HMM: REACT task force that targeted blogger addresses its connections to Apple. More here. “Asked why a high technology task force that generally deals with massive counterfeiting operations and online threats is handling a case involving a phone left in a bar, a spokesman declined to comment.” Gangland politics, as I said yesterday.

TUNKU VARADARAJAN: The Hearing From Hell.

CNBC: Obama Is A Bully. “He seems to view dissension not as healthy public debate but as a suspicious, pernicious challenge to his omnipotence and popularity. . . . I can’t remember of any other President in my memory having done this. Nixon maybe? An unfortunate comparison, indeed.”

WELCOME TO THE HEARTLAND (CONT’D): More than 1,000 turn out to protest Obama in Macon.

WELCOMING OBAMA to the Heartland.

SHOCKER: Video: Orszag explains how ObamaCare imposes rationing.

DECISION MAKING and that big ash cloud.

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS: A roundup of book reviews from all over.

SONJA SCHMIDT: The Gospel According To Jon Stewart.

JIM GERAGHTY: Economic Recovery? The Signs Aren’t There in My Neck of the Woods.

Geraghty adds via email that he shot the video with one of the pocket digital camcorders I’ve been plugging, though he didn’t say which one. Plus this observation: “Might be kind of interesting if everyone started posting pictures and videos of the businesses that have closed down and that are still empty, along with the empty Saturn dealerships, etc., the more we get ‘things are getting better!’ rhetoric from the Obama administration….”

UPDATE: Reader Ted Nolan writes:

You’ve posted comments from me a time or two, but you might be interested in my blog, Columbia Closings, which sort of does what Geraghty suggests for Columbia South Carolina, though I have plenty of
historic closings as well as recent ones. . . . As a further sucking-up, I should mention all the pictures are taken with a Lumix LX3 :-)

That’s a hell of a good camera. And reader Carolyn Nelson writes:

Drive Palmetto Park in Boca Raton between 5th Avenue SE and Federal Highway. It’s a ghost town – condos, office space and retail. Boca Raton has had a tougher time – 8.7% unemployment in December – but not as bad as the country average. I live there and people comment on the vacancy problem constantly. On the other hand, restaurants came back in 2010 and the Boca Raton Hotel seemed to have had better occupancy. But the situation is a long ways away from the golden days.

I was in Boca about a year ago for a speaking gig — I stayed at the Boca Raton Hotel, which was lovely — and was struck by all the closed storefronts and “For Lease” signs. And reader Melissa McClave writes:

Loved Jim Gerhaty’s spot. Couldn’t help but notice that he seems to be using a tripod. The bulk and akwardness of larger tripods can nullify the benefits of smaller cameras. I use the Flip with a ZipShot tripod….www.zipshottripod.com. It combines auto-deploying tent poles for legs with a head that can hold up to 3 lbs. Better yet, it weighs less than a pound and folds down small enough to fit into a back pocket or attach to a backpack. They say the best tripod is the one you take with you. Totally recommended for citizen reporters!

Looks cool, and fairly cheap. Also handy is the Gorillapod, which I own.

MORE: Reader Eric Soskin cautions against “talking down the economy.” Well, nobody was worried about that in 2008 — or, for that matter, 2007 and 2006, when the media were telling us that every American was Tom Joad. But, yeah.

THE MASSACHUSETTS WAY: Dem party chair admits to fundraising with state emails.

CHANGE: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania told to consider bankruptcy.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “As congress continues to discuss their obession with alchemy (asinine renewable energy pojects to benefit the church of climate change) it’s worth pointing out that the reason for this discussion is Harrisburg’s offering loan guarantees on a waste to energy plant that would only be profitable via increased federal subsidies by way of climate change legislation.”

DODD’S CONNECTICUT KICKBACK: “That’s no minor oversight, because insurance companies, like AIG, tend to have thrift charters rather than bank charters. So, as the bill stands now, AIG and other insurers that accepted massive bailout funds, such as The Hartford, would not be automatically covered. That’s a head-scratcher only if you forget that most insurance companies reside in Dodd’s home state, Connecticut.”

MEGAN MCARDLE: Why Does Larry Summers Like Big Banks So Much?

A BUNCH OF new releases on Blu-Ray.

WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING THEM IN THESE SCHOOLS? “Terry Hoffman, a language teacher at Des Moines, Iowa’s Merrill Middle School, organized a large group of students the other day to protest a spending slowdown, and to demonstrate some of the excellent results the Hawkeye state is getting for its $7,419 per pupil.” Ouch.

REPAIRING DAMAGED NERVES with lobster shells.

UPDATE: Reader Russ Emerson writes:

You may be sick of hearing it… or having to say it… but: “Faster, please.”

Becoming disabled over the past few years due to neurological problems has been a bit of a challenge; due to the best neurosurgeon on the planet, I can walk (sort of) again.

With current medical technology, however, I’m never going to be restored to “normality.”

So, with all the seriousness I can muster: faster, please.

Sooner or later, this is all of us, one way or another. So, yes — faster, please.

CONTAGION: 1889 Pandemic Didn’t Need Planes to Circle Globe in 4 Months. “This observation supports mathematical model results, which anticipated that restricting air transportation would have little, if any, effect. One possible hypothesis is that the important predictor of the speed of the pandemic is not the absolute numbers of passengers traveling between cities but the connectedness of the network of cities.”

INTEGRATING A BLOOD SUGAR MONITOR INTO A Nintendo DS.

REASON TV: Boobquake: Live From DuPont Circle.

THE DIGNITY of the Senate.

FASTER, PLEASE: Scientists Near Bionic Breakthrough. “U.S. government scientists say they have created a new way of processing carbon nanotubes that might lead the way toward futuristic bionic applications.” I met one of these guys at the faculty happy hour yesterday; seemed quite smart, as you’d expect in a nanotechnologist . . . .

SUPRAMAPPING pathogenic storms.

LAW SCHOOL TUITION HIKES spark talk of bubble.

Related thoughts here.

DANIEL DREZNER: How do you say “realpolitik” in Klingon?