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.

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.

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.

Passenger Ignites Explosive on Delta Flight, Al Qaeda Connection Reported  —  A male passenger reportedly linked to terrorist organization al-Qaeda ignited a powdery substance prior to landing on a Delta Airlines flight to Detroit Friday.  The suspect is believed to be Nigerian, Fox News reported.

Obama will ‘recharge’ on Hawaii vacation  —  The first family touched down amid intense security in President Obama's hometown yesterday and settled in for what is expected to be a 10-day vacation in Kailua, with apparent plans to decorate an 8-foot Noble fir Christmas tree last night.

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.

Radical Muslim Cleric Said to Survive Airstrike  —  Relatives: Radical Yemeni Cleric Not Harmed in Government Air Raid on Al-Qaeda Meeting  —  A U.S.-born radical cleric is alive and well following reports he may have been killed in a Yemeni airstrike against suspected al-Qaida hideouts, friends and relatives said Friday.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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 …