On the occasion of my being lazy.

5. New Owner Sinks His Teeth Into the Viper Room by John Anderson.  The Viper Room is where River Phoenix died, right? Well, I’m probably never going to go there, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad about skipping this one.

4. U.S. ‘Not Getting What We Pay For;’ Many Experts Say Health-Care System Inefficient, Wasteful by Ceci Connolly. I think I didn’t read this one because, frankly, it doesn’t sound very newsy.

3. Jonathan Yardley on ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas;’ Dickens was facing financial ruin when he imagined Ebenezer Scrooge. This Book World review looked really interesting, but I’m not ready to start thinking about Christmas. Maybe I should bookmark it and save it for next week.

2. At the Last Minute, a Raft of Rules; Bush White House Approves Regulations on Environmental, Security Matters By R. Jeffrey Smith and Juliet Eilperin. I probably will read this one eventually, but can’t the Bush administration be over already?

1. Rev. George Docherty; Urged ‘Under God’ in Pledge by Matt Schudel. When I read this headline of this obituary today, I got really angry, or as angry as you can get at 7ish on a Sunday morning. You mean the pledge didn’t originally include “under God?” Some preacher lobbied for its inclusion? I feel increasingly passionate about secularism these days. I don’t know why I didn’t read this one; I must have been distracted by the Metro section’s picture of Michelle Rhee’s awesome Time magazine cover. That excuse isn’t good enough. I’m going to go read it now.