Free Republic

Our buddy John Couvillon was the pollster for Paul Dietzel’s campaign, so he counts as an independent, if Republican, pollster when he reports some fresh numbers in the 6th District runoff. Couvillon released the results of his survey, which was conducted on Nov. 17, on Friday. The sample included 793 respondents from households which had voted in the Nov. 4 primary, and it matches the electorate from that primary about as closely as possible. The demographic breakdown of the respondents was 76-20% white/black, while the party registration of respondents was 42-39% Democratic (19% Independents) – in the November primary, the...

The first independent polling in the race for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District shows Republican Garret Graves has a hefty, if not unexpected, lead over Democrat and former Governor Edwin Edwards. The poll was conducted and funded by John Couvillon of JMC Analytics and Polling, who previously worked with the Paul Dietzel II campaign during the primary but is not aligned with either Graves or Edwards. It shows that, including people who are undecided, 61 percent of people are leaning toward voting for Graves, compared to 35 percent for Edwards. If the Dec. 6 election were held today, 59 percent of...

It died just a few hours after its birthAn ewe sheep in Saudi Arabia gave birth to a sheep with a human face but it died just a few hours after its birth, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. The ewe had given birth to the bizarre baby sheep at a farm in the southern town of Samita after a nine-month pregnancy although such animals normally have average pregnancy period of five months, the Arabic language daily Sabq said. “I was very surprised when this sheep remained pregnant for nine months as humans,” its owner Abu Abdullah said. “I was shocked...

SHEEP are not exactly born swimmers — but un-baa-lievable Mildred is wowing fans as a talented SURFER. More than 50,000 web surfers have flocked to get a glimpse of the six-year-old. In the footage of her unprecedented surf at St. Agnes in Cornwall the anything but sheepish ewe is seen being helped on to her board by three surfers in wetsuits before being towed out to sea. As the waves carry her back to shore she uses her skill and clever footwork to keep the board steady and straight — before leaping on to the sand. But for her legions...

A Mesa(AZ) deputy fire chief is on paid leave after being accused of bestial acts with his nextdoor neighbor’s lamb. Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies took LeRoy Johnson, 52, into custody at his Gilbert home on Saturday. The 26-year veteran was booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct, trespassing and public sexual indecency, all misdemeanors, spokesman Lt. Paul Chagolla said. Johnson was released from jail on his own recognizance on Sunday. The arrest came after the neighbor and another man said they found Johnson in a small barn in the 1200 block of East Catclaw Street; his pants were down as he...

Friday, October 28, 2005 James Gill This place has been comatose since Katrina, and nobody seems to have any idea how to get out of the mess, so I guess it is for me to come up with a plan. The times call for a man of action. That is why I am wearing this rather fetching beret and have a bandolier across my chest. I am in urgent need of a helicopter, however. If you happen to own one, and are prepared to do your bit to save Louisiana, give me a call. Here's what we do. We hover...

There's more ba-a-a-d news for Oregon State University's football team. Beavers player Ben Michael Siegert was apparently caught driving the getaway vehicle that whisked a ram away from the university's Sheep Center, according to police. A Benton County Sheriff's deputy found the animal in the bed of a pickup after pulling Siegert over for speeding on Southwest Whiteside Drive about 1:34 a.m. last Friday morning. Also in the pickup was former OSU football player Brent Charles Bridges, 22, and Whitney Susan Rodgers, 19, of Glendale, Ariz. Contacted Tuesday afternoon, Siegert said he recalled being pulled over, but denied any involvement...

Kennedy’s brother-in-law charged with fraud in La. By PENNY BROWN ROBERTS proberts@theadvocate.com Advocate staff writer Federal authorities in Louisiana have charged the brother-in-law of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy of committing millions in bank fraud. A bill of information filed Wednesday in New Orleans federal court claims Raymond Reggie, 43, of New Orleans submitted fake documents to get a loan from Hibernia National Bank in December 2000. In the bill of information, federal authorities said Reggie “submitted fictitious documents purporting to be a contract” between his company, Media Direct, and the U.S. Census Bureau. A separate bill of information also filed...

New Zealanders are feeling sheepish over a new postage stamp that shows an ewe with powerful, curled horns -- horns that in real life are found only on a ram. Merino ewes, the type depicted on the stamp, have tiny stumps of horn if any at all, opposition National Party lawmaker Katherine Rich pointed out Tuesday. "The stamp is an absolute impossibility," she grumped. The subject is not being taken lightly in New Zealand, famous for its beautiful meadows full of gamboling lambs and the fact that its 40 million sheep vastly outnumber its human population of 4 million. The...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster will end two scandal-free terms Jan. 12, leaving an eight-year legacy of clean government and improved funding and attention to public schools. But he likely will be remembered for failing to address major problems in health care and missing key economic development opportunities for a state still struggling with intense poverty and joblessness.</p>

(CBS) Former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards—who believed in letting the good times roll no matter what, has given CBS News his first interview since going to prison after being convicted on corruption charges. From behind the fences of a federal prison, the smooth-talking, four-term governor remains as blunt as ever, reports CBS News Correspondent Lee Cowan. "They take away everything from you that's important, except breath itself," says Edwards. And even from prison, Edwards is a man with a message. "To my critics out there, I want them to know that they're getting what they wanted, I'm suffering. But to...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Nearly 300 of Edwin W. Edwards' friends and acquaintances are organizing an April meeting to kick off a petition asking President George W. Bush to reduce the former Louisiana governor's 10-year prison sentence.</p> <p>Shreveport investor Ed Powell, a former Buick auto dealer, is heading the effort that has involved 275 backers organized in something called The Committee to kick off a drive to collect 1 million signatures on a single petition to present to the White House.</p>