STIMULUS UPDATE: Michelle Malkin is keeping a running tally of G.O.P. wobblers.

Also, the Congressional Budget Office says the stimulus bill will be harmful over the long term: “President Obama’s economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation, said the House and Senate bills will help in the short term but result in so much government debt that within a few years they would crowd out private investment, actually leading to a lower Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years than if the government had done nothing.” I don’t think there’s much long-term thinking going on in Congress or the White House, though . . .

WILL HIGHER EDUCATION BE the next bubble to burst? If people feel that the value of a degree doesn’t justify a lot of debt, then yes. Those that will suffer most will be non-elite private schools, which are often as expensive as the Ivy League but offer poorer credential value for the money.

REX HAMMOCK, CHRISTIAN GRANTHAM, AND MICHAEL SILENCE on the future of blogging.

LEGENDARY STEEL GUITARIST Tom Brumley has died.

TEMPEST IN A D-CUP: Remembering the first Victoria’s Secret webcast, from ten years ago today. Video at the link. I miss Laetitia Casta . . . .

HOPE AND CHANGE! Especially change.

RACING HYBRIDS in the Prius cup.

I BLAME JOHN YOO: U.S. investigation of Chicago police torture widens.

PROGRESS FOR THE space tourism industry.

PLEASE TELL THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION THAT WE NEED TO MAKE OUR ENERGY POLICY MORE LIKE SWEDEN’S: Sweden changes course on nuclear power, open for new reactors. “If the plan is approved, Sweden would join a growing list of countries rethinking nuclear power as source of energy amid concerns over global warming and the reliability of energy suppliers such as Russia. Britain, France and Poland are planning new reactors and Finland is currently building Europe’s first new atomic plant in over a decade. Swedish public opinion polls have shown growing support for nuclear energy in recent years because of the lack of alternatives to replace the nuclear plants, which supply about 50 percent of Sweden’s electricity.”

PEOPLE CALLING THEIR SENATORS ABOUT THE STIMULUS are emailing that they’re getting “all circuits busy” signals. You can always call their local offices if you can’t get through to the Capitol.

THIS SHOULD MAKE REAPPORTIONMENT A SNAP: Census to be run from White House. If he were a Republican, this would be a case of crude partisan politics overriding the chain of command.

AT SAYUNCLE, some federal database privacy questions.

IN THE MAIL: The Art of Conversation: A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure.

GEITHNER’S TAX PROBLEMS lead to civil disobedience.

MARK TAPSCOTT: Audit them all, and make the results public.

CHARLES RANGEL UPDATE: Rangel Flunks Math. “The financial-disclosure forms filed over the past three decades by Rep. Charles Rangel are full of fuzzy math, according to an exhaustive review released yesterday. The nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation identified 28 separate instances within Rangel’s 30 years of congressionally mandated filings where, it says, he failed to report acquiring, owning or disposing of assets.” JWF comments: “One wonders how Charlie Rangel avoided an Obama cabinet appointment.” More in the New York Times.

ERIK SOFGE: Why Shovel-Ready Infrastructure is Wrong (Right Now). “If you want to patch some potholes in the road, this is a good program. But if you’re hoping for anything long-term with this approach, throw away all hope. It can’t happen.”

HEH: “For some strange reason, the ‘reporter’ isn’t identified.”

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: This is not the kind of change Obama promised us in 2008.

When Barack Obama was running for the Democratic nomination last year and then for the presidency in the fall, one of the most attractive things about his candidacy was his promise of change that we all could believe in.

He campaigned on a promise of change that would mean no more cozy lobbyists-in-government schemes, no more ethically-challenged appointees ignoring laws that apply to everyone else.

Two weeks into the Obama presidency, we like his campaign better than his administration.

Indeed.

GOT THOUGHTS ON THE “STIMULUS BILL?” Share ’em with your Senators at (202) 224-3121.

IT’S A POLITICAL “WAR ON SCIENCE.” Somebody tell Chris Mooney!

A LOOK AT “President Obama’s Deeply Unpopular Stimulus Plan.”

JACOB SULLUM ON the new era of irresponsibility. “We don’t have a moment to spare, but evidently we have $1 trillion.” Or can borrow it, which is exactly the same thing!

Last October, while campaigning in Toledo, Barack Obama called for “a new ethic of responsibility.” The nation’s economic troubles, he said, occurred partly because “everyone was living beyond their means,” including politicians who “spent money they didn’t have.” In his inaugural address last month, Obama regretted “our collective failure to make hard choices” and heralded “a new era of responsibility.”

Now President Obama, as one of his first priorities, is pushing a gargantuan “stimulus” plan that will add around $1 trillion to the national debt and cannot possibly work as advertised. Welcome to the new era of responsibility.

Read the whole thing.

ANOTHER APPOINTMENT PROBLEM? Former Gregg staffer caught up in corruption probe. “Senator Judd Gregg (Rep-NH), Obama’s nominee to become Commerce Secretary, may have a few skeletons in his closet related to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Or at least a couple of his former aides do.”