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1.) Kiss Endorsement of Death — Mark Sanford got an endorsement from someone he didn’t want to get an endorsement from. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
“Mark Sanford received a lot of endorsements on Tuesday. Sen. Rand Paul gave him the nod, as did the conservative group Freedomworks. And then there was Larry Flynt. The founder and publisher of Hustler magazine announced his support for the former South Carolina governor’s congressional bid on Tuesday in a video. In it, he describes Sanford as the ‘sex pioneer of our time,’ saying that ‘no one has done more to expose the sexual hypocrisy of traditional values in America today.'”
Sanford also received the endorsement of Ashley Madison, the website which helps married people arrange affairs. This is another endorsement that Sanford probably would have preferred not to get.
2.) A down and dirty judge — TheDC’s Gregg Re reports on an interesting judicial ruling:
“In a bizarre opinion filed on Monday in ‘The Case of the Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Bikini Top v. The (More) Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Pastie,’ a federal district court judge pined longingly for now-deceased burlesque dancer Miss Wiggles, suggested that the parties involved reach a ‘happy ending’ after engaging in ‘reasonable discovery intercourse’ and experiencing ‘the peaks and valleys of litigation,’ and formally denied a strip club’s effort to ‘seek an erection’ by featuring mostly topless dancers, in defiance of San Antonio decency regulations. Chief Judge Fred Biery, who was nominated to the bench in the Western District of Texas in 1993 by Bill Clinton, noted in the double-entendre-laced opinion that city ordinances require ‘sexually oriented businesses’ (which Biery called ‘SOBs’), including those with dancers wearing anything less than bikini tops, to comply with a variety of burdensome building and licensing requirements.”
No word yet if Judge Biery plans on endorsing Mark Sanford.
3.) The Change Gang — The Senate “Gang of Eight” can err, something even they concede. On Tuesday, Gang of Eight member and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio admitted there were “some valid objections” to the immigration reform bill that he and his other Gang of Eight compadres have put forth. Now, the gang is making some changes. TheDC’s Matt Lewis reports:
“For the purpose of clarity, a technical change has been made to the original immigration bill. Sen. Chuck Schumer has introduced a manager’s amendment to clarify the e-verify program. … The amendment is likely a response to concerns first raised by TheDC’s Neil Munro. This strikes me as a good sign the Gang of 8 is listening to its critics, and is open to improving the bill.”
4.) Gitmo again — The world is on fire and the American economy remains stagnant, but for some reason President Obama is again talking about closing down America’s terrorist resort prison. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“President Barack Obama promised to renew his efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison amid a renewed public relations campaign by the jailed jihadis and their supporters, including a hunger strike. ‘I’m going to ask some folks over there [on Capitol Hill] who care about fighting terrorism but also care about who we are as a people to step up and help me on it,’ he said during an April 30 press conference that was announced just hours before it was held. ‘This is a lingering problem that is not going to get better,’ he said. ‘It’s going to get worse. It’s going to fester … so I’m going to, as I said before, examine every option that we have administratively to try to deal with this issue,’ Obama continued.”
Now, perhaps some of those remaining in Gitmo should be let go. In fact, many have been cleared for release. But closing down Gitmo has no bearing on figuring out how to transfer those prisoners. If you get rid of Gitmo, you just have to find another prison, one likely on U.S. soil. That doesn’t sound appealing, not to American citizens and probably not to Gitmo prisoners since an alternate prison is unlikely to be as nice as Gitmo.
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — davidfrum: As Syrian war reduces to Iran v. al Qaida, it gets harder to choose sides …