MICKEY KAUS: Obama and Inequality: Do You Believe in Nudges? “It’s an insult to small potatoes.” I wish. But actually, I predict a lot of talk about fixing inequality, while some people quickly become much more equal than others.

POLITICIZING SCIENCE. And here I thought that was over now that Bush is gone.

SISSY WILLIS: Carrie Prejean Trumps “Party of No”. Well, she’s got the same view on gay marriage as Barack Obama, so why shouldn’t she be popular?

WHERE MURPHY GETS HIS MOJO: An interview with Peter J. Bentley, author of Why Sh*t Happens: The Science of a Really Bad Day.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING FROM DILBERT: Rotten office fridge cleanup sends 7 to hospital. “An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.”

Plus, a bright side: “Authorities said the worker who cleaned the fridge didn’t need treatment – she can’t smell because of allergies.”

AS SWINE FLU SPREADS, who should get Tamiflu.

JOE PAPPALARDO: What the Firing of 4-Star Gen. McKiernan Means for Afghan War: Analysis.

SECULAR HERESY: EPA memo says greenhouse effect not proven?

LES JONES ON UNEMPLOYMENT: “The actual numbers aren’t just worse than the rosy picture Obama painted for a world after his magical stimulus took effect. They’re worse even than the doomsday scenario he outlined if Congress didn’t pass his stimulus plan.” Words that bear repeating. Which is why I’m repeating them!

OTHER FOOT, MEET SHOE: Democrats: CIA is out to get us.

HALLIBURTON GENERAL ELECTRIC and unhealthy imagination.

PREPARING KIDS FOR jobs and not just college. I think we’ll see more demand for this in the next few years.

For Tanner Adams, sitting on the fence is a matter of pride – not indecisiveness.

The Loudon High School junior is sure the wooden corral he’s perched atop will hold his weight, given everything he and his agriculture science classmates went through to get the cow enclosure built to specifications.

“If we messed it up, our teacher tore it apart and showed us how to do it right,” Adams said, grinning down from his perch. “It’s like life – no free rides.”

More demand for that attitude, too.

JAY AMBROSE: A budget with no shortage of lies.

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED: Austin Traffic Cameras Catch Dozens of Police Officers Running Red Lights. Key bit: “None of them were ticketed.”

Red lights, like taxes, are for the little people. More here.

JOE BIDEN: Inspiring students at Syracuse Law! Hey, it worked for him!

YOU DON’T SAY: Officials Knew of AIG Bonuses Months Before Firestorm. “As American International Group chief executive Edward M. Liddy returns to Washington to face Congress today, new details are emerging about how long federal officials were aware of the company’s recent bonus payments to its executives and of how inflammatory the payments could be. ” This makes them seem somewhat more competent, and considerably less honest, than their initial posturing suggested . . . . Well, not so sure about the competence part, actually.

GOOD NEWS FOR FISH: Saving fisheries with property rights.

OPRAH TO PLANET EARTH: DROP DEAD.

IF BILL CLINTON COULD BE THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT, then I don’t see why Barack Obama can’t be the first gay President. But shouldn’t he, you know, support gay marriage or gay soldiers, or something?

GAY RIGHTS UPDATE: White House: Law only answer for gays in military. “The White House says it won’t stop gays and lesbians from being dismissed from the military while the Obama administration works to repeal a decade-old policy banning openly gay people from serving in uniform. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that President Barack Obama does not plan to intervene in current cases against men and women who announce their homosexuality.”

GOOD POINT: “Most people underestimate just how economically valuable the rule of law is.”

PROGRESS: Home Prices in U.S. Drop Most on Record in Quarter. Soon, all housing will be affordable — if you have any money left!

POPULAR MECHANICS: 5 Smart Ways to Fix American Infrastructure Now.

A GROWING barter economy.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS PLAN A “TEA PARTY SEQUEL?” I’d say it’s more like a “Tea Party tribute” — you know, like a Beatles cover band, or an Elvis impersonator, or all those Grateful Dead imitators. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but they’ll be playing a tune that originated with someone else.