RADLEY BALKO: Why the Democrats should nominate Republican Peter Fitzgerald to the U.S. Senate. “It’s not as crazy as it sounds. . . . It’s almost eerie just how relevant the stands Fitzgerald took during his six years in the Senate—positions that ended his political career—have become today.”

LOTS OF sports and outdoor stuff on sale.

EUGENE VOLOKH: “Some People Have Nightmares About Falling, or Drowning. Last night, I had a nightmare about becoming a dean.” Brrrr.

ON PJTV, Michelle Malkin and I interview RNC Chair candidate Michael Steele, and Joe the Plumber about what the Republican Party needs to do to get its mojo back. Both are free to everyone, with no registration. Joe has a website, too.

THE NEW LEGITIMACY: Solving social problems by redefining terms. Next, solving war by renaming it “peace!”

HYBRID DRIVETRAINS are now filtering down to boats. Not much luck on the regenerative-braking front, though, I’d imagine . . . .

IT’S ALWAYS ZOMBIES: What the U.S. can learn from Japan’s failed experiment with “zombie businesses.” “After Japan’s asset bubble burst in the late 1980s, their economy took a sharp downturn, prompting government officials to try bailing out banks and investing in infrastructure, much like the activity and proposals floating around America today. The results were terrible.”

AL SHARPTON comes out against Card Check. Transcript and audio at the link. So now it’s too far left for both Al Sharpton and George McGovern?

OIL PRICES TUMBLE below forty dollars. Just a few months ago, people were projecting high prices into the indefinite future. Remember that as you hear other projections today.

UPDATE: Reader Andrew De Villers writes:

Re your post on “projections” – in my case buying a home, and getting a great deal! I am buying a foreclosure property in Florida for my family. The lender, now dumping their REO properties, agreed to let it go for 52 cents on the dollar.

With good credit scores (over 800) and providing full documentation (no-doc or stated income loans are no longer around) I secured a 5.25% 30 year loan.

And just this morning my mortgage broker floated my rate to 4.875% as a result of the Fed’s meeting yesterday. I close in 6 days.

There are terrific deals out there for homebuyers. I am not a “herd” mentality person. I knew I’d find a deal while others remained static in the bad-news data cloud.

I hope your readers take advantage of the economy – I certainly did!

There are certainly good things out there for people with cash, or good credit.

GLORIA ALLRED’S MONEY isn’t where her mouth is. “I guess there weren’t enough TV cameras on the contribution site.” Ouch.

MEGAN MCARDLE on how to be a girly-girl. “Sorry to put you through that, but I’ve been wanting to gush about makeup for a long, long while.”

DEFEAT MALARIA? Yes we can.

Last week, two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported promising news about a malaria vaccine candidate that our company, GlaxoSmithKline, is developing in collaboration with the Malaria Vaccine Initiative, a program of the nonprofit organization PATH, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and scientists from across Europe, North America and Africa.

The studies focused on the most vulnerable populations in Kenya and Tanzania. One study reported that the vaccine candidate was 53% effective in preventing episodes of clinical malaria in children five to 17 months old. The second study demonstrated that the vaccine candidate can be administered alongside the standard set of vaccines used in national immunization programs for young infants.

I mentioned this in passing earlier, but this is potentially huge. Most westerners have no idea what a burden malaria is on large parts of the world, but just imagine how economically productive you would be if you had the flu most of the time and you’ll get some sense. I hope it pans out.

IAIN MURRAY: “Not only would successful completion of the Doha round bring great benefit to the US, it would be the single best thing Obama could do for international development.”

I OFTEN LINK TO ALT-ENERGY SITE GAS2.ORG — if this kind of thing interests you, they’re looking for writers/bloggers.

ROGER KIMBALL: “Why aren’t people rioting in the streets?” The short answer is that, culturally, people now only riot over select ethnic grievances; matters of governance, civil rights, and taxes — once the main reason to riot and engage in “out of doors political activity” — are now left to shouting pundits on TV. Not clear how well that’s working out . . . .

MATTHEW KAMINSKI: Don’t expect global Obamania to last. “One hates to spoil a good party, but here’s a bet that’s far safer these days than a U.S. Treasury bill: Even with Obama at the White House, they won’t really like us any more than before. It’s not because America’s not a special country, a City upon a Hill, from the Pilgrims to Obama, the Blagojevich couple and other American horrors notwithstanding. It’s because it is. And as ever, our earnest assertion of our superior ontological uniqueness–not to mention its reality in and of itself–is exactly what always grated on the unfriendlies grouped together under the banner of anti-Americanism. . . . The departure of George Bush will change the mood music in America’s relations with the world, but–here’s the heartbreaker for our romantics–it won’t change how most people see America. Because, for ‘anti’ masses, it’s not really about us; it’s about them.”

BLAGOJEVICH UPDATE: Illinois Supreme Court Rejects AG Madigan’s Motion To Remove Blagojevich. As both Ann Althouse and I noted, it was a pretty weak motion.

THE JOYS OF bar food at home.

“NO COMMENT AND NO-DOZ:” Dana Milbank is unimpressed with Obama’s press conference performance. Plus this:

A month from now, the nation will say farewell to its sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions. And it will replace him with, well, another sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions.

They told me that if I voted for McCain, we’d get a third Bush term. And, well . . . . (Via Dan Riehl, who can’t wait for unedited transcripts “with all the ‘uhs’ intact.”)

JOSS WHEDON BLOGS about his new release, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

IF MIKE GRIFFIN had been Columbus. An alt-history story from Rand Simberg. Not bad, though I think Harry Turtledove’s job is safe . . . .

JENNIFER RUBIN: Four Blago Scandal Rules for the GOP.

BRINGING STEM CELLS TO WAR: “New research from DARPA could open the door to on-demand blood-cell manufacturing on battlefields and in hospitals. All medics need is a machine that uses a nanofiber that mimics bone marrow to turn a handful of stem cells into gallons of blood. Who needs blood donations when you have blood pharming?” Faster, please.

“IT’S NOT A QUESTION OF EXPERIENCE. . . . IT’S A QUESTION OF ENTITLEMENT.” Charles Krauthammer on Caroline Kennedy.

LATEST: Obama picks Vilsack, Salazar for Cabinet.