HMM: "The leader of the tribal confederation that has fought to expel Al Qaeda from most of Iraq's Anbar province is offering his men to help gin up a rebellion against Osama bin Laden's organization along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border."

MICKEY KAUS: "Barack Obama's choice of Jim Johnson to vet his VP prospects is already embarrassing his campaign . . . Johnson was an atrocious, tin-eared choice on many other grounds. He's symbol of old Democratic elites--the Mondale Restoration!--and of Beltway business as usual. He's gotten obscenely rich off of public service while pursuing a failed liberal antipoverty theory (community develpment) and taking credit for spreading around other peoples money. . . . Why would Obama, in his first big personnel decision, choose a paleoliberal greedhead with a track record of failure? You tell me. He's described Johnson as "a friend." It looks as if he was at best highly susceptible to amicable overtures from someone he should have had some critical perspective on."

I think we're seeing a pattern of poor judgment here.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE LIVES! "Now that the Dem primary is officially over, it's safe for the Obama campaign to let economics adviser Austan Goolsbee (remember NAFTA-gate?) start publicly making the case for Obama's economic policies."

Of course, that leads Karl at Protein Wisdom to comment: "I wonder who else Obama has disappeared only temporarily…"

Plus this: "Ironically, Austan is back just in time to be asked about his spirited defense of the subprime lending practices that Obama has been railing against out on the campaign trail. The media will ask him about it, won’t they?" The problem isn't Goolsbee. It's the rest of the campaign.

DAVE WEIGEL: "The 'Michelle Obama tape' rumor mill started churning a lot more slowly this weekend, a development that, I'm sure, had nothing to do with Hillary Clinton's exit from the race. It would be odd if Clinton supporters were only spreading the rumor to keep superdelegates on the fence before it was too late, wouldn't it?"

The problem for Hillary is that it's believable her followers would spread a bogus rumor. The problem for Obama is that the bogus rumor itself was believable.

WELL, DUH: "The Texas GOP convened its party convention this week. It’s finding the same problem plaguing the party in other states and at the national level: Disgruntled grass-roots." I pointed this out two years ago, and I wasn't alone. What did they do? Not much.

GOOD QUESTION: "I would think that trade would be more appealing than immigration to progressive supporters of immigrants' rights. After all, addressing poverty through immigration forces the migrant to move long distances, tearing families apart. Trade allows the would-be migrant to stay put, with family and friends, increasing wealth without the disruption of departure. So why is there no progressive free trade movement?"

VARIOUS PHOTO QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Reader Constance Barton emails:

I notice that everything looks very clean in all your Tennessee pictures. No trash on the sidewalks, all the business establishments look neat as a pin, even the grass isn’t overgrown. I’m beginning to suspect that you actually live somewhere in the Twilight Zone…..

People are clean here. I think Knoxville once had a reputation -- back before I was born -- as an ugly, dirty town. Older folks remember John Gunther saying mean stuff; I believe he called Knoxville the ugliest city in America or some such. Maybe that's why people try to keep it nice now; if I recall correctly, that's supposed to have led to the annual Dogwood Arts Festival, too. Reader Harry Eagar writes from Hawaii:

I haven't lived in Tennessee for 50 years. Sushi? Sure has changed.

Betcha you can't find a picture of a screen door with a Merita bread stencil on it. But if you can, I'd love to see a picture.

I'll look. I took a picture near the old Merita bakery a few weeks ago; haven't gotten around to posting it yet. Meanwhile, reader John Marcoux asks about time management:

OK. Maybe you could take a moment to explain to us lesser mortals how mister full-time law professor, full-time leading blogger, book reviewer, book writer, article writer, pod-caster, husband and dad is able to also provide stunning photos of the four corners of Knoxville and environs.

I take a camera with me when I go out -- today's sushi-place pic was taken when I had dinner with the Insta-Wife there last week, on the way out (that's the Insta-Wife, somewhat blurred, off to the left). Sometimes I raid the archives, too -- the Harriman picture from Friday is actually a few years old. I'm not going to try to do a new picture a day for a year, as even those who devote themselves to it seem to find that a strain after a while. I'm trying to have fun. The time-management is like the time-management for everything else: Do what you can, when you can, and don't sweat the rest.

And James Morrow writes from Sydney:

If I may echo your correspondent's thoughts on your Tennessee photos, I've been greatly enjoying the shots of the last week or so and actually woke up this morning thinking I should send a note saying, "More, please". I particularly liked the one of the fellow who'd lost part of a leg; there was something very human, very humble in the whole thing, especially his statement "I'm just a farmer". I've always been a big fan of Austin, and if Knoxville is like Austin without the hype and anything like the photos you take then I've got to figure out a way to get through there on my next trip home to the States.

Knoxville's a nice place, and so are the surrounding counties of East Tennessee. Actually, Helen's worried that the pictures will get people moving here -- but so long as they're InstaPundit readers I don't think they'll ruin the place.

Oh, a bunch of technical questions, too, but I'll answer them in another post.

PROFESSOR BAINBRIDGE: And they say Student-Edited Law Reviews Suck.

THE FALLING DOLLAR: Some thoughts, and charts.

A FATHER'S DAY WATCH SALE with free overnight shipping at Amazon. My watch just broke, so I'm giving myself one.

KATRINA UPDATE: Some receiving FEMA assistance unwilling to help themselves:

What are people who receive FEMA assistance doing to help themselves? That's the question NBC 15's Andrea Ramey asked those who have been staying for free in hotel rooms after they moved out of FEMA supplied travel trailers. What she found out is there are some who are doing very little.

The scorching heat puts many at the Quality Inn poolside, but for Gwenester Malone, she chooses to beat the heat by setting her thermostat to sixty degrees. Malone's room for the past three months, along with three meals daily, have all been paid for by taxpayers.

"Do you work?" asked NBC 15's Andrea Ramey.

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