I used to think that California was the most insane state in the nation.

The nuthouse that is New York has me questioning that assumption:

After talks of a power-sharing arrangement broke down, Democrats locked themselves in the Senate chamber, Republicans tried to conduct business on their own and none of the "people's business" got done.

As incredible as it may seem, pictures obtained by CBS 2 HD are of the Democratic senators who locked themselves inside their chamber so they could be "first in" for Gov. David Paterson's special session. The pictures, shot through the window of a Senate door, seem to show that it was all about taking possession of the podium.

It's tempting to argue to New Yorkers that throwing the entire Senate out of office and electing a new one is the answer. Unfortunately, New Yorkers are too spineless for that. Even if they could throw these idiots out of office, they'd probably just elect the exact same people to the exact same senate seats all over again. It also goes without saying that New York's Democratic governor is fiddling while Rome burns:

Paterson said this week that he would call special legislative sessions every day, including on weekends and holidays, until the two sides could come to an agreement. Senators would have to attend such sessions, but they would not have to vote on any bills. Who would preside over the sessions remains unclear.

Paterson has lashed out at senators for the ongoing soap opera. It's been two weeks since the state Senate accomplished anything and the governor said enough is enough.

But his mandate seemed to make little impact considering Tuesday's madness.

Ultimately, this is happening because the people of New York want it to happen. So, unless a mass wave of sanity breaks out in New York, I think it's fair to say that New York is totally screwed.