CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Black Tea-Partyer calls out Garofalo over ‘white power’ statement.

YOU CAN MOVE THINGS with the power of your mind! Use the Force, Luke.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Democrats defeat GOP attempt to remove Rangel.

WELL, AFTER ALL, BUSH ISN’T PRESIDENT ANY MORE: ‘Code Pink’ rethinks its call for Afghanistan pullout.

JAMES PETHOKOUKIS: Why The GOP Should Reject Calls For A VAT.

JACOB SULLUM: How a Second Amendment case can help restore economic liberty.

DON’T EXPECT SMALL BUSINESS to lead a recovery. No surprise there. Whether you call it “going Galt” or just hunkering down in a hostile and uncertain regulatory/tax environment, the result is the same.

A REAL-WORLD DEFINITION OF A ZEPTOSECOND: The interval between passage of a tax increase, and legislators starting to think about the next one . . . .

UPDATE: Reader Jonathan Bailey writes: “Are you sure that isn’t a ‘kleptosecond?'” I stand corrected!

OH, GOOD GRIEF: “Obama’s Revealing Taste In Art.”

MEDITERRANEAN DIET ASSOCIATED WITH reduced risk of depression. Sitting in the sun, drinking red wine, nibbling on olives — how could you be depressed? . . .

UPDATE: Related thoughts:

There may be a combination of factors at play here. Perhaps living in Spain is less depressing than living in Northern Europe regardless of diet. We need scientists to unravel the specific mechanisms which are responsible for these results. Until then, we can only speculate.

Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin” for a reason, and people in Northern Europe may simply not be getting enough.

Indeed. Until then, I recommend sitting in the sunshine, sipping red wine, and nibbling olives.

ILYA SOMIN: Too Many Lawyers, or Too Many Laws?

A “SNEAK PREVIEW” OF OBAMACARE: “Long lines, rationing and a lot of angry people.” Video at the link.

ERIC SCHEIE: Was Everything Really “Deregulated?” So Why Do We All Have To Pay? “So, what made these stuffy uptight guys decide they could get away with ditching the old uptight unfair standards that said (among other things) that some people are more worthy of getting loans than others? The answer, as most of us know, is the government.”

MICKEY KAUS: Edwards Blog Mystery Woman Vanishes? I blame the FTC . . . .

A ROUNDUP OF economic gloom. Or is it?

A Q&A WITH the Mythbusters.

TELEPATHY ON THE HORIZON? New interface allows brain-to-brain communication. “While this initial step is clearly rudimentary, the transmission of ones and zeros via the brain mimics the transfer of data by computers, albeit at much lower volumes (for now). For those suffering from severe muscle wasting ailments or “locked-in” syndrome, brain-to-brain communication could open a channel for conversation with the world around them, and even Dr. James admits it has Existenz-esque implications for gaming.”

IN THE MAIL: The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse. Advice from Argentina.

IOWAHAWK VIA SILICON GRAFFITI: Earn Big $$$ The NEA Way!

“STOP PRINTING MONEY!”

Rep. Steve Israel gamely tried to explain the proposed health care reform Monday night, but was often shouted down during his town hall-style meeting at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood.

Israel (D-Huntington) at one point pleaded with those in the crowd yelling at him to “stop calling me a liar and listen.” Judging by the ever-increasing decibel level, he did not win over many converts.

Shouts of — “Stop printing money,” “We don’t care what you think,” and “You’re a moron” — permeated the 90-minute session, which drew far more than the 450 people who filled Van Nostrand Theatre. Scores more were not allowed inside after a Suffolk fire marshal closed the doors.

People opposing the proposed health care reform outnumbered those in favor, though both sides strove to outshout each other during the question-and-answer period.

Just in case you thought people had grown resigned to this whole operation. . . .

HEALTH CARE “REFORM:” $1.4 trillion in income redistribution?

GETTING SNEAKY: New plan might allow Dems to slip public option through Senate.

Senate Democrats desperate to find a way to pass a health care bill that includes a federal insurance plan may have come up with a way to do it without putting moderate members who oppose it in political jeopardy.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is weighing a plan to bring the final health care bill to the floor without a public option — making it much easier to get the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster — and then adding the provision later as an amendment.

Yeah, that’ll work . . . .

BYRON YORK: “We may have to save this president from himself on Afghanistan.”

Michael Barone: “Weak himself, Obama draws strength from Bush.”

BUT DON’T WORRY, HEALTH CARE WILL BE DIFFERENT: IRS Didn’t Answer 22.4 Million Taxpayer Phone Calls.

THE BEAUTY OF artificial virginity. Not everyone is amused.