Free Republic

Republican Blood Feud The worst-case primary scenario. By David Freddoso Less than a week remains before Republicans begin the long and arduous road to choosing a nominee. It begins in Iowa on Jan. 3, and continues at least through Feb. 5, the day that more than 20 states will select delegates to the convention in Minnesota’s Twin Cities next fall. The possibility for idle speculation is endless. But there are a number of things we know for sure. First, the rise of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is more than a passing phenomenon. Polls show that his religious conservative voters...

BARBOUR PICKS WICKER 12/31/2007 11:16:36 AM Daily Journal JACKSON – It’s official: U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, is Mississippi’s new junior senator. Gov. Haley Barbour announced his choice today at an 11 a.m. news conference in Jackson. The governor is authorized to appoint an interim senator until a special statewide election to fill the remaining five years on the term. Wicker, a Pontotoc native, has represented Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District since 1994. Before that, he was a two-term state senator. Barbour will introduce South Mississippians to Wicker at an afternoon news conference.

Eaves' self-financed campaign does party favor 10/23/2007 Daily Journal JACKSON - No matter how state elections turn out on Nov. 6, Democrats across Mississippi owe John Arthur Eaves Jr. a huge debt of gratitude. Democrat Eaves, the 41-year-old Jackson attorney, has run a self-financed campaign challenging Republican incumbent Gov. Haley Barbour. Primarily because of Barbour's immense fund-raising skills, no established Democrat was brave enough to challenge Barbour in his re-election bid. Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, whom Barbour defeated in 2003, former Attorney General Mike Moore and all other potential challengers backed out. Up stepped Eaves. Eaves has run a credible...

Pets Hurled Off Bridge in Puerto Rico By OMAR MARRERO Associated Press Writer SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Animal control workers seized dozens of dogs and cats from housing projects in the town of Barceloneta and hurled them from a bridge to their deaths, authorities and witnesses said Friday. Mayor Sol Luis Fontanez blamed a contractor hired to take the animals to a shelter. "This is an irresponsible, inhumane and shameful act," he told The Associated Press. Fontanez said the city hired Animal Control Solution to clear three housing projects of pets after warning residents about a no-pet policy....

Wicker returns after brief trip to Iraq JACKSON, Miss. -- U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker returned to the United States on Tuesday from a visit to Iraq. Wicker, R-Tupelo, told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that movement toward long-term stability and sectarian reconciliation in a united government remains within grasp in the war torn country. After spending a day in Baghdad and two nights in Qatar, Wicker said he saw evidence of progress from the military "surge" strategy implemented by President Bush in February. The strategy involved ordering additional troops to Iraq and intensifying efforts to de-terrorize specific areas. Wicker, who...

Presenting the Next Vice President The GOP should look to Pawlenty. By Mallory Factor Ladies and gentlemen…introducing the next vice president of the United States: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Although he is not yet appearing on media shortlists for likely Republican running mates, Governor Pawlenty is an obvious choice. Here’s why. For one thing, Republicans still have a good shot to win next year. Consider the enormous disapproval rating for the Democratic Congress, some signs of progress in Iraq, and above all — the strong economy. Much of the calculus in the Electoral College will be involved in seeing whether...

Dynamics changed from 2003 election 10/9/2007 Daily Journal JACKSON - In 1999, Democrat Ronnie Musgrove won the Mississippi governor's office by capturing a plurality of the vote at 49.6 percent. In 2003, the incumbent Musgrove garnered 30,700 votes more than he did in 1999 but received 3.8 percent less of the total votes than he did in 1999 and lost to Republican challenger Haley Barbour. Turnout was huge in 2003, and it carried Barbour to the Governor's Mansion. Barbour, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, who is given a considerable amount of the credit for the Republican takeover of...

Will state voters respond to Eaves' Bible-thumping campaign? By Sid Salter Incumbent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour is using his campaign war chest on television commercials that talk about his record on job creation, work force training and his leadership in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. When Barbour's TV ads aren't talking about those topics, the ads focus on reminding people that Democratic challenger John Arthur Eaves Jr. is a wealthy, successful personal injury lawyer who has taken cases for plaintiffs who sued the U.S. military or the federal government. Eaves is spending a lot of money on television ads, too....

In Mississippi, Democrat Runs in G.O.P. Lane By Adam Nossiter October 10, 2007 STARKVILLE, Miss., Oct. 5 — The candidate is running to serve his Creator. He is running to restore prayer in schools, bring Jesus into public discourse, force the “money changers” from the state capitol, and move his extensive gun collection into the governor’s mansion. John Arthur Eaves Jr. at Mississippi State University in Starkville last week for a debate in which Gov. Haley Barbour expressed exasperation at the Bible focus. It is not extraordinary in the local context, except that John Arthur Eaves Jr., the man saying...

McCoy v. Smith discussed in a speaker's race Daily Journal JACKSON - Somehow, more than two years from the next statewide general election, a speaker's race - at least talk about a speaker's race - has broken out. In recent days, on state political web sites, such as the Magnolia Report, there has been talk of a speaker's race between incumbent Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, and Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Columbus. Other media outlets also have thrown the issue out for discussion. No doubt, McCoy's first-term as speaker has been a rocky one. There have been his well publicized battles with...

Rose Mary Woods, 87, Nixon Loyalist for Decades, Dies By PHILIP SHENON January 24, 2005 WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 - Rose Mary Woods, the devoted secretary to President Richard M. Nixon who was at the center of one of the great mysteries of Watergate after 18½ minutes of a crucial White House tape were erased, died Saturday near her hometown in northeastern Ohio. She was 87. A spokesman for a local funeral home said Ms. Woods died at a nursing home in Alliance, Ohio. Ms. Woods, who worked for Mr. Nixon for decades and joined him in exile in California after...

Jesus born in Bethlehem is news for many By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent The Telegraph Nearly a third of Britons do not know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, according to new research published yesterday. A similar proportion is unaware that Jesus was Jewish or that the first man to make an appearance in the Bible is Adam. Fewer than two thirds could identify the special table normally found at the east end of a church as the altar. But a striking 85 per cent knew that the event Christians believe occurred on the first Easter Day was the Resurrection....

Habsburg restitution claim turned down 15 December 2004 Insight Central Europe (Austria) An Austrian arbitration panel has rejected a demand by members of the Habsburg family that the Austrian government return real estate confiscated by the Nazis. Christian Habsburg Lothringen, a member of the former royal family, made the claim on behalf of about 16 family members in May. They were demanding the return of 20,000 hectares of private forest, a castle and several houses in Vienna. But the three-member arbitration panel ruled that the claim was outside its jurisdiction.

Haley vs. Hillary: Could it be next? The Daily Journal Ask yourself this: What does an owner of one of the most profitable and influential lobbying firms in the world's most powerful capital city have to gain by resigning to become the elected chief executive of a state that has little visibility in national affairs, much less on the global scene? Said another way, why would Haley Barbour or anyone else take a 90 percent pay cut and turn in a 24-hour pass to the White House and other corridors of power in order to be grand marshal of the...

Note the mix of O'Hara and Nader September 20, 2004/Bobby Harrison Daily Journal JACKSON - This is a story of perhaps irony - of people coming together with differing views but with a common goal. Or perhaps this is a story that reveals people are not what they seem. And then again this is maybe a story that denies reasonable explanation. The story begins with Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and candidate for president. Whatever people think of Nader's beliefs, most people have viewed him as a serious man with serious ideas, As most people know, Nader is running for president...

Fordice refused 'politician' label The Vicksburg Post A mere 15 or so years ago, Daniel Kirkwood Fordice had no use for politicians. He was an engineer. He was a government contractor. He liked big-game hunting, riding his horse and flying his airplane. All that changed during trips to Washington, D.C. Fordice had risen through the ranks to become president of Associated General Contractors, and had been getting his belly full testifying before Congress on employer-related matters. A visit with the first President Bush was part of that experience, and it dawned on Fordice that he might actually be able to...

Hundreds pay respects to Fordice at state capitol September 10, 2004 Daily Journal By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS The Associated Press JACKSON - Some of the same Highway Patrolmen who guarded Kirk Fordice as governor carried his coffin into the Capitol on Thursday before a public visitation. "He was a good boss. Direct," recalled Maj. Benjamin Young, who served five years on the security detail. Young paused and smiled. "He let you do your job. He also praised us when we did well." Fordice's family, led by his ex-wife Pat, followed the casket and watched as it was set up on...

Slovaks Commemorate Start of Revolt Sun Aug 29, 9:30 AM ET By ANDREA DUDIKOVA, Associated Press Writer BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Military jets thundered overhead, and hundreds of people, including veterans and top officials, gathered in Sunday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1944 Slovak uprising against Nazi rule. In a deeply symbolic message to participants, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder described the Nazis' fierce response to the uprising as a "dark and often and often forgotten chapter of German history." "Today we commemorate ... the victims of this fight against the National Socialists and we acknowledge our responsibility to keep...

Two bodies identified in fraternity fire One body yet to be positively identified by Joy Douglas DM Managing Editor August 27, 2004 Two of the students who died in this morning's fire at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity campus have been officially identified. Jordan Lowell Williams, 20, of Atlanta, and William Townsend, 19, of Clarksdale, perished in the fire that began at the ATO house around 4:30 a.m., according to a statement by Jeff Alford, vice chancellor for university relations, in a press conference at 3 p.m.A third body has not yet been positively identified. Howard Stone, 19, of Martinsville,...

Traffic fines according to income? Radio Vlaanderen International News 19/08/04 - The Belgian transport minister Renaat Landuyt has proposed pegging traffic fines to motorists' incomes. The proposal has been widely rejected by other politicians and industry organisations. Mr Landuyt, who only recently entered the federal cabinet, is clearly keen to make his mark. He wants to make the traffic fines' system fairer and believes taking account of offenders? last tax returns can do this. The minister points to examples abroad, but insists it is not his intention to make the system more complicated. In addition he wants to take account...