BRAVE TALK FROM A MAN WHO STILL USES A BLACKBERRY: Obama Says Everyone Should Learn How to Hack.

The endeavor is reminiscent of the “Year of Code” campaign promoted in 2012 by programming tutorial company Codecademy, which culminated in New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeting that his New Year’s resolution was to learn to code. The campaign earned criticism from some programmers who think technical skills are being overemphasized.

“I would no more urge everyone to learn programming than I would urge everyone to learn plumbing,” Discourse co-founder and CTO Jeff Atwood wrote.

None the less, the code literacy movement has continued apace. Several companies are taking part the Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week. Apple is hosting Hour of Code tutorials at its Apple Store retail locations, and Codecademy today launched an iPhone app for learning code on the go.

But the big question on everyone’s minds? Whether will Obama take his own advice and complete a programming tutorial today.

No. Next question?

HONESTLY, I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS THAT IMPRESSIVE: Thoughts on Katy Perry’s cleavage.

AS PETER O’TOOLE SAID IN THE STUNT MAN, “If God could do the things we can do, he’d be a happy man.” 5 Behind the Scenes Details That Change How You See Movies. This probably also explains why Hollywood types have such a peculiar view of politics.

SEX AS EXERCISE: “It might not be as effective an exercise in general, but as you’d expect, 98 per cent of the participants reported finding sex more pleasurable than jogging.”

AT AMAZON, Holiday Deals in GPS and Navigation.

Plus, 50% or More off on Holiday Sweaters. For women and men.

And, Best Books Of The Year in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense.

Also, Deals Galore in Video Games.

SATANIC TEENAGE KILLERS! Well, actually, kinda. The Insta-Wife’s documentary on the Lillelid murders, Six: The Movie, is now available for free viewing on the PJ site.

SCIENCE: The Toilet Of The Future Corrects The Mistake We’re All Making In The Bathroom.

SMART DIPLOMACY: Congress In Revolt On Iran Deal.

NINE MEN REVEAL their biggest sex regrets.

Though based on science, most of these regrets sound more typically female.

PRIORITIES: To Protect Unions, The IRS Throws A Wrench Into Public-Pension Reform.

READER BOOK PLUG: From J.P. Mac, Jury Doody. 99 cents on Kindle.

DEATH BY BUREAUCRACY: New Report Blames State Forest Service Mistakes for Yarnell Firefighter Deaths.

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: “Help! How do I tell the woman of my dreams I want to wait before we have sex again?”

JEFFREY SINGER: Health Care’s Third-Party Spending Trap: Contrary to “conventional wisdom,” health insurance—private or otherwise—does not make health care more affordable.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PRE-ORDERED my forthcoming book! In answer to many questions, yes there will be a Kindle version; it’s just not up on Amazon yet. Rest assured that I’ll let you know when it appears. . . .

Oh, and here it is on Barnes & Noble, too. And, yes, there will be a Nook version as well.

NOT SO MUCH, TO JUDGE BY THE POLLS: Does America Trust Barack Obama?

RICHARD EPSTEIN: The Incorrigible President Obama. “A rehash of failed progressive policies will not return the United States to greatness.” To be fair, I don’t think that’s his goal.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Obama’s Funeral Selfie, Michelle’s Reaction.

TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 215.

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE: White House Compounds IRS Abuse Of Power.

Last May, IRS officials admitted that beginning in 2010, the agency had improperly targeted and hassled dozens of nonprofit groups for scrutiny based on their involvement in politics. Nearly all the groups opposed President Obama’s re-election in 2012 or his administration’s policies. The Justice Department acknowledged the impropriety of what the IRS had done and promised a thorough FBI investigation.

It never happened. Last month, an attorney working for 41 of the targeted nonprofit groups said no one at any of the groups had ever been interviewed by federal investigators.

Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI refused requests from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to provide information on its investigation. FBI officials also canceled a previously scheduled meeting with committee members. And the president — who in May said people were “properly concerned” with the IRS’ actions — used an MSNBC interview to whitewash the agency.

So the original abuse of power is compounded with another abuse of power: promising to get to the bottom of a scandal and then doing nothing. This is shameless and shameful — and, given this administration’s record, wholly predictable.

Yeah, pretty much.

WELL, HE FELL FOR OBAMACARE SO HE’S OBVIOUSLY GULLIBLE: ‘Die Quickly’ Democrat Alan Grayson Loses $18 Million to Fraudster.

IT’S COME TO THIS: NY Times Poll: 58% Disapprove of Obama’s Horrible Economic Job.

Related: CBS Poll: What Recovery? “While the nation’s unemployment rate is now at a five-year low, most Americans (61 percent) continue to say the economy is in bad shape.”

MAYBE MUSIC TODAY JUST ISN’T THAT GOOD? Spotify Isn’t Why Musicians Can’t Make A Living.

Spotify is not raking it in, and neither are the other music-streaming services. After all, our hypothetical music maven only pays Spotify $9.99 a month, or $120 a year. Someone listening to music even 35 hours a week is probably costing Spotify more in rights payments than they make in fees — and that doesn’t even count the cost of servers, bandwidths and marketing people to send out e-mails asking you to sign up for Spotify.

In theory, Spotify could charge more money, enough to cover their costs. In practice, Spotify is constrained by even cheaper alternatives. In 1995, I can totally imagine someone having created a streaming service that charged $50 a month for unlimited listening … if the technology had been available. Music fans would have hustled to get in on such an unbelievably good deal. But in 2010, such a service is competing with “free.” Which means that they cannot charge more than a negligible amount.

In other words, while the cost side has improved, the revenue side has gotten worse even faster. People simply aren’t willing to pay very much for recorded music anymore. If you’re an artist, and especially if you’re a record label, that’s very bad news. Naturally, some artists want to shoot the messenger, blaming Spotify for their paltry payments. But Spotify is not the problem. The market is the problem. Spotify is just the messenger telling them what the market is now willing to pay for their songs.

Or, alternatively, there are better alternatives competing with music-listening as an activity.

WELL, UNLESS THE IRANIANS RELEASE SOME, OR SOMETHING: Remembering The Last Smallpox Patient On Earth.