memeorandum: An Ill Season — Screaming “With our blood and soul … (Andrew C. McCarthy/National Review)

3:50 AM ET, May 15, 2011

Top Items:

Huckabee Opts Against 2012 White House Bid — Mike Huckabee said Saturday there would be no sequel to his surprisingly strong 2008 White House bid, in which he won the Iowa Republican caucus and finished second in the primaries to Sen. John McCain. — “All the factors say go …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Left Coast Rebel, Washington Post, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Weasel Zippers, Taylor Marsh, RedState, Crooks and Liars, Donklephant, The Lonely Conservative, Pajamas Media and Doug Ross

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Open thread: “The Decision”; Update: Huckabee not running; Update: Video added — The magic begins at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, although the announcement probably won't come until the last 10 minutes of the show. Before the flood of “I DON'T CARE” comments begins below, let me assure you: You do care.

Discussion: Cubachi, Mediaite, FiveThirtyEight and The Other McCain

Maggie Haberman / Reuters:

Mike Huckabee says he won't run for president in 2012 — Mike Huckabee opted against a run for the 2012 Republican nomination Saturday night, saying that despite all the signs saying yes, “My heart said no.” — “I can't know or predict the future, but I know for now, my answer is clear and firm …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Beyond parody — We'll probably learn later today whether Mike Huckabee is running for president, but while we wait, it's worth appreciating what else for the former Arkansas governor is up to. — This week, Huckabee launched a new educational company called Learn Our History.

Discussion: t/w, Sky Dancing, The Reaction, Barefoot and Progressive and Balloon Juice

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:
Mike Huckabee Not Running For President in 2012

Discussion: The Reid Report and The Raw Story

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
Mike Huckabee: ‘Things Will Get Crazier’ After Presidential Bid Announcement

Discussion: TPMDC and CNN

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Huck: I've made '12 decision — Mike Huckabee said that he's now …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Outside the Beltway

Dan Fastenberg / The Page:
“Once I Pull the Trigger Saturday Night, Things Will Get Even Crazier, As If That's Possible”

Discussion: Politics, Pajamas Media, The Hill and Taegan Goddard's …

New York Times:

I.M.F. Chief, Arrested at Airport, Is Accused of Sexual Attack at Hotel — The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was taken off an Air France plane at Kennedy International Airport minutes before it was to take off for Paris on Saturday and arrested …

Discussion: Guardian, msnbc.com, Sky Dancing, The Jawa Report, Marginal Revolution, International Political … and The Gateway Pundit

New York Post:

IMF head Strauss-Kahn pulled off plane, arrested in alleged sodomy of hotel maid — The French political bigshot who heads the International Monetary Fund was arrested for allegedly sodomizing a Manhattan hotel maid today — hauled off an Air France flight just moments before takeoff from Kennedy Airport, police said.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Tamer El-Ghobashy / Wall Street Journal:

Head of IMF Strauss-Kahn in Custody for Alleged Sexual Assault — A law enforcement official said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was taken into police custody after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport. — According to the official …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and naked capitalism

Alan Colmes' Liberaland:

New York Post, With Classy Cover, Lists Bin Laden Porn Titles — The New York Post has clearly done its homework to come up with the titles of the DVD's Osama bin Laden enjoyed at his compound. As part of an article titled “Porno Osama Had A Big ‘Jihad On’” his favorites were revealed. Among them:

Frances Martel / Mediaite:

New York Post Truly Outdoes Itself With ‘Osama Bin Wankin’ Porn Cover — On Monday, May 2nd, many New Yorkers awoke expecting their beloved bearer of ridiculous headlines, the New York Post, to come up with an insanely entertaining cover to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden.

Discussion: Pajamas Media

New York Post:
Porn stash found in bin Laden's lair

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Don Surber

Andrew Ferguson / Weekly Standard:

Converting Mamet — A playwright's progress — Three decades ago David Mamet became known among the culture-consuming public for writing plays with lots of dirty words. “You're f—ing f—ed” was a typically Mamet-like line, appearing without the prim dashes back in a day when playwrights …

Discussion: alicublog, Pajamas Media, Power Line and National Review

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

An Ill Season — Screaming “With our blood and soul, we will defend you, Islam,” jihadists stormed the Virgin Mary Church in northwest Cairo last weekend. They torched the Coptic Christian house of worship, burned the nearby homes of two Copt families to the ground, attacked a residential complex …

Discussion: Israpundit, Pundit & Pundette and Atlas Shrugs

Neela Banerjee / Los Angeles Times:

Obama to open Alaska petroleum reserve to new drilling — The broad energy plan, coming as gas prices continue to rise, would also fast-track environmental assessment of petroleum exploration elsewhere. — Reporting from Washington— President Obama will open Alaska's national petroleum reserve …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, Firedoglake, Pajamas Media and Doug Ross

John M. Broder / New York Times:
Obama Shifts to Speed Oil and Gas Drilling in U.S.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Weasel Zippers

UPI:

Disney seeks SEAL Team 6 trademark — Disney has filed an application to trademark the name of the U.S. commando unit credited with dispatching Osama bin Laden. — The paperwork filed this week at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office puts The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Disney Enterprises …

Discussion: The TrogloPundit, Truthdig and Outside the Beltway

Alex Weprin / FishbowlNY:
Disney Trademarks “Seal Team 6″

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, Outside the Beltway, Left Coast Rebel, The Reaction, The Lonely Conservative, Mediaite and Gawker

New York Times:

Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater's Founder — ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Late one night last November, a plane carrying dozens of Colombian men touched down in this glittering seaside capital. Whisked through customs by an Emirati intelligence officer …

Discussion: Boing Boing

Telegraph:

Osama bin Laden hiding place visited by Taliban — Osama bin Laden received visits from Taliban leaders and wealthy Arab supporters while he was hiding out in a fortified compound in a Pakistani garrison town, it has emerged. — A still from a bin Laden video released by the US Department of Defense.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Gingrich promises to slash taxes, calls Obama ‘food stamp president’ — MACON, Ga. — Newt Gingrich opened his presidential campaign here Friday night by introducing a jobs plan that would slash taxes and repeal an array of bureaucratic regulations. — Returning to the state where he launched …