Orwellian Centrism  —  I don't usually bother looking at the Washington Post.  But I'm inside the Beltway right now, so I spared a peek — and for my sins ended up reading Dana Milbank, who praises Obama for punching the hippies.  —  So far, so usual.  But then I read this:

Stockholm Hit by Blasts After E-Mail Warning  —  STOCKHOLM — One man was killed and two other people were injured when two explosions hit the heart of Stockholm's city-center shopping district on Saturday evening, the police in the Swedish capital said.  The country's foreign minister called …

A Secretive Banking Elite Rules Trading in Derivatives  —  On the third Wednesday of every month, the nine members of an elite Wall Street society gather in Midtown Manhattan.  —  The men share a common goal: to protect the interests of big banks in the vast market for derivatives …

West Village YMCA axes Santa Claus for Frosty  —  Tweet  —  He's a lost Claus.  —  A politically correct West Village YMCA has fired Ol' St. Nick in favor of Frosty.  —  Kids who once thrilled at sitting on Santa's lap at the 14th Street McBurney YMCA's wildly popular annual holiday luncheon …

Gay Bashing at the Smithsonian  —  EACH Aug. 4, my wife Alex and I visit a church to light candles for two people we loved who both died tragically on that day two years apart — my mother, killed at 64 in a car crash, and Alex's closest friend from graduate school, killed by AIDS at half that age.

Westboro picketers outnumbered at Elizabeth Edwards funeral  —  Members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards Saturday.  But they were vastly outnumbered by a “human buffer” singing Christmas carols.  —  Members of the controversial Westboro …

Steele to hold private conference call  —  RNC Chairman Michael Steele will hold a private conference call Monday night with members of the national committee at which time he may reveal whether he intends to seek another term atop the party.  —  Steele, who since the election has been mum about his plans …

Mark Madoff, oldest son of Bernie Madoff, hangs himself with dog leash in SoHo apartment  —  Mark Madoff was found dead in his SoHo apartment Saturday morning.  He apparently killed himself with his son in the next room, sources say.  —  The eldest son of disgraced Ponzi schemer Bernard …

Technology and Currency  —  A thought while waiting at the gate at Frankfurt Airport: 20 years ago before the near-universal availability of credit cards and ATMs, having a single currency for Europe would have offered tremendous practical advantages.  You could fly from Dublin to Paris …