PUNT! Democrats put off votes to extend Bush tax cuts until after midterm election. Of course, the uncertainty this creates will probably hurt job growth in the intervening months.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Correlating Federal Spending and College Tuition. Hmm. Correlation is not causation.

UH OH: Data Indicate Fresh Weakness In Housing. But hey, look on the bright side: “The good news is that housing has shrunk so much as a portion of the economy that even another dip in the sector would probably not be enough, on its own, to throw the nation back into recession.”

THE HILL: Colbert appearance causes mixed feelings. “Comedian Stephen Colbert’s scheduled appearance on Capitol Hill Friday elicited mixed reactions from lawmakers, with some grateful for his participation and others incensed he had been invited in the first place.” Well, the clowns in Congress may fear that the presence of a professional clown will show them up . . .

Of course, as a reader pointed out yesterday, Colbert’s testimony will provide a convenient distraction for media folks trying to avoid reporting on Christopher Coates’ testimony today about DOJ misconduct in the New Black Panther case.

UPDATE: Reader Jody Green emails:

At this moment there are 16 articles with “Christopher Coates congress” on Google News (None of the MSM except Fox News) and there is 268 with “Cobert Congress” (Including most the MSM). Looks like the distraction is working in advance.

More than what they choose to cover, it’s what they choose not to cover that shows the narrative. . . .

HEH: “I’m Arthur Branch, and I Approve this Hippie Punching.”

JAMES TARANTO: If He’s Lost Margaret Carlson, He’s Lost Middle America: Obama’s problem goes far deeper than his insolent style. “Carlson, a fixture at Time magazine before jumping to the Bloomberg news service, personifies liberal Beltway conventionality, and she appears to have turned decisively against President Obama. To be precise, she now thinks he’s kind of a jerk–that’s our paraphrase; as you’ll see, she puts it considerably more gently–which means that her view of Obama has caught up to where conservatives were two years ago and Middle American moderate independents this time in 2009.”

WASHINGTON POST: New Hope For Senate Republicans In West Virginia. “West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin’s (D) Senate campaign is turning from coronation into contest.”

SMOOTH: Feminist group demands Reid apologize for calling Gillibrand ‘hottest’ senator.

OOPS: Liberal Bloggers Getting Tired of Putting Out (Propaganda) for Obama?

JON STEWART ON OBAMA: “I thought he’d do a better job.” You did, huh? Based on what, his extensive experience? Rube.

KLAVAN ON THE CULTURE’S GUIDE TO THE ELECTIONS: Part I, The Economy.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO JUDGE: Keep Enforcing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. “The Department of Justice asked a federal judge Thursday to continue enforcing the military’s ban on gay and lesbian service members, despite a ruling earlier this month that struck down ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ as unconstitutional.”

MORE THOUGHTS ON the high cost of college. “When my parents were in college, it was possible to work your way through a good four year school; these days, that’s difficult to impossible. Have loans really increased access? Or have they simply made it more expensive? Is the marginal supply those loans created–like the for-profit diploma mills–actually adding value, or merely allowing naive students to beggar themselves for a worthless degree? I’m fairly comfortable diagnosing the problem. But I’m less sure of what the solution should be.”

IF THE ANSWER IS “YES,” LORETTA SANCHEZ IS IN TROUBLE: Can you be a racist even if you’re not white, a Republican, or a white Republican?

BREAKING DOJ NEWS: EXCLUSIVE: Congressman Warns AG Holder not to Block Coates’ Testimony. “Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA, pictured) has warned AG Eric Holder not to interfere with the decision of Christopher Coates to testify before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights tomorrow.” The letter is at the link.

CHANGE: Speech Hostile to Gays Constitutionally Unprotected, Speech Hostile to Whites Constitutionally Protected?

DIGITAL BROWNSHIRTS: UC Law Prof Retires From Blogging After Tax Post Spawns ‘Electronic Lynch Mob,’ Threatening His Family.

These are Obama’s supporters.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on Electronics.

AUSTIN BAY on Islam And Freedom. He’s writing about U.S. Navy Commander Yousef H. Aboul-Enein’s new book, Militant Islamist Ideology. “When viewed as a treatise on information warfare (which is what the book is, though the author might debate this description), the volume’s utility extends well beyond combating Militant Islamists. Aboul-Enein provides an intellectual framework for analyzing and countering the ideology for every transnational terror organization, whether its creed is secular political, tribal, anarchist or religious.”

THOUGHTS ON Facebook Etiquette And Pet Peeves.

HOW THE UNDERWEAR BOMBER changed counterterrorism policy.

DON SURBER figures up the score.

PERSONAL EXOSKELETONS for paraplegics. “So far, exoskeletons have been used to augment the strength of soldiers or to help hospitalized stroke patients relearn how to walk. Now researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have demonstrated an exoskeleton that is portable and lets paraplegics walk in a relatively natural gait with minimal training. That could be an improvement for people with spinal-cord injuries who spend a lot of time in wheelchairs, which can cause sores or bone deterioration.”

MORE ON BEDBUGS: “Until it was banned in 1972, the pesticide DDT helped keep bedbugs in check. Increased international travel and other modern phenomena have contributed to a resurgence of the apple-seed-size insects, which feed on human blood. Outbreaks have hit several U.S. cities. In New York, stores including Niketown and Victoria’s Secret have closed temporarily because of infestations. The pests are now attracting attention from scientists and entrepreneurs. On Sept. 21 and 22, the experts showed off their anti-insect weapons at the first-ever North American BedBug Summit in Chicago.”

POEMS ABOUT Drinking Places, Drinks And Drinkers. Shockingly, not by Stephen Green.