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NASCAR admits it is shifting its position on guns and the latest proof can be seen via the rejection of an ad that shows a semiautomatic rifle. The NRA tweeted:The NRA-ILA reports the rejected ad was from K-Var, and “included depictions of ‘assault-style rifles/sniper rifles.'” NASCAR’s media sales company told K-Var the racing giant is undergoing a “gradual shift in (its) position on guns.”K-Var’s blog reported the entire quote from National Event Publications, which is NASCAR’s media sales company: We just heard from NASCAR on a number of gun related ads and unfortunately, due a gradual shift in NASCAR’s position on guns,...

Mitt Romney may be the GOP presidential candidate that is most often criticized for flip-flopping , but as Newt Gingrich rises to challenge him at the top of the polls, the former House speaker may also be giving him a run for his money on that label of inconsistency. When it comes to global warming, Gingrich’s position seems to have changed faster than the climate. ... In the more than 30 years since Gingrich was first elected to the House, he has said there is both sufficient evidence to prove the climate is changing and also that there is no...

(CNSNews.com) - The Environmental Protection Agency, marking its 40th anniversary this week, announced that "sustainability concepts" will govern its programs from now on. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said her agency has commissioned a "groundbreaking" National Research Council study that will help the agency "incorporate sustainability into the way the agency approaches environmental protection." The announcement signifies an important step toward building a society that can meet its needs while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs, the EPA said in a Nov. 30 news release. Historically, environmental programs have focused on reducing air pollution and water...

Amid high unemployment and a weak economy, employers have been shifting health care costs to workers, according to a study released Thursday. The premiums that employees pay for employer-sponsored family coverage rose an average of 13.7 percent this year, while the amount that employers contribute fell by 0.9 percent, the survey found. For family coverage, workers are paying an average of $3,997, up $482 from last year, while employers are paying an average of $9,773, down $87, according to the survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.

WASHINGTON -- Terrorists are aiming for hotels and other easier-to-hit targets as security measures at military and government facilities continue to improve, says a global intelligence company. Al Qaeda is changing from a centralized organization with global goals to regional "franchises" with more parochial aims and strong grass-roots support, according to a report Tuesday from STRATFOR. These smaller cells get less training and less money, so they set their sights lower. That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, "particularly if they are attempting to prove their value or if they are able to link up with someone who is highly tactically...

Shape-shifting car will brace for impact 15:34 10 May 2006 NewScientist.com news service Tom Simonite A car that can anticipate a side-on impact and subtly alter its body shape to absorb the force of the crash is being developed by researchers in Germany. The car will use hood-mounted cameras and radar to spot a vehicle on course for a side-on collision. Once it realises an impact is imminent it will activate a shape-shifting metal in the door. This reinforces the bond between door and frame, which is normally a weak spot, and distributes the force of the blow more safely....

On July 15, DEBKA-Net-Weekly 214 reported that al Qaeda was diluting its Iraq force for a major terror offensive in Europe and Middle East engineered by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and on its recommendation. The countries targeted were named as Britain, Italy, France, Denmark, Russia – with the UK and Italy at the top of the list; and, In the Middle East, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Zarqawi in one recent release: Israel is in our sights – and very soon. Al Qaeda’s ability to carry out tightly coordinated strings of attacks very close together in different...

So where does the shifting political landscape leave Democrats? Should they elect pro-life, pro-gun, pro-war presidential candidates? Not necessarily. But they may consider doing something radical: supporting candidates in Middle America that represent the viewpoints of... well, Middle America. Zell Miller is right. The Democratic Party is a national party no more. But give Ed Gilliespie, Ken Mehlman or myself the keys of the DNC for four years and we could once again put Democrats in power in the House and Senate. That's because Republicans understand middle America-national Democrats don't. Maybe if the Party of FDR listened more to Peter...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

As John Kerry (news - web sites) barnstorms swing states in the election's final days, he has harsh words for President Bush (news - web sites) on the Patriot Act: It doesn't go far enough. Kerry and other Democrats who once called the law, which gives the federal government sweeping powers to fight terrorism in the U.S., a threat to the Constitution are now praising it. The shift is likely because the act remains popular. A Gallup poll earlier this year found 64% said the act was "about right" or "didn't go far enough." With the war on terror a...

U.S. Mulls Shifting Experts from Iraq Arms Hunt By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is considering shifting intelligence personnel in Iraq from the so-far fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction to strengthen efforts to combat the intensifying resistance, officials said on Wednesday. "What's more important right now and what's more destabilizing: the insurgency or knowing about the WMD?" asked a defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Officials said Pentagon leaders are considering reassigning a number of intelligence officers, interrogators, translators, linguists and others from the 1,400-member Iraq Survey Group, which is conducting the hunt for weapons...

Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton tell-all memoir 'Living History' sold about 200,000 copies on its first day of publication, the book's pulbisher said on Tuesday. Simon and Schuster says sales have been so brisk they are ordering another 300,000 copies of the book to be printed on top of the 1 million copies which were printed for Monday's launch.Barnes and Noble the world largest bookseller, said 'Living History' set a one day sales record on Monday for a non fiction book at its stores.The company in a statement said it shifted 40,000 copies in just 24 hours at retail...

US forces are not likely to encounter any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a former UN arms inspector said, noting that Iraqi officials are probably keeping the banned munitions on the move. "US troops in Iraq will not find any facilities with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). I am sure of that," a former chemical and biological weapons expert with the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) told Time magazine. The expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Baghdad "most likely" has closed down any WMD facilities it may have had, the newsweekly reported in its online edition on Thursday....