1. It’s Thursday, May 14, 2015. It’s another beautiful day in the New York area, although maybe a little chilly.

2. The Mets are back to losing in their trademark horrible fashion. Last night’s loss is one of those that make you wonder what you did to deserve being a fan that lost like that. 

3. Apparently, the people of Idaho’s Second Congressional District elected one of the state’s trademark potatoes to Congress.

Mike Simpson was lying in the Republican bin with his fellow spuds when the House Appropriations Committee voted yesterday on funding for Amtrak. This was, of course, the day after a horrific crash that killed seven people in Philadelphia.

The committee’s Democrats sought increased funding for Amtrak. It might be nice to have passenger train service in this country that’s competitive with the rest of the world. Not to mention service that doesn’t kill people.

But Simpson was having none of that. Not only was he opposed to the increased funding, he blasted Democrats for using the Philadelphia tragedy as an excuse for the money.

“Don’t use this tragedy in that way. It was beneath you,” he managed to utter.

I suppose his speaking is a remarkable feat for a potato. On the other hand, it’s useless for solving real problems.

Even if it is determined that this crash was caused by human carelessness, there’s no reason not to make this system, to make ALL our transportation systems, safe. If an event focuses attention on this problem, it’s certainly worth mentioning.

The House committee, of course, voted to cut Amtrak’s funding. I’m voting not to eat any potatoes from Idaho. If you want to make a point to tuber brains such as Mike Simpson, that might be the way to do it.

4.   I’m going to miss Jon Stewart’s rants against Fox News.

Last night, he was right as always. He focused on Fox’s scoffing at comments President Obama made that the network likes to depict poor people as lazy leeches. Stewart then showed all the instances in which Fox did, indeed, depict poor people as lazy leeches.

The problem, as I’ve said before, is that the only people who are going to miss Jon Stewart more than me are the people at Fox News.

Fox News wears its bias, its blatant distortion, its propagandizing as a badge of honor. And it holds the criticism of people like Jon Stewart as a signal to the amen corner that watches. All he does when he puts facts to their fiction is make them martyrs to the faithful.

I don’t know what the solution is. The sad part is that I fear the solution has nothing to do with being reasonable.

5. Today’s song is “Enchantment” by jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. That’s a sound everyone can hear, thankfully.