Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that everyone has a happy, healthy, prosperous and progressive New Year!

We have 3 separate scenarios of how Benazir Bhutto died.

1) She was shot in the neck.
2) An explosion cause shrapnel to hit her in the neck.
3) She hit her head so hard as she was ducking that she broke her skull in 2 places.

Eyewitness accounts seem to contradict the "official government" account. A couple of nights ago, there seemed to be some stories about doing a formal autopsy. This would easily solve the problem but who is going to believe the results?

As a surgeon, I can tell you that this photo doesn't show squat. This could be a photo of an elbow or a knee cap. No seriously!! There is no way for me to tell if this is a photo of a skull. The photo is so blown up, I can't identify any landmarks. Maybe I'm just not smart enough. If they "had" to blow up the photo this much then the fractures were probably minor and therefore, did not contribute significantly to her death. Where's the CT scan? Where there no scanners available? What was the plan if something happened? Why didn't they take her to a major hospital? Was there a helicopter available?

On another note, if you have had a chance to see Meet the Press' - meet the candidates - then you know that Tim Russert will try to set up some candidates by using their own words. He made Ron Paul look somewhat unprepared last week. So, Tim tried to set up Barack Obama last week by using President Bill Clinton's words. Obama proved that he reads and that he is well prepared as he answers a series of questions by using Bill Clinton's own words (from 1992 when he was the candidate of change) and by quoting Martin Luther King. Obama does a great job at answering the questions and hitting a few of them out of the park. (video of this Meet the Press exchange)

Various items that are on my mind -

• Dumbest article that I have read this year must the one that was written by the Dallas Morning News Staff. No one would take credit for it. They named the Texan of the Year - the Illegal Immigrant. First of all, I don't like the term illegal immigrant. Secondly, I understand their contribution to society but I also understand that haven't changed the debate one iota. Thirdly, wouldn't the Texan of the Year be a single person?


• The National Football League playoffs are here and I'm psyched.


• Barack Obama appear to be widening his lead in Iowa. Look out, Taylor Marsh who has been bushing Obama's every move is about to throw a fit.


• When is someone (the federal government) going to do something sensible with the primaries? With states hopscotching each other and the national parties seemingly impotent to stop it, we will soon be voting for the 2012 election right after the 2009 inauguration!