RAND SIMBERG ON WHY protecting us from asteroids shouldn’t be NASA’s job.

THE END TIMES ARE HERE: This Woman Covered Herself In “Twilight” Tattoos–And You’ll Never Guess Why.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Fast Food Workers Reveal The Most Underrated Menu Items.

Plus, what to avoid.

READER BOOK PLUG: From David Carter, Che! The Lost Diaries.

THE FUTURE IS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED: Japan has some of the fastest internet connections in the world, but physical media such as books and DVDs still remain popular.

IN GERMANY, A One-man bank keeps German village business running.

KEY DEMOCRATS TURN ON OBAMACARE:

Powerful Democrats who helped write and pass Obamacare subjected the new law’s chief administrator to withering criticism at a Senate hearing yesterday. Gary Cohen, the director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, testified before the Senate Finance Committee, and the Democrats on the committee—from its Chairman Max Baucus to Senators Ron Wyden, Bill Nelson, and Maria Cantwell—tore into him. . . .

The about-face of these Democrats is a phenomenon worth pausing over. Many formerly supportive constituencies have grown wary of Obamacare in recent weeks as we’ve learned more about the effects it will have on the health care system. But these Senators’ 180-degree turns are something more severe.

The fate of the Democratic party in America over the next decade is tied to Obama’s healthcare reform. If it is seen to be a success, America could trend Democratic for the foreseeable future. If it fails, liberalism as we’ve known it will take a massive hit. But, so far, support for Obamacare has been waning instead of waxing. Even a recent piece by Talking Points Memo that placed the blame for Obamacare’s potential failure on Republicans noted that the law’s unpopularity with the public at large was the number one threat to its success. Democrats are getting nervous and consequently are trying to put some distance between themselves and the ACA.

Good luck with that.

HOW TO THINK ABOUT THE MINIMUM WAGE:

It’s obvious who benefits from a higher minimum wage: people who get minimum wage jobs. In theory, it may also boost the incomes of people who are making near the minimum wage, as employers raise those wages to ensure that these are “better than minimum wage jobs”—though in this labor market, I wouldn’t bet on it.

But who are the people in minimum wage jobs? This is primarily being sold as a poverty-fighting tool, so it would help to know how many of the people making it are poor.

The answer seems to be no; most of the people making the minimum wage are not living in households below the poverty line. Over half the people earning minimum wage are below the age of 25; for them, this is not likely to be a permanent condition, but a first rung on the income ladder. Many are students or entry level workers who are part of established households with higher earners.

Older minimum wage workers are probably more likely to be poor, but on average, they’re not. To be sure, they’re unlikely to be wealthy–this workforce will be predominantly drawn from near-poor and lower-middle-class households. Undoubtedly, they have uses for the extra money. But it will not specifically lift people out of poverty, because most of the people earning minimum wage aren’t in poverty now.

That’s who it helps. Who does it hurt?

Ironically, minimum wage workers.

Indeed.

WAPO: Who had the worst week in Washington? Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel.

WOULD SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THAT Spitfires aren’t “Fighter Jets?”

UPDATE: Reader Michael Blum emails:

Amusingly, WaPo has corrected their headline and the article removing the mentions of “fighter jets”.

Of course, they also don’t bother mentioning any corrections to the article itself anywhere.

Would hate to have people think that journalists and “layers of fact-checkers and editors” don’t know what they’re writing about.

Indeed.

PLANETARY PROTECTION: NASA Must Do More To Prepare for Catastrophic Asteroids. Much More.

EMAIL OF THE DAY: “Hey Glenn, nice job on Fox. You appear to have dropped 20+. Presuming that was intentional, nice work.” Well, it’s more like 10-12 lbs, courtesy of a mixture of Gary Taubes and Mark Rippetoe. And when you lose weight that way, I think you get more bang for the buck.

Hey, it worked for Marilyn Monroe.

UPDATE: Reader Tim Moncur writes:

The email of the day reminded me that I owe you a big thanks. I have always been active and concerned about my diet, but time was catching up with me (or so I thought). I had packed on extra weight, was tired a lot, etc.

I picked up Taubes’ WWGF and Rippetoe’s SS a few months back, based on your recommendations. Today, I am down nearly 40 lbs and, at 45, I’m in better shape than I was at 25. Simply amazing.

I really appreciate the information. Keep spreading the word!

Doing what I can!

AT AMAZON, Digital Deals.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: 8 College Degrees with the Worst Return on Investment.

A MARTIAN DREAM: Here’s What the Red Planet Would Look Like With Earth-Like Oceans and Life.

One reason I liked Kim Stanley Robinson’s Blue Mars was its moving descriptions of a terraformed Red Planet.

MORE ON PROSECUTORIAL OVERREACH: Win at all costs? Suicide of computer whiz prompts look at federal prosecutors’ tactics.

IS SOMEONE TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING? “Killer asteroid” and “Earth-like planet” stories always seem to congregate around one another. Ever notice that?

RUSSIAN METEORITE INJURY TOLL over 1100. Mostly flying glass. Remember — if you see an unexplained bright light, duck and cover!

ZOMBIE REPORTS: One Billion Rising: San Francisco. “Trust me on this: If the Tea Party had stood in a circle and made a little black boy dance for them, it would have been The Racist Event of the Century. But here — it’s perfectly OK. Move along, nothing to see.”

HOW’S THAT GUN-CONTROL STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA, BRITS? Shopkeeper says Iraq is safer than Birmingham after fighting off two armed robbers. “A shopkeeper who fought off two armed robbers said the streets around his inner city Birmingham store were ‘more violent’ than his native Iraq. Kochar Rasul, 30, made a new life for himself and his family in Britain after fleeing from Kurdistan to escape Saddam Hussein’s evil regime. But he was forced to defend himself using a shop sign when two gunmen pounced as he locked up his shop in Handsworth, Birmingham, just before midnight on Monday.”

YOU CAN SEE VIDEO OF MY SEGMENT ON BRET BAIER’S SPECIAL REPORT ON PROSECUTORIAL OVERREACH HERE.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Would You Ever Rent a Date? What If it was Pretty Cheap?

HEY, WAIT, WEREN’T THEY STANDING UP FOR INTERNET FREEDOM NOT LONG AGO? Iceland Considers Internet Porn Ban.

AT AMAZON, automotive & motorcycle markdowns.