Perfecting Our Union  —  The president of the United States reflects on what Abraham Lincoln means to him, and to America.  —  Abraham Lincoln, photographed by Alexander Gardner on February 5, 1865, in Washington, D.C. While Gardner was processing the image, the photographic plate broke.

Michelle Obama makes kids' whole, like, life  —  The first lady answers calls to NORAD from children looking for Santa, including this one from the Thomas family in Winona, N.J.: … In another call, this one from Texas, a boy named Anthony wants the first lady to visit him and he's not taking no for an answer:

Ex-NRA fave Gilly in switch  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand vigorously championed Americans' right to carry high-powered guns — before she turned against them.  —  Since the Newtown massacre, the senator has been at the forefront of the national campaign demanding stricter gun-control laws …

In Which Greg Mankiw Pretends to Be Puzzled...  But I don't think that he is.  —  I think Greg Mankiw knows why people think that helping George W. Bush create long-term structural deficits in 2003 was a bad thing to do.  —  I think Greg Mankiw knows perfectly well why people think that now …

Websites Vary Prices, Deals Based on Users' Information  —  It was the same Swingline stapler, on the same Staples.com website.  But for Kim Wamble, the price was $15.79, while the price on Trude Frizzell's screen, just a few miles away, was $14.29.  —  A key difference: where Staples seemed to think they were located.

Georgia abortion law blocked  —  A state judge has suspended a Georgia law banning abortions for women who are more than 20 weeks pregnant.  —  Fulton County Superior Court Judge Doris Downs suspended the law Friday; it was set to take effect Jan. 1.  —  The law bans doctors …

Instagram furor triggers first class action lawsuit  —  (Reuters) - Facebook's Instagram photo sharing service has been hit with what appears to be the first civil lawsuit to result from changed service terms that prompted howls of protest last week.  —  In a proposed class action lawsuit filed …

The Baby Boom and Financial Doom  —  The American left has trained its sights on a new enemy: Pete Peterson.  The banker and private-equity billionaire is, at first glance, an obvious target—rich and Republican.  He stands accused of being the evil genius behind all the forces urging Washington …

Bond Vigilantes and the Power of Three  —  Matthew Yglesias picks up on a point I've tried to make at some length recently: the popular story about how an attack by bond vigilantes can cause an interest rate spike and turn America into Greece, Greece I tell you, is incoherent.

Blues Cruise  —  Steaming past Guantánamo, en route to the Cayman Islands, a boatload of Republicans ponder the plight of a party at sea.  —  The whole thing was white, and broken, that much was clear.  A week after the presidential election, when the dreams of Republicans were dashed …

Baghdad Christians attend mass at attacked church  —  AFP - Behind blast walls and with police nearby, 200 worshippers attended Christmas mass Monday at Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation Church, which officially reopened this month after a massacre in 2010.  —  Sat in wooden pews with a two-metre …

Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns … Gun Control , Michael Moore , National Rifle Association , Newtown Elementary School Shooting , Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting , Gun Violence , Guns , Michael Moore Newtown , Nra , Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting , Politics News

Petition to Deport Piers Morgan Gains Internet Fame  —  A petition asking President Obama to deport CNN anchor Piers Morgan gathered more than 33,000 signatures in just three days.  —  The petition on the White House's “We the People” website posted Friday has crossed the 25,000 threshold needed …