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 …

Israel says it won't share Jerusalem  —  JERUSALEM — Israel's leader dismissed Sunday a top ally's call to share the holy city of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, another reminder of the challenges the U.S. faces as it shifts gears on its troubled Mideast peacemaking strategy.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …