There was an extraordinary sight on the Senate floor early Tuesday evening as five members of the chamber, led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), engaged in a nearly 40-minute conversation about S. 502, the Smarter Sentencing Act, a bill that would reform mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders.

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee members had the opportunity to pepper Loretta Lynch, President Obama's nominee for attorney general, with questions about several controversial policies backed by the Justice Department or issues that could arise during her tenure, should she be confirmed.

When the Clean Water Act was first conceived, the EPA could only restrict entrepreneurs when they attempted to pollute bodies of water that were used by their fellow businesses, or what the EPA calls ‘navigable waters.’ However, its original mission is far too modest for modern-day bureaucrats.

Every year since college, my best friend Dan and I have submitted our best observations on a wide range of topics that reflect on the year that has just expired. We follow the well established template of The McLaughlin Group program.Here are my reflections on 2013:BIGGEST WINNER OF THE YEAR: I can't even think of one, as 2013 has seen so many failures that have hurt so many Americans. The only one I can think of is David Ortiz of the Red Sox, who emphatically reclaimed the City of Boston for Bostonians.

A friend visited the emergency room recently to treat a severe infection in his leg. His doctor was unavailable so he was advised to go the local emergency room to receive treatment. After waiting the requisite several hours, my friend was visited by a nurse who, upon looking at his electronic medical chart, asked about a prescription for eye drops that had been filled at a pharmacy outside the hospital earlier in the day. What makes this story interesting is that the prescribing physician was located in another state and unaffiliated with the treating hospital.

Frequently Asked Questions about Defunding ObamaCare

Championing an effort that is long overdue, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) are leading a fight to put teeth into the cause of dismantling Obamacare. An effort that is ostensibly backed by every GOP member of Congress given the thirty odd votes the House of Representatives has taken to repeal Obamacare, Senators Cruz and Lee are exerting the only leverage available to Members of Congress, especially those whose party holds the majority in only one House of Congress: the power of the purse.

Karl Rove has a piece at FoxNews titled "Republicans must resist game of chicken with president over ObamaCare." In it, the establishment's favorite political guru dispenses bad advice to grassroots conservatives, based on the assumption that defunding the health care law on a spending bill "won't work." He's wrong about that.

Here are seven key remaining ObamaCare implementation dates: