Unexpectedly

Looks like the People’s Soviet of New York is running out of other people’s money:

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday announced a dramatic drop in state income tax revenue of $2.8 billion, which he says will prompt him to revise his 2019-20 budget and reconsider spending on schools, health care and repairs to roads and bridges.
“At this point there is no doubt that the budget we put forward is not supported by the revenues,” Cuomo said at a State Capitol news conference. “It’s as serious as a heart attack.”
Cuomo said he’s not certain what areas might need to be cut, but said the biggest spending areas now are education, health care, infrastructure and another phase-in of a previously approved middle-class tax cut.

Of course, it’s not his fault or the fault of NY’s bloated social policies, benefits obligations and union payouts, oh no.  Guess whose fault it really is?

Cuomo, a Democrat, blamed the shortfall on a federal tax plan backed by Republican President Donald Trump. Cuomo said the law’s cap on deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000 was to blame and suggested it is, anecdotally, triggering high-earners to leave New York.

Any time a politician has to resort to anecdotal data, then he’s the one to blame.

Mega Weapons

Apparently, the Russians have a new weapon:

The Russian Navy reportedly has a new weapon that can disrupt the eyesight of targets as well as make them hallucinate and vomit.

Oh yeah?  Well, we have a couple of those too:

 

…except that common decency (and probably the Geneva Convention) would prevent us from using them — even against Russians.

Snow Scene

The area where The Englishman lives (the Vale of Pewsey) is indescribably gorgeous:  green fields, woodlands, endless rolling hills, and through the middle runs the Kennet & Avon Canal.

Now I often poke fun at Teh Brits for going into a DefCon1 Panic Attack when a few flakes of snow float down and render their roads “impassable” (in Wisconsin, these conditions would be known as “late September”).

But when snow falls on the Vale of Pewsey’s Kennet & Avon Canal, you get views like this:

Compare and contrast the same canal in summer (this pic taken near Devizes, not Pewsey itself):

No trip to Britishland should be considered complete without a drive through Wiltshire.

Old-Age Heroes

I have spoken of elderly zillionaire Duncan Bannatyne and his late-30s wife Nigora [sic]  before, and I maintain that if a rich guy wants a sexy young wife, he should be able to buy one.

So it should come as little surprise that I should exult when he celebrates his age at a birthday party with a Roman theme:

But that’s not the only reason to rejoice.  Because if one old guy can do it, so can another — and at the same party withal.  Here’s Olde Pharte zillionaire John Caudwell showing up for the festivities, also in Roman duds:

…and he’s wearing the knee brace not because he slipped in the shower, but because of a skiing  accident (DUDE!!!!!).

But it’s the pic of the two geriatric Lotharios with their not-so-blushing brides which takes the golden banana:

Here’s another look at Caudwell’s squeeze, the wonderfully-named Modesta Vzesniauskaite (35):

Why do I love situations like this so much?

Because it drives Teh Feministicals (most of whom are terminally ugly) batshit crazier.

5 Reasons Not To Go To Australia

So it looks like our April trip to Oz has had to be called off, or at best postponed for a long time.  Here are the five reasons why:

1) They won’t let me take any of my guns into the country

2) Crocodiles in the streets

3) No cricket (the season has ended)

4) I hate snakes

…and the actual reason:

5) Angie can’t leave the country until her permanent residence visa gets approved, minimum six months’ time.

Now ask me whether we got a refund for our canceled air tickets from Qantas Fucking Airlines…