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A lesbian soldier who deserted the U.S. army won a key court victory Friday when a judge ordered the refugee board to reconsider her failed asylum claim and take into account compelling evidence that she was persecuted and that her sexual orientation could mean stiffer punishment for going AWOL. Federal Court Justice Yves de Montigny's order for the board to consider a gay U.S. soldier as a credible refugee candidate is believed to be a first, said a spokesman for the U.S. military. "I have never heard of anybody attempting to do that before," said army spokesman Lt.-Col. Christopher Garver....

ScienceDaily: “Slowing Evolution to Stop Drug Resistance” --snip-- For years, evolutionists have pointed to antibiotic resistance as proof of evolution in action. The argument often amounts to this (in simplified form): the fact that certain organisms grow resistant to certain antibiotics is evidence for the evolutionary idea that all animals must have descended from a single ancestor. Collapsing the argument does make it seem a bit silly, but that’s our point. We certainly don’t want to belittle the very real threat of dangerous organisms becoming immune to the best drugs we now have (though the vast majority of microbes are...

Scientists have watched as a new species is “born”—or is that “evolved”?—on one of the Galapagos Islands, home of Darwin’s famous finches...

The U.S. Army now says it will allow media limited access to Sarah Palin's appearance at Fort Bragg. The Associated Press and The Fayetteville Observer objected and the military changed its position slightly on Thursday night. It will grant a pool of reporters restricted access to Monday's appearance. Buckner said the setup will allow reporters their right to access .

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), has surprised a lot of people by surging in polls and fundraising to quasi-frontrunner status in next year’s U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. But Chris Cillizza reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is weighing in against Paul and hosting a fundraiser for Trey Grayson, the young secretary of state, whose “establishment” candidate credentials have been a little banged up by Paul’s campaign.

Chandler said he voted against the “Wall Street bailout” proposed by the Bush administration because he thought it “did too much to help the Wall Street folks who caused our economic troubles” and not enough for ordinary Americans.The federal economic stimulus program, which the Chamber of Commerce supported, was “absolutely crucial” in getting the GDP to grow again, as well as improving the housing and automobile markets, Chandler said.

Do you remember when the Left convicted prominent conservatives, myself included, in the death of the Kentucky census worker in September? I do. Here’s a reminder. Andrew Sullivan pointed his finger at “Southern populist terrorism, whipped up by the GOP and its Fox and talk radio cohorts” in a post titled “No Suicide,” which decried the “Kentucky lynching.” When I called him and other nutroots opportunists out for exploiting the case and when I reiterated that authorities had NOT ruled out suicide, he smugly nominated me for his “Malkin Award” and wrote: “Many of the details she pooh-poohs have now...

The new focus of the investigation is a manipulated suicide for the insurance money.

Smiling after the latest WHAS11 Survey USA poll gave him a slight lead over Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, Rand Paul tells WHAS11's Joe Arnold that he made an offer over the weekend to meet with Kentucky's senior senator, Mitch McConnell. "I will work with Senator Mcconnell, and I've already made the first step of calling him," Paul said. It comes three months after McConnell and twenty other Republican incumbent senators hosted a fundraiser for Grayson in Washington D.C., which has been interpreted as an endorsement for Grayson. But, when pressed whether he would...

In states around the country, there’s a growing movement to address and resist two of the most abused parts of the Constitution – the Commerce Clause and the 2nd Amendment. Already being considered in a number of state legislatures, and passed as law in Montana and Tennessee this year, the Firearms Freedom Act (FFA) is a state law that seeks to do just that. The latest to join the FFA movement? Kentucky. Pre-filed for the 2010 legislative session, HB87 seeks to “Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237, relating to firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition that are made in Kentucky,...

(WHAS11) - The surprise candidate in Kentucky's Republican U.S. Senate primary tells WHAS11 News he is reaching out to senior Senator, Mitch McConnell. Rand Paul is a Bowling Green eye surgeon. His campaign's poll numbers and fundraising success have stunned party leaders and it is early in the game.

Ours is the only industrialized nation that doesn't insure all its people, yet our health care costs are the world's highest by far. That tells us there will be no cure for runaway costs without universal coverage. Rep. Ben Chandler apparently didn't buy that line of reasoning. He was one of 39 Democrats who joined all but one Republican in voting no on the reform plan that emerged from the House after a daylong debate Saturday. Chandler cited the cost and his concerns about the bill's effects on rural hospitals and small businesses as reasons for his vote while also...

Dr. Rand Paul, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, explained his position on taxes, government spending, the drug abuse epidemic, welfare and other government benefits during an exclusive interview with the Times-Tribune, just hours before his appearance at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg. Initially, Dr. Paul addressed drug abuse in rural Kentucky. As a doctor, he immediately zeroed in on more vigilant policing of doctors who recklessly write prescriptions. He asked, “Are they being disciplined? I’m a doctor and occasionally I’ll get notification from the medical licensure board of people who are having their licenses suspended.” Referencing a recent...

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FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A spokeswoman for Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says he's calling the tree on the Capitol's front lawn a "Christmas" tree this holiday season. A statement from the administration last week sparked Christmas consternation by referring to the yet-to-be-chosen evergreen as a "holiday" tree. Some Christians were perturbed by the terminology. Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson says the administration received a steady stream of e-mails and phone calls about the "holiday" tree. She says it's always been a Christmas tree to the governor, and it will be this year, too. The governor is inviting critics of the "Christmas" tree to...

Remember the case of the Census worker who was found hanging from a tree with the word ‘fed' scrawled across his chest? You remember - he died at the hands of right-wing commentators and anti-government tea partiers. He was killed because of an overwhelming case of right-wing paranoia. He was murdered by Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Bachmann, and Fox News. Keep this quiet though... While the death of Bill Sparkman was a media sensation for pushing anti-conservative sentiments just a couple of months ago, it is receiving little to no coverage currently. Why? Because, as investigators have recently speculated,...

Fossilization occurs rapidly when the conditions are right. The conditions necessary for lithification of soft tissue give clues to unlock the history of a fossil deposit. Experiments show that microbes are involved in the mineralization of soft tissue. By decaying flesh they affect the acidity of the environment and release ions necessary for its mineralization. Fossilization in apatite seems to require associated death and decay. In the Jurassic Oxford Clay Formation in England, apatite preserved the soft tissue of many squid-like animals, probably after a mass mortality event occurred in a zone of already high phosphate levels from decaying carcasses....

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

Josh Kraushaar catches a surprising poll in the 2010 primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. In the GOP race, Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a first-time candidate, has jumped out to a small lead over Secretary of State Trey Grayson. The trends: Rand Paul – 35 (+9)Trey Grayson – 32 (-4) Paul has an eight-point lead among “conservative” voters who make up about 70 percent of the GOP primary electorate.

WASHINGTON – Investigators probing the death of a Kentucky census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job and are pursuing the possibility he committed suicide, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said no final conclusions have been made in the case. In recent weeks, however, investigators have grown more skeptical that 51-year-old Bill Sparkman died at the hands of someone angry at the federal government.

How did Kentucky shoe store owner Buddy Moore save nine jobs with just $889.60 in federal stimulus money? He didn’t, and that’s turning into a big headache for him.Moore’s store in Campbellsville, Ky., filed one of 156,614 reports from recipients of stimulus dollars designed to show how money from the $787 billion program is being spent, and how many jobs the funds have created or saved. Moore’s slice of the stimulus came in an $889.60 order from the Army Corps of Engineers for nine pairs of work boots for a stimulus project. Moore says he’s been supplying the Corps with...

Sarah Palin will be at the Joseph Beth Booksellers in the Rookwood Plaza on November 20, 2009. The time is still tentative, but the bookseller will make a future announcement.

Kentucky could be the next state to host a race where the GOP's grassroots rebels against the party establishment. Rand Paul, the son of former presidential candidate Ron Paul, has pulled into the lead in the Kentucky Senate race in a new SurveyUSA poll, ahead of the establishment favorite, Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Paul now leads Grayson by three points, 35 to 32 percent, the first time he’s led any poll in the Kentucky race so far. It’s not the first sign that Paul stands a credible chance at an upset: Paul raised over $1 million in the last...

Polls in Ohio and Kentucky are now closed. Go here for the latest results as they come in. Pike County, Ky. Lawrence County, Ohio Ohio Amendments Meigs County, Ohio Athens County, Ohio Scioto County, Ohio Gallia County, Ohio Vinton County, Ohio Jackson County, Ohio �

WHEELWRIGHT – A Wheelwright man has filed a lawsuit against Bank of America, alleging agents working for the bank repossessed his home by mistake and refuse to pay for any damages other than the replacement of locks. According to court documents, Christopher Hamby arrived home on Oct. 5 to find the locks on his doors changed and physical damage to his property from winterization chemicals placed in the plumbing and various lines cut at the residence. The lawsuit also names A1 Preservation and Richard Spurgeon, who owns the business, as agents acting for Bank of America who wrongfully participated in...

The Republican party in Kentucky has never seen anything like it. Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul has no political experience, but with the support of the same people who backed his Dad - Texas Congressman Ron Paul when he ran for president,, Rand Paul has now at least pulled even with Secretary of State Trey Grayon in the GOP U.S. Senate primary. 32% Grayson 35% Paul 2% Johnson 1% Oerther 3% Thoney 10% Other 18% Undecided In fact, the WHAS11/Survey USA poll has Paul ahead of Grayson by three percentage points - with a 4.1 percent margin of error....

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Bobby Bright (AL-2) Washington D.C. Office 1205 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 p. (202) 225-2901 f. (202) 225-8913 Dothan Office 188 North Foster Street Suite 105 Dothan, Alabama 36303 p. (334) 794-9680 f. (334) 671-1480 Montgomery Office 22 Monroe St. Suite 1B Montgomery, AL 36104 p. (334) 277-9113 f. (334) 277-8534 Opp Office 101 North Main Street Opp, AL 36467 p. (334) 493-9253 f. (334) 493-0370 Ozark Office 275 N. Union Avenue Suite 214 Ozark, AL 36360 p. (334) 445-4600 f. (334) 445-0517 Contact him https://forms.house.gov/bright/contact-form.shtml Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congressman-Bobby-Bright/105468186762?ref=search&sid=1072359854.2422322198..1 To read further follow the link http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977880434

The state Public Service Commission offered heartening news to cash-strapped consumers on Friday. Based on data submitted by the state's natural gas companies, the average resident can expect to pay nearly 40 percent less on their bills this winter compared to last. Behind the decrease is a sharp drop in the wholesale price of natural gas that PSC Chairman David Armstrong said was "artificially high" last year due to what many consider to have been speculative investing in the commodity. The PSC noted wholesale prices, which make up the largest portion of natural gas bills, are now at their lowest...

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s rank-and-file union members rejected a concessions agreement, leaving the auto maker at risk to higher costs compared with competitors Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. Although some locals are still voting through Sunday, the United Auto Workers national leadership has accepted the defeat, said three union sources who asked not to be identified since they don't officially speak for the UAW. The leadership is now reviewing other options, these people said. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger told Dow Jones Newswires on Friday he will not continue bargaining or conduct a re-vote. Ford will now have...

(See all these news nuggets and more by clicking the excerpt link below): 1. BBC News: “Darwin Teaching ‘Divides Opinion’” Darwinism is a controversial topic, and many believe creation should be taught in the classroom. But why is that news? 2. ScienceDaily: “Junk DNA Mechanism that Prevents Two Species from Reproducing Discovered” Has the U.S. government finally supported creationist research? Alas, no, but the results of a National Institutes of Health study fit squarely within the young-earth creation framework. 3. PhysOrg: “Charles Darwin Really Did Have Advanced Ideas about the Origin of Life” Charles Darwin was convinced that life’s origin...

VANCEBURG, Ky. (WSAZ) -- The Lewis County Sheriff has arrested a Vanceburg woman on charges of criminal abuse of child. The sherriff’s office says Roberta Hobbs, 54, was arrested Tuesday after investigators received a call from Social Services. According to a news release, Hobbs is accused of using duct tape to bind a child with special needs for long period of time, while living in deplorable conditions. The release says that child and two other children have been removed from the home. The sheriff’s office says further charges are pending in the case.

FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- Gov. Steve Beshear has angered some Christians with his yuletide terminology. A giant evergreen that will brighten the Capitol lawn this winter won't be called a Christmas tree. Instead, the Beshear administration has dubbed it a "holiday tree." The Rev. Jeff Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill Baptist Church in Lexington, said Christians find the change troubling. "If you call it a holiday tree," Fugate asked, "which holiday are you talking about? We don't put up a holiday tree for Easter or New Year's or Thanksgiving. We put a tree up for Christmas." Beshear administration spokeswoman Cindy Lanham...

Rand Paul supporters have turned the cameras on an opposition research tracker, presumably from the Trey Grayson campaign, who was videotaping Paul flipping pancakes at a charity breakfast. Watch the YouTube video here. The tracker remains stonefaced and concentrates on his own video camera as a Paul supporter attempts to interview him and provide him breakfast.

U.S. Senate Candidate Rand Paul is responding to a comment made on WYMT's Issues and Answers program. During a show that will air Monday night, Secretary of State Trey Grayson accused Paul of not being a Kentuckian. Paul said, "I've been a Kentuckian longer than Grayson's been a republican."

What started out as a simple challenge by a college friend, “Bet you can’t prove evolution,” turned into a 30-year journey for Dr. Carl Werner. Like most of the other biology and medical school students, Carl was educated in and committed to an evolutionary belief system. But when his friend challenged those beliefs, his quest for answers began...

FRANKFORT — Rand Paul, the Bowling Green eye surgeon seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, expects to raise as much as $2 million and says federal government should get out of the education business. Paul raised over $1 million in the third quarter and said he now has about 14,000 donors and he expects the number to grow to as many as 20,000. He said he thinks he can raise as much as $2 million for the primary in which he’s opposed by Secretary of State Trey Grayson and Elkton businessman and veteran Bill Johnson. He conceded Grayson...

News to Note, October 17, 2009: A weekly feature examining news from the biblical viewpoint (fascinating STEM CELL piece in story #5!)...

FRANKFORT, Ky. – This isn’t the way Trey Grayson expected the U.S. Senate race to unfold. Bowling Green eye surgeon Rand Paul has upset Grayson’s apple cart. Paul reported raising over $1 million in the past three months, utilizing his father’s network of libertarian-leaning internet contributors to do it. Grayson hasn’t done a bad job himself, raising just over that amount in two quarters. And while Paul’s carefully tailored message – focused entirely on bailouts and deficit spending but carefully avoiding the implications of voting against any unbalanced budget, his isolationist views on foreign policy, or the minimalist role of...

Who is the favorite in the Kentucky GOP primary for Jim Bunning's U.S. Senate seat? Candidate A raised $1,010,668 in the third quarter, and Candidate B raised $642,857. While Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson has been considered the Republican establishment pick for the nomination (Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 22 other GOP Senators supported Grayson at a D.C. fundraiser last month), he is Candidate B in this scenario. Candidate A is Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul. Given Paul's $1 million take, primarily from two internet "moneybombs," modeled after the presidential campaigns of Paul's father, U.S. Rep. Ron...

DES MOINES, Iowa - Office furniture and fireplace insert manufacturer HNI Corp. said Friday it plans to close a Kentucky factory to reduce costs. The company said it notified workers and union officials of its decision to close the Owensboro, Ky., office furniture factory beginning in the fourth quarter. The work will be absorbed by other factories. The closure should be completed by the end of the second quarter 2010.

After 30 years remodeling homes, Orson Crisler lives a retiree’s life with his family in a modest house on M Street in central Louisville. On a hot day last July, one of Crisel’s family members — a rottweiler, one of six — ran into the street. Within moments a friend returned the wayward canine, but it was too late: A neighbor had called Louisville Metro Animal Services, and the responding animal control officer determined Crisler’s dogs, which were safely inside at that point, were not properly enclosed, hadn’t received proper shots and needed to be impounded. The officer reportedly entered...

Ex-Governor's Son Emerges As Murder Suspect Kentuckian Steve Nunn accused of killing ex-girlfriend, abusing his father Ed Reinke / AP Former State Rep. Steve Nunn speaks during a forum in Louisville, Ky., in this Jan. 24, 2003 file photo. Nunn is being held in Fayette County jail on a murder charge for allegedly gunning down his ex-girlfriend. Oct. 14, 2009 FRANKFORT, Ky. - Steve Nunn said nothing in court. His glum, unshaven face spoke volumes. The politician who had lived a life of privilege hobnobbing with Kentucky's political elite wasn't at all pleased with the Fayette County jail where he...

A well-known University of Minnesota–Morris professor who has a history of hate speech against creationists-especially Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum[1]-inadvertently admitted recently that we were not wrong. This was kind of a blessing in disguise and also reveals much about his character. Professor Paul (P.Z.) Myers said: ...

This is what campaigns are all about, pointing out the differences between candidates and campaigns. Recent endorsements in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race are stark. In accepting a campaign donation from the of the National Right to Work Committee PAC, the Rand Paul campaign said the "NRTWC supports candidates best suited to protect Americans from labor union abuses." Meanwhile, the Western Kentucky Central Labor Council has voted to recommend that Kentucky's State AFL-CIO COPE Committee endorse Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo for U.S. Senate.

The Kentucky pastor who drew notice earlier this year for hosting a God-and-guns event at his church is giving up his flock for his Glock. Pastor Ken Pagano resigned his post last month at the New Bethel Church in Louisville, Ky., after nearly 30 years in the ministry, saying he wants to focus on Second Amendment and church-security issues. "Thirty years was a good, long run, but it's time for a change," Mr. Pagano said in an interview with The Washington Times. "If I can write my own ticket, I want to get involved more in Second Amendment issues as...

Discovery of 4.4 Million-Year-Old Fossil Does Not Shake Creationists' Faith By RUSSELL GOLDMAN Oct. 7, 2009 Sometimes an ape is a 4.4 million-year-old fossil that sheds light on the evolutionary origins of human beings, and sometimes… an ape is just an ape. In the case of "Ardi," the ape-like fossil recently discovered in Ethiopia and already being celebrated as the oldest found relative of modern human beings, the final determination depends on who is doing the talking. In one camp are evolutionary scientists who last week published and hailed the discovery of an upright walking ape named Ardipithecus ramidus, or...

News to Note, October 10, 2009: A weekly feature examining news from the biblical viewpoint...

PIKEVILLE — Touting Pike County as a leader in not only coal but greener energy technology, businessmen and local officials made presentations to the General Assembly's joint committee on energy Wednesday. The county seeks state money to develop an ethanol plant on its landfill site, county leaders have attended national meetings about wind power, and officials pushed to ensure the courthouse being built in Pikeville will be the state's first to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said.