From TPM: I think Ron Paul just said that 9/11 was caused by excessive government regulation.

To be honest, my stomach turned over when the Republican presidential debate audience (twice) wildly applauded Rick Perry's record as the modern governor who has presided over the most executions. Unbelievable. Listening to this whole debate has been an exercise in suppressing my gag reflex.

I am sick, which didn't help the stomach-turning and gagging. Chicken noodle soup helped a little and would help more if I had a bottomless bowl of steaming broth. I should say that I am sick and pretending not to be eight hours a day because I don't want to be sent home. Paid leave (especially paid sick leave, which seems so elementary) will be a must-have in my next job. It's too hard to be without it, even as a childless and reasonably healthy young woman. I have chronic moderate-to-severe headaches, killer cramps, and an immune system not made out of bricks and Teflon (read: I get fairly sick fairly often, and very very sick about twice a year)--but I could have children in day care always hopping from one bug to the next, or a debilitating chronic disease or mental illness myself, and I don't, and that's just sheer luck.

Waiting for the bus this morning.