Amigo, my favorite news junkie, announced the news: Supreme Court Antonin Scalia found dead at age 79, most likely of natural causes.

My first reaction: wow.

My second reaction: I hope President Obama makes a nomination quickly, because today’s Congress and Senate will fight him tooth and nail. The approval process may linger until Obama’s successor is elected and inaugurated.

Social Media and traditional outlets were going wild with both the news and the reactions. Here’s a taste.

“I am stunned by the loss of Justice Scalia…And while I frequently disagreed with Justice Scalia’s views, our country will remember him as one of the most powerful and consequential voices of his generation.” – Russ Feingold, candidate for Senate in Wisconsin

Control of the nation’s top court now hangs in the balance. –Huffington Post

Next, unfortunately, came several headlines and links exclaiming “GOP vows to block any Obama nominee!”

Make no mistake, people. President Obama is the type of person who probably put a plan in place early in his tenure in case the opportunity arose to nominate a new justice. This is the type of appointment that can have an impact long after he leaves office. A good-for-life appointment to the Supreme Court has the potential to last years beyond any legislation passed in the past 7 years – including the Affordable Care Act.

Unfortunately, President Obama’s opponents likely had a plan in place, too. Their plan is consistent in its predictability: opposition. If Obama says green, they say red. If he points up, they point down. If the President leans left, they pull to the right and pull hard.

This philosophy of obstruction reminds me of students with an ODD diagnosis – Oppositional Defiant Disorder. A young person with ODD is much like today’s ultra-conservatives. Rather than setting up their own possibilities for success, they prepare to block anything set up by another. Teaching kids with ODD is difficult because the students are all too predictable; if the teacher says out, they will say in. If the work is to be done in pen, they’ll do it in pencil, just because they can.If the teacher says “Sit down” the students might stand up, kick a chair over, or even take off running through the halls – anything but cooperate.

One philosophy we teachers learn is that it’s not important to have the last word; it’s more important to have the lasting word. Rather than push a child to the point of total refusal, we state the necessary behavior and then back off, monitoring the child while not going head to head. This gives the student the chance to save face while still complying with the teacher’s request.

In this script, President Obama is the teacher. Certain individuals (fill in the blank here, folks, you know you can) play the parts of ODD students in the drama. No matter what (or whom) he suggests, they will squeal loudly in opposition just because they can. Meanwhile, the President will work quietly and calmly behind the scenes, building rapport and gathering the votes necessary to approve the nominee. When all is said and done and the new justice is seated on the Supreme Court, President Obama will have had the lasting word – a nominee to last a lifetime.

It was Monday night. Not dark and stormy, although there was a snowstorm waiting in the wings. Here in Wisconsin, we watched one school district after another declare their schools closed in advance.

Meanwhile, in our neighboring state of Iowa, the presidential primary season has officially begun. It’s the night of the famed Iowa Caucuses. There, in the heart of the Midwest, real results – not estimates or polls! – will emerge.

So while I’m relaxing in front of a series of Tiny House Nation episodes, I’m also prepping for the incoming storm. My laptop is plugged in and charging. My fitbit (with its vibrating alarm) is plugged into the laptop and charging. My phone will go on its turbo charger later. The storm promises to move in midday tomorrow, so I’m not too worried about overnight power outages.

Meanwhile, back in Iowa, a correspondent for The Broad Side has been posting updates and pictures. I watch the numbers change in her posts. Hillary – 54; Bernie – 29; O’Malley – 3; Undecided – 5. They caucus some more. Hillary – 57; Bernie – 34. Based on those numbers, the location I’m following assigns Hillary 8 delegates for the Democratic Convention and Bernie 5 delegates. 

A friend posts on Facebook “Schools are closed tomorrow!” We know it’s official when we see it on at least three news channel crawls and on the district’s official web site. Conversations on social media range from “6 inches? We’re shutting down for 6 inches?” to “Thank goodness, the administration is erring on the side of safety and caution.”

Meanwhile, back in Iowa, someone posts a picture of this.

This would go well with my Obama mug, wouldn’t it?

As for schools closing, the major factor isn’t always how much snow falls. It’s more about when the snow falls and whether the plows can clear the parking lots, sidewalks, and nearby streets. An overnight snow can mean a two hour delay while the maintenance crews plow and shovel and blow snow. If a storm drops 5-6 inches starting at 3 AM, it’s not so easy. Tuesday’s storm may drop 6-12 inches, all starting around noon. Folks, in reality, starting a normal school day and then having to send kids home early is a nightmare. Chaos. Confusion. 6 inches in itself may not seem like a catastrophic snowfall, but the timing is everything.

Meanwhile, back at the caucuses – no clear results yet. Since I don’t have school tomorrow, maybe I’ll stay up late and watch the news shows. Or maybe, since I don’t have school tomorrow, I’ll spend my day watching the pundits announce and interpret the results.

And meanwhile, I’ll watch the snow fall from the safety of my home.