Landslide... for Romney in Florida.

Says Drudge. The various cable news networks are showing Romney at 49/50% and Gingrich at 30%. UPDATE: With the polls closed, FoxNews calls ...

"To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion..."

"... Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a ca...

"Newt Gingrich Robocall: Mitt Romney Forced Holocaust Survivors To Eat Non-Kosher Food."

"As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney vetoed a bill paying for kosher food for our seniors in nursing homes. Holocaust survivors, ...

"I’ve kept silent all these years because I didn’t want to hurt any of these [big Hollywood stars]."

"And I never saw the fascination. So they liked sex how they liked it. Who cares?"

Cynthia Nixon gets right with ideologues.

Originally, she said: I understand that for many people it's not, but for me it's a choice, and you don't get to define my gayn...

"I like fire escapes. To me, they're unintentional urban art forms."

"Think about West Side Story and the role fire escapes play in that production. Audrey Hepburn sang 'Moon River' out on a Manha...

David Brooks: "we need a National Service Program."

"We need a program that would force members of the upper tribe and the lower tribe to live together, if only for a few years. We need a...

"i think its totally awesome but the guy talks about money and making a living too much."

"sounds like he does this for money more than as his passion and thats really sad because this looks like an awesome place." That ...

Instant nostalgia/protest art/fundraising for the Walker recall.

It's "Inside, at Night — Origins of an Uprising," a photo exhibit at the Tamarack Studio and Gallery here in Madison. Produce...

Bobby Jindal compares Obama's encounter with Gov. Jan Brewer to something that happened to him.

It was a tarmac scene during Obama's first visit to Louisiana after the Gulf oil spill: "He grabs me by the arm, takes me aside,” [...

"Registered voters in 12 key swing states are almost evenly split between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney..."

"... while giving a 14-percentage-point lead to Obama over Newt Gingrich. Swing-state voters also prefer Obama to Ron Paul and to Rick ...

In a "personal development seminar," Chantal Lavigne "was accidentally 'cooked to death' during a class called 'Dying in Consciousness.'"

This happened in Canada last year: Participants were wrapped in mud and plastic, covered with blankets, and left immobilized for about nine ...

"When I read a book, I'm handling a specific object in a specific time and place."

"The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same thing – that's reassuring." Jonathan Franzen worries ...

"They're trying to crucify this man...."

Delving into a presidential candidate's record and criticizing him vigorously is crucifixion ? How about the way we failed — back in 200...

Worrying about the 1,900 tiny plastic fibers released by each item of clothing made from synthetic fabric every time it's washed.

"Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a stud...

Newt in '09: "We believe that... everybody should either have health insurance or if you’re an absolute libertarian..."

"... we would allow you to post a bond, but we would not allow people to be free riders failing to insure themselves and then showing u...

"The weirdest thing about the rumor that Kim Kardashian gets paid $10,000 for a Twitter endorsement is..."

"... that it’s true." The biggest player in the pay-to-tweet market is Ad.ly, a social-media advertorial clearinghouse pairing bra...

"She’s had a miraculous turnaround."

Said Rick Santorum. "I know how she got through it... It was with the hands of these doctors and the prayers that guided those hands....

"But controlled rot tastes good in this case — at least to us (or most of us)."

"The key is to manage the decomposition in such a way as to get that desired flavor and to ensure that we don't get sick from consu...

"It's all Gladys' fault! She's sending me straight to hell!"

Millie Jackson sounded too much like Gladys Knight and needed to distinguish herself. Jackson's first hit song, a 1973 cover of "(I...

A great collection of celebrity high school yearbook pictures.

Fascinating to see those who were always great looking, those who were always bad looking, and — most interestingly — those who looked awfu...

At the Blonde Dog Café...

... curl up and get comfy.

Young brains.

1. Does homosexuality reside at the biological brain level? "There is substantial evidence of various connections between genes, brain...

New Rasmussen poll has Romney at 44%, Gingrich 28% in Florida.

Announced this morning: These figures reflect a significant turnaround over the past week. Last Sunday, just after his big win in the South ...

"RECALL WALKER/Tell him: Keep it up/IT'S WORKING!"

Photo taken today by the commenter James .

"Apparently @TPM doesn't expense its employees' salaries."

Pithy takedown.

We've found a dog. UPDATE: "Soleil."

Meade rescued a lost dog and managed to coax him into the house. (It's 20° out.) He's got a collar, but we haven't won his trust...

"I walk like a runway model, but I shake hands like a lumberjack."

Says David Rakoff — one of my 2 favorite audiobook writer-readers — to Dave Hill — a comedian I'd never heard of — at the end of this am...

Demi Moore smokes something, and the real victim is Gloria Steinem.

I don't know exactly why Demi Moore was hospitalized. Friends and family who were with Moore indicated she has smoked something “similar...

The moon base is to conservatives what high-speed rail is to liberals.

It's an extremely expensive project that springs out of a man's boyhood passions. You're begging for a toy, and I'm one of ...

Actress Cynthia Nixon in trouble for saying her "gayness" is "a choice."

Nixon, who's been in a relationship with a woman for 8 years and (before that) with a man for 15 years, said: "A certain section of...

"40.6 trillion dollars in debt. Over 9% unemployment. But you know what Milwaukee? Those are just facts."

"And at its best, this country has never been about facts. It's been about belief. It's been about looking at the facts and say...

Romney ad uses archival news footage and Tom Brokaw is not pleased.

Brokaw — who wants the ad withdrawn — says: "I am extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political...

The Capitol Times — "Your Progressive Voice" — in Madison, Wisconsin, put up a poll about the Scott Walker recall.

See? It's over in the sidebar. Keep in mind that the Cap Times is not only based in Madison. It proudly skews to the left and, conseque...

The interplay between the Wisconsin recall and the November elections.

Business Insider has some analysis of a subject that deserves a lot of attention: "It’s possible the recall elections will rally Wiscon...

"Possibly the biggest gap between how much I loved it as a kid, and how unwatchable I'd find it now of any show."

From a discussion of "Welcome Back Kotter," on the occasion of the death of actor Robert Hegyes (who played Epstein). On his web...

Reporter challenges State Department official to explain how the U.S. Constitution gives Jay Leno the right to make fun of religion.

State Dept. spokesperson Victoria Nuland is grilled about a Jay Leno joke that has offended Sikhs. Here's the joke, which targets Mitt ...

"From his father Jobs had learned that a hallmark of passionate craftsmanship is making sure that even the aspects that will remain hidden are done beautifully."

"One of the most extreme—and telling—implementations of that philosophy came when he scrutinized the printed circuit board that would h...

"My mother tried her best, but was saddled with many fears that she passed onto me with the highest anxiety."

Writes Fred Stoller: I'm pretty sure I'm the only nine-year-old who set up a lemonade stand, whose mother reacted by panicking: ...

"Mr. Zuckerberg had been reluctant to push forward with an IPO."

R"People familiar with his thinking said he has been fearful of the damage an IPO could do to the company's culture. He wants emplo...

In the Cocktail Lounge...

... you can talk about anything.

"Could the United States establish a moon colony and develop a new propulsion system for going to Mars?"

"All within eight years of a Newt Gingrich presidency, as Mr. Gingrich promised this week? The answers seem to be technologically yes, ...

Skulking turkeys.

Today... in Owen Park.

"The fact is that CO2 is not a pollutant."

"CO2 is a colorless and odorless gas, exhaled at high concentrations by each of us, and a key component of the biosphere's life cyc...

"It’s like asking a priest not to pray..."

"... they have acquired skills and want to use them in real life."

"Dublin dole office bans those in pyjamas."

"There is a psychological aspect and pyjamas are associated with sleeping at night and comfort in the home...  You have to get into the...

How Romney's new debate coach seems to have affected what Romney said about religion.

Sarah Posner looks at his new answer to the debate question about how religion would affect what he does as a President and compares it to ...

Valentine's...

... gifts.

"What about low IQ and Liberal beliefs? Did the study link those to anything?"

"Say, gullibility? Conformity? Susceptibility to cults of personality? Unhealthy narcissism? Vanity? Shouting down governors? Locking o...

"This stuff stings, man."

Lethal injection. Last words.

"The Secret Power Of Introverts."

Jenna Goudreau, writing in Forbes: In the last few decades, this “Extrovert Ideal” has transformed workplaces, says [Susan Cain, author of Q...

"I promised the Almighty God that if he took hate out of my heart I would never hate again... He did and I have not."

Justice Clarence Thomas, in a speech yesterday, describing an experience that occurred "on the morning of April 16, 1970."

Does the ABA Journal shed any new light on last year's troubles in the Wisconsin Supreme Court?

Well, there's new junk commentary from far-off observers, like this: Also, it’s possible that some of [Chief Justice Shirley] Abrahamson...

Hillary Clinton climbs down from "the high wire of American politics" on the theory that "it's a good idea to just find out how tired I am."

She says "It’s a little odd for me to be totally out of an election season... But, you know, I didn’t watch any of those debates."...

"I feel like I'm prepared emotionally to perform in a state like I've never been prepared before."

"When you're exposed to some slightly crazy people in arctic conditions, there's no way the state can hurt me now." That...

"You have a movie coming out, a fragrance, a new album and a tour—and now the Super Bowl. Was this a master plan?"

"No, everything kind of converged in a bottleneck. I was always planning on making a record when I finished my film but I ended up fini...

Larry David hired Fred Stoller to write for "Seinfeld," but then it turned out...

... as Fred tells it, that "Mr. David had hired Mr. Stoller, at least in part, because his schnooky personal life might lend itself to ...

"Wouldn’t it be nice if people didn’t make accusations somewhere else that they weren’t willing to defend here?"

"I think it’s important for people to make sure that we don’t castigate individuals who’ve been successful." Last night, Romney ow...

"The most important debate yet" — according to the intro to the CNN debate starting now.

I'm not going to say I'll live-blog, because such promises seem to sap my energy these days, but feel free to talk about it in the c...

"This is what your brain on drugs really looks like."

Fascinating! Psychedelics are thought of as ‘mind-expanding' drugs, so it has commonly been assumed that they work by increasing brain a...

Polls in sidebar.

Keep an eye out for polls in the sidebar on this blog. My ad service, BlogAds, is gathering info that might be useful for getting more ads. ...

The return of Joe Biden's "slight Indian accent."

That's our VP.

"Despite a heavy tax burden, Warren Buffett’s secretary last year was able to purchase a second home in Arizona..."

"... a residence complete with a swimming pool and a 'professional PGA putting green'..." Oh, now, now. I clicked through ...

In the 1980s, Gingrich "often spewed insulting rhetoric at Reagan, his top aides, and his policies to defeat Communism."

"Gingrich was voluble and certain in predicting that Reagan’s policies would fail, and in all of this he was dead wrong." — Elliot...

Scott Walker's State of the State speech...

... and the protesters who made it an occasion for themselves. Protesters gather for State of the State speech: fox11online.com

Slate's Jessica Grose is surprised the internet wasn't cruel after "Queen of the Mommy Bloggers" Dooce announced her separation from her husband.

Grose says "the tone of the response has been extraordinary in its relative kindness." We think of Internet commentary—especially ...

Adam Clymer says Newt Gingrich may seem to relish denouncing journalists, but actually he "enjoys consorting with the enemy."

Here 's Clymer's column in the NYT. You may remember him as the Times's Washington correspondent back in the day. (Speaking of p...

""[I]t’s no surprise that a visiting professor is teaching Admin; professors at Yale love to dump..."

"... the black-letter teaching duties on visitors, so the YLS tenured professors can teach 'Law and Literary Theory' or 'La...

"Even though the percentage of incoming freshmen who identify as conservative has stayed relatively stable..."

".... those students and the rest of their peers are shifting away from hard-line conservative stances on issues such as same-sex marri...

"Instead of asking for résumés, the New York venture-capital firm..."

"... asked applicants to send links representing their 'Web presence,' such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants als...

"The Beatles, 'Revolution,' cut up, scrambled, and looped. The Beatles sing 'one two three four' for an hour."

"All of Billy Joel's greatest hits played at once. Celine Dion screams for 1.5 minutes. Please enjoy responsibly." Yes, indeed...

"American commandos raced into Somalia early Wednesday and rescued two aid workers..."

"... an American woman and a Danish man, after a shootout with Somali pirates who had been holding them captive for months." One A...

"Gov. Scott Walker holds single-digit leads over several potential Democratic opponents in hypothetical recall matchups..."

"In the survey of 701 registered voters, Walker leads his 2010 opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, 50% to 44%. He leads former Dane ...

Nancy as the new Marianne?

What's this supposed to mean? Drudge has been pushing it as "PELOSI THREAT: NEWT WON'T BE PRESIDENT/ 'THERE IS SOMETHING ...

Disparaging Obama's SOTU because it "was written at an eighth-grade level."

Eric Ostermeier relies on the Flesch-Kincaid test, which calculates the readability of written text, based upon the length of sentences and ...

Obama repeats himself in State of the Union speeches.

I hear the ominous chimes, but how bad is this, really? He repeats platitudes. (Via Instapundit .)

"Which way am I going? This way or that?"

After the State of the Union.

SOTU.

You watching? ADDED: Who decided that Obama should start pronouncing the word "business": bid -ness. Is that supposed to make us f...

The Supreme Court "signaled sympathy with the 'mosaic' theory of privacy..."

"The mosiac theory holds that aggregating lots of pieces of information about an individual that in themselves may be harmless may none...

"The Brown-Warren agreement does not seek to equalize spending between the two candidates, both of whom are well funded."

"It is a sort of suicide pact, providing... that the two 'donate to charity half the price of ads that are run in their name in the...

It's been observed that young Newt Gingrich looks like "The Office" star Rainn Wilson.

Now, check out Rainn Wilson's Twitter photo, and this tweet : Congrats to @NewtGingrich on his win! If he's still into the whole ...

Why are there 9 — not 5 and not 10 — Best Picture Oscar nominations and which are the real nominees...

... that is, the nominees that would be the nominees if, as in the old days, there were only 5 nominees. My 28-year old son Christopher Alth...

Romney vs. Gingrich at last night's debate.

Effective?

Fantasy author poses like female characters on the covers of fantasy books.

"My sense is that most of these covers are supposed to convey strong, sexy heroines, but these are not poses that suggest strength. You...

"I'm heading to Capitol Hill soon to deliver my third State of the Union address."

"Before I go, I want to say thanks for everything you're doing.... Barack." Email, just received. Nice to know the President a...

"Newt is a Vessel: He Won South Carolina Because He Articulated Conservatism."

Speaking of articulation, I thought Rush Limbaugh articulated this really well on his show yesterday: To those of you in the Republican ba...

"I’ve got to think Monday night’s debate further swelled the groundswell of support for Mitch Daniels."

It's Bill Kristol again: The liveliest part of the debate was at the beginning, when Mitt went after Newt—and Republicans all over Ameri...

"How Not to Listen to the State of the Union."

Not turn it on? No, seriously... from TNR's Jonathan Bernstein : You can see the typical press approach in The New York Times preview o...

"You can take the blue pill and go back to your classroom and lecture your 20 students."

"But I’ve taken the red pill, and I’ve seen Wonderland." Strange mixed metaphor! ( The red pill is supposed to get you to reality ...

Romney's federal tax returns: "he is likely to pay a total of $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income over the two tax years of 2010 and 2011."

The NYT reports: Mr. Romney said last week that his effective tax rate was “about 15 percent,” a figure lower than that of many affluent Ame...

"Were there any Oscar surprises?"

The nominations were announced this morning. The nominees for best picture are “The Artist,” “The Descendants,” “The Help,” “Moneyball,” “Hu...

Watching the GOP debate tonight.

1. Yes, again. I'll do numbered updates. 2. Gingrich — who looks tired and badly made up — is asked about electability. He says "a ...