Rainy day here along California’s northern coast, though, the sun does peek out from amongst the clouds every now and then.
Odd sensation that: Sunshine and rain.

In my original neck-of-the-woods (southeastern Alabama), there was some old catch-saying I’d heard as a wee child, went something like this: ‘When you see sun when it’s rainin,’ the devil’s beatin’ his wife.’
Now that’s just bat-shit-crazy talk.

(Illustration found here).

So far this morning, the precipitation has been mostly a way-deceiving mist — a short walk to the car, then to work or the store and one would not believe it’s actually raining, but just stroll to the end of the block and you’re soaked to the skin.
WTF.
How could such a fine, near-delicate mist carry so much moisture?

And how can US political culture carry so much bat-shit-crazy talk, like what’s going on right now, from all stripes of the belief spectrum?
Despite Democrats becoming Republicans in a lot of ugly shit and President Obama the most disappointing president in US history (freakish that Obama should follow the most-worse US president), the GOP has somehow become a festering crowd of bat-shit-crazy and mean-spirited assholes.
One telling example: The first couple of graphs for a Rick Santorum cheer-leading, near endorsement piece at the Washington Times on Friday:

Supporters of Rick Santorum have good reason to be proud of the GOP’s comeback kid.
His address at CPAC today revealed a candidate who has the moral intensity to challenge a progressive status quo and who has come a long way in developing presidential bearing.
Santorum’s address was not a red vs. blue cheerleader pep rally meant to make Republicans feel good about their brand.
Instead it was an adult conversation with conservatives about the future of their movement.

How can ‘moral insensity‘ and ‘adult conversation‘ be found in such close proximity?
All of these clowns are gathered in DC this week for CPAC, a yearly event for so-called ‘conservatives,’ of Republicans by any other name.
Assholes performing speeches to assholes, and assholes primping for assholes — a horrible twist to the preaching to the choir bullshit.
And from there to this from the Washington Post on CPAC: Or, as Robert Kitchens, a retiree from Houston, put it, “I’m interested in saving the country.”
Although the Post and the Times are entirely different newspapers, they both had variations of ‘intense‘ high in their stories; this from the Post, enforcing the Texas retiree’s line of thought:

The Republican nominee, it seemed, mattered less in their efforts to mobilize than their intense dislike of President Obama.
In dozens of interviews at the conference, which was to end Saturday afternoon, people expressed preferences for Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum or, less often, Newt Gingrich or the absent Ron Paul.
But every one of them said the same thing, often in the same words: “Anybody but Obama.”

Nothing about the state of the US, or world events or any other near-important subject, but only the removal of Obama, period.
Of course, no surprise — Mitch McConnell piped up last July (to reiterate what he’d blubbered nearly a year earlier): “Well, that is true,” McConnell replied. “That’s my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country.”

Along with the goal of just f*ucking up everything.

Even for future shit — the above moral intense Santorum on climate change, harping denial just like all Republicans are doing on the greatest, near-insurmountable problem facing the planet, telling an eating-it-up crowd at CPAC that Obama is using the facade of man-made global warming to gain control of the healthcare, energy and manufacturing industries, but big Rick is fighting back: I stood up and fought against those things. Why? because they will destroy the very foundation of prosperity in our country.
Yeah right, but pure in line with fellow asshole, Colorado Republican Congressman Cory Gardner, who also told the CPAC gathering how to stop that shit.
From Climate Progress:

When a questioner asked how Republicans can stop taxpayer dollars going to climate research and other programs to reduce carbon emissions, the panelists chuckled.
Then Rep. Gardner answered the question, explaining that many GOP leaders are committed to “get that money out that’s been feeding the industry.”

If we remove the money, stop the outcry, then climate change will go away.
Done. And done.
And although I don’t really care that much for Bill Maher, he did scope in Friday night on the big GOP reality (via Raw Story):

“Just think of the list of these parts of America that Republicans are publicly bitching about,” he said.
“Chicago, that lawless hell hole where Obama knew where to thug.
Hawaii, that state liberals made up so Obama could become president.
Hollywood, and San Francisco, and fuck it, let’s just say, all of California — except Orange County and the shitty parts in the valley.”
He added: “And when it comes to dividing America, it’s Republicans who in recent years have carved out a nation of two distinct territories.
There’s the heartland and then the rest of the country.
A vast nightmare vastland of college professors, museums, and people that recycle.”

The GOP actually appear to hate everything.

And so absurd it is — from The Hill:

A dead ringer for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) briefly fooled reporters on Saturday, giving no indication that she wasn’t the politician she purported to be.
…
The fake Palin was glad to oblige, discussing with impressively convincing authority her views on Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential race and whether she would endorse Newt Gingrich.
“This process is a rally good vetting process and the country needs it,” she said. “I’m not going to officially endorse anyone today, but I think the voters will decide.”
…
The impersonator ended the interview by handing reporters her business card: Patti Lyons — The World’s Premier Sarah Palin Impressionist.

Palin, of course, is the original who made bat-shit-crazy famous (Michele Bachmann not withstanding).
And the horrible bit is she’s look upon as sane.
A story this evening in the Christian Science Monitor carried ‘Palin wows CPAC‘ in its headline, then goes on to describe an ‘enthusiastic crowd‘ loving the shit out of her.
From a CNN live blog of Palin’s CPAC oratory:

Palin said after serving time in Washington, elected officials decide the nation’s capital is not a “cesspool,” but rather say it is “like a hot tub and they’re hoping in and join the jacuzzi.”
“It’s time to drain the jacuzzi … throw the bums out with the bath water,” she said.

One could maybe blame John McCain for hoisting Palin upon the political scene in 2008, but he really couldn’t be blamed for not truly understanding how bat-shit-crazy the lady, upon who’s bullshit gave credence to the bat-shit-crazy Tea Party.

And psychologist John Jost explained the phenomenon : “Most of the research literature … suggests that conservatives are more easily threatened, more likely to perceive the world as dangerous, and less trusting in comparison with liberals,” he notes.

Unwarranted fear can lead eventually to bat-shit-crazy.