HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Student Loan Debt Is Dampening The Housing Market.

Wow, who could have seen this coming?

JAMES TARANTO: Socialist Supermodel: Not long ago, the left raved about the VA.

Paul Waldman, Greg Sargent’s deputy, sees broader ideological implications. “If Democrats are going to argue that government can be a force for good, their most basic responsibility is to make government work,” he writes. (An odd statement. It seems to us making government work is the “most basic responsibility” of anyone who chooses a career in the public sector, regardless of ideology.)

“As troubling as some of these allegations are, this controversy presents an opportunity for the administration,” Waldman continues. “This isn’t some kind of phony scandal like Benghazi: it’s a real issue with real consequences.” Christopher Stevens could not be reached for comment.

If, by the end of Obama’s term in 2017, “officials can say that every veteran who needs care is getting it without having to wait an unreasonably long time,” that “wouldn’t be just a victory for this administration” but also “a victory for the liberal vision of effective government.”

To which we’d add that if officials can truthfully say it, it’ll be a victory for the veterans too. . . .

The “secret” of the VA’s “success,” Krugman argued, “is the fact that it’s a universal, integrated system.” That saves on administrative costs and allows for efficient record-keeping. Krugman acknowledged that the VA had a history of mismanagement and mediocre care, until “reforms beginning in the mid-1990’s transformed the system.” But wait. Hasn’t it been a universal, integrated system all along? Maybe the secret is something else. At any rate, the Phoenix revelations suggest it’s the system’s failures that are being kept secret.

Well, as a former Enron adviser, Krugman has experience with spectacular failures that are preceded by hype aimed at the rubes.

Plus: “If Krugman is to be believed–a big ‘if,’ to be sure–the Bush administration did a far better job running the VA than the Obama administration is doing now.”

L’ETAT C’EST MOI: Schumer: Obama will act on immigration if GOP doesn’t.

Senate Democratic leaders say President Obama will act unilaterally to reform the nation’s immigration system if House Republicans fail to pass legislation by the end of July.

“They have about a six-week window, from June 10 after the last Republican primary until the August recess. If they don’t pass immigration reform them, the president will have no choice but to act on his own,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking Senate Democratic leader and author of the comprehensive Senate immigration reform proposal.

Some saw this coming. But just remember: If the government isn’t constrained by the law and the Constitution, others will feel unconstrained, too.

IT’S GOOD TO BE A CRONY: Prison For D’Souza, Beach Time For Corzine: Selective enforcement of the law is a dangerous thing.

I’ve written on that topic myself.

IT’S KINDA LOOKING LIKE IT: Did the Obama administration defraud purchasers of GM shares? “The timing of claimed knowledge of the problems is so suspicious that a full scale criminal probe by the SEC is warranted. That would be the case if any private shareholder had sold shares under similar circumstances.”

MARK TAPSCOTT: Memo To Politico: Where was CNN on Aug. 20, 2012?

What CNN wasn’t doing that day was reporting on the $50,000 the Department of Veterans Affairs spent for a “Patton” parody video for an employee “training” conference in Orlando.

It was Mark Flatten of the Washington Examiner who first reported that story. Your great, big wet kiss Wednesday for CNN entitled “Anatomy of a Veterans Affairs scandal” somehow missed that fact. . . .

Flatten’s “Patton” parody story was the first of more than 100 posts he’s done since August 2012 reporting — often exclusively, always thoroughly and accurately — the major problems wracking VA.

A search on CNN.com for “Patton parody video” turned up nothing. To be sure, CNN has done some excellent VA reporting from time to time in recent years.

On Facebook, Charles Glasser notes that this is a terrific example of an editor going to bat for a reporter when another publication denies them credit they deserve. That attitude is something I like about the Examiner.

BUCKRAKING: Hillary Clinton Has Made $5 Million in Speaking Fees Since Leaving Office.

Just another argument for my revolving-door surtax!

NAH. WHAT HARM COULD COMMIES DO? THEY’RE PROGRESSIVE! Does the American Bar Association care when China hacks American lawyers?

IS ANYONE SURPRISED BY THIS? Harry Reid Bows Down To Trial Lawyers And Big Pharma In Killing Patent Reform.

PERHAPS THE TRUE “REPARATIONS” IS BEING SUBJECTED TO ENDLESS “CONVERSATIONS” ABOUT RACE. Besides, we elected Obama on essentially that basis, and he’s been expensive enough.

MICHAEL KINSLEY: Greenwald Is Awful, And The Press Should Be Censored. He’s half right, but it’s not the important half.

It seems clear, at least to me, that the private companies that own newspapers, and their employees, should not have the final say over the release of government secrets, and a free pass to make them public with no legal consequences.

Well, so much for the Pentagon Papers case. Here’s my problem: I don’t for a minute think that Kinsley would say this if we had a Republican in the White House.

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Lawn, Patio & Garden. Browse and save. Summer is coming!

Also, deals on Bestsellers in Kitchen & Dining.

Plus, top Kids & Family titles in Entertainment.

YA THINK? Piketty’s Book — Just Another Excuse For Legal Plunder And Expanding The State.

MAYBE IT’S JUST ME, BUT THINGS SEEM TO HAVE GONE DOWNHILL: Air Force Security Failed a Takeover Drill at a Nuclear Silo. “The commander of the 341st Missile Wing at the time of the failed exercise, Col. Robert Stanley, fired the officer in charge of security. But Stanley himself was later forced to resign amid a scandal related to hundreds of missile officers cheating on exams, as 60 Minutes recently chronicled. Stanley maintained, though, that his officers had failed the drill by only a few seconds and that it was presented in a different way than usual. The AP also points out that at least two launch officers from the 341st Missile Wing are currently being investigated for alleged illegal drug use/possession.”

IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, hopes that El Nino, a normal cyclical event, will increase belief in global warming.

DON’T THINK OF IT AS CONTAMINATION. THINK OF IT AS FERTILIZATION: Curiosity Rover May Have Carried Bacterial Life To Mars.

Personally, I hope it’s the only life on Mars.

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Grocery & Gourmet Food.

Plus, loads of deals in the Spring Outlet Event. Browse and save!

HMM: Study Sees Bigger Role for Placenta in Newborns’ Health. “The placenta, once thought sterile, actually harbors a world of bacteria that may influence the course of pregnancy and help shape an infant’s health and the bacterial makeup of its gut, a new study has found.” This microbiome stuff may turn out to be the big medical transformation of the decade.

MORE ON THAT SHADY ALPINE, TEXAS ARREST, in the Texas Monthly. According to the comments in this article, the name of the magistrate who issued the shady retract-your-claims-against-the-cops bond requirement is B. Dwight Goains.

CONFESSIONAL: Sexism In The Kitchen Goes Both Ways. “Kitchen guys are constantly offering to help kitchen women. Some of the women will pretend that they can’t carry heavy stuff because there is always some dude who will come and try to help. That being said, the other women will totally shun those female cooks. It’s the men’s way of flirting—they would never go and ask a fellow line cook the same offer. Some guys in the kitchen realize that girls will use being pretty to their advantage.”

GET READY FOR A “SURPRISE METEOR SHOWER” ON THE 24TH. Hey, with overnight shipping you can even have a telescope. Though you might do better with these. Or with the Mark I eyeball.

NO, THANK YOU: Watch Janeane Garofalo Declare Her Support For Pubes. Could this be the most anti-clickbait headline ever?

“FAKE” SCANDAL? Politico: “Hillary Clinton’s world was so worried about a Republican investigation of the Benghazi attacks, they sent a message to House Democrats: We need backup.”

UPDATE: One of the White House’s First Responses During the Benghazi Attack: Call YouTube.

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Should It Be Against The Law To Say That The Watch You’re Selling Was Worn By Sandra Bullock? No. Next question?

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Scientists Are Creating New, Incurable Diseases in Labs. “The concern is that you’re making something that doesn’t exist in nature and combines high virulence for people with the ability to transmit efficiently.” Yes, that’s a concern, all right.