IN BRITAIN, A “HUNG PARLIAMENT.” Can we do the same thing with Congress? Oh, wait . . . .

HOTLINE: Only 39% Would Vote For Obama Now.

American voters are more confident that the economy will improve in the next year, but trust in major institutions continues to fall — a slump that mirrors Pres. Obama’s tumbling approval rating. . . .

Only 39% of voters said they would vote to re-elect Pres. Obama if the election were held today, while 50% say they would vote for someone else. A quarter of voters would definitely vote to re-elect Obama, while 37% would definitely vote for someone else.

Hope and change.

SILICONE TALLY: How Hazardous Is the New Post-Teflon Rubberized Cookware? “Although most people will probably not have a problem with silicone cookware, those with chemical sensitivities might want to stay away until more definitive research has been conducted.”

ANN ALTHOUSE’S DEVIOUS PLOT.

HOW STATES FAIL (Fiscally).

ANTITERRORISM: “Tipping off reporters so they can show up at a police stake-out of an armed terrorist’s home? Mind-boggling.”

SHAHZAD THE SLEEPER: James Jesus Angleton weighs in.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY for technology designers.

I’VE MENTIONED THE KODAK PLAYSPORT HD MINICAM a while back, and now reader Stephen McSween sends this review:

Glenn – When you mentioned a couple of months ago that Kodak was coming out with an HD 1080p waterproof video camera for $150, I pre-ordered one from Amazon. It came in time for my trip to the BVI’s last week. It was great for both snorkeling and beach shots. I set it on 720p 60/s (the second highest setting) in H2O mode and recorded lots of reef footage (an arcane word), a large sea turtle grazing on the ocean floor and an octopus peeking out of its coral cave. I’ve owned two Pentax Optio WP waterproof cameras which work great for still shots underwater and have the advantage of a flash, but the video is much more fun. Obviously you need decent (but not great) light with the Kodak as it has no independent light source. One minor issue: I had to manually reset it to the H20 underwater mode whenever I turned it on. That only takes about 5 seconds, but it made me reluctant to turn it off and wasted the battery. Otherwise, it’s ready to record within a couple of seconds after hitting the power button. I still got around an hour of video on a full charge. Overall a great purchase for $150. What an amazing time we live in. Steve

Amazing, indeed.

THE SULTAN’S DUTY to the harem.

VIDEO: Strangely enough, Gibbs doesn’t want to talk about Obama’s “teabagger” quote.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE to put a walking robot on the Moon.

GLOMMING: “Glom is a funny word. I’ve always mixed it up with grok. Only grok is a Martian word.” Well, Mars needs women.

UPDATE: Bill Quick: “Any planet that boasts the likes of Dejah Thoris and Thuvia need take a back seat to no other world.” Good point.

SHOULDN’T THE PROFESSOR FROM GILLIGAN’S ISLAND COUNT? Favorite TV Teachers Of All Time.

PROSECUTION FAIL: Last Navy SEAL acquitted of abusing Iraqi terrorist. “Pretty amazing that they brought this to trial with little more than Demartino and a jihadi attesting that it happened, but then the point here was always political. They wanted to show that they take detainee abuse seriously and were hoping the accused would accept some sort of deal. No dice. How’d that work out for them?” They were betting on Navy SEALs wimping out. How smart was that? And now we know to regard future charges with skepticism.

K.C. JOHNSON ON VIRGINIA, DUKE, AND OUR LOUSY MEDIA: “The Post and the AP eventually corrected their inaccuracies; ABC has not done so. Seeing the national media link their names to an accused murderer because of events fueled by Durham authorities’ misconduct doubtless will fortify the falsely accused lacrosse players’ civil suit against Durham.”

FLOOD AFTERMATH: Beware of flooded used cars.

XENI JARDIN: Times Square bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad’s résumé is terrifyingly mundane: “PowerPoint, email tools, internet experience.”

PAUL MIRENGOFF: The Stealth Law Professor. “I didn’t know you could publish so little and still become the dean of a major law school. I guess times have changed since the days of John Hart Ely.”

JAPAN’S BRAINWAVE INITIATIVE: Mindreading Bots By 2020.

THIS AWLAKI GUY IS EVERYWHERE: Unbelievable: Shahzad reportedly had contact with Awlaki too.

UPDATE: Rand Simberg emails: “No doubt the emails will reveal extensive commiserations about health
care, and Shahzad’s foreclosure problems.”

TAXPROF: ObamaCare’s Massive, Hidden Tax Change. “An all-but-overlooked provision of the health reform law is threatening to swamp U.S. businesses with a flood of new tax paperwork. . . . The stealth change radically alters the nature of 1099s and means businesses will have to issue millions of new tax documents each year.”

UPDATE: Reader Carl English writes: “Sounds like a Trojan horse compliance regime for the VAT tax.”

ON THE GROUND IN NASHVILLE: Another first-hand report.

THIS IS HUGE NEWS FOR ELECTRIC CARS, if it pans out in production: Ultra Quick Battery Charge System Developed: 50% Full in 3 Minutes.

RUMBLES HINT THAT Mount Fuji is getting angry. Uh oh.