing a humanitarian crisis this year and will likely need large food donations from the international community, the U.N. World Food Program said Wednesday. (READ MORE)
New Freedom, and Peril, in Online Criticism of China - HAIKOU, China -- Wang Qianyuan did not realize she would cause such a frenzy last week when she ran into a group of American students, Tibetan flags tied over their shoulders, getting ready for a vigil at Duke University to support human rights. (READ MORE)
Congress May Seek Criminal Probe of Altered Earmark - The Senate moved yesterday toward asking the Justice Department for a criminal investigation of a $10 million legislative earmark whose provisions were mysteriously altered after Congress gave final approval to a huge 2005 highway funding bill. (READ MORE)
Carbon Showdown - The First Commandment of climate-change politics is that you can never be green enough – as President Bush learns anew every time he even attempts to address the issue. Critics were quick to claim a victory of sorts after his Rose Garden speech yesterday, while at the same time carrying on about half-measures and delay on "the planetary emergency." (READ MORE)
'10% of GDP'- Is Washington looking in the wrong place for financial market risk to taxpayers? According to a new study by Standard & Poor's, the answer is yes. Congress is disturbed about the bailout risk from the Federal Reserve opening its discount window to borrowing from investment banks and broker-dealers. That's a reasonable concern, especially with the Fed guaranteeing $29 billion in dodgy Bear Stearns paper. (READ MORE)
Spitzerism Lives - Eliot Spitzer is no longer on the prosecuting side of the criminal justice system. But his brand of extrajudicial punishment is alive and well among U.S. Attorneys. Take the case of former Gen Re CEO Joseph Brandon, who was forced to resign on Monday although he has not been charged with any crime and was by all accounts a superb manager. (READ MORE)
The Smartest Australians - Kevin Rudd ran for office last year on a slogan of "Hi, I'm Kevin. I'm from Queensland and I'm here to help." Now, the prime minister is getting some help himself: from 1,000 of Australia's "brightest minds." This is no joke. Mr. Rudd's "Summit 2020" kicks off on Saturday in Canberra. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Daniel Henninger: Hillary and Obama in Small Town - Hillary Clinton knows exactly what Barack Obama is feeling as he struggles to contain his San Francisco faux pas. Her moment came during the 1992 campaign in an appearance on "60 Minutes" when she suddenly said: "I'm not sitting here as some little woman, 'standing by my man' like Tammy Wynette." Why she said that doesn't matter now. What matters is that every Tammy Wynette cooking dinner in a mortgaged house for three kids and a working man in some small town rose up to say, "You're not me, Hillary." (READ MORE)
Emhamed Khadad: Free Western Sahara - In the coming days, the United Nations is scheduled to debate the fate of Africa's last colony. Since it was illegally invaded by Moroccan troops in 1975, Western Sahara and its indigenous people known as the Sahrawis have been fighting the torpid responses of the global community and the aggressive policies of the Moroccan monarchy. Western Sahara must be brought out of the margins and into the light. Up for discussion will be the extension of the mandate of the U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso). (READ MORE)
Michael Pettis: What's Causing China's Inflation? - Inflation in China is intensifying, and so is the debate about what's causing it. Yesterday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported headline consumer prices in March increased 8.3% – for a 12.9% annualized inflation rate for the first quarter of 2008. Most of this inflation can be accounted for by increases in food prices, which are up 21% since last year. Economists commonly attribute this supposedly temporary price spike to bad weather, livestock diseases and poor distribution systems. The price levels of the CPI's nonfood component rose by only 2.2%. (READ MORE)
Frederik Erixon & Brian Hindley: Membership Has Its Privileges - Ukraine became the latest former Soviet republic admitted to the World Trade Organization in February, joining the Baltics, Georgia, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan. These states have embraced open trade and market-oriented economic policies – and, in WTO membership, the best available guarantee that those policies will be maintained. All the other former Soviet states are still trying to show that they belong in the club (except for Turkmenistan, which has not applied for membership). (READ MORE)
David Baltimore & Ahmed Zewail: We Need a Science White House - Tomorrow Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain should have been going toe-to-toe in a televised science debate. All three were invited by a bipartisan group of Nobel laureates and other scholars called ScienceDebate 2008 to step on stage at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and explain how they will ensure that America continues to dominate the sciences. Leading in scientific research and advancement is an essential element to our future prosperity, health and national defense. (READ MORE)
David Kopel: The Democrats and Gun Control - Imagine an election race of Pat Robertson versus James Dobson, each of them appearing at organic grocery stores and Starbucks throughout Massachusetts, with each candidate insisting that he alone deserves the vote of gay-marriage advocates. An equally silly spectacle is taking place these days in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky, as Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama compete for the pro-gun vote. Mr. Obama supports the Second Amendment – or so his surrogates have been claiming all over Pennsylvania... (READ MORE)
Jack Kemp: Obama and Economic Opportunity - Dear Barack, Greetings, it's me again, giving more advice and taking you up on your thoughtful suggestion to open up a national discussion and dialogue on race and racial reconciliation in America. First of all, some historical perspective, not for you senator, but for my other readers. I believe all great achievements in our nation's progress toward social, legal and economic justice have been led by a combination of agitation and idealism. (READ MORE)
Rebecca Hagelin: Congress and the Mortgage Madness: Leave Things A-Loan - Americans are a compassionate people. Faced with media reports about the rising tide of foreclosures, it’s understandable that many feel tempted to applaud federal action -- to agree that politicians should “do something” to help people stay in their homes. Should the government try and come to the rescue? Go to The Heritage Foundation’s “What Would Reagan Do?” Web site and take our quiz to see if you know what President Reagan (who took us from double-digit mortgage rates to a booming economy) taught us about government bailouts. (READ MORE)
Amanda Carpenter: Democrats Block Resolution to Commend Pope - A reliable GOP aide informs Townhall that Senate Democrats are blocking a measure to commend Pope Benedict XVI because of “controversial” religious language used in the text of the resolution. The Pope arrived in Washington Wednesday for a six-day visit to the United States. He delivered an address on the White House South Lawn that morning to praise the America for preserving religious freedom at home and abroad. A week before the pontiff arrived in Washington, the House passed a resolution to welcome him to the United States. (READ MORE)
Mike S. Adams: Third Letter to a Secular Nation - In a previous installment of this series, I criticized Sam Harris for lumping together “old world” and “new world” creationists. But I must admit that before I became a Christian I was also guilty of over-simplifying the arguments of believers. Back then, I’m sure I appeared just as narrow-minded as Harris appears throughout the pages of Letter to a Christian Nation. Nonetheless, statements like the following still grab my attention: “Consider:every devout Muslim has the same reasons for being a Muslim that you have for being a Christian.” That is an odd statement indeed. (READ MORE)
Victor Davis Hanson: Casualties of the Campaign - It is only four months into 2008, but the presidential campaign -- already too long and nasty -- is still a long way from over. And the casualties are mounting. First, George Bush’s popularity remains dismal -- even though some of the complaints about his first term have gone by the wayside. The French and German governments are now staunchly pro-American. Violence in Iraq is still way down from a year ago. America has been free from a terrorist attack since 9/11. No matter. Nothing has seemed to help the president. His approval rating stays at, or sinks below, 30 percent. (READ MORE)
Robert D. Novak: Bush: Don't Shield Journalists - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The bad news last week for conservative Republican Rep. Mike Pence was private confirmation that his proposed law protecting journalists from runaway judges was opposed by President George W. Bush himself, not just inflexible Justice Department lawyers. The good news this week for Pence was an unexpected public endorsement by Bush's successor heading the Republican Party, John McCain. That aligns McCain with his two Democratic rivals, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- reflecting bipartisan support for a shield law. (READ MORE)
Suzanne Fields: Closing the Gap on God - John McCain skipped the forum on faith at Messiah College. That gave more time for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to spar with each other over who was holier than thou -- smart. The Democratic candidates continue to trivialize faith with superficiality, and Sen. McCain was fortunate he didn't have a god in this fight. When your opponents are destroying themselves, the smart pol gives them plenty of room. Hillary told the forum she communes with God in uplifting moments such as watching a sunset or walking in the woods. Her heart leaps at the daffodils, too. (READ MORE)
Ken Blackwell: Hijacked! - “The Real Obama,” my February 14 column, was hijacked, altered, and circulated on the Internet by e-mail. I hear estimates that perhaps tens of thousands of people have now seen an altered version of my piece. I have had people from Europe and China e-mail me about my column. While I am happy to know that so many people have read my work, the bad news is the last few paragraphs were someone else’s words and work. Equally disturbing were the factual errors in that hijacker’s work. In that column, I wrote how we were starting to learn about the real Barack Obama. He is a stridently partisan liberal, well outside the American mainstream. (READ MORE)
Emmett Tyrrell: Jimmy Carter Amok - WASHINGTON -- In the 1980 presidential election, the American people did the best they could with President Jimmy Carter, given the limitations imposed on them by our Constitution: They retired him from office (44 states participated in the ceremony). Looking back, however, on how the scamp has abused his retirement, I, for one, wish we could have done better. Perhaps he could have been put in a jar. He has, in the succeeding 27 years since his exit from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., remained almost as ruinous a nuisance out of office as he was in office. That cannot be said of any other president. (READ MORE)
Jerry Bowyer: James Madison to America: This Is What We Warned You About - As a Pennsylvania voter, I’m particularly fascinated by the identity politics that I see playing out every day before my eyes. It’s kind of ironic, since this is the state in which the founders met in to write a constitution which they intended to protect their posterity from the destructive effects of political factions. They warned us about the destructive power of political fanaticism. Not only has the modern Democratic Party failed to heed those warnings, but it has spent the last 40 years writing factionalism into its internal party rules. (READ MORE)
Rich Galen: Virtue, Liberty, and Independence - Pehhhhhhhhhnsylvania! Where the wind comes sweeping through the mines …! That's the way it goes, isn't it? "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence" is the motto of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pretty good motto. Pretty good state. Next Tuesday the C of P will hold its Presidential primary election. No one. NO ONE believed that either nomination would still be at issue on April 22nd. Hillary R. (!) Clinton has to win the Pennsylvania primary election next Tuesday. That is not at issue. There are some in the Democratic Party family who are attempting to set the Hillary bar very high by contending she has to win by double digits or … else. (READ MORE)
This Ain't Hell: New York Times’ narrow view - This morning, the New York Times‘ headline screamed that Iraqis were abandoning their posts in Sadr City. The truth is that only a few dozen green troops got cold feet; “A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias. The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing.” (READ MORE)
Red County: The Tax Code And Freedom - Another tax season has come and gone when Americans and American businesses spend $250 to $300 billion dollars for no other purpose than to make sure that they have complied with the law. As in other areas of the law, the tax code long ago became too complex for the average person to understand. With deductions and credits for everything from children to purchasing the correct automobile, armies of tax preparers and lawyers are kept employed. Societies with low levels of literacy have been kept subjugated throughout history because the people could not read. A complex, byzantine tax code effectively robs people of their literacy and leaves them open to manipulation. (READ MORE)
Meryl Yourish: Defining deviancy down - Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously coined the phrase “defining deviancy down” to accept more and more violent behavior. The news media seem to have that concept down perfectly when it comes to Israel. Always, when Israel launches offensives against terrorists—and always, the offensives are launched after terrorists have attacked and murdered Israelis—the media insist that Israel’s actions are “threatening” to “derail” or “unravel” or simply “threatening a fragile” and here we have our choice of “lull,” “cease-fire,” “quiet,” or even “peace negotiations.” It’s like the AP/Reuters/NYTimes version of Mad Libs. And now, in the latest AP version of defining deviancy down, Israel is responsible for threatening “to unravel an Egyptian effort to mediate a cease-fire.” (READ MORE)
David Bernstein: Obama Doesn't "Exchange Ideas" with an Unrepentant Ex-Domestic Terrorist - ... "on a regular basis". Boy, that wasn't a good answer. It didn't help that Obama followed up by analogizing Bill Ayers, the domestic terrorist in question, to a fellow Senator who vociferously opposes abortion, with whom Obama is also friendly. One man advocates legislation to criminalize abortion, the other is an unrepentant ex-terrorist from the Weather Underground, there is no difference in moral judgment in deciding to befriend either of them, right? (READ MORE)
Cassandra: Steven Vincent, RIP - I will never forget the day I learned of his death, nor the words that floated into my head. I think of them still, whenever I think of his work: “If you look far enough into his eyes They'll rock you just like thunder” We never hear much about Steven Vincent from the mainstream media when they speak of how incredibly dangerous it is over there, yet he rode around in taxis without guards, body armor, or a big stipend from the home office. Why is that? I think he put them to shame. I also think it was because he was a conservative. (READ MORE)
Kat @ The Castle Argghhh!: One Man and A Symbol of Freedom - I can hardly write this post. I am equally angry, sad, proud, and filled with something I can't describe because it is all of these things and more. I just watched a video over at Gateway Pundit. It seems the University of Maine put up, or should I say "down", an "art" display by laying down United States Flags all through the hall way for people to walk on. One man, a veteran, came and tried to pick up the flags. They called the police and told him that he could not. It was property, just a piece of cloth, they said. He told them that he had fought for that flag. He stood in front of one of the flag with a sign: Disgraceful. (READ MORE)
Urban Grounds: PGR Mission for Spc. Matt Morris (23, Cedar Park, TX) - On Monday morning I met 62 of my fellow Patriot Guard Riders at the Army National Guard hangar at the airport here in Austin. We joined the family and friends of Spc Matt Morris (23, Cedar Park, TX) and waited for the arrival of the small private plane that was carrying home his casket. Spc. Morris was killed in action when an IED detonated near his vehicle in Balad, Iraq on April 6. Before enlisting in the Army in 2005, Morris attended the Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va., for more than a year. There, he met a history teacher who inspired him to want to become an educator. “After his service, he wanted to go back to school and get a four-year degree to become a teacher,” his mother said. “He wanted to make a difference and give back to the community.” (READ MORE)
Susan Katz Keating: What Can Virginia Tech Teach Us About PTSD? - One year ago today, my editor at People magazine called from New York to ask if I would look into reports of an unusual incident in Blacksburg, Virginia. At the time of the call, the only thing we knew was that a gunman had opened fire on the campus at Virginia Tech. By the end of the day, an entire People team - and the international media - converged to cover the deadliest and most infamous shooting spree on an American school campus. My part in the story: investigate the killer. People produced a comprehensive, compelling, and respectful story in only two days' time. Afterwards, as People carried the story forward, I continued to investigate the shooter. (READ MORE)
Melanie Phillips Blog: An Iraqi gets it - As three more Israeli soldiers were murdered today at the Nahal Or crossing into Gaza, and Israel once more tried to eradicate the source of the terror by a violent raid (and guess which of these two developments will get all the attention) one unlikely source understands what is actually going on. Unlike so many in the west, this London-based Iraqi author, Aref Alwan has a grasp of history and is honest enough to acknowledge the truth about the unmitigated evil that is dominating the Middle East and the world. In a remarkable article, he identifies the Arab refusal to recognise other people’s rights which has given rise to the ‘enormous lie’ that Palestine was stolen from the Arabs in the ‘nakba’ – ie, the creation of Israel in 1948. (READ MORE)
Sister Toldjah: Last night’s debate - The top story at Memeorandum this morning is about how liberals in the blogosphere and the punditocracy feel that last night’s ABC News debate was poorly moderated and didn’t contain nearly enough policy questions, and focused too much on side issues like campaign “gaffes,” associations, and questions about faith and patriotism. Translation: Barack Obama had to face some tough questions last night, and they didn’t like it. Michelle Malkin noted in an early morning post that the KosKidz are talking about launching a campaign against ABC for being mean to Barry O. Last time the far left launched a campaign against ABC it was in defense of Bubba Clinton and how his counterterrorism record was portrayed in the docudrama Path to 9-11. (READ MORE)
Political Vindication: Of Course Calling Obama “Elitist” Is Racist! - For posterity’s sake, I’ll say it again. The candidacy of Barack Obama will set back race relations in America 50 years. Why? Because race is still an incredibly painful subject for many Americans, which means that it is too powerful a wedge for the Left to ignore. It is our rotten luck that we have a party as thoughtless and immature as the current Democratic party being the stewards of such a momentous chapter in our history. Here is a manifestation of the opportunistic ignorance that will plague Obama’s campaign. David K. Shipler writes in the Los Angeles Times that calling Obama “elitist” is actually a racist remark. Follow the logic: (READ MORE)
Justin Levine: What Now For California’s Death Penalty? - In the coverage of the Supreme Court’s decision of Baze v. Rees, virtually all California news outlets have managed to ignore the importance of Justice Alito’s concurring opinion, and what it specifically means for the future of California’s death penalty. But let’s recap a few things first. Michael Morales was scheduled to be executed in February 2006 for the raping, bludgeoning and stabbing 17-year-old Terri Winchell near Lodi in January 1981. Just hours before his scheduled execution, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled that in order for the execution to proceed, the California would need to find a licensed medical professional to administer the lethal injection drugs properly. (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Recruiting Trends, Theirs - Know your enemy. Small Wars Journal and DoD offer up some recent findings, with an eye to combating enemy recruitment. We’ll start at Small Wars Journal with a study of foreign jihadi recruitment trends by Clint Watts, a former US Army Infantry Officer, FBI Special Agent and Executive Officer of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, now a private consultant: “Recent information on foreign fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan provides an updated picture of future terrorist threats to Western interests. Based on newly-released detainee data from Guantanamo and foreign fighter records captured in Iraq, we can now more precisely identify trends in al-Qa’ida recruiting. Although the data tells us little about fighting inside Iraq and Afghanistan, it reveals a great deal about the modern Sunni mujahid who fights as a volunteer in Middle East conflicts.” (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Iraq: Progress and setback - Two stories out of Iraq show the promise and the frustration in stabilizing the country. A bombing that has claimed more than 50 lives at a funeral for two Sunnis killed by AQI will dominate the day’s reporting. However, in the back pages of the Washington Post, another story about the first bidding for petroleum licenses since the invasion will go mostly unnoticed. First, a suicide bomber killed dozens at a Sunni funeral for two Awakening fighters north of Baghdad: (READ MORE)
Ace of Spades: Childish, Spolied-Rotten Left Reacts to Debate in Childish, Spoiled-Rotten Fashion - This is the most unhinged reaction I've seen, but the day is young. The post looks rewritten. Last night when I read it, the poster accused Gibson and Stephanopolous of a "conspiracy to Subvert Democracy" by daring to ask a presidential candidate why he pals around with terrorists. That line isn't quite there anymore, but the gist of it is still there: “Below is the history of how we saw the Okie-Dokie coming a mile away and how a network Subverted Democracy. President Barack should pull their Broadcasting License.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Show of Democratic hands: How many of you will vote for McCain if your candidate loses? - It’s not clear whom the hand-raisers are backing in the primary, but we can guess: The sore loser constituency among Her Majesty’s supporters has been consistently robust, with 28% preferring McCain to Obama in a Gallup national poll from early March and 30% in the LA Times poll of North Carolinians taken just a few days ago. It’s not fully clear why her working-class base prefers Maverick to Barry O — experience and character are mentioned here — but McCain’s inevitably going to tack towards the center on economic issues to try to neutralize Obama’s main advantage with them. He’s already started, at least rhetorically. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Just ask me - Question: Who won the debate last night? Answer: There was a debate last night? I didn’t watch it. Too busy singing. But Silvio Canto Jr. watched. He said the winner was Republican Sen. John McCain. Stretch out that race, Democrats. Question: Do the Democrats have an alternative candidate who can bridge the gap and bring both sides together in this divisive presidential campaign? Answer: Yes. His name is Keith Russell Judd of Beaumont, Texas, who is on the ballot in Idaho. He fits the very demographic of voters that Democrats seek: White, rural and best of all, he does not own a gun. Well, he can’t. He is an inmate in a federal prison. Look at it this way: If he wins the nation saves money on Secret Service protection. (READ MORE)
Lawhawk: Another Day; Another Terrorist Plot Thwarted By Israel - Another day dawned on Israel, and another terrorist plot to kill Israelis was thwarted by Israeli forces manning the security fence with Gaza. “A Desert Patrol force indentified a cell of three Palestinians approaching the border fence and opened fire at them. One of the men was killed and a second one was injured, while the third managed to escape and is currently being pursued by the soldiers.” That's the second day in a row where Palestinian terrorists attempted to breach the border with Israel. It's also the second day in a row that the terrorists were spotted and repelled. (READ MORE)
Atlas Shrugs: HAMAS: "WE LIKE OBAMA" - This says it all. Like Hitler campaigning for ....... Jennifer Rubin over at Commentary: Hamas holds no grudges apparently against Barack Obama for his aversion to meeting with them. Carl Cameron reports: During an interview on WABC radio Sunday, top Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said the terrorist group supports Obama’s foreign policy vision. “We don’t mind – actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will [win] the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance,” (READ MORE)
Bar Kochba: Masada Will Not Fall Again! - According to reports, President Bush is shying away from visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, when he is in Israel for its 60th Yom HaAtzmaut, Independence Day. The Western Walll, the only remaining defensive wall of the First and Second Temples, was deemed too controversial for Bush. What is it that is so controversial? The Western Wall, since Jewish prayer on its holiest site, the Temple Mount, is severely restricted, has been the focal point of Jewish worship during the most recent return to Zion. Jews have worshipped there since the destruction of the Second Temple. It was off-limits to Jews under Jordanian rule following the 1949 armistice and was liberated in the 1967 Six Day War. This is where the famous picture of Israeli paratroopers looking up at the Wall in awe comes from. (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: Hamas -- No mas? - Steve Clemons at the Huffington Post has a list of the "great Americans" who are urging dialogue with Hamas. These individuals all signed a petition to Secretary Rice saying that: “As to Hamas, we believe that a genuine dialogue with the organization is far preferable to its isolation; it could be conducted, for example, by the UN and Quartet Middle East envoys. Promoting a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza would be a good starting point.” The signatories apparently include a whole bunch of names who readers will instantly recognize. They include persons associated with Obama (such as Zbigniew Brzezinski), Clinton and the former President Bush. (READ MORE)
Blonde Sagacity: Guest Post by Hank Dagny - Liberal Appeasement Policy Fails Every Time It Is Tried, and it costs millions of lives eventually - instead of thousands – every time it is tried also. A communist blog with a mentally ill writer - yes that means a liberal - posted this as proof positive Barack KKK G-D America Hussein Obama is ready to be president. This useful idiot blogger exclaims Barack “hits one out of the park.” Let’s see. G-D America Hussein parrots talking points right off of the left wing appeasement surrender monkey blog sites – and this makes him capable of being the commander-in-chief of the most powerful army in the world? Yeah, right. Let’s see what the collective genius of left wing cowards looks like: (READ MORE)
Congressman John Campbell: IRS Manpower - Yesterday was the day hard-working Americans sent the IRS their taxes. It is ironic that on a day millions of responsible people send the government precious dollars, the Democrats in Congress passed legislation to repeal a provision to help enforce our nation’s tax laws. A provision of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 gave the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the authority to use private debt collection agencies to assist in the collection of overdue individual taxes. These are taxes that IRS has admitted they don’t have the man power to go after and would otherwise go uncollected. It is estimated that allowing these private debt collectors could save the federal government between $1.5 billion and $2.2 billion in gross revenue from 2007 through 2016. (READ MORE)
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