76 ARMED DRONES LED THE BIG PARADE: Ted Cruz Releases Definitive List of 76 ‘Lawless’ Obama Actions.

RED PANIC: HGTV show hosts blacklisted by skittish reactionary network executives after radical worldview of hosts emerge.

(Or, Red State Panic in this case.)

TROUBLE IN VIDEOGAME CITY: “A Short History of Game Panics,” from pinball to porn to online poker, as surveyed by Reason’s Jesse Walker, part of their “Video Game Nation” special issue this month.

For my interview with Jesse last fall on his excellent book, the United States of Paranoia, click here.

#BENGHAZI: Paul Ryan discusses Candy Crowley with Hugh Hewitt:

PAUL RYAN:  …clearly, we suspected that this was not simply because of the video. And as time went on, and as days transpired, it became more and more and more clear that that just wasn’t the case. And that’s why we prosecuted that. We made that point. Mitt did bring this up in the debate. I mean, we did talk about the fact that this was not because of a video or some spontaneous protest. So you know, as time went on, more information became clear, and we became more sure of the facts as we now know them.

HUGH HEWITT: Perhaps the most significant intervention by a member of the media in a presidential campaign ever is Candy Crowley’s…

PR: Yeah, yeah.

HH: …intervention in the exchange between Governor Romney and President Obama. Do you think that was innocent? And number two, do you think she’d do it again knowing now what we know?

PR: I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t really know, so I’m not inside her head. I don’t know what she would do now. I’m just not going to speculate, because I just don’t know.

HH: Do you think it was, okay, even from the objective standpoint, though, is it wrong for people in the media to prejudge this, because a lot of prejudging is going on already, as happened with Candy Crowley in that debate.

PR: Yeah, well, I think it represents some subjectivity in the media to prejudge events and to prejudge things, or to affix political motivation to these things. Four people were killed. They were Americans, our ambassador among them, and we don’t have all the answers. That’s all we should know, to know that we need to get to the bottom of this. Whether, you know, I don’t know what was running through her mind. Clearly, you know, I think prejudging in the media is something that happens all the time. She also violated the rules of the debate, in my opinion, from at the time. That was just my personal opinion, which was when she did that, obviously I was sitting there watching it, I did not think that was in conformity with the rules as set out in the debate. So…but that’s another issue.

HH: Yeah, she’s a very fine broadcast journalist and a frequent guest on this program in the past. But I do think that on this issue, Beltway may be a little bit disconnected from the country.

Audio and the rest of the transcript at the above link.

By the way, it’s a testament to the MSM’s current overall level of debasement that Crowley was merely a runner-up in this year’s Duranty Awards.

AVOIDING THE HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE: Inspiring Professors, Low Debt Key to Future Success and Happiness, Not Rank of College Attended.

LAWS ARE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: Rahm’s motorcade caught on video speeding near school zones.

No word yet if Rahm was videotaped zooming alongside fellow Democrats Bill de Blasio and Jon Corzine…

LEGAL INSURRECTION: Anti-Israel Vassar student group focuses on race of crowd at my speech, writes Prof. William A. Jacobson.

Presumably, the pivot from All Racism All The Time, to All Sexism All The Time will occur sometime in mid-November…

HEY, REMEMBER WHEN CNN SAID THEY DIDN’T COVER STATE SENATORS? Or, Two CNNs In One!

The Tennessee state Republican Party condemned a member of its own Monday after state Sen. Stacey Campfield compared Obamacare sign-ups to Nazi “train rides.”

“While Stacey Campfield routinely makes remarks that are over the top, today’s comments are ignorant and repugnant,” Tennessee GOP Chairman Chris Devaney said in a statement.

—“State lawmaker likens Obamacare sign-ups to Nazi ‘train rides,'” CNN, this past Monday.

California State senator (and, until last week, candidate for secretary of state) Leland Yee was well-known as an anti-gun activist. Then, last week, he was indicted for, yes, conspiring to smuggle guns and rocket launchers between mobsters and terrorists in exchange for massive bribes.

* * * * * * * *

CNN, home (also until last week) of Piers Morgan, whom Yee had praised for his anti-gun activism, didn’t report the story at all. When prodded by viewers, the network snarked that it doesn’t do state senators. Which is odd, because searching the name of my own state senator, Stacey Campfield, turns up a page of results, involving criticisms of him for saying something “extreme”. Meanwhile, CNN found time to bash Wisconsin state senator and supporter of Gov. Scott Walker, Randy Hopper over marital problems.

But there’s a difference. They’re Republicans. When Republicans do things that embarrass their party, the national media are happy to take note, even if they’re mere state senators. But when Democrats like Yee get busted for actual felonies, and pretty dramatic ones at that, the press suddenly isn’t interested.

—“The media hate Republicans,” Glenn Reynolds’ USA Today column, April 1st, 2014.

On the other hand, perhaps the real story is that CNN is actually capable of reporting on news that doesn’t involve Flight #370, so they got that going for them at least.

Related: Also from this past monday, “CNN Anchor Don Lemon Endorses Nation of Islam.”

WHAT ELSE DO THE KOCH BROTHER CAUSE? ASHE SCHOW KNOWS! Here’s 10 dandy GIF-illustrated things you probably didn’t know are caused by the Koch Brothers. If you drive, you will especially appreciate #6. And don’t forget to add your two-cents worth on Twitter at #kochscausedit.

BOKO HARAM commits another massacre in Nigeria.

The latest attack, on Monday, followed a classic Boko Haram pattern: Dozens of militants wearing fatigues and wielding AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers descended on the town of Gamboru Ngala, chanting “Allahu akbar,” firing indiscriminately and torching houses. When it was over, at least 336 people had been killed and hundreds of houses and cars had been set on fire.

Can we please not call people who do this sort of thing “militants?” There’s nothing necessarily wrong with being a militant. It depends on the context. You could say the fighters of the French Resistance were militants. They were not, however, terrorists. They did not just randomly shoot people.

If you don’t want to call Boko Haram terrorists for some nonsensical reason, how about “mass-murderers” and “slave-raiders?”

SPIDERS: Victorian strangeness: The man driven mad by spiders.

THE HORROR, THE HORROR: Fur flies over 16th century “Rocket Cats” warfare.

WE’RE SHOCKED, SHOCKED: Dog Bites Man: Russians Fake Election. Did I say shocked?  Yeah.  Shocked.

IN VAIN THEY STRUGGLE: The Times struggles to keep on propagandizing in the face of the harsh realities of Obama’s foreign policy.  Never underestimate a progressive publication’s ability to drink its own ink and believe its own lies.

BECAUSE HUMANS AREN’T WIRED TO FUNCTION ON LOGIC ALONE: Why Myth Matters.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH INEQUALITY:  I might have mentioned I’m getting fed up with this “inequality crisis” stuff.  Turns out you’re not crazy, you really have been hearing the word a lot more. And I really am very fed up with it.

HOUSE HOLDS EX-IRS OFFICIAL LOIS LERNER IN CONTEMPT, the Washington Examiner reports:

The House on Wednesday voted to hold a former Internal Revenue Service official in contempt for her refusal to answers questions about the agency’s conservative-targeting scandal.

Lois Lerner headed the agency’s Exempt Organizations division when it controversially targeted conservative nonprofit groups applying for tax-exempt status. But she has repeatedly refused to answer questions when called before Republican-led House committees investigating the scandal, citing her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination.

The GOP-run House, along a partisan-line vote of 231-187, passed a resolution holding her in contempt of Congress for not cooperating with the committees. Only six Democrats voted in support of the charge, while no Republicans voted against it.

“Which means that the matter will now be referred to the Department of Justice,” Erika Johnsen writes at Hot Air. “Which is captained by Attorney General Eric Holder. Who, by the way, is also in contempt of Congress. So… yeah. If she’s ever tried and convicted, Lerner could face fines up to $100,000 and even a up to a year of jail time, but we’ll see where that goes.”

“Oh, man, speaking as a partisan political hack,” Moe Lane quips, “it’d be a real shame if Eric Holder’s Justice Department tried to do a whitewash of political corruption in an election year. An absolute shame.  I mean, I can’t see at all how we could take advantage of that move…”

Related: Nuts & Bolts: Contempt of Congress.

TAR, FEATHERS: EPA accused of tolerating rampant employee misconduct, obstructing probes.

THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY: Tune in tomorrow for a live webcast of the Federalist Society’s Second Annual Executive Branch Review Conference, where Ted Cruz will be giving the keynote address – or attend in person tomorrow morning if you’re in the DC area. For the schedule for the Webcast or attending in-person, click here for details.

DO THE KOCH BROTHERS KNOW: Nobody tell Harry Reid. US-China shale gas rivalry bad news for poor countries. I love that headline, btw.  “More energy sources, third world countries suffer.”  Do they realize that in an industrial civilization cheaper energy lifts all boats?

SYRIAN REBELS evacuate the capital of the revolution.

HE PROCLAIMED HIS INNOCENCE. AND PLAYED THE RACE CARD: NYC Councilman Ruben Wills arrested.

“I am not resigning on charges. This is America, people. We are presumed innocent before we are proven guilty,” he said. “But because I know what I am, where I come from and the color I am, it doesn’t really work like that with you guys. But I am presumed innocent and that’s what we are going with.”

Funny.  He considers our justice system guilty (of racism) with no presumption of innocence.

A WEIGHTY FIND: Scientists crown world heavyweight champion of dinosaurs. (You’ll have to pardon the pun.  The little girl I once was is squeeing in the back of my mind.)

NOW HARRY REID CLAIMS THE KOCH BROTHERS ARE THE “MAIN CAUSE” OF CLIMATE CHANGE! So, I have set out on a digital journey to determine if there are any limits to what the Koch Brothers can do, at least in Reid’s world. Here’s what I’ve found so far: Bad Hair Days, Potholes and Your Cat’s Hairballs. Feel free to join me in this journey and share your discoveries on Twitter at #kochscausedit. Didn’t somebody once say you know you are finished in politics when they are laughing at you instead of with you?