GerryBlog Feature:

Happy Fourth of July Features

THE ART ARCADE - Now Featuring: "SUMMER TRUE COLORS"
With "Take A Summer Garden Moment"

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - "Take Your Country Back"

Telling It Like It Is:

New jobless claims rise in sign of weak job market
WASHINGTON — Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week for the second time in three weeks. As jobless claims grow and benefits shrink, Americans have less money to spend and the economy can't grow fast enough to create new jobs. "We find the level and direction in jobless claims somewhat troubling and the increase is likely to feed double-dip fears," said John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics in a note to clients.

Former Justice Department Lawyer Accuses Holder of Dropping New Black Panther Case for Racial Reasons
A former Justice Department attorney who quit his job to protest the Obama administration's handling of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case is accusing Attorney General Eric Holder of dropping the charges for racially motivated reasons.

The Rasmussen Poll Reports on Obama Drop in Approval and Deficit Concern
The Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 26% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-five percent (45%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19. Eighty-two percent (82%) say it’s important to cut the federal deficit in half by 2013 but just 23% think that’s even somewhat likely to happen.

Supreme Court Decision Damages Constitutional Rights of Religious Organizations
ACLJ - In a 5-4 decision, the high court upheld a California law school’s denial of official recognition of a Christian student group. The Christian group refused to agree to let non-Christians to become voting members or leaders. The ACLJ filed an amicus brief with the high court in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez representing numerous Christian campus organizations.

G20 summit agrees on deficit cuts by 2013
The G20 leaders agreed to cut budget deficits Leaders at the G20 summit in Canada have agreed to cut national budget deficits without stunting economic growth.

Supreme Court Upholds 2nd Amendment-Right to Bear Arms.
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of all Americans to bear arms in a five to four vote.

Obama is rebuffed at summit in Canada by leaders who want to reduce deficits first
HUNTSVILLE, Ontario - Obama made little headway in his call for more stimulus to keep the world economy growing. Instead, he ran into strong opposition from countries wanting to put deficit reduction first.

Wall Street Journal Poll - Confidence Waning in Obama, U.S. Outlook
Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the country and less confident in President Barack Obama's leadership than at any point since Mr. Obama entered the White House, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Sixty-two percent of adults in the survey feel the country is on the wrong track, the highest level since before the 2008 election. Just one-third think the economy will get better over the next year, a 7-point drop from a month ago and the low point of Mr. Obama's tenure.