* Boehner goes alone on "fiscal cliff" deal, introducing back-up plan. * [The Republican] party is a threat to democratic discourse and to fiscal sanity. Their ideological mania knows no prudential restraint at all. * Even in gun circles, Freedom Group's industry domination is a mystery. * Argument for
* Mike Bloomberg's six steps for Obama and Congress to improve gun control. * Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management to begin selling its investment in gunmaker Freedom Group after Newtown shooting. * NRA goes silent on social media and appears to have yanked its Facebook page. * Alan Taylor's
* Newtown recently underwent a civic battle between traditional hunters and assault weapon enthusiasts. * Liberty entails precisely the freedom to offend. A gun in every pocket would stifle that. * The gun control that works: no guns. And that will never pass in America. * What happens when you're Facebook friends
* Obama: "Are we really prepared to say we are powerless in the face of such carnage?" * Bloomberg: "If [Obama] does nothing during his second term, something like 48,000 Americans will be killed with illegal guns." * Round-up of the best reporting on guns in America.
* In eight years the U.S. will be a major energy exporter. * Researchers believe Olympian lifespans—2.8 years longer on average—could be possible for mere mortals. * Abu Dhabi takes on its burgeoning obesity and diabetes epidemic. * What's wrong with the wheat you're eating: It&
* With more than 26,000 petitioners, White House will address a request for construction of a Death Star. * Acronym of the week: the FUKUS coalition—France, UK, and U.S. together recognizing Syrian rebels. * Next year should be one of great progress in the “steady, slow boring stuff” of anti-
* Joe Lieberman's lonely departure. * A map of the probable range and accuracy of North Korea's missiles. * An informal network of astronomers tracks near-Earth asteroids—but nobody knows who's going to stop one from making impact. * Mike Deri Smith consults with disaster experts to
* Russian government admits Syria may lose battle to rebel forces. * Sweden "coughs up" thousands of migrant workers for Norway, where they're widely mocked. * Poynter's annual list of the worst media errors of the year. * Chris Heath on one Greek politician attacking another on TV,
* How the U.S. let industry pollute its underground water supply. * Medical evidence continues to prove daily aspirin can help prevent cardiovascular disease and even cancer—why aren't more people taking it? * Study suggests women who are light smokers—smoking even one cigarette a day—double their chance
* White House recognizes Syrian rebels and seeks greater influence. * Homeland, Obama's show. * The idea that political views have a genetic component is now widely accepted, and has its own field: "genopolitics." * Philosopher goes anti-natalist, rebelling against notion that philosophers must be parents first. * Economist addresses
