News in Brief - Tuesday

• Slate has a wonderful piece about one of the Unsung Heroes of the Cold War who asked the question, "If the President gives the order to launch our nuclear arsenal, can we be sure that the President is sane enough to make that call?"  I think that it is a more than fair question, as anyone who would use nuclear weapons clearly is less than sane.
• The NYT's Caucus Blog asks, "Will the rising gas prices be an issue for candidates in 2012?"  Um. Yes.  Is that even a question?  Americans love there big cars and love living in suburban wastelands.  Most Americans think that public transportation is a bad thing or that riding a bicycle is juvenile. (Yes, I am using most here.  Statistics support me.  Source them yourself. Start with the Dept of Transportation.)
• While the The King of All Media asked, and rightfully so, "Who is more insane, Charlie Sheen or Glenn Beck?" on The Daily Show, Mr. Sheen was on Piers Morgan and made the most wonderful statement ever..."I have a ten thousand year old brain and the boogers of a seven year old."  Clearly, this man is sane, ready to get back to work, and unaffected by narcotic abuse.
• In an effort at counter-programming, The Awl is going to be a Sheen Free Zone today.
• Howard Kurtz has a good piece on The Daily Beast about how Rachel Maddow has become the face of MSNBC after the departure of Keith.  Yes, my crush was only deepened.
• And one that has me scratching my head a little...Frank Rich is leaving the New York Times for New York Magazine? That just seems like an odd move, especially right now.  I do hope it works out for everyone involved.
• Oh, and... the redesign that made most Gawker media sites unreadable (with the exception of Fleshbot), yeah...Nick Denton sent out a memo saying that it....could have gone better.