The moon sinks low on the horizon, as though it's trying to hide. Frightened animals flee into the woods, even though nothing seems to be chasing them. Nature has turned topsy-turvy. It can mean only one thing: The legislature is back in session.

The once haughty tea party has been whittled down to only a nub of its former self, with only eight percent of Americans now identifying themselves with the faction.

The article below is not a Nation editorial or a solicited piece but a manifesto we received from an occasional contributor. We are publishing it in the hope of stirring discussion of one of the most important political issues of our time: how to transform what the author, who uses a pseudonym to avoid personalizing that issue, calls the “bipartisan” Democratic Party into an organization capable of bringing about desperately needed progressive change in America. 

If you are sensitive to stories of human suffering and economic hardship, let me warn you that the following report contains materials that could be upsetting, so discretion is advised.

It's about a fellow named Jamie. He lives in New York, and he had a very rough go in 2012 with a large financial institution – and, as you can imagine, such behemoths can he heartless, so it's tough to stand up to them. 

Perhaps you thought that, surely, the far right wing in American politics couldn't get any nuttier. If so, you clearly hadn't factored in Glenn Beck.

Since losing his glory-spot as a Fox-TV yackety-yacker, Beck has been less visible, but no less busy, continuing to promote himself as leader of the political wacky, and still delighting them as the P.T. Barnum of conspiracy theories.

Last year, Sheriff Tommy Gage of Montgomery County, Texas, was eager to show off his new surveillance toy. Having been given a $300,000 Homeland Security grant by the federal government, his office had become the first police agency in the nation to have its very own drone, a pilotless aircraft to monitor and, yes, spy on people.