Free Republic

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 – The largest of the services, the Army is also the most heavily deployed, and with its one-year "boots-on-the-ground" deployment policy, it keeps its members away from home for the longest duration. Yet so far this year, more than 160,000 people have enlisted or re-enlisted in the Army - the equivalent to every man, woman and child in Chattanooga, Tenn., noted Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, Army personnel spokesman. April proved to be another strong month, with almost 5,700 soldiers joining the active Army and almost 5,900 joining the Army National Guard, he noted. The Army...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2005 – The British Royal Marine in charge of coalition operations in southeastern Iraq is optimistic about ongoing efforts there to train Iraqi army and police forces to eventually assume security duties. "We have been able to force ahead with the main effort, which is security sector reform," Maj. Gen. Jim Dutton, commander of Multinational Division Southeast, told Pentagon reporters today via a video link from Basra. Dutton's 13,000-plus-troop multinational command is made up of 7,900 British troops, 3,000 Italians, 640 Australians, 622 Romanians, 562 Japanese, 388 Danes, 97 Czechs, 33 Lithuanians, five Norwegians, and two Portuguese....

The American spirit is alive and well: A landmark study released yesterday from a New Jersey medical school finds that the majority of us are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future, even if catastrophe looms on the horizon. A sampling: 82 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 feel optimistic about their futures; 82 percent of those ages 25 to 44 do so as well; and 75 percent of those ages 45 to 64 and 64 percent of those 65 or older agree. Only 15 percent to 22 percent of the respondents say they have grown more pessimistic over the past...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The United Nation's nuclear watchdog chief said on Monday he was cautiously optimistic over a tentative deal between Iran and the European Union (news - web sites)'s three big powers regarding Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he still had to confirm details of the agreement, but hoped it included the suspension of uranium enrichment programs in Iran as a sign of good faith by Tehran. "I am told it is still a very tentative agreement, it has still not yet been confirmed," ElBaradei told a news conference in...

How is everyone feeling about the election? I am confident for two reasons. 1. Most electoral-projection maps have Bush winning. Taking averages is better than looking at just one poll, electoral map, etc... 2. Bush has solid leads in most of his red states whereas Kerry is in serious danger of loosing several of Gore's blue states (NM, IA, WI, MN, MI, PA, HI).

CLINTON PROTÉGÉ NO STUDENT OF HISTORYKerry Misery Index Turns Clinton Optimists Pessimistic_____________________________________DNC Chief Insists Economy Today As Bad As It Was During DepressionDNC Chairman Said Situation "Is Worse" Than Was Under Herbert Hoover. DEMOCRAT NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN TERRY MCAULIFFE: "I mean, George Bush, as you know, is the first President since Herbert Hoover to lose jobs during his tenure as President." KVI RADIO's KIRBY WILBUR: "Yeah, but, I mean, the Herbert Hoover thing is kind of a false thing, in a sense, because you're trying to bring up images of the Depression where there was 25 percent unemployment and it's...

<p>Iraq: The U.S. early handover of sovereignty to Iraqis strikes a severe blow to the terrorists. More important, it gives hope to Iraqis for a better life.</p> <p>It's ironic that, as the carnage has grown in recent weeks in Iraq, average Americans have become more glum about that nation's prospects, while Iraqis have grown more optimistic.</p>

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Expectations dimmed Saturday that California would begin the new fiscal year with an approved budget for the first time in four years. Participants in a 90-minute closed-door meeting between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders said their negotiations went well, but added that it is unrealistic to hope a budget could be approved before the start of the new fiscal year Thursday. There appear to be too many unresolved issues to clear away and still leave time for printing the massive $103 billion spending plan, sharing the document with lawmakers and then voting on it, officials...

Despite all of the car bombings and religious restlessness, the future of Iraq looks brighter than one would think. Of course, you wouldn't know it from what you read in the U.S. media or hear on BBC with their tales of terror, mayhem, and "quagmire." True, the old Ba'athists and Saddam loyalists, aided by the influx of international terrorists, are doing all in their power to force the coalition occupiers out so that they can restore their gangster reign of terror over the Iraqi people. US soldiers inspect a suicide bomb attack outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad earlier this...

<p>A recall election campaign could be easier to win than either of Gov. Gray Davis' last two runs for governor, two of his top political advisers believe.</p> <p>"There are a ton of reasons why he can win, although we're not taking this for granted," argued David Doak, a nationally known Democratic media expert. "I've worked on two races with Gray Davis, and this looks like the easiest."</p>

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 21, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Americans are generally happier with their lives and more optimistic about their future than are Europeans, according to this new Harris Poll. We noted a recent Eurobarometer survey conducted for the European Union in fifteen countries, and decided to ask Americans some of the same questions. The big picture is that Americans are much more satisfied with their lives than Europeans, much more likely to believe that their lives have improved and much more likely to expect their personal situations will improve. Fully 57% of Americans are very satisfied with their...