Free Republic

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco will formally announce this evening that she will NOT seek re-election, numerous political sources tell WAFB 9NEWS. Blanco was elected Governor of Louisiana in November 2003, becoming the first woman to ever hold the office. As recently as last week, Blanco said she would be a candidate. "My plan is to continue running," Blanco told reporters last Wednesday

Tuscaloosa - A tumultuous week for Mike Shula is over. ABC 33/40 sports has learned Shula will not be retained as the Alabama head football coach. We first reported the story just after midnight. The Alabama coaches out on the road recruiting have been summoned back to Tuscaloosa. After a 10-win season last year, this season was full of disappointments. There were second half letdowns against Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and Auburn, and a brutal loss at home to Mississippi State. His inability to win games against his Western Division rivals was especially disappointing. Looking at his overall record in the...

Sen Landrieu I have a Deal for You to Save Your Senate Seat This morning I was high as a kite. Nothing like a close LSU/Ole Miss(and LSU victory) to get your Sunday morning started off right. Then I read the sunday paper. Seems like the the Democrats have big plans that effect poor ole Louisiana in a big way.It seems that the Democrats are about to kick Louisiana when its down in a big way. The Tax Cuts that are being targeted include Topping the list for repeal are: _Tax breaks for refinery expansion and for geological studies to...

This is the week of the year I have to hear this crap from my Ole Myth Friends. HODDY TODDY ARE YOU READY??? Hell yes, damn right!!! hoddy toddy gosh almighty who in the hell are we...HEY!!! flim flam, bim bam OLE MISS BY DAMN!!! Good Grief, well Col. Reb is crying up in Ole Miss and he will hopefully be crying tonight. Which reminds me that we need to watch funniest damn YOUTUBE football related thing all year. Who can't want to watch it over and over again. Here is the story behind this internet sensation.I do think the...

The Bush Conservatives It seems I and many other conservatives need to just step back and re-assess the political landscape. As I mentioned in the post below on immigration, I do not see the Republican Party offering a very palatable form of conservatism any more. So let me describe what I think is an attractive conservative vision. It begins with supporting and respecting our President and all his accomplishments. And since I and many others still have unflinching support and admiration for the man, I decided to steal some from the commenters here and dub this conservative view “Bush Conservatives”....

JINDAL RAISING FUNDS FOR GOVERNOR'S BID! 11/15/06 XXXX 18:59:36 PM CT THE DEAD PELICAN HAS RECIEVED THE FOLLOWING FROM THE JINDAL CAMP "I am not interested in playing a political blame game. I want to run for Governor for one reason and one reason alone: To rebuild Louisiana into the best state possible. The best state for education, the best state for high quality health care, the best state for high-paying jobs, and a state government with the highest of ethical standards. Will you join me today in leading the way to change?" Dear Friends, Thank you for all of...

Candy Edwards, ex-wife of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, is now a mother. The 42-year-old delivered an eight-pound 2-ounce baby boy at a Baton Rouge hospital this morning. The father is Brian Low, a 31-year-old financial advisor from Baton Rouge. The two are not married. The baby's name is Harrison Arthur Picou Low. The baby's father tells WAFB 9NEWS, both he and Candy picked out the baby's first name. Arthur, he says, is Candy's father's name. Picou is her maiden name. And Low is the father's last name.

In light of Tuesday's elections, the Louisiana power base in Washington has taken a hit: a, now majority, Democratic Congress will likely hurt the state. Louisiana has five republicans in the House and one in the Senate. As WAFB's Jim Shannon reports, our state's congressional leaders are scrambling to pass some last minute measures before the leadership changes. Louisiana's clout on Capitol Hill hit the skids after the elections. The state's Republican heavy delegation will not be in line for any leadership positions after the new regime is sworn in. With that said, Republican Senator David Vitter and Republican Congressman...

The first national election since Hurricane Katrina resulted in the Democrats taking control of the U.S. House -- but that means trouble for Louisiana's influence on Capitol Hill. With five Republicans and two Democrats now representing the state in Congress, Louisiana will have a harder time shaping federal policy, as its delegation loses the chance to control two committees important to the post-storm recovery effort, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: With the Republicans thrust back into the minority after 12 years in control, Rep. Jim McCrery, R-Shreveport, saw his long campaign to become chairman of the powerful Ways & Means...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Air Force said Thursday it was setting up what could become a new four-star command to fight in cyberspace, where officials say the United States has already come under attack from China, among others. "The aim is to develop a major command that stands alongside Air Force Space Command and Air Combat Command as the provider of forces that the president, combatant commanders and the American people can rely on for preserving the freedom of access and commerce, in air, space and now cyberspace," Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told an industry conference. Barksdale Air Force...

Well this is wonderful isn't it. The local Newspaper reports Rep. Rodney Alexander said a former male House page from Monroe has received threats since reports surfaced Friday that former Congressman Mark Foley sent him inappropriate e-mails. "This teenager and his family have gone through hell," Alexander, R-Monroe, said Monday. "It's just not fair that they got caught up in this and became casualties. His mother is just broken up by it. Naturally, she's concerned about her child." Foley, R-Fla., resigned on Friday after reports were published about the e-mails connected to the Monroe teenager, who's now 17. Though the...

Sunday, October 01, 2006 Jews, Backward Baton Rouge, and Bigoted Louisiana Last night after the Louisiana Secretary of State's race results were in, I remembered a very annoying article that appeared on a liberal internet site. A few months ago on the Huffington Post the following appeared: ".....Now, I lived in Baton Rouge from age 1 to 14. A more assertively provincial, narrow-minded, anti-progressive, anti-New South place you could not hope to find. The people who choose to occupy its many lifeless, cookie-cutter subdivisions are defined by the fact that they hate New Orleans and everything that it represents: crime,...

Needless to say, I am thrilled with the Saints winning and the coverage ESPN gave us. Great day for New Orleans and Louisiana. It feels that the Dome has been baptized and the evil and suffering washed away. There was one negative point involving a certain moviemaker that was in the ESPN booth but I shall not drell on that. President George H. Bush was in attendance tonight at the game. He like many Louisiana people had his own Superdome moment that was not Katrina related. Bush of course received the Republican nomination for President in the Superdome way back...

LSU and AUBURN FANS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA- A CALL TO ARMS As we know ESPN gameday has made the horrid and silly choice to have its College Gameday show at USC this Saturday. This despite the fact that the most important game in the country will be the Auburn/LSU game. I have spoken on this topic in my post It is Official- ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY BLEAUXS . I was looking at this thread on Tiger Rant which talked about signs people should take to the College Gameday site on Saturday. It would be great if the loyal fans of the...

Filed under: Bride at every wedding, corpse at every funeral, Catholicism Thus says from my Li’l Bro Thom, no Bush-lover, he, who very much appreciated seeing this Non-Catholics and Catholics who have not yet gone through the process of formally receiving the sacrament of reconciliation and their first communion, but who wish to “participate” in that part of the Mass are invited to process to the minister dispensing the Holy Eucharist with their hands crossed upon their chest (not a humiliation, but a practical measure, so that there may be no confusion on the priest’s part that they are NOT...

Baghdad GI offers Challenge for all "Lets get out of Iraq Folks" I see a lot of arm chair Generals out there in Blogsphere that say Iraq is a disaster and we have to get out now. Now I know better because I visit the Milblogs over in Iraq each week. However for those that hold that view one guy on my blogroll has a challenge for you. Open Challenge! I've decided it's time to step up to the plate and publicly challenge the defeatists. Over a month ago, I published my explanation for why I believe that we're winning...

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- When the White House called with an invitation to dine with President Bush, Dan Marino took it. But the coach of his former team said no. Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban said Monday that his obligations at training camp took priority over a chance to meet the president. "It was really a tough decision," Saban said. "I feel like my first responsibility is our team. That in no way disrespects the importance of the opportunity I would have loved to have had to spend dinner with the President." The invitation was for dinner with Bush on...

Edited and reprinted from a long time ago, because the subject came up again - via email - and so I thought I’d post it. I recall reading a column by John Leo - way back in 1989 - wherein he recounted the invasion of St. Patrick’s Cathedral by members of ACT-UP. I can’t find the piece online but I do recall most of the details. ACT UP people participated in the Mass until Communion at which time they lay across the aisle to try to prevent worshippers from receiving. Some chained themselves to pews. Others received the Eucharist in...

NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) - US investigators have charged a doctor and two nurses with murder in the deaths of four patients in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, officials said. "We're talking about people that pretended maybe they were God and they made that decision," Louisiana attorney general Charles Foti said at a press conference in the state capitol of Baton Rouge. "This is not euthanasia. This is a homicide." The affidavit charged that the three gave lethal doses of morphine and another drug to patients at Memorial Medical Center who were deemed too sick...

Conventional wisdom insists that the immigration issue remains so polarizing, so explosively divisive – especially among Republicans – that Congress will make no progress toward meaningful reform before the November elections. New polling data, however, suggests the emergence of an overwhelming consensus behind a common sense approach to this painful, perplexing problem that makes Congressional action not only possible, but imperative. On two of the three key elements of reform, public opinion is nearly unanimous. Americans of every ethnicity and every political perspective agree that we need both stronger efforts to block illegal crossings at the border, and more vigorous...

FLOWOOD, Miss. -- Flowood police are trying to figure out why a man mutilated himself in front of a local church. Police said John Castellano cut off his penis in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary at the St. Paul Catholic Church. Castellano then drove himself to the hospital police officer was sent to retrieve the penis at the church and took it to the hospital where it was reattached by surgeons. Psychiatrist Stanley Russell hasn't treated Castellano but said patients who injured themselves usually do so out of guilt. “It’s usually a matter of guilt-related … trying...

MARION - Grayson Gile may have completed his broader mission in Afghanistan as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, but he returned stateside with a mission of a more personal nature. Gile's mission - one he chose to embrace - involves a very special rug handcrafted by an Afghan man anxious to show his gratitude to President George W. Bush for this country's efforts to bring democracy to Afghanistan

Spin the war Reconstruction is gonna cost a lot of money. Being under house arrest has given me a lot of time to come up with financing strategies for when this is all over. And I think our best bet lies in milking the publicity we are getting for all it's worth by spinning it into brand marketing/advertising. I'll throw these ideas at you, readers, and you let me know which you think works best. Idea #1: Brand = Nike Slogan = Just Do It Concept = Hezbolla embodies that impulsive drive to just do something without the bothersome restrictions...

The Libertarians Have Their National Convention(Oh the CLAMITTY !!!) Did you realize that the Libertarian Party just had a National Convention in Portland Oregon. No? Well I didn't either. If you are wondering , this convention went exactly like you think it would when you get a much of Libertarians in one room. It appears that there was a concerted effort to moderate the platform. I guess it is occuring to folks the message is not selling. Well from what I can gather most of the platform was removed , however no one could agree what to replace it with....

Biden Say What? A Biden Moment, as it were. In thanking a young Indian-American man for the support of his Indian-American group, Sen. Biden touts how Indians are the fastest growing immigrant group in Delaware and says, "You CANNOT go into a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts without an Indian accent."

KKK To Protest Iraq War At Gettysburg (kookdum Alert) I thought I would talk about one more Koodum issue. Sad but true but the KKK is protesting the Iraq War on that hallowed ground. Sweetness and Light has the Story. Also scroll down his page and see who was hanging out with Cindy Sheehan last summer down in Crawford. So this not a real surprise. Expect to see more of this by the way and not just the Klan When I was doing my research on the Council of Conservative Citizens and the kooky League of the South, One could...

Just wanted to you to know FOX National News just annouced a National Breaking Fox News Alert that there was a severe Thunderstorm warning in DC. With all the breaking graphics and sound effects. Ohh, The Nation is now informed and I feel safer. Oh and penny size hell. DOesnt the National Weather Service break in to these local Broadcast anyway -make loud buzzing noises and run alerts and scroll all this stuff on the bottom of the screen anyway.

I couldn't let the day pass without some comments on the Bush, Prime Minister Koizum, Elvis and their joint pilgramage to Graceland. Politics at times needs to be fun. I am glad it was a little light today. Also Kudo's for Bush going down to Memphis with the Prime Minister of Japan. His country has really gone to bat for us in this War on Terror. Perhaps the Jews and the Arabs should take note of this relationship. No one has to be enemies forever. As you can see from the above pic, Even Tony Snow was getting in on...

National Review Writer Uses Jenna Bush for Cheap Points and Alienates Latinos All at The Same Time- Priceless Thanks to one my readers for alerting me to this Well the most bizaree and stupid pieces are coming out again of what was once the Vatican of Conservative Thought. Yes the National review, and their hyeractive little blog on ritalin called The Corner. The National Review is where I was first introduced to great conservative articles. At times the articles were quite edgy. However there has been a subtle Change at NR. It has rapidily become nothing more than the vast...

When the terrorist attacks flashed across the Rev. Narcisse Batiste’s television set five years ago, he quickly shut it off. The images of innocent people suffering and dying were too much for the Bunkie Baptist pastor to bear. “I hope to God anybody who ever attempts to do this thing,” he remembers thinking at the time, “gets caught.” On Friday, the gentle-spoken 72-year-old Batiste again turned on the television only to discover his own son — who mysteriously left the family farm shortly after 9-11 — may have hatched a similar plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago...

SALT LAKE CITY Republican congressional hopeful John Jacob believes the devil is impeding his efforts to unseat five-term Representative Chris Cannon. He says there's another force that wants to keep him from going to Washington and the devil is what it is. Jacob says that since he decided to run for Congress, Satan has disrupted his business deals, preventing him from putting as much money into the race as he had hoped. Jacob said during a Wednesday immigration event that the devil was working against him, then reiterated his belief yesterday in a meeting with The Salt Lake Tribune editorial...

Gabriel Whitney says he did not plan to nearly suffocate President Bush in a bear hug. In fact, he did not plan to hug him at all. But when Mr. Whitney, one of 202 midshipmen to graduate from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., on Monday, stepped forward to receive his diploma, it just sort of happened. Call it irrational exuberance. But after six years of undergraduate school and 4,872 demerits, Mr. Whitney, 25, of Nashua, N.H., could hardly restrain himself. With more reason than most to be overjoyed, the 6-foot-7 midshipman stepped onto the stage...

Move over ERA. It’s time for the PRA — the Post-Roe Activation clause. Led by women with the courage to share their stories of profound grief and medical trauma that they suffered after they chose the “choice,” Louisiana has passed legislation to outlaw the human-rights violation known as abortion on demand. Governor Kathleen Blanco, a woman and a Democrat, signed the bill into law on Sunday. But the legislation has confounded abortion-industry lawyers who will not be able to follow their usual pattern of challenging the law in federal court the minute the ink on the governor’s signature is dry....

HH: Let's talk a little bit about the new defense minister, Jassin, Senator Inhofe. How's he strike you? Is he middle aged? Is he experienced in military matters? JI: Yeah, he's very experienced. He's a general. He is a career military guy, and he's tough as he can be. And he came out with all kinds of wild things. I probably shouldn't tell you this... HH: Oh, go ahead. JI: But...and this is so funny when it happened. I was talking to him through an interpretor, and I didn't know whether he could speak English. And I finally got to...

ABOUT 300 Ethiopian troops crossed into Somalia today, a top Islamist said, as Islamic fighters who wrested control of Mogadishu moved inland toward the seat of Somalia's interim government. Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf, a former warlord, is closely allied with Addis Ababa, which was instrumental in his election after peace talks in Kenya in 2004. "There are Ethiopian troops just past the border and coming in," Islamic Courts Union Chairman Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said, citing the incursion in Dollow in southwest Somalia this morning. The Ethiopian Government had no immediate comment. Dollow is near the intersection of the Kenyan,...

DOUGLAS - The leader of an Arizona militia group says he is drawing the line when it comes to a planned monthlong operation by a Californian to bring in hundreds of volunteers to Cochise County to secure the border. Casey Nethercott said the Minuteman Project led by Jim Gilchrist has been infiltrated by skinhead, neo-Nazi, white supremacists and if any of them trespass on Arizona Guard property he and his soldiers will react and take them into custody. However, Chris Simcox, one of the co-organizer of the Minuteman Project, said it sounds like Nethercott is missing the media spotlight and...

NEW YORK At his press conference this morning, President Bush, who often makes inside jokes when familiar reporters pose questions, asked Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Wallsten, who was wearing sunglasses outside, “Are you going to ask that question with shades on?” Bush noted that there was "no sun" but added, “I’m interested in the shade look, seriously.” Turns out Wallsten is legally blind and wears the sunglasses due to a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt’s Disease. But Wallsten later told the ThinkProgress web site that Bush’s comments did not offend him at all. “I never advertise it to him....

Corpus Christi In Rome: Benedict XVI invited all in Rome "to take part in great numbers" in the Corpus Christi procession this week. The liturgical ceremonies surrounding Thursday's feast express "the faith and love of the Christian community for its Lord present in the Eucharist," the Pope said today after reciting the Angelus in St. Peter's Square. The Bishop of Rome will celebrate Mass at 7 p.m. on the feast of Corpus Christi, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. At the end of Mass, "we will solemnly accompany the Most Holy Sacrament on the Via Merulana to St. Mary...

When news of al-Zarqawi's death broke earlier this morning, I called the top enlisted man in Iraq, who has his finger on the pulse like nobody else, both for the big picture and the tactical level. Click here to listen to my conversation with Command Sergeant Major Jeffrey Mellinger about conditions on the ground in Iraq.

:08 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Luis. Thanks for your introduction. Right before we came in, I said, Luis, how's your school doing? See, I got to first know Luis when I went into inner-city Philadelphia, and he said, I'm starting a school. I said, how's your school doing? He said, "Oh, pretty good." He said, "Last year we had 69 of the 70 graduates from our school go to college." (Applause.) Luis' school is doing better than pretty good, it's doing great. And we hold out hope to some kid, you know, that it's amazing what...

My L’il Bro Thom sent me this interesting piece in the WaPo about Sen. Sam Brownback with these observations: I kinda like this guy, he bears watching. He sounds kind of Deacon-y to me. Seems promising.” As you know, L’il Bro Thom is rather left of center, so I was a little surprised to see him liking Brownback, but then again, Thom is very faithful, so perhaps I should not be surprised. From the article: Everything has its season, and now is the time when presidential aspirants sprout like stalks of tall Kansas wheat. Brownback thinks 2008 might be his...

I apologize for light-to-non-existant posting. We’ve had out-of-state company in for the funeral, etc, and I was wondering why I seemed to have no energy for even answering my emails - then I got my CBC today and realized WHY I was so tired…but I should be back on my feet in a day or so…or so. Meanwhile, plodding through my emails, I note that Van Morrison is promising (or threatening) to play this summer at a local venue and I was wondering if anyone has ever seen him live and would recommend going? The last time I attended a...

JACKSON — “My anxiety is growing,” said Deacon Lenin Vargas, 33, last week. “It’s more than being nervous, I’m just excited about everything coming up.” Deacon Vargas was in Jackson last week finalizing plans for the invitations and receptions surrounding his upcoming ordination at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 3, in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. Bishop Joseph Latino will ordain Deacon Vargas. His fellow classmates and countrymen, Deacons Mario Solarzano and Benjamin Martinez, both will be ordained in their native dioceses in Mexico as priests for the Diocese of Jackson. Bishop Latino and Msgr. Michael Flannery, pastor of...

After listening to impassioned testimony from cockfighting opponents Thursday, Rep. Jack Smith, D-Franklin, took the microphone with a waggish glint in his eye. "The cafeteria is open," he announced, "and today's special is fried chicken." The House Agriculture Committee was about to polish off the animal lovers. Not that there was any doubt before Smith's sally. This has been going on for decades. Some metropolitan legislator files a bill to ban cockfighting, and it is assigned to a committee dominated by legislators from down the bayous. They hear testimony to the effect that cockfighting is a bloody barbarism that brings...

BAYOU LA BATRE, ALA. -- The afternoon before Hurricane Katrina arrived, Vo Loan, 11, who like other Asian-American children in Bayou La Batre serves as English translator for her parents, was out with her mother when the police rapped at their door Her father, Vietnam-born Nguyen Hung, answered. The two officers warned Nguyen in English that flooding from the major hurricane could be deadly and that his family should evacuate. He didn't understand, he explained to a reporter last week, speaking through his daughter at their small white house. "My van was broken, but I could have found another way...

Khalas: (Arabic): enough, no more, finished, that's it, the end. It is with very mixed feelings that I write this, my last post. The Religious Policeman has been commenting on Saudi Arabia, off and on, for two years. This is post number 400. Therefore, in the course of two years, I have written the equivalent of a very thick book. A number of commentors and emailers have also, over that time, very kindly suggested that I should write a book. I have been persuaded. That's what I am going to do. But unfortunately, I don't have the time to do...

BATON ROUGE -- Raymond "Smoke" Laval has resigned as head coach of the LSU baseball team, athletic director Skip Bertman announced on Sunday. Bertman will hold a press conference at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday to discuss the future of the LSU baseball program. “I have enjoyed serving as the coach of the Tigers for the last five years and will always remember the many players who came through this program during that time,” Laval said. “I feel like we accomplished a lot and achieved some great things in reaching the College World Series twice and competing in four NCAA Tournaments.”...

If the chips fall right for Democrats and their party seizes control of the House, President Bush's agenda on Capitol Hill would fall into the hands of some of his most dogged opponents. It's not just would-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, but a boatload of Democrats newly running committees who would determine what legislation gets debated and which programs and agencies get scrutiny. So who are the chairmen to be? _a Polish-American lawyer with a reputation for making witnesses quiver. _a die-hard liberal from New York's Harlem with 35 years in the House. _a free-spending progressive from Wausau, Wis....

Two of the Democratic candidates for 2nd District U.S. representative differed here Tuesday over how best to represent the mainly rural district in Congress. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, stressed the importance of experience and seniority. Challenger and state Rep. Chuck Espy of Clarksdale, said he'd seek to regain representation for the district on the House Agriculture Committee. The two made their comments at a “Meet the Candidates Forum” Tuesday night at Vicksburg Auditorium. About 75 people attended the event, sponsored by the Vicksburg alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Mississippi Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Vicksburg...

INDIANAPOLIS -- The field of 64 teams competing for the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship was announced today by the NCAA. The national top eight seeds are Clemson (47-14), Rice (50-10), Texas (40-19), Alabama (41-19), Cal St. Fullerton (43-13), Nebraska (42-15), Georgia (41-19) and Georgia Tech (45-16). The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences in the number of teams in the championship field with eight, followed by the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 with seven each. The Pacific-10 and Conference USA have four teams each. Twenty-nine of the 64 teams were not in the field last year, including Lehigh (AQ),...