DOG BITES MAN: Eric Boehlert blows it again.

AT AMAZON, a clearance sale on clothing and luggage that ends tomorrow.

LEWIS & CLARK LAW PROFESSOR JIM HUFFMAN is challenging incumbent Ron Wyden for U.S. Senate. He gets an endorsement from Todd Zywicki.

THE ANSWER IS, ONLY THE REPUBLICANS: Politico: Edwards epilogue: Does the press really vet presidential candidates? Or Democrats who threaten the powers-that-be. Did Pravda “vet” the Politburo?

ILLINOIS: Angry commenters respond to state budget Web site.

DO WE NEED MALE REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS? Depends on what you mean by “we,” doesn’t it?

Meanwhile, this piece by Tracy Quan is evergreen.

PLAYSTATION NETWORK PROBLEMS. If you’ve got one, I wouldn’t even turn it on until there’s more info, as the problem seems even to compromise offline play.

JULES CRITTENDEN IS GOBSMACKED at Joe Kennedy’s removing himself from consideration. “Almost sounds like he wants to remain gainfully employed, find his way around the block first, and not lose. Smart kid.”

HOW BAD HAS IT GOTTEN? Soros criticizes Obama’s bailouts. Though I don’t think following Soros’s advice would have helped.

RICK SANCHEZ PERFORMS ACCORDING TO EXPECTATIONS.

UPDATE: Reader Sam Dunkin writes: “I learned metric back in the ’60s studying physics. I’ll bet a LOT of people across this country don’t understand metric measurements. And as a good newscaster, (don’t know him, but presume he’s competent) he should get an English measurement figure for those folks.” Well, possibly, though I doubt he would extend the same courtesy . . .

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader C.J. Burch isn’t impressed: “A meter is about a yard. That ain’t hard to remember and Sanchez isn’t a good journalist.”

THE BRITISH P.O.W. WHO broke into Auschwitz — and survived. (Note: This is a cool piece, and entirely safe for work, but the blog it’s part of is not, so if you go beyond the linked page, realize that.)

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Democrats’ Obama Bounce in California Disappearing. “Even Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, widely viewed just six weeks ago as a shoo-in for re-election to a fourth term, now faces the toughest race in her 28 years representing California in Congress.”

IT’S A DIRTY JOB, BUT JOHN HINDERAKER HAD TO DO IT: dissecting Frank Rich. “The Tea Party is a highly diverse movement, but you will find very few Communists in it.”

DANIEL HANNAN LEADS 300 British Tea Partiers.

WHATEVER THEY CAN THINK OF, I’D SAY: What Taxes Will States Turn To Next? The notion of just spending less doesn’t even occur to them. . . .

JOHN HINDERAKER ON CLIMATEGATE: The Big Picture.

FROM ZOMBIE, a Tea Party anniversary roundup.

MEDIA SELF-CONGRATULATION: An ironic Twitter juxtaposition.

MOE LANE: Keli Carender and the faintest whiff of panic from the NYT.

Plus, at the WaPo, “a tacit admission that the Tea Parties have pretty much brushed aside the existing, decades-old infrastructure of Lefty activist groups to become the standard by which community activism is judged.”

ANN ALTHOUSE: Al Gore would like you to lie back and accept what the government decides is good for you. “What do you make of these meanderings about capitalism and socialism? . . . And what is this ‘hatred and divisiveness’? It’s just criticism and debate.” Al’s never been very good at handling those.

BRITAIN: OVERDUE FOR A TEA PARTY MOVEMENT. UK Digital Economy Bill will wipe out indie WiFi hotspots in libraries, unis, cafes.

TELEGRAPH: British Labour Party “Infiltrated” By Islamic Radicals.

REMEMBER, THE STATE IS ALWAYS RIGHT: SWAT Team Endangers Child, Parents Charged With Child Endangerment.

SUZE ORMAN SEXISM: I watched this, too, and her bombast, punctuated with over-emphasized “sirs” and “Joes,” made me think of Keith Olbermann as well. Maybe she’s a fan? Anyway, I’ve found her show, which I used to find amusing, too irritating to enjoy for a while now. Helen and I used to watch it together, but, frankly, it’s not even up to Oprah standards these days. In particular, she’s always telling women they should consider a divorce; it’s as if she’s got something against marriage.

INTOXILYZER FAIL: Problems with D.C.’s breath alcohol machines throw DWI cases into chaos. “Some police officers told The Examiner that that top brass kept them in the dark about the machines’ accuracy problems even while drunk driving cases were routinely being dropped. On Thursday night, after The Examiner began making inquiries into the matter, a top police official sent out a copy of the Fenty administration’s statement on the matter.” I wonder if there’s a more general problem?

PUTTING THE PARTY back in “Dinner Party.”

ERIC S. RAYMOND on those disruptive smartphones.

THE GROWING THREAT OF antibiotic-resistant infections.

LAWN DARTS AND MORE: The Story Behind 5 Banned Toys and Games. And what could go wrong with the “Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab?”

Related item here.

NOT UNDERSTANDING how insurance works.

THINGS YOU NEVER HEAR: “Wow, I didn’t realize how wrong I was about everything until I read this Frank Rich column.” From Jim Treacher.

A MAINSTREAM MEME that cannot speak its name.

CHARLES RANGEL UPDATE: New York Post: Charlie The Coward.

IN THE MAIL: From John Scalzi, The God Engines.

ANDREW KLAVAN ON moving beyond the stereotypes of liberalism.

A CHART WORTH RUNNING AGAIN: From Cato: Five Decades of Federal Spending.

I’m expecting the “interest” line to head sharply upward in the future.

UPDATE: Reader John Baker writes: “Not another hockey stick!”

ABC NEWS: Lamar Alexander: Health Care Reform a Political “Kamikaze Mission” for Democrats.

PRESS RELEASE, NEWS STORY, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? “On February 23, ABC TV Channel 7, WTRF News (Wheeling, West Virginia/ Steubenville, Ohio), posted on its website what was originally credited as a story ‘written by’ reporter Bob Westfall. Unfortunately, though, this posting was nothing but a word-for-word re-posting of Democrat Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s latest press release. There was little to no difference between Brown’s press release and the ‘story’ as posted on the ABC 7 news site.” Sadly, this isn’t new: In The Appearance of Impropriety, the chapter on plagiarism notes similar incidents. You can read that online here.

I KEEP POINTING OUT THAT IT’S A MISTAKE TO GO AFTER BLOGGERS: Whistleblower Site Back After Microsoft Withdraws Complaint. “Microsoft’s efforts to suppress a document about how to subpoena online user data backfired, leading instead to widespread attention to (and republication of) the document it tried to suppress.”

CALIFORNIA UPDATE: “Amid a crippling fiscal crisis, managers throughout California’s government have routinely allowed their employees to amass unused vacation time, enabling hundreds of workers to end their public service careers with payouts topping $100,000, a California Watch investigation has found. One worker combined vacation and compensatory time to walk away with more than $800,000, records show.”

THE DANGER OF daily aspirin.

BLIZZARDS NO BARRIER: Hartford Tea Party attendance surges. “Attendance at a Hartford rally against big government tripled this year, according to a local activist who attended, indicating sentiment against President Obama’s proposals remains strong. Lisbon resident Jen Ezzell estimated the Saturday crowd at between 300 to 400, up from 125 last year.”

“STANDING ROOM ONLY:” A report from the first British Tea Party rally.

YOU CAN CALL LAMAR ALEXANDER MANY THINGS, BUT NOT “WHISKEY-VOICED.” That’s somebody thinking in decades-old stereotypes, not actually reporting. Though I think Lamar did have a cold that day. . . .

LIFE’S PROBLEMS: Cookie dysfunction. It’s kind of like Erectile Dysfunction, only with cookies. “For many days over the course of a year, I baked perfect cookies. And then one day, I did not. And every day thereafter, I did not.”

EATING BOOGERS STIMULATES YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. So, you see, it was really a subliminal health-care reform message.

SAVE YOUR HEART by flossing?

OLD STORY: New media just sponge off old media. NEW STORY: Old media just sponge off new media for tsunami coverage. “Much of the reporting was from citizen journalists via webcams, Skype, and Ustream. Meanwhile, anchors were regularly referring to information coming to them by social networking websites such as Twitter.”

ARE WE ACTUALLY SEEING MORE BIG EARTHQUAKES? Probably not.

The Ryukyu Islands of Japan were hit with a 7.0-magnitude quake on Friday night. News of that tremor, the Haiti quake and now Chile may make it seem as if Earth is becoming ever more active. But in the grand scheme of things, geologists say this is just Mother Nature as usual.

“From our human perspective with our relatively short and incomplete memories and better and better communications around the world, we hear about more earthquakes and it seems like they are more frequent,” Arrowsmith said. “But this is probably not any indication of a global change in earthquake rate of significance.”

Coupled with better communication, as the human population skyrockets and we move into more hazardous regions, we’re going to hear more about the events that do occur, Arrowsmith added.

Just keep the New Madrid fault quiet, please.

ABORTION DOULAS offer unconditional support.

AT AMAZON, warehouse deals.

UPDATE: Reader Jim Ramsey emails:

Shame on you for making Amazon so easy to link to and to use. I probably hit them almost as many times a day as I do you (their special deals are great), and have been doing more and more shopping there. This past week, I decided to get a netbook, and after two days research and talking to lots of folks, I decided on a Toshiba 205, and then ordered it from Amazon on Thursday afternoon. Chose “Free Shipping” and expected to wait for four to nine days to get it. It arrived Friday morning, less than 24 hours after ordering it. That is pretty damned impressive. The rest of my order (who orders just one item?) is slated to arrive on Monday, all less that the advertised time for free shipping. Every time I order from Amazon, I am impressed, have never been disappointed, and have had my loyalty grow. Thanks for all you do.

I do most of my shopping on Amazon, too. It’s easy and fun.

MORE WHITE HOUSE FLICKR FUN: Caption This Photo.

A TEA PARTY ANNIVERSARY:

Keli Carender has a pierced nose, performs improv on weekends and lives here in a neighborhood with more Mexican grocers than coffeehouses. You might mistake her for the kind of young person whose vote powered President Obama to the White House. You probably would not think of her as a Tea Party type. But leaders of the Tea Party movement credit her with being the first. . . .

She, like many Tea Party members, resists the idea of a Tea Party leader — “there are a thousand leaders,” she says.

Glenn Beck? “He can be a Tea Partier, but it’s not like the movement bends to him.”

Sarah Palin? She will have to campaign on Tea Party ideas if she wants Tea Party support, Ms. Carender said, adding, “And if she were elected, she’d have to govern on those principles or be fired.”

Indeed.

READER BRENT KILPATRICK WRITES: “After watching the U.S. 4-man bobsled team win Gold for the first time in 62 years I had a thought. Since President Obama seems embarrassed by ‘American exceptionalism’ do you think he would have preferred a Bronze?”

800 BRAVE RAIN AND TSUNAMIS FOR a Tea Party in San Diego.

AL GORE CLIMBS OUT OF HIS IGLOO: “Gore might want to inform Kennedy of this whole weather-is-not-climate thing.”

KNOXVILLE GIRL wins regional spelling bee.

DOCTOR ZERO ON THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE: A Prayer From the Living World.

ROGER SIMON: Will anyone ever solve the Dubai whodunit? (UPDATED). “What indeed were the alleged Mossad assassins doing escaping to Iran?”

SAVING OR CREATING JOBS: 23,000 now expected to lose jobs after shuttle retirement. Let’s call this “creative destruction.”

LIFE WITH DOLPHINS: “That’s the delusion, built on the accidental smile.”

STIMULUS FAIL: What went wrong with the Weatherization Assistance Program.

HAWAII “DODGED A BULLET.” Some folks on Twitter seem almost disappointed. Meanwhile, remember that Chile didn’t dodge a bullet.

UPDATE: Neither did the Robinson Crusoe Islands.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A group of UT students and faculty are fine.

MORE: Some media criticism.

STILL MORE: Chile: “The situation right now is very bad.”

MORE STILL: Christopher Fountain writes: “Yeah, it was a bust, but imagine if Thailand had received that warning when the wave came their way. I mean, massive earthquake, measurable sea level rise indicating a tsunami, what’s a mother to do? I think they did the right thing.” Oh, absolutely. Even this could have killed some people in Hawaii if they’d been in or on the water. Did you see the video from Hilo Bay?

EVEN MORE: On Facebook, Anil Dash offers a horrifying thought: “Having found out Snooki is Chilean, I am dreading the inevitable ‘Snooki weighs in on the earthquake’ news interviews to come.”

Plus, tsunami video from San Diego.

FROM GREG MANKIW: Spreading the Wealth Around: Reflections Inspired by Joe the Plumber.

GATEWAY PUNDIT: 1,500 Rally at St. Louis Tea Party Coalition Anniversary Protest.

OBAMA VS. KARLOFF: Stare-down!

ILYA SOMIN on Federalism and the Akaka Bill.

DALLAS TEA PARTY ANNIVERSARY: Reader Don Brockette writes: “There seemed to be about a thousand to fifteen hundred attendees at the Dallas Tea Party today. Your boys from PJTV were the hit of the event.” Well, yeah. He sends some pics.

And here’s Steve Crowder on the stage:

MATT HAUGHEY on the Tsunami coverage: “So live news coverage in America is basically staring at webcams and reading wikipedia? Shit, I could be doing this myself.” Yep.

THE LIGHTS GO OUT on Hugo Chavez.

A REPORT FROM THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY New York Tea Party.

TOM SMITH TRIES TO RESIST TEMPTATION, and fails. “I mean dude. You’re the president. On TV all over the universe. You just gotta wait until the break. But we at the RC are above embedding the offending video. Oh OK, we’re not. But I tried at least not to. It’s hard to resist those impulses.”

HAVING FUN WITH the original Wooly Willy.

REMINDER: There’s a Tsunami Warning in Hawaii, with the Tsunami expected to strike about 11:19 am local time, 4:19 pm Eastern. And if you’re elsewhere in the mid-Pacific, you might want to check to see if you’re under a warning, too . . . .

VIDEO: First Sushi Prepared In Space.

MICHELLE MOORE will be streaming video of the St. Louis Tea Party anniversary rally. Starting right about now.

YAY! BaconFest 2010.

ANN ALTHOUSE: When the whale killed Dawn Brancheau… was it an instance of domestic violence? Nice Andre Tanneberger reference, too. . . .

OUR FINE GOVERNING CLASS: “The common thread here is a twisted sense of entitlement; all of these folks in high office encountered circumstances where the rules and laws that the rest of us have to follow proved inconvenient, too inconvenient to interrupt the important work of these important men.”

ALEX TABARROK: Insiders, Outsiders and Unemployment. “I am more worried, however, about the long term consequences of creating a dual labor market in which insiders with government or government-connected jobs are highly paid and secure while outsiders face high unemployment rates, low wages and part-time work without a career path. . . . Moreover, once an economy is in the insider-outsider equilibrium it’s very difficult to get out because insiders fear that they will lose their privileges with a deregulated labor market and outsiders focus their political energy not on deregulating the labor market but on becoming insiders.”

HOW TO Set Up the Ultimate Desktop Recording Studio. Not sure this is the “ultimate,” but it’s useful advice.

PROTESTING BUDGET CUTS IN BERKELEY: Don Surber is unimpressed.

REASON: America, These Are Your Leaders: Maxine Waters Edition. Waters / Bernanke video at the link.

TWITPIC: Tsunami warning produces gas lines in Kurtistown on the big island. It’s a good idea to keep your tank at least half-full so you can avoid these . . .

More twitter updates from Catherine Toth. And more links here, or just scroll down. More from Xeni Jardin, too.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Joe Johnson, here’s a Kona beach webcam. Also, more on Twitter at #hitsunami.

MORE: TSUNAMI HITS POLYNESIA: “A weak tsunami has hit the Gambier islands in French Polynesia but there’s been no major damage because traffic was suspended in the region in a tsunami alert following the quake in Chile. Huge waves struck the Gambier archipelago at 6:30am on Saturday (3.30am AEDT Sunday), the high commissioner’s office in Papeete said. Sirens wailed in French Polynesia and PA systems woke up residents on Saturday to alert them about the impending waves.” Warning is important.

HIGHER EDUCATION UPDATE: Former Maryland Dean Asked to Return $60k Paid for Summer Research; AG to Decide Propriety of $350k Paid for Untaken Sabbatical.

UPDATE: Are the complaints sexist?

IN THE MAIL: From Jonathan Phillips, Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades.

BANG! BANG! You’re safe!

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT: Cybersecurity bill to give president new emergency powers.

RAND SIMBERG ON suborbital spaceflight safety.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ETHICS PROBE! A video salute to Charlie Rangel.

HMM: Bernanke to Congress: You Are Going to Have to Cross That Fiscal Valley Yourself. “Ben Bernanke tells Congress the Federal Reserve won’t just make dollars to help the U.S. government pay off its debt.” Brian Doherty doesn’t think he really means it. I hope Brian is wrong.

THE TAMPA TEA PARTY is having its one year anniversary celebration today.

IN INMAN MAJORS’ NOVEL, THE MILLIONAIRES, a political consultant explains that there are really only two kinds of political campaigns: “A Bright New Day,” and “Back to Basics.” My guess is that 2008 shot the “Bright New Day” wad for a while, which means that a “balding, blunt, unprepossessing” Mitch Daniels may have a shot . . . .

HMM: Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’. Bah. Soros may be trying to cash in, but I’m the one who killed the Euro. Nice little currency you got there. Be a shame if I were to buy some. . .

PJTV: Is There a Doctor in the House: Four Congressional Doctors Talk Meaningful Healthcare Reform.

ANDY MCCARTHY on the Administration’s plans for “economic transformation.” “This is about power, and there is more to power than winning elections, especially if you’ve calculated that your opposition does not have the gumption to dismantle your ballooning welfare state.”

THE MOST ETHICAL CONGRESS EVER! Rangel Won’t Step Aside After Ethics Slap.

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Toyota And The Price Of Modernity.

APPLE SHAREHOLDERS LAMBASTE AL GORE AT SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING. Hey, they won’t dare criticize him once he’s got that honorary doctorate from UT.

SO IS THIS HOPE, OR CHANGE? Fannie Taps Treasury for $15.3 Billion More After a 10th Consecutive Quarterly Loss.