Plank
The Fiscal Cliff Deal's Biggest Winner May Be George W. Bush
Note: This item was revised to reflect news developments early Tuesday morning. First things first. At 12:00:00 a.m., we went over the fiscal cliff. And at 12:00:01 a.m., most Americans were talking about the new year, not the new fiscal regime. READ MORE >>
Kill This Deal
"This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended; it is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin doth continually run, and therefore it is called the Slough of Despond; for still, as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there ariseth in his soul many fears, and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place. And this is the reason of the badness of this ground." READ MORE >>
What's in the Deal? Your Fiscal Cliff Checklist
Netanyahu's New Headache: Avigdor Lieberman Is Dragging Him Down
JP Morgan Gets a Big Holiday Gift From the SEC
Hagel, the Enemy of Liberals' Enemies, Shouldn't be Their Friend
A historian looking back on the public battle over Barack Obama’s second-term appointments might very well scratch his head as he struggles to explain the fight over the president’s next Secretary of Defense. He will look at the columns written for and against the leading nominees and see something very strange. He will notice that liberals, by and large, are rallying behind a conservative Republican, and that conservatives are pulling for a liberal Democrat. READ MORE >>
A Fiscal Sell-By Date
Republicans have backed off their demand that a "fiscal cliff" deal include the "chaining" (read: cutting) of Social Security benefit increases. Logically speaking, that should mean that a deal to limit the Jan. 1 restoration of Clinton-era tax rates to income below $250,000 should be at hand. READ MORE >>
This Hit Caused a Concussion. It Was Also Legal. Discuss.
Last Sunday night in Seattle, in the midst of a marquee matchup, the San Francisco 49ers began marching down the field in the first quarter, trailing the Seahawks 14-0. On Seattle’s 20 on third down, quarterback Colin Kaepernick found his one-time Pro Bowl tight end, Vernon Davis, on the sideline inside the 5. After the ball arrived but before Davis could fully hold onto it, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor jetted in and with full force used his shoulder to knock Davis’ chest, sending the ball flying irrelevantly away. Almost immediately, two yellow flags—from two nearby referees—flew in. The call: unnecessary roughness on Chancellor. The result: 10-yard penalty, first-and-ten Niners on the 10-yard-line. There are two more things to know about the play. One is that Davis sustained a concussion. Two is that Chancellor’s hit was almost certainly not against the rules. Mike Pereira, the NFL’s one-time senior director of officiating who now works as a commentator for Fox, tweeted, “The hit turns out to be legal.” Cris Collinsworth, NBC’s color commentator, was even more stark: after looking at the replay, he observed of Chancellor, “Lowered his head. Hit him with the shoulder pad. Get the head out of there. If that’s not legal I don’t know what is. I think that is outstanding defensive football.” READ MORE >>
Over the Cliff? A Better Deal Would Be Worth the Wait
Will we get an agreement on the “fiscal cliff” before year’s end? Even after Friday’s developments, which included a meeting of congressional leaders at the White House, I really don’t know—and neither does anybody else. But when the deal materializes still matters less than what the deal entails. READ MORE >>
