Wondering on Wednesday (v162)

I'm wondering, here in our winter wonderland, whether weather forecasters have more fun during times like this, when the polar vortex is bearing down on tens of millions of us, the windchill is literally leaving them breathless, their green screens are lit up like the sky over Sydney on New Year's Eve, than they do in the summer when the skies are blue and everything's just ducky?

And I'm also wondering how it must feel if you get this one wrong. For example, a friend lives up in NY's Tug Hill Plateau area, home to monumental amounts of lake effect snow thanks to wind blowing across Lake Ontario. She posted a screenshot yesterday of a local TV station's weather map showing her area of the Tug should be getting maybe 4 inches of snow before midnight -- and yet, she said they had gotten 18" in four hours before her post.

What else is going on?

Well, the president is sticking our nose into the mess in Venezuela, declaring opposition leader Juan Guaido the real president and election winner Nicolas Maduro basically persona non grata. Maduro responded by kicking all US diplomats out, and SecState Mike Pompeo responded by saying, basically, hell no we won't go. And now we're fighting back against Russia and anyone else that supports Maduro...

And that brings me to wonder two things: first, Trump has long maintained that America doesn't need to be sticking her nose in everyone else's business and it's always America First and everyone else somewhere on down the line. So, I wonder, why this, why now? Isn't this sort of the opposite of his mantra?

And, (knowing that this is not the same situation), I can't help wondering what would have happened if another country decided that Trump, having lost the popular vote by roughly the population of Jamaica, was not legitimately the American president, and then that country decided to rally the troops and bring others along in thinking that he was not elected fairly, and started calling Hillary Clinton the legitimate president, propper her up, imposed sanctions,  and so on?  Just wondering...

What else is wonder-worthy?

• I just heard on the radio that the 'living wage' proposed by Bernie Sanders (Not A Democrat - Not Now, Not Ever - VT), that magical $15/hour, has been adopted by all of the actual Democrats considering entering or already entered in the presidential sweepstakes for 2020. And I have to wonder, as I have all along, how $15/hour can be a living wage in NYC, or San Francisco, or Seattle, and ALSO be a living wage in Yazoo City MS, or in Mineral Springs, AK or Bluefield WV or Vestavia Hills AL or Silver City NM or Mayfield KY? I really wonder about that, and how any of the candidates can explain the equity of a federal minimum that high.

• Both chambers of the New York State legislature have passed so-called 'Red Flag' legislation which allows family members, school officials and law enforcement to present 'clear and convincing evidence' that someone should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms because of a mental health condition. This one was passed on party lines, but at the same time, another bill was passed "nearly unanimously" allowing NY regulators to see the mental health records of out-of-state gun buyers.  And I wonder, why opponents of the red flag bill, which even the NRA has begun to support, could be supporters of the other?  

• I just read that the president will do an interview with Margaret Brennan of CBS News that will air during the Super Bowl's interminable pre-game show. And I'm wondering whether he'll get better ratings than Maroon 5's halftime show, or if the new M&M's commercial will beat them both?

What are you wondering about tonight?