Sweden suicide bomber: Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly was living in Britain  —  An Islamic suicide bomber who attacked Christmas shoppers in Sweden at the weekend is a British university graduate and was living in this country until two weeks ago.  —  The suicide bomb in Stockholm is thought …

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:

What Progressives Don't Understand About Obama  —  NOT all of my white teachers viewed me as a discipline problem.  To the annoyance of my fellow students, one teacher selected me regularly to lead assembly programs.  A high school teacher insisted that I learn about the theater.

Steele to Make Decision on R.N.C. Run  —  WASHINGTON — The battle for control of the Republican National Committee will take a new turn on Monday when Michael Steele is set to announce whether he will step down as party chairman or disregard the onslaught of criticism about his leadership and seek a second term.

Reality Check  —  The failed attempt by the U.S. to bribe Israel with a $3 billion security assistance package, diplomatic cover and advanced F-35 fighter aircraft — if Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would simply agree to a 90-day settlements freeze to resume talks with the Palestinians — has been enormously clarifying.

Whitman: Palin quitting governor's job shows ‘attitude’ against constituents  —  Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) said Sunday that Sarah Palin can't win a nationwide run for the White House, and pointed to the fact that the former Alaska governor left mid-term as an impediment to her support.

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.

Nadler: Obama gave in to ‘a bunch of gangsters’ in tax deal with GOP  —  Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) called Republicans “a bunch of gangsters” who blackmailed Democrats to ensure that the nation's wealthiest retain their tax cuts.  —  Nadler, appearing Sunday morning on CBS' “Face the Nation …

John Boehner: Obama disrespectful to me  —  John Boehner thinks President Barack Obama is engaging, smart and brilliant but also remains smarted by the president accusing him of taking taxpayers hostage to secure a tax break for the rich.  —  In an interview with Leslie Stahl of “60 Minutes” …

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 …

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 …

Holbrooke still in critical condition, ‘fighting through it’  —  One of President Obama's top foreign policy advisers was still in critical condition Sunday after 20 hours of emergency surgery that began Friday to repair a torn aorta.  —  Richard Holbrooke, the president's special envoy …

Prisoners Strike in Georgia  —  In a protest apparently assembled largely through a network of banned cellphones, inmates across at least six prisons in Georgia have been on strike since Thursday, calling for better conditions and compensation, several inmates and an outside advocate said.