YOU STAY CLASSY, CONGRESSMAN: Send him packing: Corrupt GOP Rep. Don Young says he ‘meant no disrespect’ with the slur ‘wetbacks.’

RELATED: At Newsbusters, “NBC Ignored Joe Biden’s Smear of Indian Americans, But Hypes GOP Congressman’s ‘Slur.'”

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR AIRBRUSHES: Idaho Station Removes First Daughters Ski Trip Report.

“ANOTHER ‘MUG HIM AGAIN’ MOMENT:” Jonathan S. Tobin of Commentary writes that Irving Kristol was wrong: not all leftists become conservative after they’ve been mugged by reality.

FROM THE ANNALS OF “WAIT, WHAT?”: Even now, after all that’s happened to Cyprus, they’re queuing up to join the euro.  One thing is to be the last person to board the Titanic, another is to try to board AFTER it’s hit the iceberg.

REALITY BITES REALITY BASED COMMUNITY: Dudes of Juicy Couture Shocked Obama Care Cost Them Work Hours.  You know, I thought this Schadenfreude stuff would be more “freudy” somehow, but at this point it just feels dull and tiring and vaguely depressing.  Stupidity might be the only capital crime, but they making us accessories.

A BUNNY IS A BUNNY: “Most disputes about public holiday displays in America involve Christmas, of course. This is so, I think, because Easter, although far more important as a religious holiday, is relatively minor as a public holiday. Perhaps that’s because it falls on a Sunday. Compared to Christmas, Easter passes by almost without notice in America. But there’s no reason we can’t fight over it as well. Let the Easter Wars begin.”

Time magazine, founded nearly a century ago by Henry Luce, whose parents were Christian missionaries to pre-Communist China, is more than happy to oblige.

WATTS UP WITH THAT: A misinterpreted claim about a NASA press release, CO2, solar flares, and the thermosphere is making the rounds.

To the extent we used it to goof on Obama’s “science” “czar” here, we regret the error.

I, FOR ONE, WELCOME OUR NEW JELLYFISH ROBOT OVERLORDS: Jellyfish ‘RoboCop’ will help save the world’s oceans by patrolling US waters like an aquatic spy.

CLASSY: Gun Control Freaks Feature Ronald Reagan in New Ad.

Huh. I thought we weren’t allowed to use the other party’s presidents in  our campaign ads.

(I’m sure this is “different” somehow, of course.)

TODAY WAS SOLEDAD O’BRIEN’S LAST MORNING SHOW AT CNN: And she signed off by reminding viewers that at CNN “Facts matter…”

…Except when they don’t.

MORE FREE STUFF– FOR DEADBEATS!:   I read this story in the WaPo and I thought, “This can’t be right.”  But then I remember I was living in the era of free stuff.  Who benefits this time?  Anyone who falls 90 days past due on their mortgage payments.  Under a regulation proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, any homeowner–regardless of income– who falls 90 days behind on their mortgage will automatically become eligible for reduced interest rates, extended time for payment, or other relief.   The Post reports:

Some analysts worried that the new program could encourage borrowers to deliberately miss payments in order to become eligible for the program.

“The primary issue is whether this will encourage borrowers to strategically default on their mortgage in order to get the modification. This risk exists because the new program does not require the borrower to demonstrate financial hardship,” Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Gugenheim Partners, wrote Wednesday. “

FHFA said Fannie and Freddie would use existing “screening measures to prevent strategic defaulters.”

Yeah, I’m sure that will work.  Does doing the “right thing” even matter anymore, or does it just make you a doofus?

SHOCKER:  POLITICALLY CORRECT CURRICULUM IS BAD FOR STUDENTS:  Just ask Texas, most of which has been using the PC curriculum called CSCOPE for about 8 years:

The percentages of students scoring “unsatisfactory” on the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness/End-Of-Course tests illustrate the problem.

For Algebra 1 students, 13.74 percent in non-CSCOPE schools scored unsatisfactorily; for students in CSCOPE schools, it was 20.35 percent. For Biology 1, those who ranked unsatisfactory in non-CSCOPE schools totaled 10.5 percent; for CSCOPE schools it was 14.86 percent.

For English Writing 1, the figures were 39. 48 percent for non-CSCOPE schools, and 46.3 percent for CSCOPE schools. For geography, 17.78 percent of students in non-CSCOPE schools were unsatisfactory and 23.30 percent of those in CSCOPE schools.

CUBAN DISSIDENT BLOGGER YOANI SANCHEZ PLANS DIGITAL NEWSPAPER: From Joseph Campbell at his Media Myth Alert blog.

TEA PARTY GROUPS BATTLING IRS OVER TAX EXEMPT STATUS:  The IRS has been routinely denying non-profit status to tea party groups around the country.  Fortunately, the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) has agreed to represent many of these groups and is beginning to have success after months of IRS delays:

As of this past week, two more groups were granted their tax-exempt status. To date, a total of 14 out of the 25 Tea Party and conservative groups that the ACLJ represents have been granted their tax-exempt status. We are thrilled with the success that we are achieving for our clients. We still have a few more to go, but we are confident that each and every one of our clients will receive a positive determination from the IRS before our work on this issue is over.

Way to go, ACLJ.

LIB/PROGRESSIVE HYPOCRISY, PART 8,976:  NYC Mayor is spending millions to buy TV ads urging stricter gun control laws.  So why aren’t the lib/progressive media trotting out their usual Citizens United talking points and screaming that  “money in politics is as great an evil as slavery“.  Hmmm…. let me see…..  Could it possibly be because they agree with Bloomberg’s viewpoint?   Nah, that would be totally unprincipled and hypocritical, as Brian Walsh at US News & World Report points out.

DO BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR GUN PURCHASES ACTUALLY WORK?  “With so much case study available, you would think advocates could show us more convincing evidence,” Clayton Cramer writes.

THE BAD OLD DAYS: Wow, the New York Times Sure Was Racist.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose…

THIS IS A NEW ONE FOR ME:  THE WHIZZINATOR:  It’s sold as a sex toy, but apparently it’s also somewhat popular for males who need to fake drug urine tests.  But it doesn’t always work as planned.

THE FIRST VICTIM CLUB, as collated by Tim Blair:

It’s an old-fashioned possum roast:

A 1°C rise in temperature could spell doom for a rare Australian possum within a decade, potentially making the tiny, long-tailed marsupial the continent’s first victim of climate change, researchers said.

If a mere 1°C rise is enough to wipe you out, then maybe you aren’t doing evolution right. The good news for our marsupial mate is that he joins the exclusive First Victim Club (an elite version of the previously covered First Casualty League). Let’s meet some of the other members …

Heh. It’s The Final Countdown, Animal Planet-style.

WHY YOUR KID CAN’T GET A JOB, as explained by Michael Malone of Forbes and Silicon Valley marketing executive Tom Hayes:

So what is a kid today to do? One answer is to establish a powerful personal brand independent of work experience. Not just cobble together a few starter jobs, but pursue their own aspirations – and then learn how to define them and market them to the corporate world. Another answer is to take advantage of being a digital natives and build new kinds of networks – and a sharing economy – and find jobs for each other and hire amongst themselves. Freelancing is likely to be their future anyhow, so why not start and learn the skills (from DIY bookkeeping to marketing) of being an entrepreneur now? Young job hunters need to rethink their social media presence. Social proof is critical to employers. Ditch the frat party photos, avoid the drunken tweets. Turn your public social media presence into a showcase of your personal brand and portal of interests and skills. Connect the dots for the prospective hiring manager. The best way to combat a thin resume is with photos, video, endorsements. Be unusual and memorable: if, for example, you reached Level 60 on World of Warcraft, tell your future boss why that means you have monster leadership skills. And, show you have a big and growing network that comes with you when you get hired.

Read the whole the whole thing, and then pass it along to someone who either needs the advice personally, or has kids who would benefit from these suggestions.

Though I’m not sure if ditching the frat party photos is the answer though. They can take you “unexpectedly” far in politics, to the point where you can declare “Peace In Our Time:”

UNION HYPOCRISY:  In an interesting role-reversal situation, the UAW is in a negotiation as an employer with members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) in Detroit.  OPEIU workers have filed 3 unfair labor practice complaints against UAW, reports the Detroit Free Press:

Specifically, the union alleged that the UAW-GM leaders failed to pay the OPEIU bargaining team, proposed to change workers’ health care plan and stopped bargaining at one point.

“Obviously in a world where GM is making billions of profit, we feel this contract should have been done by now,” Nix said.

A UAW spokeswoman did not respond to phone and email messages.

A key sticking point to current negotiations? OPEIU workers want guaranteed health care and retirement coverage through 2016.  Gee, wonder why an employer might find making such guarantees to be problematic in the current economic and political environment?

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Men Who Do Housework Get Less Sex.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on bestsellers in Men’s Denim.

FIGHT THE POWER: Jay Leno’s Ratings Rise as He Taunts NBC.

NBC should be cool with this, right? They certainly had no beef with their fellow “Progressives” who claimed to speak truth to corporate power in 2011 and ’12.