Clear and much-more chilly this early Monday than the last few days — up here on California’s north coast we’ve had unseasonal warm weather due to rain over the weekend, but apparently starting today it’s back to business as usual.
No rain forecast for at least the next week to 10 days — a sad state of affairs, drought-wise.

And it’s quiet, but what’s to be expected on a early Monday as most sane people are still asleep in bed and will fight the good fight to stay there until the very, very last second.

(Illustration found here).

Beyond last night’s Golden Globes (Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are awesome), New Jersey’s big dude is still top of the news cycle, and this morning all the bridge shit has been moved aside for even-more nasty shit.
From CNN this morning:

Just days after dismissing two top advisers for their roles in the George Washington Bridge scandal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is facing questions over the use of Superstorm Sandy relief funds.
…
If the Sandy inquiry finds any wrongdoing, it could prove even more damaging to Christie’s national ambitions.
His performance during and after the superstorm has been widely praised and is a fundamental part of his straight-shooting political brand.
In the new probe, federal auditors will examine New Jersey’s use of $25 million in Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore after Sandy decimated the state’s coastline in late 2012, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone told CNN
In an August letter, Pallone asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general to look into how Christie chose to spend the marketing money approved by the department.
…
On Sunday, Pallone told CNN that the inspector general conducted a preliminary review of the spending and concluded that there was enough evidence to launch a full-scale investigation into the state’s use of federal funds.
The audit will take several months, and the findings will be issued in an official report, he said.

And added to this delightful Christie tidbit, there’s talk of another reason for the bridge shutdown last September, a big “billion dollar redevelopment” the Democrat mayor of Fort Lee (the focal point town of the bridge-lane closures) was developing.
TPM has the story:

Now consider the project’s proximity to the bridge.
When we think about transportation infrastructure, we usually think only about the ‘thing’ being built: the bridge, tunnel, rail line, road, etc.
But those projects have value because they connect things.
They’re built because they allow people and goods to move, and they can dramatically increase the utility and value of the properties they connect.
The Erie Canal did this in the early republic.
Then the railroad.
Then the subway, the highway, the airport.
The Hudson Lights project is a billion dollar project because it offers unparalleled access to the George Washington Bridge.
But take away that access and it’s no longer a billion dollar project.

Interesting take on a scandal that’s developing itself into one of those unfolding stories — the media eat this shit up, going from one point to another.
Outlaw Jersey Whale is screwed — and it couldn’t happen to a bigger asshole.

Chris Hedges at TruthDig this past weekend explains Christie in no-uncertain terms (which I agree):

Christie is the caricature of a Third World despot.
He has a vicious temper, a propensity to bully and belittle those weaker than himself, an insatiable thirst for revenge against real or perceived enemies, and little respect for the law and, as recent events have made clear, for the truth.
He is gripped by a bottomless hedonism that includes a demand for private jets, huge entourages, exclusive hotels and lavish meals.
Wall Street and the security and surveillance apparatus want a real son of a bitch in power, someone with the moral compass of Al Capone, in order to ruthlessly silence and crush those of us who are working to overthrow the corporate state.
They have had enough of what they perceive to be Barack Obama’s softness.
Christie fits the profile and he is drooling for the opportunity.

He’s gotta clear the bridge first, however.
And the stretchable George Carlin on a belated Christie: “I’m keeping him in my thoughts.” Where? Where exactly in your thoughts does he fit? In between “my ass hurts in this chair” and “let’s fuck the waitress”?

Mon–freakin’–day!

(Illustration out front found here).