AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND PRINCE: Time To Party Like It’s 1999 B.C. “What it is about the Middle East that causes self-styled ‘Progressives’ to suddenly mumble, ‘Nevermind,’ ala Emily Litella?”

Further thoughts from Rand Simberg.

THOUGHTS ON DAVID BERNSTEIN’S REHABILITATING LOCHNER: DEFENDING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AGAINST PROGRESSIVE REFORM, from Scott Gerber and from Jerry Pournelle.

Gerber writes: “I give Bernstein’s book the highest compliment one scholar can pay to the work of another: I learned a lot from reading it. Indeed, after finishing Bernstein’s book I will no longer think of Lochner the way I used to — as the apogee of the Supreme Court’s activist defense of the capital class — and I will certainly teach the case differently than I have in the past. Rehabilitating Lochner is intellectual history in its highest form. ”

And here’s my review in Commentary, which was the springboard for Pournelle’s thoughts.

Also, if you missed them before, my thoughts on constitutional reform of the sort that Pournelle thinks we need.

YESTERDAY’S POST ABOUT REDUCED CONSUMER SPENDING produced numerous emails like this one from reader Robin Lyons:

Instead of spending, I have been taking all my disposable income and paying off debt. I have a good job and have disposable income every month. But I have decided that I am not buying anything not absolutely necessary in protest of the Obama economy. Not that my single participation makes any difference, but who knows how many of me there are out there?

Well, put together with the not entirely different class of Antoinette Auberts, quite a few it seems.

UPDATE: Reader Michael Hayden writes:

I’ve actually increased my consumer spending this year. I already paid off all of my debt last year, and my usual savings and investments are returning less than the real rate of inflation, so I see only two other options: invest in a bubble like gold and pray that I cash out before it pops, or spend my money while it’s still worth something. Guess which one I chose.

I’ve been spending several hundred dollars each month on replacing old, “good enough for a poor bachelor” stuff with newer, nicer, “grown-up” stuff. A new office chair, new towels and bed linens, neglected car repairs, hobby equipment, getting my wisdom teeth extracted, assembling a proper bug-out bag, and so on. I’m sure all thirtysomethings go through this phase as they become more secure and settled in their lives, but for me it’s been a deliberate reaction to our current economic conditions.

Indeed. For that matter, I suppose if you really expect runaway inflation, it makes sense to buy stuff that will hold some value even in preference to paying off debts.

ALL IN THE GAY FAMILY: “Contrary to the rhetoric you still hear from some of the idea’s opponents, gay marriage was not cooked up in some D.C. laboratory and imposed on America by social engineers. It was built from the bottom up, and it was alive at a time when the typical social engineer thought homosexuality was a disease.”

YAWN: Former Obama czar launches yet another Anti-Tea Party.

Van Jones, President Barack Obama’s former special adviser for “green jobs, enterprise and innovation,” yesterday launched what he calls “The American Dream Movement.” In a punchy, two-hour webcast that was heavily promoted by MoveOn.org, the former green czar signaled his support for all ideas progressive — and his appalling unwillingness to face some simple facts.

Jones’ American Dream at first sounds familiar: a decent job, a college education, a dignified retirement, a secure future. But he seems to forget the pivot on which the Dream has always turned: an honest work ethic that proceeds from no sense of entitlement but rather from a grounded optimism that ability applied to opportunity will yield results.

Like Administration figures and honest tax returns, Czars and Tea Parties don’t mix.

I HATE TO SAY “I TOLD YOU SO,” BUT THIS IS JUST WHAT I WAS WORRIED ABOUT: Egypt’s pro-democracy activists feel their grip slipping.

Sensing the revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak is slipping from their grasp, activists and opposition groups are pressuring the ruling military council to postpone Egypt’s elections in September amid fears that Islamists and members of the former regime will gain too much power.. . . The pressing concern among independents and secularists is that the Brotherhood, the nation’s largest and best-organized party, may win about 25% of the seats in parliament and control even more through a coalition. This could give the organization the power to infuse the new constitution with conservative Islamic ideals to limit rights for women and non-Muslims.

“The Brotherhood is tyrannical in its opinions and views, and I think they will take the side of the Islamist businessmen who fund it and have strict Islamic ideologies,” said Khalid Sayed, a member of the Jan. 25 Youth Coalition. “Whatever constitution they might form would not fulfill the demands of Egyptians for civil rights and democracy.”

Wait, I thought they were misunderstood moderates? But this is how it goes: Kerensky could replace the Czar, but Lenin could replace Kerensky — and there was no one around who could replace Lenin, because Lenin made sure of that right off. The liberal democrats should have killed him when they had the chance, but they hesitated, and he didn’t.

The pro-democracy activists need to be prepared for a real fight. Because they’ll have one, and win it, or they’ll lose.

WHY HAS WIKIPEDIA removed the Thomas Ball page?

AT AMAZON, markdowns in groceries and gourmet food.

AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITION embraces multiculturalism as Dutch walk away. Behind the curve downunder, where Andrew Bolt is facing another dumb PC witch-hunt.

I THINK THIS IS A VERY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE: RATINGS DOWNGRADE COULD COST $100BN: “Investors in the US government bond market could face losses of up to $100bn if the largest economy loses its triple A rating, according to a research arm of McGraw-Hill, the parent of Standard & Poor’s.”

ATF FIRES WHISTLEBLOWER? ‘Project Gunrunner’ Whistleblower Says ATF Sent Him Termination Notice.

THE WARNING PROCESS MUST BE FIXED: Too many tornado-warning false alarms creating dangerous complacency. “These kind of warnings force us to go on the air for 40-45 minutes, often after tornado signature has vanished from the radar. Sirens sound, the NOAA Weather Alarm goes off, severe weather apps on smart phones alert users. Getting these kind of warnings over and over and over again totally create an ocean of people that won’t be paying attention when a real tornado emergency is in progress. I heard it over and over as people described their April 27 experience. ‘I hear those sirens all the time, and nothing ever happens’. The cry wolf syndrome is very real, and very dangerous.”

ACE: Scripting the Obama comeback, just like a Hollywood feel-good blockbuster. “Who’s the audience for this script? Well, the most important audience is the media, who would love to now move to the Obama’s Comeback Montage, but aren’t quite sure how to prepare that narrative.”

AT AMAZON, markdowns on musical instruments.

FASTER, PLEASE: Scientists crack histamine code that could lead to better allergy relief.

SO THE “SLOPEHEAD” GUY AT THE NEW YORK TIMES is a crackhead? Literally?

Plus, from the comments: “Why is it, exactly, that leftists supposedly dedicated to eliminating class distinctions so quickly fall into the old patterns of the Soviet nomenklatura? Perhaps it’s an essential element of leftist ideology.”

HOW NOISE CANCELING HEADPHONES WORK.

LOW-COST HOME COOKING FROM SCRATCH: Recipes and more at Hillbilly Housewife.

CHANGE? Core Inflation Rises: Interest Rates May Follow. As somebody who’s bemused to find himself happy to get 1% on a money-market these days, even as a promotional rate, I’m ready.

And I repeat: If we had a Republican President, we’d be seeing endless tear-jerker news stories about how low CD rates are hurting senior citizens. Under Obama, bupkis.

OBAMA FOMENTS VIOLENCE: First, the President blames ATMs for high unemployment, and shortly thereafter violent lefties smash ATM in Seattle.

Hey, it’s fairer than the blood-libel aimed at Sarah Palin after the Giffords shooting. . . .

IT’S NOT THAT EXCLUSIVE A GROUP: Blogojevich Joins Illinois Governors’ Convicted-Felon Club.

FASTER, PLEASE: New Nukes Coming Online To Double. “Globally the rate at which new nuclear power plants get turned on to start operating will more than double from 5 to 12 per year in the next 4 years.”

Plus this: “In the United States the Tennessee Valley Authority will start operating the Watts Bar 2 nuclear reactor in 2013. Its construction was halted in 1985 but is now being completed. That will be the first added nuke in the US since the 1990s. The TVA has plans for more nuclear reactors including a half dozen small modular reactors. The US government’s commitment to nuclear power is undiminished and nuclear power’s biggest obstacle in the US is the low cost of natural gas from shale.” Well, since Obama-connected GE makes nuclear reactors, better fire up the environmental opposition to cheap shale gas, then.

PROFESSOR JACOBSON: Wisconsin Will Be Losing A Supreme Court Justice — We Just Don’t Know Which One Yet.

Or we could just make a clean sweep — let both resign, since this affair reflects so badly on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and have Gov. Walker appoint replacements. Fresh start. Problem solved!

REPORT: Utah Tea Party Targets Orrin Hatch.

Related: Activists March to NRSC To Demand Hatch Ouster.

Also: Hatch Showdown: Tea Party Activists Knock On GOP’s Door — Literally.

Plus, they went around to various Senate offices. Utah Tea Party activists David Kirkham emails: “Your Senator Corker gave everyone goodies and munchies.” Bob’s a friendly sort.

Joe Manchin, on the other hand, banned photos in his office. But here’s one that made it out before the ban:

Plus, a good review on Sen. Cornyn: “He talked to ALL of us and didn’t only talk to 2 of us and leave us all outside. Good on him.” Here’s a pic:

And here’s a pic from Sen. Grassley’s office:

FOLLOWING UP ON great expectations for stem-cell clinical trials.