Sometimes I get so frustrated and/or disheartened and/or annoyed by some of the news stories of the day that I can’t bring myself to write about them. Here are a few recent reports that made my blood pressure hit the roof. I am avoiding delving into them at length out of concern for my physical and mental health.

• Just Four Lawmakers Show Up To Congressional Hearing On Long-Term Unemployment-- "All four of the panelists invited to speak were white men, the least likely to be affected by the long-term unemployment crisis." White as white can be! Hey, who remembers The Boehner asking, "Where are the jobs?" Hands?

• After Boston, Rubio Entertains The Idea Of Not Granting Visas To Muslim Students-- Psst! Marco! The Tsarnaev brothers didn't come here on student visas. Islamophobic much?

• Automatic Budget Cuts Could Undermine Effort To Trace Guns Used By Suspected Boston Bombers-- ATF, SchmaSchmeeSchmeff. What matters are our SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

• Dartmouth College Cancels Classes After Sexual Assault Protesters Receive Rape Threats-- In college, one learns to post anonymous messages with bigger words. Like "shotgun."

• New Bird Flu Strain Is ‘One Of The Most Lethal’ Viruses Of Its Kind, Global Health Experts Warn-- Oh goody, something else to send me into the hypochondriacal abyss. Because, you know, pervasive Big Pharma ads on cable just aren't enough.

• Conservative Group Photoshops Out Minorities In Mailer Opposing Pro-Voting Legislation-- "A group connected to Colorado’s Secretary of State has been sending political mailers — including a picture of a darker-skinned woman whose face was digitally removed and replaced with a white woman’s face — in an attempt to oppose a landmark voting bill that may soon become law." Can't win elections? Cheat!

• Mark Sanford Debates Fake Pelosi-- If Mark Sanford weren't fake, he could debate real live people!

• Sanford Changes Story on Trespassing Charge-- See above, only insert "he could tell the truth!

• 15 States Have Loosened Gun Restrictions-- Because providing gun manufacturers with more cash, coveting phallic symbols, pretending you can outgun murderers under stress, and endangering more lives is a priority. USA! USA!

• Christie Headed for a Landslide-- Dear New Jersey Dems: For the last time, he's a conservative!

See what I mean? So who’s up for a couple of Margs or a trough of wine?