Free Republic

Just how bad is the odious Hugo Chavez? It’s a good question to ask. As an increasingly dictatorial and anti-democratic ruler of Venezuela, he certainly doesn’t want what’s in our best interests and he hasn’t been shy about criticizing our country and its current leadership. What needs to be sorted out is how much of this is posture and how much could be backed up with policy. Chavez styles himself the new Simon Bolivar. He claims he leads the Venezuelan people to freedom from the evil Colossus of The North. If Huey “The Kingfish” Long savvied the Spanish language, Hugo...

ATLANTA - Comparing Georgia's new voting law to a poll tax, a federal judge has blocked the state from requiring voters to show photo identification to participate in elections. In a 123-page ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy in Rome said the law is an undue burden on voting rights and is not tailored narrowly enough to serve its stated purpose of preventing voter fraud. Requiring voters "to purchase a photo ID card effectively places a cost on the right to vote," he said, adding that it is the equivalent of a poll tax and is unconstitutional. The...