CARS: Iraq May Be The Next Emerging Market.

CHANGE: GM Replacing Almost All Existing Chevy Volt Power Cords.

VIDEO: James Cameron’s First Footage From The Deep.

WELL, TO BE FAIR, DEMOCRATS IN THE SOUTH HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR: Narrative Interrupted: George Zimmerman a Registered Democrat. Will someone ask Obama about this?

More here: “According to the document, Zimmerman’s race is officially listed as Hispanic.” But there’s this: “It is unclear whether he voted for President Barack Obama in 2008.”

UPDATE: Reader Bert Rollen writes: “Heh, I bet he doesn’t vote for him this year.”

Related: Inconvenient narratives in the Martin case.

Plus: Trademarking Trayvon?

ROGER KIMBALL: Hilton Kramer 1928-2012.

#OCCUPYFAIL: Another Occupy Stabbing, In SF.

UPDATE: Related: OWS Thug Sought on NYC Murder Charge. Remember that this is the movement praised by President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, et al. I’d like to see a video juxtaposing that praise with the various violent incidents that have marked the Occupy movement.

JAMES PETHOKOUKIS: Obama’s 2nd-term agenda? House Dems propose raising taxes by 40%, including on middle class.

HOW’S THAT WHOLE LIBYA THING WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? Al Qaeda Flags Parade in Gadhafi Hometown?

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Cheating Scandal Goes National: “The cheating scandals in Atlanta and Long Island that rocked the educational establishment last year appear to be spreading. In the past, the tendency has been to view these scandals as isolated incidents—examples of moral failures on the part of individual teachers or school districts. A new study by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, however, refutes this view—the problem of cheating is much more serious and widespread than previously thought. . . . This speaks to a serious failure, both moral and systemic, in our education system. The moral issues are obvious—teachers face many difficulties in their jobs, but there is absolutely no excuse for fabricating test scores and lying about student’s achievements. The widely distributed nature of these allegations shows that this is a serious moral problem and not simply the work of a few bad apples. Yet perhaps more serious is what this shows about the weakness of the big box model in American education.”

JUST AS OBAMA PROMISED BACK IN 2008: EPA to kill new coal-fired plants through first-ever greenhouse-gas regulations.

UPDATE: Reader Jim Ramnes writes: “Whatever will the upper crust burn in their Volts?”

THE HILL: Tea Party converges on court for main event in healthcare debate.

BRUCE SCHNEIER: The TSA Got My Congressional Testimony Shut Down: “I was supposed to testify today about the TSA in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. I was informally invited a couple of weeks ago, and formally invited last Tuesday. . . . On Friday, at the request of the TSA, I was removed from the witness list. The excuse was that I am involved in a lawsuit against the TSA, trying to get them to suspend their full-body scanner program. But it’s pretty clear that the TSA is afraid of public testimony on the topic, and especially of being challenged in front of Congress. They want to control the story, and it’s easier for them to do that if I’m not sitting next to them pointing out all the holes in their position.”

Related: Schneier debates Kip Hawley.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “My husband is an attorney and recently was in Aruba on business. He was pulled aside for an in depth search by TSA, who proceeded to grill him on what sort of legal work he was doing in Aruba. My husband was really taken aback by this line of questioning. He is considering writing a letter to the state bar. Do you have any other suggestions on who he should alert/contact about this incident?” I think he should write directly to Janet Napolitano, with a copy to his state’s Congressional delegation. And file a FOIA request for rules about questioning attorneys. This may not produce any useful results, but it might, and it will at least put someone at TSA to some inconvenience. . . .

AT AMAZON, Top Deals in Electronics.

Also, today only: a Playstation 3 for $259.99.

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Obama’s ‘secret’ plea to Russia plays right into Romney’s meme.

UPDATE: Reader Joel Eenigenburg writes: “Excuse me?! So Obama is caught secretly plotting with the Russians for their help on his reelection, and in return they get what they want on US missile defense strategy? Where’s the outrage? I’m about as cynical as they come nowadays, but really?”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Henry Clark writes: “The Republican presidential candidate ought to ask insistently at every campaign stop from now till November the following question: “What other private promises has Obama made to people—at home or abroad—that we should know about?” If he doesn’t, then the GOP deserves its appellation The Stupid Party. Obama is a sneak and an elitist, a fact that his broad smile makes it easy for people to overlook; it seems to take an open mike to remind people.”

Jimmy Carter had a broad smile, too.

NOW ON YOUTUBE: My InstaVision interview with Bob Zubrin, author of Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism.

READER LLOYD TACKETT EMAILS: “I just released a book on Kindle for 99 cents. I am hoping you will give me a plug on your site. It is a post apocalyptic survival story/manual using a solar storm as the event. I know you get zillions of emails, so I will stop here.” Here’s the link. Enjoy! Nice cover.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Neal McCluskey: Stop Ignoring Higher Ed Reality.

OF COURSE IT DOES: White House Opposes FCC Overhaul Bill.

D.C. METRO SHOCKER: Metro derailed by culture of complacence, incompetence, lack of diversity: ‘Inept get promoted, … capable get buried.’

HMM: Research: Single antibody shrinks variety of human tumors transplanted into mice. Faster, please.

PETER SUDERMAN: Yes, ObamaCare’s Mandate Compels People to Buy Health Insurance.

At minimum, however, it is fairly clear that this is not how President Obama, who signed the law and fought for its passage, claimed to understand the mandate when he opposed it on the campaign trail in 2008. Instead, he understood it as a policy that forced people to buy a product. Indeed, that’s part of why he said he opposed it.

Criticizing Hillary Clinton for her support of the mandate, Obama said that “she believes we have to force people who don’t have health insurance to buy it.” At another debate, candidate Obama stressed the importance of understanding what it means to mandate health insurance: “A mandate means that in some fashion everybody will be forced to buy health insurance.” The government, in other words, would be asking people to buy something they otherwise would not buy.

The mandate does not merely regulate commerce—it requires it. In 2008, President Obama understood this distinction. In 2012, his administration is pretending the distinction does not exist.

And counting on the press not to note the contradiction. But here’s a video:

TOM MAGUIRE: Trayvon Martin – Basic Geography May Cut Against Zimmerman. Well, stay tuned.

UPDATE: Or maybe not. Maguire emails: “After reviewing the Zimmerman 911 call it is pretty clear that the police report cited the first address he mentioned, not the final location he suggested meeting the officers. That second location seems to be pretty much on top of where the shooting occurred.”

OBAMA’S PROBLEM: Bad Instincts?

UNIONIZATION FAIL: Minnesota Grad Students Reject Unionization. “This was the fourth failed attempt since 1990 to unionize graduate workers.”