My dentist’s visit was (thankfully) uneventful; just managed to break off a piece of a temporary bridge on a piece of very temporary peanut fudge. I’ll still have the chance to spend most of my savings on a permanent bridge in a couple of weeks. I’m certainly liberal enough to favor Universal Dental Insurance right now. All you young invincibles will know what I’m talking about some day.

In any event, here are some midday news/views treats that won’t break your dental work:

* New York Times calls for clemency for Snowdon; so, too, does Conor Friedersdorf.

* Predictwise site, which uses polling and internet wagering data, says there’s 18% chance of Dems winning House, 63% change of holding Senate.

* Booman notes Marco Rubio self-discredited on immigration policy even by the estimation of Reuben Navarette. That takes some doing.

* James Vega takes down shark-jumping George Will column on need to curb ignorant masses.

* At TAP, Paul Waldman predicts intensified polarization of red and blue states will be a big trend in 2014.

And in non-political news:

* Blizzard approaches Northeast from New York to Boston tonight. Keep safe, megalopolitans.

As we break for lunch, here’s some more Bumble Bee Slim, with “Sloppy Drunk Blues.”

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.