ELECTION CHICANERY in Connecticut.

D.C.’S HIGHEST COURT: Ammunition Ban (With Affirmative Defense for Properly Registered Gun Owners) Violates Second Amendment.

ROGER SIMON: Is California Hopeless? I’m going to be a contrarian and suggest that just maybe Jerry Brown is the only one crazy enough to fix a place as crazy as California . . . .

JAMES TARANTO ON ANTI-TEA PARTY NARRATIVES:

It’s a bit odd for the GOP establishment to be blaming the Tea Party for the outcome of this year’s Senate elections. The party did gain six seats, its biggest pickup since 1994. By contrast, the Republicans lost six seats in 2006 and eight in 2008, when the Tea Party didn’t yet exist. True, they picked up four in 2004, but this year they held those and every other seat they carried back then.

It’s not like the GOP establishment has covered itself with glory. That’s especially true when you note that it’s the entitled narcissists favored by the party — like Lisa Murkowski and Charlie Crist and Mike Castle — who’ve played spoiler when they lost fair and square.

UPDATE: Reader Rich Bloom emails: “GOP says the Tea Party caused them to lose the Senate majority? These are the people who nominated John McCain in 2008?”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Carl Schroeder writes: “This is precisely why the independents’ ranks are growing. I left the GOP when they ran Dole, and McCain’s run reconfirmed my decision. My Democrat friends are going independent as well. I like that the tea parties are not nationally organized. I send money to candidates, not to parties.”

THE ROAD TO Harare.

JIM TREACHER: The left starts to wonder if Obama is really so cool after all.

BILL MOYERS ATTACKS PLUTOCRACY. Well, he should know. But it’s not the most contemptible thing in his background.

FUNNY HOW REPUBLICANS KEEP LOSING THE SQUEAKERS: Rossi Concedes In Washington.

TEAM OBAMA NOW BLAMING RAHM EMANUEL FOR THE MIDTERM DEBACLE.

RENEE ELMERS TO NRCC: Thanks for nothing! “Notice that the bumbling dingbats at GOP-HQ are now telling the New York Times that everything happened because of them and their genius strategy.”

LIST: Fantastic Free Kindle Books.

UPDATE: Reader Neal West writes: “Just wanted to pass on that users of the Nook and Sony e-readers can also download these and thousands of other public domain works from books.google.com.”

UTAH TEA PARTY REPORT: David Kirkham emails: “Representative Becky Lockhart (R) was just elected speaker of the house in Utah. Former Speaker Rep. David Clarke (R) was just defeated. This is a major victory in Utah for smaller government and the free-market. The Utah Tea Party worked hard and the people of Utah elected 5 new Republican representatives to the legislature and 1 new Republican senator. We also defeated a RINO in the primary so we actually gained 6 seats in the house. I haven’t slept in days. Not much time for sleep, though. On to the upcoming legislative session and the 2012 elections. We learned from our past campaigns. 2012 will be great. :)”

WHY VOTING MATTERS: Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson’s race comes down to 5 votes.

Here’s his website.

L.A. TIMES: Obama Goes For Broker.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: “In the midst of debates on financial regulation and China’s currency in April, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner sat down to discuss the U.S. economy — with comedian Jon Stewart.”

HOTLINE: Devastation: GOP Picks Up 680 State Leg. Seats.

31 YEARS AGO, the U.S. embassy in Tehran was seized.

DEBUNKING: No, Obama’s not taking 34 warships to India with him. And the cost isn’t $200 million a day, as previously reported. On the other hand, “Near as I can tell, the mega-bombshell about Obama introducing a teleprompter to India’s parliament remains tragically, pathetically true.”

UPDATE: Reader John Campbell writes:

I am watching Anderson Cooper and CNN’s criticism of some, including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, who reported that Obama’s upcoming trip to India was using 34 warships and costing $200 million per day.

Hard to believe on the face of it and many people certainly jumped the gun in reporting it and criticizing the President for it.

Sloppy reportage perhaps, but essentially the story had legs because it was believable, given the way the man spends other people’s money and MIchelle Obama’s expensive summer trip.

If someone reported that Charlie Sheen had been found, passed out, in a hotel room with 18 hookers, you may doubt the story, but hey, that darn Charlie, what a wild man.

Obama has a bit of a reputation too, although along different lines.

Good point.

STUART SCHNEIDERMAN on advice.

MARKDOWNS ON big-screen TVs.

DON’T BE BLUFFIN’ WITH YOUR MUFFIN: “An angry dispute that ended with a local man being charged with a felony aggravated assault began when he and the woman he was with threw a muffin at each other, San Antonio police said.”

HMM: Saudi Prince opposed to Ground Zero mosque in New York. Not just any Saudi prince, either.

Tom Maguire notes that he’s a huge Citigroup investor, and also that this may spoil the preferred “Islamophobia” narrative.

WILL TRAINING IN THE HEAT improve your performance in the cold?

HOW TO CUT $343 Billion from the federal budget.

COULD LIFE ON MARS be related to life on earth?