Baywatch Babe! Pamela Anderson Looking Hot in Skimpy Red Bathing Suit in Brazil

At London's Daily Mail, "Still red hot at 45: Pamela Anderson gets back into her Baywatch colour as she displays perky body in Vogue Brazil."

Protesters Killed in Turkey

At the New York Times, "Turkish Premier Blames Extremists for Protests as Two Are Killed":

For the first time, deaths were reported at two demonstrations: one protester died in Ankara, the capital, after a vehicle slammed into a crowd there late Sunday, The Associated Press reported, citing a medical official. And in the southern border town of Antakya, an opposition party deputy reported on the Web channel Halk TV that a 22-year-old man whom he identified as Abdullah Can Comert was struck in the head by at least one of four bullets fired from an armored police vehicle. Mr. Erdogan accused the main opposition party of using the demonstrations, which flared into a widespread confrontation with security forces on Friday, for political gain.

Florida Student Iris Scans Raise Major Privacy Rights Violations

This is mind-boggling.

Listen to Michelle at the clip, and here's her discussion at the blog, "Confirmed: Polk County, FL schools conducted iris scans on students without permission."

Also at Tech Dirt, "FL Schools Go Minority Report On Students, Give Parents Opt Out Choice Afterward."

Storm Chaser Tim Samaras Killed in Oklahoma Tornado

At the Weather Channel, "Tim Samaras Dead: Oklahoma Tornado Kills Storm Chaser, Son Paul Samaras, and Chase Partner Carl Young."

There's video at that link, and also at CNN, "2004: Tim Samaras lived for tornado season."

And at the New York Times, "Chasing the Storm, but Hoping Not to Catch It":

When Tim Samaras began chasing tornadoes more than two decades ago, he was one of a small, mostly anonymous group of scientists and thrill seekers armed with paper maps, weather radios and a sense of wonder.

Today, interest in storm chasing has surged, and a preponderance of amateurs with video cameras and a thirst for YouTube fame now jockey with seasoned professionals to see who can get the closest and most dramatic images of churning storms, causing some veterans to worry about a growing safety threat.

The risks became apparent on Sunday when relatives confirmed that Mr. Samaras, 55, along with his 24-year-old son, Paul, and his colleague, Carl Young, 45, were killed while chasing the storms that ravaged parts of Oklahoma on Friday.

They were among at least 13 people killed in the storm, which spawned several tornadoes and caused flash flooding in the region around Oklahoma City. A tornado also picked up a truck carrying several storm chasers, including a meteorologist for the Weather Channel, and tossed it into a field, causing injuries but no deaths.

The deaths come as storm chasers have reached a kind of pop-culture zenith, similar to that achieved by celebrity chefs and interior decorators on numerous reality shows. Mr. Samaras was well known for his appearances on the reality show “Storm Chasers,” on the Discovery Channel, which ended in 2011.

Many other networks use vivid footage of storms. The Weather Channel has programmed regular series like “Full Force Nature” with storm chasers providing video of severe weather.

Advancements in video and Web technology mean storm chasers are now able to provide a live play-by-play of a tornado’s destruction. But with Friday’s deaths, the first in many years, veteran chasers said, some experts question whether the push to get closer and closer to storms has dimmed perceptions of the dangers they pose.

“When a veteran storm chaser as cautious and experienced as Tim Samaras dies, I hope it is a lesson to all the storm chasers of just how potentially dangerous storm chasing is,” said Greg Forbes, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel. “There is some chance you could die.”

The circumstances surrounding the deaths were still unknown Sunday. Dr. Forbes said the tornado Mr. Samaras was tracking made a sudden left turn, perhaps catching him and his team unaware and leaving them nowhere to run. Others speculated that engine trouble or perhaps a traffic jam could have left them stuck in the tornado’s path.

Mr. Samaras’s brother Jim posted a statement on his brother’s Facebook page expressing sadness but giving no details. “They all unfortunately passed away, but doing what they loved,” the statement said.

RTWT.

And at the Blaze, "STORM CHASER’S HAUNTING FINAL FACEBOOK POST BEFORE HE WAS KILLED IN TORNADO."

A Message for the Class of 2013

An hilarious piece, from Rob LaZebnik, at the Wall Street Journal.

And not so hilarious is Soledad O'Brien. See Warner Todd Huston, at Wizbang, "Soledad O'Brien to Grads: Don't Take Anyone's Advice."

I'm struck by her obsession with race, although I shouldn't be. But still...

Jean Stapleton Remembered

Rob "Meathead" Reiner remembers Jean Stapleton's career and character of Edith Bunker, at CBS News, "Jean Stapleton - TV's Edith Bunker - Remembered."

Also, an excellent obituary, at the New York Times, "Jean Stapleton, Who Played Archie Bunker’s Better Angel, Dies at 90."

Jim Geraghty Destroys David Plouffe With One Tweet

This is hilarious.

At Twitchy, "Choom Boom! Geraghty destroys Plouffe’s nasty Issa-smearing tweet with one photo."

For perspective, here's what Plouffe's most famous client was doing when the charge against Issa was dropped: twitter.com/jimgeraghty/st…
— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) June 3, 2013

Also:

Issa calling Jay Carney the "administration's paid liar" apparently struck a nerve with David Plouffe j.mp/ZF6k2L
— Right Scoop (@trscoop) June 2, 2013

Powerhouse Fire 'Roars Like a Blowtorch' Through Elizabeth Lake and Lake Hughes

At the Los Angeles Times, "Residents remain evacuated as Powerhouse fire spreads to 25,000 acres."

Also, "Powerhouse fire grows to 30,000 acres; now 40% contained."

How Will U.S. Fund Entitlements?

At IBD, "Social Security Report Alarming; But D.C. Calm":

Disability beneficiaries face steep cuts in just three years under current law and today's new retirees are expected to outlive the Social Security Trust Fund by two years.

Yet the annual report from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees was taken in stride in D.C., as a full-fledged effort at entitlement reform remains far from the agenda.
When asked about how the administration would avoid scheduled disability benefit cuts of 20%, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew alluded to "the 1990s and policy choices made in time" to avert a similar set of cuts.

That policy choice involved one Social Security trust fund, the main Old Age and Survivors Insurance fund, lending to another in 1994. Almost 20 years later, even as Social Security is expected to run an annual cash deficit of $75 billion, the current administration is signaling that it's prepared to kick the can again. That is, unless it gets a big-enough tax hike to minimize benefit cuts.

Meanwhile, the White House hailed the "good news for seniors and taxpayers" that Medicare's hospital insurance program will be solvent through 2026.

Continue reading.

The Obama Breakdown

An outstanding commentary from Fred Barnes, at WSJ, "The Decline of the Obama Presidency":

John Dos Passos, the novelist and historian, once said: "Often things you think are just beginning are coming to an end." His observation was made in the 1960s. But it's true today of Barack Obama's presidency and the promise of a bright future for his second term.

Mr. Obama's re-election stirred grand expectations. The vote heralded a new liberal era, or so it was claimed. His victory was said to reflect ideological, cultural and demographic trends that could keep Democrats in the majority for years to come. His second four years in the White House would be just the beginning.

Now, six months later, the Obama administration is in an unexpected and sharp state of decline. Mr. Obama has little influence on Congress. His presidency has no theme. He pivots nervously from issue to issue. What there is of an Obama agenda consists, at the moment, of leftovers from his first term or proposals that he failed to emphasize in his re-election campaign and thus have practically no chance of passage.

Continue reading.

Angelina Jolie Makes First Post-Mastectomy Appearance at 'WWZ' Red Carpet Premiere

At London's Daily Mail, "'I feel great': Angelina Jolie makes first public appearance since double mastectomy as she attends Pitt's London premiere of World War Z."

Czech Zombie Walk

Trippy.

At Telegraph UK, "Czechs find rain no defence against zombies invasion."

Taking a Wrecking Ball to the Ivory Tower

From Kyle Peterson, at RealClearPolitics.

ZoNation: Islamic Terrorism - Just Say It!

Yo!

Top 10 Most Visited Businesses

Some Karen Alloy for you:

Tin Foil Democrats

Via Left Coast Resistance:

L.A. Times Touts Obama's 'Deferred Action' Amnesty Plan With Illegal Alien Who 'Cannot Read or Write in Any Language' and 'Drives Without a License'

Hey, nothing like pumping up the administration's shamnesty scam with the underclass of the illegal alien underclass.

See, "Education is missing key for some young immigrants":

MADERA, Calif. — While kids his age were reading Shakespeare and dissecting frogs, Benito Vasquez was picking grapes and almonds in the Central Valley.

He was 14 when he crossed the border from Mexico and has worked in the fields ever since. He has never gone to school and cannot read or write in any language.

Vasquez, now 28, is one of thousands potentially shut out of a landmark federal program that grants work permits and a two-year reprieve from deportation to people who came to this country illegally as children.

He and others like him are missing a key requirement — a high school diploma. They can make up the educational deficiency by enrolling in a class. But that is a daunting prospect for someone who works long hours, lives in a remote area and has little formal schooling.

"The cream of the crop in terms of educational achievement, all those people applied already, or most of them," said Jesus Martinez, a Fresno-based consultant for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. "A number of those who haven't applied have educational issues."

Vasquez is still grappling with whether to apply.

Well, he's not grappling all the much, it turns out. He can't find the time to break away from the 10-hour days he puts in working the fields:

Benito's path is more uncertain. He has yet to register at the adult school. It is hard to find the time for classes after a 10-hour workday.

At their Madera home, the Vasquezes speak mostly Spanish, with some Zapotec and some English. Benito's daughter, Lydia, is 4. His son, Jose, is 7 and speaks English most of the time. Benito would like to understand what the boy is saying. English would also help him at work.

Benito Vasquez has been working since he was Jose's age, harvesting corn and beans on the family farm in Oaxaca. His younger sisters enrolled in school, but the family needed the income from his farm labor.

To get to his job in the grape fields, where he operates tractors and other heavy machinery, he drives without a license. He fears being pulled over by the police. Still, he prefers to take his chances in the United States.

"It's better here than in Mexico," he said in Spanish. "Every week, I get a paycheck. There's more food. Everything's a little easier. If you need something, you just work. In Mexico, when you need something, there are no jobs."

Yeah, better to take your chances in the U.S., especially with the open-borders derps touting illiterate aliens as models for immigration reform.

Democrat values. You can't make this stuff up.

Al Qaeda-Linked Rebels Execute 11 Soldiers Loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad

Via Pat Dollard, "WATCH – WARNING GRAPHIC: Al Qaeda Linked Syrian Rebels Post Grisly Execution Video."

Also at the Los Angeles Times, "New videos from Syria spotlight conflict's brutality."

The So-Called 'Bipartisan Backlash' Against Common Core

I was skeptical when the L.A. Times mentioned there's a growing "bipartisan backlash" against the federal bureaucracy's disastrous "Common Core" education agenda. Perhaps some leftist RINOs would be allied with union thugs clinging to corrupt power, I thought. But the Times actually mentions some tea party groups that have mobilized against this progressive education/indoctrination power grab.

See, "Schools' effort to shift to Common Core faces a difficult test":

Educators developed the standards, the Obama administration pushed states to adopt them, and they enjoyed bipartisan support.

But a bipartisan backlash also has emerged. Critics worry that too much classic literature and fiction are being edged out and that too few concepts are covered in math.

Supporter Randi Weingarten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers, is among those urging a delay, especially if results of the new tests will be used to evaluate teachers.

California school districts remain worried about being ready, even with $1 billion that Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed for the transition. Districts would have wide latitude in spending the money for such needs as teacher training and computers.

In some states, opposition, especially from Tea Party groups is making headway. Conservatives speak of an erosion of state and parental rights and potential intrusions on student privacy through data collection. Under pressure, some Republican state leaders have pulled back funding or delayed the changeover.

Continue reading.

Following the links takes us to the Washington Post, "Tea party groups mobilizing against Common Core education overhaul," and the American Principles Project, "Controlling Education From the Top: A Pioneer Institute and American Principles Project White Paper."

Michelle Malkin has been doing yeoman's work in opposition to this corrupt Common Crap agenda. See, "Rotten to the Core: Conservatives spearhead drive at RNC meeting to stop Common Core." The leftist groups cited at the Times are unions worried about reforms that hold them accountable and weaken their power. The genuine opposition to Common Core is found among conservatives and patriots who actually care about the quality of education and the primacy and centrality of educational excellence to the preservation of American freedom.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

Also at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES," and at Theo Spark's, "A Thousand Words..."

More at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies."

Cartoon Credit, "Branco Cartoon – He Built That."