IN THE MAIL: Lawyer Barons: What Their Contingency Fees Really Cost America.

REASON TV: The Tea Party vs. John Boehner.

THE SECRET TO BRAZIL’S ENERGY SUCCESS: “Brazil has gone from importing 77% of its oil from foreign sources in 1980 to importing no oil by 2009. A great success story in conservation and alternative energy? Not really. Total Brazilian oil consumption still more than doubled. The biggest factor is that Brazil increased its domestic oil production over the last two decades by 876% (not a typo). Most of that production has come from offshore exploration.”

I don’t recall Obama mentioning that part.

AND A GENEROUS ONE, IN THE PAST: Farrakhan Defends Gadhafi As “Brother.”

REINING IN PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONS IN OHIO: “Ohio Governor John R. Kasich on Thursday signed legislation that would effectively bar the faculties of Ohio public colleges from unionizing — even though many of them already engage in collective bargaining. Faculty unions have fought hard against the legislation, but Republican legislators have generally backed it and had enough votes to get the bill through, so the outcome was not a surprise. Ohio has until now been fertile ground for faculty unions, and is a key state in the collective bargaining activities of the American Association of University Professors.”

WHEN CRONY CAPITALISM YIELDS SOUND POLICY: U.S. takes conservative approach in response to nuclear crisis in Japan. “In sharp contrast to governments across the world that are moving to warn their citizens in Japan about radiation hazards and to reassess their own nuclear power programs, the Obama administration is pursuing a cautious course — standing firmly behind the U.S. nuclear industry.” I tend to suspect that this is because of the Administration’s close ties to GE, Exelon, and Duke Energy, but hey, whatever. T.S. Eliot thought there was no greater treason than to do the right thing for the wrong reason — but in Washington, you can’t afford to be that picky about motivations. . . .

THE TATLER: The Selective Racial Outrage of Federal Judicial Nominee Donna Murphy.

BRUTAL CANDOR: Anthony Weiner: Yes, it’s true, I look like Horshack from “Welcome Back, Kotter.”

GALLUP: Underemployment19.2% in March.

Meanwhile the official unemployment number has fallen. I note the gap between Gallup and the government figures seems to be growing.

UPDATE: Had the wrong Gallup links before, one of them a year out of date. Fixed now. Sorry!

A JOE SESTAK LIBYA FLIPFLOP. Worried about damage to Obama in 2012 if Khadafy stays in power?

A CALL TO FIRE ROBERT GATES: “Gates is supposed to retire soon. If the president had the gumption he’d accelerate that departure date. For otherwise, how are we to know the president, not Gates, is running the show?” Well, that’s an easy one: Wait to see how Libya turns out. If it goes well, it was the President running the show. If not, it was Gates.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Perhaps a billboard with Don Rumsfeld’s picture saying Miss Me Yet?”

WELL, IF YOU ASK ME, WE LAW PROFESSORS ARE NATURE’S NOBLEMEN. Heroes of higher education. Scholastic saints. Generous givers.

AT AMAZON, it’s the Friday Sale.

PJTV: Government Shutdown? The Tea Party Goes to Capitol Hill to Remind Republicans Why They Were Elected.

TO A CERTAIN CROWD, THIS ISN’T A BUG, BUT A FEATURE: “More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined.”

PETER ROFF: Dems Go To Extremes In Budget Battle. “It should be severely damaging to the Democrats to be seen as the party obstructing efforts to solve the $14 trillion debt crisis in a way that is favorable to the interests of the taxpayers — instead of the special interests that still dominate Washington.”

BYRON YORK: Unions deploy money and muscle in Battle of Wisconsin.

LIBYA: Backing The Rebels, No Questions Asked. “We are currently doing everything we can to bomb, strafe and use missiles to carry the rebels into power in Libya. We want them to win. We just don’t know who they are. This is not merely my opinion. It is the statement of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, our point person in meeting with the rebels.”

Plus this: ““Clinton didn’t say whether the opposition movement includes members of the terrorist group Al Qaeda, though she suggested it is possible.”

I think that’s what you call your “smart diplomacy,” there.

BOEHNER TO GOP FRESHMEN: No number yet in budget talks.

QUIET: GENIUS AT WORK. Tina Brown’s Newsweek takes a week off.

PEJMAN YOUSEFZADEH is preparing his acceptance speech.

CALIFORNIA: GREEN REGULATION AND ACADEMIC CORRUPTION.

Another researcher who found no connection between diesel particulates and “premature deaths” decided to check on Tran’s credentials, and discovered that his PhD had come from a diploma mill, bought for $1000. When the researcher, UCLA’s Dr. James Enstrom, blew the whistle on Tran and insisted that CARB needed to consider his work before passing the new regulation, a curious thing happened. After 34 years on the job, UCLA fired Enstrom. Why? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that two powerful CARB commissioners, Mary Nichols and John Froines, are also UCLA professors. According to Balaker, Froines voted to give Enstrom his pink slip.

Sounds shady. F.I.R.E. is on the case.

BARACK OBAMA, prince of peace.

BARBARA BOXER TELLS THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION to get tough with law schools over reporting of employment data.

HEH: Whatsamatter HuffPo, cat got your tongue?