IT’S (D)IFFERENT WHEN THEY DO IT™: Barack Obama Offered Jeremiah Wright Hush Money During 2008 Campaign.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN ONLY WANTED TO RUN THE US LIKE CHINA FOR A SINGLE DAY:

During the hearing, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), played an audio recording of Fauci saying, “It’s been proven that when you make it difficult for people in their lives, they lose their ideological bullshit, and they get vaccinated.”

Sounds like words you’d expect in China rather…

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 3, 2024

And from the replies: Fauci helped create the virus, then he helped sell the solution.

Left unsaid: Fauci and the NIH were paid handsomely for the solution.

KRUISER: New York Times Unwittingly Lets Slip the Real Reason Behind Biden’s Asylum Executive Order.

NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU DESPISE THE MEDIA, YOU DO NOT DESPISE THEM ENOUGH:

Just amazing work honestly… pic.twitter.com/LOXFJu1l6k

— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) June 3, 2024

IT ISN’T THE CRIME, IT’S THE COVERUP*: Biden Admin Tampered With Evidence, Altered Biden’s Hur Interview Transcript.

*It’s also the crime.

WHY’S THE BEER GONE? Craft Distilleries Fight for Survival Amid Crushing Regulations.

Things are far from hunky-dory in the world of craft distilling. The COVID-19 pandemic unsurprisingly knocked the industry back on its heels, as distillers were forced to close for a time, delay or cancel expansion plans, and furlough large swaths of their work force. Many also nobly transitioned to making hand sanitizer to help with the national shortage, and for their sacrifice, they received years of harassment from the Food and Drug Administration.

Like a boxer staggering in the ring, the craft distillery industry at first appeared to weather the blow—and even continue growing—post-COVID. Now it faces another potential knockout. Not only are alcohol sales declining generally in America as younger generations show increased interest in low-alcohol and nonalcoholic drinks, but the growth rate in the number of craft distilleries fell to 2.4 percent in 2023—down from over 17 percent growth the year prior.

While some blame market saturation for the sudden shift, a closer look reveals burdensome laws and regulations are the predominant culprits.

Read the whole thing.

CAITLIN CLARK FOUL: Is the Indiana Fever Even a Team?

UPDATE (FROM GLENN):

I have never seen a group of people so determined to give up chartered jets to fly Spirit Airlines again https://t.co/fD9tbNMz18

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) June 1, 2024

MAYBE I’LL TRUST AI WHEN IT STOPS MAKING STUFF UP:

“AI-based news is the future.”

Meanwhile, Bloomberg this morning: pic.twitter.com/94hlLU5dVy

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) June 3, 2024

Plus: The NYSE publishes this update stating they are investigating a “technical issue” which sent many stocks down 99%+.

Maybe Skynet is trying to crash the markets as part of its takeover plan.

STARLINER: Is This Thing Cursed?

SELF-CHECKOUT IS A HIGH-TRUST CULTURE PRIVILEGE: Dollar General to eliminate ‘vast majority’ of self-checkout, reduce new store openings. “In addition to cutting self-checkouts, Vasos said the company’s supply chain teams are also addressing shrink on other fronts that include ensuring deliveries are on time and made in full. He said Dollar General is also focusing on delivering a more consistent front end staffing presence and removing high-shrink SKUs.”

WHEN YOU RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SOMETIMES IT RAGES BACK: Off with the keffiyeh, on with the job search: Employers ‘resist’ hiring activists.

HMM: Dershowitz Suggests a Possible Legal Lifeline for Trump.

BIDENFLATION: Spotify Hikes Prices of Premium Plans Again as Streaming Inflation Continues. “Streaming services, both audio and video, have been aggressively raising prices over the past year. While historically many services have gone a couple of years in between price hikes, the move by Spotify suggests that companies may be more aggressive in 2024 when it comes to charging more.”

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: The Dirty Little Secret Behind Biden’s Stealth Mass Amnesty.

HMM: The Fed Might Soon Have to Worry About More Than Just Inflation.

Also on Friday, the Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago purchasing managers index and a gauge of economic activity in the region, fell to 35.4 in May from 37.9 in April. The importance of regional PMIs shouldn’t be exaggerated, but this one seemed more noteworthy than most. It was at its lowest since May 2020, during the lockdown period of the pandemic, according to FactSet.

All those readings came on the heels of a downward revision in first-quarter gross domestic product growth on Thursday, to an annualized 1.3% from an earlier estimate of 1.6%. It was mainly driven by a declining estimate of consumption, again suggesting a flagging consumer. In a note, economists at Capital Economics said they are now expecting growth of just 1.2% in the second quarter, down from an estimate of 2.7% a couple of weeks ago.

In short, signs of a slowdown are becoming hard to ignore.

I certainly hope not but we could be seeing the return of stagflation.

BEFORE YOU ACCUSE ME: Eric Clapton Discovers the Secret: Israel is Running the World.

WOEING: Delayed 777x Delivery Sparks Compensation Demand From Emirates To Boeing.

In a recent announcement, Tim Clark, President of Emirates, has publicly urged Boeing to cover the costs associated with the refurbishment of their existing fleet of 777 aircraft. This request comes as Emirates continues to wait for the delivery of Boeing’s newest model, the 777x, which has faced significant delays.

During a press conference in Dubai, Clark expressed dissatisfaction with Boeing’s inability to provide a clear timeline for when the 777x jets would be delivered to Emirates.

Plus: 777X flight testing dormant as Boeing focuses on 737 Max.

ANOTHER TORPEDO CIRCLES BACK: Former Dem Presidential Candidate Calls on NY Governor Kathy Hochul to Pardon Trump.

RELIGION OF PEACE UPDATE:

A man holds up a “k!ll the hostages now” sign in front of the Israeli parade in NYC. pic.twitter.com/FsQXfw6915

— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) June 2, 2024

This isn’t a big deal because he probably isn’t a Trump voter.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Let’s Take a Break From Despair and Be Irritated About Pride Month Today. “This is where everything goes awry for people like me. The heavy-handed ‘you will be made to care’ approach by the militant LGBTQ+ mob provokes a rebound reaction. I’m all about live and let live, but around the 500th forced rainbow sighting of June — I think we’re already there this year — I’m more than a little irritated with the whole thing.”

BIDENOMICS IS WORKING: Key Engines of US Consumer Spending Are Losing Steam All at Once. “Real disposable incomes have risen only modestly over the past year. The saving rate now stands at a 16-month low as households have mostly exhausted the extra pile of cash they squirreled away during the pandemic. In turn, many Americans are increasingly relying on credit cards and other sources of financing to support their spending.”

Bidenomics consists of putting the boot of heavy regulation on the economy’s throat while pounding it with a giant moneybag and demanding that it perform.

VICTORIA TAFT: Of Course They’ll Put Trump in Jail “Don’t be misled. Axelrod knows that Democrat cranks like Bennie Thompson, he of the January 6 Commission, and other dumb representatives introduced a bill to strip ‘convicted felon’ presidential candidates sentenced to jail from getting Secret Service protection. So they want to kill him, too.”

TAXES ON ICE: Winning the Stanley Cup Is More Taxing Than Ever.

In theory, taxes should affect all North American professional sports equally. But that’s not the case with hockey, which has different salary cap rules and geographic dynamics than the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball.

Unlike baseball and basketball, where teams are allowed to exceed the salary cap so long as they agree to pay a luxury tax that gets redistributed across the entire league, pro football and hockey have a hard cap. But unlike the NFL, where all 32 teams are subject to the U.S. federal tax code, nearly a quarter of NHL teams operate in Canada, where provincial tax rates can be significantly higher.

All of which means that income taxes are now playing a bigger role on the ice.

Since 2020, as the league’s salary cap has increased just 2.4%, the teams making deep playoff runs have tended to be from states with lower tax rates. Of the 20 teams that made it to the conference finals or an equivalent round, 11 hailed from Florida, Texas or Nevada—all states without personal income tax.

Seven of those teams advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, including the Florida Panthers, who defeated the New York Rangers for their second straight Eastern Conference title on Saturday night.

Plus: “But even NHL players acknowledge that tax discrepancies have become a significant factor in choosing where to play. ‘I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, right? I feel like everybody takes it into consideration,’ said Florida center Nick Cousins, who has played for six different teams. ‘It’s almost not fair, to be honest.'”

Incentives matter.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Most Americans Not Summer Vacationing Cite Finances Amidst Bidenomics Crisis

LAUGHING WOLF: Pray & Prepare. “Indeed, what we are seeing used to be the norm and while many are pointing out the similarities to the late Roman republic, you can see it in modern China and other countries where to lose power is to condemn you and your family to rather nasty deaths or slavery. It was one of the reasons why our Founders enshrined the peaceful transfer of power as a foundation of the Republic, and it was one of the first times such has worked for any length of time.”