Reports of America's demise may be premature, or so says a man who wrote a book about the fall of the British Empire.

Now the financial community is betting on the collapse of Greece, which is making it harder for the Greek government to get financing, which makes a collapse more likely.

A reminder is in order. Greece is the canary in the coal mine. Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal may be next, but they will certainly be followed by Germany, France, Great Britain and, yes, the United States, if we do not come to grips with our runaway spending. We cannot keep growing government at the current pace unless we are willing to enact ruinous new and increased taxes.

In the U.S., we must understand that our Federal budget is dominated by spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, interest on the debt, defense, and pensions. Simply cutting discretionary spending, however much sense it makes to eliminate wasteful programs, will not solve the problem. We must deal with entitlements, and we must do so sooner rather than later.

Social Security surpluses will end by 2017, according to current estimates. Medicare and Medicaid are in worse shape. Unless the economy rebounds quickly and to a level never before seen, we will see our deficits grow larger, and our ability to deal with them grow weaker. We must act NOW.

Are we living in an era that will see this latest economic meltdown simply as a precursor to a more devastating global economic collapse? If the authors of this piece about the economic doomsday cycle are correct, then that is exactly where we are at this time. Personally, I am not only haunted by the thought of how destructive such a collapse would be to our economic lives but, looking back at the political consequences of the Great Depression, I am even more concerned about the physical destruction that might follow in the wake of such a collapse. The authors of the piece call for much more stringent, global regulation of the financial system. I suspect that such regulation will not be forthcoming, at least not until the smoke clears from the next big collapse.

As President Obama pushes forward with another effort to pass health reform, Michael Gerson says Obama's efforts indicate a lack of judgement, Ruth Marcus says his audaciousness could backfire and Harold Meyerson, representing the thoughts of most liberals, urges the President to pass the bill by any means necessary.

I have said from the beginning that I did not believe any significant bill would ever pass. I believe it now more than ever. Even if they manage to get the Senate version, or the slightly modified version the President recently proposed, through the Senate via reconciliation (thus needing only a simple majority, rather than 60 votes), I suspect they will not have the votes in the House. There are simply too many Democrats representing districts that voted for Bush or McCain (or both) in 2004 and 2008 who realize they are already in trouble, and a vote for an unpopular health bill, especially one rammed through without any bipartisan support, would be a career ending vote.

Congressman Delahunt is blaming Braintree police for the botched handling of the Amy Bishop case in 1986, when she was given a pass for shooting her brother to death. The article, though, seems to indicate that the state trooper who handled the case for Delahunt's office (he was the DA at the time) did not do enough to investigate the incident. It also implies that it was Amy Bishop's mother who pressured the Braintree chief into letting her go without immediately booking her and questioning her. There is more to this story, I think, and it smells like small-town politics and influence, although I suspect some incompetence and/or laziness in the DA's office allowed it to fall through the cracks.

On the other hand, the investigation into the 1993 attempted mail-bombing that included Bishop and her husband as suspects seems to be simply a case of insufficient evidence, rather than incompetence or corruption. Still, the case will be reviewed as it appears there was strong circumstantial evidence linking Bishop to the crime, although I doubt they will be able to do much more with it.

Scott Brown breaks ranks and supports a jobs bill. I suspect Senator Brown will be more independent than some other senators, in the sense that he will not be a reliable, party-line voter.

Congressman Paul Ryan is one of the few legislators who is taking a hard look at our fiscal problems, and has a plan to deal with them. If only the rest would listen. Perhaps, if the tsunami is big enough in November, they will.

Populists like Glenn Beck are hitting the GOP hard on these issues, whether they like it or not. In my view, this is a good thing for Republicans, as it will remind them that they should stand up for smaller government and lower taxes.

Robert J. Samuelson writes about the problems in Greece, which he believes will be repeated in all the Western countries that have substantial welfare states, including our own.

President Obama has released his new health reform plan, which is essentially the Senate version with some tweaking. The President is determined to get something done, no matter how many of his fellow Democrats are lost in the process.

Mark Steyn sees more evidence of the decline of the West. He is the latest in a long line of people who have predicted the demise of our culture. This time, though, the trends seem to support the contention. Demographically, with Europe leading the way, we are headed for disaster. In the end, for a society to function, there needs to be enough young, working people to support the elderly. When the number of old folks using health and pension benefits exceeds the ability of working-age folks to pay, society will cease to function. We are seeing this in the looming fiscal disaster in Greece, which will be repeated in other European nations in the very near future, followed by America (unless we are saved by a huge new burst of economic growth). Ideologically, we are increasingly a society without any moral underpinnings. Since we don't believe in anything, we are not willing to fight for anything. Is there hope for the future?

Yes, because he is right when Nile Gardiner says Conservatism is the future of America. Ordinary people who believe in fiscal responsibility, among other things, can use the existing political system to sweep away the deadwood, if they can organize in sufficient numbers. That may be happening with the Tea Party movement, as traditional conservatives and libertarians, fearful of the suffocating nature of Statism, band together to fight back.

Meanwhile, Eleanor Clift says a Republican Congress would be good for Obama. I agree (as I said yesterday), and all indicators point to that result this November. If the GOP does take back Congress, and Obama plays it as smartly as Clinton did in 1995 and 1996, then he can win reelection.

Amir Taheri says many in the West are learning to love the idea of regime change in Iran, while Ralph Peters warns that the day of reckoning is approaching. Israel, facing an existential threat, is still the wild card.

Authorities did not send Amy Bishop and her husband a letter clearing them of involvement in a bomb plot, according to this story in The Boston Globe. It looks more and more like Bishop was given a pass in 1986 for shooting her brother, either because the local police were incompetent, or the DA at the time was incompetent (that would be Congressman Bill Delahunt), or someone deliberately swept things under a rug. Then, in the bomb plot case, investigators just could not get enough evidence to charge Bishop and her hubby, but never had evidence against anyone else. Hopefully, the good people of Alabama will strap this woman down and give her the juice, or the needle. Sometimes, you just have to shoot the mad dogs, don't you?

Michael Graham lays the blame squarely at Delahunt's feet. Graham is not alone in his opinion.

The snow plow boys from Boston, using their big equipment and extensive experience, help the people of Washington, DC dig out, earning praise and good will, as well as a few bucks.

The climate change 'consensus' is cracking up.

Benny Avni thinks the Israelis did an excellent job when they whacked a Hamas big shot. The fact that British passports might have been used to facilitate the job is causing quite a stir in London, with British officials demanding an explanation.

Are two Chinese schools the focal point of a recent series of online attacks?

Paul Krugman says the health insurance 'death spiral' in California is more evidence to support passing the stalled health reform bill. Certainly, it is true that rising health insurance premiums is causing many healthy people to drop their insurance, thus increasing costs for the insurance companies as their risk pools become populated by a larger percentage of folks who need benefits, thus causing the companies to raise premiums even more. But Krugman and the Democrats want to create an even more bureaucratic, less flexible, and more statist system. I think the American people have already signalled, through the elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, that they do not want to go in that direction.

Meanwhile, the poor economy and the rising cost of health care have combined to leave state governors with terrible choices concerning Medicaid coverage. Cut coverage, limit eligibility, reduce payments to providers, or raise taxes.

Charles Krauthammer says the liberals, just as they did under Jimmy Carter, are complaining that America is 'ungovernable'. Krauthammer believes that is nonsense. America, he says, was governable when it had a smart, politically savvy President, which was the case with Reagan in the '80s and Clinton in the '90s. Those Presidents also had the advantage of a Congress dominated by the other party. That, of course, seems counter intuitive. After all, shouldn't divided government be less responsive and less capable of passing legislation? Experience tells us that is not the case. Republican Reagan and Democrat Tip O'Neill were smart old-time politicians who knew how to herd their people into line, so they could make deals with each other secure in the knowledge that the other guy would deliver. Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich were smart, new age politicians who could make deals with each other secure in the knowledge that the other guy could deliver. That is the key. If the leader of one party thinks his opposite number is in a position of strength, but he is also secure about his own strength, then they can do business. If one guy is weak, or both are weak, then nothing gets done. Carter was weak, so he couldn't even get his own party to go along. Bush the Elder started strong but became weak, and failed. Bush the Younger was never strong enough on the domestic political front, despite his post-9/11 boost, because that strength dissipated over time and with the war in Iraq. Obama should have started strong, but his inexperience has led to numerous mistakes, and the poor economy and the overreach on health care have seriously debilitated him politically. Obama's only hope, paradoxically, is for a smashing GOP win in November. Faced with a strong Republican House Speaker (and maybe even a Republican Senate Majority Leader), Obama will have to moderate his positions, but he can also make deals with the GOP if he can show some strength moving forward, as Clinton did after 1994.

Pat Buchanan thinks the consequence of a GOP win in November is more paralysis.

Was the 2008 election a fluke? More evidence seems to indicate that the 2008 election was driven by the unique candidacy of Barack Obama, and the unique circumstances created by Bush-fatigue, the financial crisis, and the lackluster campaign of John McCain. It appears that some of the Red States that turned Blue in 2008 are not going to be solidly in the Democratic column this Fall. In fact, if the tsunami I think is coming is real, no Democrat is safe.

U.S. troops are being put in danger in Afghanistan because their leaders are reluctant to use air power. This is no way to fight a war.

Anne Applebaum says we should look closely at the Greek financial crisis because, despite the obvious differences between Greece and the U.S., we could eventually reach the same precarious position.

Victor Davis Hanson also writes about the new Greek tragedy, and how all Western countries are headed down the same path.

The health care summit could backfire on the Democrats.

Amy Bishop, the college professor accused of murdering three of her colleagues in Alabama, could have been, indeed, should have been put on trial after shooting her brother to death back in 1986. Why wasn't she? Brian McGrory asks that and other questions about this case. It smells bad, like incompetence or corruption.

One of the best reasons to watch Mad Men is to get a look at Christina Hendricks. By the way, she is a terrific actress, as well.

The New York Times says we have partisan gridlock in Washington because of the Republicans, and we have a huge deficit because we are not willing to raise taxes. Just keep digging, boys, just keep digging.

Steve Huntley says the Democrats are the ones to blame for gridlock.

Dick Morris says President Obama is ruining his presidency and his party. Meanwhile, a new CNN poll shows 52% of Americans do not want Obama re-elected in 2012.

Jay Cost has some thoughts on the Evan Bayh retirement. Some liberals are not weeping over his departure.

Dave Boutin wins the special State Senate election for District 16 here in New Hampshire. Boutin, a Republican, replaces Republican Ted Gatsas who left the seat when he became Mayor of Manchester. It does not, therefore, change the partisan balance in the New Hampshire Senate, but it continues to show GOP momentum which, I believe, will continue into the November races here, as well as across the nation.

The GOP gets another gift as Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana decides not to run for re-election. It now is looking like a Republican takeover of the Senate is no longer a pipe dream.

Richard Cohen believes Sarah Palin is an empty vessel, filled only by the hopes of the right and the fears of the left.

The New York Times continues their effort to paint the Tea Party movement as a gathering of racist, fanatic lunatics. While there are, without doubt, racists, fanatics and lunatics within the movement, the Times, like most liberals, continues to misunderstand the significance of the movement.

A top Taliban commander is captured in a secret raid in Karachi, Pakistan. Chalk one up for the good guys.

President Obama's worst nightmare...a fiery and unrepentant Dick Cheney.

One of the scientists at the center of the global warming theory is found to be disorganized, and admits that the world hasn't been getting warmer since 1995, a fact most folks living down South, now bracing for another snowstorm, can believe in. Meanwhile, some other scientists are also saying that warming is not happening.

Ralph Peters writes about the recent offensive in Afghanistan.

Things still look bleak in Elkhart, Indiana.

Paul Krugman says hubris, not deficit spending, has caused the mess in Europe. He makes a good point. I always believed adopting the Euro was a bad idea, since I thought the European nations that adopted the common currency would not adopt the common government necessary to make it work.

George Will writes about the Democrats' dependency agenda.

Here is a lengthy, but interesting, piece on the potential consequences of a long period of high unemployment here in the United States.

Just days after making a fool of himself by calling Scott Brown's election campaign a 'joke', Patrick Kennedy decides he will not run for re-election to Congress. Normally, I would be tempted to make some flip remark at this point, but I truly believe Patrick Kennedy has some serious emotional issues, no doubt exacerbated by the death of his father. So, despite the fact that I have never liked his politics, I wish him well in his future endeavors.

Victor Davis Hanson continues to hammer away at President Obama, this time by pointing out that Obama may have lost all credibility at this point, which will make him an even less effective President for the next three years.

The Economist recognizes the Tea Party movement as one of the most significant political developments in recent years.

With so many opinion pieces out there that either blast the Tea Party folks or totally misread who they are and what they want, it is tough to find anything that strikes a better balance. Here is one such piece, written by columnist and radio talk host Mark Davis, which hits it on the head. Hint...the Tea Party folks want lower taxes and smaller government.

Paul Krugman blasts the GOP for hypocrisy regarding Medicare cuts. His charge is justified, and it is this hypocrisy which is the reason why the Tea Party folks are not automatically going to follow the GOP's lead.

Robert Samuelson blasts the Democrats for hypocrisy, as they talk about having an open discussion on the issue of deficits, debt and spending, but then demonize Congressman Paul Ryan when he puts forward a balanced budget plan.

The liberals continue to blame America, and the American people, first.

Some liberals understand that their hopes for some sort of unification with libertarians was always just a pipe dream.

The New York Times has a poll that shows President Obama is still popular, or at least is still more popular than the Republicans. Looking at the numbers, though, what strikes me is the deep anger at Congress in general. Since the President is not on the ballot in November, if these trends continue, or even if the mood remains roughly the same, the Democrats will get the beating.

The Governor of Massachusetts wants to have the power to hold the line on medical and health insurance cost increases. Small business groups are happy, medical care providers and insurers are not. If the legislature passes this proposal I can make only one guarantee...there will be negative unintended consequences that will make the system worse.

New images of the World Trade Center as it fell, taken by NYPD helicopter crews circling over the disaster. The photos were released after a Freedom of Information request was granted to ABC news. I'm glad the photos are out, since we need to remind ourselves from time-to-time that we are, indeed, at war with these Islamist fanatics.

Niall Ferguson, an economist and historian I respect, says the Greek problem is coming to America.

Two views of Sarah Palin...one from David Broder, who admires her, and one from Chris Matthews, who thinks she is an idiot. Both men are long-time journalists, and both are politically liberal, but I think Broder is more open-minded and, therefore, his analysis is the better one.

Another liberal view of the Tea Party folks. Even after the Democrats are wiped out in November their intellectual base will still not understand what hit them.

David Ignatius seems to have a better understanding of the Tea Party movement, and thinks Europe could use a similar movement to help stave off fiscal disaster. Europe, of course, does not have such a movement and will, therefore, not be able to prevent the disaster.

Here is a novelty item...Bill Kristol in agreement with Paul Krugman.

In the hypothetical match-up between Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Paul Hodes to fill Judd Gregg's Senate seat (Gregg is retiring), Ayotte consistently leads Hodes. There is, of course, still a primary ahead, so things can change. Ayotte will have to earn her place on the ticket.

An Obama Administration official says their critics on counter-terrorism policy are aiding Al Qaeda. Sorry, pal. It's your weakness, real and perceived, that is helping the terrorists. Perino and Burck in The National Review take apart the op-ed, point by point.

Jeff Jacoby says extending a hand to the Iranians has not worked, and will not.

Should Scott Brown eschew the filibuster?

Video games reach a new level. Increasingly, these games are full-blown Hollywood productions (oftentimes with top Hollywood actors providing the voices for characters in the games). We are reaching a point where the best games will be like interactive movies in which players can insert themselves and manipulate the storyline based on their game play.

Is Obama being done in by his team of Chicago advisers?

As soon as President Obama said it, I figured it for a trap. His call for a bipartisan, open meeting with Republicans on health care is designed to politically box in the GOP, since the President will not agree to restart the health reform debate from scratch. Michael Gerson also believes this, and today writes about GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, who has a budget plan that leads to balanced budgets, who questioned the President during that televised "question time" session about debt and deficits, leading the President to coo niceties. Later, of course, the President's attack dogs went after Ryan's proposals with a vengeance.

Jonathan Last writes about the comparison between the Presidential primary results, which showed Obama faring poorly with working-class white voters, and the recent general election results in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Essentially, the Clinton voters are voting Republican. Why is this happening? Michael Barone calls them "Jacksonian" Democrats. I call them non-ideological voters (regardless of party registration). I will put something on this blog a little later more fully explaining what I think is happening.

Tom Friedman writes about the education crisis in Yemen, which is aiding Al Qaeda and their Islamist followers in their efforts to bring the Arab world back to the Middle Ages.

Congressman John Murtha has died at age 77 due to complications after gall bladder surgery. He was an example of an American patriot, in that he served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps, rising to the rank of Colonel, and seeing combat in Vietnam where he won a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. But he was also an example of a pork barrel politician, bringing home the bacon to his district. He was the kind of man we need to defend the country, and the kind of man who is destroying the country, all in one.

Murtha's death will mean another special election, and the GOP might just take the seat.

Another condescending Liberal analyzes the Tea Party movement, insinuates that it is generated by corporations and made up only of middle-age, middle-class white folks, but calls on the Democrats to pay attention to it. Unfortunately for the Democrats, so long as they misread what it is and who is involved, even if they pay attention to the movement they won't be able to counter it.

Rich Lowry understands the Tea Party movement, and says the Democrats, who do not understand it, are counting on it to divide the GOP. That won't happen, since the majority of Tea Party folks are fiscally conservative, even if they are all over the map on other issues. If the GOP candidate is a fiscal conservative, and the Democrat is not, and the Tea Party folks do not have a viable candidate of their own on the ballot, then the GOP candidate will get most of their votes. The only way the Tea Party movement can coalesce into a really viable third party is if Republicans abandon their party in droves (as Whigs, including Abraham Lincoln, did in the 1850s) and become part of the new party. I do not see this happening this year, although I believe it is still possible, especially if the Republicans are not responsive once they get back in the saddle.

Ralph Peters, a former Army intelligence officer, says the Christmas Day bomber could have given us actionable intelligence only in the first few days after his arrest, but since he was allowed to clam up by being read his Miranda rights, that didn't happen, and anything he says now is of little use.

Amir Taheri wonders if the Iranian government will choose the Tiananmen solution when anti-government protestors take to the streets on February 11th.

Arthur Herman is concerned about the national security implications of the growing economic, military and political power of China, especially the fact that China owns so much American debt. Unless China's ascension is derailed by internal demographic, social and political factors, which is entirely possible, our inability to handle our financial problems will eventually cause us to begin dismantling our military. That is what happened to Spain, the Netherlands and Great Britain. Each nation created a global empire, each grew rich, each built an impressive military machine (especially on the oceans), and each slowly declined as their expenditures exceeded their income, leaving them prey for the newcomers. The U.S. took over the responsibility of global power from Great Britain in the early 20th Century. Will China take it from us in the 21st?

Evan Thomas is concerned about the deficit and has some advice for the President.

Robert J. Samuelson provides the depressing facts and figures about the scope of our debt problem, and the depressing lack of candor from the President and other political leaders in Washington concerning the issue.

Paul Krugman believes the 'nihilistic' Republicans are the problem.

Jay Cost says the President is the problem, not that America has somehow become 'ungovernable'.

Could the GOP go the way of the Whigs? Only if the Tea Party movement, or some other movement, can bring together disparate elements around a central idea, which is what happened in the 1850s with the issue of slavery. Without a unifying idea, there can be no new party strong enough to take on the Republicans and Democrats.

Mark Steyn has some thoughts on our unsustainable path, and the delusional people who are leading us down that path.

Of course, if you agree with Jacob Weisberg, then you think it is the ignorant, childish American public that is to blame.

Which leads me to this piece by Gerard Alexander, a Political Science professor at the University of Virginia, who wonders why Liberals are so condescending. He comes to the correct conclusion, which is that Liberals cannot conceive that any moral, thinking person can come to a different conclusion about how our lives should be ordered and governed. Liberals lack the ability to think outside their own worldview and consider anyone who does think outside that view as either ignorant or evil.

So, how does a pair of Liberal reporters--I'm just guessing that they are Liberals, but I think it is a good guess--from The Washington Post cover the Tea Party convention in Nashville? This is how. Compare that version to this one from an A.P. reporter that ran in The Washington Times. As I always say, read more than one version of every story--if available--to get a more clear picture of the event.

Patrick Kennedy puts his foot in his mouth by calling Senator Brown's campaign "a joke". Well, Congressman, if poll numbers from Rhode Island are to be believed, your campaign may, at the end of the evening on Election Day in November, be called "a failure".

While the U.S. jobless rate dips to 9.7%, which I think is just a temporary blip, investors are watching warily as European officials try to deal with their PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain).

Charles Krauthammer explains why Liberals have such disdain for the masses, even as they pretend to speak for them.

Mr. Brown goes to Washington.

Another unlikely Senator, Al Franken of Minnesota, is doing his colleagues a favor by speaking frankly, pardon the pun, to the President's men. Good for him.

The Democrats are in trouble for many reasons. A new UNH/WMUR poll of New Hampshire voters shows independents turning against the President in large numbers. That is a problem. But that is just a symptom. The larger problem, other than the bad economy, is the return of old perceptions about Democrats, that they are 'tax and spend' Liberals who don't want you to keep your own money, and they are soft on national security, always willing to 'blame America first'. Of course, I believe the reason these perceptions are returning is because, simply put, they are correct.

Investors are worried about 'sovereign debt', a phrase we will being hearing more and more during the coming weeks. Essentially, it means the deficits and debt run up by governments. Right now, a number of European nations appear to be on the brink. More will follow and, if we keep on going down the same path, we will face the same meltdown. I expect President Obama will not take this advice on dealing with the deficit.

The Japanese economy is being battered by more than just the problems at Toyota.

Mein Kampf, the ramblings of a racist Austrian lunatic who went on to become the most notorious mass murderer in history, is still making headlines 85 years after it first went into print.

James Cameron believes the new budget and direction for NASA is the right way to push forward with space exploration.

The government of India has decided to form its own panel on climate change, since they no longer trust the U.N. panel.

American commanders are being disciplined for mistakes that lead to soldiers getting killed.

Ralph Peters says President Obama is getting one right with his authorization of a stepped-up campaign of drone attacks against Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist leaders. David Ignatius says the Pakistanis are being more helpful with this program as they seek vengeance against the terrorists who have killed their colleagues.

Comparing the military build-up against Iran and the clamor over WMD to the pattern against Iraq in 2003.

Katie Couric may need to take a big pay cut, or lose her job. So, why should she be any different?

A new study shows that some people thought to be in a 'persistent vegetative state' actually have some higher brain function going on.

Imagine combining a wine with a high alcohol content and a caffeine laden energy drink. Apparently, that is creating a problem in Scotland.

Michael Barone says the generic ballot polls show a looming disaster for Democrats. They still have time to turn it around, but they will need some help on the economic front, and I don't see any on the horizon.

George Will says while the U.S. spends more and more on health care for the elderly, China is spending more and more on education for the young. Which society will take over the reins of global power if those trends continue?

Here is a novel idea. If you want to improve the safety net for the poor, lower taxes. Don't hold your breath waiting for social activists, public employees, or Democratic politicians to accept this premise.

It's almost as if President Obama WANTS Harry Reid to lose his Senate seat.

Twenty reasons why our debt time bomb is real, and will lead to the Great Depression II. If the author of this piece is correct, the social upheaval will be devastating.

Some Senate Democrats have joined Republicans in calling for military tribunals for terrorists, and for those tribunals to be held at Gitmo, which would mean keeping the place open for business for a long time to come. I guess these folks can read a poll.

Speaking of polls, the numbers in Pennsylvania show some very bad news for Arlen Specter.

Michael Goodwin believes the Israelis have a plan to attack and destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, and are getting ever closer to the day when they will use it.

Another Liberal misreads the Tea Party movement.

The top men at the Pentagon now want to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military. When I was in the Army ('86-'89) that would not have worked, but I suspect the attitudes are different for this generation of soldiers, so it might not cause any problems today.

Increasingly unable to pay the bills, and getting more certain that their home or condo will never again be worth as much as their mortgage, more people are walking away.

Robert J. Samuelson says policymakers have not learned the real lessons of the financial meltdown.

The editors at The National Review, not surprisingly, blast the President for the massive budget deficit.

These deficits, if allowed to continue, will have an enormous impact on the exercise of American power and the ability of President Obama and his successors to do anything that involves spending more Federal money.

Strangely, David Brooks believes the elderly will come to their senses and push for changes that will stop transferring wealth from the young to the old through the political process. What Brooks does not understand is that most people, elderly or otherwise, see only their own life and circumstances. They are not going to vote for anyone who promises to eliminate that government check, or cut the amount, or even slow the rate of increase. Nor will they vote for anyone who threatens to cut their access to medical care and the funds that pay for it. Individual seniors (politically conservative or libertarian) may understand the problem and are, in all likelihood, already voting for advocates of smaller government and lower spending, but they do not add up to the critical mass necessary to change the underlying political dynamic that prevents Congress from tackling entitlement spending.

Democrats are still trying to figure out what to do with the health reform bill, and are in danger of watching a repeat of 1994.

Daniel Pipes says President Obama can revive his political fortunes by bombing Iran.

Fouad Ajami believes the Obama spell is broken.

Richard Cohen, who is certainly not a Conservative, hits on a big reason why Obama is hurting politically, which is that he seems clueless on how to properly deal with our Islamist, jihadist enemies.

Walter Russell Mead explains why global warming as a political phenomenon is dead, even if the natural process is real and ongoing. Apparently, there is some evidence to indicate that water vapor in the atmosphere may have temporarily stopped the process (assuming, of course, that the warming is happening, and it is caused by emissions from human activity).

Parents and doctors continue to prod the NFL on the issue of brain damage caused by multiple blows to the head.

Ralph Peters does not understand why our foreign policy establishment continues to ignore Latin America.

You may have seen this story before, but if not, check out the tale of the Rhode Island nursing home cat who, with almost flawless accuracy, predicts the imminent deaths of patients.

Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland in Canada, heads to the U.S. for heart surgery. Needless to say, this raises some questions about health care in the Great White North. I grant you, he may need some very specialized surgery that is simply unavailable in Canada, but it does provide ammunition for those who claim that Canada's single-payer, government health insurance system is not as good as our, albeit expensive and chaotic, system.

A new study shows that abstinence-only sex education programs can work.

Opposition leaders in Iran are calling for protests on February 11, the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Meanwhile, President Ahmadinejad says his government will strike a harsh blow against "global arrogance" on that day.

The U.S. is taking a tougher line concerning Iran as this report indicates there are plans to send Patriot missile batteries to some Gulf states, and station more ships in the area.

It appears a tougher line is the order of the day all over, as the President has approved some additional arms for Taiwan, which makes the Butchers of Beijing very unhappy.

Many Haitians believe the U.S. should "take over" their country, since their own government is incapable of meeting their needs (of course, that is one of the big problems with Haiti, as so many of its people expect someone else to take care of them).

How much longer the U.S. can sustain itself as a global superpower is in question as we continue to spend far more than we take in, as in trillion dollar deficits.

Health care spending is one of the main reasons, according to Robert J. Samuelson, that we are getting into such a deep financial hole.

Of course, all of these political problems will pale in comparison when the Yellowstone super volcano blows up, which makes this story about a swarm of small earthquakes under the park so interesting and disturbing.