Recommended reading

• Tyler Cowen finds yet another reason to call for the Department of Education's abolishment.

• Peter Suderman responds to Paul Krugman's contention that patients shouldn't be referred to as health care consumers.

• More downbeat news from Egypt on the economic liberalization front.

• Charles Lane casts doubt -- to put it mildly -- on China's high-speed rail system. Key excerpt: "The Beijing-Tianjin line, built at a cost of $46 million per mile, is losing more than $100 million per year."

• Warren Meyer explains why anger at speculators for rising oil prices is misplaced.