TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal: Day 129.

ANNALS OF THE 1%: Study: More than 400 Union Officials Made Over $250K in 2012.

More than 400 labor officials earned more than a quarter of a million dollars in salary in 2012, according to a new study.

Media Trackers found that the top 100 highest paid union officials garnered more than $52 million in 2012, salaries paid by membership dues of the laborers and government employees they represent.

The top-paid union official is NBA Player’s Association head G. William Hunter, who made more than $3.1 million on the year. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees chief Lee Saunders rounded out the top 100 with gross pay of $353,580, according to the study.

Labor unions spent more than $1.7 billion on the 2012 election cycle, the most of any interest group. Most of that money went to aid President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, who campaigned on the promise of hiking taxes on those who earn more than $250,000 per year.

Where these guys are concerned, I’m okay with that. Plus: “Boilermakers president Newton Jones, of Kansas, is the only official in the Top 10 who lives in a right-to-work state. The other nine live in Washington D.C., New York, and Illinois, where employees can be forced to join unions as a condition of employment.”

THAT’S RIDICULOUS. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN ELIMINATED THE THREAT. Bill Maher: On Syria, U.S. looks like George Zimmerman.

REMINDER: In 2009, President Obama “Joked” About Auditing His Enemies.

AT AMAZON, up to 30% off on All-Clad cookware.

Also, costumes and more in the Kids’ Halloween Store.

And, today only: Vanguard 10×42 Binocular with ED Glass, $209.99 (51% off).

SMART DIPLOMACY: The Atlantic: The U.S.-Russian Deal on Syria: A Victory for Assad.

CHARLIE MARTIN: 13 Weeks: Flooding The Zone.

WELL, HILLARY’S GONE NOW. OH, WAIT: Thomas Pickering: State Dept. Should Have Fired Employees Over Benghazi Debacle.

THE WASHINGTON POST COVERS THE IMPORTANT STORIES? “Kerry, 69, is no stranger to speculation about his classic patrician face.”

NONSENSE. IT’S FINE TO BLAME CLIMATE CHANGE FOR EXTREME WEATHER, BUT WE MUST NOT CREDIT IT WITH THE RECENT HURRICANE-DROUGHT: Don’t blame climate change for extreme weather.

FIVE OF THE BEST VIDEOS OF THE WEEK: Obama Mini-Me Edition.

ASK ERIC HOLDER. ON SECOND THOUGHT, DON’T BOTHER: Is The FBI Investigating The IRS Scandal?

IMAGINING A CYBERATTACK ON THE POWER GRID. “More than 200 utilities and government agencies across the country, from Consolidated Edison to the Department of Homeland Security to Verizon, are now expected to sign up for the largest emergency drill to test the electricity sector’s preparation for cyberattack. The drill, scheduled for November, will simulate an attack by an adversary that takes down large sections of the power grid and knocks out vast areas of the continent for weeks. The drill, organized by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, is to explore how the country would respond to an enormous grid failure that interrupts supplies of water, food and fuel and creates disruptions on a scale far beyond those of Sept. 11, 2001.”

Hmm. Maybe I should go ahead with that home generator. . . .

LIFE AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL: “More than once I heard that ‘the only middle-class students here are the Americans.’”

WELL, YOU CAN SEE WHY HE’D BE NERVOUS — HE WON WITH JUST 51%, AS I RECALL: John Hickenlooper nervously defends gun control laws after Colorado recalls. And when asked whether he’d sign those laws again, he wouldn’t answer.

BIG DEAL: I DO THAT EVERY DAY. Time Travel Is Possible But Only To The Future, English Physicist Says. I mean, when I went to bed it was yesterday, and when I woke up, it was today! And the next time I wake up it’ll be tomorrow. A day that’s in the future!

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Precise mechanical manipulation of individual long DNA molecules. “This advance is a very important nanotechnology that is especially important for DNA sequencing, and thus for personalized medicine, a major component of future medical technology.”

LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: Law School GPA Trumps LSAT, Undergraduate GPA, and Bar Review Courses as Bar Passage Predictor.

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Pet Supplies.

Also, 15% off Schlage keypad doorlocks.

Plus, new arrivals in Kitchen & Dining.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: 5 Quick Tips For Dealing With Flood Waters.

YEAH, THAT’S PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS A MISTAKE: “You went on MSNBC and expected to have an intelligent discussion?”

SPYING: FBI Admits It Controlled Tor Servers Behind Mass Malware Attack. “It wasn’t ever seriously in doubt, but the FBI yesterday acknowledged that it secretly took control of Freedom Hosting last July, days before the servers of the largest provider of ultra-anonymous hosting were found to be serving custom malware designed to identify visitors.”

Plus, from the comments: “TOR belongs to the US government. The US government *allowed* child pornographers to operate there for years. The US government *facilitated* rape of children, because they wanted TOR to appear like the wild west of the internet, hoping some terrorists or other interesting individuals they’d want to spy upon would feel safe to use it – so that USgov could in turn spy on them.”

UPDATE: Link was bad before. Fixed now. Sorry!

A FASCINATING STORY about the kind of diving I’m very unlikely to ever do.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How To Help Someone Overcome A Heroin Addiction.