You can say that, at least for today, I'm "up to here" with all the bs.

Look at it: The 2-year long Presidential campaign is a thudding bore. No matter the facts, the media is intent on bringing about Obamatopia (Ed came up with Obamatopia). Hillary's not throwing the towel until there's blood on the Convention floor. McCain's embraced global warming. Worst yet, there's an excruciating five and a half more months of this stuff to endure, and then the politicians will start on the 2012 campaign.

Peachy, isn't it? Just thinking about it makes you warm all over, doesn't it?

Jon Stewart calls this media circus "the Long, Flat, Seemingly Endless Bataan Death March To The White House." Of course, that doesn't stop him from talking about it every night.

Other countries have election processes that last about a month. Our elections are a neverending series, a play that never closes, a black hole of a non-event, a 700 pound media hog that can never get enough rubber chicken and corn dogs.

If we ignore this media circus, can we make it go away?

-- Of the Radio 5 interview, Malik says:

If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I never used the term coup d'etat. Someone passed him incorrect notes, it seems, as he also gets the name of the blog wrong (although their website lists it correctly).

Jeha at Jeha's Nail describes Nasrallah's Divine stupidity

Beirut Spring quotes two American "Liberal Neocons", who both ask if Iran is being smart while America is being dumb.

..and the blogger at I Hate Lebanon offers this not-so-unique point of view.

More updates at michaeltotten.com

In many locations throughout the delta we are the only aid group present. As Juli Niebuhr, Deputy Country Manager for Myanmar told us today, "At the moment our main concern is to get the essentials to people through the most effective means possible."

Led by highly experienced local field staff, the teams started our emergency response with the supplies we had in stock, including rice, canned fish, shelter material, and medicines. The infusion of relief supplies flown in by Doctors Without Borders over the past two days will help the 22 medical teams now doing consultations, distributing food, and shelter materials. The teams now have 8 boats to facilitate distribution of supplies to those most in need.

But we are frustrated by the limitations Myanmar's government has placed on international staff. International aid workers already in the country are so far being prevented from reaching some of the most affected areas. International staff, particularly those with expertise in water and sanitation, are desperately needed but visa approvals have been exceedingly slow.

While the challenges are great, we are determined to do more to help the people affected by the cyclone. We have a fourth and fifth cargo plane on the way to Myanmar and will continue to press for permission to send in the dozens of international staff on stand by.

The longstanding support of donors like you has been critical to our quick response to disasters such as the Myanmar cyclone, the South Asian Tsunami, and the Pakistani earthquake. Please consider helping us provide medical assistance in Myanmar and in nearly 60 other countries around the world.

To say nothing of the bedbugs on the subway. No wonder people are so stressed out.

I took a drive down to Belmar yesterday, walked along the shore and watched the surfers. They don't just come out on warm sunny days. Down in Cape May, they're in the water all year.

Surfing in the cold Jersey waves never really appealed to me before, but for some reason, it looks more do-able now. Maybe that's because I finally have a wet suit. Or maybe it's because some of the surfers had boogie boards. Surfing on a long board takes skills I know I'll never have, but it would be fun (and good exercise) to paddle around on a boogie board.

You can rent boogie boards cheap down there. Surf's up!

Beirut is dead.

At 11pm, Gemmayze, one of Beirut's central night neighborhoods, closed up shop.

The late night places in Hamra, like De Prague, Barometre, Regusto (formerly, Chez Andre) and Evergreen, closed as well.

This is not the Beirut I know.

Our government resembles a seven-hundred pound invalid. Why do we keep feeding it corn dogs?

Dean Esmay, who is not a libertarian any more, also believes that eating less and exercising more does not necessarily cause a person to lose weight.

Mary, you’re correct that modernity is part of the problem with people’s inability to see the problem; we see people being fatter today, and we therefore assume that it’s something to do with laziness, lack of discipline, etc, because hey any moron can see that if you eat less you lose weight.

The real problem is that this is childishly simple reasoning. Your fat cells are not gas tanks that fill up when you eat and get emptied as you move. Even if they did work that simply, it would be hazardous to assume you could control your weight by simple calories in/calories out measuring, because there are multiple complicating factors.

The fact of the matter is that underfeeding causes bad health. It causes negative physical and mental symptoms consistent with starvation. You get these symptoms whether you’re overweight or not. There is substantial evidence, indeed, that fat people can actually pretty much starve, with all the same symptoms that a famine victim or a prisoner in a concentration camp goes through, all while swimming in their own fat.