PETER WEHNER: Why The Lid Blew Off In Egypt.

As I said back when this whole thing started, it would have been much better for this to have happened in the period 2003-2005 — when the U.S. was perceived as strong, and interested in Arab democracy — than now, when we’re seen as weak and disengaged. I still think, despite what Rumsfeld told me when I interviewed him a few weeks ago, that the Bush Administration consciously stepped back from the pro-democracy agenda, and that it was a mistake.

BARRON’S: Expect More ‘Unexpectedly’ Weak Economic Data.

JIM TREACHER: Weiner Tip #1: If you want to prevent a topic from becoming a distraction, call the person asking you about it a jackass.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS: Who is Ginger Lee, Rep. Anthony Weiner’s favorite porn star? “What is it about Ginger Lee that is so interesting that might compel a married congressman to be so interested in her activities? Well, let’s just get this one right out of the way: After some research on my part (ahem), I have found that, like any porn star worth her thick slabs of black eyeshadow, Ginger Lee does everything!” I can see how that would be especially appealing to a man married to Hillary Clinton’s protege.

CLAYTON CRAMER: California Pays The Price For Shortsighted Prison Policy.

WHAT? LIBYA? OH . . RIGHT! Libyan Rebels In A Fight They Don’t Control.

Related: As House GOP leaders fend off vote on Libya resolution, antiwar sentiment simmers.

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, protesters would be arrested for dancing — and they were right!

ALEX NUNEZ: “It’s like a regular Prius, only better. That, in a nutshell, sums up the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid (aka Prius PHV).”

MICKEY KAUS: Underpants In The Undernews: “Weiner’s latest media foray contains a bit of possibly brilliant misdirection. The press is focusing on his strange statement that he doesn’t know if the photo in question is of him. This does two things for him. First, it distracts attention from the central development, which is that it is a security firm he has hired that is going to do the ‘investigation.’ I guess Sen. Stennis is unavailable. What are the chances that his own firm is going to conclude that he did it? His enemies should concentrate on bringing in the neutral third party he obviously wants to avoid. . . . At this point the greatest evidence of Weiner’s guilt is Weiner’s own damage control effort. Why is he acting so squirrely?”

Maybe the obvious answer is the obvious answer.

UPDATE: Poll: Have you ever sent naked pics?

ANOTHER UPDATE: Donald Trump Weighs In On ‘Weinergate’: ‘He Obviously Knows It’s Him.’

WELL, THE WHOLE THING IS KIND OF CONFUSING: How Many Men’s Weiners Does Anthony Weiner Have on His Blackberry?

JEFF GOLDSTEIN VS. SAUL CORNELL.

OBAMA’S WORST NIGHTMARE: A slow economy slows some more. Or in other words, Obama’s chickens are coming home to roost.

CHANGE: The Return Of ROTC To Elite Universities.

MARKDOWNS ON electric shavers.

INSTAVISION: The Undersea World of Glenn Reynolds: How Capitalism Can Complement the Environment. On YouTube, too.

FROM PAUL RAHE: Paul Ryan: A Duty To Serve. “There are times – let’s face it – when one woman or man may be as good as another. Virtually any Republican in office (apart from Ron Paul) would be more serviceable as President than the current incumbent. But there are other times when one woman or man is not as good as another. George Washington brought something to the Presidency that no one else could have brought, and it may have made all the difference. Abraham Lincoln did the same in circumstances that were even more trying. We are not in a crisis as grievous as the crises that these two Presidents faced. The survival of the Union is not at stake. But I believe that there is a great deal on the line – as much as, if not more than at any point in my lifetime. We face a grave crisis, and every such crisis is a gold opportunity.”

THE MYSTERY OF the Canadian whisky fungus. “In the back of the property, there was an old stainless steel fermenter tank . . . . It was lying on its side, and it had this fungus growing all over it. Stainless steel! The whole point of stainless steel is that things don’t grow on it.”

HMM: Japanese Elderly Offer to Take Over Fukushima Nuclear Cleanup. If you’re 73, and it takes 20 years to develop cancer, the odds are on your side.

UPDATE: Reader Kim Sommer makes the obvious reference.

THE NEED FOR BUDGET CUTS: It’s A Consensus! Better Listen! Unless, you know, you’re one of those . . . Deficit Deniers!

REASON TV: MSNBC vs Sarah Palin vs The Flag vs Sanctimonious B.S.

From the comments: “i would say to boycott msnbc, but 99.8% of the country already does.”

WEINERGATE UPDATE: Weiner Might Not Have Sent The Wiener. “It’s very possible Weiner did not send the photo in question, but that does not explain the behavior of the people involved. For example, why won’t Rep Weiner simply state that it is not his wiener in the picture that was tweeted? If his ID was stolen and he didn’t send the Tweet, why is he acting like he desperately wants this story to go away?”

UPDATE: How we know Weiner is in trouble: Media now identifying him as a Republican.

FASTER, PLEASE: Open Cures: An Initiative to Speed Clinical Development of Longevity Science.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on jewelry.

REASON TV: Is Bitcoin The End Of State-Controlled Money?

Here’s an article on Bitcoin by Yale’s Reuben Grinberg.

RESEARCHING LIFE’S deepest questions.

UPDATE: And, of course, the same cartoon Weinerized.