Well, in the Senate yesterday the Feingold-Chafee Pay-As-You-Go amendment requiring offsets for new budget-busting proposals went down 50-50, which means GOPers will likely get themselves a congressional budget resolution and the power to ram through tax cuts and some screw-the-states-and-the-poor budget cuts on a time-limited, simple majority vote. In addition, an amendment authorizing funds for oil-drilling in the Alaskan Wilderness reserve passed 51-49. As in last year’s elections, close losses have big consequences. I thought the beginning of March Madness might at least distract me from these bad vibes, but with the men’s tourney barely underway, my bracket’s already a shambles, thanks to Pitt and Iowa. So far, my brilliant picks are losing to the whose-mascot-would-win-in-a-fight system.