Nearly two feet of snow fell in Washington, DC, last weekend, setting a record for a December snowfall and guaranteeing a white Christmas. Senate Democrats couldn't wait, however, and they braved the blizzard, exchanged Christmas presents early, and got the 60 votes they needed to invoke cloture and ensure final passage of their unpopular healthcare-reform bill in January. Democrats should enjoy their new toy when it arrives. All they are likely to find under their Christmas tree next year is a notice that their House and Senate have been repossessed.

Read the full column at http://ewross.com/Christmas_Presents_for_Democrats.htm

Like the recent case of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, are the pending courts-martial of three US Navy SEALs for allegedly punching captured terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed, the purported planner of the 2004 Fallujah killings of four Blackwater security guards, another case of political correctness displacing common sense?

In Hasan’s case, fear of accusing a Muslim officer of highly questionable behavior allowed him to escape the scrutiny common sense dictates he should have gotten before it was too late. Now, many suspect that fear of detainee-abuse allegations may have led to charges against the SEALs that are not warranted.

By now, unless the only place you get your news is from ABC, CBS, or NBC, you know what “Climategate” is all about. The hacking and dissemination of more than a thousand emails from the influential Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, revealed wholesale deception and data manipulation to support global-warming trends that don’t exist. Curious minds want to know, what impact will it have?

Considerable impact; more I suspect, than most people believe, not only on the climate-change establishment, but on the scientific community in general, the alternative energy industry, the so called mainstream media (MSM), and Democrats. The emails themselves were explosive enough; however, their full effect will take time to play out.

Read the full column at http://ewross.com/Climategate.htm

On December 1, President Obama will announce his decision on troop levels and the way forward in Afghanistan in a speech to the nation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Media reports indicate that he will approve something less than, but close to, the optimal 40,000 troops that General Stanley McChrystal requested more than three months ago. He also likely will announce “benchmarks” for measuring success and an “exit strategy” for getting US forces out of Afghanistan. But if this is all he does, even if he gives McChrystal most of what he asked for, our prospects for winning the war in Afghanistan aren’t good.

Sarah Palin’s memoir, Going Rogue, An American Life, is flying off bookstore shelves, and thousands are lining up wherever Palin appears on her book-signing tour. Her interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters, and conservative radio and cable TV talk-show hosts have drawn huge audiences. Will Palin’s book and public appearances improve her political prospects? What do they suggest about her intentions?

Attorney General Eric Holder’s controversial decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo detainees accused of the 9/11 terror attacks in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York will take America down a path it will likely regret. America, not just Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cohorts, is going on trial, allowing misperceptions of world opinion and US national interest to put America at risk.

Read my column at http://ewross.com/Khalid_Sheikh_Mohammed_Goes_to_Court.htm

What motivated US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan to open fire on his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center on November 5, 2009? Is he a “terrorist”--mounting evidence suggests Hasan’s actions were premeditated and ideologically motivated--or is he just an Army medical officer who snapped under pressure? That’s the central issue investigators and military courts must ultimately determine.

Read my column at http://ewross.com/Nidal_Malik_Hasan.htm

Do you ever get the feeling, watching the news out of Washington, DC, that you’ve been transported to the Twilight Zone?

In a recent Washington Post poll, only 21 percent of Americans identified themselves as Republicans. Overwhelming Democrat majorities in Congress marginalize Republicans in government. Still, Democrats continue to run against the last Republican administration as they attempt to rush transformational legislation through Congress, worrying about Republican gains in the 2010 election.

At the same time, President Barack Obama has declared all-out war on Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the health insurance industry.

Democrats in and out of government attack and ridicule the "tea-party" movement as the left-wing blogosphere and entertainment communities attack conservative Sarah Palin as if she already were running against Barack Obama in the 2012 election.

Conservatives, however, spend almost as much time criticizing Republicans as they do Democrats. In the race for the vacant seat in the 23rd District of New York, national Republican politicians are supporting the Conservative Party candidate over the Republican.

What's going on here, and who is really running against whom?

Read my column at http://ewross.com/Democrats_vs_Republicans_vs_Conservatives.htm

We hear conflicting reports about troop morale in the US armed forces. High-profile people who visit our troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places report that morale is high. After eight years of war since 9/11, however, years more of war ahead, and the US strategy to win it uncertain, others report that troop morale is low. Whatever the situation, now, more than ever, it’s important that American leaders and the American people not take troop morale for granted and exercise great care not to squander this most precious commodity essential to success.

What can I say about the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama? Statements of shock and surprise have poured in from around the world. Even Obama’s fellow travelers were surprised. The president himself could hardly believe it. Perhaps we might pause, however, before we scratch our heads and move on, and consider the “teachable moment” here. Why are so many people saying this is all about George W. Bush; and what does this tell us about America’s European critics and how we should consider what they say and do?

Read my column at http://ewross.com/Its_a_Wonderful_Country.htm