CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER: The Western Wall prayer controversy is getting complicated.

HUH? Knoxville’s “Miracle Mile”?

EARTHQUAKE disrupts California Bar Exam.

HAD A NICE PANEL ON BLOGGING FOR NEW LAW PROFESSORS, with Ann Bartow, the former blogger Jeff Cooper (who offered a cautionary tale of blog-addiction), Nancy Rapoport, and Paul Secunda.

One thing that occurred to me is that when Linda Greenhouse retired she was the last Linda Greenhouse, because now I go to blogs like ScotusBlog, or The Volokh Conspiracy, or How Appealing to find out what happened, before going to the NYT to find out how the story is being spun. I don’t think that any reporter will be able to dominate things the way Greenhouse did for most of her career, because the blogs are taking over a lot of the initial analysis, and diffusing the first-mover authority that Greenhouse enjoyed.

MILBLOGS TV: Anbar Rising, Part 2.

WELL, LET’S HOPE: Al-Qaeda’s ‘Mad Scientist’ Killed in U.S. Air Strike?

CHARLES LIPSON on Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture,” which was mentioned here a while ago:

With wisdom, good humor and a total absence of self-pity, he ruminated on his life’s lessons. Audiences loved it and, within weeks, his “last lecture” became a giant YouTube hit. The video led, quite unexpectedly, to a book, “The Last Lecture,” that has stayed on best-seller lists since it was published in April. Not bad for a guy forced to run a two-minute drill against pancreatic cancer.

To sum up your life’s work in a compelling, accessible lecture is every teacher’s dream. That is exactly what Pausch did. I say that as someone who paces the front of a classroom several times a week. I love teaching and working with students, just as Randy did. I love explaining new ideas, challenging my students’ preconceived notions, and responding (with good grace, I hope) when they harpoon my own.

To watch Pausch’s last lecture is to know that he shared that love. By displaying it so openly, in a video watched by millions, the professor of computer science also showed how great teachers connect with students.

Read the whole thing.

POPULAR MECHANICS: What Virgin’s WhiteKnightTwo Really Means to the Future of Space.

Plus, Rand Simberg on the uncertain future of the Space Station.

Also, Top US astronaut welcomes space tourism.

RESTRAINING ORDERS CAN BE STRAITJACKETS ON JUSTICE: “There is a large body of evidence which shows that restraining orders are frequently misused.”

BOB OWENS ON SELECTIVE OUTRAGE.

Not enough people are listening to Christian Grantham’s advice, I guess.

KATIE GRANJU on bogus reports of a TV movie featuring Britney Spears on the Channon Christian murder.

NO BIG SURPRISE HERE: “Employees with concealed weapons permits can keep guns locked in their cars at work in Florida, but businesses are allowed to prohibit customers from bringing firearms on their property, a federal judge has ruled.”

CHARLES JOHNSON VS. THE DISCOVERY INSTITUTE.

FIVE HOT DOGS that will kill you.

A BUNCH OF READERS ARE EMAILING ME about an earthquake in Los Angeles.

UPDATE: USGS says it was 5.8.

MORE: Reader Monica Showalter emails: “This thing went on and on….felt like a second bottle of whiskey kicking in or maybe sitting on Jell-O.” I don’t think she’s actually experienced either of those firsthand but I take the point. And hey, i could be wrong.

Roundup from Ed Driscoll.

STILL MORE: Brendan Loy reports that it’s been downgraded to 5.4, “which, because the magnitude scale is logarithmic, is actually a big deal. You’d expect significantly more damage from a 5.8 quake than from a 5.4.”

JAKE TAPPER, fact-checking Obama on the Surge.

REASON TV: Earmarks, The Alien Menace.

I’m not actually sure that SETI is the best example here.

PROGRESS IN monitoring home energy usage.

Much more here: “Bits are cheaper than iron.”

THE INSTA-DAUGHTER enters the car-blogging world. Well, sort of. And it does look like a Buick.

WHILE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT CORRUPTION, A LOOK AT FREDDIE MAC AND FANNIE MAE’S LARGESSE:

Congress sets the rules in favor of Fan and Fred, which then repay the Members with cash from their rigged profit stream. This is the government lobbying itself for more government.

And, oh, what a stream of political cash it is. First, there are Fannie and Freddie’s political action committees, which have already distributed roughly $800,000 to U.S. House and Senate Members this election cycle. Nearly half of the Senators have received funds and almost all of the money is directed to incumbents. Fannie gave $10,000 to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, $10,000 to third-ranking House Democrat Rahm Emanuel, $5,000 to Barney Frank, $10,000 to Republican House whip Roy Blunt, $8,500 to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and $7,500 to Minority Leader John Boehner and . . . you get the picture. . . .

Then there are the “charitable” foundations. Freddie Mac’s foundation handed out $25 million to political groups, think tanks and other Beltway outfits in 2007 alone, more than any other foundation in the country, according to the Washington Business Journal. Guess which foundation ranked number two? Yep, Fannie Mae’s, which gave out $21 million.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Via email, the following:

We have already notified the Wall Street Journal of their error, but can you please also make the correction.

Here:

Then there are the “charitable” foundations. Freddie Mac’s foundation handed out $25 million to political groups, think tanks and other Beltway outfits in 2007 alone, more than any other foundation in the country, according to the Washington Business Journal. Guess which foundation ranked number two? Yep, Fannie Mae’s, which gave out $21 million.

This is false. We told the WSJ those amounts made Fan and Fred the largest locally-based givers in the Washington area, only representing local giving…we have no stats on the rest of the country. Also, we do not track where the money goes. That’s information from the WSJ, not the Washington Business Journal.

Thanks in advance!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth Drachman
Managing editor
Washington Business Journal

So noted.

JOHN TAMMES on becoming one of them.

PORKER, BUSTED: Ted Stevens has been indicted: “Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, has been indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home. Stevens, 84, has been dogged by a federal investigation into whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.”

Hmm. Didn’t I suggest to the Republicans a while back that they needed to encourage him to resign? Now it’s a bit late.

UPDATE: Reader Jo Schroeder isn’t impressed:

Why can’t the Feds make real convictions on real crimes? Now it’s just False Statements. What a crock

Yes, as my colleague Peter Morgan noted in the Northwestern University Law Review some years ago (It’s not on the Web, alas), the False Statements Act is an overused weapon in the prosecutorial arsenal. Which isn’t to say that Stevens isn’t a sleaze . . . .

And reader Vic Havens comments:

Unlike Rep. Jefferson (D-LA), Sen. Stevens (R-AK) will be pressured to resign by his party fellow-members. Unlike Rep. Jefferson (D-LA), Sen. Stevens (R-AK) will resign.

Brendan Loy, meanwhile, predicts widespread blogger schadenfreude on both the left and right.

MORE: RedState: Ted Stevens Must Resign.

JOHN TIERNEY: Ten things to scratch from your worry list:

For most of the year, it is the duty of the press to scour the known universe looking for ways to ruin your day. The more fear, guilt or angst a news story induces, the better. But with August upon us, perhaps you’re in the mood for a break, so I’ve rounded up a list of 10 things not to worry about on your vacation.

Read the whole thing, which is indeed a welcome breath of fresh air.

ADDRESSING CONFUSION over eggs and health.

APTERA WILL START PRODUCTION:

Aptera Motors announced today that the company has raised more than $24 million at the close of its Series C round of venture funding. The new funds will be used to start initial production of its Aptera Typ-1, a radically different vehicle designed to marry advanced aerodynamics with light-weight composite technology creating an incredibly powerful, yet extremely safe vehicle that is a joy to drive. Additionally, the company plans to use the newly raised funds for a new manufacturing facility located in Vista, Calif., just a short distance from the company’s present headquarters in Carlsbad.

I’ve mentioned the Aptera before. More on the car here. I’d seriously consider buying one, but as of now they’re only selling them in California.