mind

pWASHINGTON — Three weeks ago, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) a href=”http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/santorum-cancels-florida-events-to-spend-time-with-hospitalized-daughter/” target=”_hplink”canceled campaign events/a in Florida on the eve of the state’s primary to be with his ailing daughter in a Philadelphia hospital. His three-year-old, Bella, has a genetic condition that can be fatal and had contracted pneumonia.

pWASHINGTON — Three weeks ago, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) a href=”http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/santorum-cancels-florida-events-to-spend-time-with-hospitalized-daughter/” target=”_hplink”canceled campaign events/a in Florida on the eve of the state’s primary to be with his ailing daughter in a Philadelphia hospital. His three-year-old, Bella, has a genetic condition that can be fatal and had contracted pneumonia.

pSarah Palin took to Twitter early Tuesday to give Newsweek a piece of her mind./ppThe former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate seemed to be particularly annoyed by the magazine’s decision to run a cover story about President Barack Obama under the headline: a href=”http://www.thedailybeast.com/content/newsweek/_jcr_content/c-col/oncover_0/image.img.jpg/1326688145842.jpg” target=”_hplink”"Why Are Obama’s Critics So Dumb?”/a But Palin’s ire wasn’t directed at the story’s assertions; instead she took aim at a href=&#822

(Illustration by DonkeyHotey ) I am beginning to despair for our national sanity. Somewhere along the line, the bar for presidential candidates got substantially lowered. You were allowed to be dumber than before, and less informed than before, but I think the topper is that you are now allowed—no, strike that, encouraged—to believe batshit crazy conspiracy theories : On Fox News Sunday today, host Chris Wallace pursued Cain’s reasoning behind his rabid opposition to the Tennessee center.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina lawmaker on Thursday called a Republican gubernatorial candidate of Indian descent a “raghead,” saying we have one in the White House, we don’t need one in the governor’s mansion. Republican state Sen. Jake Knotts later apologized for the slur, saying the remarks about President Barack Obama and state Rep. Nikki Haley were meant as a joke. They came on Internet political talk show, Pub Politics.

Today on “Hardball,” Jack Conway charged that Ron Paul wanted to do away with the Civil Rights Act. In fact, Rand Paul’s words to the Courier-Journal, in their editorial board interview, were even more extreme than the paper’s editorial reveal. The interview that reveals Rand Paul’s views on civil rights was done in April. People have linked to the editorial, but the transcript has not been circulated. Conway’s charge today on “Hardball” sent me searching.

Throw open the shade that covers my mind I’m going to touch I’ve got to believe The bell tolls for me I, I want to testify - Melissa Etheridge Maybe mistakes are what make our fate… without them what would shape our lives? - Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in Sex and the City Sometime in the 1980’s, Alan Abelson, the editor of Money Magazine, said that money was “the new sex.” There is one distinct difference. Many people talk about sex. There are hundreds of television shows, chat rooms, and web sites devoted to sex.

“I don’t know, Senator,” says John McCain’s assistant. “There’s no return address. Just a Phoenix postmark.” “The bastard.” “J.D.?” “Who else?” McCain holds up one of the black flip-flops. “Not even my size.” He flips the rubber sandal back into the box, tosses it to his assistant. “Get Shiree in here.” Fifteen minutes later, McCain, his composure reclaimed, leans back, hands clasped behind his head.

“Curiosity: The Questions of Our Life” is the name of a new 60-episode five-year “landmark” series just announced with much fanfare by the Discovery Channel. So what are those 60 “fundamental questions and underlying mysteries of our time”? They’re looking for nominations. Princeton, Georgetown and Syracuse are among the universities who’ve delightedly signed on to come up with them. Discovery has primed the pump with examples like these: What is consciousness? What will our understanding of genomics mean for future generations?

Sarah Palin’s wackadoodle “death panel” fantasy got me (and everyone else in the world) Tweeting the other day. And then the Tweeting got me back on CNN.com. I’ve got no format or plan for presenting them to you. They came to mind, got Tweeted, and lived and died as Tweets should. But what the hell, right? It’s nearly time for Netroots Nation, and at this point, we’re just happy to have something to laugh at.