By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET The newest cure researchers are looking into for depression, addiction, and post-traumatic stress is… magic mushrooms? [Time]
We’ve all heard that high heels are bad for your feet, but new research actually shows the damage at a tendon and joint level. [NY Times]
You may have heard about the case of 12 girls at the same public school suddenly picking up Tourette’s-like symptoms of tics and verbal outbursts. Now, doctors finally have a diagnosis. [TODAY]
Here’s a reason to bring your ego down a notch: a new study finds that narcissistic men have higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. [CNN]
Read about the persistence of the white picket fence American Dream, and why it can lead to problems. [Psychology Today]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET  Romney should be calling all of his bundlers and soliciting money into Santorum’s campaign to make sure Santorum stays alive. Otherwise Newt may well win Florida and then all bets are off.
In 2002, a few well-informed individuals supporting the re-election campaign of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) understood that he probably couldn’t get to 50 percent against John Thune and that he’d probably attracted as many indies as possible, but that Libertarian Kurt Evans could potentially draw an extra point or two from Thune’s right flank. A few of these aforementioned individuals apparently organized a last minute effort to boost Evans, who ended up garnering 2,500 votes as Johnson edged Thune by 520 votes.
The dynamics are slightly different in a primary but the principles are the same. Santorum’s approximately 10 percent in Florida/nationally are essentially off-limits to Mitt in a contested primary, unless somebody like Huntsman is the sole alternative. To win Florida, Mitt must prevent the conservative bloc, currently split between Newt and Santorum, from coalescing behind Newt. So Mitt must keep Santorum in the race. The best way to do that is money. And Mitt (and his homies from the real streets of America) have nothing if not mad benjamins.
It might seem crazy but it’s perfectly legal and it’s what Romney’s people should be quietly communicating to their most sophisticated (and cynical) bundlers.
And hell, we’re in the post-Citizens United age, so one of those bundlers – if his creative juices are flowing – could just decide to start his own PAC and just start running positive ads for Santorum in Florida to boost Santorum’s #s there. Eliminate the middleman(ager) – that’s the Bain way, right?
In sum, to borrow some Bain-style jargon: for Romney, in the absence of a very unlikely Santorum surge, the marginal benefit of an extra dollar spent boosting
Santorum is higher than another dollar spent attacking Newt or another dollar spent trying to boost Romney.
(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  Are the eyes truly the window to the soul?
I think they are.
About 5 years ago a book came out titled, “A Hand To Guide Me: Legends and Celebrities Celebrate the People who Shaped Their Lives.”
It had a picture of Denzel Washington on the cover. (See below).
This book had an important impact on me.
I never bought the book, or the book on tape.
Never borrowed it from a friend to read. In fact, never once opened the book. Never even ever touched it.
 But I would stare at it every time I’d go to the book store, which was at least once a week. This went on for nearly six months.
What did I stare at? Denzel Washington’s calm, humble and yet assured look. Not seeming assured with confidence– but rather assured with integrity.
I love this picture and decided I wanted to live my life in such a way that if the eyes are truly the window to the soul, one day I could transmit through my eyes the same calm and peaceful soul Denzel Washington appears to in the picture.
I’m still working on that…and will be for years to come. Many days I feel my eyes look less like a composed and serene Denzel and more like the frenzied, fearful, vacant eyes of the protagonist in the movie Eraserhead.
But I try. It’s a goal. And a good one. And I got if from a book. With a picture of a man who’s soul spoke to me.
Through his eyes.
By RP Staff, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 11:00 AM ET  As the nation celebrates the miraculous recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who was grievously wounded just over a year ago — and who has decided to retire from Congress today — The RP spoke to the Washington Times about Gabby’s legacy:
For Ms. Giffords, civility had been an issue well before the shooting.
Even before she won her seat in Congress, she was part of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute’s leadership program, designed to foster better sharing and cooperation on ideas among elected officials.
One of her fellow classmates was Jonathan Miller, then the treasurer of Kentucky, who would go on to co-found No Labels, a group that pushes elected officials to move past partisanship and who said Ms. Giffords has become a symbol of “a return to civility and a return to developing relationships.”
“That’s what Gabby’s career is all about,” he said.
His group and Third Way, a progressive-leaning think tank, want to institutionalize the bipartisan State of the Union seating, which Third Way and some lawmakers came up with in the wake of the Tucson shooting.
“There was that very temporary surge [in civility], and it was quickly forgotten it seems,” Mr. Miller said. “But I think in that temporary surge there were a number of efforts that got their germination, including No Labels, that really have picked up a lot of steam and a lot of energy.”
Click here to read the full Washington Times article.
The RP additionally was quoted yesterday in the National Journal on last night’s bi-partisan seating at the State of the Union address, also a legacy of Giffords’ service:
Part of the push for bipartisan seating comes from independent groups like Third Way and No Labels, which took out a full-page ad in the New York Times earlier this month. But are they really expecting Republicans and Democrats sitting next to each other to solve partisan gridlock?
Last year’s State of the Union included bipartisan seating in response to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). But that didn’t exactly lay the groundwork for a productive and cooperative 2011.
“It won’t have any dramatic short-term effect,” admitted Jonathan Miller, a co-founder of No Labels and the former treasurer of Kentucky.
But, Miller said, if bipartisan seating gets institutionalized, it could make a difference. And he said that “it’s a signal to the public that [lawmakers] are taking their demand for less hyper-partisanship seriously.”
No Labels has also been tracking the announced bipartisan seating pairs.
Click here to read the full National Journal piece.
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The SOPA battle shows the growing political muscle of the web. [The Wall Street Journal]
It is official: Google is now evil (due to its new data-tracking policies). [Gizmodo.com]
Is the iPad cannibalizing Microsoft’s market-space? [Engadget.com]
By Zac Byer, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET Thank you very much for all of your responses to my first update from New Hampshire. I will eat crow and admit I was too quick to anoint Romney the GOP nominee, but then again, most did. Now, with no clear front runner, we’ve finally got some real excitement on our hands. Sitting on a train to Washington, DC from where I’ll leave for Florida tomorrow, I wanted to send out a few thoughts post-South Carolina and pre-Sunshine State.
-Everything changed in Myrtle Beach last Monday night. Sitting in the debate hall that night felt like being at the Palestra for a Penn-Villanova basketball game back when both teams consistently won games. The seating arrangement made for an interesting dynamic — the back risers were like the bleachers at Yankee Stadium, and the front seats were like the corporate boxes. You heard golf claps from the front, and booing, jeering, and hissing from the back. But when Newt Gingrich hit back at moderator Juan Williams’ race-baiting, suggesting young people get a job to learn the value of a hard-earned dollar, both sections erupted. Until that night in South Carolina, there had not been a standing ovation at a debate since 1980. And that standing ovation, well-deserved or not, lit the fire under Gingrich that he hasn’t felt since December. Something I found fascinating that wasn’t shown on TV was the candidates’ interactions during the commercial breaks. Santorum, Gingrich, Paul, and Perry (still a candidate at the time) would hurry down into the audience to glad-hand, take pictures, and chat with supporters. Mitt Romney didn’t follow suit. Instead, he walked off the stage and stopped at the bottom of the steps, where his wife Ann quickly met him. Romney spoke to nobody but her during the break, effectively cordoning himself off from anybody who wanted to shake his hand and say “Go get ’em.” His seclusion during those five minute breaks was a microcosm of his interactions with the voters during this election cycle — disinterested, unengaged, and lacking energy.
Read the rest of…
Zac Byer: On to Florida!
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET Sundance Film Festival is going on AS YOU READ THIS. /Film has been killing it with the coverage. I’m linking their front page, as there will be plenty of stuff for you to read there. I seriously might as well just shut the post down after this one link, this is plenty to read. [/Film]
This isn’t really about film, but the BBC television program Sherlock is perhaps the greatest item which involves film being made right now. Anyone who has managed to keep up with the show (its only out in Britain right now) is surely wondering about the possibility of a third season. I am happy to report that it will happen. And the two main guys will be back! [Deadline]
They are making a film about Linda Lovelace, the porn actress-turned-anti-porn-vigilante. (Surely porn will make it into one of these debates Jonathan is keen on soon, right?) Amanda Seyfried is playing Linda Lovelace, and there are now some pictures of that happening. [Movie Blog]
Spike Lee is making waves at Sundance with comments regarding the lack of diversity in cinema. I have to say, I agree with him. [WaPo]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET It looks like there’s hope for the media after all. New data reveals that sales for tablet computers and e-readers were up this holiday season. [NY Times]
More news in the U.K. phone hacking scandal. News International is now facing an FBI investigation after it was discovered that the organization was hacking actor Jude Law’s phone while he was on United States soil. [The Telegraph]
Spin magazine tries something a little different: reviewing music through Twitter. [AdWeek]
Some moviegoers in Liverpool are asking for refunds for The Artist, an awards season frontrunner, because they didn’t realize it would be a silent film. [Time]
The Poynter Institute analyzes the Twitter coverage surrounding Joe Paterno’s death. [Poynter Institute]
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Desire for Self improvement fades with age.
Maybe completely.
Younger version of me: Was obsessively trying to improve myself.
I used to spend a lot of time trying to pinpoint faults, flaws and quirks in my personality and try to correct them. I’d scan the Web reading up on a variety of mild but annoying maladaptive behaviors, take online tests, reading up on how to eliminate such unwanted traits and try to seek to remove them from my personality. And often having some success.
Older version of me (now): It’s hard to describe but basically I don’t …… I dunno know….really care much anymore about self-improvement.
I am still all for improving myself but only if it doesn’t take any real effort or concentration.
If I identify some weakness, bad habit or maladaptive behavior, it’s not from taking an online quiz. I tried recently and didn’t even finish reading question #2 before quitting and mumbling to myself, “Really?! You really want to do this now?”
And if I do become convinced I have some undesireable traits, instead of working mightily to be rid of them, I find myself saying things like, “It’s all good.” What does that even mean? I think it means, “I’m too lazy to do anything about whatever you’re complaining about. Here’s a quarter. Call someone who cares. I’m cool with my little quirks.”
And get this! A younger friend asked me about a bad habit he had to give up and asked me what would I do. I gave it about 2 seconds of thought and said, quite seriously, “Instead of fighting it….or trying to “stop” doing it, why don’t you try ’embracing it.” I was serious.
I wish I cared enough about self-improvement to finish this paragraph on an interesting and perceptive note, but I really don’t.
Sorry. It’s all good!
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