Free Republic

President Bush holds a commanding lead among Catholic voters, according to the latest survey of the California-based Barna Research Group. Barna called this finding a "seismic shift," United Press International reports. In May, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, who is Catholic, led Mr. Bush, a Methodist, by 48 percent to 43 percent among Catholics. Today, the ratio has changed to 53 percent to 36 percent in Mr. Bush's favor, reports Barna, which specializes in religious polling. "Many of the Catholics now behind Mr. Bush have traditionally voted Democratic, but have chosen a different course this time around," pollster George...

"The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth show the role of the individual in history. It wasn't Republican strategists who finished Kerry off two months before the election; it was the American people. The Swift Boat veterans came along and kicked Kerry in the shins and no matter how much heat they took, they were brave and wouldn't give up. ... CBS was forced to run a fake story so early in the campaign that it was exposed as a fraud -- only because of the Swift Boat vets. These brave men, many of them decorated war heroes, have now not...

"If George Bush were to be re-elected -- given the way that he has gone about this war, and given the avoidance of responsibility in North Korea, Iran and other places -- it is possible [that he would re-instate the draft]." --John Kerry, shamelessly scaring grandparents and parents that their kids would soon be marching off to a quagmire. He followed up with a real shocker: "I will tell you this: I will not reinstate the draft." To boot, Kerry's "Bush-might-reinstate-the-draft" rhetoric is already the talk on university campuses across the nation. Finally, an adept campaign maneuver from the Kerry...

French and German government officials say they will not significantly increase military assistance in Iraq even if John Kerry, the Democratic presidential challenger, is elected on November 2. Mr Kerry, who has attacked President George W. Bush for failing to broaden the US-led alliance in Iraq, has pledged to improve relations with European allies and increase international military assistance in Iraq. "I cannot imagine that there will be any change in our decision not to send troops, whoever becomes president," Gert Weisskirchen, member of parliament and foreign policy expert for Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party, said in an interview. "That...

In 1993, Voted for Higher Taxes on Social Security Benefits and Against Repealing Earnings Limit Voted twice to increase income taxes on Social Security benefits for seniors earning as little as $34,000. Voted three times to keep the Social Security tax hike in the budget. Voted three times against repealing the 1993 tax increase on Social Security Benefits. In 1996, the Senate Republican Policy Committee estimated repealing this tax would save seniors $33 billion. Even Voted Against Provision Ensuring Increased Revenues Would Only Go To Social Security Trust Fund. (S. 1134, CQ Vote #184: Motion Agreed To 57-41: R 3-40;...

September 24, 2004 -- WASHINGTON — The first Florida polls taken since a trio of hurricanes slammed the state show President Bush with the edge, as the Electoral College map takes a turn for the worse for John Kerry. A Quinnipiac University survey released yesterday had Bush besting Kerry in Florida by 8 points, 49 percent to 41 percent — a devastating blow to Kerry in a state he led by 6 points just over a month ago... A key to the turnaround came from the way Bush handled the hurricanes, with 78 percent of poll participants giving him the...

During a 1997 debate on CNN's "Crossfire," Sen. John Kerry, now the Democratic presidential nominee, made the case for launching a pre-emptive attack against Iraq. So reveals Rep. Peter King, New York Republican, who appeared with Mr. Kerry on the program. "We know we can't count on the French. We know we can't count on the Russians," said Mr. Kerry.

American Muslim voters overwhelmingly support Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry over President Bush, according to a new American Muslim Poll conducted by Zogby International for Georgetown University's Muslims in the American Public Square project. By a margin of 76 percent to 7 percent, Muslims back the Democratic ticket over Mr. Bush.

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WASHINGTON - A judge has struck down more than a dozen of the government’s current rules on political fund raising with just weeks before Election Day, concluding federal regulators improperly weakened the nation’s campaign finance law. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the Federal Election Commission to write new rules to govern key aspects of fund raising, including when candidates and outside parties can coordinate activities.

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI SEPT 10, 2004 12:01:25 ET XXXXX RATHER DIGS IN: THE DOCUMENTS ARE AUTHENTIC CBSNEWS anchor and 60 MINUTES correspondent Dan Rather publicly defended his reporting Friday morning after questions were raised about the authenticity of newly unearthed memos aired on CBS which asserted that George W. Bush ignored a direct order from a superior officer in the Texas Air National Guard. CNN TRANSCRIPT: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: I know that this story is true. I believe that the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn't have gone to air if...

For one who was born and grew up in the small towns of the Midwest, there is a special kind of nostalgia about the Fourth of July. I remember it as a day almost as long-anticipated as Christmas. This was helped along by the appearance in store windows of all kinds of fireworks and colorful posters advertising them with vivid pictures. No later than the third of July -- sometimes earlier -- Dad would bring home what he felt he could afford to see go up in smoke and flame. We'd count and recount the number of firecrackers, display pieces...

Reagan wrote, "The poet wrote of seeing a shhip, all sails set, put out to sea. As he watched, the ship grew smaller and smaller and finally was entirely out of sight. It was gone. But then he said somewhere else the ship was coming into view just as large and real as when he'd watched it sail away. It was not gone, it had just gone to another place beyond our sight. It was the poet's explanation of death."

Georgia may shun 'evolution' in schoolsRevised curriculum plan outrages science teachersBy MARY MacDONALD The Atlanta Journal-Constitution YOUR TURN Which term do you prefer?  Evolution  Biological changes over time Voter Limit: Once per HourView Poll Results This survey is not a scientific sampling and does not reflect the opinion of the general public, but only of those who choose to participate. CURRICULUM ONLINE The proposed Georgia curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12 can be viewed at www.glc.k12.ga.us/spotlight/gps1.htm There is an online form for people to offer feedback.The proposed biology standards are based on the American Association for the Advancement of Science...

When a journalism professor complained to Fox News that anchorman Neil Cavuto "had abandoned objectivity for overt nationalism on the air," Mr. Cavuto responded in short order. "Obnoxious, pontificating jerk, self-absorbed, condescending imbecile, Ivy League intellectual Lilliputian," he called the unidentified academic, according to the Baltimore Sun yesterday. "There is nothing wrong with taking sides here, professor," Mr. Cavuto said. "You see no difference between a government that oppresses people, and one that does not, but I do." He continued, "So am I slanted and biased? You ... bet I am, professor. I'm more in favor of a system that...

Normally Kuwait's Burgan oilfield isn't much to look at: acres of rust-colored pipe, a few giant fuel tanks, and the occasional natural gas flare burning in the distance. There are no rising and falling oil derricks like the ones you might find in Texas or remember from J.R. Ewing's Dallas. That's because oil doesn't need to be pumped to the surface here. The black gold bubbles up on its own and then flows naturally down to a gathering center by the sea. Just sink a pipe 4,000 feet, and presto!--you have a gusher. Kabeer Burgan, or Great Burgan, as Kuwaitis...

Soldier Salutes His 'Guardian Angel'March 31, 2003 While Spec. Brandon Bean was at war in Iraq, the grandmother who helped to rear him lost her own battle with cancer. Bean found out about the death when CBS Correspondent Phil Ittner gave his cell phone to the specialist in the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division. Correspondents with the troops in Iraq and Kuwait have been loaning their cell phones to soldiers to allow as many as possible to phone home. “He was pretty shook up when he realized he wasn't going to be able to come home and that he wasn't...

CIA Trying to Take Out Hussein Allies - Newspaper Sat March 29, 2003 03:12 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special CIA and U.S. military units are operating in Iraqi cities, trying to kill members of President Saddam Hussein's inner circle, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. Those targeted include Baath Party officials and Special Republican Guard commanders, the newspaper quoted U.S. and other knowledgeable officials as saying. Snipers and experts trained to plant house and car bombs are among those on the covert teams from the CIA's paramilitary division and the special operations group of the U.S. military, the newspaper...

SACRAMENTO -- One of the first things the Taliban did when it took control of Afghanistan was disarm its people. The attempt wasn't entirely successful, of course, but leaders knew that the only way to exert complete despotic control was to disarm their citizens. You wouldn't think Governor Davis has much in common with the Taliban, but shockingly, he's working hard to disarm Californians. In a painfully short-sighted and misguided decision, Governor Davis signed a bill that will make it much harder for citizens of California to legally buy handguns. Melting any guns not on California's "safe list" this January ...

<p>Disputes over free speech are occurring at college and university campuses nationwide as professors and students speak out about issues related to the terrorist attacks.</p> <p>Officials at one prominent campus liberty group say they have received numerous complaints from professors — both from hawks who support war and doves who oppose it — who have come under attack by campus administrators and others for their analysis of the current crisis.</p>