June 5, 2026

A MUST-READ FROM J.D. VANCE:

Posted at 1:52 pm by Glenn Reynolds

UM, WHAT? ‘Khamenei’ says US, Israel hit by ‘decisive blow’ amid mixed signals on talks, US security alert. “Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public since being wounded in strikes that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28. His message, read out by a prayer leader at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, came amid weeks of talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence that have so far failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.”

Kudos to the Times of Israel headline writer who put scare quotes around “Khamenei.”

Posted at 1:48 pm by Stephen Green

MORNING IN AMERICA: US job market notches third straight month of solid growth.

The U.S. economy posted a third straight month of strong job gains in May, confirming the labor market was gaining traction after stumbling last year and giving the Federal Reserve ​more room to keep interest rates unchanged amid rising inflation due to the war in the Middle East.

The closely watched employment report from the Labor Department on Friday ‌painted an upbeat picture of the jobs market. The economy added 93,000 more jobs in March and April than previously estimated and the unemployment rate held at 4.3% for a third consecutive month. While financial markets boosted the chances of an interest rate hike in December, economists said the bar remains high for monetary policy tightening.

Economists say fiscal stimulus, in the form of tax and import tariff refunds, has cushioned the impact of the U.S.-backed war with Iran, which has stoked inflation through ​a surge in oil prices. Corporate profits have increased since the second quarter of 2025, allowing businesses to refrain from large-scale layoffs. Economists, however, warned of risks to the labor market ​if the war persists.
“This report is likely to confirm to the Fed that the labor market is in a stable place, allowing inflation to be the ⁠only focus and driver of Fed policy heading into the June meeting,” said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, a senior economist at FHN Financial.

Exit question: “Donald Trump finally got the economic success he has touted since his re-election. Will it come in time to boost the GOP’s midterm chances?”

Posted at 1:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

THE UNEXPECTEDLIES MOVE IN ONE DIRECTION UNDER A DEMOCRAT PRESIDENT, AND IN THE OTHER DIRECTION UNDER A REPUBLICAN:

Posted at 1:31 pm by Stephen Green

GRAHAM PLATNER AND AL QAEDA’S CONGRESSMAN-ELECT FROM NEW JERSEY ARE THE CONSEQUENCE OF DEMOCRATS FAILING THE “DAVID DUKE TEST” WITH MAMDANI:

In August 2025, in the run-up to the mayoral election in New York City, I wrote a piece for The Blaze outlining how that election was a “David Duke” test for the Democrats. They had the choice of a supporting a racist adversary of the United States in Zohran Mamdani, or repudiating Mamdani and supporting the Republican, no matter how unpalatable they might find the decision to vote “R.”

Democrats failed the test, choosing to rally around Mamdani, who is now New York’s mayor.

The consequences are being realized quickly, with Jew-hatred and virulent anti-Americanism now mainstreamed in the Democratic party, as evidenced by Democrats clearing the field for Nazi fanboy Graham Platner to win the Maine senate nomination, and Adam Hamawy winning the Democrat nomination to a Congressional seat in New Jersey. Mr. Hamawy is a squad-endorsed former Al-Qaeda volunteer who also palled around with the original Twin Towers bomber, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman (aka “The Blind Sheik.”) Hamawy actually testified as a character witness for the Blind Sheik in the trial following the first World Trade Center bombing in 1995.

It’s been quite an eventful decade:

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™: A Medicaid Scam You Never Saw Coming Has California Circling the… Drums “What’s the emptiest place on the West Coast, Messed Coast™ this week? It appears to be the election counting offices in California where navel-gazing vote counters are taking their sweet time to tell Californians if their vote for change has been diluted by Tom Steyer and Karen Bass ballot harvesters and vote ‘cure’ experts. We have an update.”

Posted at 1:17 pm by Stephen Green

THE NEEDS OF THE PARTY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, COMRADE:

Posted at 1:01 pm by Stephen Green

HEY, BIG SPENDER: SpaceX tells banks it won’t move its $135-a-share IPO price.

SpaceX told banks in its $75 billion initial public offering ​that it is set on the $135-a-share price ‌that the firm disclosed on Wednesday in its amended IPO filing, sources told Reuters.

The company’s decision ​is the latest sign that Elon Musk ​is intent on holding the largest ever initial ⁠offering according to his preferences, upending ​Wall Street tradition — though sources stressed that the ​decision is subject to change before the IPO takes place. SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request ​for comment.

SpaceX began meeting with investors on ​Thursday in its IPO roadshow – where securities issuers and their ‌bankers ⁠typically gather investor feedback before determining the final IPO price at a meeting held a day before the shares begin trading.

Needless to say, the company’s orbital AI data centers require a lot of cash.

Posted at 12:46 pm by Stephen Green

ADAMS AND JEFFERSON MANAGED TO RECONCILE, SO MAYBE AMERICA IS NOT ENTIRELY DOOMED. FIRE’s new Blessings of Liberty podcast with Jeffrey Rosen launches with Justice Neil Gorsuch and a reminder that disagreement is not disloyalty, even when the disagreement is bitter enough to end a friendship for a decade.

Posted at 12:14 pm by Greg Lukianoff

HOWEVER MUCH YOU DESPISE THE MEDIA…:

…it will never be enough.

Posted at 11:59 am by Stephen Green

HIGHER EDUCATION IMPLOSION UPDATE: Low enrollment rocks U. Oregon as it works to slash $65 million, shutters dorms.

“Based on our new numbers, we will need to cut around $65 million from our budget to avoid an ongoing annual budget deficit in the coming years,” President Karl Scholz recently announced to the campus community.

He primarily blamed lower out-of-state first-year enrollment, which means lower tuition revenue, and instituted a hiring and pay freeze.

Other factors cited at a June 1 Board of Trustees meeting include increased costs and a loss in grant funding.

The university on June 2 announced it will shutter two off-campus dorm as it grapples with the budget shortfall. It will close Barnhart Residence Hall and Barnhart Dining Hall and shutter Riley Hall for the 2026–27 academic year, the Daily Emerald reported. If some students need to be housed, Riley Hall will serve as an overflow dorm.

Weird, but I didn’t see anything in that report about reducing administrative bloat.

Previously: If only someone had warned them.

Posted at 11:44 am by Stephen Green

HEH:

It’s fun having a POTUS having so much fun.

Posted at 11:28 am by Stephen Green

I DID NAZI THAT COMING:

Posted at 10:57 am by Stephen Green

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA head urges new launcher for Blue Origin’s moon landers to meet Artemis mission deadlines.

In an interview with FOX Business on Thursday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described a “whole of government response” to the May 28 incident, which badly damaged Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. “We are also de-coupling the lander from the launch vehicle and the pad itself,” he said.

“NASA is laser focused on the lander because we’re laser focused on our mission to return astronauts to the surface of the moon before 2028, and we’re gonna be able to keep that lander in development, progressing, so it’s available for our test mission in 2027, which is Artemis 3, and potentially available to meet our landing objectives in 2028,” Isaacman said.

“It’s a setback that happens in this business. It’s incredibly complicated. A rocket is a controlled explosion, whether you’re going to Earth orbit, 17,500 miles an hour, escape velocity, 25,000 miles an hour, it’s an awful lot of energy, things will happen. We have to learn from it and be ready to move forward.”

Faster with Starship, please, Elon.

Posted at 10:42 am by Stephen Green