Update 12:10 am MT : The Senate passed the fiscal cliff bill. Sens. Rand Paul, Carper (D-DE), Tom Harkin, Michael Bennet, Rubio, Grassley, Shelby and Lee voted against it. The vote is 89 to 8. The House will not vote tonight. AP article here.

Interesting that Colorado Senator Mark Udall voted for it while Senator Michael Bennet voted against it -- both are Democrats. Here's why Tom Harkin opposed it.

One additional saving: Congress won't be getting a $900 pay raise scheduled to take effect this spring.

Update: 11:45 pm MT: The Senate is now voting. [More...]

Colorado is ringing in the new year with marijuana social clubs, open only to members. The first is called, appropriately enough, Club 64 (After Amendment 64 which legalized marijuana in Colorado.) It opened today at 4:20 pm. You can apply for membership here.

Recreational marijuana clubs opened Monday in Colorado, less than a month after the state governor signed into law a constitutional amendment allowing recreational pot use.

With a reggae soundtrack and flashing disco-style lights, Club 64 in an industrial area just north of downtown Denver opened Monday afternoon, with some 200 people signed up. The opening came less than 24 hours after club organizers announced they would charge a $29.99 admission price for the bring-your-own pot club.

What do you think of the President Obama's Happy New Year photo the White House tweeted? I think it's dark and depressing.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Intelligent and reasonable persons can disagree on whether what appears to be the emerging fiscal cliff deal is a deal worth making. It certtainly is not a good deal, but it might be the least bad option.

However, it does confirm that Madman Political Bargaining works. Republicans are getting much more than they should have in this deal.

In my August 2011 post about the debt ceiling "end of the world" negotiations of 2011 (soon to be repeated apparently), I argued:

It will be a cold New Year's Eve in Colorado. I'm staying in. If you're out and about tonight, don't drink and drive -- the cops will be out en masse.

One innovative solution: Try Uber, if you live in Denver, Washington, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia or several other major cities. You can download the app to your smart phone and sign up now. You just send a text-- they will see your location (or you can text it.) A private car will pick you up within minutes. Usually it's not much more than a taxi, but tonight surge pricing will be in effect. Before you text, you can see on your smart phone how close the drivers are to you and how many cars are near you. They text you as the driver is approaching. No need for a credit card or to sign anything with the driver, or tip, it's all just charged to the credit card you sign up with.

Update/1/1/13:: Check out their Tumblr page with photos from New Years' Eve of their staffers around the world with their Macs. The Stockholm office is beautiful. Miami ooks like such a happy place to work -- as does Seattle. The London group looks really busy. (I don't think these are all offices- some of the staffers seem to be working from home -- the Indonesia group looks like they are at a hotel bar.) Forbes today called them "brilliant." [More...]

In New York City this weekend:

Morgan Gliedman, 27, and her 31-year-old boyfriend, Aaron Greene, were arrested on weapons-possession charges Saturday after officers with a search warrant discovered a plastic container with 7 grams of HMTD, a highly explosive white powder used in bomb making, police and prosecutors said.

Also found in the living room were numerous written items containing instructions on the manufacture of explosive materials and bombs, including a collection of pages that had a cover page entitled "The Terrorist Encyclopedia," court papers said.

Greene was ordered held without bond. Ms. Gliedman is 9 months pregnant and will have a court appearance today. Police got the search warrant because she was being investigated for credit card theft. She grew up on Park Avenue, attended Dalton, and her father, a doctor, is the director of radiation oncology at Beth Israel Hospital, Brooklyn Division. Her boyfriend, Aaron Greene, is a Harvard graduate and attended graduate school at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He is an Occupy Wall St. activist. [Correction: This was falsely reported by the New York Post.][More...]

President Obama is about to speak, addressing the fiscal cliff. You can watch here.

Preventing a middle class tax hike has been his top priority. An agreement is within sight. But it's not done. Issues remain. He's hopeful Congress can get it done.

The agreement would extend tax credits for families with kids, extend tuition and clean energy tax credits and unemployment benefits. He would have liked a grand bargain, a bigger deal, that deals with taxes and spending. But, that was too much to hope for with this Congress. So it will take several steps.[More...]

Adam Lanza's remains were claimed by his father, Peter Lanza. A family spokesman says a private service was held over the weekend. There are no details as to where the remains were placed.

On December 20, 2012, Nancy Lanza's family in New Hampshire held a small service for her at her brother's home in Kingston, N.H. Kingston Police Chief Donald Briggs said she was cremated and would be buried at a later date.

Her obituary appeared in the Eagle Tribune and Union Leader on December 23. The family intends a public memorial for her next year. [More...]

Sending get well wishes to Hillary Clinton, who was admitted to the hospital today with a blood clot.

The night before New Year's Eve: What do you think the biggest changes will be in 2013? What are you hoping for?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Deal or no deal? It's hard to tell.

Looks like no vote tonight, but they are hoping for one tomorrow.

What I'm reading on guns today:

• Gun sales spike after Newtown, other mass slayings
• Denver gun show draws huge crowd despite long background-check times (Same in Ohio, Wisconsin, NJ, RI,NC, Nevada, Iowa, Idaho, and many other states, with most citing fears of new gun laws.)
• California gun sales jump; gun injuries, deaths fall
• Colorado gun-control advocates and foes mobilize for new legislation

Like everyone else, I have pondering what may have precipitated Adam Lanza's killing spree in Newtown. While most people assume he had a mental illness, we don't know that he did. (Asperger's is not a mental illness but a neurological disorder that is not associated with violent acts.) If he had a mental disorder, what might it have been? And which mental disorders, if any, are associated with higher risk of violence?

I haven't come to any conclusions, but after reading dozens or more articles in medical, psychiatric, and psychological journals, here are a few that at least increased my understanding of the topic and dispelled some myths: [More...]

5 bowl games today, my picks:

Rice +2 over Air Force, Syracuse +4 over West Virginia (4 units), Navy +14 over Arizona State, Oregon State -3½ over Texas, TCU -2 over Mich State.

Open Thread.