Free Republic

One of the fiercest gun-control advocates in Congress, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), pounced on the shooting massacre in Tucson Sunday, promising to introduce legislation as soon as Monday targeting the high-capacity ammunition the gunman used.

AL-ANBAR PROVINCE — A group of brave Iraqi men fighting to create a better Iraq recently assumed control of an area in western al-Anbar province from 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5. Prior to assuming control of the area near the city of Rutbah, Iraqi Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 29th Iraqi Army Brigade worked hand and hand with 2nd LAR Bn. “Our main focus is to get rid of the insurgency in oil smuggling and drugs,” said Iraqi Army 2nd Lt. Afhman Dehold, 28, an infantry officer with 3rd Bn., 29th Iraqi Army Brigade. The Soldiers assumed...

.........Their conflicted feelings are important because experts say the state's 6th Congressional District is a barometer of national opinion. "If there is a bellwether district with an incumbent sitting in it, I would pick this district," said Amy Walters, who analyzes House races for the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington. No neat political categories The congressman, Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach, won a second term with 51 percent of the vote in 2004, as the district narrowly voted for Democrat John Kerry in the presidential race. While partisanship in Washington has reached a fevered pitch, many of...