Tuesday morning roundup

Haiti is starving. An etiquette of sharing what little there is has taken hold.

As I was flipping through a "Fitness" magazine yesterday I came across an add for Hostess 100-calorie cupcake snacks. No sense of irony.

I was also flipping though a Travel Tips for Women booklet that a tour company sent me. I didn't look at it in detail, but few of the tips were women-specific. I stumbled on a tip about Russia that really threw me: don't expect American-sized portions, savor the smaller dishes. Um, Russian portions are gynormous. My parents and their friends are not an anomaly. I don't know what those people are talking about. Occasionally, I come across blanket statements about Russian culture, as observed by foreigners, that are amazingly spot on. And occasionally, native Russians pull nonsensical ideas out of their a$$es.

Tea Party "idealism" meets reality. Richard Cohen explains, while David Brooks writes on the limits of populism. Elsewhere, Richard Cohen parses the significance of John Edwards' brush with presidency.

This is going to be a trial week for going Postless. I put my subscription on hold because I thought I'd be business-traveling, but our trip got postponed, and I forgot to cancel the hold. Which is just as well in terms of my information overload, but it will make for less comprehensive roundups.