YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY SHOOT UP YOUR SCHOOL, if they’re going to give you 5 years just for joking about it. Our authorities don’t spend enough time thinking about the incentives they’re creating.

I HEARD LONEGAN SPEAK IN NYC BACK IN JUNE AND LIKED HIM: Booker, Lonegan win primaries to face off in New Jersey special Senate election. Also, I’m unaware of any shady financial dealings on Lonegan’s part, which is more than you can say for Booker.

THE HILL: White House denies intel chief will lead NSA surveillance review. Still sounds like it’ll be a bunch of insiders investigating themselves, though. And it’s not like Clapper doesn’t have a central role.

LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF HARRY POTTER: New York’s Hidden Subway Station.

RICHARD BRODHEAD: K.C. Johnson has some questions.

IOWAHAWK:

Key issues of the American left
2007: war, deficits, civil liberties
2013: impertinent rodeo clowns.

They must be crushed!

IS THERE A COMMON THEME IN THESE photographs of erotica writers?

ROB PORTMAN: Uncovering the full truth about IRS abuse of power. “Big scandals start off as small stories. The controversy engulfing the Internal Revenue Service seems to grow bigger every day. What began as what the Obama administration said was a handful of ‘rogue agents’ in a local Cincinnati office has turned into a scandal that runs all the way to the highest levels of the IRS and maybe beyond. The question every American should be asking is this: Just how far does this story go, and when is President Barack Obama going to do something about it?”

DISGRACEFUL. RIGHT HERE IN EAST TENNESSEE? Maryville Mayor Joins Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

I’m embarrassed that he’d associate with that nest of felons.

BYRON YORK COMPARES THE RODEO CLOWN OUTRAGE with the abuse and violent language aimed at George W. Bush by members of the establishment. Yeah, but he’s a rodeo clown. The common folk should know their place. I wonder if he’ll have to go into hiding, like George Zimmerman or Nakoula Nakoula, to escape the mob-frenzy whipped up by the President’s political apparat.

But here’s the truth: All this outrage is really an admission that Obama is weak, and can’t withstand the kind of criticism routinely directed at other presidents, from Nixon to Clinton to Bush. President Asterisk, indeed.

UPDATE: Flashback: Liberals Were Silent When George Bush Dummies Were Used at Rodeos. Bush survived, but he wasn’t a media creation who would collapse like a rodeo dummy if subjected to criticism or mockery.

WELL, IT IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Scientists Create Glow-In-The-Dark Rabbits.

FROM STACY MCCAIN: Your Vagina Is Sudetenland, and Other Helpful Advice for Young Ladies.

AT AMAZON, Coupons Galore in Grocery & Gourmet Foods.

Also, deep discounts on used and open-box iPads.

#WARONMEN: Nearly two-thirds of men say women should pay their share on dates.

VINDICTIVE JUSTICE: Consumer Product Safety Enforcement Doesn’t Usually Go After Individuals, But It Does if You Make Fun of the Government.

They think they’re above criticism. They’re not. They’re not above tar and feathers, either.

20TH CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: “I always thought of Heather as the Merry Prankster of the women’s movement—she brought a levity to everything. I really had my heart broken.”

GALLERY: 14 Interesting Tidal Islands.

BURGERS AND FRIES. BEST THING FOR YOU. Company suspends bagged salads linked to parasite infections.

Hey, The Simpsons had it figured out.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Men fake orgasms, too.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: My friend is having an improper affair at the university where she works. Should I rat her out?