AN IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY: “The five worst ornithologists in the Czech Republic drank a lot of beer.”

THE LIBERATION OF KARMAH: Michael Totten posts another dispatch from Iraq.

NOAM SCHEIBER on Clinton vs. Obama and Carter vs. Kennedy. “Hillary’s only path to the nomination, barring a meltdown by Obama, is to destroy his electability. But harsh attacks on Obama will inevitably discourage African Americans from voting in the fall, and Hillary can’t beat McCain without strong black turnout in places like Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Conversely, any attack on Hillary that alienated moderate Republican women could cripple Obama’s chances.” And not just black voters, but all the Obama faithful. Yes, I mentioned this a while back, and now it’s become conventional wisdom.

Meanwhile, Obama can’t seem to shake the Jeremiah Wright problem. He’s got a similar double bind — alienate black supporters, or push away white supporters. The willingness of some of his current supporters to label every criticism racist only intensifies that dilemma, of course, and undercuts his original “transformative” appeal further.

UPDATE: More here: “In rejecting the racist views of his longtime spiritual mentor but not disowning him, Obama has unwittingly enhanced his image as the African American candidate — as opposed to being just a remarkable candidate who happens to be black. That poses a dilemma for unelected superdelegates, who as professional politicians will settle the contest because neither Obama nor Clinton can win enough elected delegates to be nominated.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Related thoughts from Walter Shapiro at Salon. “Democrats are being barraged with new information about the candidates long after most of them have made a binding decision on a nominee. It is akin to being given a subscription to Consumer Reports the day after you bought a new car.”

MORE: “Obama Won Over His Base…the American Media.”

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, FAIR USE, THEFT, and The Associated Press.

A LONE BLOGGER VS. the United Nations.

TALKLEFT: Obama, Emil Jones, and earmarks.

SWIFTBOATING, revisited.

HILLARY CLINTON: Secret fundamentalist? Color me skeptical, and I’m someone who’s written about Hillary’s religious streak in the past.

A BUNCH OF NICE NEW PHOTOS FROM LISA SCHEER. I like her eye.

IF IT’S INTENTIONAL, is it malpractice?

MICKEY KAUS on Obama’s honesty: “Obama’s honesty is bracing. But he honestly doesn’t seem to be the sort of neoliberal politician who wins national elections.”

SO, IS THIS GOOD NEWS? Pakistan Now Tops Iraq and Afghanistan in Suicide Bombings.

A BIG DVD SALE at Amazon. (Via TigerHawk). By the way, my friend Doug Weinstein picked up an HD-DVD player at Wal-Mart for $75 and reports that the real reason to have it is that it upscales standard DVDs to quasi-HD much better than other players. He says this is a characteristic of the HD-DVD players in general. That’s news to me, but if I see one for that cheap I might pick it up for that reason alone — there are still a lot of regular DVDs out there.

RICHARD LANDES on Obama and Wright and the “prophetic tradition.” Plus video.

A PRESS CRACKDOWN IN TURKEY: “For all the talk within the State Department of Prime Minister Erdogan and his Islamist-leaning party as representing democracy, he has now sued or jailed more journalists than any other government in Turkey. Most of those taken to court committed offenses such as depicting Erdogan unfavorably in political cartoons or editorializing against Mr. Erdogan’s efforts to purge judges and financial officials who questioned his policies.”

CHRIS NOLAN SENDS A LINK TO THIS WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT from The New York Times and notes the first paragraph:

WHEN an armed band of American Muslim militants invaded several buildings in Washington on March 9, 1977, Diane Cole, then 24, became one of more than 100 hostages. The gunmen threatened to decapitate captives before she and the others were released 39 hours later.

Okay, I was in high school then, but I have absolutely no memory of this. Did it get much attention?

UPDATE: Courtesy of reader Thad Puckett, here’s a WaPo retrospective.