RAND SIMBERG: Space Pork And Astronaut Nepotism.

IN THE MAIL: From Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce, 1635: The Dreeson Incident.

KIM STRASSEL: With so many Democrats running against the president’s agenda in the midterm, change will come in the next Congress, regardless of which party is in control.

THE ECONOMIST: “For-profit higher education is one of the greatest success stories in American business.”

DEMS WONDER: Would President Hillary Have Been Better?

ANOTHER CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS SCHOLARSHIP SCANDAL? “Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) awarded three scholarships from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to his stepdaughter and wife’s niece between 2003 and 2005, according to records from the non-profit group.”

Plus this: “The scholarships were publicly intended as charity, a way to impact the community by giving underprivileged students an opportunity to get an education they otherwise may miss. Instead, the two Representatives turned it into an entitlement program for the children and grandchildren of the already-powerful.” Kinda the whole approach in a nutshell, isn’t it?

A HORMONAL SOLUTION to the bedbug problem:

When bedbugs mate, they do so by “traumatic insemination.” As the female lacks a genital opening, the male pierces her abdomen with his hypodermic genitalia to leave his sperm in her abdominal cavity. And because male bedbugs don’t discriminate between partners, they will climb on top of the nearest comrade — be it male or sexually immature. In these situations, they fatally wound the unsuspecting recipient of their amorous advances.

Luckily for bedbugs, nature has developed an alarm system to defend against unwanted embraces. When a male bedbug approaches a sexually immature nymph or male bedbug, the insect releases pheromones to let the male know he should find another friend.

Lovely creatures.

NOTHING NEW HERE: Press Decides Not To Cover News. They’re always deciding to spare those excitable rubes in the hinterlands information that might further inflame them.

IF THE RIGHT DOES IT, IT’S MCCARTHYISM: Guilt-by-high-school-classmate.

KEVIN WILLIAMSON: Our Debt Is More Than All the Money in the World. “Just a reminder: We are in trouble.”

OH, GOODY: U.S. to Run Second Largest Deficit in 65 Years.

MATT WARSHAW and the history of surfing.

TAXES ARE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE (CONT’D): 41 Obama White House aides owe the IRS $831,000 in back taxes — and they’re not alone. Plus this: “638 workers on Capitol Hill owe the IRS $9.3 million in back taxes. As in, overdue. The IRS gets stiffed by the legislative body that controls its budget. How Washington works.”

It’s easy to see why these people don’t mind higher taxes. They don’t plan on paying ’em anyway . . . .

INSTAVISION: I talk with Prof. William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection about blogging, the Tea Party movement, division on the right regarding the Delaware Senate race, and more. (Bumped).

A GIGANTIC GAS EXPLOSION in San Bruno, California. Another reminder of why it’s a good idea to keep a “bug-out” bag handy — lots of people had to leave in a hurry.

TRANSPARENCY: Financial crisis panel stonewalls Congress.

JEFFREY LORD: The Ruling Class Hits Christine O’Donnell. I favor the Tea Party insurgency, but I think that reasonable people can differ as to whether it’s more important to get a Senate majority, or to push for less squishy Senators. There are good arguments both ways, and I’d encourage people who disagree to try to remember that.

IF YOU’RE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA, you may want to check out the 9/12 Rally Under The Gateway Arch on Sunday.

DISTRICT COURT STRIKES DOWN “DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL.”

HENRY VANDERBILT: CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN! Short-Fuse Opportunity To Support NASA Reform. “We ask that you call your Representative’s DC office in the next 24 hours (go to http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html for their name and party, and call them via the US Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121), by first thing Friday if at all possible.” (Bumped).

CAROLINE MAY: College campus rape rate 10 times higher than Detroit’s? Don’t believe everything the Justice Department tells you.

ROMER OUT, GOOLSBEE IN: “President Obama on Friday will promote a longtime economic adviser, Austan D. Goolsbee, to chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, signaling continuity even as a high unemployment rate has left much of the public dissatisfied with administration policies.” That not-very-positive lede comes from The New York Times, which surely says something. . . .

UPDATE: The importance of being good on TV.

CHRIS CHRISTIE DOES IT AGAIN.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Some say bypassing a higher education is smarter than paying for a degree.

Across the region and around the country, parents are kissing their college-bound kids — and potentially up to $200,000 in tuition, room and board — goodbye. Especially in the supremely well-educated Washington area, this is expected. It’s a rite of passage, part of an orderly progression toward success.

Or is it . . . herd mentality?

Hear this, high achievers: If you crunch the numbers, some experts say, college is a bad investment.

Read the whole thing. Also, let me repeat a thought I’ve posted before: If students are leaving college deeply in debt, how will they afford to start families, buy houses, and do the other things our economy needs the rising generation to do?

NOT GETTING COCKY: GOP insiders skeptical of landslide predictions.

In recent days, talk of a GOP edge has turned into talk of a GOP blowout. Prognosticators have upgraded the coming political storm from Category 4 to Category 5. Republican control of the House has gone from possible to inevitable.

But Republicans don’t believe it, or at least the insiders involved in the midterm effort don’t believe it. As they see it, they’re in a good position to pick up the 39 seats needed to win control of the House, but polls showing a huge GOP lead are simply wrong.

Republicans don’t deserve to be cocky, and they can’t afford to be slack.