THE WAGES OF “SMART DIPLOMACY:” Egypt constitutional vote: ‘Things are definitely worse than under the old regime.’ Even aside from Benghazi, Hillary Clinton’s diplomatic record isn’t impressive.

Related: In Egypt, Liberals Losing at Polls and in Streets. Their cooperation was essential to bringing down Mubarak, but their cooperation is not essential to ruling Egypt, so they are being discarded.

EVEN SLATE IS MOCKING OBAMA FOR NARCISSISM NOW: Today We Are Gathered … To Hear More About Me: President Obama was supposed to eulogize the memory of Sen. Daniel Inouye. Instead he told us about his favorite summer vacation.

MICHAEL WALSH: ‘Assault’ — The Democrat-Media Complex Strikes Again.

REUTERS: Redistributing Up: The federal government has emerged as one of the most potent factors driving income inequality in the United States – especially in the nation’s capital.

In the town that launched the War on Poverty 48 years ago, the poor are getting poorer despite the government’s help. And the rich are getting richer because of it.

The top 5 percent of households in Washington, D.C., made more than $500,000 on average last year, while the bottom 20 percent earned less than $9,500 – a ratio of 54 to 1.

That gap is up from 39 to 1 two decades ago. It’s wider than in any of the 50 states and all but two major cities. This at a time when income inequality in the United States as a whole has risen to levels last seen in the years before the Great Depression.

Key quote: “We’re seeing an enormous transfer of wealth from taxpayers to the Washington economy.” Well, yes.

SO WHEN A FEDERAL JUDGE ARGUES FOR GUN BANS, I guess he’ll have to recuse himself on gun-rights cases in the future.

AT AMAZON, Top Holiday Deals. New stuff all the time.

FRANCE: After Dissing Depardieu’s Self-Proclaimed Tax Figures, French Government Forced to Admit That 85% Tax Is Entirely Plausible.

Related: While Depardieu Undergoes Criticism, Le Monde Contrasts the Star’s Current and Future Homes.

MEDIA: Senate resolution tells Village Voice to take down ‘adult entertainment’ section.

Lawmakers said that website, Backpage.com, ends up promoting child sex trafficking in the United States. . . .

“As news reports of pimps and traffickers using Backpage.com to advertise sexual services by minors continue to increase, we cannot leave our children defenseless,” Kirk said. “The profit-first mentality at Village Voice Media, which prioritizes the rights of pimps, not children, must end.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) co-sponsored the measure.

Won’t they think of the children?

21ST CENTURY BUSINESSES: Maker Mom Builds Cookie-Cutter Empire With 3-D Printers.

CHANGE: One Out of Every 6.5 Americans Is on Food Stamps. “The new all-time record number of recipients, 47.7 million (up from 31.6 million when Obama took office) exceeds the combined populations of Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.”

From Woodstock Nation to Food Stamp Nation. Forward!

LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: ABA: Law Schools Admit More Non-J.D. Students to Offset Decline in J.D. Enrollment.

IN THE FLESH: The Embedded Dangers of Untested Stem Cell Cosmetics. I can see using untested stem-cell procedures for, say, liver regeneration. But cosmetics?

TURNING THE INTERNET into a closed shop.

A BAKING BLOG: Butter Me Up, Brooklyn!

HMM: Scientists Link Obesity To Gut Bacteria. “Obesity in human beings could be caused by bacterial infection rather than eating too much, exercising too little or genetics, according to a groundbreaking study that could have profound implications for public health systems, the pharmaceutical industry and food manufacturers. Researchers in Shanghai identified a human bacteria linked with obesity, fed it to mice and compared their weight gain with rodents without the bacteria. The latter did not become obese despite being fed a high-fat diet and being prevented from exercising.” Read the whole thing.

PREACHING Microbial Supremacy.

SO I MENTIONED THIS KITCHENAID MIXER the other day. We did buy it, and the Insta-Daughter used to to make whipped sweet potatoes the other night and pronounced it a winner. Haven’t tried to make butter, though.

SEE, THIS IS WHY PEOPLE hate Vegans. Not all of them are that self-righteous. But the 90% who are give the other 10% an undeserved bad name . . . .

FREEDOM: 35 Things That Were Banned In 2012.