Victor Davis Hanson believes the chickens of 2009 will all come home to roost in 2010. Ralph Peters says the day of reckoning is near.

More and more the pundits and political analysts around the country are coming to the conclusion I reached earlier this year, which is that the Democrats are going to get smoked in 2010. There will also be blood in the streets, political blood, that is, as members of the Obama Administration are thrown under the bus, one-by-one.

The bad guys in Afghanistan score a victory with a successful suicide bombing attack against the CIA, killing eight Americans.

Rush Limbaugh is in a Honolulu hospital suffering from chest pains.

Barack Obama gets an 'F' for protecting Americans says Toby Harnden.

The events surrounding the attempted bombing of flight 253 should be a wake-up call for all Americans says Jeff Jacoby.

Victor Davis Hanson believes the near miss will cause the President to make some changes.

I think Hanson is right, since Leslie Gelb is just one of many who believe the President is on his way to being the new Jimmy Carter.

Don't believe it? Well, when even Maureen Dowd is slamming the President, he has a big problem.

Michael Ledeen analyzes the current situation in Iran as protesters take to the streets. It seems clear that the opposition has not been cowed into submission by the brutal tactics of the regime and that, in fact, those tactics have caused a growing backlash. A tipping point may soon be reached when the regime begins to disintegrate or they are able to mount a truly comprehensive and brutal crackdown that silences the opposition. I don't have a clue as to which way it will go. I hope it leads to regime change.

Ralph Peters says we continue to lie to ourselves about the connection between terrorists and Islam.

Many doctors face a dilemma when considering whether or not to oppose the health reform bill. Mostly, they just want to practice medicine, not politics, and I don't blame them for that. Still, they need to speak up.

New York City is on track for the fewest homicides since accurate records began being kept in the early 1960s. There are many theories as to why New York City is so much less violent than it was from the late 1960s through the early 1990s. My best guess is that the change in policing strategies implemented by Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Bratton in the early 90s have created a situation where resources are more properly directed, thus limiting the situations that lead to murderous street violence. There may also be better procedures for dealing with domestic violence, which would also lower the death toll.

I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas.

No holidays for the bad guys, though, as a Nigerian man tries to blow up an airliner preparing to land in Detroit. Fortunately, it seems these Al Qaeda guys and their disciples lost their smartest members on 9/11, as this moron, like Richard Reid before him, didn't know how to make a proper bomb. Also in the plus column, passengers these days know that no one will defend them, they must defend themselves, which some did by jumping on and subduing the terrorist.

It used to be that Hollywood made war pictures that extolled the virtues of courageous and patriotic young Americans taking on their evil foes and destroying them, thus saving the world from the darkness of tyranny. Not anymore, of course. But the market for such stuff still exists, and it is video games that are filling the need, and making huge money for their creators.

Daniel Henninger says Obama may be a supernova, a star that burns very brightly for a brief time, then fades away.

Anthropogenic global warming is a farce.

The Senate, on a 60-39 vote, passes the health reform bill. It now goes to a House-Senate conference committee to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions. That committee will make a report which will then be voted on by each body. Only if that report passes will it then go to the President to be signed into law.

If you like your health plan, you may not get to keep it after all.

David Broder, who favors universal coverage and wrote a book about the failed health reform efforts of 1993-94, says the way this bill was passed, and some of the things in it, stinks.

Michael Barone compares the passing of the health reform bill with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, a hugely unpopular bill passed by using every legislative trick in the book that ended up causing more problems than it solved.

Here is something you don't often see...an op-ed in The New York Times that advocates airstrikes to slow down the Iranian nuclear program.

Here is why electric cars, at least as they are currently designed and perform, will not become widely popular anytime soon.

As Democrats in the House and Senate face the challenge of merging their two health reform bills, Rich Lowry and Robert Costa explain the five reasons why a final bill might not pass.

The Wall Street Journal says this health bill is a reckless piece of legislation.

Is the situation in Ireland, which is now facing deep budget cuts, a harbinger of things to come for us here in the United States? Unless the economy explodes in a huge growth spurt, I think it is just such a harbinger.

When a 32-year-old actress dies of a massive heart attack, does anyone believe it wasn't caused by drug abuse?

Some folks who live near a volcano in the Philippines refuse to leave. Eventually, you just have to let foolish people die.

So, they've gone and done it. On a party line, 60-40 vote held at 1 AM, the Democrats have passed their so-called 'health reform' bill. Still, they will now need to reconcile the Senate version with the House version, and then get the reconciled version passed in both houses, before they can send it to President Obama.

In the wake of the passage of the bill, Bill Kristol calls on all Conservatives and Republicans (and Libertarians) to fight.

Scott Gottleib says only the very rich will be able to escape the clutches of the new health insurance program.

Michael Goodwin fears for the future of the country.

Jay Cost says the political consequences of the bill might result in another 'Jacksonian moment' in American history.

Robert J. Samuelson says passing the bill might be a nightmare for President Obama.

As for me, I still maintain that they will not pass a final bill. Even though the Democrats have a larger majority in the House than they do in the Senate, all House members will face the voters in less than a year. Plus, Liberal members are already being assailed by their core constituents over many aspects of the Senate bill, especially the lack of a public option combined with a mandate to buy private insurance. Stay tuned. It is not over yet.

Kim Strassel says the Democrats are on the precipice and are about to jump. Why? Because the poll numbers show that passing the health care bill is political suicide.

It is because so many see this fact, and because the bill is insulting to many on the Left by what it does not do, that Howard Kurtz sees so many Liberals jumping ship.

Of course, there are alternatives. One is called the 'group employed model', or GEM. Groups like Kaiser Permanente are associations of health care professionals who work for a salary, rather than the 'fee for service' model. The authors of this piece argue that the GEM system makes sense because it actually reduces health care costs.

Another hollow 'victory' for the President as he returns from Copenhagen with a climate deal that satisfies no one.

Why did those Northwest pilots forget they were flying a plane? Because, says one old pilot, modern planes do most of the flying for them.

A new poll shows things are getting worse for the Democrats. George Will says the health care fight is giving Republicans a chance to win. He is right, of course, but one cannot overestimate the impact of the sour economy on the mood of the electorate.

Rich Lowry says even the Left is revolting against the health reform bill as it is currently constituted, primarily because it creates a mandate to buy health insurance without a government option.

Will the U.S. Navy be able to prevent the Iranians from closing the Straits of Hormuz? This is critical if, as I expect, the Israelis eventually attack Iranian nuclear facilities.

The happiest people live in the sunniest states. With the temperature in single numbers outside my window as I write this, and the sun going down by four in the afternoon, I'm buying that story, big time.

A group of distinguished men have come forward to warn of the debt tsunami. Will anyone in Congress listen?

On a local note, the non-partisan Live Free or Die Alliance will host an online chat with new Hampshire Governor John Lynch on Monday. Details can be found here.

SOCIALISM BY STAGES

Is America giving itself over to Socialism in stages? I think so, because the voters long ago discovered that they could have access to money from the public treasury by getting the right politician in office. Voters responded by organizing into powerful groups, business groups, labor groups, etc., and pooled their resources to lobby politicians to send money their way, oftentimes via proposals and programs that sounded sweet and innocent, but in the end simply transferred money their way. The government, of course, grows in size and power with each new program, and runs an ever larger sector of the economy as a result. An economy so ordered will, eventually, collapse. But, you say, that hasn't happened in Europe, where they are still quite a bit farther along in the process. Yes, I say, they have not collapsed yet, but I am old enough to remember when many smart people thought the Soviet Union would be with us forever. Once, back when I was in college, I predicted to a classmate in one of my foreign policy classes that the Soviet Union would eventually collapse (this was in 1982 or 1983). My friend scoffed. I hardly believed it myself, of course, but it felt good to say it. It seemed impossible, and continued to seem impossible right up until the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and Boris Yeltsin stood on a tank in 1990.

Do you recall what the experts always say about the "Big One", meaning the expected big earthquake for Southern California? They always say, "it could happen tomorrow, or thirty years from tomorrow", or some variation. I believe Europe will collapse into economic and political chaos sometime this century. It could be next year, or in 2014, or 2040. But it will happen. If we allow ourselves to continue to give over more and more of our economy to government planners, we will follow their lead.

Houston elects an openly gay mayor. Houston is a mostly Democratic city by party registration, with a large Hispanic and African-American population, but I think you can't read too much into this as turnout was very low.

If some New Hampshire legislators get their way it will soon be legal to commit adultery in the Granite State.

Acclaimed economist Paul Samuelson has died at age 94.

Social networks are being targeted by online schemers and thieves.

The Mediterranean Sea was filled by a massive flood in less than two years, according to a new theory.

Robert J. Samuelson continues to hammer away at the health reform proposal being debated in Congress, insisting that the savings claimed by proponents of the bill are illusory.

Bill Kristol thinks the Nobel acceptance speech by the President may have been a signal that he is willing to use force to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. I am skeptical, despite the fact that I liked the tone of the speech.

I think it was the best speech of his career, as President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. Read the whole thing. Many things in the speech could have been said by George W. Bush, or Reagan, or Kennedy. The President, correctly, alluded to the fact that he did not really deserve the prize, but most importantly, he asserted the fact that it is the United States which has, with its economic and military power, underwritten the security of the world for the last 60 years, and continues to do so.

As the Senate continues to debate the health reform bill, here is a passionate argument against the plan, which the author believes will surely result in the end of private health insurance in America.

What are they smoking up in Canada? Can the author of this piece in The National Post really believe that the whole world should adopt China's one child policy? Does she not understand that such a policy requires the existence of a brutal, totalitarian regime to enforce it? Does she not understand that the people who control the levers of such a totalitarian machine will not stop at simply controlling one's reproductive choices, but will dominate all other aspects of life?

James Cameron's news movie Avatar gets a glowing first review.

NFL announcers are getting serious when they talk about the violent collisions that can result in concussions, and the consequences that result for the men who play the game.

The Sun in Great Britain is reporting that Tiger's wife has demanded he quit golf to save their marriage.

One of my favorite movies as a kid was George Pal's version of War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. The star of that movie was Gene Barry, who passed away this week at age 90.

What does the Swiss ban on Minarets really mean? Anne Applebaum says it was not about bigotry.

The EPA is prepared to regulate emissions without waiting for Congressional action. That should help create more jobs, don't you think?

Gang tours in LA soon to be a reality.

Israel is rocked by a suggestion that Biblical law should trump the secular law.

It just keeps getting worse for Tiger Woods.

Harry Reid says he has resolved the impasse in the Senate over the health reform bill. Dick Morris implores the Democrats to refrain from committing political suicide by passing this bill, which polls show is unpopular.

Peggy Noonan believes President Obama redeclared war in his speech about the 'surge' in Afghanistan. If so, he did not generate much warlike enthusiasm from anyone. That is almost certainly due to the fact that the folks on the Right do not trust him to follow through, the folks in the middle are not sure the war is worth the cost, and the folks on the Left are bitterly disappointed that he is not withdrawing the troops.

Jay Cost examines why the public likes specific parts of the health reform bill but dislikes the whole. Uncertainty is the key word.

E.J. Dionne explains why he believes the Democrats must get a health bill passed in the Senate before the end of the year. Like so many measures of uncertain popularity, the best strategy is to ram it through and let the public complain later. Politically, Dionne believes the bill will be popular as it goes into effect, but I believe the opposite. If they pass something, the negative consequences will reverberate for a year, adding to the discontent that will jettison the Democrats from power in November, 2010.

Robert J. Samuelson explains why health costs continue to rise and inexorable swallow up more and more of our state and federal budgets. Essentially, we want the best possible care for ourselves and our family and friends, no matter what the cost. If we had a real market-based system, in which we were all responsible wholly and completely for our own care and the care of our families (as we are responsible for feeding them, clothing them, etc.), we would understand that we could only get the health care we could afford. But, because it offends our sensibilities that people's health, indeed, their very lives, are at the mercy of their economic circumstances when it comes to getting a doctor's care, we have erected this complex system which gets everyone else involved in paying for our individual health care. That means politicians cannot take really effective measures at cost containment, since we would be offended (and frightened) by such actions, and would vote them out.

George Will explains why the climate change debate is a travesty. Politicians will pretend to take action, while doing nothing, which is probably the best course, since the whole thing might turn out to be so much baloney.

Anderson Cooper's ratings at CNN continue to drop. At some point the executives in charge at CNN will have to make a change.

Arthur Herman is impressed with the President's Afghanistan surge, while George Will is not. Nicholas Kristof thinks Obama is going down the same path once used by Johnson in Vietnam and Gorachev in Afghanistan. Karl Rove praises the President (yes, Karl Rove), and thinks he can win. Progressives, on the other hand, are unhappy, but should not be surprised. In Germany, they are searching for the Obama magic, but finding only an American politician trying not to lose a war and, therefore, the next election. Robert Kagan makes the point well that Obama cannot simply declare "Oh, well, we lost" and get reelected. My problem with the plan is that it seems designed to win an election, rather than win a war. If they stand by the timeline, then the Taliban need only to wait us out. The locals, knowing that we are leaving, and the Taliban will still be around when we go, will be even less inclined to help us and more inclined to make deals with the Taliban, expecting that they will be the eventual victors.

Some inside the governments and media in Afghanistan and Pakistan are disturbed by the new plan, especially the 18 month timeline.

The NFL issues new guidelines on concussions.

Here is an example of good, old-fashioned political influence at work.

The genders wars are over, and we men emerged victorious.

Stu Rothenberg has the 10 most vulnerable House seats, including New Hampshire's Second District.

Robert J. Samuelson looks at a grim jobs picture and thinks the President is making it worse.

Another newspaper, this time it is The Washington Times, is downsizing.

President Obama announced his strategy for going forward in Afghanistan in a speech before the cadets at West Point last night. So far, most of the commentary I have read is negative. Most Conservatives don't like the fact that he has placed a time limit, which they believe (and I agree) simply gives Al Qaeda and the Taliban a target date for eventual victory (all they need do is hold out until 2011, and then we'll leave, and then they will exact their vengeance on all the dogs and lackeys who aided us). Most Liberals are unhappy with the escalation, as they believe the war was unjust in the first place, and is unwinnable besides, so we ought to cut our losses and get out.

I tend to agree with Ralph Peters that this speech was all about politics. All Presidents are politicians of course, and all have to look to the political consequences of their actions. Even great wartime leaders like Lincoln and FDR were aware of the political ramifications of their decisions. But these men (and Truman during the Korean War, and Wilson during WWI) kept their eyes on the prize. Lincoln's goal was to win, and thereby restore the Union. He was willing to sacrifice his reelection in 1864 to achieve that goal. FDR's goal was to win (though he was never in any political danger during WWII), Wilson's goals were even loftier, to remake the world, and he did himself tremendous political damage in attempting to achieve those goals, as did Truman.

Conversely, LBJ and Nixon were all about politics and the political game when making decisions about Vietnam and, as a consequence, we lost that war. So, it seems, is Barack Obama when making decisions about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is unwilling to embrace the ideology of the Left and follow through on the natural logic of that ideology and worldview, which would result in the withdrawal of troops from both places in short order, because he is afraid of the political consequences. He is unwilling to embrace the view from the Right, which is that there should be no timetable, and whatever resources are necessary should be used to win in both places, because that would do even more political harm by angering his base voters even more than they are today. So, he chooses a middle path, which is perfectly acceptable when dealing with most political issues, but is disastrous when making military decisions.

Ironically, despite his best efforts, President Obama's half-measures are as certain to bring him political defeat at home as they are to bring us military defeat in Afghanistan.

Victor Davis Hanson is also critical of the President's speech.

A new poll by Gallup, taken before the speech, shows the American people do not approve of the President's handling of Afghanistan.

Thomas Friedman explains why he disagrees with the President.

Derrick Jackson believes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were terrible wastes of blood and treasure. If we leave and both places descend into anarchy and chaos, then he will be right.

Mike Huckabee granted clemency to the guy who killed those cops in Washington state. This is very bad for Huckabee if he wants any shot at the GOP nomination for President in 2012.

Ralph Peters believes the President's plan for Afghanistan, which the President will announce using West Point as his backdrop, is just window dressing.