David Gregory Shocked By NRA's LaPierre: You Fly In The Face Of Common Sense  —  During Sunday's Meet the Press, the National Rifle Association's Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre sat down with host David Gregory and defended his organization's universally panned call for armed guards …

How Party of Budget Restraint Shifted to ‘No New Taxes,’ Ever  —  WASHINGTON — On a Saturday afternoon in October 1990, Senator Pete Domenici turned from a conversation on the Senate floor, caught the eye of a clerk by raising his right hand, and voted in favor of a huge and contentious bill to reduce federal deficits.

The story behind Mitt Romney's loss in the presidential campaign to President Obama  —  (Associated Press photo of Mother Jones video)  —  You are reading this article for FREE courtesy of BostonGlobe.com.  Get unlimited access.  —  It was two weeks before Election Day when Mitt Romney's …

LaTourette: ‘Plan B’ failure not a rebuke of Boehner's ‘leadership’  —  Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) failure to secure enough support among fellow Republicans for “Plan B” to avoid the “fiscal cliff” was not a rebuke of Boehner's leadership by the conservative wing of the party, a top House GOP lawmaker said Sunday.

Hospital apologises to 38 families for appalling care that saw a patient starve to death  —  An NHS hospital has apologised to 38 families after a patient starved to death and it left other dying people screaming in pain.  —  From left: Patricia Bridle, Laurence Hodges, Lois Smith and Chris Grande

A Father's Journey  —  FOR a long while, my father's way of coping was to walk quietly from the room.  He doesn't remember this.  I do.  I can still see it, still feel the pinch in my chest when the word “gay” came up — perhaps in reference to some event in the news, or perhaps in reference to me …

“Confiscation could be an option”  —  It's one of the most common refrains coming from the “reasonable discussion” crew as they pave the way for upcoming gun control legislation.  Whether we hear it from the clucking tongues of guests on Morning Joe or from their legions of supporters on the web, the patter is the same.

Today We Are Gathered ... To Hear More About Me  —  President Obama was supposed to eulogize the memory of Sen. Daniel Inouye.  Instead he told us about his favorite summer vacation.  —  Someone needs to tell Barack Obama—it must get particularly confusing this time of year …

Jerry Brown's California revival  —  He's no kid at age 74, but California Gov. Jerry Brown has staged a comeback this year that Bill Clinton could appreciate.  —  It looked as though Brown's second go-round in the governor's job might well end after a single term.

Guess Who Still Believes in Invisible Vigilantes  —  Lots of chatter about the WSJ's account of how the deficit negotiations broke down, although — a few fun quotes aside — most of it is what we already pretty much knew.  But here's a passage that bothered me: