CHARLIE MARTIN: 13 Weeks Experiment Midcourse Report.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on Bestsellers in Health & Personal Care.

Also, today only: More Than 60% Off Select Barska Biometric Safes.

TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 73.

IT’S NOT LIKE THE ENTIRE POLITICAL MACHINE WAS OUT TO DESTROY HER OR ANYTHING: Delaware officials admit tax snooping; won’t identify Christine O’Donnell as target.

THINGS THAT DON’T SUCK: So I’ve had the Kindle Paperwhite for several months now, and it’s clearly replaced the iPad as my favorite device for reading Kindle books. The backlighting is the key. It’s light, battery lasts a long time (longer than the iPad) it charges quickly (faster than the iPad) and it’s very clear and easy to read in all kinds of light, from bright sunshine to a dark room. And of course, it’s much, much cheaper.

MCCLATCHY: Mood shifting, Congress may move to limit NSA spying.

Congress is growing increasingly wary of controversial National Security Agency domestic surveillance programs, a concern likely to erupt during legislative debate _ and perhaps prod legislative action _ as early as next week.

Skepticism has been slowly building since last month’s disclosures that the super-secret NSA conducted programs that collected Americans’ telephone data. Dozens of lawmakers are introducing measures to make those programs less secret, and there’s talk of denying funding and refusing to continue authority for the snooping.

The anxiety is a sharp contrast to June’s wait-and-see attitude.

It’s not polling well.

TRANSPARENCY: Secret Court that Swears it Isn’t a Rubber Stamp Renews NSA Telephone Snooping Program.

PERSONNEL: “At least six other Marine officers have been removed from command since mid-March. In each case, Marine officials have provided little explanation for why the decisions were made, saying a general officer had lost confidence in that commander’s ability to lead his personnel.”

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT: The Hill: Obama tries to regain ObamaCare edge after mandate delay setback. It’s a trainwreck.

ACADEMIC SCANDAL AT WINSTON-SALEM STATE: “Because of WSSU’s low graduation rate, school officials had to decide whether to change its admission standards and move to attract a higher quality of student, or to lower course standards to make it appear that students were more successful. During faculty and staff meetings, this was discussed and the chancellor stated that he did not want to change the ‘look’ of WSSU. Raising admission standards would mean fewer students on campus and therefore less state money flowing in. The path the administration took was to make it seem as though students were doing better.”

DAVE KOPEL ON Ancient Hebrew Militia Law.

DAVID BERNSTEIN ON why some libertarians sympathize with the Confederacy. This follows up on several other posts on this rather odd fringe, but I’ve said most of what I have to say on the subject here. See this, too. And this. And, for that matter, this.

I think, however, that while the following may be an accurate description of why some libertarians might wish the Confederacy had won, it’s also stupid: “If you believe that the United States government has been a massive force for evil in the world, and also object to much of the government’s domestic policy, it’s only natural to wish that the government’s ability to do the damage it wrought had been nipped in the bud. And the most plausible way this could have happened historically would have been for the South to have successfully seceded from the North, leaving a much smaller and weaker central government that would likely have faced further secessionist challenges in the future.”

The most likely outcome of a Confederate victory would have been another war, or wars, down the line: “A generation of madness,” as described in one Harry Turtledove series about just that. And the likely outcome of such a path wouldn’t have been smaller government or more liberty.

In truth, the single greatest blow the South could have struck for liberty and small government would have been not to secede. Unfortunate that things didn’t work out that way.

As for James Webb’s Confederate enthusiasms, well, let’s just put that down to martial romance.

ANN ALTHOUSE CORRECTS AL SHARPTON AND JESSE JACKSON:

Zimmerman shot when he was pinned down and getting his head bashed into concrete. Stand-your-ground has to do with retreating when you can. Even aside from the fact laws can’t ensure that bad things never, ever happen again — or else why is there murder? — stand-your-ground made no difference in Zimmerman’s situation. . . .

We need something concrete... Speaking of concrete, does anyone at these rallies mention that Martin bashed Zimmerman’s head on the concrete?

Of course not. Mentioning that would be racist.

JIM TREACHER: “I’d like to hear from some representatives of the Hispanic community. How do they feel about President Obama driving a wedge deeper and deeper between blacks and Hispanics? Is he just arrogant enough to think that the Democrats can count on their votes in 2016, no matter what? Is he right? Why is it okay to make a Hispanic guy an Enemy of the State for defending his own life against an attacker?”

ROMANY MALCO: A Message To Trayvon Martin Sympathizers.

A FATHER’S SAD TRUTH: Dreams Are Important, But So Is Money. For me it wasn’t becoming a dad that made more more anxious to make money — it was when Helen had her heart attack, and especially after she had her second round of trouble and got her ICD. Before that I was more happy-go-lucky. After that, I got more satisfaction out of money in the bank than I had previously.

MICHELLE MEYER: What Do Zimmerman’s Calls to Police Show About His View of Black Men?

THEY SAY NOT TO SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD, so I’ll just let Helen Thomas speak for herself.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Not everyone in college is hooking up. It’s mostly the white and wealthy.

FUNNY THAT A GUY NAMED “MIKE POWER” would come across as such a girly-man.

TAKING “HELICOPTER PARENTING” A STEP TOO FAR: Mother Seeks “Sugar Baby” To Take Her Son’s V-Card Before Heading to Harvard.

DALLAS MORNING NEWS: IRS Scandal Creeps Closer To White House.

Also: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: IRS scandal story’s legs get sturdier.

Related: Retiring IRS lawyer implicates Obama appointee in testimony.

ROGER SIMON: Celebrity Divorce Notes: Detroit’s Bankrupt, But Michael Moore’s Just Fine.

WALTER OLSON: Changing the law in response to the Zimmerman verdict would put more young black men in prison.

People upset at George Zimmerman’s acquittal are calling for awarding various new powers to prosecutors at the expense of protections for criminal defendants.

Maybe this would make it easier to hang a rap on some future Zimmerman. But it also would have an effect that its backers probably don’t intend: increasing the number of persons convicted and sent to prison. As part of that effect, more young black men — as well as more members of other groups — will end up behind bars.

On Twitter and Facebook, many people have expressed frustration with the conviction standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which the state of Florida was unable to overcome. Couldn’t we lower it? Others hoped prosecutors could appeal the verdict (right now, they can’t; an acquittal is final).

I don’t think we want to give prosecutors more power.

Related: Blacks benefit from Florida ‘Stand Your Ground’ law at disproportionate rate. “Black Floridians have made about a third of the state’s total “Stand Your Ground” claims in homicide cases, a rate nearly double the black percentage of Florida’s population. The majority of those claims have been successful, a success rate that exceeds that for Florida whites.”

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: The Dating World of Tomorrow. “If you look at Figure 1 in this 2012 paper on how Americans meet their mates, you basically see that many of non-collegiate modes of meeting a partner have been in free-fall since the 1990s. . . . College has also dipped since 2000 as a place to meet, but only modestly; bars and restaurants have ticked upward, and the internet, predictably, has exploded.”