Free Republic

If Barack Obama had campaigned on what he has actually done in his first 300 days in office, would he have been elected? That's the question so many are asking today. If Obama had told us he would appoint 34 czars, reporting only to himself and not vetted or confirmed in the constitutional way, building a powerful unitary executive branch of government, would he have been elected? What if he had told us that his green jobs czar had been a Communist, that the science czar wrote in a college textbook that compulsory "green abortions" are an acceptable way to...

WASHINGTON — Washington Sen. Patty Murray questioned a top general Wednesday on whether National Guard units are adequately prepared to fight the war in Iraq. Murray, a Democrat and senior member of the Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee, visited a National Guard base near Tacoma on Monday. She said the "stress and anger" among Guard and Army Reserve members "was at an all-time high." Guard members are concerned about a lack of equipment and frustrated at the short notice they receive before being called to active duty, Murray said. In many cases they are simply not prepared — mentally or physically...

WASHINGTON - In a new sign of mounting strain from the war in Iraq, the Army has extended the combat tours of about 4,000 soldiers who would otherwise be returning home, defense officials said Monday. The 1st Brigade of 1st Armored Division, which is operating in the vicinity of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, will be kept in place for several weeks beyond its scheduled departure, the officials said. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been formally announced by the Pentagon. The brigade's home base is in Germany. The soldiers' families were...