BILL FLANIGEN: Watchlists: Bad for Muslim-American Charities, Great for Employee Screening at the ACLU. “An essential part of the ACLU’s complaint is that poorly managed terrorism watchlists make it easier for the government to abuse or destroy innocent Muslim-American charities. It’s worth noting these specific criticisms, because a few years ago the ACLU agreed voluntarily to screen its own employees using the federal terrorism watchlists.”

WHERE’S OSHA? Workplace safety issues in the porn industry.

ABC NEWS: Treasury Department Admits Challenging Independence of TARP Inspector General. It’s like this whole thing is just a big treasury-looting operation on behalf of the politically connected.

THE SUPREME COURT AND DNA: “Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an individual whose criminal conviction has become final does not have a constitutional right to gain access to evidence so that it can be subjected to DNA testing to try to prove innocence.” This is, alas, consistent with prior law, which made evidence of “actual innocence” surprisingly unimportant post-conviction. It’s also something that can — and should — be corrected by legislation. Will Congress act? It should, and so should state legislatures. Anyone who criticizes such legislation as “soft on crime” should be immediately pantsed, as it would, of course, benefit only the innocent.

ALL AMERICA IS WEST VIRGINIA NOW . . . .

JAMES TARANTO: We’re All Neocons Now: Obama’s timidity on Iran leaves him increasingly isolated. “It is extraordinary that the two most senior administration officials apart from the president himself are airing their objection to his policies in this way. . . . Meanwhile, Obama has some of his liberal-left supporters sounding like frustrated neoconservatives.”

CT SCAN nearly as good as regular colonoscopy.

NICK GILLESPIE: Obama and The Gays: A Non-Love Story Getting Less Lovely By The Minute. “I can appreciate the anger and disappointment among gay and lesbian supporters of Obama, but in their frustration may well be the seed of a deeper understanding that politics and politicians are disappointing at best and malevolent at worst. Which is precisely the reason to squeeze their power and influence over citizens and human activity to the bare minimum, whether we’re talking about the bedroom or the boardroom.” Indeed.

I’M GUESSING THIS MEANS THE ECONOMY HASN’T HIT BOTTOM YET:

Nestled in a corner banquette are Senam, 25, and his friend Khushbu, 24. Senam’s dressed in cashmere and khakis, not a pore in sight. Khushbu’s all in black, fondling a BlackBerry. He’s in architecture, she’s a lawyer. Both sip white wine and seem happy to confide in a fleece-clad interloper.

“I was laid off last week,” says Senam, stretching like a happy feline. He grins and drinks. “Looks like it’s time for a vacation to Puerto Rico!” He smiles even more broadly now, revealing a perfect set of exceptionally white teeth. Khushbu giggles, smoothes her long black hair. “I lost my job a month ago,” she says calmly. “Here’s to the economy!” They clink glasses. . . . Cara, a 25 year old with a background in international relations and journalism — who is also currently unemployed — is equally unfazed. “The economy better pick up soon!” she says, laughing. “But if it doesn’t, well, I’ll just have to try [looking for work] longer.” She shrugs and goes back to her drink. “I think the economy is just making people spend smarter,” adds Beth, who works in the restaurant industry. “Maybe I won’t go out to eat at a mediocre restaurant or spend a lot of money just going out for a beer. If I spend money, I want it to be amazing.”

What do you think?

WELL, GOOD: Gates: US puts more missile defense around Hawaii. “Gates told reporters at the Pentagon he has sent the military’s ground-based mobile missile system to Hawaii, and positioned a radar system nearby. Together the systems theoretically could detect and shoot down a North Korean missile if it came to that.”

MORE ON NASA’S FUTURE, from Alan Boyle.

MORE THOUGHTS ON those dumb Brinks home security commercials.

I understand the commercial rationale behind these ads. They seem to be directed at women who are concerned about being victimized but who don’t like guns and aren’t willing to take other serious measures to protect themselves. They want to feel safe, but either the mere feeling of safety is enough for them or they don’t understand that alarms by themselves do little to protect them. And because most such customers will not be victimized they may conclude that their alarms are worthwhile.

One of the reasons why there are few criminal break-ins of occupied homes in the USA is that many Americans do have real security systems, particularly firearms. If you prefer not to own firearms, which may be a perfectly reasonable choice for you, you still benefit from the likelihood, which most criminals probably understand, that some of your neighbors are armed.

Related thoughts here.

POLITICO: Gay Dems complain DNC cut off funding, drop support for Biden event. “The board of directors of the National Stonewall Democrats are dropping their support for a June 25 DNC fundraiser with Vice President Joe Biden over, they wrote in an email obtained by POLITICO, a combination of policy slights and the claim that they’ve been cut off from traditional party funding.”

ROGER KIMBALL: “I never thought it would happen. I am actually feeling sorry for Frank Rich.”

WALPIN UPDATE: Fired Inspector General: I Want Congressional Hearings, Dammit! Interestingly, Greg Sargent uses the words “on the right” an awful lot in this short piece. Compare the treatment to that of Bush-era scandals, where those seeking investigation were merely dedicated good citizens . . . .

CHARTING OUR SPACE FUTURE with dueling PowerPoint presentations.

HMM: Mayor caught up in Americorp mess investigated by the FBI. “The FBI is investigating allegations that an executive at a nonprofit founded by Mayor Kevin Johnson obstructed a federal inquiry into the group’s spending.”

POLITICO: Olive Garden Pulls Letterman Ads.

HOPE AND CHANGE: Treasury to Auction $104 Billion In Debt Next Week, a Record.

IN THE TANK? HECK, THEY’RE DRIVING THE TANK: ABC’s Troubling Political Donations.

MORE SCANDAL: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Demands Answers on Voter Intimidation Case Dismissal. “As was commented upon here at CONTENTIONS, and widely reported and remarked upon elsewhere, the Obama Justice Department took the unusual action last month of dismissing a default judgment against the New Black Panther Party in connection with a case of voter intimidation on Election Day on November 4, 2008. Members of the NBPP were caught on film blocking access to the polls and physically and verbally intimidating voters, even going so far as to wield a nightstick in front of voters and poll watchers. The Justice Department’s lawyers gathered evidence, obtained the affidavit of former civil rights advocate Bartle Bull, and filed a complaint. When the defendants did not respond and the court invited the Justice Department to file a default judgment, the case was inexplicably withdrawn.” Oh, I think it’s explicable.

TACKY: Apple Puts the Kibosh on the Palm Pre’s iTunes Synch.

CONTINUOUS BLOGGING ON IRAN, from Michael Totten.

I WISH WE WERE HEADING BACK SOONER. Heck, I wish we’d been there for 35 years. Orbiter to Map Moon, Looking for Ice and a Home for Astronauts.

HUNTING WMDs with a network of wifi-enabled insects. But wouldn’t “Yard Guard” be an effective countermeasure? . . . .