Black Pathology And The Closing Of The Progressive Mind  —  Among opinion writers, Jonathan Chait is outranked in my esteem only by Hendrik Hertzberg.  This lovely take-down of Robert Johnson is a classic of the genre, one I studied incessantly when I was sharpening my own sword.  The sharpening never ends.

Murray L. Weidenbaum, Reagan Economist, Dies at 87  —  Murray L. Weidenbaum, who as President Ronald Reagan's first chief economic adviser elevated government regulation of business to the forefront of public policy debate, but resigned unhappy about the administration's budget-making, died on Thursday in St. Louis.

Creationists Demand Airtime On ‘Cosmos’ For The Sake Of Balance  —  The Creationist group Answers In Genesis, which was already incensed about Neil deGrasse Tyson's revival of Cosmos, is now complaining that the show lacks scientific balance because it fails to provide airtime for evolution deniers.

Ted Nugent's appearance at upcoming Longview festival canceled by city  —  An East Texas city had to pay thousands to a controversial performer, before he even planned on performing at a July Fourth concert.  —  The City of Longview is preparing to hold its second annual Fourth of July Festival.

Missing jet WAS carrying highly flammable lithium batteries: CEO of Malaysian Airlines finally admits to dangerous cargo four days after DENYING it  —  Malaysian Airlines today confirmed that flight MH370 had been carrying highly flammable lithium-ion batteries in its cargo hold …

The boom in smuggling to avoid cigarette taxes  —  Shares -  —  More than half of the cigarettes sold in New York State are smuggled in from other places to avoid the Empire State's taxes on smokes, which have soared nearly 200 percent since 2006, according to a report issued by the conservative Tax Foundation.

Revealed: the final 54 minutes of communication from MH370  —  The entire 54 minutes of cockpit communication aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight can be revealed, from its taxi on the runway to its final message at 1.07am of ‘all right, good night’  —  The Telegraph has obtained …

Westboro Baptist Church protests Lorde concert; first protest since Phelps' passing  —  Brendaliss Gonzalez  —  For the first time since their pastor's passing, the controversial Westboro Baptist Church held a protest outside of the Lorde concert on Friday night.  —  KSHB

GAY PRIDE PARADE WON'T BEND ITS RULES  —  Bill Donohue comments on his exchange with officials from New York's Heritage of Pride parade:  —  For the past few days I have been engaged in an e-mail conversation with officials from the Heritage of Pride parade, New York's annual gay event; the dialogue has been cordial.

Matt Drudge Is (Probably) Lying About Paying A Huge Obamacare ‘Liberty Tax’  —  It seems conservative monolith Matt Drudge is taking some pride in paying the penalty for not purchasing insurance under Obamacare.  He's even got a name for it. … There's just one problem …

Gadsden Flag: Too Racist for Government Buildings, But Just Right for Obamacare Propaganda!  —  Q: What is the Gadsden “Don't Tread on Me” flag?  —  A.  (1775): A banner designed by Continental Col. Christopher Gadsden, using colonial rattlesnake imagery popularized by Benjamin Franklin …

Sharyl Attkisson: There Is Coordination Between Reporters And Politicians  —  PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Chris Stigall talked to former CBS News Reporter Sharyl Attkisson this morning on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT about the trouble reporters have to deal with while covering politicians and the government …

Michigan Same-Sex Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional  —  A federal judge in Michigan on Friday ruled the state's 2004 ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the Detroit Free Press reported: … In his ruling, Senior United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman wrote that the ban violates …