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Republicans: The conservative “”tide”” so many had been talking about came to pass on Tuesday, when Republicans swept control of the House of Representatives by gaining more than 60 seats, the largest single party swing in more than 60 years. Republican officials are now setting their sights on balancing the national budget by cutting further stimulus spending and repealing last year’s health-care bill.
Monies for nunneries: The School Sisters of Notre Dame, a group of nuns, recently sold an extremely rare T206 Honus Wagner baseball card for $262,900. There are only 50 to 60 of this card in existence and a same card in near-mint condition sold for $2.8 million in 2007. $220,000 of the winning bid will be paid to the nuns. Habits and crucifixes for everyone.
People sick of cilantro: Trader Joe’s has announced a recall of some products containing cilantro after concerns the herb may be infected with salmonella. Affected items include cilantro dressing, spicy peanut vinaigrette and cilantro pecan dip. It’s pretty clear they made the right decision to recall these products; I feel ill just thinking about them.
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Bipartisanship: It may be for wimps and Communists, but it certainly isn’t for Republicans. Just days after gaining control of the House and severely cutting the Democratic majority in the Senate, Republican leaders have proven loathe to consider cooperation. Rep. Eric Cantor has said the question is not whether Obama is willing to work with Republicans but, “”Are we willing to work with him?”” Score one for progress.
World’s mean age: Eugenie Blanchard, a French-Caribbean woman widely considered to be the world’s oldest person, died last Thursday at the robust age of 114. There is another woman, Antisa Khvichava of the Republic of Georgia, who claims to be 130 years old, though her age cannot be accurately determined. Unconfirmed reports say Methuselah remains duly unimpressed.
Punctual iPhone users: Due to a glitch in the iPhone’s alarm clock application, the phone will not automatically recognize the national switch to the daylight saving time. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was reluctant to comment on the issue, saying anyone who woke up late as a result was simply not sleeping right to begin with.
