There is so much badness, madness, and craziness going on right now that I decided today would be a day to kick back, recharge, and share with you some pictures from the recent Macy’s Flower Show in downtown Minneapolis.

In the side yard, we have lots of bulbs coming up… daffodils, crocuses, and I even see the beginnings of some peony shoots.

Joel Grey and The Great Gonzo — Razzle Dazzle, from episode 103 of The Muppet Show.

Anyone see a disturbing pattern here?

Essentially, Democrats bought Planned Parenthood’s continued life for between $1-$4 billion, depending on who you believe.

So here’s what I don’t get: Why all the finger-pointing back and forth about who’s responsible for shutting down the government? The Republicans have branded themselves as the anti-government party for years, so why aren’t they bragging about shutting it down?

SEIU came out against the Colombia “free trade” agreement today, slamming the deal as a product negotiated by George W. Bush with an “action plan” that does nothing to actually reduce the number of assassinations of union members in the country.

Friday has been a typically major day for protests around the Arab world, so let’s take a look at what went on today.

Republicans look terrified to actually go through with the shutdown given the focus on women’s health and choice. The question then becomes: who’s forcing the issue?

Who says fun things don’t come on Fridays? There is some nice little spooky news on the wire this afternoon. Jeffrey Sterling, a former veteran CIA agent on the Iran beat, was charged back in January with leaking classified information to a reporter. the reporter is widely known and accepted to be none other than the New York Time’s James Risen, and the material supposedly was contained in his book State of War. The prosecution, headed by DOJ leak hitman William Welch (disgraced supervisor in the unethical prosecution of Ted Stevens). For some unknown reason, Welch was installed by the Obama/Holder DOJ as head of their unprecedented crackdown on leaks to the media.