The fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn't  —  House Speaker John Boehner couldn't hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.  —  It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight …

The Journal News is Armed and Dangerous  —  ROCKLAND COUNTY TIMES EXCLUSIVE  —  Armed guards from RGA Investigations have taken up post at the Journal News' Rockland County headquarters  —  Journal News' Rockland headquarters in West Nyack, Town of Clarkstown  —  Guns are good for the goose but NOT for the gander.

Democratic Congressman Laughs At Fox News' Fiscal Cliff Misinformation  —  Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) schooled the hosts of Fox & Friends on the details of the deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” during an appearance to explain his opposition to the Senate-passed compromise on Wednesday morning.

GOP State Senator: Kwanzaa Is A Leftist Plot ‘To Destroy’ America  —  While outrage about the so-called war on Christmas has died down for another year, Wisconsin state Senator Glenn Grothman (R) has launched a new war on Kwanzaa, claiming it is a fake holiday invented by racist radicals who want to “divide America.”

The Strangest Conservative Priority: Prepping a ‘2nd Amendment Solution’  —  The Bill of Rights offers much smarter, more effective ways to safeguard liberty than preparing for armed insurrection.  —  Reuters  —  In National Review, Kevin Williamson argues that nearly everyone calling …

6 Things You Won't Believe That Are In The Fiscal Cliff Bill That The Senate Passed At 2 AM While Most Americans Were Drunk  —  On January 1, just before 2 AM, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed to pass a bill that will avert the Fiscal Cliff.  The House approved it late that night.

Attorney for Newtown survivor seeking to sue Connecticut for $100 million backs off  —  Irving Pinsky said he's received new information about security at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where his 6-year-old client almost died in a Dec. 14 massacre.  He initially said he would sue Connecticut in order to improve school safety.

Senate-Passed Deal Means Higher Tax on 77% of Households  —  The budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate today would raise taxes on 77.1 percent of U.S. households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.

AND THE WINNER IS...SOMEBODY  —  I kept drifting in and out of football games all afternoon, checking back in every now and then to see if somebody had managed to get the bats in the House Of Representatives to fly in formation.  Come the Orange Bowl, and it looked like the Senate bill …