memeorandum: The Sidney Awards — Every year, I give out Sidney Awards … (David Brooks/New York Times)

Tidings of Comfort — Indulge me while I tell you a story — a near-future version of Charles Dickens's “A Christmas Carol.” It begins with sad news: young Timothy Cratchit, a k a Tiny Tim, is sick. And his treatment will cost far more than his parents can pay out of pocket.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Prairie Weather

Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:

82 Year-Old Pope Benedict Attacked, Knocked Down at Midnight Mass (Video) ...Update: Same Nut Tried to Attack Pope in 2008 — A crazed woman jumped the barriers at St. Peter's Basilica and attacke 82 year-old Pope Benedict XVI at Midnight Mass knocking him to the floor.

Discussion: BBC, American Power and Scared Monkeys

Rachel Donadio / New York Times:

Vatican Defends Status of WWII Pope — ROME — In an effort to calm growing tensions with Jewish groups, the Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI's decision moving the wartime pope Pius XII closer to sainthood was not a “hostile act” against those who believe Pius did not do enough to stop the Holocaust.

Discussion: The Confluence, NY Daily News, Commentary and The Moderate Voice

Ariel David / Associated Press:

Woman knocks down Pope at Christmas Eve Mass — Buzz up! — VATICAN CITY - A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass on Thursday. — The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt …

Discussion: Whiskey Fire and Breitbart.tv

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Sidney Awards — Every year, I give out Sidney Awards to the best magazine essays of the year. In an age of zipless, electronic media, the idea is to celebrate (and provide online links to) long-form articles that have narrative drive and social impact.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Masaccio / Firedoglake:

A Hopeful Season's Greetings — My mother was a great piano player, and often while I was growing up we gathered around the piano to sing. At Christmas, we sang from the von Trapp Family song book, a wonderful group of four-part arrangements of old carols.

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:

Fannie, Freddie chiefs to get Wall Street-style compensation packages — The government announced Thursday that it had approved Wall Street-style, multimillion-dollar compensation packages for top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage companies that have become little more than arms of the federal government.

Discussion: Reuters, Ian Welsh, Firedoglake and Riehl World View

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Uncaps Support for Fannie, Freddie

Discussion: Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Firedoglake and The Plum Line

K. Daniel Glover / Accuracy in Media:

Watch The Decline: The Media Lowlights Of 2009 — Climate “scientists” are about as trusted as used-car salesmen or congressmen these days thanks to the beating their profession has taken in the “ClimateGate” scandal. But give the alarmists their due: They know how to hide the decline.

Dan Pfeiffer / White House.gov Blog Feed:

Reality Check: For Opponents, It Was Never About the Bill — Today's Republican talking point of the day is that the historic health reform bill passed today represents the first major piece of social legislation to be passed without a single vote from across the aisle. — Well that may be true.

Discussion: TPM LiveWire and PERRspectives

Frank Newport / Gallup:

This Christmas, 78% of Americans Identify as Christian — Over time, fewer Americans identify as Christian; more have no religious identity — PRINCETON, NJ — This Christmas season, 78% of Americans identify with some form of Christian religion, a proportion that has been declining in recent decades.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Politics Daily

Christopher Knight / Culture Monster:

A Warhol Christmas at the White House — When it comes to art, the right-wing anti-Obama crowd hasn't had a very good year. Repeated efforts to gin up outrage in a manufactured culture war have either fallen flat or proved downright embarrassing. (You can see some of them here, here and here.)

Discussion: Liberal Values, Indecision Forever, Big Government, Little Green Footballs, Big Hollywood, Politics Daily, Gateway Pundit and Atlas Shrugs

William M. Daley / Washington Post:

Keep the Big Tent big — The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party — my lifelong political home — has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate …

Discussion: RedState, YID With LID, Big Government, Shot in the Dark, Riehl World View, Commentary and Lynn Sweet