Free Republic

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama House and Senate are now in position to approve legislation that would expand the instances where a person can kill someone to protect a home, business or vehicle. On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-3 to approve a deadly force bill that passed the House last month. The bill now goes to the Senate. A nearly identical bill passed the Senate earlier in the session and has cleared a House committee. Rep. Albert Hall, D-Gurley, tried to pass that bill in the House on Wednesday, but he had to delay action on it...

MONTGOMERY — Alabamians fighting overseas have as much right to vote as someone in line at the local voting booth, and election laws need to change for that to happen, officials said. At a Tuesday meeting, officials said June primary and runoff votes might be disrupted either by extending the time between the primary and the runoff or some other means to comply with new federal edicts. Attorney General Troy King, who called the meeting, said Alabama has little choice but to comply with U.S. Justice Department demands that the state correct absentee voting regulations. Justice officials said Alabama law...

Today (Saturday) there are stories in numerous papers based on an AP-Ipsos poll just released. Typical of the lot is an article in the New York Post, whose lede and third paragraphs are here: Dissatisfied with the nation's direction, Americans are leaning toward wanting a change in which political party leads Congress - preferring that Democrats take control, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Democrats are favored over Republicans 49 percent to 36 percent. President Bush's job approval remains low - 40 percent in the AP-Ipsos poll, with only one-third saying the country is headed in the right direction. Bush also remains...

A little-known state senator from Slocomb is moving toward a race for the 2006 Republican nomination for governor, entering a field that includes Gov. Bob Riley and Roy Moore. Though she has said only that she is considering running, Harri Anne Smith, 43, has created a campaign committee and cashed the check on a major donation from Mignon C. Smith, 74-year-old Avondale Mills heiress and longtime Republican Party promoter. Wallace Malone, the longtime CEO of SouthTrust, has a long-standing relationship with Sen. Smith. John Grenier, another prominent Republican, has sent out letters advising donors that she would be calling. And...