Here is what is scheduled for the political calendar in 2010.

President Obama’s poll numbers will continue to drop. Sure, his teleprompted speeches carry the same vim and vigor as the march to Washington campaign addresses, but fewer people are buying pomp, wishing for leadership and results instead.

Unlike many people, I’m not a maker of New Year’s resolutions. Mainly because when I see the need for change or improvement, I resolve to fix it then, even if it’s July 23 or Oct. 1. I don’t wait until the first of the year.

Had it not been for a malfunctioning detonator, nearly 300 people traveling on a Christmas Day flight might have perished. Only the faulty device, along with some fast-acting passengers, prevented a disaster.

Obama’s healthcare bill, the poisoned Kool-Aid now approved by the Senate, will not confer any of its supposed benefits on Americans until 2013. But they will find themselves chafing at its restrictions and paying its taxes immediately after the law takes effect. Then, they will see no gain, but plenty of pain, for the next three years.

By Ronald E. Bachman

It turns out that “Joe the Plumber” gave us the real insight to the ultimate goals of the Obama presidency and the current Congress: redistribution of wealth.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are some questions that I’ve gotten over the years and via email for this column.

Americans sick over Congress’ “healthcare” outrage should be glad to sniff the generally unpolluted air of Christmas Eve in order, at last, to hear the angels sing.

Science is one of the great achievements of the human mind and the biggest reason why we live not only longer but more vigorously in our old age, in addition to all the ways in which it provides us with things that make life easier and more enjoyable.

Detroit’s (predominantly black) public schools are the worst in the nation and it takes some doing to be worse than Washington, D.C.

I had unpacked the manger display that a family in the church lends to us each year and was setting it up on a table in the church foyer.

Last weekend was an historic time around our house. No, I didn’t finally win an argument with The Wife. Not that we ever argue, mind you, but if we did, I still wouldn’t win. She was the high school debate team coach for three years, and they won the state championship. Why start an argument when you know you’re gonna lose?

Last week, my grouchy toy bear Griz began telling me how he flew with his jackdaw friend Bergdohle to witness the arrival of angels in Bethlehem...

We were met this weekend with the disturbing news that U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) had finally agreed to vote yes for the Democrats’ healthcare bill, providing the crucial 60th vote and assuring passage of the measure in the Senate.

I do not have the traditional Christian view of Christmas. Ever since my youngest days, I have looked upon Christmas as being a sort of rah-rah session for the faith, a substitute for having to pay attention on the other 364 days, replete with colored lights and pictures with Santa Claus.

Most people who haven’t finished (or even begun) their shopping are starting to worry about what gifts to give a friend, relative or spouse. Quick, what did you give or receive last year? How about two years ago? Most of us can’t remember, unless it was a big-ticket item.

‘Tis the season .... That is, to not refer to the Christmas Season as the “Christmas Season.”

Of course, that’s old news. But what’s new news, or recent news, is the bewildering refusal in some quarters to call a Christmas tree a “Christmas tree.” Unfortunately, this isn’t new to those of us from the Pittsburgh area. On that, I’d like to enlighten folks around the country, hopefully providing some exposure to something that merits national ridicule.

Last year’s best present was from neither friend nor loved one. It was gifted to me by life: One of those rare lessons that grows more beautiful in memory as time passes.

I love Christmas! It’s a season of cheer and goodwill, wrapped in red and green. There’s an extra skip in our step and a song in our heart as the calendar unfolds and Christmas approaches. Christmas is a holy hug from heaven.

There can be, if one looks hard enough, something positive even in the most difficult of circumstances. Take, for example, this current economic downturn.

Possibly the best reason for not understanding what’s in the Senate healthcare bill is that no senator knows for sure, not even Harry Reid, without whose subservience to the Obama White House we might have some idea what’s up; but let that go ...

Long ago was truly a simpler time. It was a time of innocence. In my childhood, kids could just be kids. Our senses weren’t bombarded by 24/7 news coverage of everything bad that happens in the world. We focused our attention on having fun. It’s a time that’s unfortunately forever passed.

One way to reduce the wear and tear of Christmas shopping at the mall is to give books as presents. Books can be bought on the Internet, and they can be matched to the person who receives them without having to know that person’s measurements.

I’ve grown somewhat weary writing about the devastating effects of minimum wage laws but The Wall Street Journal’s “Black Youths Miss Out on Good Job News,” (Dec. 4, 2009) warrants another try.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and it takes a few moments to figure out why. Abbie stays in now that it's cold, and I've almost learned to sleep through her periodic inspection of the dark house, her stumbling on the steps and her jingling tags.

Witnessing the breaking of our ethical bones, the splatter of our values and expectations, the utter hopelessness of the moment, it is difficult to tolerate the gang-like attitude of our Republican Party in Georgia.

Amazingly, it is now mid-December and Christmas is just a matter of days away. After the holidays the Georgia General Assembly will convene for the second year of the current two-year term of the legislature.

Early in my column-writing career I took note of comments by the singer Madonna. A skin magazine had published nude photos of her, taken when she was a teenager. An interviewer asked if she was ashamed about having posed for them. She threw the question back, saying something like, “What have I got to be ashamed of?”

Every trip to the beauty shop is, for me, an adventure in some way. And, without fail, it’s immensely entertaining.

A few weeks ago, a phenomenon occurred at our church that demanded notice. I was in Chicago at the time but word came to me that the water at the church was purple.

No one knows where the people in the woods actually came from or how long they had lived behind the vacant, dilapidated house on the corner of Flamingo Street and Beacher Hills. They had been there as long as any of us could remember. Some said they would always be among us.