From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Is Washington full of grown-ups or not?

Hello again, I'm Oran Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about

most. In the aftermath of last week's atrocity in Connecticut, some serious pundits said

Washington politicians might respond by acting like grownups. The implication was that House Republicans

in the White House would compromise to avoid the consequences of the so-called fiscal cliff. It

hasn't happened yet. Congress is ready

to vote on a plan with no chance of Senate concurrence in hopes of shifting the blame for gridlock

to the Democrats. The president, strengthened by re-election, is unlikely to back down. We'll hear

what's at stake for taxpayers, homeowners, the elderly, and the poor. On a reporter's notebook

later on, the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve, first, and the poor. On a reporter's notebook later on,

The Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.

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Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. In the midst of negotiations with President Obama,

House Speaker John Boehner,

called for a vote on what he calls Plan B. But it's sure to be dead on arrival when it reaches the Senate.

We'll hear how compromise on the fiscal cliff is dominated by philosophical differences, political mistrust, and personal antipathy.

...