Top Links: Israel, Gaza, ‘fiscal cliff’, 2016, and TSA’s grenade travel tips

Today’s our last show until Monday. So have a happy Thanksgiving.

Recommended

Maddowblog

The fight over the ‘party of fiscal responsibility’ label is over before it starts

Steve Benen

Opinion

I’m an ER doctor. I know what the end of ACA subsidies will mean.

Dr. Uché Blackstock

• A bus explosion injured 19 people, 3 seriously, as the U.S., Egypt, and others work on an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire. (NBC News)

• The fake Arab village where Israelis conduct urban warfare training is named Chicago, “because of all the shooting.” Ouch. (Charles Levinson)

• Ben Bernanke: Fix the “fiscal cliff” and 2013 looks great, don’t fix it and we’re sunk. (National Journal)

• And the “fiscal cliff” negotiations may determine Paul Ryan’s 2016 relevancy. (The Washington Post)

• “Upwards of 15 prominent Republicans are privately contemplating 2016 campaigns for the presidency.” It begins. (Politico)

• Iowa’s governor: “I think the straw poll has outlived its usefulness.” (Washington Wire)

• Remembering the quirkiest, departing members of Congress. (The New York Times)

• The man behind conservatives’ favorite polling site— UnSkewed Polls— is back with a site to “prove” that President Obama stole the election. Unskewed polling gives this a 75% chance of succeeding. (The Hill)

• The New York Times editorial section argues we should standardize federal elections: “This is where Congress can play a role. It has the power to establish a nonpartisan federal elections board to maintain a national registration database, mandate the choice of voting machines and set standards for counting provisional ballots.”(The New York Times)

• The National Transportation Safety Board is the latest government agency to say it no longer will use Blackberrys. The reason? They crash too much. And the NTSB has a thing about crashing. (All Things D)

• If your boss casually asks if you’re staying in town for Thanksgiving, casually lie. (Dealbreaker)

• Oh, and note to Thanksgiving travelers: Don’t hide your pot in a novelty grenade. TSA notices that kind of stuff. (Lizzie O’Leary)