Il neige! Il neige bien forte!

Here are some snowy midday news/views snacks:

* Froomkin previews the “torture report,” such as it is.

* Brother Benen explains the bizarre GOP idea of blocking the 2015 State of the Union Address.

* Tom Harkin now thinks complexity of the Affordable Care Act indicates Democrats should have held out for single-payer.

* Ashton Carter now for sure being nominated for SecDef.

* At the Prospect, Paul Waldman points out criticisms of Obama’s passivity are not being heard much now.

And in non-political news:

* University of Alabama-Birmingham to close football program. Probably won’t happen at Tuscaloosa branch of that school.

As we break for lunch, here’s Black Sabbath performing “Iron Man” in 1970.

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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.