Brusqueness

More evidence of the man's - and his party's - tenuous relationship with reality. More from Nate Silver here. The GOP emphasis on marsh mice and volcanoes and federal cars is a function of talk-radio conservatism - and nothing like an adult approach to actual government.

Joe Klein seems to like Obama's Iraq withdrawal plan:

...a dreadful chapter in the history of American policy--a bloody war of choice launched thoughtlessly--seems to be coming to a close.

Tip: if you want to use stolen money, make sure it’s not an antique bank note that hasn’t been printed in over 60 years.

Rod Dreher tries to turn back the clock on modernity:

The God of Hedonism and Sexual Indulgence, whose devoted high priest Bill Maher is, has given us a world of broken marriages, shattered families, the destruction of the traditional family, miserable deaths from AIDS, epidemic teen pregnancy, fatherless children and the social (even criminal) dysfunction that accompanies such, and a younger generation unmoored from sexual sanity.

Rod is always worth a read – even when you disagree with him. But his anger at the 1960s seems untempered by the much more complex impact on human happiness and freedom that decade ushered in. Not without loss, of course, and consequence; but not without enormous gain as well. Until social conservatives wrap their heads around that, they will fail to win many converts.

That's how much revenue decriminalizing and taxing marijuana would bring in to California's state coffers. Maybe this Depression will kill this Prohibition too. It's a hopeful precedent. In times like these, we can no longer afford reefer madness.

An Australian car thief was arrested after he managed to accidentally lock himself in the vehicle he was trying to steal.

A pensioner was found guilty today of causing a danger to pedestrians by rollerblading in a busy town centre.

Construction worker Victor Saume prays after receiving ashes during Ash Wednesday celebrations at St. Paul's Chapel February 25, 2009 in New York City. The historic chapel where George Washington worshiped is located directly across the street from the World Trade Center site and housed rescue workers and others in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. By Mario Tama/Getty.

The dean of the 24 minute news-cycle and captive of every meme the cocooned MSM grasp to tell themselves nothing has changed:

5. If Republicans weren't sufficiently worried about the size and reach of Obama's megaphone before Tuesday night, they should ramp up their concern now.

6. Obama truly believes he is at the beginning of four-year teaching moment for the American people – and that his students are mature enough and interested enough to actually learn.

Eventually they'll realize that Obama has bypassed them. And me. And Washington. And people are in a serious enough mood to listen. Last night, he moved the country several inches toward a shift in political mood and substance not seen since Reagan.

ESPN’s Sports Century video includes the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan figure skating incident as one of its most memorable sports moments of the 20th century.

Fifteen years ago,  on Feb. 23, 1994, the Harding-Kerrigan Olympic showdown on NBC caused nearly half of all television viewers to glue their eyes to their sets to watch the saga. It was the highest rated television program of the past quarter-century and it’s still the sixth highest-rated show in history.

It is not just Olympic historians who look back on that date for its unprecedented impact. Television shows (Seinfeld, The Simpsons), stage shows (Tonya & Nancy, The Rock Opera), songs (Tonya Twirls), have all been influenced by that evening’s women’s figure-skating short program in Lillehammer, Norway.

At the time (and to this day) the story was over-the-top and depressingly sad. Harding — a hardscrabble girl from Oregon, proud of her blue-collar skills as drag-racer and mechanic — burst onto the skating scene like some early-day slumdog millionaire. Living in a trailer park, Harding never wore the silver spoon of her skating peers but she was incredibly talented - only the second woman in the world and the first American woman to land a triple Axel. Streetwise and tough, she was an unlikely U.S. champion in 1991 and fourth-place finisher in the ‘92 Olympics.

Kerrigan –  elegant and highly sought for endorsements — was third in the ‘92 Olympics and had won the U.S. title in ‘93. She arrived at the ‘94 Olympic trials an obstacle in Harding’s path. In a plan hatched with her ex-husband, a Harding henchman jumped Kerrigan at practice and delivered a whack to her knee that took her out of the competition.

U.S. figure skating officials voted Kerrigan onto the Olympic team, anyway, then considered disciplinary action against Harding, who reponded with the threat of a $25 million lawsuit. Both backed down days before the Games, but the melodrama continued.

Harding arrived in Norway out of shape, and immediately crashed out of medal contention by slipping to 10th place after the short program, while Kerrigan held first place going into the long-program final.

During the long-program climax,  Harding quit a minute into her routine but begged the judges for a Mulligan because her skate lace had broken. She exited in eighth place while Russia’s Oksana Bauil, via a controversial 5-4 judges’ decision, edged Kerrigan for the gold.

Silver medalalist Kerrigan married her agent and is the mother of two boys and a girl. She appears in skating shows and acts as a skating commentator.

Harding? Always in trouble. Since the Kerrigan attacks, Harding has been regularly in the news, throwing hubcaps at boyfriends, being cited for drunk driving, serving time for tax evasion and appearing on Celebrity Boxing.

One of the worst train wrecks in sporting history? Probably. An anniversary worth celebrating? Not really.  But only something as weirdly true and impossibly real as the Harding-Kerrigan drama could remain newsworthy for 15 long years.

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