BusinessWeek: U.S. spending on health-care slowed in 2008, and health-care spending grew faster than the national economy. I've seen both spins on this story. Spending grew but it grew more slowly than before. Whatever, I know my health-care spending was up in 2009.

Mickey Kaus: The Democrats made a rookie mistake in passing health care before they faced the 2010 midterm elections when they could have postponed it. The advantage would have been to postpone the pain, so to speak.

• Seniors are pissed off.
• Young people are getting stuck with the bill.
• Supporters who wanted more, like a public option, are not happy. Supporters who didn't want more may be okay, but they are few in number
  

I don't agree entirely. The Democrats rushed because they feared they might not have another chance, and they are betting that they will not be hurt too badly in the next election cycle. And they are willing to sacrifice some of their members to the cause. They health-care debate has already calmed down, so they may have made a good bet. Just too early to know.

That old 1937 feeling

Paul Krugman warns about getting that 1937 feeling. Roosevelt cut back on the New Deal because he thought the Depression was over, and the result was a recession in the midst of the Depression. So Krugman's saying we can't cut back on government spending now.

But nothing that the New Deal with all of its alphabetic agencies had done down to 1937 ended the Depression, or afterward either. When will people learn that World War II ended the Depression. Unemployment was still 15 percent in 1940? The 1930s have plenty of lessons to teach, but this is not one of them.

Thomas Sowell has a new book called Intellectuals and Society. He previews it here.

AccuWeather: This winter could be the worst in 25 years. Let's see, what was I saying about global warming?

For your reading pleasure: David Walker, Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.

Houston Chronicle: "Climategate reveals how predetermined political agendas shaped science rather than the other way around. It is high time to question the true agenda of the scientists now on the hot seat and to bring skeptics back into the public debate."

I always believed that global warming was a political movement, not a scientific movement.

According to reports, Mozilla's Firefox 3.5 is now the most popular Web browser, finally beating out Microsoft Internet Explorer 7. It's been a long struggle. I always felt Firefox was faster.

Rasmussen: "Belief that the bad guys are winning the War on Terror is now at its highest level in over two years, and nearly half of U.S. voters say America is not safer than it was before 9/11."

An undefeated Alabama team traveled to California more than 80 years ago and won a national championship. In 1926 Alabama defeated the Washington Huskies and won the Rose Bowl 20-19.