A POSITIVE SIGN: Muslims Supporting Anti-Islam Cartoonist: “Lars Hedegaard, the Danish cartoonist who set off a firestorm in 2006 with his illustration of Muhammad, is now getting a notable show of support—from Muslims in Denmark. A recent attempt on Hedegaard’s life has Copenhagen’s Muslim community taking a stand for freedom of speech . . . . These are extremely encouraging signs, but the issue remains thorny. There are divisions among both native Danes and Denmark’s Muslim immigrant community. Some Danes blame Hedegaard for intentionally provoking violence; others blame the Muslim community for reacting violently. In the country’s Muslim community, some believe Hedegaard crosses lines he shouldn’t; others believe that, no matter how much they detest his actions, he has the right to do so.”

YOU KNOW ANDREW SULLIVAN WILL BE CRUSHED BY THE PHOTO: Man charged in gay mayoral candidate’s Mississippi murder.

STACY MCCAIN’S deadly sons.

BECAUSE THAT’S THE NARRATIVE: Johnathan Pearce: Remind me again why Sarah Palin is considered to be stupid.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Every single bit of gun advice Biden gives will get you arrested.

DEREK THOMPSON: How Airline Ticket Prices Fell 50% in 30 Years (And Why Nobody Noticed). I noticed. I remember that when I flew from Knoxville to DC for the National Spelling Bee back in the 1970s, the ticket cost $660. Now I can often fly for $159. Though ticket prices seem to be climbing lately for some reason.

AT AMAZON, up to 40% off on select keyboards. Ergonomic, folding, etc.

Also, today only: 80% off on Men’s Outerwear.

GOVERNANCE: Democratic-controlled Senate rejects rival bills to prevent $85B sequester spending cuts.

DEFINING PROBLEM: Assault Weapon’ Banners Still Can’t Say What an ‘Assault Weapon’ Is.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was not happy with the gun control hearing that the Senate Judiciary Committee held on January 30, where two witnesses spoke in favor of her proposed “assault weapon” ban and three spoke against it. So she arranged another hearing before the same committee, which was held yesterday. It featured five witnesses who support her bill and three who oppose it, so Feinstein is now ahead by one witness. But critics of her legislation made up for their numerical disadvantage with substance. When you read the testimony of the two sides, the clearest difference is that opponents of the Feinstein bill, S. 150, know what they are talking about, while its supporters don’t. . . .

Hardy and Johnson both show that, contrary to John Walsh’s assurances, the distinctions drawn by Feinstein’s bill remain nonsensical. “‘Semiautomatic assault rifle’ is internally contradictory and thus meaningless,” Hardy writes, since a true assault rifle can fire automatically. “Drafters of legislation are thus forced to define what they would restrict in ways that are arbitrary and irrational.” Feinstein’s bill is so arbitrary and irrational, Johnson argues, that it would fail even the most permissive level of judicial scrutiny. He calls the legislation “simply incoherent,” saying “the classifications created by the bill do not pass even a rudimentary rational basis review.” And since the Supreme Court has identified the right to keep and bear arms as a fundamental right protected by the Second and 14th Amendments, laws that impinge upon it should receive more scrutiny than that.

Yes, they should. And so should the politicians who sponsor them.

ANNALS OF THE ONE PERCENT: Elizabeth Warren Buys $740,000 Condo In Washington DC. “The new senator, who campaigned largely on middle class interests, recently refused to define the ‘middle class’ when pressed by FOX Boston.”

I LIKE IT THAT SOMEONE IS SELLING SILVER BULLETS, BUT THESE WON’T DO MUCH AGAINST WEREWOLVES. Now if the LuckyGunner guys got into that business, I think the ballistics would be excellent.

THE EGYPT BOMB GOES TICK, TICK, TICK: “Egypt is set to explode, according to former Finance Minister Samir Radwan. Joblessness stands at 74 percent for people under 30, according to government figures. This figure is unlikely to improve . . . . The economy is in a meltdown. And the situation on the ground will only be exacerbated by the hordes of young people (under-30s make up an estimated 60 percent of Egypt’s population) unable to find work to pay for the rising costs of basic goods. Radwan is right, the time bomb in Egypt is ticking. There is nothing worse for an unstable country than a restive, and hungry, youth. The only question now is, when the explosion comes, what will rise from the debris?”

If I imported half my calories, and depended on tourism for most of my foreign exchange, I’d present a friendlier aspect to the world than the Muslim Brotherhood has.

ANTI-GUN COLORADO LEGISLATORS facing recall campaign.

GROUND TRUTH: Captured On Google Earth: Mysterious Barcode Patterns Strewn Across U.S. Land.

AT AMAZON, Digital Deals Galore.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Fighting high textbook costs.

MAX BOOT: Are We Repeating the Mistakes of the “Peace Dividend?”

PROFILES IN COURAGE: Richard Dawkins: Islam? What’s that? “It’s funny how these confident, cocksure prophets of atheism-who barely have time to take a breath between slamming the tenets of Christianity and Judaism-often get curiously tongue-tied and shy when the subject of Islam comes up.”

Don’t want your religion attacked? Behead a few attackers. It doesn’t take many — most of them are cowards and poseurs, and will shut up at the least hint of risk. Hey, don’t blame me. I didn’t set up this incentive system.

CHANGE: At Harley-Davidson, No More Music On The Factory Floor. They told me if I voted for Mitt Romney, America would be like Footloose, with rock ‘n’ roll silenced in the name of efficiency. And they were right!

SPACE: The Crazy Plan to Fly Two Humans to Mars in 2018. “A new nonprofit foundation headed by the first private space traveler, Dennis Tito, seeks to take advantage of a once-in-15-years alignment of planets to beat NASA astronauts to Mars.”