THAT SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT: ‘A Wing of the FEC’: Issa Says Lerner Was on Mission Against 501(c)(4)s After Citizens United; Says new IRS commissioner is “more interested in managing the political fallout than cooperating with Congress.” Fallout? Make the rubble bounce.

THE HILL: Disapproval of Obama climbs to new high of 59%. That’s his highest number . . . so far.

RON FOURNIER: The Surveillance State Is Well-Protected — And Winning.

SHIKHA DALMIA: GM Bailout Claims the Legal Rights of Americans: Cobalt victims might not win compensation because of a liability shield. Yes, but the unions were saved, and that’s what’s important.

BOTH OF THEIR VIEWERS WILL AGE OUT OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC NEXT YEAR: Politico: MSNBC Is In Serious Trouble. “In a world where liberals wanted to be outraged by George Bush every night, or celebrate the rise of Barack Obama, MSNBC had a theory of the case. But now Obama’s presidency has turned into a slog, and MSNBC isn’t compelling. Prime time is just hours of what often seems like feigned outrage. And the daytime strategy — giving shows to kids in their 20s and 30s, in an apparent bid to reach the youths — is comically bad, and rendered absurd at every commercial break when the catheter ads come on.”

UPDATE: From the comments:

MSNBC is only in trouble if you assume that their goal for their parent company — GE and Vivendi before, Comcast now — is to make a direct profit.

On the other hand, if you view MSNBC as an in-kind political campaign contribution by Comcast to the Democratic Party, so that the company can then get special favors from the Obama Administration (such as that buyout of Time-Warner Cable they’d like the Justice Department to approve), then the cable channel is in no trouble at all.

It’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do, spewing talking points for the party in power in exchange for crony capitalist deals that create back-end value. Just don’t expect Politico to do anything on that angle — its a big enough surprise they’d even admit the network has a ratings problem.

Actually, I see this story as evidence that MSNBC is getting ready to move away from that role, as Obama’s patronage is less valuable. Stories like this prepare the ground for a change.

LUCKY DOG: Screw ObamaCare: I Want My Dog’s Insurance.

EUGENE VOLOKH: UC Santa Barbara Vice Chancellor issues statement supporting free speech.

Here’s a statement sent around to UCSB students by Michael D. Young, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, in the wake of the prosecution of UCSB Prof. Mireille Miller-Young for stealing and destroying a protester’s sign, and assaulting the protester.

The statement does speak out strongly in favor of free speech, which is good. It also doesn’t mention Prof. Miller-Young, whether by name or behavior, which strikes me as harder to justify. The letter urges people not to “adopt negative tactics and engage in name calling, confrontation, provocation, and offensive behavior,” an odd way of expressing things when the letter was obviously prompted by an incident that led to criminal theft, vandalism, and assault charges. Perhaps the university thought a condemnation of theft and violence would be superfluous, but would it? See, for instance, this “Support and Be in Solidarity with UCSB Professor Miller Young” petition. Or perhaps the university thought the request that students not “lash out” (however “satisfying” that might be) would be enough, though again that seems pretty generic given the incident that indirectly prompted the letter.

But beyond that, note the dismissive language about, for instance, how “outsiders” and “evangelical types” come to “create discord” and “promote personal causes and agendas.” (What exactly does the word “personal” mean there, by the way?)

Would such a letter come out about outside activists coming to, for instance, argue for race-based affirmative action? For legalization of illegal immigrants? For greater protection for abortion rights? Would the university condemn the “discord” and “conflict” these “outsiders” bring with their “personal causes and agendas”? Would it condemn gruesome images of lynchings, war victims, people who died in the desert trying to cross the border illegally, women killed by unsafe illegal abortions, or animals killed in allegedly inhumane slaughterhouses as “distressing and offensive”? Would it advise people to “ignore” the “provocative and offensive” speech, because “the visitors will hate that”? Maybe it would, but I doubt it.

So do I. Plus, from the comments:

UCSB is a public university. It’s job is to educate the public and it is funded by the public. The idea that they are a closed community with superior ideas and principles and that those who are not enrolled there and who do not share their view are “outsiders” is appalling. This is a prime example of “othering” that the left is always criticizing – except when they do it.

And they do it a lot. Plus: “Why is he writing a letter to the students? It is the faculty that appears to need the lesson on the 1st amendment.”

THEY GAVE IT THAT NAME BECAUSE IT’S DIM: Frozen pink dwarf planet ‘Biden’ spotted beyond Pluto.

I HOPE THE STUDENTS HURT THIS GUY SOME WHEN THEY CAUGHT HIM AND HELD HIM FOR THE COPS: Economist Tyler Cowen Pepper Sprayed While Teaching Class at George Mason University. “According to Roussey, the man entered Cowen’s classroom this afternoon, said he was placing Cowen under citizen’s arrest, and sprayed the pepper spray in Cowen’s face. Cowen ran, the intruder chased him, and students in the hallway caught the suspect and held him until the Arlington Police arrived and arrested him. The man wasn’t a student, Arlington County police officers say, and charges are pending.” I encourage Tyler to show no mercy to this sorry subhuman. I wouldn’t.

From the comments: “Progs really are going Full Metal Retard these days.”

SHOCKINGLY, THE STORY OMITS HIS DEMOCRATIC PARTY AFFILIATION: Charlotte, NC Mayor Arrested For Corruption.

THE DUTCH DEMONSTRATE THE REPUBLICAN STYLE: “Dutch leaders not only are better at republican manners than ours are — no caesaropapist trappings for Mr. Rutte — but also offer a standing rebuke to American cultural practices by reminding us that it is possible to ride a bicycle without special shoes, a helmet, or spandex.”

The argument for the massive entourage surrounding traveling Presidents is security. But now that we know they’re often passed-out drunk anyway, maybe we should just leave them at home?

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: “If she ever did it with anyone for free, it would have broken my heart.”

ED DRISCOLL: A Criminal Organization Masquerading as a Political Party. Rather a lot of Democratic officeholders arrested today. If they were Republicans it would have led the evening news.

ASHE SCHOW: Why are ‘feminists’ so obsessed with birth control and abortion? Well, on the whole contraceptive-mandate thing, I think it’s that they see government-mandated birth control as an implicit endorsement of sexual choices that they sometimes feel insecure about. To paraphrase Reverend Lovejoy, If the state supports it, it can’t be immoral.

RUBE-IN-CHIEF SELF-IDENTIFIES: Full Circle: Obama Defends Iraq War.

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Obama Worries Of New York Nuke Are Chillingly Ironic. Maybe he’s worried they’ll hit the Upper West Side, where his contributors live.

Or maybe he’s been reading Bill Quick’s new book. No, that would be too much to hope for.

THAT CERTAINLY SOUNDS EMINENTLY PLAUSIBLE: John Hinderaker: Bombshell In WaPo/Keystone Scandal: Did the Post Coordinate With Congressional Democrats?

SO EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVEN’T ADVERTISED WITH ME IN YEARS, I LIKE THE CORDAIR FINE ART GALLERY FOLKS, and Linda Cordair is offering a deal for InstaPundit readers: “Receive a 10% discount on anything at Quent Cordair Fine Art (www.cordair.com) that you purchase by midnight on Friday. Mention Instapundit and save hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars!”

YOU F*CKED UP — YOU TRUSTED US! Video: All the Times White House Officials Said Latest Obamacare Delay Wouldn’t Occur.

HMM: Israel Is Losing Its Grip On Evangelical Christians. Well, for the past several decades, there’s been no more pro-Israel group in America, not even Jews. But most American (and many Israeli) Jews have generally treated the Evangelicals with fear and contempt. So maybe this shouldn’t come as a huge shock.

BUT OF COURSE: Antigun Democratic California State Sen. Leland Yee charged with trafficking firearms in sweeping FBI probe. “In 2006, Yee was named to the Gun Violence Prevention Honor Roll by the Brady Campaign for his efforts that included co-authoring a first-in-the-nation bill to require new semiautomatic handguns be equipped with ballistics identification technology known as micro-stamping. In 2013, he stood with law enforcement officials and then-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to propose a bill that would regulate assault weapons.”

If a politician’s for gun control, it doesn’t prove he’s a crook. But it’s the way to bet. Meanwhile, there’s this comfort for voters: “Yee was prohibited from running for reelection to the Senate this year because of term limits and had launched a campaign to become the state’s top elections officer.”

A SOMEWHAT CONTRIVED LISTICLE: The Way You Hold Your Glass Shows Your Class. I’m closest to the “loosey-goosey” — but then, my hands are too big to hold the stem as shown in #14. Most of these photos, however, seem rather . . . artificial.

AT AMAZON, deals on Men’s Carhartt Shorts. Summer is coming.

Also, coupons, coupons, and more coupons in Grocery & Gourmet Food.

I PREDICT A DIFFERENT SPIN FOR HILLARY: CNN in 2008: At 71, Is John McCain Too Old To Be President?

AT THE ONION, MORE HARD-NEWS-AS-PARODY: Single Mother Hogging 2 Jobs. “What about the rest of us? How are we supposed to find a steady source of income while she’s collecting two separate paychecks and racking up as many as 80 hours a week? Some jerks only think of themselves and their three kids.”

In Jerry Pournelle’s future history, which is increasingly like our own, the administration of Greg Tolland’s People’s Alliance, which Obama’s increasingly resembles, introduces a “One Job Per Family” policy. The Onion’s parody is a shadow of that possible future.