HOW DEEP? ANKLE DEEP, OR MORE. (John Hayden photo)
The snow is getting deeper, and the temperature is falling fast. Wind gusts are picking up. If I had to choose between the snow and the temperature, I’d say the unusually frigid temperatures are the bigger and more dangerous part of the story.
Winter Storm Janus closed government offices in Washington on Tuesday, and schools throughout the metro region. By late afternoon, nearly everything was shut down and traffic was light.
Snow blowing sideways early afternoon in Gaithersburg, MD, in the suburbs north of Washington. No more than 2 inches accumulation here so far, but we’re still in the early part of Janus. Winds 15-25 mph, temp 28, going down to 18 before the afternoon is over. That’s more than 30 degrees colder than 24 hours ago.
The city of Washington might get less snow than expected, but it is snowing there now. Forecasters still calling for 4-8 inches of snow throughout Central Maryland and Northern Virginia. But they’re now predicting 8-12 inches from Baltimore north to NYC. Heaviest snow in MidAtlantic might be in a narrow belt from Philadelphia across New Jersey and into NYC, and definitely Long Island.
Janus is almost upon us, and it’s looking like the big storm of Winter 2014. At least, I hope we don’t get one bigger than this. Tuesday will be an interesting day for the MidAtlantic states.
By the time Janus is finished on Wednesday, the most heavily populated region of the U.S. will be snow-covered, with millions of people affected. Snow from at least as far south as Richmond, maybe even North Carolina, to north of Boston.
John Hayden photo
The Maryland General Assembly is back in session is open for business as usual in Annapolis. I’m having a hard time making myself care.
All eyes are on the Democratic primary in June. The politicians are full of energy — all of it directed at collecting campaign contributions.
But they have to stop fundraising, now that the session has started, and I doubt they have the heart to do anything of substance over the next 90 days.
It’s truly difficult to imagine this lame-duck Assembly, with a lame-duck governor gazing at the White House, doing anything other than image repair.
Am I getting cynical in my old age, or what?
United Parcel Service (Photo credit: Dust Storm)
Santa Claus is legendary for customer satisfaction and on-time Christmas Eve performance.
UPS package delivery, despite its ubiquitous brown trucks . . . not so much.
Thousands — probably hundreds of thousands — of gifts failed to arrive in time for Christmas. Don’t blame Santa. Continue reading
Two stories of our times may have passed nearly unnoticed in the Christmas Eve edition of The Washington Post. If you find yourself with a few quiet moments for reading, today or maybe tomorrow, I recommend the following from the 12-24-13 Post.
“Edward Snowden: I Already Won,” on Page One. It’s a long read, but it pulls the whole Snowden- NSA story together with some clarity.
And “How robots are stealing our jobs,” the chilling story in Economy & Business, page A13. Continue reading
In my years of elected office in Annapolis and Washington, I’ve never seen such reckless and irresponsible behavior.” Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland
Both sides now have reason to dig in and refuse to budge. Both sides think they’re on the verge of achieving a cherished goal, if only they hang tough.
For President Obama, the Affordable Care Act is taking effect even as we speak, despite the so-called “partial” government shutdown. Health care for all has been a Democratic goal for 60 years or more. Obama has a passed bill, a signed law with his name on it. The president and Democrats believe that once Obamacare is implemented, people will decide they love it — just like Social Security and Medicare — and will refuse to give it up.
The Republicans are dead set against Obamacare, just as they were against Social Security and Medicare. Continue reading
“Boston Tea Party.” Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
My working title for this post was “Non-Shooting Civil War In America.” I thought that might be over the top, if only by a little.
I don’t see immediate danger of violent civil war in America, but I think today’s U.S. government shutdown is collapse by premeditated sabotage by political failure. In other words, our regular political process for resolving differences has failed. Moreover, the failure is not accidental; it’s intentional. Congress, especially, has failed big time.
On Friday, President Obama said the U.S. may sometimes have to police the world. Mr. President, I respectfully beg to differ.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Where did this notion come from, that the USA, being the last superpower standing, should be the police force of the world? That we should zoom from continent to continent, fighting crime and bringing bad guys to justice? By what authority?
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 