JOHN FUND: Obama’s Medicare Cuts Arrive, To No Media Notice.

TRANSPARENCY: Obama: ‘Clear out the press so we can take questions.’

NOT ACCORDING TO PLAN: Roll Call: Gun Debate Overtaken by Budget Fights. “Senate action on two of President Barack Obama’s top priorities this year — gun violence and immigration — will likely be delayed until April at the earliest, as budget issues yet again consume all of Washington’s political oxygen and capital.”

I think it was supposed to be the other way.

IT’S SETTING THE BAR PRETTY LOW TO SAY THAT ELECTING AN ANTI-GUNNER TO CONGRESS IN CHICAGO WOULD BE PROOF OF BLOOMBERG’S STRENGTH.

JAMES TARANTO: Journalism That Dare Not Speak Its Name: The Washington Post publishes a reporter’s anonymous screed.

INDEED: Barack Obama is very comfortable blending big money and big power.

MICHAEL S. MALONE: Older Entrepreneurs Are Better Than Younger Ones. “I came away from that meeting, and many that followed, convinced that not only were these older entrepreneurs equal to their younger counterparts in passion and commitment, but when it came to interpersonal skills, business experience and networking they were clearly superior. . . . While young entrepreneurs enjoy an obvious edge when it comes to energy, health and irrepressible optimism, much of that advantage is dissipated on endless searches for connections and capital, unrealistic product dead-ends and on-the-job training.”

MICKEY KAUS: Cracks In Obama’s Sequester Wall? “Was E.J.Dionne’s recent column the first crack in Obama’s sequester wall? Dionne’s function in the feudal D.C. order, remember, is usually to sketch a fantastic scenario in which everything works out for pro-government progressives. But right now he’s feeling pressure–time pressure.”

HUFFPO: Obama Press Strategy Story Stirs Complaints About State Of Media. “The fact is this White House pays no price for their manipulation of the media, because the media allow it.”

WHICH IS WHY GEEKS LOVE IT: The AR-15 Is More Than a Gun. It’s a Gadget.

Preppers, militia types, and SEAL Team 6 wannabes are certainly represented in the AR-15′s customer base. But fringe groups don’t adequately explain the roughly 5 million “black rifles” (as fans of the gun tend to call it) that are now in the hands of the public. No, the real secret to the AR-15′s incredible success is that this rifle is the “personal computer” of the gun world.

In the past two decades, the AR-15 has evolved into an open, modular gun platform that’s infinitely hackable and accessorizable. With only a few simple tools and no gunsmithing expertise, an AR-15 can be heavily modified, or even assembled from scratch, from widely available parts to suit the fancy and fantasy of each individual user. In this respect, the AR-15 is the world’s first “maker” gun, and this is why its appeal extends well beyond the military enthusiasts that many anti-gun types presume make up its core demographic.

Indeed.

WOMAN OF COLOR NOT PLEASED WITH ADMINISTRATION: Nikki Haley slams Washington after meeting with Obama.

During President Barack Obama’s meeting with U.S. governors at the White House Monday, the president dismissed members of the press to hold a private, hourlong discussion with the visiting state executives. Whatever was said after the cameras left the room especially incensed South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley. . . .

“I could not be more frustrated than I am right now,” Haley told reporters after the meeting. She said that when she asked Obama if he would consider a last-minute plan to shave about 2 percent from the annual federal budget without increasing taxes, the answer was “no.”

“My kids could go and find $83 billion out of a $4 trillion budget,” Haley said. “This is not rocket science.”

Nope. It’s tax-borrow-and-spend cronyism.

CLAIM: Obama using fake Twitter messages in fight over gun control. “Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) accused Obama of trying to make support for his position look stronger than it really is by flooding Twitter with messages from people who don’t exist.” They do tend to be new accounts with egg-avatars and hardly any followers.

LIST: The Fifty Sexiest Scientists Alive.

ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE: Chrome could soon end the frustration of hunting for noisy browser tabs. “The new feature is part of the latest Chromium build, and features a throbbing EQ animation over the noisy tab’s favicon (video below) to tell you and your system that it’s doing audio stuff.”

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Do We Need A Title IX For Boys?

NELSON LUND: Private Insurance As A Form Of Gun Control.

A STORY that explains why Amazon is killing traditional publishers.

JOURNALISM: HuffPo Can’t Tell Difference Between Nipples And Darts.

ARE SMART DEVICES making us dumb?

I’VE SAID FOR YEARS THAT I WISH IT COST A NICKEL TO SEND ME AN EMAIL. Esther Dyson agrees.

AT AMAZON, up to 50% off on pet supplies for dogs. Also, up to 50% off on pet supplies for cats.

Also, deals on Automotive Tools & Equipment.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Christopher George.

CULTURE-WORK: Reader Greg Piper writes:

Hey Glenn, this is Greg Piper – we knew each other in the “blogosphere” many years ago (I told you about the band The New Deal).

I thought you’d be interested in a project I’m doing and could give it a nod on Instapundit.

It’s a TV comedy-drama loosely based on my days as a student reporter at Seattle Pacific University, an evangelical school regarded as liberal among its peers. It’s called COPY and it was a Scriptapalooza semifinalist last year.

Of particular interest to your readers: COPY’s exploration of the Christian college analog to Dartmouth’s “rot” that your Powerline link referred to today. There’s a lot of religious language employed in the service of progressive action at Christian colleges today, by administrations, student governments and (of course) faculty.

My writing partner and I describe COPY in detail in this video on our (draft) Kickstarter page.

Check it out.

THE DIPLOMAT: America’s Dangerous Drift. “In the aftermath of the recent U.S. presidential elections and in the midst of grueling battles over spending and deficit crises, American politics is highly polarized with the electorate and their policymakers deeply divided on domestic issues. Turning to foreign policy, the picture is equally troubling. The United States struggles without a coherent grand strategy, while the American people, its friends and allies, and competitors wonder what principles guide Washington’s foreign policy. What, they must ask, does the United States want to achieve in its foreign policy, and what leadership role does it seek to play in this rapidly evolving world order.”

REMEMBER, THIS IS WHAT HOLLYWOOD IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD AT: Sexist flop: Oscar host Seth MacFarlane’s disdain for women did not go over well. But everybody in that room thinks Sarah Palin is an idiot.