A much anticipated report from the Pentagon says the Congress should repeal the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding gays in the military. Essentially, they took a survey of the troops. In the reporting about this story I expect you will see different interpretations of the results. People who are inclined to believe that gays should be allowed to serve openly will emphasize the fact that when you add up the percentages of service members who say they are OK with it (saying it would have a positive impact, mixed impact or no impact) you get to 70 percent. People who are opposed will point out that actual combat troops are opposed to it by higher percentages than support personnel. As for me, my understanding of the military (including my own three years of service in the U.S. Army) leads me to believe that it is not a democracy. The civilians at the top, starting with the President, make policy decisions based in part on the recommendations of the senior officers who command the forces. They, in turn, make judgements based on their experience, and the advice and recommendations that come up through the ranks via more junior officers and NCOs. When in doubt, the guiding principle should always remain the same...what helps us achieve our mission goals? If keeping open homosexuals out of the military improves our ability to fight and win, then they should be excluded. If keeping them out hurts our ability to fight and win, then let them in. Rather than just take a survey, officers, NCOs, and enlisted personnel should all be part of the fact-finding process. But, of course, that will not happen, in part because the issue will be decided by a judge, unless the Congress repeals the policy, which is why the Pentagon is moving so fast on this in the first place.

A new poll shows a majority of Americans prefer program cuts to tax increases as a way to balance budgets. Of course, when they start getting into the details we find that majorities or significant minorities are opposed to cutting the big entitlement programs.

The bipartisan deficit panel has delayed a vote on their final recommendation package as they lack the votes to pass it on to Congress. Of course, I am not surprised.

European leaders continue to deal with nervous bond investors. If those investors start to stampede toward the exits the Eurozone could collapse.