HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Michael Barone: Will The College Bubble Burst From Public Subsidies?

“A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed,” he has said. “Education may still be the only thing people still believe in in the United States.”

But the combination of rising costs and dubious quality may be undermining that belief.

For what have institutions of higher learning accomplished with their vast increases in revenues? The answer in all too many cases is administrative bloat.

Take the California State University system, the second tier in that state’s public higher education. Between 1975 and 2008 the number of faculty rose by 3 percent, to 12,019 positions. During those same years the number of administrators rose 221 percent, to 12,183. That’s right: There are more administrators than teachers at Cal State now.

These people get paid to “liaise” and “facilitate” and produce reports on diversity. How that benefits Cal State students or California taxpayers is unclear.

Read the whole thing.

IPHONE VS. ANDROID: The Last Word?

REP. PETER KING WANTS another round of hearings into Muslim-American radicalization.

TEA PARTY MOVEMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: “While potentially broadening its appeal, going after policies instead of people also protects the tea party movement from picking a losing fight that could sink its popularity. And it illustrates the view that defeating Obama is more important than disqualifying a Republican candidate who might be best positioned to do it.”

MICKEY KAUS: Carl Bernstein’s Hypocritical Murdoch Comments: “Bernstein is an awkward choice for critic of phone hacking, because of the memorable moment in the Watergate investigation when, stymied in his investigation of the suspicious burglary, he turns to a source at the phone company to obtain what were supposed to be private telephone records. Here is the relevant passage from pages 35 and 36 of All the President’s Men. . . . Clearly for Bernstein the issue of privacy vs. the public’s interest in truth isn’t quite as clear-cut as some Murdoch critics might like. In the crunch, when Bernstein was tempted, he agonized — but not for very long.”

BYRON YORK: As Debt Talks Continue, Feds Are Hiring — And Never Firing. “USA Today found that federal workers in the Washington, DC area have 99.74% job security. Some agencies, like the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, did not fire or lay off anyone in the last year.”

PROFESSOR JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Tarring Murdoch with Hearst’s evil ‘vow’ to ‘furnish the war.’ The Hearst anecdote isn’t true, of course, but that doesn’t stop journalists from using it. Any weapon to hand.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ FOR YA? ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Dissatisfaction With Washington Hits 19 Year High.

ADVICE: Do Not Go to a 3rd or 4th Tier Law School Unless You Are ‘God’s Little Snowflake.’

UK WINTER FORECAST: Motorists Urged to Prepare as Forecaster Predicts the Worst Winter on Record. “The UK is to brace itself for well below average temperatures and widespread heavy snowfall throughout winter 2011/2012 which will result in the fourth bad winter in succession, and will prove to be the worst of them all.”

Funny, not long ago the British press was telling us that snowfall had become a thing of the past.

MAN ARRESTED FOR VIDEOTAPING POLICE ARRESTED AGAIN. “It also probably didn’t help Gannon’s cause that he told police he was videotaping the incident with a small Kodak mini camcorder. Videotaping police got Gannon arrested before.” That was an illegal arrest, because videotaping police is entirely legal.

Just for the record, by the way, it’s perfectly legal to call police names, give their patrol cars the finger as they pass, etc. It may be rude or, as the story suggests, “stupid,” but police officers have no more authority to assault you for calling them names than anyone else, and they are acting criminally when they do so. They are also betraying their oath to serve the public. Those who make excuses for them are making excuses for violent criminals.

And somebody needs to send the Nashua, New Hampshire police department a copy of Morgan Manning’s article on photographers’ rights.

BIG OBAMA DONOR CHARGED WITH hacking voicemail in Britain. Hey, it’s as accurate as the other headlines. Plus this: “While Obama is by far the all-time leading recipient, he’s followed in order by Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Gray Davis and Howard Berman. See if you can detect a common thread between them (hint: they’re all Democrats).”

ROLL CALL: New North Carolina Map Gives Democrats More Heartburn.

North Carolina Republicans released a second draft of a new Congressional map Tuesday that is worse politically for Democrats than the original version released earlier this month.

The new map draws Democratic Reps. Brad Miller and David Price together into Price’s 4th district and puts Democratic Reps. Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell together in Kissell’s 8th district.

Expect the Justice Department to run interference for the Democrats, arguing that anything that reduces Democratic representation is ipso facto racist.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: “A special investigation by The Daily Caller has discovered that a State Department contract specialist participated in awarding more than $52 million in taxpayer-funded contracts to a company owned and operated by her husband and daughter.”

LIFE BEGINS AT 30: Happy Birthday to the New Criterion.

HAPPY APOLLO DAY! On the anniversary of the first Moon landing, here’s a gallery of Apollo images.

BARACK OBAMA’S PANTS ON FIRE: President told us a whopper about his mother’s health care. His pants may be on fire, but they’re perfectly creased.

GOOD QUESTION: “Pray, tell me why Forbes Magazine is pedestaling Deepak Chopra? “

REAL REBELS buy and sell dogs. Online.

HYPOCRISY? Harvard Ethics Fellow Indicted for Hacking into MIT Computer to Copy Academic Papers With Intent to Distribute.

MORE ON ANTHONY BOURDAIN: “Take a famous New York Chef, give him a hit TV show on the Travel Channel, send him and his crew out to the Ozarks, and what happens? He gets all gun nutty.”

WELL, WHO DIDN’T, REALLY? Elin Nordegren stunned to learn new man slept with Tiger Woods mistress. I mean, statistically, in her circles, it was nearly certain . . . .

THE COUNTRY WORLD IS IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Slouching Toward Default, On Both Sides Of The Atlantic. “I’m having a hard time seeing how any of this ends well.”

STACY MCCAIN: “Why does it seem that the Daily Caller always scores its exclusives at the expense of conservatives? . . . Aren’t there some Democrats they could be investigating?”