Nothing much has been said about a vanishing species peculiar to our country.  It once had a formidable range, swept the countryside in vast numbers.  It was valued not just for its hide, but, for what it made us all seek.  We are speaking of Facts now, about the few still left.

Oh, sure -- we still have blizzards of chatter, clouds of electronic bees stinging us this way and that, turning and spinning us, hither and -- yawn!  Oh, my, this is dull, perhaps, but it's a murder investigation, too .  See:  Facts got booted from the national car, while it was in motion, and Facts got all roughed up and rumpled, then left for dead in a ditch.  Facts deserved better than that.

It's the easiest thing in the world, feeling twitchy and empty and hollow after listening to, or just watching, what passes for newscasts -- enduring all the blowhards, all the posers and hosers. You can feel like nothing's much left of you but a sack of moist sawdust, and a ripped one, at that.

If you are in the market for recommendations at a time like this, here's an easy one to do:  Turn your life's car keys over to Google for a bit, or whatever search engine you use -- step on the "go" button, turn out for a ride on the electron highway, tool around for a while, see what you can find.

If you have a good bearing, know of human nature, and want to pick up some quick cash, take your laptop and head to the nearest Republican watering hole -- one with wifi -- and chat up some suits.  You're stalking big game and bar bets.

Set up your computer, going on purpose to FOX or some other right wing site, to set the mood, so everyone can see it, displayed right on the screen.  Start up some chit-chat, about good web sites to check things, places that can be trusted.  You might have to suggest some fact-based sites, so be ready to suggest some.  Once there's agreement, go to your next move.

You have to stop it, in order to start it:  To begin the fresh and new thing, you have to stop the stale and old thing.

By no longing accepting the outrageous as fair or normal, we can start to replace it.  If we all -- all of us, individually and collectively -- refuse to accept manure as our candy, we might still have a chance.

Some days are cloggy-headed dreams, like your ears and your head are all filled up with warm milk or room-temperature library paste, those white, traditional kindergartner's snacks, that kind that stuck to too many ribs, back in the day.

Today has been one of those gurgle-headed days here, looking up now and then from reading about NASA's latest discovery, about 26 new planets in 11 systems -- bringing the Kepler mission's tally to date, so far, to 61 planets and 2,326 planetary candidates out there.

The Presidential Testicles, long thought missing,  may have been discovered, and in place, according to witnesses Tuesday. Confirmation is expected to occur, slowly and painfully, based on observations made by interested parties scattered around the country, in the final 360 days, the home stretch, of his initial term in office.

It's like we are all checking out the Times Square Ball Drop, on teevee, on New Year's Eve -- its only that the broadcast was delayed until now, due to technical difficulties of some sort or another.