Sarah Palin gets in dustup with teacher  —  Sarah Palin was involved in a short argument over the weekend with an Alaska teacher over her decision to leave her post as governor of Alaska.  AP  —  Sarah Palin was involved in a brief argument over the weekend with an Alaska teacher …

The Marriage Ideal  —  Here are some commonplace arguments against gay marriage: Marriage is an ancient institution that has always been defined as the union of one man and one woman, and we meddle with that definition at our peril.  Lifelong heterosexual monogamy is natural; gay relationships are not.

GQ Exclusive: Rand Paul's Kooky College Days (Hint: There's a Secret Society Involved)  —  When the Lexington Herald-Leader reported last week that Rand Paul was, in effect, a college dropout, it looked like the 2010 midterms might feature yet another fabulist.

JetBlue Flight Attendant Uses Emergency Slide to Escape Dispute  —  A photo from Steven Slater's MySpace page.  “Would you like to buy an E190?” the caption asks, referring to the type of plane that Mr. Slater is said to have fled on Monday down the escape hatch.

Why I'm Not Hiring  —  When you add it all up, it costs $74,000 to put $44,000 in Sally's pocket and to give her $12,000 in benefits.  —  With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off.  I think it's going to be later—much later.

Why Michelle Obama Vacationed in Spain: To Be With Grieving Friend  —  Michelle Obama returned to Washington on Sunday from five days on Spain's Mediterranean coast, taking a mother-daughter trip with Sasha, 9, that stirred controversy.  A White House source told me, however …

Ed Rendell: Many Republicans ‘are nuts’  —  Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday said that Republican desires to repeal the 14th Amendment are “cuckoo” and prove that many in the GOP “are nuts.”  —  Asked during an MSNBC interview about many Republicans' calls to repeal the portion …

Greg Gutfeld: I'm raising money to build a Muslim gay bar next to the Ground Zero mosque  —  Andy Levy assures me that he's quite serious.  Media narrative on the GZ mosque: Shining beacon of liberal values bursting through the overcast skies of American intolerance.

Obama to GOP: I'm pretty good at politicking, remember?  —  (CNN) — President Barack Obama warned Republicans on Monday that he is back in campaign mode.  —  In a fundraising speech in Austin, Texas, Obama complained that while his administration has been governing the country since January 2009 …

Ryan Rips Krugman: ‘Intellectually Lazy’ and ‘Bizarre’ Attack  —  Talking late this afternoon with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Republican congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin blasted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman for his “intellectualy lazy” attack on Ryan's fiscal “Roadmap.”

Levi Johnston for mayor. . . really  —  Reality show follows Palin player's bid for office  —  Levi Johnston is setting his sights on the dysfunctional family business.  —  Johnston will run for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska — yes, the same job that propelled Sarah Palin to governor of that state …

Horrible Obama-Smashing Carnival Game Wows Jersey Shore Patrons  —  Last week, a fair near Allentown, Pennsylvania grabbed some attention for its “Alien Attack” shooting-gallery game, where one could shoot at Barack Obama's likeness.  The game was pulled.  But there's still a similar game on the Jersey Shore boardwalk!

Pentagon Plans Steps to Reduce Budget and Jobs  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that he would close a military command, restrict the use of outside contractors and reduce the number of generals and admirals across the armed forces as part of a broad effort to rein in Pentagon spending.

A joint policy proposal for an open Internet  —  Posted by Alan Davidson, Google director of public policy and Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy, and communications  —  The original architects of the Internet got the big things right.

Where does the Laffer curve bend?  —  With the Bush tax cuts due to expire soon and debates about raising top rates further to cut the budget deficit soon to follow, the Laffer curve is bound to come up again.  The idea, popularized by economist Arthur Laffer and writer Jude Wanninski in the 1970s and '80s, is simple.

Are Americans Bigots?  —  Attacking the motives of those who disagree with elite opinion has become all too common.  —  When in 1983 Ronald Reagan characterized the Soviet Union as an “evil empire,” the reaction from his betters was swift.  Writing in the New York Times, Anthony Lewis called it …

How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff  —  Bloomberg Press/Wiley, 335 pages, $27.95  —  Confidence Game: How A Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff came out in late April, and so far as I can tell it hasn't gotten much review attention from the “major” press outlets.

Tea Party Infiltration Done Wrong  —  It's rarely convincing when Tea Party activists brush off attacks on the movement by claiming that the bad apples at their rallies are really agents provocateurs.  That's just too convenient.  Sometimes, the people who make you look bad actually are part of your movement.