SPENGLER: Lessons From Europe’s Winners and Losers.

TOM MAGUIRE ON OBAMA AND THE WORKING ELDERLY: “More importantly, why is this old chap looking for work? Did his home equity fall off a cliff in Florida? Did his 401(k) implode? I think it is great that this guy has the energy and motivation to look for a job but my goodness – if Obama has led us to a point where ninety year olds need to look for work to avoid the cat food diet, it’s time for a change. I hope the media tracks this guy down to hear the rest of his story.”

HOW ABOUT “TRUST ME, BABY, THIS TIME IT’LL BE DIFFERENT”? The Hill: Obama team struggles to find 2012 reelection campaign theme.

DON’T BLAME FACULTY for legal education’s problems.

KATHY SHAIDLE: Brett Kimberlin and the Future of Blogbursts. “Fighting back works.”

Related: Somebody Tell Nina Totenberg Her Buddy Brett Kimberlin Is Making News Again.

MICKEY KAUS: Does Obama Not Know How Much He’s Spending?

ED DRISCOLL: Punk Rock: You’re Doing It Wrong.

BYRON YORK: Two books, two standards, for Obama, Bush. There are always two standards.

FROM NUCLEAR ENGINEER BOB ZUBRIN: Red Alert: Don’t Confirm Allison Macfarlane as NRC Head. “America does not need a nicer version of Greg Jaczko as head of the NRC. The nation’s effort to create safe and secure nuclear waste storage has been brought to a dead halt because Congressional Republicans fell for Jaczko’s transparently dishonest protestations of objectivity. They should not make the same mistake with Macfarlane. Her nomination should be categorically rejected.”

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Saying goodbye to the middle class concept of retirement – many workers plan to work up until they are 80, well beyond the typical life expectancy of Americans.

DOG BITES MAN: E.J. Dionne grossly distorts conservatism to make a familiar partisan talking point.

TERRORISM: ‘Eco-Anarchists’ Targeting Nuclear and Nanotech Workers.

NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Hope, The Sequel: For Obama & Co., this time around it’s all about fear. What else have they got?

CYBERWAR: Meet ‘Flame’, The Massive Spy Malware Infiltrating Iranian Computers. “It’s a very big chunk of code. Because of that, it’s quite interesting that it stayed undetected for at least two years.”

JEREMY LOTT: “I’m seriously contemplating making a regular thing out of the New Republic‘s suspicious silence on Paul Fussell.”

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Thoughts On The Rhine.

CHANGE: Brett Kimberlin’s Wikipedia Page Reappears. Here’s Brett Kimberlin’s page. Only it’s really a Speedway Bombings page.

UPDATE: Reader Earl Blacklock notes that Brett Kimberlin’s Wikipedia page has also reappeared.

ANOTHER UPDATE: “Read it now before Richard Symonds whisks it away again.”

DON’T GET COCKY, KID.

ED MORRISSEY: Things to do in Denver (and everywhere else) before you’re SWATted.

MORE PUSHBACK FROM ANN ALTHOUSE. Interesting discussion in the comments.

AT AMAZON, A SUMMER SALE in Patio, Lawn & Garden.

Also, Barney Miller: The Complete Series, for $71.99.

WILLIE BROWN: Obama Has Lost His Mojo.

JERALYN MERRITT AT TALKLEFT: George Zimmerman: The Most Likely Scenario.

Why Zimmerman reported Trayvon to the non-emergency number is a red herring. It doesn’t matter if he profiled him or unfairly suspected him of criminal activity. It doesn’t matter that he was a crime warrior. He didn’t break the law. His neighborhood watch program, set up with the assistance of the police, instructed residents to report suspicious activity. That’s what he did. He wasn’t on watch that night, he had a concealed weapons permit, and it wasn’t a crime to get out of his car to see where Trayvon had run off to, so he could tell the police when they got there.

All that matters legally is whether Trayvon Martin’s physical attack on him caused him to reasonably fear serious bodily injury. Zimmerman’s testimony, which is supported by proof of his injuries and witnesses observing the struggle, is that Martin broke his nose and banged his head against cement. He tried to get up and couldn’t. Using an objective standard, a reasonable person in that situation would fear imminent serious bodily injury if he didn’t react with force.

The state is unlikely to prevail in arguing Zimmerman was the aggressor because to be the aggressor, Zimmerman had to contemporaneously provoke the force Martin used against him. Zimmerman’s profiling of Martin and call to the non-emergency number were not contemporaneous with Martin’s attack. Even if the state could convince a judge or jury that Zimmerman was following Martin, rather than walking back to his car, rendering his pursuit a contemporaneous act, it is not an act that provokes Martin’s use of force against him. Demanding someone account for their presence does not provoke the use of force. Even if it could be construed to be provocation for using force, all it means is Zimmerman had to attempt reasonable means to extricate himself before using deadly force in response. W-6’s steadfast insistence that Zimmerman was struggling to get up and out from under Trayvon, right before the shot went off, fulfills that requirement. Zimmerman will say the same. And no witnesses saw anything different.

Zimmerman should prevail on classic self-defense at trial regardless of stand your ground. Raising stand your ground before trial gives him the possibility of a quicker win, and the opportunity to preview the state’s strategy before it gets to a jury.

The problem for Zimmerman is the notoriety of this case — any judge is going to want to avoid making that call and find a reason to let the case go to the jury.

So in essence, the media — by creating all this “notoriety” via false storylines not supported by the evidence — have hurt Zimmerman’s chances for fair treatment in court. Nice work, folks.

MORE ON the Catholic church’s lawsuits against ObamaCare.

A CALL FOR more Joe Stilwells.