MAYBE HE’S ANGLING FOR A CABINET SLOT: Calif. IRS agent admits cheating on his own taxes.

PENSION PANIC: Tom Maguire tells Josh Marshall to calm down. “Speaking only for myself, I intend to refrain from tearing out what is left of my hair over this miserable misallocation of assets until I see a few more facts, starting with determining whether the PGBC has actually implemented this dubious strategy.”

OUCH: Workers say Obama treated autos worse than Wall St.

DETROIT (AP) — Many assembly line autoworkers reacted with skepticism and anger Monday to the Obama administration’s tough tactics, which stoked long-simmering feelings that the people who put the country on wheels get treated differently than the wizards of Wall Street. . . . Many workers — not generally known for their affection toward executives — even sympathized with Rick Wagoner, who was forced to step down as chief executive of General Motors Corp. He was by turns called a “sacrificial lamb,” “scapegoat” and “fall guy.”

And Rick Wagoner was fired not because he did a bad job, but because Obama wanted to look tough. Is that the kind of management that will get us out of this problem?

ANGIE HARMON: I’m Not Racist Because I Disagree With Obama.

THE HILL: President Obama’s auto plan throws lawmakers.

A TEA PARTY PROGRESS REPORT, with lots of links and information.

HE’S RIGHT, I’LL WARRANT! Bob Krumm on the new Federal Unionized Bureau of Auto Repair.

IN TENNESSEE, a bill to allow licensed gun carry by faculty on campuses is up for a hearing. I’m for it, though I’d extend permission to licensed students. As I’ve noted before, I have a number of students with carry permits and I’d feel safer, not less safe, if they were carrying on campus.

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS: A roundup of book reviews from all over.

FUNERAL FOR THE EMPTY WALLET: A tax protest in New Jersey. “The New Jersey 101.5 Empty Wallet Convoy has collected thousands of wallets along the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike to let Governor Corzine know there’s nothing left to pay. Now, we’re bringing the wallets to the Statehouse with the Empty Wallet Funeral Procession at high noon on Tuesday.”

JOSH MARSHALL ON the Kindle’s frightful impact.

ARNOLD KLING: “For quite a while, but especially over the last nine months, the best way to predict developments in politics and finance has been to ask: what will do the most to increase the concentration of power? Every headline, from the Geithner regulatory plan to the proposed cap on the charitable deduction, to the resignation of the General Motors CEO, should be viewed in that light.”

CHRIS DODD UPDATE: Sen. Dodd’s Cavalcade of Scandal.

LOOKING AHEAD TO The U.S. Manufacturing Rescue Act of 2009.

AFTER A LONG HIATUS, Virginia Postrel is back posting at her Dynamist blog.

A BIG PAYDAY for public-sector workers in New York. (In Tennessee, not so much.)

CHANGE: Confidence in War on Terror Drops Under 50%.

RUSSIA BACKS a return to the gold standard.

MURTHA UPDATE: Is Flake picking up momentum on PMA probe?

DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL, don’t change a thing.

ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS THE NARRATIVE? ‘New York Times’ Spiked Obama Donor Story.

A BIG GROCERY SALE at Amazon. I’ve started buying a lot of staples from them, as the free Amazon Prime shipping makes it worthwhile.

MICHAEL BARONE: U.S. Not Yet Ready For Welfare State.

ANOTHER OBAMA NOMINEE with problems?

MORE FROM Daniel Hannan.