Big news here in NY, as our legislative heroes in the State Senate finally passed a budget last night on a strict party-line vote of 32-28. Since the Assembly passed a budget back in June, I guess we finally have a budget, and only four months and a couple days late. Special kudos to our Senate Republicans, whose obstructionist abilities to march in lockstep in objection to everything rivals even those of their big brothers in the US Senate. Good for you, guys. You’re a credit to, um, whatever it is you are.

Sometimes you just gotta give credit where credit is due. Lou Dobbs had this to say about the fake attempt to repeal the 14th Amendment:

“The idea that anchor babies somehow require changing the 14th Amendment, I part ways with the Senators on that because I believe the 14th Amendment, particularly in its due process and equal protection clauses, is so important,” Dobbs said. “It lays the foundation for the entire Bill of Rights being applied to the states.”

So, good for you, Lou. You’re not quite as crazy, stupid, and dangerous as Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Jon Kyl, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, and Lindsey Graham (to name a few).

Today is the President’s birthday. Or is it? As Rush Limbaugh said yesterday, we can’t be sure because we’ve never seen any proof of that (other than Obama’s birth certificate – but who you gonna believe, Oily Taintz or your lyin’ eyes?). Anyhow, on the odd chance that is really is is your natal day, Happy Birthday Barry. Put your feet up and have a smoke and a beer (and fer chrissakes, not a Bud Light, please – though I guess light beer would be quite emblematic of your presidency, which I am in no way disappointed in).

The aurora borealis was visible in the northern US last night thanks to a solar storm over the weekend. Or so I hear. I was in bed, and I think it was raining here. I guess I’ll just have to find a YouTube video of it or something.

I saw the Northern Lights here when I was a kid, though at the time I had no idea what the hell it was. I just remember seeing this weird light to the north, and all of us going, “what the hell is that?”

Oh well, off to bravely face another day. That’s the nice thing about doing something for a living you really don’t want to do anymore. It keeps you from fearing death.

Oh, and as for dinosaurs and oil, I think the relationship was made pretty clear by the TV show “Dinosaurs,” which featured Earl Sinclair, Ethyl Phillips, Roy Hess, and BP Richfield.