UH OH: The libertarian era of Second Life is quickly coming to an end.

YES WE CAN.

MORE IDENTITY-POLITICS FUN for the Democrats. “Once again, the Democrats find themselves in the position of playing racial, ethnic, and now anti-Semitic politics.”

VIDEO: A new song from R.E.M.

MEET YOUR SUPERDELEGATES: Jar-Jar Binks.

RADLEY BALKO on DNA testing, wrongful convictions, and the legal system.

TOLEDO apologizes to the Marines.

A EULOGY FOR THE FEMINIST VISION of a Hillary presidency.

MUCH MORE ON IRAQI ELECTORAL REFORM, AND WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT, at The Belmont Club.

I KNOW AT LEAST ONE DISTINGUISHED OZARKS MILLIONAIRE WHO MIGHT FUND IT: A Department Of Hillbilly Studies?

GENGHIS KHAN RIDES AGAIN: Roger Simon reviews Mongol.

RANK ANTISEMITISM in the Democratic congressional primary in Memphis:

“Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen and the JEWS HATE Jesus,” blares the flier, which Cohen himself received in the mail — inducing gasps — last week.

Circulated by an African-American minister from Murfreesboro Tenn., which isn’t even in Cohen’s district, the literature encourages other black leaders in Memphis to “see to it that one and ONLY one black Christian faces this opponent of Christ and Christianity in the 2008 election.”

Well, that just makes everybody look good. Jeez. I like Steve Cohen a lot, and not just because he once gave me some absolutely amazing John Fogerty tickets (to the Mud Island show that was his first appearance after a decade of not touring). But even if I didn’t, this would be absolutely disgraceful. Perhaps Barack Obama should make a point of condemning this.

UPDATE: Why should Obama weigh in? Because he promises an uplifting new kind of politics and this is an ugly old kind. Because Steve Cohen is one of Obama’s supporters, and political loyalty is supposed to run both ways — unless you’re Hillary, anyway, and Obama’s supposed to be the anti-Hillary. Because otherwise Obama’s big appeal — I’m a black candidate who’s not like Al Sharpton! — will be a fraud. And, of course, because it’s the right thing to do.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, the “fraud” bit was a bit strong. But it is the right thing to do, and it’s the kind of thing that a guy promising a new uplifting kind of politics ought to do. Trust me, if the racial angle were pointing the other way, this would be getting a lot of attention, especially if it could be tied to a Republican. And I say this, remember, as a guy who went after Trent Lott for a lot less.

MORE: I’m criticized a bit over at The Carpetbagger Report, but I agree with this commenter:

Cohen is a stellar guy.

Barack should absolutely stop by and campaign for Cohen before the primary.

If you know Memphis and if this preacher is trying to divide dems by religion and race, this is an easy call.

Of course Barack does not have to respond everytime an Isaah Thomas (f)s up.

But I think you are really missing the point here.

I think they are, too.

MCCAIN TO BLOGGERS: “Listen, I’ll never forget you. You were the only guys who would listen to me for a couple of months. Do you think I’d ever forget you?”

EFFORTS TO REMEDY the University of Colorado’s diversity problem are generating backlash from those who don’t want change.

WELL, IT’S HARD TO ARGUE WITH THIS: “If the 2008 primary season has taught us anything, it’s that the conventional wisdom is not to be trusted.”

OH NO, WILLIAM AND MARY WON’T DO: Here’s more on Gene Nichol’s departure from the W&M presidency.

UPDATE: By the way, the story behind Steely Dan’s My Old School, referenced above, is here. Though it doesn’t explain the William & Mary reference, which has nonetheless endeared the song to generations of W&M students . . . .

HERE’S MORE on the Obama / Che Guevara flag controversy.

CLONE WARS: A new Star Wars feature film.

EUGENE VOLOKH POINTS TO A “DANGEROUS” ERROR IN FIRST AMENDMENT ANALYSIS in an opinion on speech by District Judge Barbara S. Jones of the Southern District of New York.

NICK DENTON: “On the rare occasions I ponder my legacy, I think I should set up gossip sites to cover countries like Russia and China. To foment revolution, with a drip-drip of snarky stories about corruption. And then I remember that Putin reportedly has people killed.”

PAUL MARKS: “Sometimes I suspect that even North Korean radio presents a slightly less distorted view of the world than the BBC does.”

OH, I DON’T KNOW: “Muslim activist Syed Soharwardy plans to drop his ‘human rights’ complaint against Ezra Levant over the latter’s decision, as publisher of the Western Standard, to reprint the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons. . . . Levant, for his part, says he plans to sue Soharwardy for wasting his time and money. I understand the sentiment, but I’m not sure it’s a smart P.R. move.”

It’s not about P.R. It’s about teaching people not to screw with you. Though that’s a form of P.R., I guess . . . .

LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS in Iraq.

WARBOTS: Top 5 Bomb-Packing, Gun-Toting War Bots the U.S. Doesn’t Have.

MEIR JAVENDAFAR: “The assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, Iran’s top man in Syria and Lebanon, should set off alarm bells in Tehran. . . . The successful finding, tracking, and assassination of Mughniyeh come on the heels of a number of other major Western intelligence coups against Iran over the last several years.”

Related thoughts at The Belmont Club.

UPDATE: More from Bill Roggio.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Still more here.