memeorandum: The Comical of Higher Education (James Taranto/Wall Street Journal)

1:45 AM ET, May 9, 2012

Top Items:

Tom Curry / msnbc.com:

Six-term Senate veteran Lugar defeated in Indiana primary — Republican foreign policy elder statesman Sen. Richard Lugar, 80, first elected to the Senate in 1976, was defeated in the Indiana primary Tuesday by state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who was backed by conservatives ranging …

Bill Nichols / Politico:

Lugar loses primary battle — Sen. Dick Lugar, the political gold standard in Indiana for nearly 40 years, suffered a once unthinkable primary defeat Tuesday, marking a seismic shift in his state's political culture and sending yet another warning to longtime Senate incumbents.

Discussion: CNN, Power Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ABCNEWS, The Caucus and The Reaction

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Richard Lugar loses primary to Tea Party challenger Mourdock — Updated 9:55 p.m. Eastern Time — (CBS News) Sen. Richard Lugar - the longest-serving senator in Indiana history - has lost his Republican Senate primary on Tuesday to state Treasurer Richard Mourdock.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Impolitic, Left Coast Rebel, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, CANNONFIRE and Instapundit

Philip Klein / Campaign 2012:

What Lugar's loss could mean for a Pres. Romney — Not only did Tea Party-backed Richard Mourdock just put an end to Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar's 35-year U.S. Senate career, but it wasn't even close. NBC projected Mourdock, the Indiana state treasurer, the winner of the Republican primary shortly …

Discussion: The Greenroom

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Open thread: Lugargeddon; Update: Mourdock wins; Update: Lugar hits Mourdock's “unrelenting partisan mindset”; Update: NC bans gay marriage and civil unions; Update: Massive GOP turnout for Scott Walker; Update: Obama facing stiff challenge in WV from ... federal inmate — The polls in Indiana close promptly at 6 p.m. ET.

Discussion: Power Line, Politico and New York Magazine

CNN:
In statement, Lugar defends campaign while criticizing partisan environment

Discussion: Booman Tribune, American Power, TBogg and The Agonist

Alan Silverleib / CNN:
Analysis: Lugar's grassroots withered

Discussion: Campaign 2012

Monica Davey / New York Times:
Lugar Loses Primary Challenge in Indiana

Discussion: National Review and Hullabaloo

Chris Good / ABCNEWS: Six-Term Sen. Lugar in Historic Loss

Elizabeth Hartfield / ABCNEWS:

NC Bans Gay Marriage, Civil Unions — A proposed amendment to North Carolina's constitution which would make marriage between a man and woman the only legal union recognized by the state has passed a statewide vote, the Associated Press reports. — The referendum- North Carolina Amendment …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.

Curtis M. Wong / The Huffington Post:
North Carolina Amendment One Voters Facing Possible Election Fraud As They Hit The Polls: Report

Discussion: Prop 8 Trial Tracker, ThinkProgress, Firedoglake and Joe. My. God.

Robert Willett / Raleigh News & Observer:
N.C. to add marriage amendment to its constitution

Discussion: Gallup, The Reality-Based Community, The PJ Tatler and Daily Kos

CNN:
North Carolina passes same-sex marriage ban, CNN projects

Discussion: New York Magazine, This Just In and Piers Morgan

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:
North Carolina Voters Pass Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Discussion: Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and Human Rights Campaign

Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:
Mitt Romney wins North Carolina primary

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Obama Loses West Virginia Delegates To Prison Inmate — The vote highlights the President's unpopularity in the Appalachian heartland. In 2008, white voters there cited race as a factor. — Federal prisoner Keith Russell Judd, 49, at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont, Texas in March 15, 2008.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Balloon Juice

Phil Kabler / Charleston Gazette:
Little-known Obama challenger could get delegate

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mediaite and Weekly Standard

JournalGazette.net:
You choose, we deliver … MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Aaron Zitner / Washington Wire:
Federal Inmate Makes Strong Showing Against Obama in Primary

Discussion: New York Magazine

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

White House Tours Do Not Require Fetuses To Be Counted As Full Humans … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Video, White House Secret Security, White House Tour Unborn Baby, White House Tours, White House Tours Babies, White House Visitors, White House Visitors Office, White House Visitors Unborn Babies, Politics News

Discussion: alicublog and US Politics

Washington Free Beacon:

No Birth Certificate Required — The White House Visitors Office requires that an unborn child—still residing in utero—must be counted as a full human being when its parents register for a White House tour, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, TBogg, The PJ Tatler, Doug Ross and Balloon Juice

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
White House: Abortion OK, But Visitors Must Register Unborn Children

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed and Right Wing News

Bob Drummond / Bloomberg:
Private Jobs Increase More With Democrats in White House

Discussion: Wonkette, CNN, ThinkProgress, The Maddow Blog and Liberal Values

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

The Comical of Higher Education — A lesson from an editor in how not to do journalism. — In the spring of 1987, your humble columnist, then an even humbler undergraduate, was the subject of an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. A young reporter named Michael Hirschorn phoned us …

Discussion: Speak With Authority, Rod Dreher, Poynter and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:
Mob on the Quad — Late last night, in a shameful example …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and National Review

Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:
Chronicle of Higher Education Fires Blogger For Challenging Seriousness of Black Studies Depts.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Balloon Juice, Instapundit, New York Post, The Other McCain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, National Review, americanthinker.com and Brainstorm

Jonathan S. Tobin / Commentary Magazine:
Silencing Dissent About Black Studies

Discussion: FishbowlDC, ArtsBeat, American Spectator, The Other McCain and Rod Dreher, more at Mediagazer »

Tim Mak / Politico:

Michele Bachmann claims Swiss citizenship — Rep. Michelle Bachmann is now officially a Swiss miss. — Bachmann (R-Minn.) recently became a citizen of Switzerland, making her eligible to run for office in the tiny European nation, according to a Swiss TV report Tuesday.

Discussion: CNN, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and Stinque

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Cruel irony in Elizabeth Warren's Cherokee saga — Throughout her career and political campaign, Elizabeth Warren has found victims everywhere she looked, including when she looked in the mirror and saw an alleged descendant of one of the most historically victimized groups, Native Americans.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Wire, ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Sad Hill News, Weasel Zippers, NO QUARTER, No More Mister Nice Blog, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, National Review and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Michael Patrick Leahy / BREITBART.COM:

ELIZABETH WARREN ANCESTOR ROUNDED UP CHEROKEES FOR TRAIL OF TEARS — For over a quarter of a century, Elizabeth Warren has described herself as a Native American. When recently asked to provide evidence of her ancestry, she pointed to an unsubstantiated claim on an 1894 Oklahoma Territory …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler, RedState, americanthinker.com, The Daily Caller, Clayton Cramer's Blog, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Lonely Conservative

Hillary Chabot / Boston Herald: Brown calls on Warren to reveal law school records

New York Times:

Suicide Mission Volunteer Was Double Agent, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — The would-be suicide bomber dispatched by the Yemen branch of Al Qaeda last month to blow up a United States-bound airliner was actually a double agent who infiltrated the terrorist group and volunteered for the suicide mission …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, This Just In, Boing Boing, CNN and Business Insider

Roger Ainsley / World Now:
International sting operation brought down underwear bomb plot

Discussion: msnbc.com, Hot Air, FP Passport, Mediaite, Truthdig, Taylor Marsh, Gothamist, New York Times, CBS News and Fox News

James Carville / CNN:

Wake up Democrats; you could lose — Editor's note: James Carville is a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, appearing frequently on “The Situation Room” as well as other programs on all CNN networks. — (CNN) — A long time ago a great three-time governor of Louisiana …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Mediaite

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Low student loan interest rates in limbo after Democrats' bill stalls in Senate — In a 52-45 vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a motion to proceed to legislation that would keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling. — Sixty votes were needed to move to a debate on the legislation …

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Hot Air and Booman Tribune

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Republicans in Senate Block Bill on Student Loan Rates

Discussion: Indecision Forever, The Caucus, aflcio.org and Blue Mass Group

CNN:
Democrats continue to accuse GOP of a ‘war on women’

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Felix Salmon:

Chart of the day: Let's go buy a house! — Many thanks to Ben Walsh for putting this chart together for me. The source is this data at the Census bureau, inspired by page two of the first-quarter 2012 Census bureau report on rental vacancies and homeownership.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Unqualified Offerings

Justin Lahart / Real Time Economics:

Unemployment Rate Without Government Cuts: 7.1% — One reason the unemployment rate may have remained persistently high: The sharp cuts in state and local government spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and the layoffs those cuts wrought. — The Labor Department's establishment survey …

Discussion: Free exchange, FT Alphaville, ThinkProgress, Calculated Risk and Economist's View