A VERY DISTURBING, JOB-KILLING TREND: Courtesy of the EPA, which has long specialized in causing such trends.

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON: If you missed it on Sirius-XM’s POTUS channel today, the latest edition of Pajamas Media’s PJM Political podcast is now online, featuring Steve Green, Jennifer Rubin, James Lileks, Steve Poizner, former Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt, and some guy named Ed. Tune in here to listen.

MICHAEL YON is still in Thailand and posting updates on his Facebook page. Things seem to have quieted down, at least for now. He has a few words of warning, though, about war tourism. “During the recent troubles some tourists came to the danger zone to see the action. This is incredibly dangerous. I read that a total of 85 people were killed and about 1,900 injured. If you’ve never been in combat you’ll probably have a very bad surprise if it kicks off. It’s not fun and it’s not a thrill ride and you literally can get your guts shot out.”

NOW ARIZONA WILL BUCKLE.

In the past, Professor Reynolds has mentioned his support for ending qualified immunity, the special protection from liability afforded to government employees. I agree with him. If anything, public employees should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us.

The story of Michelle Ortiz is an unfortunate example of qualified immunity in action. Ortiz was molested by a prison guard while serving a one-year sentence at a correctional facility in Ohio. When she reported the assault, prison officials did nothing. Later the same evening, the same guard raped her. When Ortiz reported the rape, prison officials ordered her to solitary confinement, and did nothing to punish the guard. A jury awarded Ortiz $625,000. But a panel for the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the verdict, finding that as state employees, the prison officials were protected by qualified immunity.

The Supreme Court will hear the case in the fall. The argument for qualified immunity is that we don’t want state employees hampered by fear of lawsuits when they’re making important decisions–be they policy decisions, or in the case of law enforcement, split-second decisions in emergency situations. The flip side of that, and what I find to be the more compelling argument, is that removing the possibility of liability (or at least making it very difficult for victims to win a lawsuit) is going to affect those decisions too. People tend to act differently when there’s less chance that they’ll be held accountable for their actions. That’s not a knock on government employees. It’s human nature.

Prison rape is another issue Instapundit has spoken out about. The current corrections culture that accepts prison rape as an inevitable part of hard time would change pretty quickly if we were to start holding prison guards, administrators, and wardens financially accountable for their negligence in allowing these rapes to continue.

AMERICA’S NEW CULTURE WAR: Free enterprise vs. government control.

“CELEBUTARD SAYS WHAT…?” Dave Matthews’ career is built upon tractor-trailers to carry his band’s stage equipment. Plus jets, buses, limos, and vans to get to concerts. Oh and his career involves selling millions of shiny plastic discs made of petroleum byproducts, and concertgoers driving to his concerts. But Dave wants you to walk to work. Or take a bike if you’re really feeling adventurous.

And he wants to raise “awareness” of global warming. Gee Dave, Earth Day was 40 years ago. The Beatles had only just  broken up the same month that it occurred. Is there anybody out there left on either side of the argument, who isn’t aware of this issue, yet?

TWO PAPERS IN ONE! On Thursday, the New York Times’ Paul Krugman warned, “Lost Decade Looming?”

Yesterday, the New York Times’ “Economic Scene” department  reported on “A Progressive Agenda to Remake Washington.”

Think of it as the Fox Butterfield Effect, slow-motion style, at the Gray Lady.

THE ISRAELI-ARAB ALLIANCE AGAINST IRAN.

“EVERYBODY DRAW MOHAMMED DAY” IS BACK ONLINE AT FACEBOOK: Currently at the top of the page:

This page was removed two days ago, after one of our moderators had his email and skype hacked. His personal data was revealed. He then got scared and deleted the page, the blog and the emails. The rest of us, are now back without him after he backed out. This is another scare tactic from the Islamic extremists. We won’t fall.
Pictures you were unable to post on the 20th? Check the forums for interviews.

More details at Newsbusters. Meanwhile, in reporting on Pakistan’s apparently still ongoing ban on Facebook, AP quotes from the Seattle cartoonist who originally gave the day its name, who sounds like the real-life equivalent of Iowahawk’s parody this week:

The Facebook page encouraged users to post images of the prophet to protest threats made by a radical Muslim group against the creators of the American TV series “South Park” for depicting Muhammad in a bear suit during an episode earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris, whose satirical cartoon calling for an “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” inspired the Facebook page, said in a post on her website that she meant her work only to be a commentary on the “South Park” controversy.

“I made a cartoon about the television show South Park being censored,” she wrote. “I never started a Facebook page. I apologize to people of Muslim faith and ask that this ‘day’ be called off.”

Other sites have also been affected in the country as officials scramble to block content related to the Facebook page. Wikipedia’s English-language site and the Flickr photo-sharing site were also sporadically unavailable Friday.

It was not the first time depictions of the prophet have angered Muslims. In 2005, cartoons of Muhammad appeared in a Danish newspaper, sparking protests and riots from Muslims around the world, including in Pakistan, where the protests turned violent.

There have been several rallies against Facebook in recent days.

Others — mostly members of the more secular, educated elite — accused the government of blocking freedom of expression and hurting small businesses that use Facebook for marketing. Many questioned need for the entire Facebook and YouTube sites to be blocked, instead of individual pages.

Note that that last paragraph — the last of  a 15-‘graph report — can easily be deleted by those newspapers who’d rather not even whisper a little Truth to Power.

“I JUST LIKE THE FACT THAT the face slap sound effect used in the Gantry trailer is the same face slap sound effect used in the Three Stooges.” Comic relief in a serioso comments thread — warning: another self-link — about the possibility that we’re all sinners/racists.

WISCONSIN ROOF STYLE:

ADDED: Animated for a look inside.

IAN MCKELLAN AS THE THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR.

“THE FANCIEST-FIELDING FIRST BASEMAN I’ve ever seen, man or woman.” Dorothy “Dottie” Kamenshek of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League has died, at age 84.

WOBBLY BRIDGE. Reminds me of this famous old newsreel from 1940.

SHOULD ELIN NORDEGREN SETTLE with Tiger Woods for $750 million if it includes “a lifetime ‘confidentiality clause’ that would prevent her from writing a book or doing any interviews about the split”?

ADDED: I can’t get the poll to display here. You’ll have to go over to Althouse if you want to vote. The options, for your amusement, are:

Yes. That’s so much money!
Yes. We’ll all be better off if that nasty material never sees the light of day.
Yes. Elin, you will be better off looking for the future and not dwelling on the past.
No. Tiger must pay for what he did and shouldn’t get anything back in exchange.
No. You need to explore and air this all out for your own good.
No. I want to read all about it! Come on! Dish it out!

IN THE MAIL: From Martin McPhillips, Corpse in Armor.

Home and garden markdowns at Amazon.

VULNERABILITY COMES CHEAP? There’s an increasingly open market in computer vulnerabilities.   Crooks buy them to construct “zero day” exploits that haven’t been seen before and that are likely to escape most malware detection systems.  Security firms buy the vulnerabilities to improve their detection programs.

So what’s the price of a new vulnerability?  A very limited study found that most vulnerabilities sell for $5,000 or less. Some of the posters at Slashdot are pleased that vulnerability sellers, presumed to be unscrupulous researchers and hackers, “aren’t making much money at it.”  But considering the lack of trust in any such market — the buyer doesn’t know the vulnerability is any good until it’s been clearly explained, and once the seller has clearly explained it, the buyer has no incentive to pay — $5,000 doesn’t seem all that cheap.

And if it is, should we celebrate?  A low price for computer vulnerabilities tells us something about the supply of vulnerabilities: Plenty more where those came from.  I don’t think we open champagne when the wholesale price of cocaine hits new lows.

Five Virginia teens are facing felony pornography charges for “sexting.”

This is happening far too often. I don’t quite comprehend the logic that says in order to protect minors from the dangerous consequences of sexting, we need to ruin their lives. Quote from the prosecutor:

It’s not clear what the consequences of the felony pornography charges might be but the chances of the students being convicted on the charges are as likely “as the moon coming crashing down tomorrow,” Commonwealth Attorney Cliff Hapgood said.

So why charge them in the first place?

I don’t think anyone would argue that it’s a good thing that minors are sending one another nude photos via cell phone. But the criminal justice system is a too clumsy a tool for this problem. In a lot of these cases, the most harmful part of sexting lies in what adult authorities do to these kids when they discover it.

Today’s photo of the day: Memphis, Tennessee.

NOW IS THE TIME AT INSTAPUNDIT WHEN WE JUXTAPOSE:

“Second grader to Michelle Obama: My mom doesn’t have her papers.”

— Hot Air, May 19th.

“Chutzpah! Obama Requires MI High School Seniors Have Papers to Shake His Hand.”

— PJM, today.

(Headline concept via SDA.)

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL.

AT YOUR THROAT OR AT YOUR FEET: Responding to a Washington Post report that “Corporate PACs shift giving from incumbents to GOP,” John Hinderaker of Power Line writes:

In today’s world, large companies are like Europeans of an earlier era, keeping various flags in their closets that they can fly, depending on which marauding army passes through their town. They are, for reasons of self-preservation, both a sensitive and a steely-eyed barometer. It’s good to see that they don’t share the Democrats’ conviction that voters are hungry for more far-left policies.

These corporations excepted, of course.

SMART POWER: “After witnessing Washington’s weak response to North Korea’s horrific act, we have to wonder if the mullahs think nuclear terrorism is a possible option for them.”

Fortunately, Homeland Security is redoubling its efforts in the wake of such international prevarications.