KAY HYMOWITZ ON THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD’S MANUFACTURING RESURGENCE: “I doubt that many Thomas Piketty fans know what a 5 Axis CNC router is, but they probably should.”

MORE ON HARVARD AND “ENDOWMENT INEQUALITY” IN HIGHER EDUCATION: An Obscene Use of $400 Million. “I have been a college president for over a decade now. During my career I’ve not shied away from using the bully pulpit to address a number of issues. This includes questioning obscene gifts wealthy individuals have given to obscenely wealthy universities that primarily serve an obscenely wealthy student body.”

This is why I am proposing a federal excise tax on “excessive” university endowments, with the proceeds to be redistributed to those less-fortunate institutions that didn’t win the endowment lottery. Because it’s better for everybody when you spread the wealth around, right? The very wealthiest institutions shouldn’t mind paying a little bit to help the deprived. Is there a member of Congress with the guts to introduce this bill?

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Semi-retired president: We … don’t have a complete strategy against ISIS yet.

THE STENCH OF WEAKNESS CONFIRMED: Russian bomber flights near US airspace doubled last year.

Russian bombers intruded into the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone — a transition area around U.S. airspace where the U.S. does not claim sovereignty but keeps close watch — at least 10 times in 2014, double the average of five incursions a year dating to 2006, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD. . . .

“We saw last year both an increase in their frequency as well an expansion of the areas where they flew. While these flights are ostensibly for training, they are also clearly intended to message to us,” Adm. William Gortney, the commander of NORAD, told The Washington Times.

Rep. Michael K. Conaway, a Texas Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said he believes the Kremlin’s message is crystal-clear and that it ultimately could trigger a dangerous response.

“On a tactical level, this is a pattern that shows they’re testing our responses to see what we’re doing and how we do it,” he said. “They’re very provocative, they’re subject to miscommunication, and some event could happen that no one wants.

“So why do the Russians continue to do it? I think they’re rattling sabers in a sense. I think this is definitely coming from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. They’re flexing their muscles, they’re trying to reclaim the superpower status that Putin has always wanted to. It’s a great concern, it’s dangerous and it’s provocative. There’s no good that can come from it, and it needs to stop,” Rep. Conaway said.

Because a beta male/mom jeans President who tells Russia that he’ll have “more flexibility” after the 2012 election invites Putin’s belligerence. Russia’s annexation of Crimea is only the beginning. It’s almost as though Russia and China are now itching for a fight with a weakened U.S.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: ‘New York Times’ shows its ‘gotcha’ colors: Rubio’s four traffic tickets aren’t news, unless you’re publishing political hit-pieces.

TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 760.

THEY’RE OFF AND RUNNING: Roger Simon reports from the Iowa “Roast and Ride” event. “The ‘Roast & Ride’ was great fun and judged a success by all. As for the candidates, it takes a special breed of person to be president of the United States — or even want to be — and I got to do video interviews with five of them in one day in Boone and, I have to admit, liked them all. No surprise there. If these people can’t be charming and ingratiating, they should be in another business. I also saw seven — count ‘em, seven — give speeches at the Ernst event and liked six of them.”

FEDERALIZING VOTING: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio says the U.S. has a “democracy problem” because States generally define the terms of voting. This is essentially an echo of Hillary Clinton’s recent proposal to pass a federal law requiring automatic voter registration upon reaching age 18, restoring felons’ voting rights, and a mandatory 20-day early voting period.

“Our elections are governed by state law and for a long time I’ve believed we need to make a fundamental series of reforms,” de Blasio told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Let’s face it, a lot of the people in the political class have tried to discourage voter involvement and a lot of incumbents prefer a very small electorate.”

The mayor referred to several Republican governors who have signed laws requiring photo identification by voters, arguing the provision is a modest step to prevent fraud. Democrats like de Blasio counter that Republicans’ interests are more partisan: They want to discourage some people from voting altogether.

Congress has some authority, under the Elections Clause, to regulate the time, place and manner of congressional (not state) elections. But presumably the present GOP-controlled Congress would not sanction federalizing election law in the way proposed by DeBlasio and Clinton. For the moment, at least, the battle will remain in the federal courts, as liberals/progressives resort to their typical lawfare tactics in an attempt to block state laws designed to stop voting fraud.

Indeed, this is shaping up to be a big theme of the Democrats in 2016: Republicans are trying to keep minorities from voting by implementing anti-fraud reforms like voter ID and periodic purging of voter rolls for dead, illegal and other ineligible individuals. Unfortunately for the Democrats, there is no evidence whatsoever that such anti-fraud laws prevent minorities from voting. Indeed, voter turnout rates for blacks exceeded that for whites in 2008 and 2012, and the turnout of other minority groups has consistently increased, despite enactment of anti-fraud laws.

But according to the liberals/progressives, restricting voting by convicted felons and requiring photo ID are little more than modern-day Jim Crow laws, secretly aimed at blacks. It’s all about ginning up minority turnout in the presidential election, which is why Hillary’s top campaign lawyer, Marc Elias, has filed lawsuits challenging these ant-fraud laws ahead of the 2016 election in key battleground States such as North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Ironically, the litigation activities in which Mr. Elias is engaging is undoubtedly being “coordinated” by his chief employer, the 2016 Clinton campaign.  And it is now clear that the Elias lawfare is being bankrolled by George Soros. One might surmise from this that Soros is trying to “buy” a Clinton presidency by funding this litigation, and that it’s all being done with the knowledge, blessing and at least implicit coordination with the Clinton campaign. Ironically, this sort of “coordination” is the deadly sin of which the political left has been trying to convict Scott Walker for several years. It’s just another case of the progressive motto: forbidden for thee, but not for me.

MORE HONEST? WELL, LESS DISHONEST, ANYWAY: Another Small Win for Sanity.

The Government Accounting Standards Board passed regulations requiring state and local governments to keep more honest records of unfunded pensions. . . .

Full public disclosure of the true costs of benefits to city and state workers is an indispensable tool of public management and good governance. It’s astonishing that it’s taken this long to get something this simple done, but both politicians and union leaders don’t want public scrutiny of these deals. This transparency is only the first step, however. Getting a more accurate picture of how bad state and municipal finances is one thing, fixing those finances another. With luck, the newly available records will increase pressure for reform.

We’ll need luck to resolve this prior to a collapse.

PHYLLIS CHESLER: As ISIS brutalizes women, a pathetic feminist silence.

SO WHEN ARE THEY COMING FOR CHRIS CUOMO? First They Came for Pamela Geller, and I Did Not Speak Out: Chris Cuomo, CNN, and all others who won’t stand with Geller sneer at history’s hardest lessons.

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MY USA TODAY COLUMN: ‘New York Times’ shows its ‘gotcha’ colors: Rubio’s four traffic tickets aren’t news, unless you’re publishing political hit-pieces.

WELL, WALL STREET GAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO BARACK OBAMA, SO PRESUMABLY THEY WON’T MIND: Rick Perry is ready… to regulate Wall Street.

GOOD: Turkey’s election is a blow to Erdogan and a victory for Kurds. “Although it is still the biggest party in the country, the AKP suffered its worst result since 2002. It was projected to lose its majority in parliament, an astonishing turn of events for a party that has dominated Turkish politics for almost a decade and a half. The AKP was expected to fall far short of the 330 seats needed to force a national referendum on Erdogan’s plan to scrap Turkey’s parliamentary structure for a presidential system, with him at the top. . . . Analysts believe Erdogan’s desire to assume further powers and eliminate checks and balances through an executive presidency badly backfired.”

CHANGE: After Court Setbacks, Obama Administration Stops Work On Immigration Program.

WELL, THEY NEARLY ALL SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATS, SO I SAY LET THEM PAY THEIR “FAIR SHARE:” How a Carried Interest Tax Could Raise $180 Billion.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Brittney Griner of W.N.B.A. Files to Annul Her Marriage.

Brittney Griner filed for an annulment with Glory Johnson-Griner on Friday, a day after Johnson-Griner announced she’s pregnant and a month after the two WNBA players married.

“Last Wednesday, Glory and I agreed to either legally separate, get divorced, or annul our marriage, Griner said in a statement. “I can confirm that today I filed for an annulment. In the week prior to the wedding, I attempted to postpone the wedding several times until I completed counseling, but I still went through with it. I now realize that was a mistake.”

Johnson-Griner’s sports marketing agent, D.J. Fisher, said in a statement that Johnson-Griner was unaware that Griner was filing and was “extremely hurt and blindsided.”

“She loves Brittney and made a huge sacrifice to carry a child, put her career on hold, invest in their relationship and their future,” Fisher said.

Griner, the 6-foot-8 Phoenix Mercury star, married Johnson-Griner on May 9, three weeks after they were arrested on domestic violence charges for a fight at their home in suburban Phoenix. Both players were suspended seven games after their arrests and Griner agreed to undergo 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling as part of a plea agreement.

Hmm. This may break new ground in same-sex divorce law.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: The ‘Tax Bomb’ Facing Lawyers Who Enroll In Income-Based Student Loan Repayment Plans.

COMPARED TO HILLARY? ALL OF THEM. The Hill: Which GOP governor can make best economic case in ’16?

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Clinton Labor secretary: Bill Clinton should stop paid speeches.

Former President Bill Clinton’s former Labor secretary is recommending that his old boss stop giving paid speeches and disclose everything for the sake of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

“She has got to, and her husband as well, got to just put everything out. I mean more disclosure than any other candidate,” said Robert Reich on ABC News’s “This Week.”

Bill Clinton, he added, “has to stop the paid speeches.” . . . The Clintons have come under fire in recent months, since Hillary launched her second White House bid, for not being upfront about various issues, such as the Clinton Foundation’s fundraising.

Among many.

I’LL BELIEVE IT’S A CRISIS WHEN PEOPLE WHO TELL ME IT’S A CRISIS START ACTING LIKE IT’S A CRISIS: Despite hysteria over “campus rape epidemic,” NYU drops criminal background checks on applicants.

WELL, YES. THERE ARE BIG DIFFERENCES IN MAJORS, WHICH IS WHY GENERIC TALK ABOUT THE VALUE OF A “COLLEGE DEGREE” IS MEANINGLESS: Picking your college major could mean big money.

Tens of thousands of high school graduates across the state are enjoying a summertime victory lap before college, but for many of them an important, and potentially costly, decision is on the horizon.

Picking a major could have a bigger influence on their future earnings than deciding to go to college in the first place, according to a new study from Georgetown University.

And yet people don’t pay enough attention to that. Someone should write a book.