HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: N.Y.U. Gives Its Stars Loans for Summer Homes.

Its most interesting feature, however, is not architectural, but financial. The house, which is owned by John Sexton, the president of New York University, was bought with a $600,000 loan from an N.Y.U. foundation that eventually grew to be $1 million, according to Suffolk County land records. It is one of a number of loans that N.Y.U. has made to executives and star professors for expensive vacation homes in areas like East Hampton, Fire Island and Litchfield County, Conn., in what educational experts call a bold new frontier for lavish university compensation.

If nonprofits were regulated like for-profits, this might get more scrutiny.

SEXISM, OF COURSE: Why Does No One Care That A Young Don Draper Was Raped?

TECHNOLOGY: Future looks bright for carbon nanotube solar cells.

CAN OF WORMS: NSA’s Role in Two Terror Cases Was Concealed From Defense Lawyers. “When a senior FBI official told Congress the role the NSA’s secret surveillance apparatus played in a San Diego terror financing case today, nobody was more surprised to hear it than the defense attorney who fought a long and futile court battle to get exactly the same information while defending the case in court.”

REPORTER MICHAEL HASTINGS has died.

CREATIVITY: 6 Futuristic Musical Instruments Built In 72 Hours.

AT AMAZON, up to 50% off on Outdoor Toys & Games.

#WARONWOMEN: An Air Force commander exercised her discretion in a sexual-assault case. Now her career is being blocked by Sen. Claire McCaskill. Why?

RAYMOND IBRAHIM: Christendom’s Greatest Cathedral To Become A Mosque. Now if you converted a mosque to a cathedral, someone would probably blow it up.

BARACK WHO? Obama’s Disappearing Act. “Obama practically disappeared from the scene (no calls to Cabinet officials, no convening in the Situation Room) on the night of the Benghazi, Libya, attack. He seems more concerned on the NSA flap with distancing himself from conservatives whom he loathes (‘I am not Dick Cheney’) and in Syria on protecting his self-image (he ends wars, doesn’t start them) than in taking the heat from Democrats. When coverage is not glowing, he becomes cranky with the media (as does his spokesman). He is most at ease campaigning before a crowd (whether it is an election or not) when he can accuse opponents of ill-will and flail away at straw men with no interruption.”

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS: The Ethical Flap Over Birdsong Apps. “The ethics of using recordings to attract birds has been controversial since the days of clunky cassette machines. Now, anybody with a smartphone and a few dollars has instant access to the songs and calls of every species in the United States, and in quite a few foreign countries, too.”

EMPLOYMENT AND WAR: Adapting To Automation.

RAND SIMBERG WONDERS what the scandal endgame will look like.

IMMIGRATION: Senate kills amendments to toughen border security and visa oversight in immigration reform bill.

THE 21ST CENTURY ISN’T TURNING OUT AS I’D HOPED: Woman Charged In Second Buttocks-Enhancement Death.

AT THE COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM IN CALIFORNIA THIS WEEKEND: Script Reading: A Computer Simulation of God.

AT AMAZON, Bestsellers In Military History.

#1 on the list is Jack Levin’s George Washington: The Crossing.

THE INSTA-WIFE ON WSJ TV: Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage. Talking about her new book, Men On Strike. If you haven’t bought it yet, why not?

HMM: Was Justice Roberts Intimidated Into Voting for ‘ObamaCare’? Senator Mike Lee Presents the Evidence.

NSA UPDATE: 3 Former NSA Employees Praise Edward Snowden, Corroborate Key Claims.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: University programs that train U.S. teachers get mediocre marks in first-ever ratings. “The vast majority of the 1,430 education programs that prepare the nation’s K-12 teachers are mediocre, according to a first-ever ranking that immediately touched off a firestorm.” This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.

WHO KNEW THAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY, people would be excited over ethanol-free gas?

MICKEY KAUS: Rubio Doubles Down Into Disaster. “Shorter Rubio aide: There’s a reason unemployed Americans are unemployed. They aren’t star performers. Screw ‘em. We’re bringing in workers from abroad! This is what opponents of the Gang of 8 have been arguing is the philosophy behind its proposed giant increase in the immigrant work force. Good to have confirmation.”

Related: HuffPo contributor confuses Matt Lewis with Mickey Kaus.

MYTHBUSTING: Diana Furchtgott-Roth: Women, and the Unequal Pay Myth.

SPOOKS: Google Reveals Massive Iranian Phishing Scheme.