memeorandum: Operation Summer Rains (Aussie Dave/Israellycool)

1:30 PM ET, June 28, 2006

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IDF captures airstrip, gains foothold east of Rafah — Israeli fighter jets struck the northern Gaza Strip around 2 p.m. Wednesday, firing missiles at open areas. The strike is part of the army's "pressure pot" tactic, meant to turn up pressure on Gaza by placement of troops and weapons fire with a minimum of casualties.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Liberty and Justice, Israel Matzav, Power Line, Yourish.com and Security Watchtower

BBC:
Hamas resist Israel recognition

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Gateway Pundit, A Blog For All, Israel Matzav, FP Passport, PoliBlog, USS Neverdock, Jerusalem Post, ThreatsWatch.Org and It Shines For All

New York Times:
Israeli Troops Enter Gaza; Bridges Are Hit

Discussion: PoliBlog, FP Passport and It Shines For All

Avi Issacharoff / Haaretz:
For first time, Hamas-led government calls for prisoner swap

Discussion: PartisanTimes.com, Israel Matzav, Yourish.com, Vital Perspective and Hyscience

Associated Press:

Justices Back Most G.O.P. Changes to Texas Districts — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of the Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay but threw out part, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, The Carpetbagger Report, Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, Power Line, Hugh Hewitt, Majikthise, Decision '08, First Draft and The New Editor

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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

Decisions: No ruling on Hamdan; partisan gerrymander claim rejected — (NOTE: The Chief Justice announced that the Court will issue remaining decisions in the Term at 10 a.m. Thursday. The two still-undecided cases are the war crimes tribunal case (Hamdan v. Rumsfeld) …

Discussion: Burnt Orange Report, Off the Kuff, Election Law, How Appealing, The Agonist, Sentencing Law and Policy, Eye on Williamson and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Piling On the New York Times With a Scoop — Story on Secret Program Further Rouses Critics — President Bush calls the conduct of the New York Times "disgraceful." Vice President Cheney objects to the paper having won a Pulitzer Prize. A Republican congressman wants the Times prosecuted.

Discussion: Rantingprofs, War and Piece, Roger L. Simon, NewsBusters.org, KnoxViews, Patterico's Pontifications, James Wolcott, JunkYardBlog, Public Eye, FishBowlDC and AMERICAN FUTURE

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The Hill:

GOP bill targets NY Times — House Republican leaders are expected to introduce a resolution today condemning The New York Times for publishing a story last week that exposed government monitoring of banking records. — The resolution is expected to condemn the leak and publication …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, The Carpetbagger Report, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Next Hurrah, A Blog For All, TimChapmanBlog.com, The Horse's Mouth, BuzzMachine, Tammy Bruce, PrairiePundit, NewsBusters.org, Shakespeare's Sister, The Influence Peddler, Wizbang and The Real Ugly American.com

New York Times:

Patriotism and the Press — Over the last year, The New York Times has twice published reports about secret antiterrorism programs being run by the Bush administration. Both times, critics have claimed that the paper was being unpatriotic or even aiding the terrorists.

Discussion: The Glittering Eye, Preemptive Karma, Thoughts of an Average Woman, QandO, Sweetness & Light, The Heretik, The American Thinker, ProfessorBainbridge.com and The Democratic Daily

Kate Zernike / New York Times:

Bush's Use of Authority Riles Senator — WASHINGTON, June 27 — Senators on the Judiciary Committee accused President Bush of an "unprecedented" and "astonishing" power grab on Tuesday for making use of a device that gave him the authority to revise or ignore more than 750 laws enacted since he became president.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Flopping Aces, The Moderate Voice, Daniel W. Drezner, The Heretik and Bring it On!

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Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:

Senator considers suit over Bush law challenge — WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Arlen Specter, said yesterday that he is ``seriously considering" filing legislation to give Congress legal standing to sue President Bush over his use of signing statements to reserve the right to bypass laws.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Think Progress

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Bush's Challenges of Laws He Signed Is Criticized

Discussion: Bench Memos …

Charles Babington / Washington Post:

Senate Rejects Flag Desecration Amendment — The Senate rejected by a single vote yesterday an effort to amend the Constitution to allow Congress to ban desecration of the American flag, after a two-day debate freighted with political calculations and sharp disputes over the limits of free speech.

Discussion: RedState, Street Prophets, OxBlog, Give Up Blog, Andrew Olmsted dot com, New York Times, The All Spin Zone, Right Wing Nut House, The Heretik and The Debate Link

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Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Flag Amendment Narrowly Fails in Senate Vote

Discussion: The Left Coaster, The Reality-Based Community and Bring it On!

David Espo / Associated Press:

Obama: Democrats Must Court Evangelicals — WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans.

Discussion: David Sirota, The Agonist, AMERICAblog, The Republic of T., MyDD and Eschaton

Brock Vergakis / Associated Press:

U.S. Rep. Cannon wins Republican primary — SALT LAKE CITY - U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon (news, bio, voting record) said his solid victory in Utah's Republican primary is good news for President Bush and those seeking a consensus on immigration policy this year.

Discussion: Right Wing News, Captain's Quarters and Right Angle Blog

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Glen Warchol / sltrib.com:
Incumbent wins easily as Jacob's immigration challenge fizzles

Discussion: CNN, CQPolitics.com, The Strata-Sphere, Hit and Run, The Corner on National …, The Heretik and The RCP Blog

Porkbusters:

we need to stop this... now — Guest Contributor: Sen. John McCain — Last week I had the honor of speaking to a group of my fellow Republicans at the presidential library of one of my heroes — President Ronald Reagan. — When I was first elected to Congress, I was one of many newly elected members …

Discussion: Liberty and Justice, Ankle Biting Pundits and Blue Crab Boulevard

CNN:

Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes — Grassley: 'It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers' — NEW YORK (CNN) — Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.

Discussion: Simianbrain, Bring it On! and Hit and Run