Once again, the evil minions of Our Dark Lord Soros failed in our War on Christmas. But there’s always next year! To tide you over, here are some links. Science:

Last-minute wins for US science
Causes are hard. Explaining pharma’s problems is harder
Why do women menstruate?
$1,000 Genome in Two Hours by 2012, Says CEO of Ion Torrent (missed this; not sure I buy it; initial data, albeit low coverage, suggests there are huge frameshift issues with these data)
Examination of staphylococcal stethoscope contamination in the emergency department (pilot) study (EXSSCITED pilot study)

Other:

Monetary Theory, Crony Capitalism and the Tea Party (I think he underestimates the amount of discussion that revolves around what should be done, but it’s still interesting to see this in a mainstream publication)
Dan Froomkin: What Politifact Should Do Now
A Christmas Message From America’s Rich
John Carney does MMT!
How Luther went viral
The Problem With Politifact
Teach for America: The Hidden Curriculum of Liberal Do-Gooders
The 10 Worst Economic Ideas of 2011
Gone Without a Case: Suspicious Elder Deaths Rarely Investigated