SYRIA UPDATE: Syrian Forces Fire Into Crowds As Thousands Protest.

WAPO: Some FBI agents are angered by plan to extend tenure of Director Robert Mueller. “President Obama’s plan to keep FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III in office beyond his 10-year term has triggered an angry reaction among some agents, who say Muel­ler imposed term limits on hundreds of supervisors in the agency but is failing to abide by legal limits set on his own tenure. The accusations of hypocrisy come as Congress is considering whether to grant Obama’s request to allow Mueller two more years in office — an extension the president said would provide stability as other national security agencies undergo major transitions in leadership.” Meh. When you’ve got a tax cheat as Treasury Secretary, who’s surprised by this kind of thing?

UPDATE: Reader Eric Markley writes:

Don’t forget Mueller was a Bush appointee, and is not a political type. Lumping him in with Geithner et al is unfair.

Much of the opposition to Mueller is based on the fact that he has moved away from a model that put agents in charge of everything, and instead has been filling administrative posts with administrative professionals: e.g., the head of the crime lab is a scientist with experience running large labs, not an FBI lifer. The head of IT is from the corporate world, not an FBI agent. etc. This has been a massive culture change within the FBI, which since the days of Hoover has always insisted that every major spot go to someone who began as a trigger-puller — and which has reduced the number of high-paying jobs available to said agents.

Whatever the merits (or lack) of that approach, it explains why there’s not going to be a shortage of ex-agents ready to rip him in the media.

Meanwhile, reader Charley Kron emails: “Obama probably doesn’t know anybody qualified to be head of the FBI, so is forced to try to keep this guy on.” Yeah, Bill Ayers wouldn’t pass the background check.

FASTER, PLEASE: An Electrical Jolt For Paralysis Research. “In a potential breakthrough for the treatment of spinal-cord injuries, a man paralyzed below the chest has regained some ability to move and stand through the use of electrical stimulation coupled with intense physical rehabilitation—a combination previously shown to work only in animals. This is the first such success in humans, so researchers on the case—from the University of Louisville, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology—remain cautious. They say findings must be replicated in many patients, and many technological questions answered, before spinal stimulation could be considered for wider use. Still, spinal-cord injury experts say the work, if it holds up under further research, opens the door to new therapies that could improve the outlook for paralyzed patients.” Like I said, faster, please.

TIM CARNEY: The Media’s Double Standard On The Revolving Door.

PAUL RAHE ON the French Disease.

CHANGE: Drugs For Critically Ill In Short Supply: Some Hospitals Consider Rationing.

ERIC OLSEN ON HUMPING THE HELP: Some things never change.

On the other hand, Roissy blames ‘Roids.

WHAT IS THE DEAL at the University of Missouri?

EUGENE VOLOKH’S BLOGGING ON SEX-TOY DOUBLE STANDARDS gets more attention.

OBAMA the Neocon. “If Max Boot isn’t complaining. . . .”

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONDOLENCES TO the Lonely Conservative, whose mother died yesterday.

AT AMAZON, 25% or more off of men’s clothing and accessories.

SENATE PAYBACK: Filibuster Stops Democratic Nominee.

SO I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS PASSAGE FROM YESTERDAY: “If I try transposing the situation in New York on Sunday to France, I just can’t do it. . . . Not only because the woman is black and apparently an immigrant. But also because she’s a housekeeper. Perhaps even more than her race, her station in society would probably prevent authorities [in France] from taking her accusations against a rich and powerful man seriously.”

And it occurred to me: We often hear that there’s more “equality” in Europe. But there’s really not more equality between the working classes and the governing classes — there’s less. What Europe has instead engendered in the name of equality is a system in which people in government, academia, and journalism don’t have to worry about feeling overshadowed by people who make their money in business. It’s about a species of equality within the governing class, no more.

PETER BERKOWITZ: Peace And The “Right Of Return.”

CENTRAL BANKS snap up gold in first quarter.

L.A. TIMES: Obama, late for his own Middle East speech, keeps viewers and anxious TV types waiting, globally.

TARGET VS. WALMART: “I’m Target all the way. I don’t care if you think that makes me a snob.”

UPDATE: A reader emails with the truly important question: “Which store is better for Zombie invasion prep?” I think I’d have to go with Walmart on that.

ERIK SOFGE: The Early Adopter’s Guide To Space Travel. (Bumped).

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, CARTOONS CRITICAL OF THE PRESIDENT WOULD BE CENSORED BY A FEARFUL NEWS MEDIA. And they were right! “Ted Rall’s cartoons and opinion pieces were all the rage when he was attacking George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and American soldiers. But now that there’s a man in the White House the press absolutely adore, the once syndicated polemicist claims he’s having a hard time getting anyone to publish his work.” Well, since Rall could hardly have gotten any less talented, it’s all got to be partisan politics.

SEXISM: Powerful, narcissistic — and most importantly, media-enabled — men get in trouble and it’s presented as a problem with men generally. Well, women aren’t morally superior, their flaws just vary slightly. But don’t even think about drawing general conclusions about the moral worth of an entire gender from those incidents.

And does this make the WaPo’s Matt Miller an “Uncle Tim?” Some have called him that.

WELCOME TO THE NEW ECONOMY: This Time, Many Jobs May Be Gone For Good.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Reader Angela Dills emails:

As a professor (married to another professor), I follow your links on the higher education bubble with great interest. While waiting for the mechanic this morning, I picked up the March issue of Family Circle — what I think of as a fairly middle-class female-oriented magazine. And they too are talking about a bubble in higher ed — although not in those exact words.

The article is called Do Kids Need College? “Conventional wisdom says college is an essential investment in your child’s future. The vast majority of parents assume their kids are headed that way, and teens, in large part, are living up to expectations: Almost 72 percent enroll in some form of advanced schooling right after twelfth grade—an all-time high. But the triple whammy of dwindling or (nonexistent) family savings, crushing debt, and an uncertain job market has parents asking an unsettling question: Is college really worth it?”

BARACK OBAMA: World’s best “assault rifle” salesman.

THINK PRICES ARE HIGH? Just wait ’til summer. “Prepare yourself for a summertime inflation shock. An expert who helps put together the government’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) says that the closely-watch inflation gauge could rise abnormally ‘after June.'”