The peroxide may be seeping into Meghan McCain’s brain: She’s using quotation marks with reckless abandon.

Meghan titled today’s post “Colorado.” Another recent post, which chronicles her birthday, was titled “24. Every headline she writes is enclosed in quotation marks. None is necessary.

• Quotation marks indicate that you’re repeating what someone said or wrote verbatim. They also signal a change of speaker.

Quotation marks are also used for words with a different level of usage to indicate that the word is being used in some special or unusual way. They imply that the writer doesn’t buy into the word’s meaning. (Check out this blog for all sorts of entertaining interpretations of unnecessary quotation marks.)

For example, you might note we were promised “equal” treatment at the convention, but the celebrities got to cut the long line.

Here’s where Meghan gets into trouble. Her unnecessary quotation cast a suspicious tone, throwing her titles into question. Is she really in Colorado or is she claiming to be there while whooping it up in Vegas? Is Meghan actually 24 or is she pushing 30?

It’s true that quotation marks are used for titles, such as articles, short stories, poems, artwork and even book chapters. However, it’s against blogging convention to put the titles of short posts in quotation marks. They’re already adequately set apart with larger, bolder text.

Meghan would do well to heed Harry Shaw’s advice in Punctuate It Right!

Quotation marks are conspicuous and sharply focus attention upon the words or expressions which they enclose. Therefore, do not overuse them…as an excuse for inexact choice of words.

While we’re on the subject, let’s establish two other facts about quotation use.

First, a quotation within a quotation calls for single quotation marks.

“People keep asking, ‘Are you really 24?’ ” Meghan McCain told the press.

Second, where to put those other wiggly punctuation marks when you’re working with quotation marks.

• The comma and the period come inside the quotation marks. “I enjoy blogging,” Meghan McCain said.

• A question mark, exclamation point or dash comes outside the quotation marks unless it’s part of the quotation, as in the above example. Are you reading John McCain’s “favorite website”?

• The semicolon and colon come outside the quotation marks. The lingering question about Meghan’s “time-consuming hobby”: its political impact.