La. Pol's 'Buckwheat' Remark Sparks Ire  —  HOUMA, La. (AP) — A white state lawmaker in a runoff election called a black civil-rights veteran who had helped her campaign "Buckwheat," prompting the NAACP to urge voters to kick her out of office.  —  Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez, a Democrat …

New Tancredo Ad Depicts Fictional Terrorist Attack  —  Tom Tancredo's new ad, set to run in Iowa — if any stations will accept it, that is — is a true original.  The ad depicts the dire consequences of our open borders through a dramatization of a fictitious terrorist attack in the middle of a shopping mall.

Ron Paul's Prescience  —  Congressman Ron Paul: It just looks like we may well come to a '79, '80.  Do you anticipate there's a possibility that we'll face a crisis of the dollar such as we had in '79 and 1980?  Chairman Bernanke: "The Federal Reserve is committed to mainly low and stable inflation …

Panel May Cut Sentences For Crack  —  An independent panel is considering reducing the sentences of inmates incarcerated in federal prisons for crack cocaine offenses, which would make thousands of people immediately eligible to be freed.  —  The U.S. Sentencing Commission …

Gays should be hanged, says Iranian minister  —  Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learnt.  —  Mohsen Yahyavi is the highest-ranked politician to admit …

Righting Reagan's Wrongs?  —  Let's set the record straight on Ronald Reagan's campaign kickoff in 1980.  —  Early one morning in the late spring of 1964, Dr. Carolyn Goodman, her husband, Robert, and their 17-year-old son, David, said goodbye to David's brother, Andrew, who was 20.

Dean says Jews can go to heaven  —  Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean came out for inclusive team prayers in public schools while speaking Sunday to a gathering of thousands of Jewish leaders, according to a leading Jewish news agency.  —  In another statement likely …

CAN TEEN SEX PREVENT DELINQUENCY?  —  Discoveries of genetic differences between races are worrying intellectuals.  Benefits of finding differences: 1) It helps us understand diseases.  2) It helps people clarify their ancestry.  3) It helps us target drugs and prenatal tests to populations likely to benefit from them.

Where did all the Jena 6 money go?  —  The Chicago Tribune's Howard Witt penned an investigative piece published yesterday on the controversy surrounding the charitable funds raised for the Jena 6.  I'm sure you'll be shocked to learn that much of the money can't be traced …

Oxford Word of the Year  —  A lady from the Oxford University Press e-mailed today to inform me that the New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen its "Word of the Year."  I noted last year's winner: "Carbon neutral."  Well, this year, they've gone environmentally correct again.

What Makes a Terrorist  —  It's not poverty and lack of education, according to economic research by Princeton's ALAN KRUEGER.  Look elsewhere.  —  In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, policymakers, scholars, and ordinary citizens asked a key question …

Borders Adds TV Watching to Its Bookstores' Entertainment  —  Borders bookstores — with their cafes, toys and games and large displays of movies and music — have never exactly been confused with, say, university libraries.  —  A new strategy at Borders will reinforce the message that its stores …

Contemplating the Meaning of 'Life'  —  In 1977, when Gerald L. Hessell was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder, a gallon of gas cost 62 cents and a life term in Michigan meant about 15 years.  —  But Michigan changed its parole system in 1992, replacing a parole board …

Strikers Gain Fan Support  —  Although the Writers Guild of America 's pre-strike media campaign was criticized as sluggish, the guild's headline-grabbing series of protests last week have managed to attract the sympathy of some viewers.  —  Seventeen entertainment blogs—among them Televisionary …