The White House's Kent Conrad problem  —  On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the outgoing chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, made a proposal to solve the “fiscal cliff.”  The proposal isn't going anywhere, but its specifics explain something important about the White House's negotiating strategy.

Benghazi penalties are bogus  —  The four officials supposedly out of jobs because of their blunders in the run-up to the deadly Benghazi terror attack remain on the State Department payroll — and will all be back to work soon, The Post has learned.  —  The highest-ranking official caught …

Police: NBC asked to use high-capacity clip  —  Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy  —  During an interview with NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre on “Meet the Press,” David Gregory held up a high-capacity ammunition magazine.

FreedomWorks tea party group nearly falls apart in fight between old and new guard  —  The day after Labor Day, just as campaign season was entering its final frenzy, FreedomWorks, the Washington-based tea party organization, went into free fall.  —  Richard K. Armey, the group's chairman …

Give Chuck a Chance  —  In case you haven't heard, President Obama is considering appointing Chuck Hagel, a former United States senator from Nebraska and a Purple Heart winner, as the next secretary of defense — and this has triggered a minifirefight among Hagel critics and supporters.

Let's Come Together, America  —  Posted by Howard S., Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer  —  There are moments in our lives when we have an opportunity to ignite tremendous positive change—not just in the lives of the customers and communities we serve every day, but in our country.

‘Killing people is what I like best’: Firefighter-slay lunatic's suicide screed  —  The homicidal maniac who torched his upstate neighborhood and gunned down two responding firefighters in an elaborate ambush left behind a twisted suicide note that revealed his bloodlust, authorities said yesterday.

Frank Luntz: NRA not listening to public  —  Pollster Frank Luntz, who has studied attitudes about gun control, said on Wednesday that he doesn't “think the NRA is listening” to the American public in the wake of the massacre of 20 children at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

Liberals Panic As They Lose the Gun Narrative  —  When you argue for a living, you can tell how an argument is going for you.  The evidence and my gut both tell me that the liberals have lost control of the gun control narrative.  —  Not for lack of trying - it was almost as if they were poised …

San Diego's new mayor Bob Filner fires some parting shots at Congress  —  Former U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., during a House Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing.  Credit: Charles Dharapak  —  Former Democratic Congressman Bob Filner, a member of the House of Representatives for 10 terms, could have run for an eleventh.