Anecdote in "What Couples Want to Know But Are Too Shy to Ask" seemed much more interesting at first.

It's in the Wall Street Journal, which does sometimes have articles about sex:

About 10 years ago, Ms. Madsen started to feel unhappy and unfulfilled....

Ms. Madsen went to bed around 8:30, woke up at 5 and liked to have sex at night. Mr. Madsen went to bed at midnight, woke up at 7 and liked it in the morning. When his wife asked him to come to bed earlier, he explained that he was still working. "I acknowledged that we needed to schedule time to have sex more often, but realistically, not much changed," he says.

Some of Ms. Madsen's friends were having extramarital affairs and encouraged her to do the same. "I wanted to feel sexually alive again, too," she says. Instead, she decided to try sex therapy, and several therapists helped her explore her desires. She read erotic books....

It took six months, though, for Ms. Madsen to get up the nerve to talk to her husband about her realization....

Then I read "Pamela [is] an author and blogger about topics including female sexuality" and I wasn't interested in her story anymore. It's not that I'm against blogging (or against other bloggers). It's that I'm reading an article that seemed like it was on a general topic and now it looks like it was built on that anecdote and that anecdote was concocted as material to flesh out a blog. What's all this stuff doing on a blog? Of course, I can answer that question, but the story loses authenticity. What is this relationship, if it was blogged about? Actually, looking at the details of the story, it seems pretty screwy. Or is it banal? She goes to a sex therapist for 6 months before talking to her husband? And she's someone who writes about sex?

(And, by the way, if you like to go to bed at 8:30 — 8:30! — and your husband likes to stay up until midnight, you need to learn about first sleep/second sleep. The interval between the 2 sleeps is a traditional time for having sex.)

5 reasons why the Scott Walker haters should vote for Scott Walker in the recall.

1. The recall grew out of the protests — the vibrant, passionate protests — against Scott Walker's cutback of collective bargaining rights, and Tom Barrett, by campaigning on anything but union rights, has betrayed the original intent of the recall.

2. Don't reward the Democratic Party for appropriating the protest energy — which had that real, left-wing progressive spirit — and handing it to a bland moderate who stands for nothing much than not being Scott Walker. If this works for them, they'll keep trying to do it, and your movement will always be coopted. You're a protester: Register a protest vote.

3. Scott Walker has been a great foil for left-wing politics, a great arch-enemy. Tom Barrett won't do any of the things you really want, and you'll be stuck more or less supporting him. You'll become middle-of-the-road and deactivated.

4. If Scott Walker loses, it won't be by much, and the people who support him will be outraged and energized. Remember how you felt when he announced his reforms in February 2011? They'll feel something like that. It will be the Tea Party Summer, going into the fall elections.

5. Vote against recall politics generally. This is not a normal way for a democracy to work. You can show some sympathy with the ordinary Wisconsinites who don't like their lives disrupted this way.

#WIUnionDesperation.

There's video of Scott Walker drinking the milk straight from the carton. #WIUnionDesperation

— Rick Sheridan (@RickSheridan) June 4, 2012

#WIunionDesperation Walker's mother's father father's mother mother's father is part Cherokee but he can't prove it

— Kimberly Morin (@Conservativeind) June 4, 2012

Scott Walker birth certificate states he was born in the 57th state of our union #WIunionDesperation

— Liz Schmidt (@LizSchmidt3) June 4, 2012

Scott Walker sneaks into your laundry room and takes that sock you're always missing. #WIunionDesperation

— JD Nelson (@JDNelson_68W) June 3, 2012

Scott Walker says "They are so desperate... they have to make crap up..."

"It is sickening… I think this will backfire, and I think there are a lot of Democrats across the state that will say that this is what is exactly what is fundamentally wrong about politics in America today."

And he predicts that he'll win "by a large margin"... because "voters have had it — they’re disgusted and they’re ready to move on."

Eric Holder and David Axelrod "stood chest to chest" — "It was like a school yard fight."

At cabinet meeting. They had to be separated... by Valerie Jarrett.

"Activists converge on Wisconsin for historic recall vote."

Says Reuters (linked prominently at Drudge):

Political activists converged on Wisconsin on Sunday to join get-out-the-vote efforts two days before a historic recall election for Republican Governor Scott Walker that is seen as a test for November's presidential race.

But as I just wrote in the previous post, I was all over downtown Madison today, and there was NO political activity at all.

But up in Brown County, Wisconsin, Scott Walker and Tom Barrett attended the same event, Brown County Dairy Breakfast, where there was a crowd of 8,000+ people to glad-hand.

Things for sale in Madison.

By the way, I spent time in various Madison spots today — 2 cafés, walking on various streets including State Street and around the Capitol, basking and brat-eating on the Union Terrace — and I didn't see any activity related to Tuesday's recall election. No signs, no protesters, no drumbeating, no clipboards. And there were lots of people out on this beautiful June Sunday. I did see an old chalking on State Street.

And in the first café — where I sat alone, grading exams — there were about 6 people sitting at another table, talking politics. But they weren't talking Tuesday. They were talking Wednesday. What should they say on Wednesday? Who should be blamed for this calamity? They sounded especially upset at how much money had been thrown away. Not the $18 million dollars of tax money the state must pay to conduct the election, but all the contributions that went to the Democratic candidates... down the rat hole.

Later, I met up with Meade at the Terrace, and I asked him the question: Who should these people — the ones who wanted the recall — blame on Wednesday? Meade said: Obama. Do you see why?

"WHY have we been told that salt is so deadly? "

Asks Gary Taubes.

Well, the advice has always sounded reasonable. It has what nutritionists like to call “biological plausibility.” Eat more salt and your body retains water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium in your blood. This is why eating salty food tends to make us thirsty: we drink more; we retain water. The result can be a temporary increase in blood pressure, which will persist until our kidneys eliminate both salt and water.

The scientific question is whether this temporary phenomenon translates to chronic problems....

Looking for meaning and finding it.

1. "A Texas family says they are getting strength from an image of Jesus they found in the mold growing inside the shower of their home."

2. "The family of a 13-year-old Kansas boy who found a picture of a long-dead uncle inside a camera he bought at a garage sale said it may be a sign from beyond."

(These are the top 2 "Most Popular" stories at UPI.com right now.)

"Caved in the bleedin' tunnel."

Richard Dawson. He was 79.

"52% See Romney As Mainstream, 45% Say Same of Obama."

A Rasmussen poll of likely voters. 45% see Obama's views as "extreme," while only 30% say that about Romney.

In early May, 50% described Obama’s views as mainstream, while 40% said they were extreme. Romney's views were seen as mainstream by 51% and extreme by 35%. The latest findings are more in line with voters’ perceptions in October of last year, the first time Rasmussen Reports asked this question.

So the "extremeness" gap doubled, as Romney got 5 points less extreme and Obama got 5 points more extreme.  As for moderation, Romney gained merely one point of mainstreamosity, while Obama lost 5.

What has happened since early May that might account for this shift? Obama's same-sex marriage announcement came on May 9th. There's also been a lot of talk about capitalism — Bain and all that.

Wisconsin Citizens Media Co-op drops a load on Scott Walker.

Beginning with an "Editor's Note" — presumably an attempt at deflecting a defamation lawsuit — that reads:

What follows is one woman's account of the Scott Walker she knew at Marquette University. To the extent possible we have verified its accuracy, including the accuracy of details not printed here in order to protect the identities of the people involved. All of the elements are consistent: the principals were at Marquette University when the incidents recounted here allegedly happened, and "Ruth" did have a baby shortly thereafter. However, attempts to reach "Ruth" and her first husband have been unsuccessful, as phone numbers listed for each have been disconnected, and so far we have not been able to independently verify Bernadette's account.

They are orgasmic at Daily Kos — "OMFG!! Scott Walker's Got a Love Child?!?!"

Via Jay (in a comments thread here), who says: "Can you smell the desperation?"

Yes, I can. The recall election is Tuesday. I was going to link to something really desperate in Isthmus this morning, but the Isthmus site seems to be crashed right now. There's a lot of desperation and maybe all the desperados went there at once. Well, this is the link, if it works. The article is called something like Legal Cloud Gathers Over Scott Walker, and it purports to have sources that say that Walker is the target of a criminal investigation. Ah! The site is back. It's "Legal cloud gathers over Scott Walker as recall election approaches":

With the recall election only two days away, federal prosecutors are closing in on Governor Scott Walker, according to veteran political reporter David Shuster, former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, and former district attorney Bob Jambois.

In a conference call organized by state Democrats on Saturday evening, June 2, Shuster, Lautenschlager, and Jambois laid out evidence that Walker is a target of a federal investigation.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Communications Director Graeme Zielinski added that there is evidence of wrongdoing after Walker's time as Milwaukee County Executive, and that the investigation includes criminal activity during his time as governor.

Based on conversations with a lawyer who has knowledge of the investigation....

Quite the "legal cloud," no? It's less of a cloud of law than a swarm of Democrats. Desperate Democrats. Embarrassing. You just had a former President appear on behalf of your candidate. Why not a little grace and dignity as you approach the end?

UPDATE: "Daniel Bice, the 'Watchdog' reporter of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online interviewed the anonymous woman who had the baby, but she adamantly denied that Scott Walker was the father according to a comment by Daniel Bice to the linked story." I wonder if Daniel Bice knows anything about the lawyer with knowledge of the federal investigation.

"Have you noticed that the left’s nightmare is a small town where everybody sees and comments on whatever you do..."

"... but they try to turn every place into a small town where everybody sees and comments on whatever you do?"

ADDED: And they love diversity, but they're hot to run you out of town for nonconformity.

"Cop Arrests NBC Reporters, Says Your First Amendment Right Can Be Terminated."

"What’s his name? The police officer’s name should be reported. If I ran a media operation, anytime someone laid hands on one of my reporters, I’d publish his or her name, picture, and disciplinary record. Then I’d file a lawsuit. Every single time."

ADDED: That this police officer would talk like that to news reporters is evidence that he talks like that on such a regular basis that he doesn't even notice how shocking it sounds to people who know what rights are. It's important to push back hard against this kind of policing for the sake of all the people who don't know what their rights are and who can be controlled and oppressed by false information coming from an authority figure.

"We have seen the power of a single mailer disclosing the voting behavior of oneself and one’s neighbors."

"Does this effect persist over time, in the form of newly created voting habit?" asks an academic study (PDF) linked by Professor Jacobson, as he discusses that creepy mailer that showed my name and my neighbors' names and whether we'd voted in the last 2 elections. From the study:

The remarkable effectiveness of the social pressure appeals contrasts with the relatively modest effects observed in previous studies of the effectiveness of direct mail voter mobilization campaigns....

The difference between our intervention and mail used in previous experiments is that ours harnesses one of the most formidable forces in social psychology, pressure to conform to social norms....

Decades of survey research have suggested that people implicitly defer to the norm of voting, insofar as they tend to exaggerate their past rates of voter turnout....

From a theoretical vantage point, the sheer magnitude of the surveillance effect suggests an important new line of attack for scholars seeking to explain long-term declines in voter turnout.... 

The surveillance effect! It's important for people to know when political organizations, like the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund, are deliberately using a psychological manipulation that has been tested and studied. Please, get out the word that mailers like this are trying to mobilize...

The Surveillance Effect.

"Crack's Top Ten Suggestions For What Meadhouse Can Do To Keep Me Entertained."

The Crack Emcee was really inspired by my comment "Remember, Meade and I need to do some road trips for your entertainment, and it's a big deal to do that customized Sprinter to suit the sensitivities of an old lady professor-blogger."

Note: The "Clarence Thomas" tag is not a mistake.