Inside the Beltway: Looming, plunging, dreaded

But wait, there’s more. Rep. Paul Ryan, just a month off the presidential campaign trail, will deliver the keynote address. And among the menu dainties for the auspicious occasion: pan-fried Maryland crab cakes, Caesar salad, filet mignon topped with mushroom duxelle, chermoula marinated Atlantic salmon, plus almond cake, chocolate mousse and fruit tart.

CLIFF NOTES

While the White House and Congress rattle sabers over the fiscal cliff, some hope to wrest sense out of the situation as the nation nervously awaits the outcome of the negotiations. For the thoughtful, concerned and curious, there’s FiscalCliffNotes.org, launched Monday by the nonprofit policy group Let Freedom Ring. Seen through a prism of “moral dimensions, political calculations and economic impacts,” the site intends to explain complexities with original content and curated news stories. Yes, there’s an article called “What is the fiscal cliff?” and an examination of morality and tax rates, among other things.

“There is plenty of blame for this mess,” says Colin Hanna, president of the organization. “Democrats have failed to renew the prosperity-spurring tax cuts and still refuse to rein in spending. Republicans have been too eager to cave in to Democrats on the issue of taxes.”

HOLA AMERICA

CNN has provided Spanish language news programming for 15 years. But the broadcast genre has grown far more targeted for generic Hispanic fare. In January, the network will launch CNN Latino — custom-made, syndicated programming for the U.S. Hispanic market that covers news, lifestyle, documentary, talk and debate as an alternative to “traditional” Hispanic networks.

“The U.S. market is so diverse and so large that there is room for two distinctive content options,” says CNN’s senior vice president for Hispanic programming Cynthia Hudson-Fernandez, who adds that the new outreach represents “the dual reality of U.S. Latinos today who are multi-generational and proud to be bilingual.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 85 percent of Americans give a “high or very high honesty rating” to nurses.

• 70 percent say the same of medical doctors, 58 percent say the same about police officers, 52 percent say it about clergy.

•  41 percent give a high rating to psychiatrists, 28 percent to bankers.

• 24 percent give a high honesty rating to journalists, 20 percent to state governors and 19 percent to lawyers.

• 14 percent give a high honesty rating to senators, 11 percent to stockbrokers, 10 percent to members of Congress and 8 percent to car salespeople.

Source: A Gallup poll of 1,015 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 26 to 29; see the complete survey at Gallup.com under “Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating.”

• Grumbles, mumbles, grimaces to jharper@washingtontimes.com.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.