THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND, if you were off, you know, having a life or something.

“Tea Party” protests in New York and Connecticut.

Wealthy Obama supporters figure out who the rubes were.

Lamar Alexander wants Congress probed on interrogations. What did Nancy Pelosi know, and when did she know it?

Men hit hardest by recession.

Extremism in defense of liberty. Related item here.

How PJTV could have saved taxpayers a bundle.

Jim Moran (D-VA) calls Robert E. Lee a patriot.

The delightfulness of Mary Katharine Ham.

And another questionable PMA earmark, this time involving Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN).

CNN: Gingrich: Pelosi Not Truthful About Waterboarding Issue.

ANN ALTHOUSE: The Air Force 1 flight over NYC can’t possibly have been made for the purpose of taking that photograph. “Why would people go to all this trouble and expense to get a photograph that looked so awful?”

UPDATE: Reportedly, though, no passengers.

MICHAEL BARONE: On Guns and Climate, the Elites Are Out of Touch. “Many years ago, political scientists came up with a theory that elites lead public opinion. And on some issues, they clearly do. But on some issues, they don’t. Two examples of the latter phenomenon are conspicuous at a time when Barack Obama enjoys the approval of more than 60 percent of Americans and Democrats have won thumping majorities in two elections in a row. One is global warming. The other is gun control. On both issues, the elites of academe, the media and big business have been solidly on one side for years. But on both, the American public has been moving in the other direction.”

MICKEY KAUS on Elizabeth Edwards’ reality problem. The big lesson from the John Edwards story, it seems to me, is how the press distorted the election process by covering for him. That’s a much bigger reality problem.

THE CHRYSLER DEAL: An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse.

Related thoughts from Rich Galen. “If the Obama administration can put the United Auto Workers on Chrysler’s board of directors, negotiate the terms of its bankruptcy, give a third of the company to Fiat and can even decide how much marketing it should do … does anyone see a functional difference between Hugo Chavez’ and Barack Obama’s views of private companies?”

WHAT WAS OBAMA THINKING WHEN HE LAUGHED AT WANDA SYKES’ DEAD-LIMBAUGH JOKES? I think it was “I won.”

UPDATE: A roundup of reactions from Jules Crittenden. That Obama-defenders are invoking Agnew is telling, as this is shaping up to be the meanest administration since Nixon’s. Only this time, the press is sympathetic to the meanness, and eager to join in. . . .

HELPING THE UNEMPLOYED WITH FREE DRY-CLEANING: “ATHENS, Tenn. (AP) — A dry-cleaning company in Athens is trying to help the unemployed by offering its services for free. Magnolia Cleaners will clean a person’s professional job interview clothes, up to $25 per week, according to The Daily Post-Athenian. That amounts to the equivalent of two men’s or women’s two-piece suits and two dress shirts or two dresses. With the unemployment rate at 13.8 percent in McMinn County, the company wants to help people facing difficult times by giving them a more confident appearance when they interview for jobs.” That’s a nice thing to do.

UPDATE: Historical perspective, from Rand Simberg.