The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 12/24/2006 - 12/31/2006

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Ding Dong... Saddam is Dead

SADDAM EXECUTED !

Saddam Hussein, the ex-Iraqi dictator who probably supported al-Qaida during its preparations for the 9/11 attack on the U.S. and then abandoned Baghdad in front of advancing American military forces to retreat to an underground bunker, has been executed for ordering the deaths of his own countrymen.

Al Arabiya TV reported Hussein was hanged shortly before 10 p.m. Eastern. along with his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and former judge Awad al-Bander.

He had been sentenced to hang by the new democratic judiciary in the nation he once ruled with not only threats but actual executions and exterminations. Iraqis also had told how he once ordered the use of poison gas on Kurds, killing an untold number.


Iraqi TV pictures of Saddam Hussein's final moments

Hundreds of Iraqis Applied to be Hangman

Friday, December 29, 2006

Coalition and Iraqi Forces Kill and Capture Terrorists

Coalition and Iraqi forces killed six terrorists and captured 32 suspected terrorists today, military officials reported.

Coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained two others during a raid against al Qaeda terrorists today in Baghdad. While moving toward the targeted building, coalition forces encountered two armed men who had exited nearby buildings. Coalition forces assessed the two armed men as an immediate threat and engaged them. Both men were wounded.

Coalition forces immediately rendered first aid and transported the two men to a nearby medical facility. Upon further investigation, coalition forces determined the men were local nationals. The men are in stable condition.

Additional forces performing security outside the targeted building were confronted by two armed terrorists during the raid. The terrorists began maneuvering toward coalition forces despite the ground troops' repeated attempts to halt the men. The terrorists were noncompliant and continued to maneuver toward the coalition forces who engaged, killing the two armed terrorists.

Ground forces entered the targeted building and found a weapons cache consisting of AK-47s, which was seized. Two suspected terrorists were also detained during the raid.

Elsewhere, coalition forces killed four terrorists and destroyed two buildings along with nearby cache sites containing improvised explosive device equipment during a raid today in Thar Thar.

Intelligence reports indicated roadside bombs were being produced in the targeted buildings. Upon entering the first building, coalition forces were engaged by armed terrorists. Coalition forces returned fire, killing four terrorists.

While searching the targeted buildings and surrounding area, ground forces found a significant cache consisting a large amount of IED-making material, including 16 pounds of homemade explosives, one 60-pound and one 80-pound bomb.

Also found on the site were multiple batteries, blasting caps, a rocket-propelled grenade,100 feet of detonation cord, suicide vests, grenades and machine guns.

Coalition forces coordinated an air strike that destroyed the buildings containing the weapons cache.

In another operation, special Iraqi police forces, with coalition advisers, captured two suspected insurgent cell leaders during operations today in Bahbahani, near Iskandariyah. The suspected insurgents are allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Iraqi civilians in the area.

The insurgent cell leaders, who are tied to al Qaeda in Iraq, are also implicated in numerous roadside bomb attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces in the Babil and Karbala provinces.

In other developments, coalition forces detained two suspects during operations today in the Ad Dawrah area of southern Baghdad to capture a suspected member of al Qaeda in Iraq who allegedly plans and participates in the kidnapping of Iraqi civilians. He is also alleged to advise on and facilitates violent activities, kidnappings and murders perpetuated by other insurgents.

Additionally, special Iraqi army forces detained 13 suspects during operations today in Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad, to capture the alleged commander of illegal armed group elements responsible for sectarian violence and attacks against Iraqi civilians in the area.

The Iraqi-led operation, with coalition advisers, involved entry into the Salman Pak mosque. The mosque was reportedly used as a base of operations for planning and conducting attacks, kidnappings and murder. Credible intelligence also indicated the mosque was being used by illegal armed groups as a place to store and traffic weapons.

Iraqi forces entered the mosque and confiscated a large weapons cache consisting of 21 armored vests, two rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, three heavy machine guns, 10 assault rifles and 12 grenades.

Twenty RPG rounds were also found, but destroyed near the objective after explosive ordnance disposal personnel determined their condition prevented transport. The rounds were destroyed in a location that minimized any damage to the mosque.

Read More Here:

Iraqi and Coalition Forces Capture 48 Terrorists

Iraqi Forces Capture 16 Terrorists

Coaltion and Iraqi Forces Detain 13 Terror Suspects/Discover 3 Weapons Caches

Iraqi Forces Kill 4 Insurgents

Iraqi Forces Kill 1 Capture 14 Terrorists

Coaltion and Iraqi Forces Kill 3 and Detain 10 Suspected Terrorists

Coalition and Iraqi Forces Capture 60 Insurgents/Kill 1 Cell Leader

Coaltion Forces Kill Senior Taliban Leader

Coaltion and Iraqi Forces Crackdown on Insurgents

Iraqi Forces Eager to Help

Iraqi Police/Civilians Show Courage Under Fire

President Bush a Hero

Says former NYC Mayor Edward Koch....

President George W. Bush, vilified by many, supported by some, is a hero to me.

Why do I say that? It's not because I agree with the president's domestic agenda. It's not because I think he's done a perfect job in the White House.

George Bush is a hero to me because he has courage.

The president does what he believes to be in the best interest of the United States. He sticks with his beliefs, no matter how intense the criticism and invective that are directed against him every day.

The enormous defeat President Bush suffered with the loss of both Houses of Congress has not caused him to retreat from his position that the U.S. alone now stands between a radical Islamic takeover of many of the world's governments in the next 30 or more years. If that takeover occurs, we will suffer an enslavement that will threaten our personal freedoms and take much of the world back into the Dark Ages.

Read More Here

Poll: Bush Top 'Good Guy' and 'Bad Guy'

Bad guy of 2006: President Bush. Good guy of 2006: President Bush.


When people were asked in an AP-AOL News poll to name the villains and heroes of the year, Bush topped both lists, in a sign of these polarized times.


Bush won the villain sweepstakes by a landslide, with one in four respondents putting him at the top of that bad-guy list. When people were asked to name the candidate for villain that first came to mind, Bush far outdistanced even Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader in hiding; and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who is scheduled for execution.


The president was picked as hero of the year by a much smaller margin. In the poll, 13 percent named him as their favorite while 6 percent cited the troops in Iraq.

Saddam to hang, but how soon ?

UPDATE: Saddam Hanged at 10 PM EST Friday
Senior Iraqi officials on Friday dismissed suggestions from Washington that they would hang Saddam Hussein this weekend and said some in cabinet were pushing for the execution to be put off for a month or more.

But Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has called for the ousted president put to death this year for killing and oppressing Shi'ites, said there would be "no review or delay" in the sentence following this week's failure of Saddam's appeal.

And a defense lawyer said he thought Saddam might well die on Saturday after lawyers were told to collect his belongings.

But in a continuation of public confusion at the highest levels and secrecy over the historic proceedings, Iraq's Justice Ministry, which must carry out the execution, denied it had taken custody of Saddam from his U.S. military jailers and said it could not legally hang him for nearly a month.

One senior cabinet official told Reuters that ethnic Kurdish minority leaders were pressing for a second trial, for genocide against Kurds in the 1980s, to conclude before any execution.

"It's none of the Americans' business to decide when," a senior Justice Ministry official said after a U.S. official said Saddam could die as early as Saturday. He insisted the ministry could not legally put him to death until January 26, when 30 days will have elapsed since the appeals court gave its judgment.

With some of Saddam's fellow Sunnis angry at what they see as a political act of vengeance by the U.S.-sponsored court and many Kurds keen to see him first convicted of genocide against them, the timing of Saddam's walk to the gallows is an explosive issue for a country on the brink of sectarian civil war.


Read More Here: Saddam May Hang Within Hours and Here: Saddam to Be Executed Saturday

UN Sniveling Over Saddam Verdict and Sentence

The UN human rights chief on Thursday called for restraint by Iraqi authorities over Saddam Hussein's death sentence, saying there were concerns about the fairness of the original trial.

"The appeal judgment is a lengthy and complex decision that requires careful study," Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

Arbour also said that under the terms of international agreements signed by Iraq Saddam had the right to appeal to "appropriate authorities" for possible commutation or a pardon.

An appeals court decision upholding Saddam Hussein's death sentence for crimes against humanity is final and does not require the approval of President Jalal Talabani, a presidential spokesman said Wednesday.

"The president's approval is not needed," said Hiwa Osman, Talabani's media adviser. "The court's decision is final."

Iraqi officials had said prior to the appeals court ruling on Tuesday, which upheld the death sentence and said it must be carried out within 30 days, that any decision to impose the death penalty must be ratified by Talabani and Iraq's two vice presidents.

The appeals court ruled the death sentence must be carried out within 30 days.

"There were a number of concerns as to the fairness of the original trial, and there needs to be assurance that these issues have been comprehensively addressed. I call, therefore, on the Iraqi authorities not to act precipitately in seeking to execute the sentence in these cases," Arbour said.

She said Iraq and the international community had an interest in making sure the death sentence was imposed only after a trial and appeal seen as credible and impartial.

"That is especially so in a case as exceptional as this one," she added.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Troups in Irak Snub Karry




According to the Hot Talk Blog, a soldier serving in Iraq reported that on Kerry's recent visit there, Kerry found himself all alone. He cancelled his press conference because no one came, he worked out alone in the gym without any soldiers going up to him and requesting autographs, etc.. He found himself eating breakfast without any troops present as seen in the photograph on the left.

..."GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!"

Powerline has this story.

Michelle Malkin has this.

Ruling: Constitution Requires Marriage Vote in Mass

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has ruled that it is unconstitutional for state lawmakers to refuse to vote on an initiative that calls for marriage to be limited to one man and one woman in that state.

The ruling could not have been better for advocates of traditional, biblically-based marriage, Brian W. Raum, the senior legal counsel for the the Alliance Defense Fund told WND.

"The plaintiff in that case had asked the court to issue a declaratory judgment and a writ of mandamus. The court (said it) didn't have the authority to force the legislature to vote, but it issued a lengthy opinion which established � that the legislature has a constitutional duty to vote," he said.

At issue is an initiative in Massachusetts signed by 170,000 people seeking to have a question placed on the 2008 ballot that would allow voters to decide how marriage should be defined. Massachusetts currently "authorizes" same-sex couples to be married based on an opinion from the state court system, and rules that have been implemented by officials in the state.

The initiative, organized by VoteOnMarriage.org, was presented to the legislature since by Massachusetts' Constitution, lawmakers must vote on any initiative presented to them.

However, only 50 affirmative votes are needed to place the issue on the ballot, and through the political maneuverings of pro-"gay marriage" factions in the legislature, members voted to recess until Jan. 2, the last legal day of the current legislative session, without voting on the initiative.

The ADF has a federal lawsuit pending against the 109 individual lawmakers who endorsed that recess vote, and Raum said the state court opinion, in a separate state legal case brought by some of those who signed the initiative, simply strengthens that.

The court's conclusion is that "members of the joint session have a constitutional duty to vote � before recessing on Jan. 2, 2007," Raum told WND.

"That's significant. The legislators have no excuse. There's the argument that they have a right to avoid the vote, just because the Supreme Judicial Court has not ordered them to vote. But any way you slice it, they're breaking the law, acting unconstitutionally," Raum said.

"This decision by the SJC strengthens the federal case against the individual legislators," he said. "We're claiming the legislature violated the federal Constitution by depriving people of the right to vote."

"Legislators who act illegally must be held accountable," Raum said. "If Massachusetts legislators do not vote, they will be in clear violation of the state and federal Constitutions."

He said it's not surprising that the court would decline to order a vote by lawmakers, an order that could be interpreted as violating the separation of powers. But he said that doesn't make the lawmakers' refusal to vote legal.

He said the institutional power supporting homosexual marriages appeared to be strong, extending even to a series of news media reports that came out of Massachusetts, such as one that said, "Massachusetts' highest court dealt a blow to gay marriage opponents, saying it cannot force state lawmakers to vote on holding a referendum that could ban same-sex unions."

Another report said the court had no authority to order a vote.

But Lisa Barstow, of the VoteOnMarriage organization, said the decision was clear.

"The Supreme Judicial Court has made it crystal clear that legislators have a constitutional obligation to vote on the marriage amendment," she said. "There are no more excuses."

Glen Lavy, a senior counsel for the ADF, said when the federal lawsuit was filed that there will be "big trouble" if lawmakers who have sworn to uphold the Constitution "can willfully ignore it with impunity once in office."

The federal lawsuit seeks a holding of personal liability for the individual lawmakers who have refused to bring the issue to a vote.

John Haskins, who works with the unrelated group, Parents Rights Coalition, said the action is the result of the grassroots in Massachusetts and around the country insisting that the pro-family legal community not give up on Massachusetts and that legal strategies that had not been considered be employed.

He said pro-family lawyers "will either start taking the gloves off and learning to play offense and adamantly defend the state and federal Constitutions they've sworn to defend or we might as well pack it up and go home."

Haskins also works with a group called Mass Resistance.

"Ultimately what we all want is marriage between one man and one woman to be restored in Massachusetts," Barstow told WND. "We believe the route we are taking is the correct route."

The federal lawsuit, which is available online, was filed in U.S. District Court in Worcester, Mass., and names 109 legislators for violating the constitutional rights of state residents by intentionally refusing to vote on the citizen initiative.

"The evidence is overwhelming that those in the Massachusetts legislature who continue to recess the Constitutional Convention are doing so in an illegal effort to kill the marriage amendment by violating the state constitution," said Kris Mineau, chief of the Massachusetts Family Institute.

The proposed initiative would expire if there's no action by the end of the legislative session on Jan. 2, 2007, officials said.

Sen. President Robert Travaglini controls the rostrum during the convention and as such has sole discretion to control debate, said the VoteOnMarriage.org group. "House Speaker Sal DiMasi, a vocal opponent of the marriage amendment, lobbied a majority of the caucus on November 9, 2006, to vote to recess the convention to the last day of the legislative calendar � an effort to kill the amendment without a clear up or down vote," the group said.

Also participating in the state lawsuit was outgoing Gov. Mitt Romney, who had sent a letter to the 109 lawmakers who voted to recess, saying they were "frustrating the democratic process and subverting the plain meaning of the Constitution" by refusing to vote.

The legal action then was brought on behalf of Romney, acting as a resident of the state, and several other people.

45,000 Airport Employees Get Muslim Sensitivity Training

The Transportation Security Administration � created after 9/11 to safeguard America's airports � is providing Islamic sensitivity training to 45,000 airport security officers so they'll know what to expect when Muslims fly from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia to participate in the annual "hajj," or pilgrimage to Mecca.

"We put out information telling everyone that hajj is coming; this is the time frame; individuals are going to be traveling with these types of items," TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser told the State Department's USINFO Web site Tuesday. Calling it "cultural sensitivity training," Kayser added that airport security officials need "just to be aware that they may also be praying."


Welcoming TSA's Islamic sensitivity training is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, which describes itself as "America's largest Islamic civil liberties group." In a press release praising the program yesterday, CAIR noted that it distributes a pocket guide titled "Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim."

"As an airline passenger," the CAIR guide states, "you are entitled to courteous, respectful and non-stigmatizing treatment by airline and security personnel. You have the right to complain about treatment that you believe is discriminatory."


The press release also quoted the group's communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, as saying CAIR representatives nationwide have met with not only the TSA, but also from Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection officials on "issues related to cultural sensitivity and national security."

Last June a senior Department of Homeland Security official from Washington personally guided CAIR officials on a behind-the-scenes tour of Customs screening operations at O'Hare International Airport in response to CAIR complaints that Muslim travelers were being unfairly delayed as they entered the U.S. from abroad.

During the June airport tour, CAIR was taken on a walk through the point-of-entry, Customs stations, secondary screening and interview rooms. In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents were asked to describe for CAIR representatives various features of the high-risk passenger lookout system. Brian Humphrey, Customs and Border Patrol's executive director of field operations, assured CAIR officials that agents do not single out Muslim passengers for special screening and that they must undergo a mandatory course in Muslim sensitivity training. The course teaches agents that Muslims believe jihad is an "internal struggle against sin" and not holy warfare.

Customs agents involved in the CAIR tour at O'Hare told WorldNetDaily they were outraged that headquarters would reveal sensitive counterterrorism procedures to an organization that has seen several of its own officials convicted of terror-related charges since 9-11.

CAIR says the June tour allayed its concerns about profiling and that it "looks forward to continuing the relationship with U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices in the region, and to furthering understanding between the organizations as well as facilitating future communication in order to eliminate problems for Muslim travelers before they even arise."

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Nuclear Trafficking Reports Double

Reported incidents of trafficking and mishandling nuclear material worldwide doubled between 2000 and 2005, mainly because of heightened awareness and more extensive screening, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday.

The department received 215 reports of nuclear trafficking and related criminal activity worldwide in 2005, versus 100 incidents in 2000, said Jarrod Agen, a Homeland Security spokesman. The incidents included illegal diversion, purchase, sale, transport or storage of nuclear material.

"Only a handful of the known illicit nuclear/radiological trafficking incidents involved weapons-usable nuclear materials," Agen said. "Of the known smuggling incidents to date, the vast majority were profit-motivated scams involving bogus materials."

The number of trafficking incidents recorded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was more than double that reported in August by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Geneva-based U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had received reports of 103 incidents of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and radioactive materials in 2005.

It cited a 2005 New Jersey case in which a lab inadvertently disposed of 0.1 ounce (3.3 grams) of highly enriched uranium. A lab worker failed to locate one of several samples in a shipment and apparently threw it away with the packaging, which was buried at a landfill. The lab was later fined $3,250 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Homeland Security figures include IAEA reporting as well as other information obtained by intelligence and law enforcement agencies, Agen said.

"What has doubled is the number of reported events," he said. "This is due mainly to an increase in awareness, more comprehensive reporting and an increase in the number of number of detection devices."

Since the September 11 attacks, security awareness has become higher worldwide, and the United States has increased the number and sophistication of screening machines across the country.

"We screen about 80 percent of all cargo that comes into the U.S. through radiation portal monitors, and by the end of next year we will be at 100 percent," Agen said. "That gives you an indication of how seriously we take screening for radioactive material."

Saddam's execution to be televised?

Saddam Hussein could be hanged within days after the rejection of his appeal by Iraq's highest court yesterday.
The former Iraqi dictator was sentenced to death in November over the killing of 148 Shia Muslims from the town of Dujail in 1982. He is facing another trial accused of genocide against the Kurds - but that may now never be completed.

The death sentence from the first trial must be implemented within 30 days, the chief judge, Aref Shahin, said yesterday, hinting that it could come even sooner: "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation."

Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a member of the Shia majority persecuted under Saddam's Sunni-minority rule, has already said he wants the execution to take place before the end of the year.

One option would be to do it without prior announcement in an attempt to forestall possible protests - though some Shia elements have called for the hanging to be televised. Saddam, 69, is in the custody of US forces, so Washington could also have a say in the timing.

The British government opposes the death penalty. "It's a matter for the Iraqi tribunal but we've always made our position clear," a Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday.

Saddam's chief defence counsel, Khalil al-Dulaimi, told Reuters from Amman: "If they dare implement the sentence it will be a catastrophe for the region and will only deepen the sectarian infighting."

The appeals court decision must be ratified by President Jalal Talabani and Iraq's two vice-presidents. Mr Talabani opposes the death penalty but has in the past deputed a vice-president to sign an execution order on his behalf - a substitute that was legally accepted.

Raed Juhi, a spokesman for the court that convicted Saddam, said the judicial system would ensure he was executed even if Mr Talabani and the two vice-presidents did not ratify the decision. "We"ll implement the verdict by the power of the law," he said without elaborating.

In yesterday's ruling the court also rejected appeals by Saddam's half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, and a former judge, Awad al-Bander, both of whom were sentenced to death over the Dujail killings.

It rejected the life sentence on the former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, recommending execution instead.

In a detailed report last month, the New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned the verdict in Saddam's case as unsound, saying the court had been guilty of so many shortcomings that a fair trial was impossible. Amnesty International said the trial was flawed.

Former President Gerald Ford Dies at 93

Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal- shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Mrs. Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

The statement did not say where Ford died or list a cause of death. Ford had battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments _ including an angioplasty _ in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93. Ford had been living at his desert home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Iraq appeals court upholds Saddam death sentence

A panel of Iraqi judges has upheld the death sentence passed against Saddam Hussein, a spokesman for the court said, in a decision that could see the ousted dictator hanged within 30 days.

"The appeals court has ratified the sentence of the execution of Saddam," Judge Raed Jouhi told AFP on Tuesday.

Under Iraqi law a death sentence, once confirmed at appeal, should be carried out within a month. Jouhi would not confirm this would be the case, however, saying that this was a matter for "the executive".

In theory, Iraq's head of state President Jalal Talabani must ratify all capital sentences, but he has previously said he would leave such a job to his vice presidents because of his personal opposition to the death penalty.

Saddam was sentenced to death in November for his role in the execution of 148 Shiites as part of a revenge campaign launched after an assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail in 1982.

Members of the country's Shiite majority braved a strict curfew to celebrate the judgement with rowdy street parties, but some members of the once dominant Sunni community held protests and demanded Saddam's release.

It was not immediately clear whether the six other defendants convicted with Saddam at the Dujail trial had also failed in their appeal.

Two of those convicted, Saddam's half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and former revolutionary court judge Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, also face the death penalty.

Saddam is also currently being tried in a second case for allegedly ordering the slaughter of 182,000 Kurdish civilians during the 1988 Anfal campaign, but Iraqi authorities have previously said they would execute Saddam regardless of that case.

Pelosi to seat Democrat though Republican won?

The certified winner of an office in the U.S. House of Representatives may not be seated with other members of Congress by incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi next week for one reason.

He's a Republican.

In an extremely close race in Florida's 13th District, Republican Vern Buchanan defeated Democrat Christine Jennings by 369 votes. But ongoing legal challenges by Democrats are putting Buchanan's claim to the seat in jeopardy, now that the party in control of the majority has shifted away from the GOP.

"The bottom line here is that nothing's off the table," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The paper reports Pelosi has refused to shut the door on Jennings, until all audits, lawsuits and a House investigation are completed.

Aides for Buchanan say the Republican will be in the nation's capital next month despite the threat from Pelosi's office.

"Historical precedent is that when there's a contested race the certified winner be seated," said Buchanan spokeswoman Sally Tibbetts. "Therefore, we fully expect Vern Buchanan to be seated on Jan. 4."

But Pelosi's office says seating a certified victor is more of a Republican interpretation and not a concrete rule. For instance, in 1984, a Democrat-controlled House refused to seat Republican Richard McIntyre, the certified winner by 418 votes after a state-ordered recount.

Two weeks ago, national Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Buchanan should "absolutely not" be seated Jan. 4.

But not all Democrats appear to be jumping on the bandwagon to keep out the Republican.

"At most, he should be seated provisionally," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., a close ally of Jennings. "In my mind, I can't really justify leaving the constituents of the 13th District without representation during the House Administration and the court's review."

At this point, neither a state audit of the touch-screen voting machines nor lawsuits by Jennings and voting groups have produced any evidence to suggest malfunction on Election Day.

The contested election is now in the political realm as Jennings has taken her challenge to Congress, filing a contest with the House Administration Committee seeking an investigation and, possibly, a new election.

Such a move could take months to resolve.

If Buchanan is indeed seated next week, history would be on his side for keeping it. Out of 105 contests filed since 1933, only twice has someone been unseated, with the last occurrence in 1967.