It Always Has Been About Trig  —  I waited a whole day before posting about the Sarah Palin resignation.  Well, not a whole day, but longer than almost everyone else in the blogosphere.  Here's my take as of this moment in time, subject to change:  —  I don't know why Sarah Palin resigned …

More on Palin  —  I spoke to a few friends in Alaskan Republican politics yesterday.  None of them had a clue that Palin was going to resign her office, and none has any idea what her motivation might be in doing so.  It was widely assumed in Alaska that Palin wouldn't run for a second term.

Advocacy Groups Should Halt Attacks on Moderate Democrats, Obama Says  —  Advocates Should Turn Attention to Promoting Legislation, President Says  —  President Obama, strategizing yesterday with congressional leaders about health-care reform, complained that liberal advocacy groups ought …

READERS ARE SENDING PHOTOS FROM TEA PARTY PROTESTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.  Here's one from Perrysburgh, Ohio, sent by reader Chris Zarecki, who reports about 3,000 people attending.  —  Here's one from Bel Air, Maryland, sent by reader Maya Leonetti.  The Debt Star makes another appearance!

July 5th Oration by Frederick Douglass: Tomorrow I am hoping to attend a recreation of Frederick Douglass's Independence Day oration at his home in Anacostia, DC. … Today, historian Jonathan Bean has a nice essay on National Review Online entitled, The Party of Lincoln, and of Douglass …

‘Family Friendly’ White House Is Less So for Aides  —  WASHINGTON — When President Obama talks up the family-friendly vibe at the White House — the nightly family dinners, the flexibility to attend school presentations and join impromptu plunges in the pool with his girls — his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, sets him straight.

Honeybee mobs overpower hornets  —  Honeybees mount a very effective mobbing defence  —  Honeybee hordes use two weapons - heat and carbon dioxide - to kill their natural enemies, giant hornets.  —  Japanese honeybees form “bee balls” - mobbing and smothering the predators.

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Celebrates Independence Day and the American Spirit  —  WASHINGTON - In his weekly address, President Barack Obama celebrated the unyielding American spirit that has defined our past and will lead us into the future.  Even as we face daunting challenges …

Costa Rica greenest, happiest country  —  Latin American nation tops index ranking countries by ecological footprint and happiness of their citizens  —  Costa Rica is the greenest and happiest country in the world, according to a new list that ranks nations by combining measures …

Cutting bait  —  With respect to many of the Palinologists below, I think they're getting way too hepatomantic over the entrails.  As a political move for anything other than the 2010 Senate race, today's announcement is a disaster.  And I'm not sure it's a plus for the Senate - and …

Tensions mount as Honduras defies OAS  —  Supporters of the new government, lead by Roberto Micheletti, rallied at the presidential palace as the Honduran army maintained control.  Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is set to return to the country over the weekend; Micheletti has threatened to arrest him.