WSJ:

One of the longest days in U.S. Open history is winding to a close. What started in a cool cloud cover with rain threatening is ending in golden sunshine. (more…)

WSJ:

From the tee of the 232-yard third hole, I watched Lucas Glover hit a gorgeous soaring draw that tracked perfectly back to the pin. His swing looked both effortless and strong, and I see now that he rolled in the putt for a birdie, to take him to six-under-par and the overnight lead. He will have five holes to play tomorrow morning to finish his second round, starting at the difficult par-four fifth. (more…)

Source:

LONDON (MarketWatch) — It’s too early to unwind Britain’s massive economic stimulus measures, but it’s appropriate for policy-makers to mull exit strategies, the nation’s top central banker said Wednesday night. (more…)

A recent Reuters article describes just one more liberal-led intrusion by the federal government into what should be a mostly-private national economy:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate rejected on Thursday an attempt to strip a $1 billion program aimed at spurring flagging U.S. car sales from a pending $106 billion war funding bill.

The Senate voted 60-36 to keep the program that would provide vouchers of up to $4,500 for consumers to trade in their less fuel-efficient cars for ones that get better mileage, a program known as “cash for clunkers.”

It must be asked: why has Obama repeatedly stated that he does not wish for the federal government to permanently run General Motors; and rather than approving of this voucher for used cars, why are Congressional Democrats not instead telling us exactly which cars to buy?

A car is a complex piece of equipment. We are told by nearly every level of American authority — federal, state, and local governments, most local Chambers of Commerce, Johnson County Republican Party Chairman Ronnie Metsker — that parents are too stupid to be able to choose where to send their children to school.  In terms of providing the service of education, the elites tell us that parents are either ill-equipped, or worse, that their religiosity cannot be trusted.

Cars are also more dangerous in the short-term: sure, the lives of children may be slowly ruined within government-run schools, particularly those operating in the inner cities, but a passenger can die instantly in a car.  Shouldn’t Congress instead be telling individual Americans exactly which cars we should be purchasing?  And shouldn’t Congress be permanently operating automobile companies, just as they are permanently operating our providers of education?

Market Watch:

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — As a clever means of communication for protesting Iranians desperate to get past government media censors in Tehran this week, Twitter set a remarkable new standard for how the Web can change the world. As a media sensation, though, the microblog service has achieved something even more unthinkable — it jumped the shark a second time. (more…)

Financial Times:

Beijing has ordered Google to stop users of its Chinese-language service accessing overseas websites in the biggest blow to the world’s leading search engine in China since it started operating there four years ago. (more…)

Gallup:

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The Times:

Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she’s so worried that information from next year’s national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household. (more…)

Fox News:

The U.S. military is preparing for a possible intercept of a North Korean flagged ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. (more…)

NRO:

I didn’t see this coming:

A fundraising dinner featuring President Obama will raise around $3 million for congressional Democrats on Thursday, two sources familiar with the event tell CNN.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will split the $3 million haul, which falls far short of a recent GOP congressional fundraiser headlined by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Spokesmen for the National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee said $14 million was raised at that event held earlier this month.

Still, the two fundraisers are difficult to compare because Democrats refused donations from registered lobbyists and political action committees for this dinner. Obama does not accept contributions from PACs and lobbyists.

Prime Buzz:

TOPEKA | Two developers hoping to build a casino in Wyandotte County made their sales pitches to state lottery officials this morning. (more…)

Kudlow at NRO.

NRO:

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ABC:

This past Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, host David Gregory questioned Vice President Joe Biden on why the stimulus has not resulted in lower unemployment levels, as promised.  Biden responded that “everyone guessed wrong” on the impact of stimulus legislation on employment levels. (more…)

Market Watch:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The recession is “losing steam” and a slow U.S. recovery should begin by the end of the year, the Conference Board said Thursday as it announced that the index of leading economic indicators rose 1.2% in May, the second straight increase. (more…)

All Things Digital:

Apple Inc.’s iPhone has been a smashing success, redefining the smart-phone market and creating a new hand-held computing platform that has attracted over 50,000 third-party apps, or software programs, in less than a year. With its nearly identical sibling, the iPod Touch, it has sold a combined 40 million units since June 2007, when the computer maker plunged into the phone business.

But the iPhone is drawing increasing competition from entrenched smart-phone makers anxious to emulate the upstart. The most significant of these is Palm’s (PALM) impressive new Pre, which is off to a good start with an estimated 100,000 or so units sold since it launched on June 6.

CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House next week, Obama’s spokesman announced Thursday.

A White House statement said the June 26 meeting would focus on “a broad agenda of global issues of mutual concern,” but provided no details.

Source:

Writing on the website of the American Prospect magazine, Matthew Yglesias writes:

Ahmadinejad is in most ways a classic right-winger, a demagogic nationalist and cultural conservative. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of a Sarah Palin, however, he clothes this right-wing politics in a language of class resentment, painting his more pragmatic and reformist opponents as decadent elites out of touch with ordinary people. Unlike the populists of the American right, however, he merges this rhetoric with something resembling an actual populist economic agenda. The main element has been the use of oil revenue to expand the state sector of the economy in an attempt to distribute wealth more broadly throughout the country. This approach has gained Ahmadinejad a loyal following among the rural poor and public employees, but Iran’s objective economic performance has been disappointing, even during the great oil boom years.

(more…)

Marathon Pundit:

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), a medical doctor, offers his second opinion on 100 economic stimulus bill boondoggle projects. (more…)

Prime Buzz:

from Entertainment Tonight

“Late Show” host David Letterman took aim at demonstrators outside his New York studio last night with humor.

Letterman was criticized by Sarah Palin for making a joke about one of her daughters but he later apologized and acknowledged the joke went too far. But a small group of protesters who want the talk show host fired gathered Tuesday outside Letterman’s Times Square studio as his show was being taped.

(more…)

ABC:

Jacob Sullum has a nice column in this month’s Reason magazine debunking the idea that guns purchased in the US fuel the drug violence in Mexico. (more…)

NRO:

More from that Wall Street Journal/NBC poll out this evening:

Nearly seven in 10 survey respondents said they had concerns about federal interventions into the economy, including Mr. Obama’s decision to take an ownership stake in General Motors Corp., limits on executive compensation and the prospect of more government involvement in health care. The negative feeling toward the GM rescue was reflected elsewhere in the survey as well. (more…)

Source:

The idea staggered me. … It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of 50 million people - with the single-mindedness of a burglar blowing a safe.
Nick Carraway in “The Great Gatsby,” describing the Arnold Rothstein-inpsired character. Rothstein was one of the Black Sox scandal plotters.

If you are not surprised that former Major League Baseball slugger Sammy Sosa has been discovered to be a steroid user, you need to take your blinders off. (more…)

Prime Buzz:

Sam Brownback’s powerful push to become the next governor of Kansas gained still more steam today with the announcement that Bob Dole and Sen. Pat Robertswill head up Brownback’s national campaign team.

Brownback also announced that each of the Kansas congressional districts will be co-chaired by the 2008 Republican nominees. They include Rep. Jerry Moran(1st), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (2nd), former state senatorNick Jordan (3rd) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (4th).

Source:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Continuing U.S. jobless claims took a big drop in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, in a sign that fewer people are having trouble finding employment.

Continuing claims fell by 148,000 to 6.68 million during the week ended June 6, the lowest level in about a month. The four-week average of continuing claims rose, however, by 2,250 to 6.75 million.

It was the first time continuing claims fell since early January.