Sunday Roundup

That explosion you heard this week was Harry Reid going nuclear, as the Senate voted 52-48 to eliminate the ability to use filibusters to block most Judicial and Executive branch nominees. Republican Senators hysterically decried the move as "a raw power grab," "Obamacare II" and "scary and dictatorial." In fact, it was Republican senators who forced the issue by filibustering nominees at an unprecedented rate, including -- for the first time ever -- a cabinet nominee. Half the nearly 170 filibusters of presidential nominees in U.S. history have happened since Obama -- who was accused of "packing" the DC district court simply for trying to fill vacancies -- took office. It's still unlikely any real solutions will come out of our gridlocked congress, but at least now the Senate can't make our other two branches of government just as unproductive. Ka-boom!