Dear Sens. Begich and Murkowski and Rep. Young:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the best news I have heard all year! Close to the last minute of the last hour, you showed that cross-aisle compromise is possible. You demonstrated that polarization doesn’t always trump common sense. In the lurch, you acted responsibly.

Let’s hope for more of the same through 2013 and beyond. Just remember, the other guy is almost never completely wrong. A fiscally happy New Year to all of you!

— Bill Streever

Anchorage