Oddities

We live in strange times. Often I read the news and wonder how we got where we are--sometimes we seem far off track, and other times we seem surprisingly progressive. Here's what jarred me this week:

That a billionaire who owns the New Jersey Nets will run against Vladimir Putin for president of Russia.

That the Durham Public Schools website posted crucial parent information initially only in Spanish.

That somehow it's OK that the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sibelius (acting on behalf of Barack Obama), can overrule F.D.A. scientists and researchers.

That American military base schools are not subject to "No Child Left Behind" (George Bush) or "Race to the Top" (Barack Obama)--and that their students perform better than peers at regular public schools.

That it's still not OK to eat raw chocolate chip cookie dough, even when you make it yourself.

That our love for dangerous and violent sports--especially football and ice hockey--isn't all that different from that which drove Roman Colosseum fans centuries ago.

That advocates for the Keystone XL oil pipeline include TransCanada employees Paul Elliott and Gordon Griffin, both friends of Hillary Clinton--who, in her role as secretary of state evaluates the proposal and recommends for or against it.

That Michele Bachmann's husband Marcus has a Ph.D.

That nasty Newt Gingrich has a shot at Iowa.

That we're still dealing with voter suppression efforts after all these years, and that--fortunately--Attorney General Holder understands the danger.