I’m not sure I can take many more months of Newt Gingrich. The fact that he is a viable candidate for president is staggering.

When he was speaker of the house we had to stop listening to NPR in the mornings. The alarm would go off and Newt would be yammering about the Contract on America. How “personal responsibility” (i.e. women under 18 with children no longer qualified for welfare or food assistance) would encourage celibacy, blah, blah, blah.

I woke up outraged everyday.

And now he is back! I may need blood pressure medication. On the radio the other day Newt was praised for teaching poor people how to work for the first time with the welfare reform work requirement. And now he proposes that poor students do “non dangerous” janitorial work at their schools so they can learn to “show up on Monday”.

Today he is attacking the State Department saying that “they are “Arabists” who advocate “appeasement” of America’s enemies”.

Its like we live in looney land where truth is not just relative but is made of silly putty. Facts are optional and considered suspect unless they align with a preconceived conclusion. Science is that which agrees with the bible stories (S-T-O-R-I-E-S!) and doesn’t threaten the profits or plans of Koch Industries.

So with my jaw hanging in perpetual disbelief, I am not just flashing back to 90’s but to a more recent past when truth was optional.

My final thought for today is from a cartoon by the genius Dan Piraro that has been taped to my wall since 2004.