Finding Perspective--Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas

Like most of you, I've been busy gearing up for the holidays!  The presents are wrapped in sparkling, colorful paper and shiny, curly ribbons.  The cookies are baked and oh, so sweet.  The lights on my Christmas tree are a source of joy to me, as I love those twinkling lights.  The best part is that I will be sharing the holidays with the people I love most, either in person, or by phone or Skype.  I am blessed that my family is healthy and well.  

Still my mind strays to those parents in Newtown whose lives are forever changed.  There will be no joy for them this Christmas.  My heart truly, deeply aches for these people, whom I have never met, nor am I likely to.  It doesn't matter--we are connected as fellow parents.  A piece of myself was lost the day their children were so cruelly taken from them; a piece of all compassionate people was lost.  We are less as a nation in light of this unbearable tragedy.

I am disheartened by the Wayne Lapierre's of the world.  I am disheartened by the inability of our Congress to come together and act in the best interest of our nation's people.  It makes me angry that this country is such a mess and if I dwell on it too much I become overwhelmed with feelings of despair.  Sometimes it is best to step back and take a break from politics and the troubles of the world and just enjoy the blessings that are bestowed upon us.  So that's what I've been up to lately; regaining my perspective.  Over the next few days, I encourage you to do the same.  

Remember this though:  It's only a short break, for we cannot afford to rest for long.  We must continue, each of us in our own small way, to fight for positive change in this country.  It is up to us to fix things.  We must continue to be ever vigilant and active.  We must not become apathetic, because that's exactly what got the country in this mess in the first place--apathy.  If anything is to be changed, it must begin with us.  In the words of Ghandi, "Be the change you want to see in the world." 

I thank you again for reading my thoughts and opinions, and for sharing yours with me.  Thank you for every time you shared my words through the power of social media.  Thank you for joining me in being an involved and active participant in our political process.  

So, from my family to yours, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah, Lo Saturnalia,  a Blessed Solstice and a Happy Festivus!!  Here's to hoping that 2013 is a good year for all of us, and for the country as well.   Peace and light to all of us. 

How Many Children Have to Die?

This is a Bushmaster AR-15 .223 caliber semi-automatic assault rifle.  This is the last thing that 20 Children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT ever saw in their far too brief lives.  This is not a weapon that people use to go hunting.  This is a weapon of mass destruction.  The clip in the picture holds 30 rounds of ammunition.  When the shooter pulls the trigger, the rifle automatically reloads and the shooter need only pull the trigger again to fire another round and take the life of another child.  Thirty times before he has to change the clip. There are twenty dead children in Newtown, Connecticut.

This is my Congressman, Tom Reed.  He believes that the weapon pictured above should be legal to purchase in the United States.  He doesn't care about the high capacity ammunition clip that makes it so very easy to take many lives quickly.  He believes that to ban such a weapon and such a large clip would infringe on American's second amendment rights.  Tom Reed doesn't care that there are 20 dead children in Newtown, Connecticut.  He's not going to change his position on gun control.

This is my daughter, Tabitha, when she was six years old at Christmas time.  She, along with all the other children in this country are the reason I will be calling and e-mailing Congressman Reed's office EVERY DAY until he changes his position on gun control or resigns from office.  I beg of you to do the same--for the sake of your sons and daughters.  For your neighbor's sons and daughters.  For all of our kids who have the right to be safe.  No, it isn't the complete solution, but it's a damn good start.  Our society doesn't have to make it this easy to take the lives of our babies.  I am a MOTHER and I will not accept one more death of a child in silence.  

HOW MANY CHILDREN HAVE TO DIE BEFORE WE DEMAND SENSIBLE CHANGES?  

Contact your representatives in Congress- EVERY DAY.

An Open Letter to Huckabee & Fisher

Dear Brian and Mike,
So you have the unmitigated gall to stand before this nation and tell us that the reason a mad man took the lives of 26 innocent human beings, including 20 small children is because there is no organized prayer in school.  You said that god doesn't go where he is not welcome and therefore, god wasn't present at the school.

I'd very much like to put your theory to the test.  Since you're both "god-fearing" men who undoubtedly welcome god into your home and places of employment by starting your day with an organized prayer, I propose that I be allowed to practice my Constitutional right to bear arms by leveling a semi-automatic military style rifle at a spot right between your god-seeing eyes and squeezing off as many rounds as my extra-large clip will hold.  I'm sure you've no doubt that god will render you bullet proof, as you are such devout Christians and live such extraordinary, exemplary, morally upright lives that you are beyond reproach and certainly above the laws of earthly physics.  God will protect you, just as certainly as he would have protected those children, had he only received an invitation via knee-mail.

I beg you to let me test my theory.  I fiercely believe that the world will be a better place in light of the results.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Mann--someone's mother.

Enough is Enough

I don't always play by the rules--as a parent, I'm supposed to send my kid to school rain or shine unless she's sick or I have another "legitimate" reason for keeping her home.  I have a feeling the school's administration would not view cookie-baking day as a legitimate excuse, and so it was yesterday.  Tabitha and I devoted our day to flour, sugar, butter, chocolate chips and copious amounts of brightly colored sprinkles.

So, Tabitha was with me when I heard the news of the mass-murder of innocent children and educators in Connecticut.  It's just as well.  There are some news stories that are so horrifying that there's no way, realistically, that you can keep it from a ten year old.  I'd rather her hear about it from me than at recess at school.  I just had a hard time finding words to make sense of the senseless for her, or for myself.

(credit: Being Liberal" on facebook)

The internet is an interesting place to watch tragedy unfold.  Almost immediately, pro-gun advocates took to social media warning people not to "politicize" the tragedy by calling for tighter controls on guns in this country.  They reminded us that guns don't kill people--people kill people.  I disagree.  

If you want to call this conversation politicizing a tragedy, then by all means, go right ahead, because I'm going to "politicize" the hell out of it.  If now is not the time to talk about it, when is?  When we've buried our dead again and it slips from the nation's consciousness?  We didn't talk about it after the tragedy in Littleton, Colorado.  We didn't talk about it after Virginia Tech, or after the Temple in Wisconsin, or the theater in Aurora or even after a United States Congresswoman and 18 other people were shot, including Christina-Taylor Green, who was nine years old.  She and five others died that day.  When is a good time to talk about this?  After the next tragedy or the next or the next?

Imagine with me: If all of the people who offered their thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims of this heinous act of violence instead called their representatives in government and demanded stricter controls on guns.  What might happen then, if all the mothers in this country called a Congressman and two Senators and said, "Enough of our children have died...no more."  Because that's what it's going to take--parents.  Parents who hugged their children just a little longer and tighter last night.  Parents that realize that it could have just as easily been their child.  

This would not be a good time for anyone to defend their second amendment rights to me, because I am a mother.  My children's right to live and go to school in safety trumps your right to arm yourself to the teeth.  That being said, I do believe that people have the right to hunt and to defend themselves in their own homes.  The problem lies with a lobby who has taken that very basic right and perverted it into a cottage industry that they are making a hell of a lot of money on.

This is not a slippery slope.  We do not need semi-automatic military-style weapons to wage war on deer or elk.  We do not need a .223 caliber weapon to protect our families. Nor do we need large clips of ammunition.  Yesterday, the shooter was reported as having fired over 100 rounds before he made the choice to end his murderous rampage by taking his own life.  I've seen many comments lamenting the fact that no teachers had a gun to stop him.  

I've also seen many comments saying that knives are just as capable of taking lives and should we outlaw steak knives?  The thing is...it's never a mass murder with a knife, is it?  In fact, across the globe in China yesterday, a mad man attacked 22 children and one adult with a knife.  Sixteen were hospitalized.  No one died.  Don't tell me knives are just as deadly as we lay to rest 26 human beings.  Guns are the weapon of choice for those with murderous intent and they're oh so easy to obtain--even for the mentally ill.  You see, if you are mentally disturbed, someone actually has to protest and a court proceeding must take place to strip you of the right to own a firearm.  It's a very unlikely scenario for the disturbed to announce his intent to buy a firearm so that he can kill large numbers of fellow human beings in a very short amount of time.  

In order to obtain a drivers license in this country a learners permit must be obtained.  A person must take driver's education classes and then pass a written exam before the permit is issued.  They take your picture and issue you a card and your information is kept on file with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.  Then you must log a number of hours behind the wheel of a car and then take a practical examination and pass a vision test before the state grants you driving privileges and a license.  The standards for buying a firearm in this country are nowhere near as stringent.  

To buy a rifle or a shotgun one need only to head down to their local Wal-Mart.  In some states, you may have to wait a day or two for a rudimentary criminal background check, unless, of course, you go to a gun show, where background checks are often skirted.  Driving is a privilege, but gun ownership is a right.  If you don't think this is a problem, then there is something seriously wrong with you.  

Despite what the leadership of the NRA would have you believe, I don't think anyone is arguing against the second amendment of the Constitution.  Yes, we have the right to own firearms.  However, we need common sense restrictions placed on that right.  Uniform background checks both criminal and medical should be mandatory, as should a lengthy waiting period between the time of application and possession.  Large ammunition clips should be outlawed--period, as should military-type assault rifles.  No one needs an M16 or AR15 or AK47 style weapon to hunt or to protect their homes and families.  There's only one purpose for such a weapon--to kill other people quickly and efficiently.  No more gun shows where firearms are for sale.  No more fire arms in discount department stores.  

Will these measures stop gun violence?  No.  Will criminals still be able to obtain fire arms?  Yes.  But it won't be quite as easy for them to do so.  They won't have the ability to fire many, many rounds of ammunition in a matter of moments.  We have to start somewhere.  We have to start sometime.  

How many of our children must die before we say, enough?  How many children are too many for our elected officials to stand up to the power and money of the NRA and act in society's best interest instead of kowtowing to threat of being ousted from their office by one of the most powerful and well funded lobbies in Washington?  

So, parents, it is up to us.  It's time for us to rise up and dare the NRA to tell us that enough blood has not yet been shed.  It's time for us to stand up to our elected officials and promise them that if they do not act, they surely will not be returning to their seat of inscrutable power in Congress.  It's time to defy those who believe that their right to own a firearm usurps our children's right to life and safety.  

If every mother and father in this nation stands up and demands common sense restrictions on gun ownership it would take a far braver man or woman than exists in Congress today to stop us.  We have the power to change the way things are right now.  So, please, hug your sons and daughters a little tighter today and remember those moms and dads who have been deprived of that simple act forever more.  Let your heart break as you try to explain this madness to your own children.  But instead of saying a prayer, do something that will make a difference.  Call your representatives in Washington and DEMAND that they enact legislation that will protect our children.  Tell them that enough is enough and the price has been paid a thousand times over.  Then and only then can you look your child in the eye and tell them that you're doing your best to ensure that they can go to school in safety.  Only then can you rest in the knowledge that you've done your part.  Saying a prayer is not enough this time.  

Find your representatives in Congress here.

Send President Obama a message using this form.

2,138

In 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan in an effort to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, dismantle al-Qaeda, and to eradicate the Taliban from leadership in that country.  Here we are at the end of December, 2012 and the war rages on.  We've been at war in Afghanistan for over twelve years now--America's longest war.  As of today, 2,138 of our soldiers have given their lives in service to their country in Afghanistan.  There have been 2,138 flag draped caskets; 2,138 funerals with military honors--  2,138 flag presentations, 21 gun salutes and 2,138 mournful renditions of Taps by a solitary bugler.  2,138 grieving families; 2,138 sorrowful communities left to wonder, "Why?"

The war in Afghanistan doesn't often make the headlines.  For those of us who don't have a loved one who is serving, we go about our daily lives and although we know that we are a nation at war, how much thought do we actually give to this conflict?  There was a time in our nation's history that when we had troops deployed, the entire nation went to war.  I remember my grandmother's stories about World War II, with the sales of war bonds, and rationing and how women flooded the workplace to fill in for the men who were serving overseas.  The war was front and center of every newspaper, on the nightly news broadcasts and even before feature films at the local theater.   

Even as recently as the first invasion of Iraq, the war was mainstream in the nation's consciousness.  Yellow ribbons and other symbols that showed support of our troops could be seen everywhere.  Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield were on the front page of every paper, the headline of every national news broadcast.  General Norman Schwarzkopf was practically a super star as the leader of American forces. Topps, the baseball card company, as well as a couple of other trading card manufacturers, released sets of Gulf War trading cards.  The heroes of the war in Afghanistan have not received such pop-culture honors.  Today's servicemen and women quietly serve their country, often serving multiple tours of duty, and then quietly return home to pick up the pieces of their lives.  They often return home unnoticed except by their friends and family.

I am nothing less than astounded that in an election year, the war in Afghanistan was a complete non-issue for both candidates.  Our soldiers in Afghanistan didn't even merit a mention from Mitt Romney when he gave his speech accepting his party's nomination for the Presidency.  There was no lengthy debate between the candidates on the subject of Afghanistan.  There was more attention from the media given to Mitt Romney's misguided assertion that President Obama neglected to call the incident in Ben Ghazi an act of terror than to the loss of 2,138 (and counting) lives in Afghanistan.  

The twin invasions that are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that were initiated by the Bush administration were, by design, quiet wars.  President Bush forbade the media from capturing images of the coffins of our dead soldiers when they arrived at Dover Air Force Base.  Our government didn't want us to think about that.  After President Obama took office the media blackout was lifted--but has largely been ignored by the press. 

Although President Obama is to be commended for setting a date for withdrawal of our combat forces, 2014 is not good enough.  Why are we still there?  Osama bin Laden has been dead for over a year now.  Justice for the deaths of over three-thousand Americans on 9/11 was delivered swiftly with President Obama's order to Navy Seal Team Six.  With the death of its leader, bin Laden, terrorist organization al Qaeda has been declining and is no longer the threat it once was to the safety of Americans.  The Taliban's stronghold in Afghan government has been significantly weakened as a result of the efforts of our troops. 

Many of our leaders feel that ensuring that Afghanistan is stable as a nation before we exit is important to our continued national security, and they have a point.  However, I'd be hard pressed to make the argument that Afghanistan has ever been stable.  A little more than 20 hours ago, Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed Pakistan for the attempted assassination of the country's intelligence chief, Asadullah Khalid.  The Taliban took responsibility for the suicide bomber and Karzai offered no evidence that pointed to Pakistan, but blaming the neighboring country is a matter of course for the leader of Afghanistan. The relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan has always been a contentious one.  It was Pakistan that was harboring bin Laden, after all (though Pakistani officials claimed to not know of his presence under their collective noses, a statement many have a very hard time believing). 

The governmental structure of Afghanistan is one of constant tumult, to put it mildly, and Karzai has proven time and again that his allegiance lies with himself and not necessarily with the good of the Afghan people and certainly not the agenda of the Untied States or its NATO allies.  The point being, if we're waiting for the stabilization of the country, the world has been waiting since the dawn of time for that and we will continue to wait for a very long time.

As of December 7, 2012 over 18,000 soldiers have been combat wounded in Afghanistan.  679 soldiers have had a limb amputated.  Of that number, 230 lost two limbs, 36 lost three limbs and 4 of our soldiers lost both arms and both legs.  In 2011 alone, 190 of our troops suffered damaged or destroyed sexual organs resulting from IED blasts, the number one reason for amputations. 2,138 soldiers breathed their last in a country far away from home, in a war that rarely makes the news anymore.  

I did not know.  I am a well informed person when it comes to current events.  I spend a significant amount of time educating myself about the world around me.  I utilize a number of different resources in my quest for knowledge, and I did not know.  If I didn't know, then what are the odds that the average American who only follows the news casually, knows of the lives lost in Afghanistan?  2,138 stories of bravery and the ultimate sacrifice; 2,138 occasions to wonder what kind of lives these brave men and women might have led, who they might have been, what contributions to society they might have made.  2,138 instances of we will never know.  

Did you know?  Were you aware of the number of soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in your name?  Yes, I said your name--yours, mine, your neighbor's name...all of us.  Ultimately, we are responsible.  We live in a democratic society.  We choose our leadership and we have the ability to pressure that leadership for change.  We elected the people responsible for engaging us in, and committing our troops to this continued conflict.  The blame lies with us.

We sit idly by watching Republicans and Democrats alike play politics like it's a game of chess, never once stopping to consider that there are real lives at stake with every decision that they make.  We shake our heads in frustration and grumble at the inaction of the "Do-nothing" 112th Congress, which enjoys a nationwide approval rating that is significantly less than that of the IRS or of lawyers.  Communism has a higher approval record than our Congress, and no, I didn't make that up.  Someone actually took a poll and asked.  

The President is moving us in the right direction by setting a timeline for the withdrawal of our troops, but why wait until 2014?  Perhaps you're thinking that someone should do something about it and you're right.  The person that should do something is you...and me.  To remain silent is to consent.  Our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends that are serving in Afghanistan don't have the luxury of our silent acceptance.  We have the power to bring our service members home at our fingertips.  E-mail, phone or fax your representatives in Congress and President Obama and let them know that 2014 is not acceptable.  Tell them to bring our soldiers home now--and don't just do it once, contact them over and over again until they're forced to act.  Sign a petition on line.  Share the information with your friends on social media.  Write a letter to your local newspaper.

We have the ability to make a difference and to show our troops that we have not forgotten and that their service and their sacrifice matters to us.  We cannot afford to sit by in silent acceptance nor can our service members.  How many more lives will we lose before the end of 2014?  Whose life can we save by taking action?   Taking a stand and demanding that Congress and the President take a stand is the single best way to honor the 2,138 men and women who have given their lives to answer their country's call.  A call that ultimately, we gave.  There is enough blood on our hands already.

You can see the faces of the 2,138 men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country courtesy of the Washington Post.

You can find your Congressperson's and Senator's contact information here.

Send a message to President Obama.

Sign the petition at Whitehouse.gov to request that President Obama begin withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan immediately.

*note:  I do not recommend handwriting a letter to your representatives.  As a result of the Anthrax scares of the past, letters to members of Congress are now opened at a different location and can take up to six weeks to be delivered to the intended recipient.

Ignorance Unleashed

Once upon a time (last summer), Senator Mitch McConnell proposed an idea, which was attached to a law called The Budget Control Act of 2011.   In his proposition, which Congress named "The McConnell Proposition", for Congress is very clever when it names things.  Senator Turtle McConnell proposed that when the national debt that is subject to the statutory debt limit comes within $100 billion of the debt limit, the President is allowed to request a limit increase by notifying Congress in writing that the outstanding debt is within $100 billion of the debt limit and could we please borrow more money to pay the bills?  If Congress disagreed, both chambers had 15 days to sign a Joint Resolution of disapproval and send it to the President, who then had to decide whether to veto the disapproval document.  Naturally, because it's the President doing the asking (he doesn't want bill collectors calling the White House during State dinners), of course he's going to veto Congress's disapproval.  Which then puts the burden on the bi-cameral Congress to come up with a 2/3 majority to over-ride the President's veto.  If they do nothing (imagine that!) or fail to gather the necessary votes for an over-ride, we then raise the roof, if you will.

In August, 2011, members of both parties thought this was a great idea.  The fellas on Wall Street thought it was a fine idea as well, as investors get nervous at the notion of the USA not meeting its obligations and they don't spend their money on investments, preferring instead to stuff it under their mattresses in the Cayman Islands.  It was a happy moment in American history--why even the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times editorial boards agreed that it was a good idea, and they disagree almost as much as Congress itself!

The proposal was such a good one, that after it was proposed by Senator Mitch, it became law.  The debt ceiling was raised three times under the McConnell proposition as part of the BCA of '11. It worked so well that on Meet the Press last Sunday, Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner, suggested that the Mighty McConnell Proposal be extended.  

Understanding the absolute importance of the "Sunday shows" regarding government policy (just ask Susan Rice), Mitch saw there wasn't a second to lose and quickly asked the Gentleman from Nevada, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, to hold an up or down vote on his proposal.  Reid quickly acquiesced to his request. 

Abuse the filibuster much?

Then--the unthinkable happened...on the Senate floor, right before the vote that McConnell had asked for--the bill was filibustered...by (wait for it) Mitch McConnell. 

At this point, you're probably thinking, wait--what?!  Didn't you just say it was the McConnell proposition?  Didn't you just say that it was he, himself, who asked for the vote?  The answer is yes, yes I did on both counts.  

Here's what's really going on:  Mitch McConnell requested the simple majority vote because he mistakenly believed that Democrats are exactly like Republicans.  You see, Republicans subscribe to obstructionism--if a Democrat is in favor of something, then Republicans are vehemently opposed to it on principle.  If Democrats came out publicly in favor of BLT's, then Republicans would oppose bacon.  He assumed that Democrats operated in the same fashion.  He was wrong.

Upon having his request granted, McConnell was forced into the most embarrassing position of having to filibuster his own proposal.  Why, you ask?  Because the measure would have passed, and that would have taken away the Republican's ability to hold the American economy (and by proxy, the global economy) hostage as political leverage for furthering their agenda.  

Over on Fox "News", they're trying to make people believe that raising the debt ceiling is about spending. It is not.  This is just one of a thousand, nay, a million lies perpetrated by the media arm of the Republican party. You see, the truth is--the money's already been spent...by Congress.
The debt ceiling argument is not, nor has it ever been about cutting spending.  The spending part is over.  The credit card bill is due.  When Republicans piss and moan about raising the debt ceiling, what they're really doing is using the situation to their own advantage and putting the entire national economy at risk.  It's a false argument from beginning to end.  

So, what needs to happen is that Wall Street barons, captains of industry and all those wonderful big and small business owners need to get together and kick up a fuss, which is to say, they should call the Republican's bluff and threaten to shift those fat campaign contributions to the fiscally responsible party.  You know, the one that is serious about paying the nation's bills.  Need I remind you that the last time the Republicans played this game of "chicken" with the debt ceiling, the nation's credit rating was down graded for the first time in our history.  The stock market plummeted too. This time, McConnell has made himself look ignorant into the bargain.  He's also given Harry Reid every reason and every right to change the rules of the filibuster, which Republicans like McConnell have been using to obstruct any and virtually all legislation--including self-penned propositions.
All in the name of obstructionism.

Congratulate Mitch McConnell for his historic, first-time-in-our-nation's history self-filibuster.  Then tell him how you feel about that other historic first (the one where he helped to lower the nation's triple A credit). Then tell him to pass along to his Caucus that we won't accept any more of their shenanigans. Oh, and don't forget to request inaugural tickets while you're at it.  You can do that at his website, here.

Senator Mitch McConnell
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC   20510 
(202) 224-2541  (fax) (202)224-2499
or you can e-mail Mitch here.
*note-phone calls, faxes and e-mails get the most immediate results.  Due to the anthrax threats of the recent past, Congressional mail is opened off-site and take up to six weeks to be delivered to the recipient.

Random Rants...

With so much happening on the political scene, it's a random rants kind of day.  


First up, today is National Call In Day to tell your representatives in Congress that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have no place in the deficit debate.  Just call the number, key in your zip code and you will be automatically redirected to your representative's office.  I made the call and it sounded like my Teapublican Congressman's staffer, Chris wasn't having a very good day.  Do I think it will change Tom Reed's vote?  No.  He believes himself to be on firm red ground--untouchable considering the Superpac money he's been showered in by special interest groups (especially the Natural Gas industry).  

This past election cycle, big daddy Democrat (also known as the DCCC) largely ignored our Democratic candidate.  It was 29 year-old Nate Shinagawa's first Congressional bid so the Party kept an eye on him to see how he fared.  If we here in NY's 23rd district can convince him to run again, I'm betting that he'll get his fair share of support from the Party--because he's caught the attention of a very important Democrat, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 
In a hand signed note, Secretary Clinton said to our very own Nate Shinagawa, 

"...we will continue needing your voice in the public square in the years to come.  In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Onward!"

See for yourself by checking out the clip.  Pay attention to the note in the background.  As it slowly comes into soft focus, you can see that the note is addressed to Nate Shinagawa (street address), Ithaca, NY.  I'm predicting right now that we had better hang on to our "Nate for Congress" signs, because if Hillary asks nicely, he's not likely to say no.  Shinagawa is an ambitious young man with energy and charisma to spare.  Lucky for us, he also has sound policy positions to match.
Watch Lawrence O'Donnell here.

In other news, it's becoming blindingly apparent that the Republicans are more than happy to destroy the economic progress we've made over the last four years in an all-out attempt to protect the largess of people who make over $250,000 a year.  John Boehner is skipping happily toward the fiscal cliff; and yes, I'm calling it a cliff, because it will be disastrous for the most disadvantaged among us.  The Republicans are more than happy to bring uncertainty to the world markets yet again and send the nation back into recession.  The last time they played this game, America's credit rating was lowered for the first time in history.  I honestly believe that for the first time in the nation's history we have a group of public servants that don't give a damn about the good of the country.  It's obvious whom the Republicans represent, and it certainly isn't the majority of people who elected them to office.  

Did you hear that ol' leatherface, Jan Brewer (Governor of the unfortunate citizens of Arizona) has gone missing?  She skipped the vote certification in her state and took off on "Official Business" and her staff won't say where.  Rumor has it that she's gone below to stage a coup in the pit of hell in attempt to depose her mentor, Satan himself.  

From there we move on to an even more sinister lot--the 38 Senate Republicans who have shown themselves to be the epitome of evil.  Thirty eight Republican Senators sat on the Senate floor, looked a wheelchair-bound Bob Dole in the eye and voted against a UN Treaty pledging equal access for disabled people around the world.  The treaty was modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, and they voted it down for what can only be called bullshit reasons, and showed themselves to be morally bereft, soulless and spineless.  They cowed before the Teabaggery faction and their threats to hold organized tantrums outside the offices of anyone who dared vote against their obstructionist agenda.  
You can see the names of the cowardly 38 here.  What kind of human being votes against the disabled?  As if I needed another reason to despise Mitch McConnell.  Sheesh! 
PS. Did you call yet?  Do it now.  Because I said so.  It's important, look at the title of the page--It Matters!!

Until next time...take political news in small doses--it causes ulcers.

Sometimes, Wishes Really Do Come True

In a world dominated by Wal-Mart with it's poor treatment of employees and where you hear stories about corporations like Hostess who bestow 1.8 million dollars in bonuses to its executives while dismissing their workforce as the company shuts its doors, it's so easy to view corporate entities as soulless monsters.  There is seldom any good news to report in the world of big business.  Today, I'd like to share with you a story about a large corporation you can feel good about.

Meet young James Groccia, age 10.  James' favorite toy in the whole world is his Lego's.  A couple of years back, James came upon a Lego building set that he wanted more than any other he had ever seen:  The Emerald Night Train Building Set.  His parents, wishing to teach their young son financial responsibily, told him that he would have to save up his money to buy the coveted toy.  So, save he did--for two whole years.  When he finally reached the purchase price, $100 he set about to purchase the toy of his dreams.  

Unfortunately, James found that Lego had discontinued the set and it was no longer available in stores.  The set had become a collectors item only available online at retailers such as e-bay and Amazon, but with a much higher price point that he couldn't afford.  He bid on a couple of auctions on e-bay, but never won.  In the end, James settled for another Lego building set, but he never forgot about his hearts desire, The Emerald Night Train.  

 Young James was deeply disappointed, but did not give up.  With the help of one of his therapists, he wrote a letter to the Lego Group explaining how much he loved his Lego's and that he played with them every day.  He also shared that he had Asperger's Syndrome and played with the bricks in his therapy group as well, and asked if they might have an extra Emerald Night Train set laying about the headquarters or if they had any ideas on how he might find one.

In our money hungry corporate society, you would think that the young man would have received a form letter in reply to his query, but that's not how they do things at The Lego Group.  The Danish family-run business responded--and in doing so, showed that they have a deep commitment to their young consumers, and brought immense joy to one young boy and his family.

A couple of months after writing his letter, James received a reply from the company  just two days before his tenth birthday.  They sent a letter commending James for his willpower and patience to save his money for so long to purchase their product, and suggested that perhaps, one day, he may find himself working for the company, stating that he certainly has the passion for their bricks to do so.  They also enclosed a brand new Emerald Night Train Building Set, just for James.  

James Groccia

This story resonates with me because I remember how much I loved my Lego's as a child. I have my own ten-year-old and her Christmas list includes a number of Lego Building Sets as well.  I'll feel pretty damned good when I buy her those building sets this year, knowing that I am supporting a company that has enough heart to make the wish of one ten-year-old boy come true.   To me, that kind of kindness makes all the difference.

The He Man Woman Haters Club

It would be in my personal best interest to never, ever meet John Boehner in person.  He would most certainly get the short end of the stick were that meeting to ever take place.   The man (and I use that term loosely), is an affront to woman kind, and an affront to the real men in this country.

Let's face it.  Women and men are different and that is just a fact of biology and nature. We see things differently, approach problems sometimes from a different point of view.  We're wired differently than our male counterparts.  That does not make us inferior.  Men who are intelligent embrace our gender differences and treat women with the same respect as men.  Women are equally qualified to do the same jobs as men.  

Speaker of the House, John Boehner is not one of these men.  The most important  qualifications for a leadership role in the House are white skin and a penis.  It makes me wonder what they put in the water in the 8th district in Ohio to make those people vote for this knuckle dragging neanderthal.  His overt misogyny is pathetic and his racism is becoming increasingly flagrant.  

In the 113th House of Representatives, the average age of the newly appointed Committee Chairs is 58, and the Chair of every single committee is a white male--save for one.  Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) has been generously named Chair of the House Administration Committee.  The Chair for the Ethics committee is yet to be named. My money is on another old white guy.  Appointing Miller to a Committee that she's never even served on--the committee that deals with such issues as what kind of tray to use in the House Cafeteria is insulting and Boehner's way of throwing the "bitches" in the House a bone.  

Yet, let us play devil's advocate.  In the interest of fairness, let us, for a moment, give Speaker Boehner the benefit of the doubt.  Let us assume that he selected the most qualified member for each Committee, regardless of gender or race.  Let's take a look at his Chairmen.

• Rep. John Klein, Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, has a record of distinguished military service to our country as a 25 year veteran of the US Marine Corps.  He has no known background in either education or workforce development.  He has, however, flown Air Force One.

• Rep Howard "Buck" McKeon, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has a B.S. degree in animal husbandry.  He owned a small western clothing store until it went bankrupt in 1999.  He also served as Chairman of a small, regional bank.  He has not, however, served in the Armed Forces. Why would that be beneficial?

• Rep. Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs took seven years to earn his Bachelors degree in finance and took at least one student deferment to avoid serving his country in Vietnam.  Afterward, he settled into life as a business owner and as a corporate tax manager for a cement company.

• Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, despite winning "Best Surname in Congress" (who doesn't love a good latte?) and despite being a lawyer and then an aide to a Congressman, spent a significant part of his time in Congress as the Chair of the Full Committee before serving as the Chair of the Agriculture Committee.  He's responsible for such bills as, NAIS (national animal identification system) which would have required all farmers to register with the federal government and participate in RFID tagging for every animal with near real time reporting to the USDA.  He's also an original sponsor of SOPA and a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, a bill requiring Presidential candidates to provide proof of citizenship by submitting copies of their birth certificate.  Donald Trump tried to co-sponsor the legislation and was dismayed to find he had to first be elected to Congress.

• Rep. Darrell Issa, the returning Chair of Oversight and Government Reform has been accused of filling his staff with people who had connections with industries that could benefit from his investigations.  He's also been accused of using his office for personal gain.  In the past, he's been arrested on weapons charges and auto theft, and suspicion of arson and intimidation with a gun.  Great choice there.  Something about foxes and hen houses comes to mind...

The list of unqualified appointments goes on and on.  It's a clear example of the "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." way that Congress does business.  This isn't just about appointing women for the sake of diversity.  It's a question of appointing the best qualified person for the job and often that person is a woman or a minority.  It is obvious that Boehner is sending a message to the country that the 113th Congress is a boys club--his own personal "He Man Woman Haters Club."  They might let a person of color in someday--after all, John Boehner himself isn't white.  He's kind of a burnt orange color not found in nature.  

For a little more information on Darrell Issa, visit Media Matters

Angry and Confused...

Today, I found myself both perplexed and enraged.  Here's why:

• Allen West just can't understand why he's unemployed.  He was recently quoted by a reporter from his posh Florida home, wondering, "Why would anyone want to get rid of a guy who is...just an American success story?  I'm not some guy that came from a rich political family or anything like that, I'm just an everyday guy..."

Dear Allen, Your behavior in the halls of Congress says a lot about the content of your character.  Your constituents wanted a representative with the ability to reach across the aisle and work in a bipartisan manner.  What you gave them instead was a Congressman who was polarizing, partisan and flat-out disrespectful to anyone with a difference of opinion.  You called the Democratic Caucus Communists.  You called Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz "vile, unprofessional and despicable."  You may have been referring to her, but you described yourself to a "T."  That, sir, is why you are now unemployed, and it is my fervent hope that you stay that way.  There is no place for you in our government.

• Last week, Glenn Beck took it upon himself to seal a figurine depicting President Obama in a jar of his own urine, and had the unmitigated audacity to place it on e-bay as a charity auction.  It was promptly removed, as it violates e-bay's regulations prohibiting the auction of human waste.  He then continued the auction on his own website. 

Mr. Beck, You represent absolutely the worst that this country has to offer.  Your vile, reprehensible behavior is beyond the pale.  There were many, many times that I angrily, vehemently disagreed with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.  Those two men are guilty of so very many human rights violations and war crimes I can scarcely describe my outrage.  Yet I had the dignity and patriotism to never, ever stoop so low as to embarrass my country by doing something so degrading, such as you did.  Respect for the individuals at the highest seats of power--no, never.  They did not earn my respect; but I did respect the offices they held despite their objectionable behavior.  Whether I voted for them or not, they were my President and Vice-President.  

How dare you, Glenn Beck?  Barack Obama is America's duly elected President.  I'd like to know what it is that he's done that is so offensive to you.  Was it when he extended the Bush-era tax cuts for your tax bracket?  Was it how he put a tourniquet on the bleeding of jobs initiated by W?  Maybe it's how under his leadership, the nation bailed out the auto industry, turned the stock market around and managed to enact sweeping health-care legislation?  Maybe he incurred your wrath by killing Osama-bin Laden when Bush gave up looking for him and said he "wasn't that concerned" about bringing him to justice?  Perhaps it was because he ended the war in Iraq, and set a time-line for ending the war in Afghanistan?  

Or maybe, it's because he's African-American and has ascended to the highest office in the nation by an overwhelming majority of the votes, both electoral and popular (something you could never dream of achieving).  I think that's the most likely reason, Glenn.  You're a racist and you are hiding behind a false sense of outrage.  Lacking a set of real issues to complain about, you make up false ones, such as President Obama is a Socialist and was born in Kenya.  Do you even know the definition of Socialism, Glenn?  To be quite honest, as a progressive and a liberal, I am a little disappointed myself because President Obama leans so far right.  Can you even find Kenya on a map?

After you've wasted your breath on your conspiracy theories that fall on deaf ears to all but the tin-foil-hat wearing crowd, in a desperate bid for attention, you throw a spectacular tantrum, screaming at the top of your lungs like a toddler denied having his own way and then, at the apex of your kicking and screaming, with tears streaming and snot flowing, red-faced and lips blue from holding your breath, in a last ditch effort to milk your moment for all it is worth--you piss all over your own toys.  

Your actions were an abuse of our First Amendment rights.  Just because you have the "right" to do something, does not mean that you should.  You've shown the entire nation what a reprehensible piece of unpatriotic trash you really are.  You should be ashamed. Honestly, what does that say about you, Beck, when your greatest achievement is the ability to direct a stream of urine into a mason jar?  Very classy.

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

I think we can all agree that Congress is woefully broken.  Especially the 112th Congress with its Tea Party heavy faction.  This is the true definition of the "Do Nothing Congress." As of November 27, 2012, the 112th Congress has passed a total of 200 pieces of legislation.  That's a lot less than the original "Do Nothing Congress" as named by Harry Truman.  That was the 80th Congress who passed over 900 pieces of legislation.  

The fun part--and by fun, I mean pathetic and sad, is the breakdown of those paltry 200 pieces of legislation by the 112th.  Of the 200 bills passed into law that the House and Senate both agreed on included the following:

• 30 bills renamed Post Offices
• 11 bills renamed Federal Courthouses, buildings and property
• 3 reappointed regents to the Smithsonian Institute
• 3 bestowed Congressional gold medals on deserving citizens
• 4 authorized commemorative coins to be created

Eighty pieces of legislation that passed were amendments or extensions of current laws.  That means that the 112th Congress passed 69 pieces of unique, meaningful legislation.  You must take the word "meaningful" with a grain of salt, as those 69 pieces of legislation include "important" issues such as the Billfish Conservancy Act (no offense to Marlin lovers), erecting a statue of Frederick Douglas in the Library of Congress, and a bill that allows Astronauts to keep their NASA souvenirs from space missions.  They also include an act to bring the America's Cup Race to the US, a bill to erect a monument on federal land honoring Fort Pulaski, and the Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance.  In fact--several pieces of legislation passed were land conveyances.  

I certainly don't mean to slight Billfish lovers, I believe in conservation programs. I think Statues and monuments to honor important historical figures and designate historical places are important.  However, we're in a lot of trouble if this is all our Congress can come together on--and it makes me very, very angry.  I'm angry that this was the best they could do for us.  I'm angry that they were unable to reach consensus on so few pieces of legislation while the country crumbles at their feet.  They seem to look at the devastation around them and still the best they can say is, "I disagree."

This is the Congress that was so absorbed by their political agenda of making President Obama a one term President that they threatened so convincingly to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, the nation's credit rating was lowered.  Good job, Congress.  The Republicans in this Congress held hostage the lives of America's unemployed (about 8% of us at the time), by refusing to extend their unemployment benefits unless the super rich got their tax cuts extended.  These people are supposed to be working for all of us--not just 2% of the population.  I'm sick of my government being hi-jacked and held hostage over benefits for the 2% who are doing just fine while the rest of us are struggling to just get by.  It isn't supposed to be like this.  

I've been doing some thinking now that sequestration cuts are looming over the nation's head.  There is talk that Congress will let the country go over the "fiscal cliff" because it saves face for Republicans who signed Grover Norquist's tax pledge.  Most economists agree that if the cuts go into effect, we will enter another recession.  If sequestration cuts happen, almost everyone in the country will be negatively affected--except for one tiny fraction--the members of Congress.  And they're going to take us there and throw us over the edge for political reasons.  It seems we have a serious problem.

The problem is that Congress is punishing the wrong people when they can't (or won't) get the job done.  The sequestration slashes domestic spending indiscriminately.  That punishes a lot of Americans who depend on federal funding for programs, services, public safety, education...the list goes on and on.  Congress is punishing us for their inability and unwillingness to do their jobs.  They put party above country and we suffer for it.  I propose that we enact some legislation of our own to fix that and punish the real culprits.  Congress deserves to feel some of the pain.  We need to create an independent office of Congressional oversight made up or ordinary citizens who have the power to impose sanctions on Congress when they fail to do the people's business in a timely fashion or refuse to act for political gain. I also propose the following measures:

1. If Congress cannot pass a budget, we enact the rule my mother used for cleaning my room:  Don't come out until it's done.  I propose that members of Congress are only allowed to leave the floor of the House and Senate to use the bathroom and they have 15 minutes for that.  No going home for the night and reconvening the next day.  Sorry--stay there until you get the people's business done.

2.  In situations where people on Social Security, our Troops, federal employees, etc. are threatened with having their paychecks or unemployment benefits cut off, I propose that Congress is included.  In fact, I propose they be at the top of that list.  If citizens are threatened with losing their incomes, then Congress should face that devastating threat first.  We don't get money--neither do they.  

3.  I propose that Congress participate in a training program that educates them on what it's like to live in this country for real Americans.  Most members of Congress have no concept of what it's like to work for minimum wage, or to live on food stamps and try to get by.  They should know what this is like.  I propose that from the time they are elected, until the time they are sworn in, they have to live on minimum wage earnings and food stamps.  It will help with their budget making skills.  No one on Earth can budget better than someone on a minimum wage income.  

Implementing real, personal consequences for their actions might snap Congress into action and force them to do the job they were elected and are paid quite well to do. These people are expected to lead our Nation and I've never seen a group of individuals less qualified to do so than the 112th Congress.  

It's Time for Religion to Go Back Into the Closet

I've had it up to my eyeballs with the religious right.  They're ruining my country, ruining the American way of life and causing a lot of suffering.  Religious leaders are the consummate definition of hypocrisy, and I've had enough.  I will not rest until the line that separates church and state is long, wide and very, very vivid.  Religious leaders and their blind, devout followers have become the antithesis of what faith is supposed to be.  It's time to get this poison out of our government.

First, you should know that I was raised in the Christian church.  I have studied the bible.  I respect it as a piece of historical literature.  I reject it as a code to live by for the most part, yet there are some parts I embrace-- I do believe that Jesus Christ was a guy who didn't really have any bad ideas; love thy neighbor as thy self, take care of the sick, the poor, widows and orphans and foreigners.  Not a bad code to live by, however the parts where people are killed for wearing two different fabrics, women are sold into slavery and the rest of the insanity makes it impossible for me to accept the book as divine mandate.  Not to mention that science has debunked much of it, so I do not accept it as absolute truth.  It simply is not.  Still, the way Jesus taught us to live is not a bad concept.  He was a good man.

It's a shame that a bunch of guys got together centuries ago and decided that they could profit off of his teachings, and that their way was the right one and anyone who didn't go along would be damned--and then killed into the bargain.  And so it was with the crusades, so it was throughout history, and so it continues today.  

Modern Christians just don't get that this country was not founded on Jesus Christ--it was founded on the principle of religious freedom...the right to worship any god one so chooses.  Buddah, Vishnu, Ra, Allah, or Jesus.  Pick a god, worship whom you will.  You're free to do that.  Matters of faith should be a personal thing.  Jesus did say to pray in your closet and not out in the street.  

Religion should never be used as a cudgel to beat your fellow man over the head with, until he is bloodied into submission and forced to see things your way.  Faith doesn't work like that.  It never has and it never will.  Religion has no right to impose its will and its system of values and edicts on those of us who do not embrace it or embrace a different set of values from a different god. 

Yet today's Christian right beats all of us over the head with their bibles and religious system of belief in the form of restrictive legislation.  Their god says it is so, and so it must be for all of us. NO, NO, a thousand times NO.  Their god is not my god.  Their system of belief, and their book of rules do not apply to me.  I do not believe as they believe and my right to abstain from their moral code is bestowed upon me by the Constitution.  I don't have to follow along.

The great men who formed this nation warned us about the dangers of the state meddling in the matters of church.  It also warned us of the dangers of the church meddling in the affairs of governance.  The religious right is not listening and seeks actively to impose their bible on us all.  I will fight them to the death for my right to worship any other god or no god at all rather than bow down to the lord they wish to impose upon me.  I would rather die a free human being than to be bound by their religious ignorance that steals the rights of my fellow human beings and forces them to adhere to their antiquated sense of morality.

I have a message for all of the ultra-right-wing-conservative-Christians:  You're just as bad as the Muslims that you vilify.  How dare you stand there with your pseudo-righteous indignation ranting at a group of different religious zealots when they are so much like yourselves?  It is wrong and deplorable to fly a plane into a building and kill innocent people.  It is equally wrong to stand in front of a health center and murder one man in cold blood because he dares to offer a Constitutionally protected service to women.  And before you say that the death of 3,000 human beings is far worse than the murder of one...it is your bible that says all sin is equal in the sight of god.  And these things are not wrong because god says so--it is wrong because it breaks the rules of a civilized society with laws that say it is so.  

It is equally wrong for a group of "god fearing" men to attempt to legislate women's health services.  Sorry, men...you will never know what it is like to be a woman.  You will never, ever know what it is to be one of us.  You have no right, not here on Earth, and certainly not bestowed on you by heaven, to legislate women's bodies--or anyone's body.  I reject your heaven and your so-called divine authority to impose your will on my body.  The Constitution (which you claim to hold in as high esteem as your bible) grants me the right to decide what happens to my body. Abortion is legal and Constitutionally protected.  Rape is rape and is never the victim's fault.  No matter what.  You can label it all you like, you can define it and redefine it, and it's all the same.  I will fight for the laws that protect my body.

I refuse to accept the marginalization of a group of citizens based on their sexual orientation because your bible tells you so.  I reject your bible and your imagined moral authority once more.  Your bible also tells you that you can sell your daughter into slavery and take our neighboring countrymen into slavery.  I have a feeling Canada might not agree with that bit of scripture.  I don't see many daughters on the American market, but I would never put it past you religious zealots to try.  None the less, if you reject one tenent of the bible as outdated socially, then the same principle must apply to all the edicts of the Bible.  Is that really what you want our country to become?    

I live in a world of fact and tangibility--science and technology.  Your belief in an invisible man in the clouds watching over you does not negate my truth.  As the great Neil degrasse Tyson once said, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it."  You don't have to believe in science, and I don't have to believe in your god. I have provable facts on my side.  You have faith in a deity you have never seen and have no direct evidence of.  That is your choice. It is not mine however.   Why can't you get that?  You do not have, nor have you ever, had the right to enact legislation based on your personal religious beliefs.  Governance is secular.  Jesus, Mohammed, Buddah, Allah, and Vishnu free.  None of them have any business in our public policy.  

To be quite honest, while Christianity professes to be a religion based on love, it has become a religion based on bigotry and exclusion.  Not by design, mind you.  It's what the leadership has made it.  they've taken the bible and the words of Christ and twisted them.  They've turned what should be a matter of quiet faith and loving ways and turned it into a billion dollar industry that preys upon the weakest and most vulnerable among us.  To be fair, if the churches in this nation want to participate in public policy, it's high time they put some skin in the game and paid taxes.  In fact that's the law.  

Pat Robertson, televangelist and former Presidential candidate, who recently warned his viewers that atheists are miserable and want to make Christians miserable as well, is worth an estimated $30 million dollars.  He's not unique.  Pastor Rick Warren (author of the best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life) is worth an estimated $25 million, and the list goes on and on.  Do they not remember that passage about it being easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of heaven?  I guess that doesn't apply to Robertson or his political funding arm, The Christian Coalition.  

If you really want to see the obscenity of faith, you need look no further than the Vatican, whose net worth is estimated between $10-16.5 billion dollars.  The Vatican is invested in real estate, construction, steel, chemicals, banking, and insurance.  Although a significant portion of their vast wealth goes to the Catholic Church's charitable enterprises, an even more significant portion goes to this:

Just imagine for a minute the number of homeless people who could be provided shelter, how many hungry people could be fed for what this cost to construct?  Is this what the simple carpenter of ancient days wanted his belief system to become?  Is this ostentatious display what Christianity is all about?  What hypocrisy, what absolute self-aggrandizing, utter hypocrisy.  And this is the reason I cannot take Christianity seriously.  It is a mockery of itself.  The simple fact that religious leaders are (pardon the pun) hell-bent on inserting themselves into public policy, shows me that there is an ulterior motive to their actions that has nothing to do with the teachings of Christ and everything to do with their investment portfolio.  

I find it ironic that Jesus never once mentioned homosexuality in his writings and teachings--yet he told his believers to pray in their closets.  It's time that Christian radicals went back in the closet and stayed out of public policy and government.

Mitch McConnell and the Lost Cause

Question of the day: What do you think of when you think of filibusters?  If you're like me, and a lot of other people in this country, you think of the Jimmy Stewart classic film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  The film should be required viewing for any Congressperson before being sworn into office. 

This is what a filibuster used to look like.  One dedicated man (or woman) standing on the Senate floor as long as he could or until the 60 required votes were gathered to end the filibuster.  The longest filibuster in Senate history was conducted by Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.  He talked for a total of 24 hours and 18 minutes.  It's not like that anymore.  Senators can call in a filibuster from their office or anywhere else and business comes to a screeching halt.

The filibuster has been abused by Republicans.  Over the last 6 years there have been over 300 filibusters.  Our Senate has passed less than 3% of the bills that come to the floor.  The Republicans have hi-jacked the Senate and now they're complaining because Democrats are considering using the "nuclear option", a Senate rule that on the first day of a new Congress, rules can be changed by a simple majority, rather than the 67 votes rules changes require at any other time.

It all comes down to one man; Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, who famously stated the first and foremost priority of the Republican Senate:

In the clip, which McConnell doubled down on in a later Fox News interview, he states that his "top political priority should be to deny President Obama a second term."  Think about that for a second...the Republican Senate leadership wasn't worried about job creation or the economy, or Homeland Security or any of the damned things that keep us all up at night.  His priority was to obstruct the sitting President.  It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out how he went about his attempt to deny Obama a second term.

So, Mitch McConnell, how'd that work out for ya?  Not too well, eh?!  Well now it's time to suffer the consequences, and the Democrats, lead by Harry Reid, are going to do what is necessary to make the Senate a working body again.  You did this, sir.  They're going to take your favorite tool of obstruction out of the tool box.  You asked for it.  

Your present righteous indignation is lost on me Mitch. Remember that "gentleman's agreement" you were part of with Lamar Alexander along with Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer ?  You know, the one where you agreed to not abuse the filibuster and run the Senate openly?  Do you remember that being a bunch of bullshit, as you continued with your obstructionist agenda?  Because we remember, and we're not going to allow you to continue your political vendetta against our President while we, the people, and this country suffer for it.  You, sir, are no gentleman--not by any stretch of the imagination. 

We're glad for Elizabeth Warren, who is coming into the 113th Congress and has the backbone to stand up to you and your team of Republican bullies.  We're grateful for Sherrod Brown who has the courage to press forward and do the people's business. We're proud that Harry Reid is going to go nuclear on this one.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  You backed the Democrats--and the entire nation into this corner.  This is no time for personal grudges and political vendettas.  This is not a game of chess. You're messing with people's lives and you don't seem to care.

 Mitch, you seem to have forgotten that it's not your Senate--it's ours...it belongs to us.  And we support Harry Reid's efforts to prevent you and your Republican obstructionist cronies from hi-jacking our political process.  We're not going to turn this President's  second term into a Senatorial witch hunt where your top priority is the attempt to impeach our President.  Yeah, we're on to you, Mitch.  We all know about your tactics and we're not having it anymore.  If you want to filibuster, you're going to have to earn it from now on.  I wonder which Republican Senator does the best Jimmy Stewart impression?