Column: Real or fake? It's hard to tell anymore

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Democratic president clashes with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill as a polarized nation debates taxes and guns, illegal immigration and gay rights, and, perpetually, the size of government. Question: Fictional Hollywood or real Washington? Answer: Both.

For seven years, from 1999 to 2006, the NBC drama "The West Wing" showed America the inner workings of President Josiah Bartlet's made-up White House. Re-watching its episodes today, it's difficult to ignore the parallels between the fiction of then and the reality of today. Since the show ended, the line between the authentic and the packaged in Washington seems to have grown increasingly fuzzy, not just in our politics but now, also, in governing itself.

The depiction of American politics has saturated our popular culture over the past two decades, from "Spin City" and "Dave" in the 1990s to "Veep" and "Lincoln" today. The images, dialogue, casting and storylines almost always play to stereotypes, implanting notions of the American system in the minds of viewers and shaping expectations of how politics and government should look.

Our scripts, the storylines we expect, can confine us. But behind that notion is a deeper, more troubling question: Has the kind of politicking served up on the screen for so long become so ingrained that it is blowing back into the reality of governing?

More important, are expectations set by Hollywood and reinforced by Washington out of step with what it will take to govern a changing country in challenging times? Are American leaders expending too much effort trying to be and do what's expected for their audience ? primarily core supporters and special interests ? rather than being and doing what is needed to fix the nation's problems? And are we, the public, equally responsible by punishing our leaders if they veer from the script?

Political theater is hardly new. Leaders have always played hard for the public's attention and support. And our 24/7 flow of instantaneous information, with the insatiable appetite for reality programming tacked on, is making things more intense.

Almost daily, individual congressmen and senators march to the House and Senate floors to passionately support or oppose a certain piece of legislation, raising voices and pounding podiums as they preach ? to mostly empty chambers, and C-SPAN viewers taken by the ruse TV has created. Also, Republicans and Democratic leaders hold frequent news conferences ? again, much of it for show.

Ronald Reagan, the actor-turned-politician-turned-president, used his Hollywood-honed communication skills to get the public on his, if not the Republican Party's, side. Barack Obama, a skillful orator operating in a new-media world, frequently leverages the latest technology to curry favor with Americans in hopes of pressuring GOP leaders who control the House to see it his way on any number of issues. Rare is the politician who cannot, with the help of speechwriters, summon the narrative drama needed to get something done or play to an audience.

Is it any wonder, then, why many Americans tell pollsters they have so little faith in their leaders and institutions? Or why they're so turned off by Washington? Or why they seem to get caught up in the Hollywood-like romance of what it should be like rather than in the reality of what it needs to be?

Exhibit A: the gun debate.

Shortly after the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shootings, Obama put on his nation's comforter hat and quickly made a public show of tapping Vice President Joe Biden to come up with a White House proposal for addressing a recent spate of fatal mass shootings. The vice president predictably convened representatives from every group with a stake in the issue.

And Democrats and Republicans ? and their respective special interest allies ? dug in. The left pushed limits on guns, the right resisted, and Washington insiders started murmuring about the unlikelihood that a comprehensive measure would ever reach Obama's desk.

Precisely as expected.

Fiscal crises also have been going according to script. Every few months, the country faces a looming fiscal deadline ? tax cuts are set to expire, or the nation's debt limit needs to be raised, or automatic spending cuts are to take effect.

Act 1 has both Democrats and Republicans calling for compromise and talking of grand bargains. Act 2 finds them digging in on their opposite ideological positions of taxes, spending and government's size, beholden to their bases. Act 3 ends up being both sides leaving the negotiating table and posturing publicly for maximum exposure. Act 4, the finale, is a furious behind-the-scenes wrangling by a select few that results in a narrow-scope late-night deal reached just before the deadline passes.

On gay rights, two moments ? one fake, one real ? are striking in their similarities.

In "The West Wing" episode "20 Hours in L.A.," which aired first in 2000, Bartlet is running for re-election when he dresses down a Hollywood producer demanding he publicly advocate for more gay rights. Bartlet thunders, "Right now, right this second, the worst thing that could possibly happen to gay rights in this country is for me to put that thing on the debating table, which happens the minute I open my mouth!"

Fast forward to the real 2012. Obama was seeking a second term when he announced he supported gay marriage, bowing to pressure from gays ? including many in Hollywood ? and disclosing his stance far earlier than planned after Biden pre-empted him. Obama said then: "I didn't want to nationalize the issue. There's a tendency when I weigh in to think suddenly it becomes political and it becomes polarized."

In "Shutdown" ? a 2003 episode of the show created by unabashed liberal Aaron Sorkin ? Bartlet refuses to compromise with the Republican House speaker over budget cuts the GOP is demanding as a fiscal crisis looms, and declares, "I am the president of the United States, and I will leave the government shut down until we come to an equitable agreement."

Will we hear similar from Obama next month if ? as expected ? House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, demands significant spending cuts as a part of legislation to fund federal agencies beyond March 27 and avert a government shutdown? Maybe so.

These days, a level of governing uninfluenced by stereotypes sounds as refreshing as it does impossible.

That is, unless our leaders start putting what's right for the country over what's expected by their most vocal backers, and unless we, the general public, stop holding them hostage with fantastical notions of how they should behave.

We're talking about a fundamental shift. And that won't happen overnight.

But the potential payoff is huge. If the pressure to adhere to the script ebbs, that clears the way for more real problem-solving. Not to mention the ability to look at shows like "The West Wing" and say, with confidence: This is entertaining, but it's nothing like the real thing.

____

Liz Sidoti is the national politics editor for The Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lsidoti

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/column-real-fake-hard-tell-anymore-085225128.html

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Reality TV Helicopter Crash Kills David Gene Gibbs, Darren Arthur Rydstrom & Michael William Donatelli

LOS ANGELES -- Three people were killed Sunday in a pre-dawn helicopter crash in a rural area of northern Los Angeles County while filming for a new reality TV show for the Discovery Channel.

The copter crashed at about 3:40 a.m. at the popular filming location of Polsa Rosa Ranch in the city of Acton, Los Angeles County Fire dispatcher Robert Diaz said.

All three people aboard died, Diaz said.

Coroner's spokesman Ed Winter identified the victims Monday as David Gene Gibbs, 59, of Valencia, Calif.; Darren Arthur Rydstrom, 46, of Whittier, Calif., and Michael William Donatelli, 45, of Indiana, Pa.

Autopsies were pending.

The show, listed on a filming permit as an untitled military-theme TV program, had not yet been aired or announced by Discovery, channel spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said.

"A production company was shooting a show for Discovery Channel when this tragic accident occurred," the station said in a statement. "We are all cooperating fully with authorities. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families."

The show's production company, Eyeworks USA, best known for creating NBC's "The Biggest Loser," also issued a statement expressing sympathies to the victims' families and saying they were cooperating with authorities.

The company had been approved to use a helicopter for a reality TV show shooting at the ranch from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning, said Philip Sokoloski, a spokesman for FilmLA, which processes filming permits for location shootings in the Los Angeles region.

Records also showed that Crossbow Helicopters received approval to participate in filming from the Federal Aviation Administration.

"We wouldn't have referenced helicopter activity if we didn't already have pre-approval from the FAA," Sokoloski said.

The cause and other circumstances surrounding the crash were still unknown, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

Television footage showed mangled wreckage in a rugged canyon.

According to its website, Polsa Rosa is a "movie ranch" where film crews can utilize a variety of terrains as well as two airstrips. The ranch, according to the Internet Movie Database, was used in "Windtalkers" and last year's remake of "Red Dawn."

It was the site of another entertainment industry death in September, when a 48-year-old crew member died of an apparent heart attack while underwater in scuba gear on the set of the upcoming Johnny Depp film "The Lone Ranger."

Sunday's wreck was also just 25 miles from a similar rural spot in Santa Clarita where actor Vic Morrow and two children were killed in another helicopter crash while filming the "Twilight Zone" movie in 1982.

That crash brought changes in production restrictions and led to producer John Landis and four others being charged with involuntary manslaughter. All were acquitted.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Tang reported from Phoenix.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/11/reality-tv-helicopter-crash_n_2665586.html

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Military weighs cutbacks, shifts in drone programs

FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2011 file photo, a Predator B unmanned aircraft taxis at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Pentagon for the first time is considering scaling back the massive build-up of drones conducted in the past few years, both to save money and to adapt to new areas of operation, such as Asia, as the Afghanistan war winds down. The downsizing would not affect the current drone campaign against terror suspects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2011 file photo, a Predator B unmanned aircraft taxis at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Pentagon for the first time is considering scaling back the massive build-up of drones conducted in the past few years, both to save money and to adapt to new areas of operation, such as Asia, as the Afghanistan war winds down. The downsizing would not affect the current drone campaign against terror suspects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AP) ? The Pentagon for the first time is considering scaling back the massive buildup of drones it has overseen in the past few years. It would be both to save money and to adapt to changing security threats and new areas of operation ? such as east Asia ? where drones are more likely to be detected and shot down.

If the Pentagon does slow the huge building and deployment program, it won't affect CIA drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere against terror suspects.

Air Force leaders are saying the military may already have enough unmanned aircraft systems to wage the wars of the future ? and the current number may be more than the service can afford to maintain.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-11-Drone%20Cutbacks/id-0acee1575d4548aa9ffde0318cc408d2

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Re-Engineering Your Kitchen For Weight Loss

As we get older, get busy with families and work, go to one too many office parties, happy hours, and cupcake shops, we often don?t notice the slow creeping on of pounds. Or maybe we do. Or maybe you wake up one day and can?t get the jeans to fit or the shirt over your bellybutton. Short of buying an entire wardrobe, you?re faced with a dilemma.

Understandably, the last thing most of us want to do is go on a diet or reduce calories. The very thought of doing so sends some of us into a tailspin, feasting ?last supper? style, or running to the donut store before we begin a weight loss diet ?tomorrow.? The good news is that you can make gradual, small changes and lose weight effortlessly. The same way you allowed small changes in your diet that added the pounds on gradually (the extra wine at happy hour, the chocolate kisses at the front desk, the cupcake at the birthday party, the desert you could have split, the caramel machiatto, etc), is the same way you can effortlessly lose weight by making small changes.

Always try to sit down to enjoy your meal, rather than eating on the go.

?

You can start by making these changes at home, and in the kitchen. This is where a lot of mindless behaviors are created. Think about it; you get home from work, it?s been hours since you ate and you inhale a bag of chips and party nuts before you?ve even started dinner. Or you sit in front of the TV to watch the game and chug a few beers and happen to order a pizza that you?ve devoured and don?t even remember it. Or you wolf down some Girl Scout cookies you bought for (or from!) your kid, because it?s ?there.?

And at the end of the day/week/year you?ve consumed a bunch more calories than you remember, and simply ate more than you thought. Mindless eating is a big problem when you?re busy and on the go all the time (most of us). So, what can we do eat mindfully, and thereby lose some weight effortlessly?

1) Make the declaration vocal: Say: ?I?m not hungry but I am going to eat this anyway.? It makes you sound silly, and possibly greedy too. Honor real hunger, not a suggestion from a commercial.

2) Think 20% less ?other stuff,? 20% more veggies. Take a look at your dinner plate. Could you trim off a small amount of the extra pork loin, or a portion of your pasta, and replace it with some grilled or green leafy vegetables?

3) We eat with our eyes, so visual cues for portion sizes are important to repeat. If like my dog, you?re capable of licking up entire jars of peanut butter or for eating an entire tin of nuts, perhaps it?s better you start buying the single serving peanut butter packets or those 100-calorie packages of nuts/snacks. Some people will just portion out the tin of nuts into mini ziplock baggies to cue their appetites when their eyes are done eating.

4) Volumize your food to make it look bigger. I?m not talking about taking a hair dryer to your bowl of oatmeal, BUT you could do things like lessen the amount of ground beef you consume in a burger patty or meat sauce or taco by adding lots of chopped vegetables (onions, celery, spinach, etc.). Even though you pour or serve the same portion size, this time you?ve pumped up the fiber content of the serving.

5) Take as much time as you can to eat your food; at least 20 minutes. Okay, okay, I?m not talking about at EVERY meal (though that would be ideal), but at the very least, find ONE meal that you can enjoy at a relatively slower pace than normal.

6) Use smaller plates and glasses.?Instead of filling 2 scoops of your ice cream into a cereal bowl, could you use a smaller bowl? Many of us have been conditioned to naturally fill our plates, so a smaller vessel will yield a smaller serving. Same thing with trading in your margarita glass that?s the size of a fish bowl with something that can only hold 6 to 8 oz.

7) Pace yourself with the slowest eater at the table. If you have a lot of business lunches and dinners to attend, or like to eat out socially, there?s always that person at the table who labors slowly over their meal (hint: that won?t be me). See if you can slow down to meet their pace.

8) At elaborate meals out, use the pick two rule outside of your main course. ?Again, for those of you who eat out a lot socially or for work, instead of bread, wine, appetizers, main course, and desert, try to stick with one or two ?play? foods rather than the four you might normally consume outside of the main course. So, wine+main course+desert or appetizer+main course. Just do the math right.

9) Designate an eating only room. Ideally this is the kitchen dining table or the main dining table; some room where the distractions are minimal. Plus, you won?t have to clean up frosting stains off your pillows.

10) Don?t deprive yourself of comfort foods. From early childhood, for better or worse, we?re all conditioned to feel a sense of comfort from certain foods that have been associated with feeling better/rewards. Like pizza after your team wins the game, or a lollipop at the doctor?s office after you?ve been vaccinated, or using ice cream to distract a whiny toddler meltdown. ?I?m certainly not advocating that you bury your sorrows in a pint of Chunky Monkey, but depriving yourself of EVER having it once you begin your ?diet? isn?t sensible either.

11) Allow a positive association with a non-comfort food, a healthier option, or even a non-food reward. ?Let?s say you?ve just lost your first 5 lbs and have got another 40 to go. Reward your mini-milestone with something other than a food treat (buy a new pair of shoes or whatever form of ?retail therapy? makes you happy, or a new set of smaller sized plates and glasses) or a healthier food treat (filet mignon instead of a burger, or a decadent chocolate truffle instead of an entire box). If we?re able to connect macaroni and cheese or cookies with happiness, our brains are probably capable of creating other positive associations.

12) Let your kid pick out a healthy treat in the grocery store. ?This is one of my favorites. Every single time I check out of ?the grocery store, my daughter is instantly drawn to the strategically placed candy. ?While you are shopping, encourage her to pick a healthy treat, then let her look for the better/healthier choices that are there at the store too. Let her pick something like the pre-sliced apples or fruit salads, pre-packaged carrots, or single servings packets of animal crackers (I?ve even seen string cheese individually sold). ?Then, at check out, remind her she?s made a good choice as far as a treat is concerned. You?re not always going to win, but you might, and the choices she makes might be better than the twizzlers or lollipops she?d normally hunt for.

13) Beware the health halo. ?Just because they call it Fat Free or Lean Cereal or Healthy or Nature-Friendly or Organic or Raw or whatever doesn?t make it the best or healthiest choice for you. You can eat a pint of organic, cow-friendly ?ice cream that is also perfectly fattening.

14) Be the ?groceries gatekeeper.? If someone else (spouse, roommate, whatever) is responsible for grocery shopping for the house, he or she may not be picking the best choices for you. Even though you may write ?fruits and vegetables? on the list, a non-dieter might hear ?bananas and potatoes? rather than fruits and vegetables with more fiber (berries, apples, or leafy greens.) Similarly, they might not be as inclined as you might be to read labels. Therefore, things like salad dressing (reduced fat rather than regular), light, greek, or no-added sugar yogurt instead of the full fat versions, higher fiber breads and wraps instead of the highly processed white breads and tortillas might make it into your house, when you don?t intend for them to be there. ?Read the labels at the store, shop the perimeters, and try to be the one who does the shopping, as much as possible if you can.

Finally, recognize that if you?re that person who has tried every trick or tool on the planet to shed the pounds gradually and NOTHING seems to work, it may be indicative of a more serious problem. Whether it?s thyroid or other metabolic issues, or if chronic fatigue or sleep issues make it difficult for you to make good choices during the day, ?perhaps it?s something worth bringing up with your doctor. ?Seek out a therapist if you think you might have an eating disorder or emotional issues tied to over eating, because even the best tools and tricks in the kitchen won?t help address habits that are embedded deep in the psyche. Just remember, there?s always the choice to make that first step, even if it?s a small one.

-Sumi Singh is a Personal Trainer in Austin, TX, an online diet coach, and the author of Stay at Home Strong. Her website is?www.shailafitness.com?and can be contacted for personalized diet coaching at sumi@shailafitness.com. ?Her book is a program designed for post-partum weight loss and can be purchased at www.stayathomestrong.com

Source: http://www.brinkzone.com/general-health/re-engineering-your-kitchen-for-weight-loss/

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Texas judge OKs Planned Parenthood funding ban

By Chris Tomlinson, The Associated Press

Texas can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood's family planning programs for poor women, a state judge ruled Monday.

Judge Gary Harger said that Texas may exclude otherwise qualified doctors and clinics from receiving state funding if they advocate for abortion rights.?

The state has long banned the use of state funds for abortion, but had continued to reimburse Planned Parenthood clinics for providing basic health care to poor women through the state's Women's Health Program. The program provides check-ups and birth control to 110,000 poor women a year, and Planned Parenthood clinics were treating 48,000 of them.?

Planned Parenthood's lawsuit to stop the rule will still go forward, but the judge decided Monday that the ban may go into effect for now. In seeking a temporary restraining order, Planned Parenthood's patients could have continued to see their current doctors until a final decision was made.?

"We are pleased the court rejected Planned Parenthood's latest attempt to skirt state law," attorney general spokeswoman Lauren Bean said. "The Texas Attorney General's office will continue to defend the Texas Legislature's decision to prohibit abortion providers and their affiliates from receiving taxpayer dollars through the Women's Health Program."?

Ken Lambrecht, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said he brought the lawsuit on behalf of poor women who depend on its clinics.?

"It is shocking that once again Texas officials are letting politics jeopardize health care access for women," Lambrecht said. "Our doors remain open today and always to Texas women in need. We only wish Texas politicians shared this commitment to Texas women, their health, and their well-being."?

Planned Parenthood has brought three lawsuits over Texas' so-called "affiliate rule," arguing it violates the constitutional rights of doctors and patients while also contradicting existing state law.?

Republican lawmakers who passed the affiliate rule last year have argued that Texas is an anti-abortion state, and therefore should cut off funds to groups that support abortion rights. Gov. Rick Perry, who vehemently opposes abortion, has pledged to do everything legally possible to shut down Planned Parenthood in Texas and welcomed the court's ruling.?

"Today's ruling finally clears the way for thousands of low-income Texas women to access much-needed care, while at the same time respecting the values and laws of our state," Perry said. "I applaud all those who stand ready to help these women live healthy lives without sending taxpayer money to abortion providers and their affiliates."?

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has spent the last nine months preparing to implement the affiliate rule. But federal officials warned it violated the Social Security Act and cut off federal funds for the Women's Health Program, prompting the commission to start a new program using only state money.?

State officials have also scrambled to sign up new doctors and clinics to replace Planned Parenthood. Women who previously went to Planned Parenthood clinics will now have to use the agency's web site to find a new state-approved doctor.?

On Friday, HHSC officials acknowledged they are unsure whether the new doctors can pick up Planned Parenthood's caseload in all parts of the state.?

Linda Edwards Gockel, a spokesman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said Monday that the new state program will launch as planned on Tuesday.?

"We have more than 3,500 doctors, clinics and other providers in the program and will be able to continue to provide women with family planning services while fully complying with state law," she said. "We welcome Planned Parenthood's help in referring patients to providers in the new program."?

Democratic lawmakers continued to question whether women will have to wait longer for appointments and services.?

"I vehemently disagree with the state's efforts to blacklist a qualified provider and, thereby, interfere with a woman's right to choose her own provider," said state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. "I will be submitting a letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, requesting a list of approved providers to gauge the outreach of the new program, and ensure that all qualified women throughout the state have access to its services."?

Another hearing is scheduled with a different judge for Jan. 11, where Planned Parenthood will again ask for an injunction to receive state funding.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/31/16271081-texas-judge-oks-ban-on-planned-parenthood-funding?lite

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Stocks shoot up as investors bet on 'cliff' deal

A trader wearing "2013" glasses works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The stock market struggled for direction Monday morning after five days of losses, with the "fiscal cliff" just hours away and lawmakers yet to reach a solution. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A trader wearing "2013" glasses works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The stock market struggled for direction Monday morning after five days of losses, with the "fiscal cliff" just hours away and lawmakers yet to reach a solution. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The stock market struggled for direction Monday morning after five days of losses, with the "fiscal cliff" just hours away and lawmakers yet to reach a solution. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders wear "2013" glasses as they work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The stock market struggled for direction Monday morning after five days of losses, with the "fiscal cliff" just hours away and lawmakers yet to reach a solution. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A television news show talks about the fiscal cliff while traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The stock market struggled for direction Monday morning after five days of losses, with the "fiscal cliff" just hours away and lawmakers yet to reach a solution. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The stock market shot higher on Monday even as the "fiscal cliff" neared. By the time trading ended, Republicans and Democrats still hadn't reached a budget compromise ? but investors were betting that they would.

It was a dramatic day on what turned out to be a strong year for stocks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13.4 percent for the year, after finishing flat in 2011. It was the index's best year since 2009. The gains came despite a flare-up in Europe's debt crisis and anemic U.S. growth, bringing U.S. indexes close to their highs reached before the 2008 financial crisis.

The close Monday was a high note in what had been a choppy day for the market, as choppy as the "fiscal cliff" deal-making that has been yanking it around. It also marked a turnaround after five straight days of "cliff"-influenced losses. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 both climbed more than 1 percent. The Nasdaq composite index rose 2 percent.

Stocks fell at the opening of trading Monday and struggled for direction throughout the morning. The indecisiveness overlaid a day of dramatic budget negotiations in Washington, where lawmakers were trying to hammer out a new budget deal to avert the "fiscal cliff." That refers to automatic tax increases and government spending cuts that will kick in without a budget deal.

Stocks jerked higher at midday following reports that the bare outline of a deal to avoid the "cliff" had been knit together. The gains faded after President Barack Obama said in the early afternoon that a compromise was "within sight," but not finalized. Then, in the late afternoon, the indexes shot higher again. Congressional Republicans and the Democratic White House said they had agreed on some measures, but still had no final deal in hand.

At the close of trading, Dow Jones industrial average was up 166.03 points, finishing the year at 13,104.14. That's a gain of 7.3 percent for the year, its fourth straight year of gains.

The S&P 500 rose 23.76 to 1,426.19. The Nasdaq composite climbed 59.20 to 3,019.51. For the year the Nasdaq rose 15.9 percent.

With the "fiscal cliff" still closing in, investors' opinions about its potential impact varied, making its long-term effect on the market hard to guess.

Some investors are unruffled. They think that even if the U.S. does go over the "cliff," it would be more akin to the anti-climactic Y2K scare than a true Armageddon. The "cliff's" impact would be felt only gradually, they reason. For example, workers might get more taxes withheld from their first couple of paychecks in the new year, but it's not as if they'd have to pay all their higher taxes up front on Tuesday. And Congress could always retroactively repeal those higher taxes.

Others are more concerned. The higher taxes and lower government spending could take more than $600 billion out of the U.S. economy and send it back into recession. Investors would have no good read on the country's long-term policy for taxes and spending.

The psychological impact ? the U.S. would essentially be broadcasting that its lawmakers can't compromise ? would also hurt.

"We're having a fragile recovery, with the pain of 2008 still fresh on everybody's mind," said Joe Heider, principal at Rehmann Group outside Cleveland. "It's fear of the unknown. And fear is one of the greatest drivers of the financial markets."

Tim Speiss, partner in charge of the personal wealth advisers practice at EisnerAmper in New York, followed the "cliff" negotiations on Monday and wondered if the U.S. would get its debt rating cut again. The Standard & Poor's ratings agency cut its rating of the U.S. government amid similar negotiations in August 2011, when lawmakers were arguing over the government's borrowing limit. S&P said at the time that the "political brinksmanship" highlighted how "America's governance and policymaking (is) becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable." Its rating cut sent the stock market into a tailspin.

The other major ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch, have suggested that they might lower their ratings of the U.S. because of the "fiscal cliff."

"That is, unfortunately, the big story," Speiss said.

It's also one of the only stories. There's been little other news to trade on during the holiday season, giving the "fiscal cliff" drama outsized influence. No major companies are scheduled to report earnings this week. The most significant economic indicator scheduled for this week, the government's monthly jobs report, won't be released until Friday.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.76 percent from 1.70 percent late Friday, a sign that investors were moving money into stocks.

Some of the best-performing stocks for the year were those that were making up for deep losses in 2011. Homebuilder PulteGroup nearly tripled after falling for five of the previous six years. Appliance maker Whirlpool and Bank of America more than doubled over the year, after falling by double-digit percentages in 2011.

Some of the worst performers of 2012 were Best Buy, Hewlett-Packard and J.C. Penney. All are struggling to keep up with competitors who have adapted more quickly to changing technologies and customer tastes. They were all up for the day, but were all down at least 44 percent for the year.

Associated Press

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UN Envoy warns of mass death next year in Syria

The international envoy to Syria emphasized the deteriorating situation in the country, and called for a quick end to the conflict, warning hundreds of thousands could die next year.

By Bassem Mroue,?Associated Press / December 30, 2012

A child watches men dig graves for future casualties of Syria's civil conflict at Sheikh Saeed cemetery in Azaz city, north of Aleppo December 30. The international peace envoy for Syria said the situation in the country was deteriorating sharply but a solution was still possible under the terms of a peace plan agreed in Geneva in June.

Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

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The international envoy to?Syria?warned Sunday that as many as 100,000 could die in the next year if a way cannot be found quickly to end the country's civil war.

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Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy for the Syrian crisis, told reporters in Cairo that if the crisis continues?Syria?will not be divided into states "like what happened in Yugoslavia" but will face "Somalization, which means warlords, and the Syrian people will be persecuted by those who control their fate."

Syrian rebels are fighting a 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad's regime. Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed in the crisis, which began with pro-democracy protests but has morphed into a civil war.

Since starting his job in September, Brahimi has sought to advance an international plan, reached in Geneva six months ago, that calls for an open-ended cease-fire between rebels and government troops and the formation of a transitional government to run the country until elections can be held.

Over the past week Brahimi went to Damascus where he met Assad then flew to Moscow, one of?Syria's?closest international allies, where he discussed ways of ending the country's crisis.

"The situation in?Syria?is bad. Very, very bad," Brahimi said after meeting Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby. "It is getting worse and therefore if nearly 50,000 were killed in nearly two years if, God forbids, this crisis continues for another year, it will not only kill 25,000. It will kill 100,000. The situation is deteriorating."

The monthly death toll in?Syria?rose over the past months, as both sides have used heavier weapons and as the Syrian army started using its warplanes to attack rebel-held areas around the country.

Brahimi said that peace and security in the world will be threatened directly from?Syria?if there is no solution within the next few months. "I warn of what will come. The choice is between a political solution or of full collapse of the Syrian state."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/-pG8SQu8CTo/UN-Envoy-warns-of-mass-death-next-year-in-Syria

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