Bill Kristol, Reason’s Cathy Young, KT McFarland and Sen. Mike Lee joined WMAL on Thursday.

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Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Smith

5am – A/B/C Sen. Rand Paul’s sorta ‘filibuster’ of the Patriot Act was last night on the Senate floor: Stand With Rand or for the Patriot Act?

5am – D         Obama Calls Climate Change a National Security Threat.  President Obama is once again arguing that climate change is a threat to national security. In a commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Wednesday, Obama noted the problems created by extreme weather, which scientists believe can be exacerbated by climate change. Members of the Coast Guard are often among the first responders during natural disasters such as hurricanes.

5am – E         Exclusive: China warns US surveillance plane. Above the South China Sea (CNN)The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a U.S. surveillance plane on Wednesday swooped over islands that Beijing is using to extend its zone of influence. The series of man-made islands and the massive Chinese military build-up on them have alarmed the Pentagon, which is carrying out the surveillance flights in order to make clear the U.S. does not recognize China’s territorial claims. The militarized islands have also alarmed America’s regional allies. Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell told CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday night that the confrontation indicates there is “absolutely” a risk of the U.S. and China going to war sometime in the future.

6am – A/B/C Airports Authority Launches Plan to Incorporate New Ground Transportation Options at Washington’s Airports. Airports Authority is thinking about letting Uber and Lyft come into their ground transportation system operation. They’re holding a public comment forum soon where they want passengers, drivers, etc to attend and then it’ll go back to the board to see whether or not this will get approved.  Board of Directors Committee Approves Process to Include Companies Like Lyft/Uber; Board Approves Designer for Reagan National Capital Program and New Vice President of Audit. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority proposed new regulations Wednesday that would better incorporate companies such as Uber and Lyft into the ground transportation operations at Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The proposal, which better aligns these ground transportation options with the requirements on other services operating at the airports, is the first step in a formal public comment process that will lead to a revised code of regulations for ground transportation at the airports.  “As the demand for new, app-based ground transportation choices has grown at Reagan National and Dulles International, the Airports Authority has worked to incorporate those options into the fabric of our airports,” said Airports Authority Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Margaret McKeough. “We want our customers to have convenient access to the ground transportation choices they desire, while still ensuring the quality they deserve.”

6am – C         Permanent Michael Brown memorial planned at shooting site. (AP) —FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) – The makeshift mid-street memorial that marked where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer last summer was cleared out Wednesday – what would have been his 19th birthday – amid plans to install a permanent plaque in his memory nearby. Braving chilly rain, volunteers wearing white latex gloves put stuffed animals, candles and other trinkets into trash bags destined for temporary storage, dismantling within minutes the shrine seen by many as a symbol of a new civil rights movement over race and policing. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about my son,” Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., said earlier Wednesday as he joined Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III in announcing the temporary memorial’s imminent removal. “We’re just really trying to move forward. It just needs to be moved.”

6am – D         Letterman farewell is Top 10 affair. (USA Today) — It was a warm welcome for David Letterman’s farewell Wednesday night, although four of five living presidents, echoing Gerald Ford on video as the show opened, expressed relief that “our long national nightmare is over.” His retirement, after 33 years in late night and 6,028 broadcasts, was a momentous event in TV that only a few hundred witnessed in person but millions more will watch as the end of an era. “It’s beginning to look like I’m not going to get the Tonight Show,” he joked as he began his opening monologue after sustained applause.

6am – E         ISIS News:

• ISIS takes ‘full control’ of Syria’s historic Palmyra city, activists say.  (CNN) — ISIS militants took “full control” of the ancient city of Palmyra after Syrian government forces retreated from the area Thursday, activists said. The reported gains by the Islamist group, which rules large parts of Iraq and Syria, will only deepen concerns for Palmyra’s residents and its archeological riches. The Sunni jihadists made their advance early Thursday, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in the Middle Eastern nation. ISIS fighters had stormed the modern city, which is also known as Tadmur, on Wednesday. The city is just a few hundred meters from the ancient ruins of temples and other structures, which have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. U.N. and Syrian officials have expressed fears that ISIS plans to destroy the ruins, just as it flattened the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud and smashed statues in Iraq’s Mosul Museum.
• Fall of Ramadi: 30 Car Bombs, 10 as Big as Oklahoma City Blast, US Official Says.  The State Department is sharing new details about the deadly fighting in Ramadi, Iraq, last Sunday, saying the city fell into ISIS hands after the militant group set off 30 suicide car bombs in the city center, 10 of which each were comparable in power to the Oklahoma City truck bomb of 1995. The explosions took out “entire city blocks,” said a senior State Department official who spoke to reporters at the State Department Wednesday on condition that he not be named. The vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, or VBIEDs, were able to gain access to the city center after an armored bulldozer plowed through T-wall barricades lining the city’s critical government buildings, the official said, adding that the same bulldozer was later used as a power VBIED, itself.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – BILL KRISTOL – Editor, The Weekly Standard

• USA Today op-ed: William Kristol: We were right to fight in Iraq

7am – B         Bin Laden Documents: Here’s What’s on Al Qaeda’s Job Application, (NBC) — Some of the questions are H.R. boilerplate, the stuff you’d find on a form anywhere in white-collar America: List your previous occupations. What are your career objectives? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? And then there’s this: “Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?” Among the hundreds of Osama bin Laden documents released Wednesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was what has to be one of the stranger artifacts in the history of human resources bureaucracy — a job application for al Qaeda. “In the name of Allah the compassionate and merciful,” it begins before an instruction to please write clearly and legibly. Here are some of the questions. You can read the whole thing here.

How much of the holy Qur’an have you memorized? Did you study Shari’a? Who was your instructor?

    Any hobbies or pastimes?

    What is your favorite material: science or literature?

    Are any of your relatives or friends in the jihad theater?

    List the types of passports you possess. Did you use a real or forged passport for your current travel?

    Do you wish to execute a suicide operation?

   What objectives would you would like to accomplish on your jihad path?

    Do you have any chronic or hereditary disease(s)?

    Who should we contact in case you became a martyr?

Address __________________

Phone numbers __________________

Bin Laden had warned about lure of ‘Big Money,’ climate change. Osama bin Laden warned Americans of “the despotism of the Big Money” in a brief video released as part of a larger tranche of materials recovered from the deceased Al Qaeda leader’s Pakistan compound. “I begin by reminding you that if you had reflected on a little of what has been said, you would have been able to avoid wasting much blood and money,” he said, according to English translation of a speech draft provided by Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “A good example is what one of your former presidents previously warned you about with the despotism of the Big Money and about a day when you would become its laborers.” It is possible that bin Laden could be referring to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1961 exit speech warning of the “military-industrial complex.” In another undated, previously classified letter marking Ramadan, bin Laden addressed “climate changes,” referring to them as judgment from Allah. He referenced natural disasters and drought in the Islamic world, calling on the establishment of “a distinct relief organization” to deal with them.

7am – C         Sports News:

• Harper, Williams ejected against Yanks, but Nats rally to win. WASHINGTON   —  Bryce Harper is not known for hiding his thoughts, and so he certainly did not shy away from sharing what was on his mind after getting ejected from a game for the second time in seven days. He was incredulous. He was upset. And the two-time reigning NL Player of the Week, who entered Wednesday with 10 homers in his previous 12 games, wound up in a bit of a he-said, he-said with home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, who kicked out Nationals cleanup hitter Harper and manager Matt Williams in the third inning of a 3-2 victory for Washington over the New York Yankees.
• Winter win: Congress lifts Capitol Hill sledding ban. WASHINGTON — It may be a season late and a sled short, but Congress says sledding is now OK on Capitol Hill. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D- D.C., says the ban is now lifted thanks to constituents putting their sleds down, so to speak. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday evening. The bill ends the sledding ban on Capitol Hill by telling the Capitol Police not to enforce regulations that prohibit the activity. The ban on sledding had been around for a long time, but this past winter marked the first time in many years the ban had been enforced.

7am – D         INTERVIEW: CATHY YOUNG – writer for Reason magazine, Newsday, RealClearPolitics and Daily Beast

• Lawyer: Columbia allowing Sulkowicz to carry her mattress today helped Nungesser’s lawsuit:
• Cathy Young writes in Washington Post: Feminists want us to define these ugly sexual encounters as rape. Don’t let them. We need to stop prosecuting bad behavior as rape.

7am – E         VA News:

• Alexandria chooses location for Potomac Yard Metro. Alexandria City Council has voted unanimously to move plans for a Metro station at Potomac Yard forward. It could open in ’18 or ’19. A new Metrorail station at Potomac Yard should be built close to the existing shopping center, the Alexandria City Council unanimously decided Wednesday night, as they waxed nearly poetic about the economic development they believe it will bring. The council endorsed “alternative B,” a $268 million station to be built between the CSX railroad tracks and the George Washington Memorial Parkway, with no construction access from the parkway. Council members said they expect it to bring 26,000 new jobs, 21,000 new homes and $1.5 billion in new tax revenue over the next 20 or 30 years.
• Chase is my blood:’ Joe Morrissey comes clean about fathering teenage staffer’s child. RICHMOND, Va. — Former Virginia Delegate Joe Morrissey has confirmed that he fathered the child of his former teenage staffer, Myrna Pride.  The now 19-year-old gave birth to the child in mid-March days after Morrissey completed a 90-day jail sentence for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The sentence was the result of a plea deal Morrissey struck after he was accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage secretary in his law office. Morrissey directly addressed the controversy, which he had promised to do months ago, on “The Jack Gravely Show” Wednesday morning on WLEE News Talk 990.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst

• CNN: China warns US surveillance plane
• GOP candidates calling Iraq ‘a mistake’
• Sen. Rand Paul’s sorta ‘filibuster’ of the Patriot Act last night on the Senate floor
• ISIS takes ‘full control’ of Syria’s historic Palmyra city
• Fall of Ramadi: 30 Car Bombs, 10 as Big as Oklahoma City Blast, US Official Says
• Josh Earnest calls WH’s ISIS strategy an ‘overall’ success
• Iran’s leader rejects foreign access to military sites, scientists.

8am – B         2016 News:

• Fox News to Limit First Presidential Debate to 10 Republicans. (NY Times) — The sprawling field of Republican presidential hopefuls will be abruptly winnowed down to as few as 10 — at least for debating purposes — when the first presidential debate is held in early August, Fox News, the debate sponsor, said Wednesday.
• Fox News, Facebook to host first GOP primary debate of 2016 race. Fox News and Facebook will host the first Republican primary debate of the 2016 presidential race on Aug. 6 in Ohio, the network announced Wednesday.
• Ted Cruz Owns a Reporter in Beaumont, TX on Question About Gay Marriage.  “Is there something about the left — and I am going to put the media in this category — that is obsessed with sex?” …. “ISIS is executing homosexuals — you want to talk about gay rights? This week was a very bad week for gay rights because the expansion of ISIS, the expansion of radical, theocratic, Islamic zealots that crucify Christians, that behead children and that murder homosexuals — that ought to be concerning you far more than asking six questions all on the same topic.”

8am — C         Entertainment News:

• Barbra Streisand, 73, set to pen her first autobiography after 60 years in show business. Barbra Streisand is writing a new memoir that will give insight into her childhood, life and six-decade-long career as an actress, singer, songwriter and director. The yet-to-be titled tell-all is slated for a 2017 release. Barbra is fiercely protective of her private life, which gives a book of this nature an elevated significance.
• Australian police warn residents about the dangers of Nickelback. (Red Alter Politics) — Proving once again that the Australian police force is infinitely better at social media than their American counterparts, the Queensland Police Service has issued a real public service announcement — a warning about the dangers of listening to Nickelback. Nickelback’s “No Fixed Address Tour” kicks off in Brisbane, Queensland Wednesday night and the police are very concerned about the impact of lead singer Chad Kroeger on the well-being of its citizenry. The warning reads: “Avoid the area. It may be hazardous to your hearing and street cred.” The witty warning’s hashtag even references a Nickelback parody that went viral recently, further proving the police force’s internet savvy.

• Disney World bans selfie sticks on rides. (CNN)Nearly a month after music festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza banned selfie sticks, Disney World has followed suit. The theme park posted a “No Selfie Sticks” sign at Magic Kingdom’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad last Friday, as well as at other attractions. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a Disney spokesperson has clarified that guests are welcome to bring the item with them to the park, but they must remain stored during the ride.

8am – D         INTERVIEW: SENATOR MIKE LEE – (R-UTAH) and author of “Our Lost Constitution”

• Lee Joins Rand Paul On Senate Floor To Support Full Debate On USA Freedom Act
• LEE:  “While the senator from Kentucky and I come to different conclusions with regard to specific question as to whether we should allow section 215 of the Patriot Act to expire,” Lee said. “I absolutely stand with the junior senator from Kentucky and more importantly I stand with the American people with regard to the need for a transparent and open amendment process and for an open and honest debate in front of the American people. ”

TOMORROW:          Fred Frommer, Michael Foley, Joe Mantegna and Rod Wheeler