New Hampshire's only remaining Republican member of Congress, Senator Judd Gregg, is emerging as a key ally for President Obama and is now said to be under consideration for appointment as Commerce Secretary. If he were to be appointed to that post, the Governor of New Hampshire, Democrat John Lynch, would appoint his successor. If he were to appoint a Democrat, and if Al Franken holds on to win the seat in Minnesota, then the Democrats, with the help of Independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders, would have a 60 vote, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It's no wonder, then, why Republicans are calling on Gregg to remain at his post. I hope Senator Gregg tells President Obama that he is flattered, but that his place is in the Senate. If he does not, then unless he gets a guarantee from Governor Lynch that his replacement will be a Republican, I can only conclude that Senator Gregg is not a loyal member of the GOP. I find that hard to believe and, therefore, can only conclude that Senator Gregg will say no to the offer.

Even as they get billions in taxpayer money, banks are tightening credit lines, making it even more difficult for those taxpayers to spend money.

While the economic news is still bad, the rate of decrease in economic activity was not as bad as thought, driven mainly by the fact that inventories of unsold goods are on the rise. It seems the producers of goods can't cut production as fast as consumers can cut consumption.

Another cabinet nominee in some tax trouble.

The subject of an infamous photograph, Ted Landsmark, which depicted him, and African-American, being attacked by a white, flag-wielding demonstrator at City Hall Plaza in Boston at the height of the anti-busing controversy, writes a column calling for the end of busing in Boston.

The Prime Minister of Turkey is hailed as a her0 for standing up to Israel at the Davos conference. If Israel loses Turkey, their only friend in the Muslim world, then they are in real trouble.

South Korea makes military preparations after North Korea declares all their recent agreements to be null and void. The North Koreans have a history of making bellicose statements, but with the leadership situation there uncertain (the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il is said to be in poor health) these statements are even more worrisome than usual.

Could the "exclusionary rule", the Supreme Court ruling that allows evidence to be thrown out when police screw up, be on the way out?

Peggy Noonan says President Obama missed an opportunity with the stimulus package.

Here is a completely different take on the same issue.

Alaskans are bracing for a volcanic eruption. Alaska has a number of active volcanoes, so Alaskans are accustomed to this kind of thing.

Larry Kudlow says the stimulus plan is a bad one, and needs to be re-done. I hope that the Republicans in the Senate stand against the plan in it's current form. Perhaps something better can be worked out if they take some time (and don't buy into the idea that we need a stimulus package immediately).

Union members protest against the policies and actions that led to the current economic crisis.

Paul Krugman calls on President Obama to push for universal health care, despite the economic crisis.

More evidence that the recession will be long and deep.

The House passed the stimulus bill yesterday without a single Republican vote. Based on what is actually in the $800 billion bill, I am not surprised. There is no reason why a Republican, especially a Conservative Republican, would ever vote for this bill. In my view, if we want to stimulate the economy, we should cut taxes as deeply as we can, while spending money on infrastructure projects. Modernize our infrastructure (roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, etc.), re-equip our military (which has been burning through it's equipment after seven years of war in Afghanistan and five years of war in Iraq), in short, build, build, build. That's what got us out of the Great Depression (as the the frenzy of making stuff was necessitated by our participation in World War II), and it can get us out of this one. Of course, don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.

Recognizing what is wrong with the stimulus, the House Republicans have offered an alternative, although they know it will never pass as long as the Democrats are running the show.

Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, who favors a stimulus plan, says the one passed by the House is a mistake, and should be radically changed by the Senate.

George Will explains how Republicans should evaluate a stimulus plan.

Amir Taheri says that President Obama's message to the Muslim world was "confused", and is bad news for our national security and the promotion of democracy.

Victor Davis Hanson sees signs that President Obama needs Scotty to beam him down to Earth.

But, not everyone is unhappy. Roger Cohen, for one, is happy that President Obama has signalled an end to 'the war on terror'. He won't be so happy (and in this he will be joined by every elected Democrat in America) when we are hit by the terrorist here at home, and people start looking around for someone to blame, and the man in the White House begins to look more and more like Jimmy Carter.

More disturbing news about the effects of head trauma on football players. Wendy MacLeod, who loves football, is also troubled by the debilitating physical effects it has on the participants.

A judge overturns a law that allows the Federal Government to fire anyone who failed to register with Selective Service.

Some details of the stimulus bill (officially, H.R. 1) shows just what I expected, an effort by the Democrats to bring us the joys of European-style Socialism. Historically, though, this seems inevitable to me. The failure of capitalism as expressed most dramatically during the Great Depression created a tremendous political tailwind for our version of the Socialist party, the New Deal Democrats, to socialize the country (old-age pensions in the form of Social Security being their biggest victory). I expect this most recent failure of capitalism to generate the same kind of tailwind, which will result in programs and practices that will, like the structure created during the FDR Administration, be irreversible (unless, of course, the nation falls into bankruptcy).

David Corn thinks the Republicans in Congress, knowing they cannot stand against Obama, are directing their fire toward the Democrats in Congress. Corn thinks they will fail, anyway. I agree.

Bob Herbert wonders why anyone would listen to the GOP anymore. Well, it's called a belief in economic, as well as political, freedom.

Harold Meyerson says even some Free Trade proponents are having second thoughts about their ideology, especially when faced with the example of how China manipulates it's currency to it's own advantage. The Chinese example is why I am not a die-hard Free Trader (although I am aware of how unchecked protectionism can be damaging to the global economy).

Amir Taheri believes President Obama has thrown our allies under the bus, and is going it alone on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Faoud Ajami thinks Obama is also going back to realpolitik when it comes to Mideast despots.

Finally, good news about my colleague Steve Leveille, who will return to WBZ-AM in Boston, along with Lovell Dyett. I have long thought that the people who run companies that own radio stations have been eating the seed corn by cutting the programming end in order to improve the bottom line. Programming, really, is all we have. If the listener feels like he gets nothing by tuning into a station, well, duh, he won't tune in anymore. WBZ listeners (and I have been one since I was a child, long before I started working there as a fill-in guy) remain loyal to the station because of the live, LOCAL programming. Take away the LOCAL programming, and you take away the reason to listen. Many radio station across the country, in all market sizes, have gone the way of the Dodo bird because they killed the only real reason people listened, and the only thing they did which other outlets did not do, which is provide LOCAL programming. Let's hope the suits at CBS keep that in mind when they think about WBZ, and the other heritage radio stations they own across the country.

Thousands more join the unemployment lines.

Ann Althouse writes about the real reason The New York Times dropped Bill Kristol's column. Meanwhile, at least one person thinks the Gray Lady is being driven into the ground by it's owners.

Larry Kudlow sees an administration and a Congress that is headed toward measures that will kill any possible economic recovery.

At least one person in America understands that George W. Bush was right to treat the Islamofascist threat as a military matter, rather than a law enforcement issue.

In Japan, facing a low birthrate, some employers are letting their people go home early, where it's expected they might be fruitful and multiply. Twelve hour workdays are, apparently, routine in Japan, and the culture does not value spending time with the family, as workers in the corporate sector routinely go out drinking with their fellows after a long day at the office, leaving even less time for home life. Still, I wonder if that is really the cause of the low birthrate, as other countries, notably Spain, Italy, Russia and some in Eastern Europe also have seen their birthrates decline dramatically in the last few decades. I fear that the real cause is the elevation of the social status of women, leading to greater economic opportunities and increased independence, as well as the waning of religious belief as an integral part of life. We see this pattern in all the advanced industrialized countries, despite differences in culture and history. As women become more educated, and their opportunities increase, their desire and/or willingness to have more than one or two children (if any at all) decreases dramatically. The irony of this situation is, if this theory is correct, that as the rest of the world's population sees an increase in prosperity that leads to the empowerment of women, the rate of population growth will slow dramatically, eventually leading to population decline. As the population declines (unless technological developments intervene), economic growth will slow, and then decline as well, leading to poverty, social disruption, wars, an even greater decline, and so on. Eventually, the population would stabilize in a more primitive state, with women relegated back to the role of child-bearers, which would begin the re-population of the world.

Is Afghanistan becoming another South Vietnam? Possibly, writes Ralph Peters, but not in the way the "peace at any price" crowd would envision.

Mackubin Thomas Owens is concerned about the transformation of the U.S. military.

The Islamists are taking advantage, once again, of the chaos in Somalia, and the people of Iceland, hard hit by the economic downturn, are in the streets, forcing the collapse of the government. My guess is that instability in Iceland will still look quite a bit different than instability in Somalia.

Irwin Stelzer thinks the environmentalists are going to become disenchanted with the Obama Administration, despite the fact that some of their compatriots are now on the inside.

Although they won't use the word, the Obama team continues to make moves toward Socialism, with speculation about a possible nationalization of our banking system now out in the open.

They might as well start talking about nationalizing the domestic auto industry, as well, since the regulations they are putting into place will not make it any easier for them to sell more cars.

The stimulus plan will be the big issue this week, and here is a thumbnail sketch of the plan, courtesy of The Boston Globe.

Of course, if Obama's moves succeed, then he will have saved Liberalism, according to this piece by Bill Kristol, which is Kristol's last column for The New York Times.

I always enjoy some good historical perspective. Here is a piece from The Telegraph of the UK which lays out how things looked in 1933, and why we are most definitely not anywhere near that doleful time in the history of modern man.

Still, the global economic downturn is starting to have political consequences, especially in Eastern Europe and Iceland.

Robert J. Samuelson points out why this current crisis is really about three big problems.

President Obama is still the hot topic, especially as there are more signs that the global economy is tanking at an even faster rate than most thought. Does he have any idea what he is doing?

Some say yes, he does. Others say no, he doesn't. For the sake of the country, I hope he does know what he is doing, and I hope he does not take us farther down the road to Socialism (although I fear that is exactly what he is going to do, without calling it Socialism, of course).

Bill Kristol hopes the GOP allows 1,000 flowers to bloom inside it's ranks, as he expects a grass-roots ideological reorganization is needed.

Fred Barnes advises Republicans to keep a copy of Obama's inauguration speech handy, as it may provide them some much needed political ammunition.

With the stroke of a pen President Obama ends the 'war on terror'. Eugene Robinson believes he hasn't gone far enough.

I believe if they release the Gitmo detainees, some of them (if not many) will do what one of their former comrades did, which is get back in the fight.

President Obama is already starting to lose some support from the media.

Fidel Castro suggests that his health is failing. I once thought that the Cuban government would collapse upon Castro's death. I now believe it will not, so long as his brother Raul is in good health. But, after Raul passes, I haven't a clue.

Paul Krugman is concerned that President Obama doesn't realize the depths of our economic problem and, thus, is not prepared to do the truly radical things necessary, in Krugman's view, to fix the problem.

Here is another pessimistic piece about the near-term future of the global economy, although these guys think it will be made worse by the politicians.

A tale of two cities, one that lives in peace, and the other that is mired in brutality and violence.

After screwing it up the first time, Chief Justice Roberts and President Obama re-do the oath of office. If I believed in omens, which I don't, I might be concerned about this.

Ralph Peter believes Israel made a mistake in not continuing to hammer Hamas. I agree completely. It is immoral, as well as unwise, to begin a war without the resolve to take it to it's logical conclusion.

Caroline Kennedy finally bows to the obvious, which is that she is not cut out to be a politician. Eventually she will realize that there is no shame in that, as not all of us are capable of handling the media, the schmoozing and the wheeling and dealing.

President Obama immediately moves to change the way we deal with terrorists. I believe this will be seen as his first, and perhaps most grievous error. After all, it has been 2,688 days without an attack on our soil, and when such an attack comes, I will not be the only one who will say, "This wouldn't have happened if George Bush and Dick Cheney were still running things".

Nicholas Kristoff is happy with the new tone being set by President Obama.

Dick Morris lays out his scenario for the next four years, and it calls for a whole lot of Socialism.

Mark Steyn laments the fact that the Federal government can spend money like it's going out of style.

Thomas Sowell laments the fact that the Federal government can make it easier for people to afford housing when they really can't afford it.

Richard Brookhiser celebrates the historic nature of the Obama inauguration, and says only time will tell if President Obama can live up to the hype.

Christopher Hitchens, while happy to see Obama as President, does not regret that George W. Bush defeated Al Gore and John Kerry.

Sally Quinn has some thoughts on the Rev. Rick Warren.

Charles Krauthammer continues to call for a gasoline tax, which would be offset by a payroll tax reduction. I understand his motivation, which is to change America's energy consumption habits to enhance our national security. Politically, I find it hard to believe such a move would be something Congress could swallow, as it would have a disproportionate impact on people lower on the economic ladder (even with the payroll tax offset, as it would raise the price of so many goods which are transported by gasoline burning trucks).

More people are joining the military, which is what one would expect during a recession. This is one of the consequences of relying on an all-volunteer military.

Robert J. Samuelson writes about Obama's economic burden.

Bill Kristol believes Obama is America's next war President. I agree.

Much has been written, of course, about the death of the famous artist, Andrew Wyeth.

Here in New Hampshire, though, some of us remember the actor Don Galloway, who has also passed away. I interviewed Galloway on my radio show one time (Galloway was an outspoken Libertarian who even wrote a column for the Union Leader for a time). He seemed to me to be a real nice guy.

At last, a column that gets to the bottom line concerning Hamas. Despite the fact that Hamas has not changed it's stripes, the Israelis appear ready to grant a cease fire.

Michael Barone detects the possibility that migration and immigration patterns may be changing here in the United States.

Fred Barnes writes about some of the fears concerning Obama.

Do the American people really want big government, and if the GOP stands against big government, will that hurt their political prospects? One writer believes that is, indeed, the case.

China is building a bigger, better navy. Perhaps we should, too.

Over in the U.K., David Miliband says there is no "war on terror". Con Coughlin wonders, if that is so, then just what are their boys dying for?

I travel to New York every week, and so I am very familiar with LaGuardia Airport, and the various avenues of approach to that facility, and have looked down onto the Hudson from above many times. I've often noted all the ferries that go back and forth between New Jersey and Manhattan. Yesterday, those ferries came in handy for the 155 passengers and crew of a U.S. Airways jet that had to ditch into the Hudson, apparently after striking birds that caused both engines to fail. The pilot and crew did a fantastic job getting the plane into the water safely. The ferry captains and crews did a fantastic job getting out to the plane to rescue the passengers, and it should be mentioned that the designers and builders of that particular plane, an Airbus A320, should also be congratulated for making a good aircraft that flew well after double engine failure, and did not break up when it hit the water, and did not sink. All of these factors, combined with good (albeit cold) weather conditions, led to the happy outcome.

The Senate votes to give President-elect Obama's incoming administration the rest of the TARP money, which will be used to continue to bail out the financial industry. Meanwhile, Obama himself says he wants to reform the entitlement programs. I eagerly await the details.

Ricardo Montalban is dead at 88. He is one of those actors who could do a variety of roles, and was considered one of the nicest guys in the business by his peers. Patrick McGoohan has also died. What is interesting about reading these two obituaries is to find that both men created one iconic television character (the mysterious Mr. Roarke, played by Montalban, in "Fantasy Island", and the mysterious Number 6, played by McGoohan, in the cult classic "The Prisoner"), and both men married actresses and remained married to the same woman for their entire lives. I suppose one could also point to another parallel, which is that each man played a top-notch villain in a big-budget movie, Montalban as Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and McGoohan as King Edward I in "Braveheart".

As George W. Bush serves out his final days as President of the United States, most of the commentary about his Presidency has been negative. Here, though, is one piece which stands as a ringing defense of Mr. Bush.

Was the rapid increase in the price of oil, followed by the rapid decrease, due mostly to fluctuations in supply and demand? Or were they due to speculation? This piece from the CBS TV show 60 Minutes asserts that it was speculation which caused the price swings.

Jim Rice finally gets into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a kid I watched Jim Rice play, and he was a devastating hitter. From 1975 to 1986 he really was one of the most feared hitters in the game.

At least one person thinks the Massachusetts universal health insurance plan is a failure.

Ralph Peters decries the death cult that has grown inside Islam, which Peters believes is really not at all about Islam, but more about the savage culture that preceded it.

President-elect Obama has decided to issue an order closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility on his first day in office, although he apparently realizes it is going to take some time getting it done. Meanwhile, some on the Left are freaking out about some of the President-elect's centrist rhetoric.

Obama has also decided to send more troops to Afghanistan, but it may simply be an effort to buy time while a new strategy is being contemplated.

While the "international community" continues to be critical of the Israelis for what many call a "disproportionate" response to Hamas rocket attacks, most Israelis believe what their military is doing in Gaza is right and just.

The Israeli military continues to pound Hamas, and Israeli leaders believe that they may be close to achieving their goals.

Meanwhile, across Europe, Mark Steyn says the 'oldest hatred' continues.

Barack Obama has some positive things to say about Dick Cheney, according to this piece by Bill Kristol.

Michael G. Franc says middle-class taxpayers need to be prepared for a big tax increase during the Obama years.

Robert J. Samuelson, as always, has some common sense thoughts on the cost of health care. In this piece he cites a recent study which shows why Americans spend so much on health care. It's not due to paperwork or to overuse of emergency room care...

What really drives health spending, the study finds, is that Americans receive more costly medical services than do other peoples, and they pay more for them. On a population-adjusted basis, the number of CT scans in 2005 was 72 percent higher in the United States than in Germany; U.S. reimbursement rates were four times higher. Knee replacements were 90 percent more frequent than the average in other wealthy countries. In 2005, there were 750,000 knee and hip replacements, up 70 percent in five years, reports the journal Health Affairs.

We have a health-care system that reflects our national values. It's highly individualistic, entrepreneurial and suspicious of centralized supervision. In practice, Medicare and private insurers impose few effective controls on doctors' and patients' choices. That's the way most Americans want it. Patients understandably desire the most advanced surgeries, diagnostic tests and drugs. Doctors want the freedom to prescribe.

Bingo. We have the health care system we want. As patients, we want the best health care service we can get, no matter the cost, and all the better if our insurance covers most of that cost. As insurers, we want whatever will make us the most money, no matter the cost. As health care providers, we want the best health care that will help our patients, and that makes us the most money, no matter the cost. As Samuelson points out...

On paper, there are various ways to control health spending: stricter regulation of prices and the availability of care; "market mechanisms" to push consumers toward more efficient or skimpier care. All have foundered, because they cannot be used aggressively. The reason is politics. There is no major constituency for controlling spending. Because most patients don't pay medical bills directly, they have little interest in using less care or shopping for lower-priced services. Providers (doctors, hospitals, drug companies) have no interest in limiting care. What others call "health costs" are their incomes -- wages, salaries, profits.

So don't hold your breath waiting for Obama, or anyone else, to bring these costs under control.

Ann Althouse saw the new Clint Eastwood film, Gran Torino, and gives it a thumbs up.

The Mayor of Baltimore is indicted on perjury and theft charges. (Mayor Sheila Dixon is a tough-minded, hard-charging African-American woman, and I wonder if she was the basis for a character on The Wire...City Council President Nerese Campbell).

Another big city newspaper is on the auction block, and might close it's doors. The business model for newspapers simply does not work anymore and I don't see how this trend will be reversed.

Governor Rod Blagojevich is impeached by the Illinois House. Now he faces trial in the Illinois Senate. If two-thirds vote to convict, he will be removed from office.

President Bush is prepared to request the rest of the TARP money from Congress, despite opposition in that body, and is willing to veto any Congressional denial of the funds, which would force Congress to make a two-thirds vote to prevent the money from flowing. Bush is apparently doing so at the request of President-elect Obama, as they do not want to make the request themselves and face the possibility of such a veto. I find it interesting that Bush is willing to give Obama cover on this one.

The U.S. jobless rate jumps to 7.2%, the highest we have seen in 25 years. This may well be the deepest and longest recession since the Great Depression.

Of course, if the earthquake swarm at Yellowstone is an indication of an imminent eruption of the super volcano that lies beneath the park (and experts say it is not likely), then a recession will be the least of our problems.

Meanwhile, this story about how a drop in solar activity could threaten future astronauts with increased danger from cosmic rays also brings up the point that such a decrease in solar activity would also cause global cooling, something we may be seeing already in places like Alaska.

Paul Krugman thinks Obama's proposed stimulus plan is too small.

Jackson Diehl doesn't think the Israelis can defeat Hamas militarily. Edward Luttwak thinks they can, and Charles Krauthammer believes they must.

ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS

The Israeli military actions in Gaza have caused, once again, a general discussion within the chattering class about the situation in the Middle East as a whole, and the relationship between the conflict there and the world-wide conflict with radical Islam.

Andrew Bacevich believes the U.S. should abandon the tactics that mimic the Israelis in their efforts against Hamas.

Benny Avni believes the Israelis are simply managing the war as best they can, and by war he means the decades-long existential struggle to maintain the Jewish State.

Politics, of course, is a big part of the Gaza war, as Christopher Hitchens points out in this piece in which he laments the victory of the Islamist radicals at the expense of ordinary Palestinians, and politics is the center of the story in this piece which chronicles the rising political fortunes of Ehud Barak in Israel.

Rashid Khalidi has this view of the realities in Gaza, while Nicholas Kristof says the recent fighting is really the result of a boomerang effect.

For what it's worth, here is Jimmy Carter's view on the fighting.

For what it's worth, here is my view. I agree with Avni when he points out that this latest fighting is part of Israel's ongoing effort to manage the war against those who would destroy them. I agree with the idea that political posturing plays a big role. In the end, for the average Palestinian and the average Jewish Israeli, those politicians who promise to defend them against those who would oppress them or kill them are the ones who get the votes and the support. Thus, as Hamas rockets rained down on Israeli towns, even thought they killed only a relatively small number of people, the bombardment created anxiety and anger among Jewish Israelis who live within range of the rockets, and even those who do not (as they anticipate that the enemy will get better rockets with a longer range). Politically, that leads to the hard-line position (counter-attack) gaining traction against the soft-line position (negotiate). That is what happened in Israel in recent months, and it reached a point that, with elections looming, the leaders of Israel could no longer afford politically to keep the soft-line position as the official policy.

Meanwhile, for the Palestinians, since they are just as human as the Jewish Israelis, the very same dynamic is at work. They are oppressed by Israeli control over their lives (Parenthetically, please remember that I am not writing about TRUTH, but PERCEPTION. The TRUTH, for Jewish Israelis, is that they are an oppressed people who fled an unimaginable holocaust and established a state in their ancestral homeland in order to create an environment that would prevent any effort to exterminate them from ever happening again. The TRUTH, for Palestinian Arabs, is that they are an oppressed people who were forced to flee from their ancestral lands by a colonial invader who unjustly established a state on their land and, through superior technology, firepower, and support from the United States, holds dominion over their lives even when they live outside the boundaries of what they call the "Zionist Entity"). When the Palestinians feel an even greater sense of hopelessness overtake them, they are much more likely to heed the message of Hamas, which is a message of armed resistance against oppression, and an eventual victory over their oppressors. The corruption and, worse, perceived weakness in dealing with the Israelis, of Fatah led to the ascendancy of Hamas, especially in Gaza. This led to the economic blockade of Gaza by Israel, which led to even greater support for Hamas to continue to bombard Israel.

So, in the end, the Israeli public, which sees themselves as the "good guys", an oppressed people being bombarded by a gang who wishes them dead, called for a military response, which they finally got. The Palestinians, who see themselves as the "good guys", an oppressed people being economically strangled by a gang of interlopers who treat them like second-class citizens, at best, respond by supporting those who would take the fight to their oppressors.

If human nature is what I think it is, then I see no end to this process, unless Israel fundamentally changes (that is, it ceases to be a Jewish State) or the Islamic world fundamentally changes enough (rejecting Islamist extremism to the point that the extremists become marginalized) to get the support necessary for the Palestinians to achieve a state that can live side-by-side with Israel. Of the two possibilities, I suspect the former is more likely than the latter.

Israeli troops continue to move into Gaza. I hope their leaders don't fail them as they did in 2006.

Anne Applebaum points out the obvious, which is that there is no "peace process" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These two sides are at war, with the Palestinians still clinging to the belief that they can eventually force the Jews out (or exterminate them) and the Israelis still clinging to the belief that they can survive as a Jewish state.

Richard Cohen describes a past trip to the Israeli town of Sderot, and why it is Hamas which caused this latest war to start.

Leon Panetta, who was Chief of Staff during the Clinton years, and before that he was a congressman from California, is Obama's choice for CIA Director. There is already a lot of squawking about the choice, but I suspect this is more about Obama trying to bring the CIA to heel.

E.J. Dionne believes it is the Democrats who have the best chance of expanding their base in the coming years. I will not even bother to make a prediction, as I suspect outside events will determine which party gains the upper hand, completely irrespective of ideologies or tactics.

The level of sea ice expanded dramatically as 2008 came to a close, leaving it at levels not seen since 1979. More evidence that we are entering a global cooling, rather than global warming, climate phase?

Ralph Peters explains what the Israeli military is doing in Gaza, and he encourages them to keep it up until Hamas is destroyed.

Bill Kristol believes the Israelis just might succeed in Gaza, even though many believe they will fail as they did in Lebanon in 2006.

John Bolton argues that the "two-state solution", and the peace process that is based on it, cannot work. He argues for a "three-state solution". I don't believe anyone will buy that one, either.

Al Franken will be declared the winner of the Senate seat in Minnesota, having narrowly won a recount. I don't expect the GOP to give up the fight, though, and it will certainly involve more legal fees.

Robert J. Samuelson has some thoughts on the proposals for a stimulus package, and why it can only be seen as a stopgap solution.

Police in Massachusetts are having trouble with a new marijuana law. That's the problem with any law that tries to split the difference. Either the use of marijuana should be legal, or not. If legal, it should be treated like alcohol as a regulated substance (requiring licenses to sell, prohibiting use by minors, etc.).

A new survey shows that teens who take an abstinence pledge have just as much sex as teens who don't, but use less birth control. I don't think that's what the people who back abstinence programs had in mind.

If you want to understand why the Israelis are using military force without much good effect in their battle against Islamist extremists, as opposed to the past when their use of military force against Arab armies and governments was tremendously effective, you should read Caroline Glick's columns in The Jerusalem Post, including this latest one. Glick has consistently made the common-sense argument that military force should be used to destroy Israel's enemies, not send messages. Hamas, and their cousins in the Hezbollah movement, and their patrons in Iran, share a single, non-negotiable goal...the destruction of Israel as a Jewish State, and its replacement by an Islamist Palestine. Yet, far too many Israelis, including the current government, seem unable to accept this fact. They do not wish to accept it because the logical extension of that fact is the idea of unending war, since they know that they cannot kill every member of Hamas and Hezbollah, and they cannot defeat Iran. They have to hope that, someday, the Muslim world will reject extremism, the Iranians will overthrow their fanatic rulers, and the likes of Bin Laden and others will be so marginalized as to become mere afterthoughts. This is unlikely to happen in many decades, if ever. Which means the Israeli people will never know true peace. I can understand why that is an image so many Israelis are unable to accept.

Mark Steyn's column adds emphasis to my point, by calling to our attention the return of crucifixion as a punishment in Gaza.

Israelis may have some concerns about the incoming Obama Administration, but at least one columnist points out that Obama and his people seem to be out of touch with the Democratic base when it comes to Israeli actions.

Will 2009 be worse than 2008? Yes, according to this piece.

Will Al Franken take a seat in the U.S. Senate? The Republican Majority Leader says no.

An Army Times poll of soldiers finds some skepticism about Obama. I am not at all surprised, as the Army is a conservative institution, still dominated by Southerners, Westerners and rural white folks in general (the poll found a large majority of African-American soldiers have confidence in Obama which, again, is not surprising). Still, even as a Democrat and an African-American, if Obama had military experience he would probably get better numbers in an initial poll like this one. What is important, though, is how a similar poll turns out in six months or a year. If Obama acquits himself well as a leader, and as Commander-in-Chief, I'm sure he'll gain the respect of most soldiers. In any event, they will obey his commands, as civilian leadership of the military is the first principle of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.


Cathy Young says there is a brewing storm in Russia.


Could a meteor, or meteors, have caused the extinction of the Woolly Mammoth and the Sabre-Tooth Tiger? Some new evidence points in that direction.


A Progressive call for a trillion-dollar stimulus plan. I am still skeptical that any transfer of wealth on such a scale will really improve the economy, but I think we are going to see the experiment tried.


Is rocket fire from Gaza endangering an Israeli nuclear plant?


Will Obama get tough on Israel? Gerard Baker says no.


As Israel launches a fresh round of air strikes in Gaza, and prepares for a possible ground assault, Charles Krauthammer says this latest fighting has a high degree of moral clarity. If the Israelis don't launch a ground invasion with the aim of destroying Hamas in Gaza, then the war will be lost.