UH OH: Foreign policy polling badly. “The latest Fox News/Opinion Dymanic poll is chock-full of bad news for the president. But on foreign policy, the results are nothing short of stunning. On who they trust more to decide the next steps in Afghanistan, 66 percent say military commanders, while only 20 percent say the president. Even Democrats have more faith in the military commanders (by a 45 to 37 percent margin). On Iran, 69 percent say Obama has not been tough enough, including 55 percent of Democrats. Sixty-one percent favor a U.S. military action, if needed, to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Fifty-one percent think Obama apologizes for American too much. . . . In short, Obama has already achieved what it took Jimmy Carter an entire term to attain: the conviction of a large majority of the American people that he is not protecting our interests or performing adequately as commander in chief.”

FIRST POLANSKI, THEN THIS: David Letterman Confession: I Had Sex With Staffers, Got Targeted by Extortionist. Upside for Letterman: Good timing! Compared to Polanski, he doesn’t look as bad. . . .

REPAYING THE LOYALTY OF THE PRESS: White House Wants Fewer Protections in Shield Law. See, that’s the trouble with this gang. They don’t stay bought.

SARAH PALIN’S BOOK remains #1 on Amazon. Quite impressive, given the media hostility.

On the other hand, James Wesley Rawles’ survival book is still #4 based almost entirely on roll-your-own publicity, which is more impressive, really.

AN ALFONZO RACHEL PSA: Protect Yourself From Hollywood.

RESILIENCE: A Mobile Phone Mesh That Can Survive Carrier Network Failure.

JIMMY CARTER: Not only a liar, but a bad liar who doesn’t understand YouTube.

This illustrates, I think, how much the White House has realized that attacking Obama’s critics as racists is counterproductive.

SUSANNAH BRESLIN intervews Web, er, legend Tucker Max. This advice seems good for everyone: “If you want a relationship, make sure you are someone who someone else would want to date.”

ECONOMIC NEWS UPDATE: Job losses overshadow signs of recovery.

TASTE-TESTING survival rations.

A PRICE CUT on the Nintendo Wii.

CALIFORNIA TO INVESTIGATE ACORN.

INDIANS VS. ENVIRONMENTALISTS: Navajo tribes say environmentalists not welcome on reservations. “Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. and Hopi lawmakers say environmentalists’ efforts could hurt the tribes’ struggling economies by slowing or stopping coal mining. . . . ‘Environmentalists are good at identifying problems but poor at identifying feasible solutions,’ Shirley said in a news release. ‘Most often they don’t try to work with us but against us, giving aid and comfort to those opposed to the sovereign decision-making of tribes.'”

HEH: “The Wisconsin Tourism Federation has changed its name, after being made aware that its acronym WTF had become crude internet slang.”

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, however, is standing firm.

MICKEY KAUS: “The way to change the Congressional id’s inclination–to ‘light a fire’–was for Obama’s speech to move the polls dramatically in the direction of public support, especially among likely voters (e.g., seniors). It didn’t–at least it didn’t enough.”

FIGHT THE POWER! From BoingBoing: HOW TO flout the Obama administration’s flavored tobacco ban and make DIY homemade clove cigarettes.

MEGAN MCARDLE: What’s the function of a mandate?

DUTCH STUDY FINDS no heart benefit from fish. Jeez, just when you think you know what’s going on . . . .

AN INTERVIEW WITH LA ROUX. Plus, talking to the Man In The Yellow Hat.

REASON TV PRESENTS the Nanny Of The Month.

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: 20 years of moving atoms one-by-one.

AT MICHAEL YON’S PLACE, a report on securing Helmand.

EPA TO STUDY NANOMATERIALS. I was at an EPA Science Advisory Board meeting talking about nanotechnology a few years ago (report here), and it was funny — some people were talking about how new and unprecedented nanomaterials were, when the atmospheric chemists jumped up and said hey, we study those all the time. More background on nanotechnology and safety here. And some thoughts about nanotechnology and regulation are here.

MEET THE NETWORK of asteroid hunters.

IS IT JUST ME, or has the blending of celebrity culture and political culture gone a bit too far?