Economy lost 125,000 jobs and 652,000 workers in June  —  A brutal unemployment report this month.  Payrolls dropped by 125,000.  In another one of those unwanted lessons in how we calculate unemployment data, the unemployment rate dropped from 9.7 percent to 9.5 percent — but not because people got hired.

What is the Tea Party?  A growing state of mind  —  WASHINGTON — The “Tea Party” is less a classic political movement than a frustrated state of mind.  —  A year and a half after the idea of a Tea Party burst into view, three of 10 Americans describe themselves in the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll …

The White House's economic message  —  “Today's employment report shows continued signs of gradual labor market recovery,” reads the first line of Christina Romer's analysis of the May jobs report.  She emphasizes the 83,000 jobs created in the private sector (the 125,000 net job loss is due …

RNC chairman: Obama pursued Afghanistan war ‘trying to be cute’  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was caught on video at a fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday raising doubts about the war in Afghanistan.  —  The Democratic National Committee (DNC) pushed out the video …

Myths of Austerity  —  When I was young and naïve, I believed that important people took positions based on careful consideration of the options.  Now I know better.  Much of what Serious People believe rests on prejudices, not analysis.  And these prejudices are subject to fads and fashions.

Barack Obama is among best presidents ever - George W. Bush not so much, say scholars in Siena poll  —  George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be.  —  That's the verdict of 238 of the nation's leading presidential scholars, who - for a fifth time - rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt …

Democrats shaping battle plan against Republicans for November  —  Architects of President Obama's 2008 victory are braced for potentially sizable Democratic losses in November's midterm elections.  But they say voters' unease about a GOP takeover will help their party maintain congressional majorities.

Obama to announce broadband grants to spur jobs  —  (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is slated to announce on Friday nearly $800 million in loans and grants for the build-out of broadband networks to reach homes, schools and hospitals.  —  The grants and loans, which will be matched …

Factory Jobs Return, but Employers Find Skills Shortage  —  BEDFORD, Ohio — Factory owners have been adding jobs slowly but steadily since the beginning of the year, giving a lift to the fragile economic recovery.  And because they laid off so many workers — more than two million since the end of 2007 …

Death by stoning imminent for Iranian woman, attorney says  —  (CNN) — Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, a mother of two, is waiting to die in Iran by a method of execution described by her lawyer as “barbaric” — stoning.  —  She will be buried up to her chest, deeper than a man would be …

Assimilation and the Founding Fathers  —  As we head into Independence Day weekend, my column today reflects on the other “A” word missing from the immigration debate: Assimilation.  —  Assimilation and the Founding Fathers  —  by Michelle Malkin  —  Creators Syndicate  —  Copyright 2010

Schwarzenegger orders minimum wage for state workers  —  The Schwarzenegger administration today ordered State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal minimum allowed by law — $7.25 an hour for most state workers.  —  The instructions from the Department …

The Polarization of the Supreme Court  —  The Supreme Court has gradually come to act more like a political institution.  The share of one-vote majority rulings has risen more than four-fold in the past six decades, compared to the half-century prior, based on a RealClearPolitics analysis of rulings from 1801 to the present.

Weak private hiring shows tepid recovery  —  (Reuters) - Private payrolls rose only modestly in June and overall employment fell for the first time this year as thousands of temporary census jobs ended, showing the economic recovery failing to gain traction.

Hurricane GOP On The Way  —  MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: THERE IS A WAVE OUT THERE, AND FOR DEMOCRATS, THE HOUSE IS, AT BEST, TEETERING ON THE EDGE.  —  Imagine sitting in Washington's Verizon Center, listening blissfully to Carole King and James Taylor, thanks to a fast-thinking friend who managed to score four floor seats.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Mel Gibson's Racist Rant Caught On Tape - Tells Oksana She Would Get ‘Raped By N***ers’  —  In one of the most explosive, racist and vile outbursts by a celebrity ever caught on tape, Mel Gibson told the mother of his love child that the way she was dressed would get her …

Kagan Reminds Senators: Legislation Is Your Job  —  WASHINGTON — Supreme Court confirmation hearings are usually designed to probe a nominee's conception of the role of the justices.  But this week's questioning of Elena Kagan turned into a tutorial on Congressional responsibility.