Key Primary Races This Week

Political Wire "Tomorrow is a big primary day with voters in 11 states heading to the polls to pick their candidates for the November general election. Here are the top races we'll be watching:"...

Cook Political Report  Election maps and how states are thought to lean politically.

Congressional Races More election maps by state from OpenSecrets.org

Morning Must Reads -- Freaky primaries ahead "And in many of the primaries, the stroke of the Tea Party and the revulsion to the national Republican Party will be tested as establishment candidates and outsiders continue to clash."

Omaha

Blackfive "The beach is still there, at the foot of the bluffs, seen here looking WNW towards Pointe-du-Hoc. Then, only patrols walked the beach and the area was thick with anti-landing obstacles. Along the bluffs were a network of fortifications: trenches, mortar pits, machine gun emplacements, and -- as seen above, the embrasures for larger guns. "

[Israeli Ambassador] Oren on Carter: “Morally corrupt and distorted”

Stand for Israel  The Carter Center "issued a statement condemning “the unprovoked and illegal Israeli assault on the humanitarian Gaza aid flotilla in international waters” and saying that ”The frequent use of indiscriminate and disproportionate force against civilian targets, with impunity, must end for peace with justice to prevail in the Middle East” (note that they’re talking about Israel here, without mentioning continued Arab terrorist violence against Israelis)."

Charles Krauthammer on the president's Israeli response  "Look, ten years ago next month, Israel offered the most generous peace settlement in the history of the Middle East – a Palestinian state, half of Jerusalem, a swap of territories, everything that the Palestinians had asked. And what did it get? Not just a refusal, but it got war in response. That’s all you have to know."

Helen Thomas’ agency dumps her as client

Hot Air "Senior White House Press Corps member Helen Thomas may have apologized for her recent on-camera remarks calling on Jews to “get the hell out of Palestine” and go home to Europe, but her reputation seems beyond repair amid the abounding calls for her resignation. In the wake of the incident, Thomas’ agent Nine Speaker Inc. announced that it would no longer represent her."

Why Shouldn’t Helen Thomas Be Expelled from the White House Press Corps?  "It’s hard to believe that a company like Hearst would want to have it’s [sic] most visible public association be with a vile bigot, let alone a “reporter” so ignorant of history and the fact of unbroken Jewish inhabitance in Israel going back to before the birth of Jesus."

Some D-Day sites for you history buffs (Links added 1/20/2011)

American Experience ; D Day
D Day on the WEB   "On this site you will find historical essays, images, personal accounts and other sites pertaining to D-Day, evaluated and sorted for your convenience."
The following link is now broken and a web search has failed to find the article. We do regret that.  Oberst Ernst Goth Commander GR.916/352ID "On June 6th 1944 Oberst (Colonel) Ernst Goth found himself the commander of the German sector now known to history as "Omaha Beach"! This website is dedicated to my grandfather Oberst Ernst Goth Commander GR.916/352ID and his men that fought gallantly against all odds. As an officer he always felt guilty for every man he lost in the battles from Omaha-Beach to St. Lo where the 352 ID was decomissioned." Some text in German.
Here are others on Colonel Goth: 
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ww2/germandef.html
http://news.webshots.com/album/572232875fZkgCR Goth's grave.
http://www.grenadier352nd.com/html_pages/unit_history/unithistory2.html#  More unit history.
http://www.normandy1944.info/index.html   Written by Goth's grandson.
Omaha Beach and the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc   "This travelogue covers several key sites that were must-sees in this sector: Pointe du Hoc, site of the German clifftop defensive stronghold that was peppered prior to the invasion; Omaha Beach itself; and the Normandy American Cemetary(sic) near Colleville-sur-Mer."
Omaha-Beach-Defences   German units at Omaha-Beach
Saving Private Ryan site
Band of Brothers: a critique  "DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU WISH TO KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED, AS OPPOSED TO TAKING THE SERIES AT FACE VALUE. IF YOU FEEL THAT LEARNING SOME ELEMENTS OF THE SERIES WERE UNTRUE, INACCURATE, OR JUST PLAIN DIFFERENT FROM REALITY WOULD DIMINISH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE SERIES, I'D ADVISE YOU TO SKIP THIS PAGE OF THE WEBSITE." The Author

The Clapper caper

Powerline Blog "I had never heard of Clapper's name before reading of Obama's nomination of him to replace Blair as the DNI. If Pete Hoekstra opposes him, however, there must be reasonable ground for believing Clapper may not be the man for the job. "  At least view this for the Johnny Carson-Jack Webb video.

Sir Paul: Deep as a Thimble, Classy as a Gushing Groupie

Big Hollywood "What is it with these left-wing entertainers that have to insult people while they accept their dubious awards? Why can’t these lefties just graciously accept an award and go about their business without going out of their way to let the world know about their politics? But once again, this time with Paul McCartney, we have an entertainer forcing his politics on the world in an inappropriate manner."

Starting in left field, Keith Olbermann: He's embraced by MLB and NFL while Limbaugh was shunned

NY Daily News  "Last week, From the Right Radio, a small, grass-roots broadcast outfit based in Indiana, launched a Web site called RespectTheGreatGame.com to bring attention to the fact that Olbermann, one of MSNBC's most controversial commentators, is blogging for MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball. There you can sign a petition asking Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig why, exactly, "America's pastime is working with hate speech merchant Keith Olbermann." "

Oh, by the way:  Rush Limbaugh marries gal pal Kathryn Rogers in lavish Palm Beach ceremony

Gaza flotilla participants created war atmosphere before confronting Israel

Palestinian Media Watch "Participants chanted Islamic battle cry invoking killing of Jews and called for Martyrdom."   Other than that, they're just some guys I knew that lived on my block.

Sarah Palin’s Way of Thinking

NY Sun  "If a policy reform is going to come out of British Petroleum’s catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, we predict it will emerge in the outlines of Sarah Palin’s post Wednesday on her Facebook page. That is where she sends what she calls a “message to exreme ‘environmentalists’ who hypocritically protest domestic energy production offshore and onshore.” Writes she: “Extreme deep water drilling is not the preferred choice to meet our country’s energy needs, but your protests and lawsuits and lies about onshore and shallow water drilling have locked up safer areas. It’s catching up with you. The tragic, unprecedented deep water Gulf oil spill proves it.”  
Lisa Benson Cartoon: http://www.lucianne.com/

MSNBC Poll: For or against the Arizona law?

MSNBC "In July, Arizona will begin enforcing a new law that requires law enforcement officers to check someone’s immigration status if they have reason to suspect that he or she is in the country illegally. Do you think this is a good idea?"
Better vote before MSNBC removes this from the site, which may be soon. Why? Scroll down and see the results. H/t to BigFurHat.

Coming Up Short

  Cook Political Report "But, as House Republicans should have learned in Pennsylvania, neither party can afford to take the enthusiasm of its base for granted. Likewise, Obama shouldn't assume that his image won't be permanently soiled if his administration fails to avert a monumental environmental disaster in the Gulf."