SHOULD AMERICANS get more time off from work? No, but Congress should. They should meet only 60 days per year, and if they fail to pass a budget they should receive no pay, or expenses, and should be ineligible to stand for re-election.

That’s one constitutional reform I left out of my list. Dang. Oh, well, it was just supposed to be a starting point anyway.

OOPS: The New York Times’ Natural Gas Fiasco. “Natural gas just might be the energy solution environmentalists say they want, but actually can’t stand because nothing would put them out of business faster.”

ANN ALTHOUSE: Local journalist Bill Wineke demagogues the Wisconsin Supreme Court story… and slimes me. “What I want, and what I think good feminists should want, is to be treated as an equal in a sane workplace, where nobody gets in anybody’s face, and nobody thinks they can taunt or threaten or hit — or choke! — anybody. Ironically, Wineke is spouting sexism. If men and women are really governed by such different standards, that would be sex discrimination. And on the whole, it would hurt the advancement of women in the workplace. We are not fragile flowers in need of old-school chivalry. If we were, it would justify discrimination.”

UPDATE: More details arise in Wisconsin’s “Chokegate.” Justice Abrahamson isn’t coming off too well. But then, who is?

Really, if I had tried to come up with a plan to undermine the institutional authority of the judiciary I don’t think I could have done better than the Wisconsin Supreme Court has managed to do. And, apparently, Shirley Abrahamson has played a starring role.

IT’S NOT JUST THE BANKERS: Bankers Say Supporting Obama Is “Bad For Business” And Embarrassing.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS last into your 90s. I think the Obama plan is “work until you’re 85!”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Daniel Indiviglio: College: A Very, Very Expensive Shortcut for Lazy Hiring.

AT AMAZON, an extra 20% off of Clearance clothing. Men’s and women’s. Also kids’.

DAN MITCHELL: Promote Federalism and Replicate the Success of Welfare Reform with Medicaid Block Grants.

COULD REPUBLICANS NOMINATE A FREE-MARKET POPULIST? “I suspect, though, that no Republican really wants to battle big business. Of course, Barack Obama doesn’t, either — he just wants to pretend he is.”

Yes, as I’ve noted before, it was blindingly obvious that opposition to DMCA and other Big Entertainment initiatives would have been hugely beneficial for the GOP, but apparently they can’t bring themselves to attack Big Business, even big business that hates them and serves as a major source of money for the Democrats.

ED MORRISSEY ON SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES AND MARRIAGE: Be Careful What You Wish For.

YES, IT IS. NEXT QUESTION? BBC: Is the U.S. in denial over its $14 trillion debt?

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Why haven’t we started calling them ‘Economic Reality Deniers?’…. You heard it here first — only 3 google results.”

I BLAME THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S ELIMINATIONIST RHETORIC: Glenn Beck, Family Attacked By Hateful Lefty Mob.

GOOGLE UPDATE: “Governments take notice: You can investigate Google’s business practices, but Google is also studying you. The search company has updated its Transparency Report, which discloses inquiries that governments make about Google users as well as their requests to remove content. The update adds data from July 2010 to December 2010, along with new ways to digest that data.”

HOW THE NEW CAFE REGULATIONS will change U.S. cars. Probably not for the better, from a consumer standpoint.

ESSENTIAL BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS: Hmm. I think there are a few books missing from this list.

FIGHTING POVERTY WITH ECONOMIC FREEDOM:

I COULD HAVE LIVED WITHOUT THIS IMAGE: Coming Next: Al Gore In Your Bedroom.

UPDATE: Reader Jonathan Bailey emails: Quick, hide your chakras!

DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: “George Stephanopoulos made the mistake of going after Michele Bachmann on history — and promptly proceeded to get his history foolishly wrong. . . . Is challenging Michele Bachmann on fundamental history and getting it wrong embarrassing for somebody in the liberal media who criticizes others on the subject? Yes. Will George be concerned enough to retract and correct the record?” Nice little dig about Stephanopoulos’ memoir, too, though it was actually the best book to come out of the Clinton insiders’ crowd.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: The Lawyer Surplus: A State-By-State Look.

CLAIM: Men have their own biological clock.

REPORT: Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson could face jail time for ethics violations. “New documents disclosed in a complaint from the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) appear to show California Democrat Rep. Laura Richardson and her staff clearly violating congressional ethics rules and potentially federal law. The documents show Richardson using official taxpayer resources for political events, including fundraisers. ‘Rep. Richardson didn’t just violate House rules, she likely committed crimes,’ said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director.”

LAWRENCE LINDSEY: The Deficit Is Worse Than We Think: Normal interest rates would raise debt-service costs by $4.9 trillion over 10 years, dwarfing the savings from any currently contemplated budget deal. Forget machetes and scalpels — we need a chainsaw.

WAR AGAINST PHOTOGRAPHY UPDATE: Charges Against Emily Good Dropped. “It took less than a minute for a judge to dismiss an obstructing governmental administration charge against Good, saying there was no legal basis to move forward. Good was arrested last month while videotaping a traffic stop outside her Rochester home. She was taken into custody after Good failed to go inside her home when ordered to by Rochester police officer Mario Masic.” I wish the judge had ordered Mario Masic to take some remedial courses in the first amendment while he was at it. But at least Mario Masic’s name has been identified with this lawless action, and with this: “On Monday a judge, the district attorney’s office, Mayor Richards, and Police Chief Jim Sheppard all agreed with the decision to drop the charge against Good.”

But the police union says you should just shut up and do what officers say. Good’s suing, though. I hope she wins.

Perhaps Masic can be ordered to read Morgan Manning’s article on photographers’ rights — and pass a quiz afterward. Maybe, judging by the police union’s position, that should be extended to the entire Rochester force. . . .

SCALIA: Armed Career Criminals Act is unconstitutionally vague. Wait, I thought he was a conservative who thus didn’t care about the rights of criminal defendants — that’s what I’m always hearing from the usual pundits . . . .

DON SURBER: Obama Enters The Republican Race In Iowa. The bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the baby at every christening.

Surber comments: “Maybe he can run in a few Republican primaries. I would love to see him in the debates going against Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann.”