NOW THIS IS JUST SAD: GOP Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) announced Saturday that he would end his write-in bid for reelection and would finish his term in Congress.

His decision comes after news last week that the five-term lawmaker had failed to collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot in his bid for reelection to the House.

McCotter was quick to acknowledge the misstep saying that the “buck stops with me” and had begun efforts to wage a write-in campaign. . . .

McCotter had suggested that his campaign’s failure to secure 1,000 valid signatures to be on the ballot had been the work of political sabotage. Of the 2,000 signatures submitted, reports said only a few hundred were deemed valid by Michigan state election officials.

The whole thing smells. But somebody should give him a TV show. I’ve seen him on Redeye and he’s got a wicked sense of humor.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on software downloads.

INTERNET SECURITY FAIL: Why Antivirus Companies Failed To Catch Flame and Stuxnet.

HOW’S THAT BLOGGER-INTIMIDATION THING WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? Stacy McCain Investigates Neal Rauhauser.

UPDATE: If They Accuse You Of It, They’re Probably Doing It.

ANOTHER UPDATE: SWATting Story Again In Big Media.

IN WISCONSIN, another creepy political letter.

DR. MANHATTAN: Our Special-Ed System Favors the Rich (And Romney Has a Plan to Fix It).

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL IS BOGUS: Harvard Law School Fails Our Test: Its Censoring of Our Posters and Blog Betrayed Its Committment to Freedom of Expression.

We expected the Law School administration to be upset about our choice of topic, and timing, in implementing Professor Sunstein’s suggestions about how to ensure consideration of a diversity of information in the marketplace of ideas, via paper-based communication with passersby. We expected some sort of counter-speech (though we heard none). What we didn’t expect was something reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel 1984 — that the Harvard Law School administration would respond by censoring our speech, and acting to erase it from the historical record.

We didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition.

Nobody ever does, kid. Nobody ever does.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: 3 Ways To Get Better Customer Service Using Social Media. “Your CEO may have a compensation package that’s bigger than what 100 of us make in a year, but our viruses? Man, are they contagious.”

WISCONSIN: Dana Loesch Interviews Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefish.

DAVID BARON, CALL YOUR OFFICE: Bear disrupts Bakersfield graduation, forces playground evacuation. “A young black bear nearly crashed a middle school graduation Thursday morning when it wandered over a fence and onto an adjacent Bakersfield elementary school playground, scattering students and providing a spectacle for parents.”

U.C. BERKELEY DEAN CHRIS EDLEY ON The Great American Public Law School of the Future.

THE PROBLEM WITH AIRLINE SEATS.

Changes are happening now, as major U.S. carriers look for new ways to pump up profits by either adding to or reducing the number of coach seats, increasing legroom or cutting the distance between rows.

You might call it a game of aeronautical chairs that will directly affect passenger comfort, convenience and cost.

Two experts with inside knowledge of the airline seat industry– a vice president at a seat manufacturer and a nationally recognized expert in the study of body measurements — recently talked frankly about some of the reasons behind the anger and discomfort.

Are the seats getting smaller? Closer together? Are passengers getting bigger? Are we getting angrier?

Well, no. Yes. Yes. And it’s unclear.

Read the whole thing.

IS FACEBOOK LOSING ITS COOLNESS? Some teens aren’t liking Facebook as much as older users.

LIVING OFF THE GRID in a mail-order home. “House Arc is designed to be put together like a piece of Ikea furniture, according to Bellomo. In other words, anyone with moderate carpentry skills should be able to assemble it. If the home is no longer needed, it can also easily be taken apart and shipped somewhere else.”

NEWS YOU CAN USE: The Economics of High-End Prostitutes. “I look back on my post from a year ago and recognise my ignorance: high-end prostitutes do have a unique skill-set.”

AT AMAZON, bestsellers in biographies & memoirs.

EMPIRE OF THE DRONES: EPA told to come clean on feedlot flyovers.

GOING FOR A JOG WITH A HELICOPTER DRONE. Nobody tell Obama about this . . ..

CHANGE: Two New Elements Named On Periodic Table.

WILL A DARK CHOCOLATE A DAY keep the doctor away?

ALEX NUNEZ likes the Kia Rio. “Man, if you’re in the market for a new small car, you’re in luck, because there are a slew of good options that are priced attractively, well-equipped, and don’t shortchange you on style or fuel economy. I’ve mentioned a few that resonated with me so far, and have since spent some meaningful time with a few more. The biggest and most pleasant surprise of the bunch is the one you see here: the 2012 Kia Rio SX. This one is fully loaded, and carried a sticker price of $20,545 including freight and handling charges.”

ANOTHER READER BOOK PLUG: Tom Brosz asks that I link his book, Castle Falcon.

And reader Jeff Burhans writes: “I LOVE when you plug books written by your readers – I’ve purchased several from your tips (e.g. Hegemony, Temporary Duty, etc.) and have been THRILLED with the value for each of them. I’ve enjoyed them all.” Glad to oblige.

FASTER, PLEASE: Computer-designed proteins programmed to disarm variety of flu viruses. “Computer-designed proteins are under construction to fight the flu. Researchers are demonstrating that proteins found in nature, but that do not normally bind the flu, can be engineered to act as broad-spectrum antiviral agents against a variety of flu virus strains, including H1N1 pandemic influenza.”

LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: The Broken Economics Of Legal Education.

IN THE MAIL: Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World.

ANN ALTHOUSE: Incredibly creepy mail today from the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund. “This is an effort to shame and pressure people about voting, and it is truly despicable. Your vote is private, you have a right not to vote, and anyone who tries to shame and an harass you about it is violating your privacy, and the assumption that I will become active in shaming and pressuring my neighbors is repugnant. . . . This may be the most disgusting thing I have ever received in the mail.” It may be disgusting, but it certainly comes across as desperate.

More here.

THE DIPLOMAT: 12 Things Missing From The Pentagon’s China Report.

L.A. WEEKLY: Democratic War for L.A.’s Richest: Betsy Butler and Torie Osborn woo the carbon-counting strata of Assembly District 50.

Will plastic, toxic-free baby bottles made in another country be a deciding factor in who wins the California State Assembly’s District 50 race? In one of the most unabashedly liberal, environmentally conscious — and wealthiest — voter strongholds in the United States, which includes cities such as Malibu, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, which have banned plastic bags or nonrecyclable food containers, yes, they just might.

“This district is La La Land,” says Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science geographer Paul Robinson, an expert on social issues in California. “It’s divorced from the reality of what’s happening in other parts of L.A.” . . .

Known in political circles as President Barack Obama’s ATM, the new district is home to deep-pocketed contributors, who have donated many millions of dollars to his 2012 re-election campaign and tens of millions to his successful 2008 bid. It includes not only eye-popping wealth but also high-powered celebrity and political clout.

Read the whole thing, for the chuckles at least.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Americans Have No Idea How Few Gay People There Are. That’s because there are so many on TV.

THE MANOLO: Young Billionaires, Then And Now.

AT AMAZON, Father’s Day Gifts in Kitchen & Dining.

Also, today only: Transcend 64 GB JetFlash 500 Retractable USB Flash Drive, $36.99.

I’LL BET HE DOES: In tough fight with Romney, Obama longs for McCain.

POLIWOOD: Quelle Horreur! Poliwood Takes on Cannes, Kathryn Bigelow and Aaron Sorkin.

ELIZABETH WARREN, FORECLOSURE PROFITEER?

Elizabeth Warren, who has railed against predatory banks and heartless foreclosures, took part in about a dozen Oklahoma real estate deals that netted her and her family hefty profits through maneuvers such as “flipping” properties, records show.

A Herald review has found that the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate rapidly bought and sold homes herself, loaned money at high interest rates to relatives and purchased foreclosed properties at bargain prices. . . . Herald columnist Howie Carr reported yesterday that Warren and her relatives also profited from two additional Oklahoma City foreclosures — in both cases showing triple-digit percentage gains.

Warren’s campaign issued a statement last night: “Elizabeth and (her husband) Bruce are fortunate to be in a position where they can help their family. They have been able to help relatives buy their homes and her nephew — a contractor — fix up houses.”

However, Warren and her family’s private investments don’t seem to square with her public statements about the latest real estate boom and bust.

Nobody tell the Occupy Movement. Er, wherever that is, now.

NEW YORK SUN: BLOOMBERG’S NEUROSIS. At least this latest bit of idiocy should ensure that he has no shot at a VP slot.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Richard Posner: Is Student Debt Excessive?

The change in the financing of college from the 1950s, when I was growing up, is dramatic. In those days your family paid for your tuition and living expenses, or you received a scholarship from the college (and perhaps in partial exchange for it had to work part time for the college, for example by waiting on tables in the college dining room), or you worked your way through college, or college was free—or you didn’t go. But you didn’t borrow, and you didn’t graduate with any debt, and your career choices, and your marital plans, were not influenced by your having to pay off a substantial debt. This system of financing college education was feasible because a much smaller percentage of young people went to college in those days, in part because the financial returns to college were smaller than they are today. Student loans enable many students to go to college who couldn’t afford college without them yet would benefit from a college education, though student loans also enable colleges to jack up tuition, for which the students pay in the end unless they default on their student loans.

A complication for high school students trying to assess the value of a college education is the nation’s current economic situation. True, as in the 1930s, so now, the unemployment rate of college graduates is well below that of other workers. But it is more than 5 percent, which is twice what it was five years ago. And it is about twice that high—10 percent, at least—for young college graduates. If one adds in underemployment, that is, employment in a job for which a college education is not a qualification—for example, a college graduate employed as a waiter—the combined rate of unemployment and underemployment is almost 33 percent for all college graduates under the age of 25. (College graduates who are in graduate or professional school rather than have on average better job prospects than those seeking work with just a B.A. or B.S. under their belt.) Wages for young college graduates in the work force have also fallen.

No guarantees — which is why you don’t want to take on too much debt. If only there were a short, readable book on this subject out there somewhere. . . .

I WAS EXPECTING AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: The Green Energy Bubble Is Bursting Fast Everywhere.

So the tech bubble burst a decade ago, and the housing bubble five years ago. The higher education bubble is swelling to the bursting point, but it is the green energy bubble that is bursting loudest at the moment, and as usual environmentalists are slow to see that they’re about to get run over by a revival of the hydrocarbon economy. Those old dinosaurs may have been big lumbering animals, but the nimble fossil fuels they threw off are crushing the so-called green “fuels of the future” beloved of fruit-juice drinkers and vegans everywhere.

I’d prefer a space-solar/nuclear/hydrogen economy myself, but the greens don’t seem to favor that and I’m not sure the tech is ready yet anyway.

THE HILL: Jobs Report Upends 2012 Race.

A dismal May jobs report is being perceived as a possible game-changer in the presidential battle between President Obama and Mitt Romney, with Republicans saying the numbers provide further proof that the economy isn’t improving.

The report showing unemployment increasing to 8.2 percent and the creation of only 69,000 jobs shook some Democrats, crystallizing their fears that the economy could tip the election in Romney’s favor in November.

It also threatened to turn Obama’s argument that the economy is improving on its head and provided flashbacks to the spring economic slowdown of last year.

“It is a little scary,” said one former White House official. “There’s no sugarcoating this one.”

Another former administration official called it an “ ‘Oh, s–t’ moment.”

“It’s not good,” the former official said. “I’ll say this, I’m glad it’s June and not October.”

Well, you take your comfort where you can find it, I guess.

CHANGE: Handful of genetic changes led to huge changes to human brain. “Changes to just three genetic letters among billions led to evolution and development of the mammalian motor sensory network, and laid the groundwork for the defining characteristics of the human brain, Yale University researchers report.”

JIM TREACHER: Obama doesn’t have to write “I will not call them Polish death camps” on the blackboard 100 times. “But close enough. The Smartest President Ever, the living, breathing deity who restored America’s standing in the world after the evils of the Bush era — Predator drones? What Predator drones? — seriously ticked off the Poles the other day. The issue hasn’t gone away just because he wants it to, and now, in an undoubtedly ego-bruising development, he’s been forced to publicly apologize.”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Wesleyan University Abandons Need-Blind Admission.

NILE GARDINER: The Obama Administration knifes Britain yet again over the Falklands.

MICHAEL WALSH: “Solyndra! Solyndra!” “Axelrod is a charter member of Obama’s Chicago mafia, the man behind the curtain, and to send him out where he could be humiliated was a dreadful blunder. What, Bill Clinton wasn’t available? Oh, wait . . . The Romney camp has already shown itself to be an adept counter-puncher, but now seems to be moving toward a more aggressive, offensive posture. Yesterday was a series of Doolittle Raids, to test the enemy’s reactions.”

AT AMAZON, warehouse deals in kitchen tools, gadgets, and barware.

IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF, or just stuttering?

JEREMY LOTT: Yes, that dress does make you look fat.

PHOTOS: A Tea Party Rally in Wisconsin This Evening.

“PRESUMED” BEING THE KEY WORD: Radicals Justify Their Evil by Invoking Their Presumed Moral Superiority.

UPDATE: Bill Quick is not impressed.

A FREE KINDLE BOOK TODAY: NOLS Wilderness Medicine: 4th Edition. Thanks to reader Mike Puckett for the tip.

IS THIS A GOOD THING? SAYING GOODBYE TO CASH.

HEY, I CAN’T CATCH ‘EM ALL: Reader Drew Cloutier writes:

All the Amazon links but not one to today’s MP3 special? It is “Music for the Zombie Apocalypse” for just $2.99.

I can’t think of a “They told me that if I voted for McCain…” joke to insert, but it still seems to perfect for the blog.

Heh.

THOUGHTS ON THE JOHN EDWARDS CASE:

Edwards is, of course, a skunk. But he isn’t only a skunk; he was the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee in 2004 and the party’s third-leading presidential contender in 2008. Edwards is a young man, and it was not at all unreasonable to think that he could be president someday, even after Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton finished ahead of him that year. When Edwards went to the seemingly-insane length of persuading a campaign aide to claim that he was the father of Edwards’ illegitimate child, it was not just because he was afraid of his wife’s wrath. This, after all, is not Italy in the 1950s; divorce is a realistic option. No, Edwards was trying to preserve his viability as a presidential candidate or, failing that, a nominee for Attorney General.

And, as crazy as his stashing of his mistress and child now seems, if it had been up to the Washington Post and the New York Times, he would have gotten away with it.

With an assist from the L.A. Times. Keep Rockin!

FASTER, PLEASE: Paralyzed Rats Walk Again.

REPLACING $100K DEVICES WITH $1K DEVICES: Microfluidic Device Detects Leukemia Or HIV. I actually think — as Andy Kessler has argued — that we may be approaching the point where technology drives costs down, not up. That’s another reason I opposed ObamaCare, since it would likely freeze things in place by drastically slowing the pace of medical innovation.

SPACE CASES: The Weirdest Legal Claims In Outer Space:

“Every now and then, someone thinks no one has claimed the moon before, and then rushes to claim it,” wrote Virgiliu Pop, a space law researcher at the Romanian Space Agency, in an email to Wired. “Humankind has a short collective memory, so the claimant is able to create some buzz before the story dies out — to be followed by a similar story, years later.”

As we enter an era when people are seriously advocating that the U.S. establish property rights on the moon and scholars debate the legality of mining asteroids, it’s interesting (and relevant) to look back at the people who have tried to assert ownership of the moon, Mars, other planets, and stars throughout history.

In 2006, Pop literally wrote the book on this matter, titled Unreal Estate: The Men Who Sold The Moon, which he describes as “a serious analysis of a trivial subject.” The compendium offers plenty of outrageous stories, and here we look at some of the book’s most spurious and strange space cases.

Pop’s a smart guy. If you’re seriously interested in space property rights, you should check out his Who Owns the Moon?: Extraterrestrial Aspects of Land and Mineral Resources.

Meanwhile, here’s an interesting argument for treating asteroids as chattels instead of real property, which would take them outside the Outer Space Treaty’s non-appropriation rule.

RESPONDING TO ANTI-MORMON BIGOTRY.

THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS.

WHEN THE LAW IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS.

PUNCHING BACK TWICE AS HARD: “Mitt Romney Wins Over The Right By Confronting Obama.” Key bit: “This is right out of Breitbart’s playbook.”

Yes. And also my “hammer and tongs” advice.

THE DEWEY & LEBOEUF COLLAPSE: Lessons learned? I’d start with “don’t borrow money to pay partners,” a lesson that should have been retained from Finley, Kumble’s demise. Didn’t anyone read Shark Tank?

DATING: Same Woman, Two Years Apart. This is kind of sad.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on bestselling notebook computers.

INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: Caveman Blogger Fights for Free Speech and Internet Freedom.

More background on the case here.

CHANGE: What Happens When A State No Longer Forces Workers Into A Union? They Quit Paying The Dues. “That’s the reason that the PEUs hit the panic button in February 2011. They knew that the law would severely cut into their membership once the state refused to force dues payments as a condition of employment. This also undermines the credibility of union leaders who claim to speak for public-sector workers, as it shows a significant number of them don’t support the union at all, especially in the literal sense now.” Not enough value-added, apparently.

CANDLEPOWER EQUALS AUTHORITY — AN UPDATE. Reader Mike Cullison writes:

I took your advice and went with the 1000 lumen LifeGear model. What a beast. I can light up every square foot of our 3 acres from the house. Sure is a big monster, though. Weight isn’t terrible since it uses 6 C cells instead of Ds, but it’s exactly 18″ long.

Seems to be as well made as a Maglite, which used to be my go-to light.

Yeah, I meant to blog a followup, as I swapped my 700-lumen model for the 1000-lumen model. I took the latter outside the other night, and the beam is noticeably brighter — not only does it reach farther, but it seems wider. It’s quite a flashlight.

THE ART OF TATTOOING BANANAS. The video’s cool, but the autoplay soundtrack is annoying.

DAVE KOPEL: The Great Gun Control War of the 20th Century — And its Lessons for Gun Laws Today.

DOESN’T SMELL LIKE TEEN SPIRIT: Is ‘old person smell’ real? Yes, but it’s not what you think. “Researchers have determined that there really is an “old person smell” — and a young person smell and a middle-aged smell — according to a study published Wednesday in PLoS ONE. . . . Older people, in fact, have less intense — and more pleasant — scents than their younger counterparts, the new research indicates.”

JAMES PETHOKOUKIS: Miserable May jobs report suggests U.S. in recession red zone.

Related: Incredible: In Wake of Jobs Disaster, Obama Departs for Six Fundraisers.

BILL CLINTON NOT MUCH OF A DRAW IN MILWAUKEE.

UPDATE: Walker Supporter Arrested. “Free speech, anybody? . . .Quite aside from the free speech rights, it’s stupid to arrest someone in this situation. Now, he’s the story, instead of Clinton rallying for Barrett. And the police are the story. The Milwaukee police. The Madison police didn’t treat protesters/counter-protesters this way. And you know something about Milwaukee? Its mayor is Tom Barrett.”

There’s also some sort of scandal involving the Milwaukee police, isn’t there? Oh, yes, there is: Milwaukee Police Accused Of Performing Illegal Body Cavity Searches.

Oh, and there’s the crime statistics book-cooking scandal.

Plus a policy favoring illegal assaults on gun owners.

Then there’s that whole vote-fraud business.

Nice police department you got there, Mayor Barrett. (Bumped).

“IT’S SURREAL TO THINK A FICTIONAL SPORT HAS COME THIS FAR.” Muggle Quidditch to be played at the London Olympics.

THE DANGERS OF EXERCISE: ‘I Would Rather Have Everyone Exercise. But You Can’t Ignore the Data.’

ROGER SIMON: America Gets A Wakeup Call. “What we have may be worse than Cloward–Piven. It’s accidental Cloward-Piven. Cloward-Piven out of ineptitude. I don’t need to see Obama’s hidden college grades. I know he’s a failure. . . . Who are these people that are still giving money to this charlatan? What is their motivation? Cultural suicide? Or are they simply Solyndra-style gangsters looking for a billion dollar handout?”

IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, Brian Tamanaha on what to do about the Law School Bubble.

My interview with Tamanaha is now available on YouTube.

IN THE MAIL: From Paul Clayton, Strange Worlds.

MICKEY KAUS: Shorter E.J. Dionne: The Wagner Act exists. Therefore it must always exist. “Marxists would call this ‘reification’-–the attribution of a false permanency to what are in fact only transient, man-made institutions (like the organizations created by the Wagner Act). Back in the ’60s, when Dionne went to college, leftish types fought reification. The point was to change the system, after all, not to play games within it–-by The Man’s rules! But reification has now become the routine basis for Democratic arguments against Republican reform. . . . Dionne says Walker insidiously used ‘incumbency’ to produce these changes. ‘Incumbency’ in this case means a law was passed by a democratically elected legislature (incumbents all) and signed by a democratically elected incumbent governor.”

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: IT’S WORSE THAN YOU THINK: Core 25-54 Employment Rates Still Near Historic Lows.

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Anti-Mormonism, the Fashionable Prejudice.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Big donors to Democratic super PACs visited White House.

Though President Barack Obama called super PACs a “threat to democracy” before embracing them last February in his own reelection effort, he and members of his inner circle had no trouble meeting with the kind of people who contribute to them. At least 16 individuals who gave money to some of the major outside spending groups had meetings with White House officials–including Obama himself.

The group of 16 includes major Democratic donors, bundlers for Obama’s campaign and a few individuals who have official roles in the administration. Some have frequent access to both the president and his inner circle, visitor logs released by the White House show. Six of them have given to Priorities USA Action, the super PAC started by former White House officials that’s supporting the president’s reelection effort, while others have given to groups working to elect congressional Democrats.

As the money race continues in the 2012 election, big donors, fundraisers and friends of Obama are steering money to super PACs. An analysis of White House visitor logs shows the names there intersect with those on lists of contributors to major Democratic super PACs–including Priorities USA Action; Women Vote!, a super PAC working to elect Democratic women to the House and Senate; the House Majority PAC and the Majority PAC, which are focusing on supporting Democrats for the House and Senate, respectively; and American Bridge 21st Century, which was established in November 2011.

Culture of hypocrisy at the very least. Though hypocrisy and corruption are not exactly mutually exclusive.

RAND SIMBERG’S KICKSTARTER PROJECT gets a new boost.

AT AMAZON, it’s the health & personal care outlet sale. Which includes a lot of markdowns on batteries.

Also, today only: Criminal Minds, Seasons 1-6 for $98.99.

INSTAVISION: My interview with Brian Tamanaha, author of Failing Law Schools, is now available on YouTube.

DAVID HORWICH: How About We Compare the Investment Records of Bain Capital and the Obama Administration? “This really isn’t the debate the president wants to have.”

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Unemployment Rate Rises to 8.2%. “American employers in May added the smallest number of workers in a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly increased as job-seekers re-entered the workforce, further evidence that the labor-market recovery is stalling.”

Unexpectedly! More: “The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering.” Ya think?

UPDATE: “This is just brutal no matter how you look at it. But how can these ‘experts’ and ‘economists’ be so far off in their forecasts? Not even half of what they expected.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Dan Mitchell: “At best, the results are mediocre. The unemployment rate generally gets the most attention, and that was bad news since the joblessness rate jumped to 8.2 percent. What makes that number particularly painful is that the Obama Administration claimed that the unemployment rate today would be less than 6 percent if the so-called stimulus was adopted. But as you can see from the chart, squandering $800 billion on a Keynesian package hasn’t worked.”

He continues: “Sort of makes you wonder whether there’s a lesson to be learned. Maybe, just maybe, bigger government means weaker economic performance.” Ya think?

Related: “The May jobs numbers are putrid.”

Plus: “There’s nowhere to hide on this one.”

NOW WHY WOULD HE DO THAT? Lamar Alexander Siding With Obama On Coal?

BYRON YORK: On Wrong Side of Issues, Obama Avoids Wisconsin.

Last year, when angry protesters filled the streets of Madison, Wis., denouncing Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to curtail some union collective bargaining powers, President Obama was eager to associate himself with the union cause. “Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions,” Obama told a Milwaukee TV reporter in February 2011.

Now, it’s just days until voters decide whether to recall Walker — an effort started, maintained and financed by the unions. If the polls are correct, Walker, who is being challenged by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, seems headed toward keeping his job. And now, the president is not only no longer talking about Wisconsin, he’s actually seeking to distance himself from next week’s likely Democratic defeat.

Turns out public-sector union members who make considerably more than the average taxpayer don’t engender as much public sympathy as they’d hoped.

JOEL KOTKIN: What’s Really Behind Europe’s Decline? It’s The Birth Rates, Stupid. “Essentially, Spain and other Mediterranean countries bought into northern Europe’s liberal values, and low birthrates, but did so without the economic wherewithal to pay for it. You can afford a Nordic welfare state, albeit increasingly precariously, if your companies and labor force are highly skilled or productive.”

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Eric Holder’s Racial Incitement.

For all of Mr. Obama’s attempts to portray Mitt Romney as out of touch, no one has suffered more in the Obama economy than minorities.

Which explains Mr. Holder’s racial incitement strategy. If Mr. Obama is going to win those swing states again, he needs another burst of minority turnout. If hope won’t get them to vote for Mr. Obama again, then how about fear?

What else have they got?

TAX-APOCALYPSE IN YOUR RETIREMENT ACCOUNT? “With the prospect of rising tax rates after the Bush tax cuts expire, some retirees could find themselves paying even more in taxes than they did when they were working.”

PRIORITIES: White House Visitor Logs Show Barack Obama Has Spent More Time With George Clooney Than DEA Chief Michele Leonhart. In light of my opinion on the Drug War I’d be inclined to favor this — except, you know, in light of my opinion of George Clooney. . . .

HOW’S THAT “SMART DIPLOMACY” STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? The Hill: Mexican official: Fast and Furious ‘poisoned’ public opinion of US.

The Mexican ambassador to the United States on Thursday said a botched gun-tracking operation by America “poisoned” public opinion of the United States for the citizens of its southern neighbor. . . . “Fast and Furious has poisoned the well-spring of public opinion in Mexico as it relates to the cooperation and engagement with the United States,” Sarukhan said.

It wasn’t “botched.” It was meant to do everything that it did — except get found out. The goal was to create a climate of opinion that favored gun control, and it’s ironic to see Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) still trying to put it to this use.

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Democratic fundraiser indicted in Conn. race.

WHEN SECONDS COUNT, THE POLICE ARE ONLY MINUTES AWAY. “He wasn’t trying to get any one person. He was trying to get everyone.” Too bad nobody there had a gun. Throwing bar stools is nice, but a Glock would have been more helpful.

SO, HOW’S THAT “BRASS-KNUCKLES REPUTATION MANAGEMENT” WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA?

Here’s the backstory.

His Wikipedia entry seems to have gotten a lot of editing over the last couple of days. Wikipedia isn’t covering itself with glory here.

ROLL CALL: Republicans Broach Options for Breaking Student Loan Impasse.

House and Senate Republican leaders floated a new round of proposals to break a deadlock with President Barack Obama over extending a student loan program, even as Democrats stepped up their attacks on them.

In a letter to Obama, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) argue “there is no reason we cannot quickly and in a bipartisan manner enact fiscally responsible legislation” and lay out two potential compromises.

Noting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) “proposal cannot pass the Senate and is unacceptable to the House,” the GOP leaders broached two options for paying for a one-year extension.

The first would increase federal employee retirement contributions to pay for the program, while the second includes a suite of pay-fors, including placing a limit on the “length of in-school interest subsidies” and revisions to the Medicaid provider tax threshold.

How about a cap on the amount of loan money a single institution can receive?

STACY MCCAIN as I always suspected. He seems like a guy who’s inordinately fond of . . . sushi.

THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN IS WORRIED ABOUT MONEY: “For once I have something in common with Obama.”

DOUBLE STANDARDS: When Romney Fights Back, Politico Declares the Day ‘Nasty’. Personally, I found it delightful.

“IF YOU STRIKE ME DOWN, I SHALL BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE:” Harvard Law Unbound resurfaces as Harvard Law School Is Bogus.

UPDATE: Harvard Law Unbound Rises From The Ashes. I might ask Harvard Law students why they’re paying such astronomical tuitions to a school that is so cavalier about students’ free speech. Read Brian Tamanaha and wise up!

CHANGE: Brooklyn Elects A Republican State Senator. This last happened back in the Cretaceous.