DON’T GET COCKY, KID: Intrade Has Walker’s Chances over 90%; NY Times in Panic Mode.

No, really, don’t get cocky. If you’re in Wisconsin, vote tomorrow.

WISCONSIN: Twas the night before Scott Walker Recall Day, at the Capitol Square. “Not a protester was stirring, but the media were there.”

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Nanoparticles seek and destroy groundwater toxins. “O’Carroll, who is visiting UNSW from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, has been trialling an innovative new groundwater clean-up technology using metal nanoparticles 500 to 5,000 times narrower than a human hair. The iron particles are injected directly into contaminated soil where they flow to the contaminants and initiate a redox reaction, whereby electrons are transferred between the particle and the pollutant. This reaction changes the oxidation state of the pollutant and diminishes its overall toxicity to safer levels, says O’Carroll.”

AT AMAZON, today’s Digital Deals.

WHEN REALITY IS NO MATCH FOR TELEVISION.

RAND SIMBERG ON FENDING OFF A SPACE-ALIEN INVASION.

THIS WEEK IN THE FUTURE.

FROM BRYAN PRESTON: PJ Exclusive: Marine Vet Arrested at Wisconsin Labor Rally Speaks Out. “This disturbing video shows the arrest of a man who has done no apparent wrong. He attended a public rally in Wisconsin on Friday, carrying in inoffensive political sign, encountered many who opposed his views, and was arrested by police. . . . Willoughby served in the United States Marine Corps from from 1992 to 2000 and was honorably discharged. He was also a firefighter for 10 years in the state of Florida. Willoughby says that his time as a non-union firefighter has led him to suspect that the Wisconsin police officers may be acting as union members first, and police officers second.”

A NEW ATTEMPT AT A HUMAN-POWERED HELICOPTER.

AT AMAZON, markdowns in Patio, Lawn & Garden.

SO YESTERDAY, I took exception to Mark Steyn’s gloom. That occasioned this email from Sarah Hoyt:

With all due respect to Mark Steyn whose writing I adore, I MUST disagree with him:

a) (Galaxy Quest) Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

b) I’ve been thinking about this and have been meaning to write on it. Strangely we’re in a MUCH better position than in the seventies. Look, the thing is the type of brain bug the OWSers seem to have was “mainstream” in the seventies. Now we look at them like they’re nuts. (They are.) The Reagan Revolution is permanent. That he took the commies down and exposed them for what they are, didn’t hurt either. Obama might be “purge or cure” for the remaining “soft communism”. It will hurt. Revolutions always do. But I think in the end we’ll survive and thrive because

c) I’m bullish on America. Our leaders are screwy and we let them run with idiot schemes too long, but man on man (and woman on woman, though that makes it start to sound like a really odd x rated thing) the American people still have what it takes. I think once the hobbles are taken off the economy it will rocket forward. So

d) let’s get it done.

Preach it, sister.

UPDATE: Then again, Kevin Menard writes: “And on the other hand, I think Steyn is an optimist. Personally, I’m burying ammo and canned goods…”

OH, THANK GOD — AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT SAID FOUR MILLION: Andromeda Galaxy and Milky Way to Collide in 4 Billion Years.

ACTUALLY, ALBERT GALLATIN WAS THE SEXY ONE: Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Hunk?

UNEXPECTEDLY: US Factory Orders Post Surprise Fall in April.

ANOTHER READER BOOK PLUG: Reader Jeff Gould writes: “Like most sane people with an Internet connection, I’ve been reading you for years. I’d like to pitch you my newly published novel Hell’s Shadow, which deals with America’s ongoing war on terror.”

TWITTER QUITTERS: Athletes Give Up Social Media Before Intense Competition.

CAREERS: The Importance of Being Decisive.

In general, the results turned out how you might expect. The kids with the wealthy, well-educated parents who graduated near the top of their high school class tended to make more money as adults than the blue collar kids who figured out early on that formal school wasn’t really their bag.

But Judge and Hurst also looked at something else. This is where things get interesting. A unique subset of people in the study did not follow this pattern. By the time they reached their middle years, some sons and daughters of roofers and plumbers whose grades (ahem) made the top half of the class possible, still ended up making 30-60 percent more money each year than many of their more privileged peers. What this select breed of underdogs had in common was nothing but a unique set of personal beliefs (stemming from emotional stability, internal locus of control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem) about their ability to shape the future. Those beliefs translate into the ability to choose one course of action (entrepreneurship, less prestigious career path, etc.) while quitting others.

Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.

THE DEVIL OBAMA WEARS PRADA. New GOP ad hits Obama campaign for Wintour ad, jobs report. That Obama ad isn’t exactly pushing the whole stand-up-to-the-1% line . . . .

This seems like a more effective job than that 3 AM phone call reprise aimed at Romney.

“DISILLUSIONMENT AND HARD TIMES.” Obama’s 2008 donors not giving in 2012.

Well, they can always try to make it up with unverified credit card transactions.

SEXISM IN THE SPORTS WORLD: Man Who Calls Women ‘Dumb Twats’ and ‘C-nts’ Now Minority Owner of NY Mets.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Unemployment Increase Worse for Blacks.

Last Friday’s unemployment news crashed the stock market and upended the presidential race. Lost in the excitement, however, was the news that African-American unemployment, already significantly above general levels, rose by much more.

Nationally, unemployment in May rose from 8.1 percent to 8.2. This is bad, especially considering how much time has passed since our economic troubles began, but it is less than catastrophic. As the Root reports, for African-Americans, however, the news was much, much worse. Unemployment among Blacks rose from 13.0 percent to 13.6 percent.

This is serious news for a population that is already under great economic strain.

Indeed.

A NEW HASHTAG: #WIUnionDesperation. Heh.

THAT’S INCONVENIENT FOR THE NARRATIVE: Obama’s Middle East Bright Spot? Iraq. “The fact remains that whether or not it was ‘worth it’ or necessary, the Iraq war ended as a strategic win, and the benefits of that victory are making President Obama’s life easier every day.”

THE FOOD STAMP PRESIDENCY: “You can get food stamps over the phone now? Apparently.”