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Despite the shine of the national media spotlight, fewer north country residents voted in the 23rd Congressional District race this year than voted in either of the district's two previous contested campaigns.About 48,074, or 34 percent of the 141,019 registered voters in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties cast their ballots for the congressional seat on Election Day. The turnout is lower than the 63 percent of voters that cast ballots in 2008 and 43 percent in 2006. Turnout was higher last year, in part, because of the presidential election. In 2006, there was a gubernatorial race.“Those percentages are certainly...

The National Republican Congressional Committee just released a new Web ad, "Which is it, Hoffman?" that spotlights Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman's alleged dithering about his positions on certain issues.Here's the transcript:"Doug Hoffman is running for Congress. He is opposed to civil unions. Actually...Oh. Well, he is against big government bailouts. Not before! Geez! Well Doug Hoffman lives in the 23rd...uh...this guy doesn't even live here? Why are we...? Doug Hoffman is running...from himself."Mr. Hoffman, according to a recent Siena poll, is unknown by almost three-quarters of voters in the 23rd Congressional District. The NRCC is likely using this ad to...

A U.S. Army spokesman says the man authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood has been taken off a ventilator but still remains in intensive care at a military hospital. Spokesman Col. John Rossi told reporters on Saturday at Fort Hood that he is not sure if Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is able to communicate.

Mark Ndesandjo in his first in-depth interview on allegations of abuse by their father. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just might be near the end, but there will be a transcript.

Italians reacted with outrage on Tuesday after a European court ruled that displaying crucifixes in the country's schools violated the principle of secular education. Italy's education minister condemned the judgment by the European Court of Human Rights, saying that the Christian cross was a symbol of the country's Roman Catholic religion and cultural identity. Mariastella Gelmini, a member of the conservative government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, argued that "no one, and certainly not an ideological European court, will succeed in erasing our identity," Other ministers said they were appalled by the ruling, calling it "absurd," "shameful" and "offensive." Generations...

Joe Sullivan was sent away for life for raping an elderly woman and judged incorrigible though he was only 13 at the time of the attack. Terrance Graham, implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17, was given a life sentence by a judge who told the teenager he threw his life away. They didn't kill anyone, but they effectively were sentenced to die in prison. Life sentences with no chance of parole are rare and harsh for juveniles tried as adults and convicted of crimes less serious than killing. Just over 100 prison inmates in the United...

Tuesday 4pm It may have been the first, small clue that an apparently ordinary week at the world's largest army base was about to become something horrifically different, when neighbours saw Major Nidal Hasan escorting a visitor into his flat. Other residents at the Casa del Norte apartment complex were surprised to see the mild-mannered army officer accompanied by another man in Islamic dress. Alice Thompson, 53, who manages the two storey block of simple dwellings with her husband John, told The Sunday Telegraph: "It was very unusual because he had never had anyone round before. His visitor had long...

An elderly man enters a crowded museum carrying a rifle and begins shooting. A young man in Arkansas pulls the trigger outside a military recruiting office. Another man opens fire in a Kansas church. Three chilling, unconnected slayings in less than two weeks. One gunman was a white supremacist, one a militant Muslim, one a fervent foe of abortion. Each suspect had a history that suggested trouble. Each apparently was driven to act by beliefs considered by some as extreme. Each shooter fits the description of a "lone wolf" terrorist, a killer whose attack, authorities say, is harder to head...

To hear President Obama tell it, he's been busy creating jobs since taking office. The $787 billion stimulus package, he said last winter, would "save or create 3.5 million jobs." The White House is touting reports from recipients of stimulus funds asserting that they have created or saved 640,000 jobs so far. Yet the national unemployment rate has now hit 10.2 percent, helping explain why Republicans won the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey last week, just a year after the party's 2008 drubbing. And Obama declared Friday that more action is needed. "History tells us that job growth...

Major Nidal Malik Hasan worshipped at a mosque led by a radical imam said to be a "spiritual adviser" to three of the hijackers who attacked America on Sept 11, 2001. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas Photo: GETTY The radical Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, accused of supporting attacks on British troops Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas, attended the controversial Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in 2001 at the same time as two of the September 11 terrorists, The...

Gov. Still Plans To Run Despite President's Request He Not Brings President Clinton's Former Deputy Chief Of Staff On BoardEmbattled Gov. David Paterson is pulling out all the stops to save his job. He plans to mount a major ad blitz to tell New Yorkers about all the good things he's done for the Empire State. The election may be over, but the political ads aren't. The governor is now taking to the air waves to convince New Yorkers he deserves to stay in office. "What it's geared to do is talk about his very good record over the last...

          WHY DO WE STILL HAVE SCARS? One of the greatest truths we can know in life is that God is always able and willing to forgive us for our shortcomings. All we have to do is ask for His forgiveness. And if God is willing, then we too, should forgive ourselves. Yet one of the greatest ironies concerning forgiveness is that the painful memories the scars of our past remain with us. We may wonder, "What's the sense in receiving forgiveness if the scars from the painful memory remain?" Maybe the question should be,...

Ken Hamidi, after a bloody SEIU brawl As the nation waits to see when or if SEIU members involved in a physical confrontation with Kenneth Gladney outside a health care town hall meeting in August will ever be prosecuted, another allegation of union violence has cropped up. A California state worker went to the hospital bloodied and bruised Thursday night as a result of a beating administered in an SEIU union hall. Kourosh Kenneth "Ken" Hamidi says four or five members of the Service Employees International Union local 1000 assaulted him as he entered their Sacramento meeting with a...

A brother of the man authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood says the Army psychiatrist is peaceful person — and hopes he will be treated fairly by the legal system. Eyad (ee-YAHD') Hasan said in an e-mail statement released Saturday that he hopes authorities will give his family information on Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's condition. He also says he hopes his brother is allowed the right to an attorney when he gains consciousness.

As a candidate and president, Barack Obama has had one core message for the middle class: I won't raise your taxes. The White House has pledged that only the wealthy — families earning more than $250,000 — would face a boost in income, capital gains, or other taxes. For the 97 percent of Americans below that level, no increases are in store. But as Congress inches closer to forging a massive package of health-care reforms, it's increasingly clear how difficult it will be to keep that pledge. To pay for the near trillion-dollar health-care system overhaul — not to mention...

Live Threads of the Healthcare Debate that could be voted on this weekend. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380972/posts?q=1&;page=251 http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN_wm.aspx Different reports are coming in about what some of the Arkansas Representatives will do. John Boozeman is a solid NO vote. Rep Berry has "concerns regarding how the plan is paid for", but Obamacare is often changed to give the apperance of not costing as much. Mike Ross has expressed concern over public option, but that is also not a definite NO. According to David Meeks, Rep Snyder's office had said that he wouldn't for a bill that "funds abortion", however Obamacare supporters had claimed...

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) The State of Florida is looking for help finding something you'd think would be hard to lose; approximately 18,000 buildings, owned by the taxpayers of Florida, that state officials can't quite put their fingers on. What's more, state officials say they don't have the people to hunt them down, so they want to use tax money to hire an outside company to find each building Florida has misplaced. The plan was made public by Linda South, Secretary of the Florida Department of Management Services. Earlier this year, legislators handed her the job of locating surplus state-owned properties and...

Governor-elect Chris Christie made a surpise appearance at the New Jersey Family Policy annual dinner. Gov Christie thanked the audience for all of the work done on behalf of New Jersey families. Christie told the New Jersey Family Policy group about his own family and his kids and spoke about their shared values. Governor-elect Chris Christie said he prepared his family for the possibility of a loss that was not to be. He huddled with his family on election night before going on stage to accept the election results. His family all shared their love and celebration. Governor-elect Christie graciously...

Leaders of the vibrant Muslim community here expressed outrage on Friday at the shooting rampage being laid to one of their members, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who had become a regular attendee of prayers at the local mosque. But some of the men who had befriended Major Hasan at the mosque said the military should examine the policies that might have caused him to snap. “Ultimately it was Brother Nidal’s doing, but the command should be held accountable,” Mr. Benjamin said. “G.I.’s are like any equipment in the Army. When it breaks, those who were in charge of keeping it...

ELIGIBILITY - To be eligible for a grant or contract under paragraph (1) an entity shall be an accredited school of medicine or osteopathic medicine. PREFERENCE - In awarding grants or contracts under this section, the Secretary shall give preference to entities that have a demonstrated record of at least one of the following: (1)Training a high or significantly improved percentage of health professionals who provide primary care. (2)Training individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds(including racial and ethnic minorities unrepresented among primary care professionals) (3) A high rate of placing graduates in practice settings having the principal focus of serving...

WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Less than two weeks before the release of her memoir "Going Rogue," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was on message during a Friday night speech to anti-abortion activists at State Fair Park. "Let’s simplify: We’re pro children," Palin told thousands of people who attended a $30-a-ticket fundraiser for the Wisconsin Right to Life Education Fund. In a personal and passionate speech, Palin lauded the state’s anti-abortion movement for legislative advances achieved over time. "We were told to sit down and shut up," Palin said. "Wisconsin, you went rogue." Palin spoke movingly of her youngest son, Trig,...

President Barack Obama said Friday that flags at the White House and other federal buildings will be flown at half staff until Veterans Day in recognition of the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

Barack Obama has tried to calm racial tensions in the US after the Muslim community voiced fears it would face a backlash from the Fort Hood killings. The president's intervention follows two days after Muslim army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on colleagues at the military base in Texas, killing 13 and wounding 30. Hundreds attended a candlelit vigil last night at Ford Hood, the country's largest army camp, while the investigation into the incident is continuing. Major Hasan, 39, whose spree was stopped when he was shot four times by Police Sergeant Kimberley Munley, remains in a...

Some moderate Democrats still are “really anguished” over voting for the energy bill, Rep. Jason Altmire told Fox News, and they “would be reluctant now to vote for health care and take a second vote that might be unpopular in their district.”With Republicans raising the volume of their protests and House Democratic leaders uncertain if they have enough rank-and-file support, some moderate Democrats sense that passing a health care reform bill will be as difficult as the House’s energy bill, which was approved by a slim margin June. That has caused quite a bit of hand-wringing among the Democrats. Some...

Blue Coat Systems (BCSI) this morning said it will cut about 10% of its staff under a new restructuring plan. The company currently has a little under 1,500 employees. The company also said it will acquire S7 Software Solutions, a software R&D firm based in Bangalore, India, for about $5.25 million in cash. Blue Coat said it will shift some engineering positions from Sunnyvale (which is where the company is based) and Austin, Texas to Bangalore and other locations. It is closing offices in Riga, Latvia; South Plainfield, New Jersey; and Zoetermeer, the Netherland.

LTTE arms moved overland from China to NK for almost a decade by Shamindra Ferdinando Chinese arms consignments for the LTTE had been moved overland to North Korea across the China-North Korea border before being transferred to the terrorist group’s ‘floating’ warehouses on the high seas close to Indonesia, for about a decade, The Island learns. The LTTE had obtained its first Chinese arms consignment way back in 1994/1995 during the then People’s Alliance (PA) administration. On-going inquiries, well informed sources said, revealed that the China-North Korea overland transport of arms for the LTTE had operated for almost a decade...

Ever since Obama became a serious candidate for the Democrat ticket in “08”, we have been deluged with various groups of people in America treating Obama like a celebrity. This is nothing new for Americans, after all we have seen different segments of our society display signs of idol worship for many celebrities from rock stars like Elvis Presley to sports heroes like Michael Jordan. However, we have never experienced the type of sycophantic worship for a politician like we see from the left for Obama. Oh sure the nation came together and cried when JFK was assassinated, but...

Before Keith Olbermann accused Rep. Michelle Bachmann of fomenting a rebellion, MSNBC's David Shuster had already hiked the old hyperbole trail. Sitting in for Ed Schultz on The Ed Show, Shuster insisted the rally opposing President Obama's socialized medicine bill "had all the trappings of a proverbial orgy of bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism, and hate!" In fact, one sign alleged contained "a reference to right-wing claims that the president is secretly a Muslim terrorist!" (Emphasis Shuster's.) As usual, he could not produce these references to racism, anti-Semitism, or Obama-secretly-got-Islamic-terrorist-training-ism. Even the Huffington Post with its "12 Most Offensive Signs from...

The Hole at the Heart of Our Strategy We’re scrupulously non-judgmental about the ideology that drives terrorism. By Mark Steyn Thirteen dead and 31 wounded would be a bad day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and a great victory for the Taliban. When it happens in Texas, in the heart of the biggest military base in the nation, at a processing center for soldiers either returning from or deploying to combat overseas, it is not merely a “tragedy” (as too many people called it) but a glimpse of a potentially fatal flaw at the heart of what we have...

Investigators believe that the gunmen had "political and religious motives." Meanwhile, Obama is set to give a major speech in Cairo in which, among other things, he's going to point out Muslim many contributions to America. "This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that's why he did what he did," Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said in a phone interview. "He has converted to Muslim here in the past few years," Hastings said. "To be honest we're not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in...

The plan to attack the Fort Dix Army Base in New Jersey this year, they wanted to "kill as many soldiers as possible!" Five Muslim immigrants accused of scheming to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix were convicted of conspiracy Monday in a case that tested the FBI's post-Sept. 11 strategy of infiltrating and breaking up terrorist plots in their earliest stages. The men could get life in prison when they are sentenced in April. The five, who lived in and around Philadelphia for years, were found guilty of conspiring to kill U.S. military personnel. But they were acquitted of...

When Nick Griffin told BBC One’s Question Time that he found “the sight of two men kissing in public a bit creepy”, he may have been thinking about a traumatic adolescent experience. In an interview with The Times, Mr Griffin claimed that a former deputy leader of the National Front (NF) offered sex to him when he was still a teenager.

As many people know by now, or are waking up to this morning, yesterday 39-year-old Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, went on a shooting spree at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas killing 13 and injuring at least 30. While Hasan is in critical condition and unconscious, some are speculating that the motive for the shooting was concern over his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. Regardless of motive, there are several lessons that we can take away from this incident. First of all, Hasan, by himself, was able to wreak havoc at a secure military installation while...

(AP Photo/ Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences ) In the wake of yesterday's carnage at Fort Hood, the media is scrambling to find answers about the reported shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and his motives. While they're all asking basically the same questions, here are some they're not asking. From Lt. Gen. Robert Cone: Cone said in a press conference Thursday night that "there was no indication" that the weapons used in the shootings were military weapons. Soldiers at the post do not carry weapons unless they are doing training exercises or something of that nature, he said....

AMERICA'S unemployment rate pushed through the 10 per cent mark in October for the first time in 26 years. The Labour Department said that 190,000 jobs had been lost in October, worse than the 175,000 expected by economists, pushing the unemployment rate to 10.2 per cent — the highest figure since April 1983. The data is being watched closely as economists ponder whether the United States can sustain a recovery without government stimuli after emerging from recession in the third quarter. Last week, figures revealed that gross domestic product (GDP) had risen by 3.5 per cent between July and September....

Out of the carnage committed by a lone gunman armed with two handguns at Fort Hood on Thursday, there was one refreshing moment of total candor, if not downright common sense. An observation to a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram by Staff Sgt. Jacob Dorisca of Dallas suggests why it is that many people consider the Army to be run by sergeants, and rightly so. According to the newspaper, “Dorisca wondered whether the slayings would lead Fort Hood’s commanding general to rethink the policy of requiring soldiers to remain unarmed while on post.” What occurred at Fort Hood is...

The Washington Post this afternoon reported "President Obama delivers remarks on Ft. Hood shooting at end of tribal leaders conference." The transcript begins: SPEAKER: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA [*] OBAMA: Please, everybody, have a seat. Let me first of all just thank Ken and the entire Department of the Interior staff for organizing just an extraordinary conference. I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow (ph) was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see...

Liberals and conservatives each have their own intellectual food chains. They have their own think tanks to provide arguments, politicians and pundits to amplify them, and news media outlets to deliver streams of prejudice-affirming stories. David Brooks Go to Columnist Page » The Conversation David Brooks and Gail Collins talk between columns. All Conversations » Readers' Comments Readers shared their thoughts on this article. Read All Comments (316) » Independents, who are the largest group in the electorate, don’t have any of this. They don’t have institutional affiliations. They don’t look to certain activist lobbies for guidance. There aren’t many...

(The following is an extrapolation from the article.) A spokesman for Congressman Owens stated the following: Mr. Owens has recanted his solid positions on the following; he now supports the public option in the Health Reform bill; he will support cutting Medicare benefits; he supports taxing health care benefits; and will support increased taxes on the middle class.

China air force much improved though still lagging Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer – Thu Nov 5, 12:21 pm ET BEIJING – China's rapidly modernizing air force is planning a display of its new military might for its 60th anniversary, showcasing a wide-ranging technical upgrade that has boosted its capabilities, though it still lags far behind its main rival, the United States. The People's Liberation Army Air Force is marking the occasion this Sunday with an aerial show and skydiving exhibition, using some of the state-of-the-art combat aircraft that have replaced hundreds of antiquated MIG fighters. While only about 20...

A University of Illinois faculty member is leading an effort to perform sex changes on papayas. That's right, the large, yellowish, sweet fruit. Papayas, it turns out, have not just one but three sexes: male, female and hermaphrodite. The third produce the yummy fruit while the male and females are mostly useless to farmers. U. of I. plant biology professor Ray Ming secured a $3.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to change the papayas' sex to grow only plants that produce hermaphrodite offspring. Currently, farmers don't know which plants are hermaphrodite until the plants have grown and flowered,...

The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood by pumping four bullets into the crazed gunman even though she was wounded is known for her toughness, friends say. Before relocating to Texas, civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley spent about five years as a cop in North Carolina where she forged a reputation as a no-nonsense officer. "I'd like to say I'm surprised, but I'm really not," said close friend Drew Peterson, 27. "She was born and bred to be a police officer. If you were ever to be in a fight, she'd be the first person to...

Mayor Gavin Newsom was spotted this morning at City Hall, but there's still no word on his mysterious disappearance. He arrived at his office at about 9:30 a.m., walking past members of the media who were hoping he'd comment on his absence. No such luck. "The mayor is back, and he's busy conducting meetings in his office in City Hall right now," said his spokesman, Nathan Ballard. Newsom is meeting with staff and plans to meet with both sides of the hotel workers' dispute sometime today, Ballard said. He is not planning to make any public appearances. "He's been kept...

A police officer and mother of one was hailed a heroine yesterday after it emerged that she almost single handedly ended the massacre at America’s biggest military base. Kimberly Munley does not look as if she would be much of a match for a heavily armed US soldier on a murderous rampage. But the slightly built 34-year-old civilian officer was first on the scene after Major Nidal Malik Hasan began firing on comrades at Ford Hood in Texas as they prepared to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq. The 39-year-old psychologist killed 13 and left 31 others with serious injuries. On...

Virginia --(AmmoLand.com)-We all have various milestones in our lives. I have had a number of them since May 2001 when I came to this country on the employment visa. November 18, 2009 will be another milestone in my life – I am required to take a two hour civics test and English language knowledge test as part of my naturalization process. I got a notice from USCIS in August 2009 that I am now eligible to apply for a U.S. citizenship. I jumped for joy, to say the least. The next thing I did was to ask my lawyer which...

Ft. Hood Shooting News Conference.

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Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000...

More video of the Fort Hood attack. I am gate to the gate on blogging on this story. But if you are looking for a timeline, Allahpundit at Hot Air has the best including Shep Smith’s exclusive interviews with two soldiers who worked with Maj. Hasan. Here is the short hand version from last night’s O’Reilly show.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — An early morning garage fire forced nine people from the home of a jailed Iraqi immigrant accused of running down his daughter because she had become too "westernized." Glendale Fire Department spokesman Daniel Valenzuela says firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to other parts of the home. He says there's no indication the fire was intentionally set. Valenzuela says everyone escaped unharmed at about 4 a.m. after a person inside heard a smoke alarm and notified the fire department Investigators are trying to determine how the fire started and the extent of damage. There was a barbecue...