One of the really, really cheering and cheer-able things that has happened

this past 20 yrs has been the independence of the three Baltic states,

Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia. All three were independent between the wars,

then got comprehensively raped by Nazis and Soviets in turn, ending up under

Soviet control. (Cold-War-era Estonian joke: “We are the biggest country

in the world. Our coastline’s on the Baltic, our capital is Moscow, and our

population’s in Siberia!”) The loneliest man in London in the mid-1980s was

the aging representative of free Lithuania, who had hung on somehow in some

quasi-official capacity, and busied himself writing folorn letters to

newspapers arguing his country’s case.

Well, now these countries are free again, and their politics is very lively.

Two of them have North American presidents: Latvia (a Canadian professor)

and Lithuania (former US federal bureaucrat). Lithuania, which consistently

polls as the most pro-American country in Europe, has a presidential

election coming up this weekend. There are 17 candidates, including:

—That former federal bureaucrat (the current favorite)

—The son of a senior KGB officer

—A stunt pilot

—Two brothers (running for different parties)

—A TV comedian who also has a Ph.D. in Economics

Lithuania is one of only two European countries to have direct elections for

President, the other being France. Good luck, happy election, and a very

merry Christmas to the people of free Lithuania!