BYRON YORK: Louisiana Senate race a battle of pork, policies and political legacies.

KNOW YOUR PLACE, PEASANT! College suspends student for asking questions about gun control.

The college attempted to persuade Saucier to plead guilty to the charges and undergo counseling. He refused, opting instead for a formal hearing. At the hearing, administrators refused to let him play his recorded video, which he argued would acquit him by showing that he did nothing wrong. Saucier was found guilty of all charges. His suspension was lifted, but any further trouble from him and he will be expelled, administrators said.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has accused ACC of violating Saucier’s free speech and due process rights by disciplining him for speaking his mind and subjecting him to a sham trial.

“ACC’s myriad violations of Nicholas Saucier’s rights, effective rewriting of its conduct procedures, and failure to rectify its errors should give all Americans great concern,” said Peter Bonilla, director of FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program, in a statement.

Higher education’s brand is in trouble enough. These kinds of things don’t exactly help with recruiting or PR. I love the way they always try to turn the expression of ideas they don’t like into some sort of security threat. If I were a Connecticut activist, I’d FOIA all the emails on this. And maybe all the budgeting emails, too, just for fun.

And if you support academic freedom, you should consider donating to FIRE. They do good work.

SAME CULTURE AS THE WHITE HOUSE, THEN: U.S. senator accuses GM of ‘culture of cover-up’ in recalls.

I’M SURE ERIC HOLDER WILL BE RIGHT ON IT: Massive Voter Fraud Discovered in North Carolina’s 2012 Election.

More here.

THE HILL: DOJ silent on spy chief investigation.

Months after requesting an investigation into Director of National Intelligence James Clapper for lying to Congress, lawmakers have yet to get an update from the Justice Department.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), the original author of the Patriot Act, and six other House Republicans called for a criminal probe into Clapper last year for falsely testifying that the government was not collecting bulk information on millions of Americans.

Months later, Sensenbrenner said there’s been no response.

“Intelligence officials cannot be permitted to lie with impunity,” he wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday. “I respectfully request an update as soon as possible.”

Since a major part of Holder’s job is to enable them to do just that, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

CHARLES SCHUMER: Supreme Court ruling makes IRS less intimidating to Tea Party donors.

DOES THE WHITE HOUSE KNOW THAT EGYPT IS ON THE BRINK OF CHAOS? Does it mind?

WELL, THESE ARE THE “CRAZY YEARS,” YOU KNOW: “Recant Your Heresies,” the Freethinker Demanded, Trembling with Religious Fury and Transcendant Ecstasy.

IT ALWAYS ENDS WITH THEM GOING AFTER “HOARDERS AND WRECKERS:” Venezuela issues ID cards to curtail food hoarding. They want you to burn the bakeries when there’s no bread, but you’re better off burning the politicians.

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Seven unanswered questions about Obamacare.

CHRISTIAN SCHNEIDER: The Left’s Own Law Factories:

In late April 2013, the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin chapter gathered for a post-election “workshop” on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Among those scheduled to present that day was Mike McCabe of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, to explain how big-spending special interests “conspire to prevent government decisions from reflecting the will of the people.” McCabe’s presentation promised to include a discussion of how “Super PACs, dark money and unlimited election spending” erode “democracy’s health.”

Perhaps lacking the most in McCabe’s presentation was any sense of irony or self-awareness. According to one recent report, AFT has been the 12th-largest contributor to candidates and outside spending groups in America over the last quarter-century, shelling out $37 million to support Democratic candidates almost exclusively. Further, WDC is a liberal lobbying group that advocates for progressive reforms while refusing to disclose its donors, and McCabe himself is a registered lobbyist.

Thus, this cavalcade of hypocrisy comprised one state special interest group explaining to another super-wealthy special interest group that the influence of special interest groups is ruining democracy. These groups think they are the innocent Penelope Pussycat being terrorized by Pepe le Pews of the right, but, in fact, they are all skunks.

And when it comes to litigation and lawfare, the left has got the right outnumbered and outgunned many times over.

ANOTHER SHOOTING AT FORT HOOD LEAVES FOUR DEAD, though one’s the shooter and hence unmourned. This story has what we know so far, but much will probably turn out to be wrong or incomplete tomorrow, based on past experience.

Two absurdities: A huge military base having to call 911, and scores of U.S. soldiers fleeing and hundreds (thousands?) “sheltering in place.” After both Fort Hood shootings, and the Navy Yard experience, it seems clear that these things aren’t being handled well.

YOUR CAR CAN BE HACKED, but is it a real threat or a theoretical one?

STARBUCKS: Hey, sorry about that “666” our barista drew in your latte foam.

AT AMAZON, top deals on no-contract cellphones.

Plus, deals on Electric Razors.

HIGHER EDUCATION UPDATE: Hiring Star Professors Boosts Faculty Productivity.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How Exercise Can Help You Live Longer. Independently, it seems, of its effect on cholesterol, weight, etc.

More surprising, when the researchers controlled for each volunteer’s Framingham risk score and waist size, they found that exercising still significantly reduced people’s risk of dying from heart disease. The benefits were fainter, amounting to about half as much risk reduction as before adjustment for these health factors. But they accrued even among volunteers who had less-than-ideal blood pressure, cholesterol levels or waistlines. Someone with a high Framingham score who exercised had less risk of dying than someone with a similar score who did not.

The study’s results do not suggest, of course, that any of us should now willfully ignore cholesterol or other standard risk factors when considering heart health, said Satvinder Dhaliwal, a professor at Curtin University, who with Timothy Welborn and Peter Howat, conducted the study. But the data does suggest that “identifying and increasing physical activity” may be “at least as important as the measurement and treatment of lipids and hypertension,” he said.

So now doctors should not only talk to patients about diet — something most doctors aren’t very good at — but also about exercise, something most doctors are even worse at. . . . Still, an interesting finding.

THIS IS OLD NEWS, IF YOU’VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION: Why the All-Ivy League Story Stirs Up Tensions Between African Immigrants and Black Americans. “The story of the first-generation Ghanian-American student accepted by all eight Ivy league schools is wonderful, but it also stirs up the tension between black Americans and recent African immigrants — especially when you describe him as ‘not a typical African-American kid.'”

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Tomorrow’s Super-Soldiers Will Wear Night Vision Contact Lenses. I’d like those, though they’re really a subset of augmented-reality features I’d like to have on my futuristic contacts.

THE ANATOMY OF A FORGOTTEN SOCIAL NETWORK: How Tumblr Differs From The Rest.

TENNESSEE CONSIDERING A MONORAIL FOR NASHVILLE?

“What about us brain-dead slobs?” “You’ll all be given cushy jobs!”

THE FIRST THING WE DO, let’s kill all the mosquitoes.

AT AMAZON, breathe with confidence with new Electrolux Air Cleaners. Laugh at allergies.

Plus, take 20% or more off on laptop computers.

Also, Up to 55% Off Select InSinkErator Indulge Water Dispensers. We have one of those, and it makes heating hot water on the stove seem positively neolithic.

VITAMIN D UPDATE: Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Disease in Two Big Studies. And — dermatologists take note — there’s a suggestion that you’re better off getting your Vitamin D from sunlight. I plan to sit in the sun and sip red wine. For my health.

And note that not long ago, dermatologists at BU were actively persecuting people for suggesting that sitting in the sun for a few minutes every day might be good for you. The science was settled! More on that here.

SPYING: What, besides phone records, does the NSA collect in bulk? Gun purchases? Financial transactions? A coalition of orgs wants answers. Remember when they told us the NSA didn’t do domestic spying?