UPDATE: As predicted both Arlington Cemetery Superintendent John Metzler and Deputy Superimdent Thurman Higginbotham are being reprimanded and fired. Secretary of the Army John McHugh will brief the media today at 2 p.m. EDT in the DoD Briefing Room, Pentagon 2E973. McHugh will discuss the findings and actions he will undertake resulting from the Army Inspector General review of management and operations at Arlington.

Despite the accolades showered over Umpire Jim Joyce and Pitcher Armando Galarraga for their respective displays of class, generally speaking society as a whole is not very forgiving of mistakes. And in today’s increasingly litigious and often vindictive climate, anyone’s admission of fault could lead to disastrous, expensive, and potentially career-ending consequences.

Advice to Jay Leno who is performing at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner Saturday night: The bad news is, if the dinner stays on schedule, you will get on just about 10 o’clock, which I understand is not a great time for you. On the other hand, the good news is you’ll be on C-Span, which these days, is running well ahead of CNN in the ratings.

With all the discussion of the hazard of runaway Toyotas, why does no one seem to mention the easy way to save lives. I find it astonishing that any driver of a modern car could be unaware that to disengage the engine from the drive train you simply PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL.

At the end of the day, that IS what the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debate comes down to, ending discrimination. You either believe gays should be discriminated against, or you don’t. I believe they should not be. Not in the U.S. military, or anywhere else.

The U.S. Marine Corps has spent billions developing a revolutionary heli-plane that would be capable of speeding to any corner of the world, and then shift into helicopter mode to deliver troops and heavy equipment to the most remote and rugged terrain. So why wasn’t the V-22 Osprey used to get first responders to Haiti in the crucial first 24–48 hours, when they could have saved countless additional lives?

Maj. Gen. Carla Hawley-Bowland, Commanding General of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center responds to complaints of slow repairs to heat, hot water at Mologne House, where wounded warriors and their families stay during recovery.

As if Walter Reed didn’t have image problems already. A plumber can’t fix a faulty valve and wounded warriors and their families at “Hotel Aftermath” are without hot water for days during the New Year’s cold snap. A review is underway.

So here was a man who should have been on the terrorist watch list, who bought his one-way ticket for cash, and had no luggage, but yet apparently did not get any extra attention upon departing Amsterdam. Hello??? And the response is to force of passengers squirm in their seats with no access to bathroom facilities while banning their iPods? Not to mention the prospect of digital strip searches.

The Army’s civilian boss is ordering an investigation into allegations of accountability lapses, poor record keeping and unspecified “other issues,” at Arlington National Cemetery.