Free Republic

The commander of the US army in Europe has warned that Nato must remain united in the face of a "real threat" from Russia. "It's not an assumption. There is a Russian threat," Lt-Gen Frederick "Ben" Hodges said. "You've got the Russian ambassador threatening that Denmark will be a nuclear target if it participates in any missile defence programme. And when you look at the unsafe way Russian aircraft are flying without transponders in proximity to civilian aircraft, that's not professional conduct." Gen Hodges spoke to the Telegraph on the sidelines of a military debriefing after an exercise to move...

There is absolutely no chance that the Democrats can win back the congress in 2006. That’s what this essay is about. If you think otherwise, you’re fooling yourself. It is time to stop even talking about a Democrat take over as a real possibilty because the energy and time involved would be much better used thinking about how to take more seats from the minority party. Last Labor Day I posted an essay describing the insurmountable problems the Democrats will face next year and in 2008, as they set about trying to re-take power. This second essay will outline these...

Don't waste my vote: Radical center offers harsh advice for both partiesBy Bill BrozSpecial to The Times The pundits tell us that this year's presidential election promises to be the most polarized in decades. They assert that emotion for and against President Bush is running so high that voters' minds are mostly made up. We swing voters seem to be on the endangered species list here in 2004 and so, the conventional wisdom goes, are in a poor position to "swing" much of anything. Well, not so fast. Polarized the electorate may be, but the margins are razor-thin. If...