Job Losses Slow; Unemployment at 9.4%  —  The United States economy lost 345,000 jobs in May, the government reported on Friday, a sharp slowing in the pace of job losses that fueled hopes that the economy was on its way toward a recovery.  —  The recession continued to take a toll …

Inhofe Rips Obama As ‘Un-American,’ Suggests He's On The Side Of Terrorists  —  Reacting to President Obama's outreach to the Muslim world yesterday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) decried the president's speech as “un-American” and even suggested Obama might be on the side of terrorists:

Intel firestorm: GOP reveals briefing info  —  Republicans ignited a firestorm of controversy on Thursday by revealing some of what they had been told at a closed-door Intelligence Committee hearing on the interrogation of terrorism suspects.  —  Democrats immediately blasted the GOP lawmakers …

Keeping Them Honest  —  “I appreciate your efforts, and look forward to working with you so that the Congress can complete health care reform by October.”  So declared President Obama in a letter this week to Senators Max Baucus and Edward Kennedy.  The big health care push is officially on.

The Settlements  —  Charles Krauthammer has a misleading and evasive column about the Israeli settlements issue.  He does not deal with the legality of these towns—he can't, of course, because they are illegal under the fourth Geneva Convention, which provides rules for occupying powers.

Cheney and Pelosi Have Poor Ratings in Common  —  Pelosi's ratings down, while Cheney's improved from record low  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Dick Cheney have little in common politically, but they receive almost identical image ratings from the American public.

Are House Democrats about to block Obama's new secrecy law?  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  Earlier this week, I noted that the Senate had passed — with Obama's support — a pernicious amendment to the spending supplemental bill, jointly sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman …

MSNBC Shrugs About Liz Cheney's Over-Exposure: “Liz Is A Great Guest”  —  MSNBC is shrugging off the growing criticism of the extensive airtime the network has granted Liz Cheney to mount a political defense of her father and a political offensive against the Obama administration …

IT TAKES REAL EFFORT TO BE THIS AWFUL.... Once in a while, Sean Hannity's painful on-air antics are so over the top, they're almost hard to believe.  —  Last night, for example, whining incessantly about President Obama's speech in Cairo, Hannity told Fox News viewers that the president …

Exclusive: Mudd Withdraws as DHS Intelligence Chief (Updated)  —  The White House confirmed this afternoon it was withdrawing Phil Mudd from Senate consideration to be the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence chief.  —  Mudd, a career CIA employee who is currently the head of FBI counterterrorism, said the choice was his.

Coleman: GOP Needs To Compete On “The Ethernet”  —  Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) spoke to a friendly conservative video-blogger yesterday at the at the Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference in St. Louis, and said Republicans need to more effectively organize around the newer modes of communication — like the “ethernet”:

National Review's Wise Latina Caricature Inexplicably Asian  —  As part of a cover package called “The Wise Latina,” the folks over at the conservative National Review—apparently flummoxed by the very idea of a “wise Latina”—have caricaturized the Puerto Rican-descended Sonia Sotomayor as an Asian Buddhist.

Sotomayor Questionnaire Omits Memo on Death Penalty and Racism  —  JCN Letter to U.S. Senators on Judiciary Committee  —  Honorable Patrick Leahy Honorable Richard J. Durbin Honorable Jeff Sessions Honorable Lindsey Graham Honorable Herb Kohl Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin Honorable Orrin G …

Barack and Michelle Obama decline dinner with the Sarkozys  —  The Obamas turn up in Paris this evening, but have declined a dinner invitation from the couple next door: the Sarkozys.  —  President Obama's reluctance to spend more than minimum time with the French leader on his visit for the D …

It Could Be Worse  —  Much has been made of President Obama's “on the other hand” transition, in his speech yesterday, from the Holocaust to the travails of the Palestinians.  Some thought that he implied a kind of equivalence.  But the appalling Tom Brokaw reminded us that it could have been worse …

McHugh on DADT: I have no interest in excluding people ‘otherwise qualified to serve.’  —  After President Obama named Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) as his nominee for Secretary of the Army, progressives have been working to better understand McHugh's current position on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

White House Set to Appoint a Pay Czar  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to appoint a “Special Master for Compensation” to ensure that companies receiving federal bailout funds are abiding by executive-pay guidelines, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Internet Lynching of Marcus Epstein  —  Last month the left wing blog, One People's Project, posted a story about one Marcus Epstein.  Within this story it was reported that two years ago next month Marcus assaulted a black woman in Georgetown calling her the “n” word.