AT AMAZON, new stuff coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray.

I SHOULD HOPE SO: Huge security shake-up at Y-12; Secretary Chu announces suspension of guards, relocation of key security managers. “Energy Secretary Steven Chu released a statement this evening outlining a series of stiff personnel actions — including suspension of guards and reassignment of key federal and contractor managers — take by the federal agency to deal with the unprecedented security breach and other problems at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant.”

IMAGES OF THE LAW: Did 12 Angry Men Get It Wrong?

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Peter Wood: Too Many College Students? Yes, Unfortunately.

MOTHER JONES: Dems Nominate Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist for Senate.

CONGRATULATIONS TO SPACEX: “Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) today won a $440 million contract with NASA to develop the successor to the Space Shuttle and transport American astronauts into space.”

ANDREW MCCARTHY: The Government’s Awlaki Story Doesn’t Pass The Laugh Test. “Why the case was dropped is a question that deserves much more scrutiny. After all, the release at JFK marked the second time, in a matter of months, that Awlaki wriggled free despite the heavy cloud of 9/11 suspicion that hovered over him.”

SCIENCE: Women Ogle Other Women’s Breasts Too, Claims New Study.

THIS WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED IN NED RAY MCWHERTER’S DAY: Tennessee Democratic Party Disavows Its Own Senate Nominee.

LIST: Defunct Olympic Events.

THOSE PEDERASTY RUMORS THAT HARRY REID’S OFFICE REFUSES TO DENY seem to be making an impression on Google. Start typing “Harry Reid” into the search box and see what happens:

FINALLY, AN END TO SLAVERY IN VERMONT! Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case.

For six weeks, McGarry said he was forced to work three days a week for up to 14 hours at a time washing other inmates’ laundry at a pay of 25 cents an hour.

The work was hot, unsanitary and resulted in his getting an infection in his neck, McGarry said. If he refused to work, McGarry said prison officials threatened to send him to “the hole,” where inmates were confined for 23 hours a day.

McGarry was released in June 2009 and charges were subsequently dropped.

A month before his release, McGarry sued the State of Vermont and a slew of prison officials on a variety of grounds, including that his 13th Amendment right to be free from involuntary servitude was violated.

His lawsuit, which he filed himself, asked for $11 million in damages.

In dismissing the case, U.S. District Judge Garvan Murtha in Brattleboro, Vermont, ruled that the state was immune from McGarry’s claims because he had failed to show that the prison work was sufficiently akin to African slavery.

Appeals judges Robert Katzmann, Barrington Parker and Richard Wesley, however, disagreed with the judge’s reading of the 13th Amendment, which was enacted in 1865.

“The Amendment was intended to prohibit all forms of involuntary labor, not solely to abolish chattel slavery,” the opinion, drafted by judge Parker, said.

More broadly, the appeals court said Vermont could not treat people in custody pending trial the same way it treats convicted prisoners, such as compelling them to participate in work programs designed to rehabilitate inmates.

“The Supreme Court has unambiguously and repeatedly held that a state’s authority over pretrial detainees is limited by the Constitution in ways that the treatment of convicted persons is not,” the opinion said.

About time.

WRETCHED EXCESS: The Ultimate Dixie Dessert: Krispy Krème Brûlée.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: I’ve been in five relationships with married men, but don’t feel guilty. Am I morally bankrupt, or is everyone else closed-minded?

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: The Shocking Truth That Harry Reid Can’t Deny.

ACE OF SPADES: At a Hollywood Chick-fil-A, Police Called To Escort Disruptive Protestors From Premises. Did I Say Disruptive Protestors? I Meant Disruptive Media. “Law enforcement sources tell us … the Chick-fil-A staff wasn’t bothered by the pro-gay marriage event taking place inside the restaurant, but felt the media was being too aggressive in trying to get commentary from Chick-fil-A employees.”

BEYOND THOSE PEDERASTY RUMORS: So, Seriously, How Did Harry Reid Get So Rich? “This isn’t another tongue-in-cheek post about Sen. Harry Reid’s baseless allegation against Mitt Romney. It’s a serious question: Just how did Sen. Reid get so rich? As a senator and the majority leader in the Senate, Reid pulls down a salary of $193,400 per year. According to the latest data from Opensecrets.org, which is from 2010, Reid has assets totalling $10,360,000. How does this happen? And seriously, why hasn’t he released his tax returns?”

IT DEPENDS ON THE VIDEO GAMES YOU’VE PLAYED: How Hard Is It To Drive A Tank?

AT AMAZON, markdowns on Dorm Room Essentials.

HOPE AND CHANGE SAME: For the Thirty-First Time, Obama White House Says ‘Don’t Read Too Much’ Into a Bad Jobs Report.

OUR MILITARIZED POLICE: Reason TV: Cops with Machine Guns: The Killing of Michael Nida.

LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE ERA OF HOPE AND CHANGE: Court Upholds Domestic Drone Use in Arrest of American Citizen.

RUSSIA, WHERE ROAD RAGE GETS CREATIVE.

CHANGE: 400,000 American Homes Have Dumped Pay TV This Year.

BRINGING BACK DRESS CODES FOR TEACHERS. “When kids in one Kansas school district return to class this fall, they won’t be seeing cutoff shorts, pajama pants or flip flops — on teachers. The Wichita School District is just one of a growing number in the nation cracking down on teacher apparel. Jeans are banned in at least one elementary school in New York City. A school district in Phoenix is requiring teachers to cover up tattoos and excessive piercings. And several Arizona schools are strictly defining business casual.” You’d think adult professionals wouldn’t have to be told this sort of thing, but . . .