PrairiePundit

Michael Ledeen: We all know the Muslim world is a political and cultural disaster zone. All you need to know is the spectacularly low level of book sales in the Arab world, and a similarly miserable record in winning Nobel prizes, whether in literature or hard science. A dozen years ago, a group of Arab scholars did a report for the United Nations that ascribed the failure of Arab society to a lack of freedom, knowledge and womenpower. And things have gotten considerably worse since 2002; the authors could write that there were no ethnic conflicts then. That’s long gone. Never mind a failed state; we’re talking about a failed civilization, even in the most culturally advanced Muslim domain, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The root of their failure is the War Against Fun. They’re not only failures, but grim, humorless failures. This is the miserable common denominator of the Muslim world. As Jonathan Schanzer recently tweeted, “Saudi blocks Youtube. Iran blocks Instagram. We k...

Eugene Robinson: Not pulling the race card Opposition to Obama’s policies often have to do with race, yet it’s a topic that is difficult to openly discuss. The leftist like Robinson and Jay Rockefeller just do not comprehend why so many would find the healthcare fiasco so bad, so they leap to the illogical conclusion that opponents are racist.  This is insulting and is an example of weak minds at work.  Rather than listen to the specific objections and attempting to respond to those objections, they just go with the easy insult.   They really need to listen and comprehend what is being said by opponents.

NY Times: U.S. Trains Commandos in Africa to Fight Terrorism American Special Operations troops are forming elite units in four countries in North and West Africa that American officials say are pivotal in the widening war against Al Qaeda’s affiliates in Africa. While special ops is important in defeating an al Qaeda insurgency in these countries, it is not enough.  They are going to need trained ground troops that can provide the force to space ratios needed to cut off enemy movement to contact.  So far, none of them seem to grasp the importance of disbursing the troops and protecting the people.  They are still concentrating on massing their forces and chasing the enemy rather than positioning themselves to stop the movement.

Kimberley Strassel explains the standard Obama response to his scandals.

AP/Fuel Fix: Residents along the scenic Columbia River are hoping to persuade regulators to reject plans for what would be the Pacific Northwest’s largest crude oil train terminal — the proposed destination for at least four trains a day, each more than a mile long. The increasing numbers of trains, each carrying tens of thousands of barrels of potentially volatile crude from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota, have raised concerns around the country after nine accidents in the past year, including one last month in Virginia. In Vancouver, Wash., just across the Columbia from Portland, Ore., the oil companies say their proposed terminal will create at least 80 permanent jobs and will bring an economic windfall to the region. But area residents and others in nearby communities are worried about the risks to people, wildlife, businesses and to their way of life. “We depend on the Columbia for moving freight, generating power, irrigating farms, fishing,” said Eric LaBrant, president ...

Daily Mail: Amazing moment rookie's father catches son's first home run after traveling hours across the country to watch him play  A father drove five hours to watch his son play minor league baseball only to catch his first professional home run. It is a great moment.  You can see a video of the hit and catch at the above link.

Daily Mail: Elderly Chinese people committing suicide before end of the month to avoid province's looming ban on burials   The elderly suicides want to make sure their deaths are registered before a June 1 deadline, after which Anhui province authorities will close all cemeteries. This seems like a response to a totalitarian government.  Burial is clearly important to some of these people.

NY Times: Even With Restrictions, Gunman Amassed Weapons Despite strict gun laws and having struggled with mental health issues, Elliot O. Rodger was able to stockpile weapons. The big problem is the mentally ill.  This man killed three with knives before he started shooting random people.  The restrictions were ineffective at stopping a determined crazy guy.

Town Hall: Restaurant Robbed At Gun Point For Third Time Since Guns Were Banned From Store That gun ban is a real "success" story.

Rich Lowry: ... The VA is an island of socialism in American health care. It generally provides adequate care — to a limited universe of people and for only certain conditions — but has long been plagued by scandal. It is perhaps the worst bureaucracy in the federal government . As with all such single-payer-type systems, the cost of the notionally free health care is in the rationing, in this case the wait times that have had desperately ill vets hung out to dry for months. The usual ObamaCare excuses don’t apply here. The existence of the VA isn’t politically controversial. No one is trying to repeal it, or “sabotage” it. What we’re seeing is simply unaccountable bureaucracy in action. When the bench mark was created for VA facilities to get vets appointments within 14 days, meeting the goal was easy: All it took was logging appointments dishonestly to hide the wait time. This is how poorly performing government bureaucracies have met goals from time immemorial; it’s why, on a much...

Washington Times: The State Department ’s Counter Terrorism (CT) Bureau promoted on Friday a controversial Muslim scholar whose organization has reportedly backed Hamas and endorsed a fatwa authorizing the murder of U.S. soldiers in Iraq . The CT bureau on Friday tweeted out a link to the official website of Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, the vice president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars ( IUMS ), a controversial organization founded by a Muslim Brotherhood leader “who has called for the death of Jews and Americans and himself is banned from visiting the U.S.,” according to Fox News. Bin Bayyah is reported to have been one of several clerics who endorsed a 2004 fatwa that endorsed resistance against Americans fighting in Iraq , PJ Media reported in 2013, when Bin Bayyah met with Obama’s National Security Council staff at the White House . The CT Bureau tweet linked to a press release on Bin Bayyah’s site condemning the kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian girls by t...

Daily Mail: 'The most extraordinary result in 100 years': Farage hails UKIP triumph as Labour and the Tories are humiliated and the Lib Dems are left with just one MEP  Tories, Labour and Lib Dems face fresh turmoil as results are announced UKIP tops the polls in large parts of the country, pushing Labour into 2nd BNP loses its only remaining seat in Brussels as Griffin concedes defeat  Turnout across 28 EU members states estimated at 41.3%  France’s far-right National Front was on course for a massive victory Calls for Clegg to quit as Lib Dem leader even before tonight's EU bloodbath 'Weird' Miliband warned 'outlook is grim' unless he gets a grip of Labour  Conservatives also won in France and several other countries as there appears to be widespread dissatisfaction with EU policies and government.   There is strong opposition to current immigration policies that make it difficult to send illegal immigrants home.  Mainline parties had tried ...

Washington Post: White House inadvertently identifies CIA chief in Kabul The spy’s name was included on a list provided to news organizations of officials meeting with President Obama during his surprise trip to Afghanistan. Even after over five years in office, this administration is still staffed by amateurs that are a danger to the health and safety of those who put their lives on the line for this country.  Will the President hold those responsible accountable?  History suggest he will not.

NY Times: I.R.S. Bars Employers From Dumping Workers Into Health Exchanges Employers have been told they cannot give their workers a tax-free lump sum to cover their health insurance costs, a change that could disrupt arrangements in many industries. This is a political move by the IRS to punish companies who hope to avoid the hot mess that Obamacare has made of insuring employees.  If the exchanges were as wonderful as Democrats allege they would not need to stop companies from giving employees a lump sum to go into the exchanges.   It is just more evidence of how bad the Democrats' healthcare law is for everyone but a few who get subsidies.

NY Times: Slowed Elsewhere, Tea Party Still Wields Considerable Sway in Texas Races Jason Fochtman/Conroe Courier, via Associated Press State Senator Dan Patrick has the blessing of most state Tea Party groups. After a strong showing in Republican primary elections in March, Tea Party-supported candidates appear poised for further gains in runoffs on Tuesday. I vote against Democrats because I think their policies are bad for the country and for the state of Texas.  The Tea party is still strong in Texas because it rejects giving Democrats power over state politics.  Dan Patrick is likely to win the runoff with Dewhurst because people are angry that the current Lt. Governor allowed Democrat committee  chairmen to kill legislation favored by conservatives even though Republicans have a majority in the Senate.  For all the Democrats' attempts to turn Texas blue, they are looking at landslide losses this year from the top to bottom of their ticket.

Washington Examiner Editorial: ... ... Jim Crow is now making a huge comeback, thanks to the identity politics so common among liberals, especially on college campuses. As PJ Media columnist and former U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney J. Christian Adams notes, a federal court recently struck down a law in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands that allowed only people of “Northern Mariana descent” to vote on constitutional referendums. In Guam, the new Jim Crow appears in a law that allows voter registration only by those with ancestors living there prior to 1950, thus effectively limiting the ballot to individuals descended from the Chamorro people. Similarly, Hawaii has a law on its books that limits registration "to only those who had an ancestor who lived on Hawaii in 1778 or received race-based land benefits in 1921. It also allows anyone with a ‘significant connection' to the ‘Native Hawaiian community' to register for the roll, which shoul...

John Jay Carafano: Texas A&M has a storied military past. Its Corps of Cadets was founded in 1876 . Thousands of its graduates have served in the armed forces; eight have received the Medal of Honor. Men and women still flock to join the "Corps" -- and that includes veterans . So many, in fact, that the university established "Delta Company," a unit of students composed solely of combat veterans. Many hope to get a degree and a commission and an opportunity to serve their country again. Still wanting to serve, however, does not come cheap. "We all volunteered to be in the Corps of Cadets," acknowledge one young veteran in Delta Company, "but with that came more financial hardship other than just the uniform costs." Even with financial assistance from the GI Bill, making ends meet can be a challenge. Having already paid a price to serve their nation once, quite a few of these veteran student/cadets are struggling to cover the costs so they c...

Guardian: Sudan is facing mounting condemnation for sentencing a pregnant woman to be whipped and then hanged for adultery and apostasy, and for keeping her shackled in prison with her toddler son a month before she is due to give birth. Governments, the UN and human rights groups have called on the Sudanese government to immediately release Meriam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, and overturn both her death sentence and sentence of 100 lashes. More than 100,000 people have backed a call by Amnesty International to release Ibrahim . Ibrahim was arrested after a Muslim relative claimed her marriage to a US citizen was invalid, and thus adulterous, because he is a Christian. Ibrahim was also found guilty of apostasy. But she said she had been brought up a Christian and refused to renounce her faith. Her lawyers have lodged an appeal against the sentence, which may be heard in Khartoum this week. Ibrahim is being held in harsh conditions and is constantly shackled, according to Amnesty. Her 20-month...

Daily Caller: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, all but said on Sunday that negotiations over the country’s illicit nuclear program are over and that the Islamic Republic’s ideals include destroying America. “Those (Iranians) who want to promote negotiation and surrender to the oppressors and blame the Islamic Republic as a warmonger in reality commit treason,” Khamenei told a meeting of members of parliament, according to the regime’s Fars News Agency . Khamenei emphasized that without a combative mindset, the regime cannot reach its higher Islamic role against the “oppressors’ front.” “The reason for continuation of this battle is not the warmongering of the Islamic Republic. Logic and reason command that for Iran, in order to pass through a region full of pirates, needs to arm itself and must have the capability to defend itself,” he said. “Today’s world is full of thieves and plunderers of human honor, dignity and morality who are equipped with knowledge, wealth and ...

The Economist: ON MAY 9th American customs and border-protection officials launched an aerostat—a fat, tethered balloon—above the coast of Puerto Rico. Its job is to use radar to detect low-flying aircraft, ships and smaller vessels carrying drugs across the seas to the south. This is not the first time the island, a territory of the United States, has been home to an aerostat: an earlier one crashed in a storm in 2011. Now it needs one again. William Brownfield, the State Department’s senior anti-drugs official, says that 16% of cocaine imports into the United States came through the Caribbean islands last year. That is up from 4% in 2011. For European cocaine imports, the proportions are even higher. ... There is much more. I have argued for sometime that Venezuela is a major transit point for the drug trade.  I don't think this could happen without either direct support from the government or rampant corruption.  I have seen reports tying top military officials to th...