HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: “College loans remain a cruel charade.”

VATICAN: 100,000 Christians Killed For Faith Each Year. Will a new version of the Knights Templar arise?

AT LEGAL INSURRECTION, a review of the Insta-Wife’s Men On Strike.

WHENEVER YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT TAXES, LEFTIES ARE ALL LIKE “YEAH, LET’S LIVE IN A LIBERTARIAN PARADISE AND EAT CONTAMINATED MEAT!” And yet: “Federal food inspectors at many of the nation’s swine slaughterhouses fail to do their job and let repeat offenders continue to produce potentially contaminated meat without punishment, raising a ‘higher risk of providing pork for human consumption that should not enter the food supply,’ according to a new Agriculture Department audit.”

Whenever they try to justify taxes, they talk about stuff like roads and food inspection. But when they actually get your money, they slip it to their buddies. . . .

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING, the Insta-Wife’s book, Men On Strike, is now available on Kindle for pre-order. It should be shipping in the next few days.

And, of course, the hardcover version is already shipping.

TWEET OF THE DAY: IowaHawk: Illinois’ pension system is “underfunded” in the same way my liquor cabinet is “understocked.”

THE HILL: House Judiciary investigating whether Holder lied under oath.

TEN TOP SHOP VACUUMS, TESTED. I can tell you from experience that you want a wet-dry vac. You may not need it for years, but when you do . . . .

Also, know where your water shutoff is. And the gas and electrical ones, too. And have the shutoff tools handy . . . .

UPDATE: Charles Glasser writes: “FWIW on wet/dry vacs: during Hurricane Sandy I had a generator, but the electric sump pump couldn’t keep up with the rising water table. My 20 gallon wet vac helped as an auxiliary sump pump. Kind of MacGyverish but hey, no flooding!” You say “kind of MacGyverish” like it’s a bad thing!

BUT OF COURSE: Next-Generation Consumer 3-D Printer Arrives, but a Lawsuit Looms.

AT AMAZON, up to 30% off on external hard drives. Back up your data!

MORE ON THOSE UNDERFUNDED/OVERGENEROUS PUBLIC PENSIONS: States sinking in pension plan debt: States must jettison the unnatural disaster that traditional retirement plans have become.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Black Middle Class Abandoning PG County Public Schools.

Prince George’s County, Maryland stands out from the rest of the country in that it is among the most affluent majority-black counties in the US. But despite its uniqueness, it is quickly falling prey to a common trend—middle class parents are pulling their children out of public schools and putting them in private competitors that offer a better education.

PG County Executive Rushern L. Baker III is well aware of this trend and is taking steps to improve the quality of the schools in an effort to bring back these middle class students. The county has just approved Baker’s plan for a massive overhaul of the school board, and he has promised a number of other educational changes, although this part of his proposal has been light on actual details. But as the Washington Post reports, while middle class families are watching these changes with interest, few have actually made the leap and put their kids back in public schools. And as the middle class students and parents abandon the system, the situation is likely to get worse for those that remain.

All is proceeding as I have foreseen.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Your Complete Guide To White Wine.

WHY IS THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PROPPING UP THE E.U.? EU exit would put US trade deal at risk, Britain warned. We’d be better off pursuing a bilateral trade deal with Britain.

MEH. NOT SO MUCH. Are Pricey A/V Cables Worth the Money?

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Nutrition & Wellness.

IT’S NOT IN THEIR NATURE, EVEN WHEN IT’S IN THEIR INTEREST: Holder in trouble: Why can’t they just tell the truth?

WHAT D.C. DOES BEST — PROTECT CRONIES FROM COMPETITION: Washington Stalls the Food-Truck Lobby.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Cohabitation: Why Every Couple You Know Is Shacking Up.

AND LOOKS PRETTY DAMN GOOD IN ‘EM: Barbara Eden, 78, gets back into her I Dream of Jeannie crop-top and harem pantaloons.

SOCIAL ADVICE: It’s Time to Stop Treating Dads Like Idiots. That would get rid of half the TV ads and sitcom plots in existence.

READER BOOK PLUG: “The Wire” And Philosophy.

RAND SIMBERG REPORTS FROM That La Jolla Starship Conference. The spacecraft, not the band.

UPDATE: Oops, sorry, that’s a report from Jonathan Markley on Rand Simberg’s blog.

WHODUNNIT: The Irish Potato Famine explained.

MONETIZATION: Newspaper: Only subscribers allowed to post comments.