ED DRISCOLL: A Tale Of Two Parodies.

CHANGE: Tennessee to vote tomorrow on Wisconsin-like labor legislation. “The bill echoes the legislation the Wisconsin legislature passed earlier this year in the face of union protests and the flight of 14 Wisconsin state senators. Around that time, union protesters marched in Tennessee, too — but, in recent weeks, Tennessee’s version of a bargain-limiting bill has moved forward to relatively little national fanfare, even though both Tennessee Education Association activists and Tea Party supporters have continued to express strong views on the bill. . . . Unlike Walker, supporters of the Tennessee bill haven’t advertised it as a way to reduce the deficit — because Tennessee doesn’t have one. The state is constitutionally obligated to run a balanced budget — and, according to state budget spokeswoman Lola Potter, year-to-date collections are actually $154.2 million more than the budgeted estimate. Instead, according to Heritage labor analyst James Sherk, Tennessee supporters have touted the bill as a way to improve education quality by returning decision-making authority to the hands of elected, accountable school board officials and away from union leaders — which, of course, is exactly what the bill would do. Breaking the legal monopoly that is collective bargaining with government unions does nothing but return power to voters.”

Related: Haslam Opposes Amazon Tax Bill: “Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said Tuesday that it would be “disingenuous” for him to support legislative efforts to kill a special tax exemption for online retailer Amazon.com. The governor told reporters after an education discussion at a Springfield elementary school that he stands behind a deal struck by his Democratic predecessor, Phil Bredesen, to exempt Amazon from requirements to collect Tennessee sales taxes on items sold through the new distribution centers in Hamilton and Bradley counties.”

A BIPARTISAN MOMENT: Obama Nominates Palin Pick to Ninth Circuit. “Earlier today the White House announced that President Obama has nominated Alaska Supreme Court Justice Morgan Christen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Of note, Justice Christen was appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court by then-Governor Sarah Palin.”

IOWAHAWK CHANNELS HENRI-LEVY: “Justice” I spit on your “justice.”

VIDEO: Comet Collides With Sun During Huge Solar Mass Ejection.

AT AMAZON, new releases on Blu-Ray.

CAN THE FAA BE TRUSTED to fix Air Traffic Control?

AIR FORCE ONE’S missed approach.

HMM: New documents suggest Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan involved with crafting legal defense of Obamacare. “Newly released documents reveal Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan was more involved with President Obama’s health-care law than she disclosed previously. The documents likely will lead to a revival of questions about whether the Kagan should recuse herself from future cases.” Well, there had to be more to this, or they wouldn’t have been launching so many spoiling attacks on Clarence Thomas.

THE IRS GETS POLITICAL. I predict long-term damage to the IRS’s credibility.

WHY LABOR lost the race in West Virginia. “I disagree with state Republican Chairman Mike Stuart. The AFL-CIO is not a paper tiger; it is an albatross. . . . The loss of love for labor in West Virginia coincides with a national rejection of unions and liberals since the election of President Obama.”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Higher Education Is Wasteful, Americans Say.

BRYAN PRESTON: Why Rick Perry Should Run For President.

PETER WEHNER: Lessons From Gingrich’s Self-Immolation. “It’s worth recalling that in 1980 the GOP candidate Jimmy Carter and his team were most eager to face was a fellow named Ronald Reagan, whom they considered to be a gaffe-prone, outside-the-mainstream, aging ex-actor. The candidate the Carter team most feared was Howard Baker, a smooth, accomplished, reasonable and reassuring senator from Tennessee. Howard Baker ended up being the chief of staff in the second term of Ronald Reagan’s presidency.”

UPDATE: “Laughingstock.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Don Surber: “The right turned on the former speaker. Here is why. . . . He burned bridges instead of building them.”

THE SCOURGE OF THE FEMINIST WORD POLICE: How feminist writer Kate Swift created her own Newspeak Dictionary and helped ruin everyday English.

BRUCE ACKERMAN: Death Of The War Powers Act. Well, it’ll be back when there’s a Republican President.

GENE HEALY: Obama’s War On Fun.

RYAN VS. GINGRICH: Rep. Paul Ryan has the entire GOP — who’s Gingrich got? “The irony is great here. The current House leadership, built on a not-Gingrich philosophy (e.g. focused, self-effacing), is telling the former speaker to put a cork in it. Gingrich is approaching the status of former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, the Republican appointee whose only rooting section was on the left. Gingrich likes to posit himself as an anti-establishment figure, but where is the grass-roots support for his attack on the House Medicare reform? There is none. . . . Frankly, the division is on the Democratic side. Is the Democratic House prepared to follow Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) declaration that Medicare cuts are on the table? Now, there’s an interesting intra-party fight.”

CONGRESS — SERVING AS TORPEDOES FOR BIG MEDIA: New Bill Would Make Illegal Streaming a Whopping Felony.

SHOWING NO LOVE for Fred Flintstone. Hey, life was tough in the Stone Age.

HOW NOT TO WRITE SATIRE: An Esquire writer lobs an egg at the birthers, but the yolk’s on him. I think that Esquire is at some legal risk here, but that’s not the real issue: “Esquire’s journalistic reputation has been tarnished, too–to the point where we’d be hard-pressed to say it’s any more lustrous than WND’s. Writing good satire isn’t as easy as it looks.”

HMM: “The 35th Annual Tennessee Republican Party Statesmen’s Dinner will be held on Friday, July 15th at the Nashville Convention Center. Headlining this year’s event is Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.”

AT AMAZON, “hot new releases” in Shaving Gear. Hey, that’s what it says.

BEDBUG UPDATE: New Tougher Bedbugs Are Harder Than Ever to Kill.

READER GREGORY ENGEL SENDS A REVIEW on the Kodak Playsport camera.

Here is a small review of the Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket
Video Camera.

I had almost purchases a Flip video camera on a couple of occasions, but decided to go with the Kodak. A few days later, the news of the Flip’s demise hit the wire. I usually don’t get that lucky. (I’ve a gasoline powered turtleneck sweater and a fur lined sink available for purchase if you’re interested.) The selling point for me was that it was price comparable to the Flip and it was waterproof. I don’t care to go to places as wet as scuba takes you, but I do end up in a lot of rainy places.

I’m just back from two weeks in Hawai`i, where it rained more then I’ve seen in the previous 11 trips combined. But I did get in a hike to Hanakapiai Falls, just off the Kalalau trail. I’ve lost two cameras to that hike because it is such a soggy trail most times of the year. This year especially, but the Kodak worked like a champ throughout the trip. I’ve posted a video on YouTube taken from inside a lava tube which is usually inaccessible due to the tide. Had I taken a non-waterproof camera into that lava tube with all the accompanying sea spray, than this hike would have undoubtedly claimed the life of yet another digital camera. I was particularly impressed with the camera’s ability to focus and adjust to light. Along with multiple video resolutions (from WVGA all the way to 1080p), it takes 5MP still images, too.

Thinking more generally, a camera like this could be pretty handy during any one of those bad weather Tea Party rallies as one can’t count on the MSM’s high priced equipment to function properly during those events.

It’s also nice if somebody tries to grab your camera, since it’s rugged and not very expensive.

UPDATE: Reader Ken Wagoner emails: “I want to echo the comments from Mr. Engel, regarding the Kodak Playsport camera. We just returned from our honeymoon Alaska cruise and took several hundred photos with it, along with some amazing video. While I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t understand the degradation in clarity with a digital zoom, the quality of the remaining photos, and the video was incredible. We played the photos and videos back last night on our 55″ big screen at home, and were just floored by the superior quality. Some of the video of the glaciers in Glacier Bay, including a calving segment, was astounding, both in video and audio. The ease of transfer from the SD card, via a USB cable (included), and its ability to recharge the same way were huge bonuses for us.” Amazing what you can get for so little money nowadays.