Free Republic

A federal judge has blocked the state of Florida from enforcing a new law pushed by firearm advocates that banned thousands of doctors from discussing gun ownership with their patients. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke, who had already issued a preliminary injunction last September, made her decision permanent late Friday when she ruled in favor of groups of physicians who asserted the state violated their free speech rights. She said the law was so “vague” that it violated the First Amendment rights of doctors, noting the legislation’s privacy provisions “fail to provide any standards for practitioners to follow.” The physicians’...

This alert was recently sent out to the Florida Medical Association's members, presaging a special-interest free-for-all as it tussles with the NRA over its bill banning doctor inquiries about gun ownership. Dear Colleagues, As you have probably heard, there is legislation moving in the Florida Legislature, SB 432 and HB 155, which is a major intrusion into the patient-physician relationship. These bills place the government in the middle of the relationship between doctors and our patients by regulating what questions physicians can ask during a private medical examination. This legislation criminalizes doctors who ask their patients about gun ownership to...

The Associated Industries of Florida Service Corporation (AIFSC) announced that it's endorsing Republican Charlie Crist for Governor; Republican Bill McCollum for Attorney General; Tom Lee for the Republican CFO primary; Alex Sink as the Democratic CFO nominee; Republican Charles Bronson for agriculture commissioner.

TALLAHASSEE - Already lagging in the polls and facing possible ethics violations, Republican Tom Gallagher suffered another setback Friday, finishing dead last in fundraising among the four candidates for governor. Gallagher's $45,740 in so-called hard dollars raised during July trailed fellow Republican Charlie Crist by nearly $290,000 and leading Democrat Jim Davis by about $150,000. Democrat Rod Smith raised twice as much as Gallagher. Friday's news raised fresh speculation among Republican insiders about whether one of Florida's longest serving politicians will drop out of his fourth and likely last run for governor. Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer, is trailing...

In our latest poll of Florida's competitive race for governor, Attorney General Charlie Crist remains the strongest Republican candidate, Congressman Jim Davis the strongest Democratic candidate. Crist is also strongest overall. Crist leads Davis 44% to 39%. But Davis has improved since last month, when Crist led 44% to 33%. Crist's competitor for the GOP nomination, State Treasurer/CFO Tom Gallagher, now trails Davis by five percentage points, 43% to 38%. In April, Gallagher and Davis were neck-and-neck—a big drop since February, when Gallagher led Davis 44% to 34%. Gallagher was probably hurt by accusations of insider trading publicized in late...

Republican Attorney General Charlie Crist and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Davis would win their parties' nomination for Florida governor if the primary were held today, according to a new poll that also gives Republicans the edge when it comes to retaining the governor's mansion in 2006. The independent poll of 625 registered voters statewide suggests Republicans could benefit from the continued popularity of Gov. Jeb Bush, whose job performance got an ''excellent'' or ''good'' rating from 55 percent of voters, according to the survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. With more than a year before the primary, the poll...

TALLAHASSEE - The posters went up all over the Capitol first thing Tuesday morning: "Wanted: The Republican 9." The fliers pictured the nine Republican senators who last week voted against legislation intended to prolong Terri Schiavo's life. The fliers, which were quickly removed, underscored the pressure building up in Tallahassee as legal avenues to extend Schiavo's life narrow. The state House last week passed a bill intended to keep Schiavo alive despite a judge's conclusion that she did not wish to be kept alive if she were incapacitated. The pressure extends from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who...

You won't be surprised at some of the "regulars" who voted against Sen. Webster's bill to save Terri Schiavo, like Jim King, Dennis Jones, Nancy Argenziano. However, some of the others were a bit surprising. This is what happens when Dems change parties and run as Republicans. Thank God for term limits, so that we can finally start filling these RINO seats with some conservatives. There was was Dem crossover, Sen. Al Lawson from Tallahassee. Yeas - 16 (to save Terri) Tom Lee Jeff Atwater Carey Baker Lee Constantine Victor Crist Alex Diaz de la Portilla Mike Fasano Rudy Garcia...

LA JOLLA ---- Two state assemblymen told health officials in La Jolla on Tuesday that they plan to propose a sweeping health-care reform package in Sacramento on Thursday that would likely require all Californians to have health insurance. State Assemblymen Joe Nation, D-Marin, and Dr. Keith Richman, R-Chatsworth, told health officials who gathered at UC San Diego to discuss the future of health care that they had been working on the comprehensive reform package that would "shake up the status quo," for more than a year. Health-care officials, meanwhile, representing insurers, hospitals, doctors, county health services, academics and think-tank groups...

Faculty members say they are afraid to question the chiropractic school because they fear retribution from either top administrators or the powerful state lawmakers who support it. The atmosphere is grim, said Marc Freeman, a distinguished research professor in the biology department. "We feel as if something is being shoved down our throats that we don't want." The growing frustration comes just weeks before votes by FSU's board of trustees and the Florida Board of Governors that could decide the school's fate. If the school dies, professors should think about the consequences, state Sen. Jim King, an FSU graduate who...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The Iraqi Central Bank has succeeded in maintaining the exchange rates of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar and other foreign currencies, despite a huge demand for the dollar by the market, the Al Mashriq newspaper reported Wednesday. "The bank sold yesterday 25.6 million dollars with 1,460 dinars against one dollar," said sources of the bank, adding that the money was sold through public auction and 14 banks participated in the transaction. Sinan Al Shibibi, governor of the Central Bank, was quoted as saying that lowering debts, according to an agreement of the Paris...