As America goes to celebrate its independence tomorrow, another nation is getting ready to do that itself in just a few days. On July 9, the nation of Sudan will split in two: The Republic of Sudan in the north, and the Republic of South Sudan in the…well, south. Earlier this year, over 98% of the electorate in the south portion of Sudan voted ‘yes’ on a referendum on whether the country ought to be split. The referendum came after the bloody 22-year long Second Sudanese Civil War.

The people of South Sudan knew that they’d never be able to reconcile with their government, and so elected to pave their own path. And they are lucky to be able to do so. Most independence attempts like this don’t receive quite as much international attention, and even when they do they’re not always successful, as in Kosovo.| MORE ›

On Monday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would require a presidential candidate to provide, among other things, a long-form birth certificate. If that is impossible to provide, the bill provided a list of alternatives, among them, an early baptism certificate or circumcision documentation.| MORE ›

When Senator Arlen Specter defected to the Democratic Party last week, he explained he did so because internal polling showed he would lose the GOP’s primary election to Congressman Pat Toomey, who challenged the fiscally liberal 79-year old for his seat.

The most recent polls among Republican voters had Specter trailing by 21%. Indeed, a significant gap.| MORE ›

Senator Jim DeMint urged conservatives in Iowa yesterday to “get it right this time” with a Republican presidential nominee. Before choosing a favorite, however, voters should first “identify the right principles,” or so he said.| MORE ›

Hazel Blears wrote quite an interesting column for the liberal Guardian newspaper about how she believes Britain’s Labor Party can win next year’s elections.| MORE ›