In my off-hours, I tend to want to get away from the world of politics. Folks on the NR cruise may have spied me reading Priceless: How I WentUndercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures, by former FBI agent Robert Wittman. Stealing or recovering high-priced art and relics makes up a lot of Hollywood’s classic adventure movies — the Indiana Jones and National Treasure series, or The Thomas Crown Affair – so it’s fascinating to learn how great works of art get stolen in the real world, and how the forces of law and order get them back. Art theft and looting of historical treasures is more ubiquitous than one might think; the thieves are generally dumber, rougher, and greedier than they are in movies; and many thieves find that turning stolen artwork into cash is a lot harder than they thought. Wittman takes us through about a dozen cases of undercover work, recovering a variety of treasures, modern and ancient: golden armor from ancient Peru, a Rembrandt self-portrait, a rare blood-stained battle flag from an African-American regiment in the Civil War, and an original copy of the Bill of Rights. A good, quick read, and a heck of a lot of fun.

Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas the other night reminded me of how much I miss the work of Charles Schulz, and how today’s comics pages are generally bereft of his style. Perhaps the strip that comes closest is Richard Thompson’s Cul de Sac, which this year debuted an appropriately gargantuan collection, Cul de Sac Golden Treasury: A Keepsake Garland of Classics.

Thompson’s style may not be everyone’s taste; perhaps the setting — a home and day-care center in a Washington suburb — resonates a little too closely to my current circumstances. The following strip is effectively a documentary of life at my house:

If you’ve seen my videos on NRO, you’ve seen the work of the Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder, which I thought I bought at an astonishingly low price, and now find is priced for even less for holiday shopping. Just plug it into your computer to download your videos. Great for recording SEIU employee violence at your next Tea Party.

— Jim Geraghty writes the Campaign Spot on NRO.