Tom Bevan over at the Real Clear Politics asks a simple enough question: Does anyone care it is the anniversary of D-Day? Obviously, this blog does, I did two posts today about it. A lot of other blogs did as well.
But the media? Not so much. In fact, not at all to speak of.
A couple of people have emailed thanking us for posting Ronald Reagan's "The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc" speech from June 6, 1984, since it appears the anniversary of D-Day has gone largely unnoticed in the mainstream media.
No mention of it in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, or the Boston Globe. Even conservative-leaning outlets like the Washington Times, the New York Sun, and the New York Post missed the boat.
The Washington Post, to its credit, did write an an editorial referencing D-Day, but appears to have used it as a chance to take an oblique shot at the Bush administration:
We don't always take notice of this day on the editorial pages, and every time we fail to do so we hear about it from people who have the date — June 6, 1944 — burned into their memories and who believe that what Americans and their allies did on D-Day must never be forgotten. They're right, of course, and in these times it seems particularly appropriate to recall one act that would serve today's leaders in every branch of government as lesson and example.
On the day before the invasion of France, the supreme allied commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, wrote a note to be read in the event of the mission's failure and put it in his wallet. It said simply, "Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
It hasn't been exactly a hot topic on Memeorandum, either. Kind of sad, really.
Patrick Ruffini, posting over at
Hugh Hewitt's blog, says that Fred Thompson's website has raised $220,000 in 18 hours and has averaged more than 1,500 people per hour signing up as friends. He calls it a shot across the bow. Damn big cannon.
Jon Henke, who quit blogging at QandO to run the Republican Senate new media outreach effort, has left that position and move to a job with New Media Strategies. He will be working for the Fred Thompson campaign among, presumably, other clients. Congratulations, Jon.
I do not choose to support Fred Thompson because of the job; I've chosen the job because of Fred Thompson. Some months ago, after reading an excellent John Fund piece on Fred Thompson, I had a conversation with Mike Turk. Following our conversation, he put together a post making The Case for Fred Thompson — it is a compelling case, and one with which I generally agree. I am genuinely excited about a Fred Thompson candidacy.
I'll also be returning to blogging. I chose not to blog while serving in the Senate role, but I've missed it a great deal. I look forward to getting back into the conversation.
ABC News is reporting that there is clear evidence that the Iranian government is supplying weapons and explosives to the Taliban. The shipments also contain parts for producing roadside EFPs. And the evidence is coming from NATO.
NATO officials say they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces, in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain.
"It is inconceivable that it is anyone other than the Iranian government that's doing it," said former White House counterterrorism official Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stopped short earlier this week of blaming Iran, saying the U.S. did not have evidence "of the involvement of the Iranian government in support of the Taliban."
But an analysis by a senior coalition official, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, concludes there is clear evidence of Iran's involvement.
"This is part of a considered policy," says the analysis, "rather than the result of low-level corruption and weapons smuggling."
Iran and the Taliban had been fierce enemies when the Taliban was in power in Afghanistan, and their apparent collaboration came as a surprise to some in the intelligence community.
"I think their goal is to make it very clear that Iran has the capability to make life worse for the United States on a variety of fronts," said Seth Jones of the Rand Institute, "even if they have to do some business with a group that has historically been their enemy."
The coalition analysis says munitions recovered in two Iranian convoys, on April 11 and May 3, had "clear indications that they originated in Iran. Some were identical to Iranian supplied goods previously discovered in Iraq."
The entire Middle East will destabilize unless we in the West get our collective act together and face Iran down. I don't know if there is any time left at this point, but if something is not done we are looking at a general war.
We know everyone will join us in heaving a huge sigh of relief now that science has taken away one thing to worry about. If you ever run into a tyrannosaurus rex, they can't run very fast! Better yet, they can't turn fast!
To get a better estimate of the giant’s movement, the new study modeled a typical complete T. rex skeleton, which probably weighed between about 13,000 and 17,000 pounds, and estimated its center of mass and the inertia, or resistance to movement, that it would have had when the animal turned or pivoted.
The center of mass is important to consider because two animals with similar weights may move in different ways depending on how their mass is distributed. For example, an elephant’s four tree trunk-like legs keep its center of mass over its feet, while T. rex would have had to balance its mass differently over its two small legs, bending them to keep from toppling over.
The model results, detailed in the June 21 issue of the Journal of Theoretical Biology, also showed that T. rex would have had considerable inertia preventing it from turning quickly; a 45-degree turn would have taken one or two seconds—far longer than for a human.
These calculations lend further support to previous research indicating that the large tyrannosaurs could run no faster than 25 mph (and certainly not the 45 mph seen in some movies), because its leg muscles weren’t big enough for fast running.
Well, they say these beasts are extinct, but it never hurts to be prepared. The advice we give for T. rex is the same that applies today when hiking in bear country. Remember, it is not necessary to outrun an angry, charging grizzly bear. You merely have to outrun whoever you're with. So do what we do: steal your companion's shoes!
Five students from the Dutch Helicon Vocational Institute have come up with their senior project. Powdered alcohol. Add water and you have a lime-flavored fizzy drink with 3% alcohol. They already have a target audience that they plan to market to.
Kids under the age of 16.
The latest innovation in inebriation, called Booz2Go, is available in 20-gramme packets that cost 1-1.5 euros (70 pence-1 pound).
Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-coloured and -flavoured drink with just 3 percent alcohol content.
"We are aiming for the youth market. They are really more into it because you can compare it with Bacardi-mixed drinks," 20-year-old Harm van Elderen told Reuters.
Van Elderen and four classmates at Helicon Vocational Institute, about an hour's drive from Amsterdam, came up with the idea as part of their final-year project.
"Because the alcohol is not in liquid form, we can sell it to people below 16," said project member Martyn van Nierop.
The legal age for drinking alcohol and smoking is 16 in the Netherlands.
In Germany, alcopops — sweet drinks containing alcohol and in powder form — caused quite a stir when launched on to the market. Alcohol powder, classified as a flavouring, was sold in the United States three years ago.
This is just plain wrong on so many levels.
Benjamin Radford, who writes occasionally for Live Science debunking claims of the paranormal, takes aim at the recent report of new video of the Loch Ness monster. His conclusion? Not likely.
The Loch Ness monster has reputedly been captured—again (at least on film). In late May, a man named Gordon Holmes videotaped what he claims may be the famous creature.
Holmes described it as jet black and about forty-five feet in length, yet the video shows neither the creature's color nor its size; it is simply something moving in the water, leaving a typical long wake. Size and distance are notoriously difficult to estimate on lakes unless there are objects nearby of known size such as a boat or buoy……………
………………..It is likely that Holmes (like many tourists around Loch Ness) was hoping and expecting to see the creature, and thus interpreted what he saw as the monster. As researcher Loren Coleman noted on Cryptomundo, a Web site devoted to mysterious creatures, Gordon Holmes's credibility is not exactly crystalline: He has a history of claiming to see odd and unusual creatures, and he sells a self-published book and DVD featuring what he claims is evidence for the existence of fairies.
Well, that last revelation tends to undermine the credibility, doesn't it? This Holmes appears to be no Sherlock. Everyone knows there are no such things as fairies. The dragons and the wyverns ate them all. (Here's the Cryptomundo entry Radford mentions. It isn't exactly complimentary.)
We humans are in serious trouble this morning as word comes from Lancaster, Pennsylvania of the newest weapon that the Animal Uprising™ has unleashed. More terrifying than the taser-proof porcine berserker; more horrifying than cannibal cattle; even less appealing than tranquilizer-proof donkeys: They have unleashed the bullet-proof deer.
Police said an injured deer showed up at Shaub's Shoe Store on the first block of North Queen Street around 6 a.m.
Several cars had already hit the deer, so officers shot it. But it got up and ran to the King Street Parking Garage where it proceeded to run up to the third story.
Once there, the deer jumped from the third level and landed in the Lancaster Convention Center site, narrowly missing a construction worker. The deer died on impact.
A construction worker and foreman told News 8 that some of the workers took the deer and put in in a cooler. The workers said they plan to eat it.
The deer chose suicide rather than let humans in on the secret of the new bullet-proofing. As for the construction crew, they apparently enjoy pavement-tenderized venison.
Not "Arrr, Matey", ARGH, as in an expression of dismay and frustration. Six-year old Morgan Smith of Stone, Staffordshire, England will not be having his pirate-themed birthday party. It seems the local council has decreed that flying the jolly roger is "unneighborly" and has made the family take the flag down. Oh, they can get a permit to fly the flag for the party. But only after paying a £75 fee and having an "impact assessment" performed.
As his sixth birthday approached, Morgan Smith's parents thought hoisting the Jolly Roger would be the perfect way to make the pirate-mad youngster's day.
The flag was duly run up the pole in the back garden, leaving Morgan looking forward to a party on Saturday with lots of friends wearing eyepatches and wielding toy cutlasses.
But little did the family know that out on the treacherous high seas of bureaucracy, trouble was heading their way.
Council officials branded the skull and crossbones flag "unneighbourly" and banned Morgan's parents Richard and Sharon from flying it.
The couple must apply for planning permission at a cost of £75, and then an assessment of the 5ft by 4ft flag's "impact" on the surrounding area of Stone, Staffordshire, will be undertaken.
The intervention has sunk the plans for a pirate-themed party.
Morgan's 40-year-old father, an engineer at Bentley Motors, said: "It's not as though I'm building a huge extension which will blight the neighbourhood. It's a child's pirate flag.
"Morgan is really upset because I'd told him we could have a pirate party for his birthday with him and his friends all coming dressed as pirates.
"The skull and crossbones was to be the centrepiece. We'll wait to see if the Jolly Roger is approved and if so we'll hold the party at a later date."
For years, the patriotic family have flown a Union Jack or a St George's flag on the 18ft-high flagstaff at their detached home without a problem, but a neighbour complained to the council about the Jolly Roger.
Methinks it's time for the council to take a long walk off a short plank. Arrr.
Real Clear Politics reprint the entire text of Ronald Reagan's address commemorating the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. In 1984, many of the Boys of Pointe du Hoc were there for the ceremony in Normandy.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here, and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs, shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only ninety could still bear arms.
Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them here. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your "lives fought for life and left the vivid air singed with your honor."
Read the whole thing. He wasn't called the Great Communicator for nothing, you know.
Chucky "Janus" Hagel will have to face a primary challenge if he wants to try to hang on to his Senate seat. Nebraska attorney general Jon Bruning will announce that he is running against Hagel today. It would appear that Hagel has ticked a lot of Nebraskans off with his Janus act and Bruning polls show that Hagel is in trouble with the voters.
A poll conducted for Mr. Bruning shows him leading Mr. Hagel among likely Republican primary voters by 9 percentage points. Mr. Bruning assails Mr, Hagel for being, "The Republican that talks like a Democrat," pointing to Mr. Hagel's support for a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, as well as his discussion of impeaching President Bush. "He's become arrogant and out of touch," Mr. Bruning said. "His constituent services are very poor."
Mr. Bruning also mentioned New York Sun editorials documenting the weakness of Mr. Hagel's record on Israel, including a recent speech by Mr. Hagel before an Arab American group in which Mr. Hagel said that support for Israel shouldn't be automatic. Mr. Bruning, 38, has been to Israel three times and is seeking backing from the pro- Israel community for his challenge to Mr. Hagel.
As I've mentioned, I know several people from Nebraska who voted for Hagel in the past who will never vote for the man again under any circumstances. (One of our regular commenters is from Nebraska, in fact. Not a Hagel fan, either.)
The Rolling Stones opening of their latest world tour gives a preview of what to expect at the upcoming Live Earth Cconcerts. Screaming fans, lots of music, a festive event.
And a 30-mile long traffic jam.
Some 33,000 fans showed up for the show in the town of Werchter, but when Mick Jagger started off with "Start Me Up," some fans were still shuffling for position on the grounds after being stuck for hours in a 30-mile traffic jam caused by the concert and made worse by a nearby accident.
"Stones roll over Werchter," headlined De Standaard. "Stones triumph in Werchter," added De Morgen.
The "A Bigger Bang" tour will feature 30 shows across Europe, including performances in Belgrade, Serbia, and in St. Petersburg, Russia, which the band has never visited.
Matt Belamy's words describing Live Earth are absolutely perfect: Private jets for climate change.
June 6, 1944. The greatest amphibious landing ever attempted began on the shores of German-occupied Normandy. An invasion fleet of more than 6,900 vessels assembled in British ports, some 12,000 aircraft were tasked with supporting the invasion and 150,000 American, British, Canadian and other allied troops were involved. British and Canadian troops went in on beaches codenamed Gold, Sword and Juno. Americans went in on Utah and Omaha beaches.
There are so many histories of the invasion that tell of the courage and sacrifice that day and in the days that followed. The first day of the invasion, D-Day, cost more than 3,300 Americans lives. On this day, remember those who fought for the freedom of Europe.
Freedom is never free. And there is only one currency accepted in payment.
Wikipedia has an extensive entry. Encyclopedia Britannica has the story told by those who were there and an extensive collection of photographs. The D-Day museum in Portsmouth, England has the "Overlord Embroidery" a reverse Bayeux Tapestry depicting the first successful invasion across the English Channel since 1066.
H/T to Dale Franks, writing at QandO, who's D-Day post is itself worth reading.
Media | Gaius Wednesday, 6 June , 2007 | 
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