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.