From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader: U. S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds would have voted for the bill that prevented part of the “fiscal cliff” by freezing most tax rates but letting income taxes rise on high earners. Rounds, a former two-term governor of South Dakota who is running for Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson’s seat, said the bill approved at the last minute this week wasn’t perfect but was the best option remaining.

From the Mitchell Daily Republic : Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was elected Friday to serve as ranking member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee of the 113th Congress.

From the Huffington Post on the Left: The vote was a dilemma for Republicans, who have pledged for decades not to raise taxes, but faced being blamed with raising taxes on all Americans, had Congress and the White House not reached a deal.

James W. Anderson shares with us twelve good reasons why a person would feel compelled to vote Democrat. Does this describe you or someone you know?

Are we a nation ruled by laws, or has our government been taken over by a group of modern-day marquis and baronettes who simply pretend to govern, while robbing us blind? On this week’s Afterburner, Bill Whittle likens the recent “fiscal cliff” crisis to kabuki theater. So how can one person come out on top in such a system? Find out.

This man in the oval office has brought in the New Year with an onslaught of abusive measures. For example, he has signed NDAA 2013, a bill that makes a provision to unlawfully detain American citizens indefinitely (as he gives passes to illegal immigrants). He also advocated emergencies through the engineered fiscal cliff. Senators received the 154-page bill at approximately 1:36 AM on Jan. 1, 2013 – a mere three minutes before they voted to approve it at 1:39 AM. And, yes, they signed it. The House also passed it the following day.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned; not our Congress. They’re too busy spending your money and feathering their own nests of power and privilege, and paying off their political supporters…with OUR tax dollars. “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” is a saying I heard when I was a child, and I thought it was stupid then. It’s especially stupid now, given what our own elected officials are doing to our freedoms, our prosperity and our nation.

Personalize the “fiscal cliff” deal that just took place in Washington. You take your mail out of the mailbox and see the bills that are due. Without opening the envelopes, you throw them into a desk drawer with vague intention to open them at some point. Or you have voice mails from creditors that you erase and then head out to a show.