Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

THE MOMENTS

Pause for the “National Moment of Remembrance” on Monday, observed at 3 p.m. locally in every time zone, a tradition established a decade ago by the White House Commission on Remembrance. There is some reassuring unity afoot: All Major League Baseball games will halt, the National Memorial Day Parade will come to a complete stop and Amtrak train whistles will sound across the country. Among many places, the moment is also observed at NASCAR races, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and among NASA astronauts.

And while he urges all Americans to observe the aforementioned moment “in their own way,” President Obama also has issued a proclamation designating Memorial Day as “a day of prayer for permanent peace,” noting, “I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer.” Mr. Obama has asked that all American flags be flown at half staff until noon at private homes, and on the buildings and grounds of “all units of government,” as well as on board naval vessels.

Also to be remembered: in a “rare” public acknowledgment of fallen CIA officers, the “Yankee Lady,” a remarkably restored B-17G Flying Fortress bomber, will depart from the American Airpower Museum airfield in Farmington, N.Y., rise majestically into the sky and then deliver a payload of flowers into the Atlantic waters not far from the former World Trade Center site, to honor seven clandestine officers who died during a December suicide bomber attack on Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan.

“Our officers never expect recognition beyond our agency family. But when the public does learn the details of their sacrifice, the support for our people and mission is deeply inspiring,” says CIA director Leon E. Panetta.

JUST POST IT

First, the good news. Public and press are actually reading SB1070, Arizona’s new immigration law, posted online by Gov. Jan Brewer, at www.azleg.gov, under “Bills.” But now, the bad news. Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, suspects that the Department of Justice complaint challenging the law is tainted and is asking Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to immediately make the federal agency’s draft of the complaint available for public scrutiny.

“The American Civil Liberties Union, the Service Employees International Union and the Muslim American Society are calling the shots at the Justice Department. The ’draft complaint’ DOJ has prepared to challenge the Arizona law is a cut-and-paste version of the class-action lawsuit the ACLU filed in U.S. District Court on May 17th,” Mr. King says. “No other conclusion could be reached unless Holder releases the ’draft complaint.’ But when it becomes public, all of America will know what I know. The ACLU and their radical affiliates are dictating the policy of the White House and the Dept. of Justice.”

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Rep. Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania Democrat and the party’s hopeful for the state’s U.S. Senate seat in November, will march in two Memorial Day parades. The retired three-star admiral also will participate in observance events in Bethlehem, Hatboro and York, says his spokesman Jonathon Dworkin, who adds, “There will be interview opportunities at all three stops.”

NEEDS YANKEE INGENUITY

The BP oil spill continues to be a forum for most everything - technology, finger-pointing, hand-wringing, media bias, guilt, ecology, advocacy. “Top kill” is dead in the water while another containment cap could be reborn. President Obama has come and gone. Liberal journalists still ramp up talk that former President George W. Bush was responsible for the whole thing, leaving poor Mr. Obama with the big “cleanup.”

Meanwhile, noisy CNN pundit James Carville has calmed down while HBO host Bill Maher has taken up the slack, positing the idea that Mr. Obama’s response to the oil slick was not worthy of a pistol-packing “real black president” who would shoot someone in the foot, just for effect.

To make matters worse, the press now complains that its access to the region is limited, which means even more murky speculation over deep-water video footage and an endless parade of experts. As pathetic “oiled” birds struggle on darkened sands, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization also have identified the top 15 “special places in grave jeopardy” - which include Padre Island, the Everglades and Key West.

Knee-deep in the mire, BP is still seeking the public’s assistance, or lending that impression, anyway. “Do you have ideas to help us?” the company asks, and supplies this number: 281/366-5511.

APP-ETITE

And now, a shiny new toy for the true Republican fanatic, and more proof that the party is wired. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has launched a snappy iPhone and iPad application - the first national party committee to boast such an application. Here’s what you get: Whatnot, facts, hearsay from the 2010 Senate elections right at your fingertips, plus a timely news feed, links to the committee’s Facebook page, Twitter feed and videos, and, most importantly, links to the candidates themselves.

Oh, and it’s free at https://appsto.re/NRSC, says executive director Rob Jesmer, who adds with a barker’s enthusiasm, “Our new app is a great way to stay up to date on your favorite races.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 50 percent of Americans view Memorial Day as one of the most important of the nation’s holidays.

• 3 percent say it is one of the least important holidays.

• 47 percent say it is “somewhere in between.”

• 54 percent plan to “do something special” to honor Americans who died while in service to their country.

• 53 percent have planned a family cookout.

• 23 percent will attend a memorial service, 27 percent will watch or participate in a parade.

Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 adults conducted May 23 and 24.

• Comments, murmurs and rants to jharper@washingtontimes.com