Coffee is a beverage that puts one to sleep when not drank. ~ Alphonse Allais

Happy 2nd Blogiversary to
The Royal Flush

Iowa Voice (Brian) Republicans Gaining In The Polls – “Nevertheless, if you see poll after poll after poll showing similar results, you get a trend. It’s not enough to just look at one poll, you have to look at a bunch of them to get a real idea of what they’re showing.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Just Another Quixotic Monday …. — “Perhaps Porkbusters may have another issue to press in the cause of open government. Jeffery Birnbaum reports in today’s Washington Post about an exception to election rules requiring immediate electronic filing of political contributions, rules that allow voters to determine to whom politicians may be beholden before casting their votes. Not to worry, though — the exception only affects 100 offices:”

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) The Geneva Convention Doesn’t Offer Our Troops Any Protection — “I’m not sure that there could possibly be a dumber argument for coddling terrorists than the one made by Lindsey Graham, who, as per usual, is playing Robin to John McCain’s Batman, this time on the interrogation of terrorists.”

Right Truth (Debbie) What would appeasers do about Iran? — “The terrorists have given us their demands, convert or die. How do you appease yourself out of that one? Hmmm?”

Coffee is good for talent, but genius wants prayer. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

National Hurricane Center Tropical Storm Ernesto 5am Update — “AT 500 AM EDT…0900Z…THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO WAS
LOCATED BY DOPPLER RADAR AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS NEAR LATITUDE 25.6
NORTH…LONGITUDE 80.9 WEST OR IN NORTHEASTERN MAINLAND MONROE
COUNTY FLORIDA. THIS IS ALSO ABOUT 45 MILES… 75 KM…
WEST-SOUTHWEST OF MIAMI FLORIDA AND ABOUT 90 MILES…145
KM…SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF WEST PALM BEACH FLORIDA.

ERNESTO IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH…13 KM/HR.
A TURN TO THE NORTH WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED
LATER TODAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK…THE CENTER OF ERNESTO IS
EXPECTED TO REMAIN OVER THE FLORIDA PENINSULA FOR THE NEXT DAY OR
SO.”

Blue Star Chronicles (Beth) Rumsfeld’s Address to the American Legion — “I put the entire speech in this post because it is being categorized in the MSM as Rumsfeld ‘accusing’ democrats of cowardice. He doesn’t say that anywhere in this speech.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Bill Frist Pledges To Take S 2590 To Floor — “. . . I want to be sure that CQ readers read what Senator Frist told us about the Coburn-Obama federal budget database bill, S. 2590. An anonymous Senator has placed this bill on hold, but as Frist explains, it’s not as much of an obstacle as first thought.” [Captain Ed was part of a discussion with Leader Frist. In addition to this post on S. 2590 you should also read the posts on Politics and Iran. Jim]

Ah! How sweet the coffee’s taste is,
Sweeter than a thousand kisses,
Milder than sweet muscatel.
Coffee, coffee, I must have it,
And if someone wants to treat me,
Ah, my cup with coffee fill! ~ Johann Sebastian Bach (Koffee Kantate)

(Fellow former South Jersian) Michelle Malkin GENO’S SAYS: SPEAK ENGLISH — “If you know Philadelphia, you know Geno’s. Best cheesesteaks in the world. Reader Willie S. sends word via the Philly Inquirer that Joey Vento, the grandson of Italian-born immigrants who owns Geno’s, is taking a stand for assimilation and against illegal immigration. The Inquirer does its best to knock down Vento, but his blunt Philly style overrides the paper’s wishy-washy open-borders slant:” [Later in the post Michelle says, "Oh, man, I have half a mind to drive up for a "cheesesteak with" at Geno's right now." Great Idea! Jim]

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Give Us The Pork Database — “The Washington Examiner today endorses a Senate bill that would require the government to create a public database that would allow taxpayers to access data for all federal expenditures (except for indivdual assistance). Tom Coburn, a noted pork hawk, authored the bill and has a bipartisan group of co-sponsors which include Barack Obama and John McCain:”

SoCalPundit (Kevin Korenthal) What Kind of Immigration Reform Is Hot Today? — “If one believes the polls, President Bush’s last major address on immigration had a small amount of success with the electorate. But not in the way he had hoped. It appears that Americans that were ambivalent on or were against stricter border enforcement have flipped. Congressional Republicans and Democrats in conservative areas of the country are saying that their constituents prefer enforcing the laws of immigration that are already on the books before anything else.” [Check out Kevin's great new look while you're there. Jim]

Iowa Voice (Brian) Happy Anniversary To Us — “Tomorrow, June 1, my wife and I will be celebrating 10 years of marital bliss.” [Go on over and congratulate the happy couple with a wish for many more blissful years. Jim]