Rand Paul Feels Sorry For Barton, While Limbaugh Doubles Down On Barton's ‘Shakedown’ Claims  —  While Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has been mostly lampooned for apologizing to BP for the White House's alleged “shakedown” of the company to create a $20 billion escrow fund, some conservatives have been willing to defend the congressman.

Mort Zuckerman: World Sees Obama as Incompetent and Amateur  —  The president is well-intentioned but can't walk the walk on the world stage  —  President Obama came into office as the heir to a great foreign policy legacy enjoyed by every recent U.S. president.  Why?

Obama: ‘America will be watching’ to see if GOP will cooperate  —  President Barack Obama went on the attack against Republicans on Saturday, accusing the GOP of obstructing a litany of his legislative priorities in Congress.  —  The president struck a decidedly partisan note in his address …

Official: Justice Department plans to sue over Arizona law  —  (CNN) — Obama administration lawyers are planning to file a legal challenge to a controversial Arizona immigration law within a month, according to a senior administration official.  —  The Justice Department would not confirm the claim …

Obama Jokes About Biden's “Big F-ing Deal” Comment  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio - Trumpeting the 10,000th road project funded by his Recovery Act, President Obama borrowed two of three words made famous in March by Vice President Biden.  —  This is a “big....deal,” said Mr. Obama …

Donations Create a Tricky Balance for Oil-State Politicians  —  WASHINGTON — The outburst by Representative Joe L. Barton of Texas in support of BP underscored the potential peril for lawmakers forced to respond to crises involving industries vital to their regions, and whose bountiful donations finance their political campaigns.

Source: FIFA may sit Slovenia-U.S. referee  —  Follow Martin Rogers on Twitter at @mrogersyahoo  —  JOHANNESBURG - The referee who disallowed a potential game-winning goal for the United States will face an expedited performance review from FIFA and is likely to be excluded from the rest of the World Cup, according to a FIFA source.

Detroit schools president: Health woes caused ‘poor judgment’  —  Detroit —One day after facing accusations of fondling himself, Detroit Public Schools President Otis Mathis wrote a letter to colleagues today blaming “ongoing health problems” for his “poor judgment.”

Kagan's E-Mail at Clinton White House Reveals a Blunt, Savvy Legal Adviser  —  WASHINGTON — An enormous trove of e-mail messages from Elena Kagan's years in the Clinton White House released late Friday afternoon offered glimpses of a savvy, sharp-elbowed and sometimes salty-tongued lawyer …

Sharron Angle Goes on the Attack  —  Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, told HUMAN EVENTS in an interview that attacks against her are unfounded.  —  Responding to the charge that she wants to eliminate several federal agencies …

What Ever Happened to Ann Coulter?  —  Remember Ann Coulter?  Seems like just yesterday she was Queen of the Right, the whole political world hanging on her every bile-laced tirade.  Yet she's all but disappeared.  —  Not that she isn't trying.  She's still got her weekly column over at Human Events …

FORECLOSURES BY RACE AND ETHNICITY: THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF A CRISIS  —  Our new research shows that the foreclosure crisis is not over, and runaway foreclosures continue to drain hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth from families, hitting communities of color the hardest.

WikiLeaks Preparing to Release Video of Alleged U.S. ‘Massacre’ in Afghanistan  —  Iceland Votes for Strong Journalist and Whistleblower Protection Laws  —  As the founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks remains underground in fear that the U.S. will detain him …

U.S. Testing Pain Ray in Afghanistan (Updated)  —  The U.S. mission in Afghanistan centers around swaying locals to its side.  And there's no better persuasion tool than an invisible pain ray that makes people feel like they're on fire.  —  OK, OK.  Maybe that isn't precisely the logic …

WATCH ALAN SIMPSON SCHOOL A LEFTY  —  Alan Simpson, co-chair of the White House Debt Commission, provides a full and frank engagement with an activist questioning him on the proposed reforms of the Social Security system.  He doesn't duck.  He doesn't hide.  He doesn't grab the guy around the wrist or neck.

Tea and coffee ‘protect hearts’  —  Drinking several cups of tea or coffee a day appears to protect against heart disease, a 13-year-long study from the Netherlands has found.  —  It adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting health benefits from the most popular hot drinks.

Hundreds of Construction Workers Forced Into Unpaid Leave to Accommodate Obama Photo Op  —  A regular man of the people.  —  H/T.  —  Linked at Instapundit.  Thanks!  —  Labels: Barack Obama

White House to Talk Range of Energy Ideas  —  President Barack Obama's meeting next Wednesday with senators to get energy legislation back on track will likely include discussing a climate change component that caps carbon emissions only from electric utilities, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said today in an interview.

BP Moves Hayward to Lesser Role in Spill Response  —  A day after he came under relentless attack at a Congressional hearing, BP chief executive Tony Hayward was displaced as the man in charge of the company's response to the spill.  —  “It is clear Tony has made remarks that have upset people …

Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Excess Supply  —  In our normal, microeconomic world it is not a big deal when excess demand emerges in one market and excess supply emerges in another—it is, in fact, a good thing, because it induces shifts in production that make the structure …

They don't like the dog food  —  William Galston, than whom there is no better thinker among Democrats today, has been reading the same polls as his Brookings colleague E. J. Dionne, but takes a much harsher view of what Democrats can do.  “In a blogpost on The New Republic website headlined …

Police probe Facebook chief over ‘Draw Muhammad’ contest  —  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being investigated by Pakistani police under a section of the penal code that makes blasphemy against Muhammad punishable by death.  —  BBC Urdu reports — according to a Google Translation …

The Stealth Attack on America's Best-Loved Program  —  As Obama's Fiscal Commission prepares for its June 30 hearing, the Roosevelt Institute's New Deal 2.0 blog invited me to participate in its Social Security's Fiscal Fitness series, which examines the soundness of the program …