Free Republic

The Bliss Institute 2006 General Election Survey finds Democrat Ted Strickland with a substantial lead over Republican Ken Blackwell in the race for Ohio governor. However, the race for U.S. Senate is a dead heat between Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Mike DeWine. The Republican candidate leads in the race for attorney general, while the Democratic candidates are ahead in the campaigns for auditor, secretary of state, and treasurer. In terms of ballot measures, a proposal to raise the minimum wage is backed by an overwhelming majority, while proposals to allow slot machines and to ban smoking in public places...

CHARLES PLINTON was still struggling with the reality of his son's suicide when he found the box of cartridges. Three were missing. "There were people who wondered if someone else had shot Chuck," Plinton told me. "But I never really thought that. He had bought the gun the same day." That day was Dec. 12, 2005. Charles A. "Chuck" Plinton Jr. called his mother, Frances Parker Robinson, from his car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He told her he was going to kill himself and that there was nothing she could do to stop him. She begged him to pray about...

When you think of controversial filmmaker Michael Moore, you think of a man who is strongly associated with left-wing politics. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that Moore, even when giving speeches to a college-level stage class, will most likely mix in his political point of view. That, according to theater professor Susan Speers, who is defending her use of a University of Akron (Ohio) facility for a speech Moore gave to her class Oct. 30, just days before the Nov. 2 presidential election. University officials have pledged to investigate Speers' use of the campus's Knight Auditorium as the...