Nobody Asked Me, But...

1) Chris Christie is an idiot. New Jersey has a rightly-deserved reputation for one of the finest public school systems in America, one of the finest public hospital systems in America (so good, that the Johnson & Johnson family has opened hospitals here...there's a reason House is set in Jersey!), and antagonizing the unions in a state that practically invented the concept is going to create nothing but trouble.

 

2) Chuck Schumer is grandstanding. Again. Not that I disagree with the sentiment, and not that he's wrong, but rather than tackle the problem, he wants to put a tourniquet on a gash, when all it needs is some stitches. Just overturn the SCOTUS decision and be done with it, dammit! This isn't brain surgery!

 

3) Hm. There seems to be a medical theme running here.

 

4) So how do the Democrats in the Senate "do" bipartisan? By turning Republican! Nut up or shut up, Harry!

 

5) Amen, and thank you, Lord.

 

6) My prediction: Wayne Gretzky carries in the torch, but Fox's mom lights it up.

 

7) Could healthcare reform finally receive the boost its been looking for? Stupid greedy capitalists.

 

8) H1N1 may have turned out to be a bust this season, possibly because so much work was done in the spring and summer to forestall it, but vigilance, folks! I got my flu jab, did you get yours?

 

9) OK, so how dumb are Americans? 70% of us said we support gays in the military, but only 59% of us support homosexuals in the military. It's true! Somewhere out there, one in ten people want to believe that Ellen Degeneres is gay, but not a queer.

 

10) How bad has the snow been this month? Well, after today's storm in the south, all 50 states could have some snow accumulation on the ground.

 

Happy Valentine's Day, Mrs Calabash, wherever you are!

Thoughts And Prayers

We're all praying for you, Mr President.

Has There Ever Been A More Appropriately Named Man In History?

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen had died

Earthshattering?

I don't think so...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to 20%.

[...] Western powers fear Iran is heading towards enriching uranium to 90% - to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Previously, Iran had enriched uranium to 3.5%, which is sufficient for power needs. 20% is necessary, they claim, for medical isotope purposes, which costs them the grand total of $1 million dollars a year.

 

Interesting, the facility most likely to have been used to create the enriched uranium was provided to Iran by the United States back in 1967 under the "Atoms For Peace" program.

 

Isn't it ironic, dontcha think?

 

Previously, Iran had promised a stunning "punch" to the West. This was more like a feint. Few take the claim very seriously, except of course the fainting-couch denizens.

 

Scroll down to the comments, if you'd like a good laugh. Or cry. Or laughiecry....

 

Meanwhile, the truly distressing development in Iran is the government response to the current wave of protests from dissidents. They have been lining the streets with militiamen, which has kept violence to a minimum.

 

But there has been violence.

 

Curious thing about Iran: for a dictatorial nation, they do seem to be fairly liberal in their policies with respect to dissent. Not as tolerant as the average Western nation, to be sure, but considering what Saddam Hussein used to do, it speaks volumes.

 

The Obama administration response has been measured, and if anything, has faulted to the side of caution.

 

 

Future GOP Vice President

Here's a man with a bright political future

Joshua Ryan Tabor, 27, was arrested on Jan. 31 and charged with assaulting a child after police in Yelm, Wash., responded to a call of a disturbance at Tabor's home and then later found the little girl hiding in a locked bathroom, according to Police Chief Todd Stancil.

I forsee him running as Sarah Palin's Veep candidate, after drowing Joe the Plumber.

Snowgasm

Apparently, Mother Nature is finally getting around to belting New York City this winter. We'd ducked plenty of bullets this season, primarily because Canadian high pressure has sat right over us, deflecting coastal storms when it's been really cold.

 

Last week was "Snowmageddon" in the DC area. You have to know it was named by some Republican because the name is overblown and totally ridiculous. Yes, there was amount of snow, some three feet, a depth that we reach in NYC once a decade or so. So what? It's not like DC has never had snow before, plus you have a President from a state that actually, you know, has real snow. This ought to have been a slam dunk. Don't come crying to us liberals in the northeaast about how hard you have it!

 

This week, New York City is getting an official blizzard. Three feet of snow closes us down maybe for a day (the schools will probably close until Monday, but that's a smart idea). A blizzard can really wreak havoc on an area.

 

Even so, this is a seven on a scale of one to ten in terms of snowstorms. We can't call a "snowmageddon" or "snowpocalypse" because a) it ain't and b) those names have already been wasted on that pantywaisted little storm last weekend.

 

So I've coined the following:

 

Snowgasm

 

Why? Well, it's taken forever to come along, and now that it's here, it's pumping furiously, faster, harder, deeper, trying to get it over as fast as possible, dumping plenty of moisture and leaving it up to us to deal with.

 

And then it will likely roll over and fall asleep.

 

So I count my lucky stars. Mother Nature may have some more surprises in store.

 

 

Why, I've Never Been Kindled Before!

Now, you can carry me around in your purse or briefcase!

Pick up a subscription to your favorite blog, Simply Left Behind on your Kindle device or your iPhone or iPad! $0.99 per month for the funniest, smartest, sassiest blog known to humanity.

Oh, and I'm worth it

Didja Want Humps Widdat?

Um, ewwwwwwwwwwwww?

 

I mean, I suppose there's something to be said about buffaloburgers and bisonburgers and ostrichburgers being kinda icky, but, well, camelburbgers?

No Surprises Here

Nate Silver reinforces what we have known for, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, decades...

In fact, a more objective and equivocal evaluation of public opinion on more than two dozen specific issues finds that the Republican Congress has far more often been on the wrong side of it. Attempting to be as comprehensive as possible, I've identified 25 issues that Obama and the Democrats have made an affirmative effort to push forward since taking office a year ago, and summarized public opinion on each of them. Most of the numbers that I've cited come from PollingReport.com.

"Heh, indeedy," to coin a phrase...

 

 

Start Spreading The News...

...it's up to you, New York, New York:

1) An embattled Gov. Paterson yesterday strongly denied rampant rumors of extramarital affairs and drug use as he blasted the media for printing "callous and sleazy" allegations. (ed. note Mind you, he came to office acknowledging he has an open marriage, with his wife standing at his side when he said that)

2) Capital rife with rumors of Paterson's political demise Because nothing says "leave" like a sex scandal. I'm not saying that Patterson isn't a lame duck, and certainly his political actions of late indicate he acknowledges only a slim chance of re-election, so he'll likely drop out of the race, but...

3) (State) Senator's bill calls for expulsion for "egregious misdemeanors" It's intriguing that Pedro Espada is authoring the bill under which Hiram Monserrate would be automatically ejected by the New York State Senate, as both were instrumental in the defection/re-affection to the Democratic party that caused Espada to be selected majority leader in the first place! The man knows dirty politics and plays it like a Mafia kingpin.

4) The political fate of State Senator Hiram Monserrate, a Queens Democrat convicted of assault in a dispute that left his companion with a gash on her face, grew uncertain on Thursday as a special committee recommended that the Senate vote soon on a motion to expel him. Yup. You got that right: an elected official permanently scars a woman's face and his political future is actually possible.

New York's political machinery is starting to resemble the Wild West, only more so.

Obama Derangement Syndrome

Man gets hit by car: blames President.