Finally, about 100 years late (thank you, Bismarck), the U.S. this week passed something reminiscent of health care reform. Just to show Obama that the concept of bipartisanship is anathema to U.S. politics, Republicans honored it with exactly zero votes. Rush Limbaugh promised to move to Costa Rica if the reform gets implemented, but Gail Collins reminded him that Costa Rica already has national health care, so he unfortunately might reconsider.

Well, since you shouldn’t cry over spilled milk, Tom Coburn (R) of Oklahoma started adding essential amendments to the bill, such as “No Erectile Dysfunction Drugs to Sex Offenders.” It’s good to know that the last global superpower focuses on the right things.

Unlike the childish U.S., the Tories in the UK at least treat politics with the respectability it deserves. Sir Nicholas Winterton, the honor-vener-able conservative member of parliament for almost four decades, explained recently why legislators should always travel first class to avoid exposure to the common man: “they are a totally different type of people”.

Since bankers are already really popular these days, one of them running for the UK parliament decided to top this statement and went on television to declare that getting more women and minorities elected was the triumph of “potted plants over intellectually able people” (according to the NY times and many many other sources). Go Tories.

Given that the U.S. and the UK have their eyes firmly on the ball, China invested $35 billion into clean energy last year, two and a half times as much as the U.S. (according to a Pew study), to make sure it will be the only superpower in clean energy in a few years time.

Fine, the Chinese tiger also plays with the Google kitten, buys Swiss watches, travels to Milan for a shopping spree and buys the Porsche Panamera, but considering the state of political affairs in the west I might have to review last year’s 60th Anniversary celebrations with a different predisposition.

Off to Las Vegas to find some sanity and talk to mature people.