Somali pirates have attacked another American ship, causing some damage, but the ship's crew managed to keep the pirates from boarding until the Navy came to their aid.

Meanwhile, the criminals who lead North Korea have kicked out U.N. inspectors and vowed to re-start their nuclear program and walk away from the six-party negotiations that have, for years, been aimed at keeping North Korea's nuclear program under wraps. This is probably a repeat of the same old pattern. The North Koreans test a missile (or a small nuclear device), it fails, they are condemned by the "international community" for their actions, they respond with bellicose rhetoric and actions, the "international community" comes crawling back to them with concessions, which they take, then they do something provocative, and the cycle starts again.

A group of retired Flag and General officers come out against allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the U.S. military. It's been more than 20 years since I served in the U.S. Army. Back then, I know that open homosexuals in the Army would have been a problem. Today, with a new generation of soldiers, I don't know how they would react but, since I expect the President to reject the advice of those officers, I guess we will find out.

An argument against expanding Medicare. The bottom line for me remains simple. The only way to expand health insurance coverage to everyone, and contain costs, is to ration care. In today's American system, as convoluted as it is, money still talks. We ration health care based on dollars, although we do it via a third and fourth party, rather than directly, with our employer choosing the plan and the people who run the plan choosing what they will cover (with the input of regulators to a greater or lesser extent). I would prefer a system whereby we all bought our own plans directly, with a government subsidy for people whose income is so low that they cannot afford even the cheapest plan. I fear, however, that we are headed in the opposite direction, toward a universal, government-run, plan. This plan would ration care based on the decisions of government bureaucrats rather than the insurance and corporate bureaucrats who make the decisions in our current system. Why would that be worse? Because the insurance and corporate bureaucrats we have now at least have to pay some attention to the marketplace, if for no other reason than fear of lawsuits or lost business. Government bureaucrats do not share the same fears, as anyone who has ever stood in a line at a Department of Motor Vehicles Office or some other government entity can attest.

Finally, something to give you a lift. You may have heard of the British television show, Britain's Got Talent. It includes Simon Cowell of American Idol fame (I believe he also helped create the show). Recently, the show featured a 47-year-old woman named Susan Boyle. Many of the millions who have seen the video first downloaded it assuming it was one of the joke videos that have become so popular on the Net. Perhaps they were as shocked as Simon and the other judges by the beauty they could not see and would never have guessed they would find. Take a look and a listen.