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Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin enters her debate Thursday night with Democratic rival Joe Biden as many voters harbor serious doubts about her readiness for the nation’s highest office.

An AP-Gfk poll released Wednesday found that just 25 percent of likely voters believe Palin has the right experience to be president. That’s down from 41 percent just after the GOP convention, when the Alaska governor made her well-received debut on the national stage.

Thursday night’s debate in St. Louis gives Palin a chance to overcome the doubts in a 90-minute showcase, her first lengthy give-and-take session since joining the GOP ticket with presidential candidate John McCain.

McCain on Thursday dismissed suggestions that he was upset with campaign staff for holding back Palin and not letting her be herself on the campaign trail.

“We let Sarah be Sarah. She’s smart, she’s tough, she’s been in debates before,” McCain told “Fox & Friends” on Fox News Channel. “The American people … the more they see of her, the more they love her, and I’m confident of that at the end.”

Palin has granted just a handful of interviews and has appeared at times to be uninformed about national issues. For example, in a CBS News interview aired Wednesday she appeared unable to cite a Supreme Court decision with which she disagreed while saying many decisions had divided Americans. McCain and other Republicans criticized such questions as “gotcha journalism.”

“People will have a chance to see her from beginning to end without being edited,” former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., told CBS’ “The Early Show” on Thursday.

“We’ve all had bad days,” Thompson said, “and she’s had some bad moments in some of these interviews, just like the rest of us have had.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a prominent supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign, played up Palin’s debate experience from her race for governor as she argued that Palin has sharper skills than she’s being given credit for. The Democratic National Committee has e-mailed news stories to reporters describing Palin’s able performances in gubernatorial debates in 2006, part of the party’s effort to dispel the notion that Palin is a sub-par debater.

“I think Joe obviously has a challenge tonight. The expectations are so low for Sarah Palin and it’s difficult for him, I think. No matter what he does he’s going to be criticized,” McCaskill told CBS. “Sarah Palin will be tough tonight. She’s a good debater, she’s an effective communicator, and she knows how to throw a punch with a velvet glove and a smile on her face.”

In a conference call Wednesday with reporters, McCaskill was blunt about Biden’s potential for error: “My friend Joe Biden has a tendency to talk forever and sometimes say stuff that’s kind of stupid.” Asked to clarify her remarks, McCaskill said she meant them “affectionately.”

A poor performance by Biden could cement a negative image for the Delaware senator.

Palin has been preparing at McCain’s retreat in Sedona, Ariz. Biden has been undertaking his own intensive preparation near his home in Wilmington, Del., though he went to Washington for Wednesday night’s vote on the economic rescue package.

The 90-minute televised debate was to take place at Washington University in St. Louis, with PBS anchor Gwen Ifill serving as moderator. Ifill herself has come under criticism from some conservatives because she is writing a book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” on how politics in the black community have changed since the civil rights era. She has said she has yet to write the chapter on Obama and questioned why people think it will be favorable toward the Democrat.

“Frankly, I wish they had picked a moderator that isn’t writing a book favorable to Barack Obama,” McCain told Fox News on Thursday. “But I have to have confidence that Gwen Ifill will treat this as a professional journalist that she is.”

Three men who authorities feared were plotting to assassinate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention are facing only gun charges — a signal that officials believe they never posed a real threat.

A federal law enforcement official in Denver said Tuesday the three men and woman arrested Sunday are not expected to be charged with making threatening statements, conspiracy or other national security-related crimes.

It’s possible — but unlikely — that additional charges could come later, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because charges have not yet been filed. U.S. Attorney Troy Eid has said the suspects posed no credible threat to Obama, the convention or others in Denver.

New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday said that she and the party wanted her son Rahul Gandhi to join the council of ministers, but he wanted to continue with his responsibilities in the organisation.

“The party wanted Rahul to join the government, but he has expressed his desire to focus on the responsibility the party has given him,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an oath-taking ceremony for seven new ministers at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP from Amethi, is a party general secretary and in-charge of the party’s youth wing.

Justifying the inclusion of young faces like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada, Sonia Gandhi said the government needed some young faces. “Which is why some young faces have been inducted into the government.”

She also scotched the rumour that made rounds the whole of Sunday that Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh could be called to Delhi to work for the organisation.

“He is very much stable,” she replied when asked to comment on Deshmukh’s fate.

Expressing concern over the rising inflation, which recorded a three-year high of seven percent in the week ended March 22, the Congress chief said the government was taking all possible steps to contain the price rise of essential commodities.

President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office and secrecy to seven new ministers. It was her maiden administration of oath to members of the union ministry.

The new ministers are Manohar Singh Gill, minister of state (independent charge), Jitin Prasada, Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Santosh Bagdoria, Rameshwar Oraon, V. Narayanaswamy (all Congress) and Raghunath Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

A hospital spokeswoman says U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones has been admitted to a Cleveland-area hospital.

Joyce Persuad of Huron Road Hospital in East Cleveland says Tubbs Jones was hospitalized on Tuesday. She says family members have asked that no other information on the five-term Cleveland Democrat be made public.

A telephone message The Associated Press left for an aide to the congresswoman Tuesday night was not immediately returned. A message also was left for a Cleveland police spokesman.

The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones became the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress when she was elected in 1998.

Tubbs Jones is set to be a superdelegate at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver. One of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s biggest boosters during the primaries, she threw her support to Barack Obama in June.

Two U.S. lawmakers have urged the U.S. Justice Department to suspend its investigation of European Internet gambling companies for possible criminal violations that occurred before Congress passed a law in 2006 to crack down on online gambling.

Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, and Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat, warned U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey in separate letters the issue could lead to a potentially damaging trade spat between the United States and the European Union at the World Trade Organization.

“In all likelihood, this issue will escalate and I understand could result in WTO action focused specifically on how the U.S. government enforces its laws. I cannot see how that can be in the interests of this country,” Wexler said in a letter to Mukasey on Wednesday.

European Internet gambling companies lost billions of euros in market value after Congress moved to shut down the U.S. market by making it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

Many publicly traded European companies, such as PartyGaming and 888.com, withdrew from the United States after Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, but have continued to face possible criminal prosecution for activities before then.

That prompted the European Commission to launch a formal investigation in March into whether Washington was singling out EU companies for enforcement actions, while allowing U.S. online firms to operate freely.

Cohen, in a July 29 letter to Mukasey, said the Justice Department still had not given a good reason why it was investigating “foreign operators who respected congressional intent in 2006 and withdrew from the market, while U.S. companies continue to operate uninterrupted.”

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson urged the Bush administration in June to “freeze” any Justice Department action until the EU had completed its probe.

An EU team plans to visit Washington in September as part of its investigation. An earlier scheduled visit in July was delayed at the United States’ request.

Over the years, there have been numerous difficulties regarding the complexities and intricacies of federal tax laws and policies. The administration of federal tax laws relies on the efficiency of the Internal Revenue Service, which has recently been advocating the electronic or online filing of tax returns.

By making this online or internet service free to eligible taxpayers (which actually compose a majority of the population), the settlement of federal tax matters has been made a lot easier. Some affiliate member-companies of the Free File Alliance LLC even offer a free federal return based on your state of residence. In this way, federal tax services are made available indiscriminately to the public at large.

The reduced burden of filing federal taxes

One of the most obvious advantages of online free filing is the diminished complexities and difficulties usually faced by the taxpayer. Through the participation of the affiliate companies, software is made available to the taxpayer for the easier preparation of their returns. This minimizes the chances for mistakes or errors on your return.

And since online tax filing is more convenient than the more burdensome traditional methods, there is less hassle for both the taxpayers and the IRS. Anybody can easily access these services online by visiting the IRS website, which is the starting point for the Free File Program.

You may have heard of some Greek organizations in the news for hazing new members. And, while hazing once was very popular it is no longer the case. That is because sororities and fraternities like Alpha Kappa Alpha are adhering to strict guidelines set forth by their universities in regards to hazing.
Hazing is considered as any act or action that may potentially harm a person emotionally, physically, psychologically, or anything of this nature. This does not matter whether the individual is becoming part of the Greek organization or not. Hazing is a serious infraction of many university regulations and any Greek organization not abiding by these rules will be reprimanded.
This is good news for all the new recruits who are interested in joining Zeta Tau Alpha. Or, those who want to pledge Alpha Xi Delta. Nobody wants to be hazed but many students accept it simply because they want to be part of the Greek organization.
The reason hazing has practically been outlawed is because many student deaths and illnesses occurred that were highlighted in the news. Action has been taken against those organizations and now hazing is severely limited if it occurs at all.

1. im so happy about it and cant wait for the peso to take the lead……sarcasm
2. im so happy about it and cant wait for the peso to take the lead……sarcasm
3. Yes it is correct. The dollar is in steep decline since Bush came into office. If you peruse the Internet and dig up the Dollar Index chart you’ll notice that the dollar has fallen from 120 on the chart when Bush took office to about 76 on the chart today.

   Tax cuts for the rich combined with massive war spending are never a good thing for the value of a currency. None-the-less, that policy can serve to further enrich a cabal of wealthy elites at the expense of the general public — which is exactly what capitalism is designed to do.

4. yes, it is correct.
   today CAD is worth more than USD.

   1 USD = 0.98321 CAD

5. I personally believe that we wouldnt be in the pickel that we are if the “responsable” people we have elected to office for the past 25 yrs would stop spending money like a 16 year old with there dads credit card…

   How strong does our economy really look to outsiders when we havent stopped borrowing money since the was it reagan or nixon?

6. It’s more correct to say that the American dollar is worth less than the Canadian dollar, since the Canadian dollar is worth less than it used to be. Look at the price of gold: $800 per ounce!

   The Federal Reserve is printing paper federal reserve notes rather than the U.S. mint coining gold and silver. That’s why we have inflation.

   Ron Paul wants to return to honest money and abolish the Federal Reserve. He has my vote.

7. http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/conver…
8. Yes it is, 1 US dollar to .98 Canadian cents. I really don’t think too much about it; I’m still looking forward to my Quebec trip in January

1. Absolutely!!

2. No. The President needs to be intelligent and powerful enough not to be a puppet.

3. Nope.

4. Oh my god no. She is the freakiest person I ever heard of. She makes absolutely no sense when she talks. She speaks in that government speak and does not make any sense. Have I mentioned she makes no sense?

5. Possibly, a black woman being president would be GREAT, but I don’t think there’s a chance she would ever run. She does seem to agree with EVERYTHING Bush does, other than that I think she could handle the job.

6. From what I have seen of her, I would seriously consider her as a viable candidate.

7. I would sooner vote for Condie than for Hillary

8. Helllllllllllllllllllllll Nooooooooooooooooooo!

9. It depends on who she ran against but she is definitely very highly regarded by me.

10. nope…no way …not a frig’n shot, she’s as bad as bush and darth cheney

11. Possibly, yes. IMHO, she’s the most qualified woman in America. However, she has never held an elected position in government. I say that she’d be a good VP running mate for the republican party … that would get Hillary’s and the democrat party’s panties in a bunch!

12. I would vote for her before I would Hillary Clinton. And with the way she handling foreign relations and the mid-eastern peace talks I think she would make a good president.

13. Maybe, depend on the other choice

14. She was so weak as the national security adviser and the Secretary of state that Donald Rumsfeld and the defense department bullied their way in to dictating what state department policy should be.

She would be a weak president.

15. depends on her stances and ideals, but i wouldn’t out right rule it out.

16. You bet. It’s nice to have a leader with class. And she’s tough and is a good speaker.

Joey, what a great idea!

17. No, since I never voted for her in anything in the first place. I want to know who the People get to nominate? All we get is a premade selection of choices that I would never make in the first place.

Liberty is the essential heart of freedom. Liberty means being able to choose one’s own actions, without intrusion by government. Every law that restricts your movement, your actions or your words is one that restricts your liberty.

Privacy is the notion that the government will not intrude upon actions that you intend to be private. For instance, intercepting someones mail violates their privacy, as it is expected that only the recipient of the mail will read it.

Every infringement upon privacy can therefore potentially result in a infringement of liberty. For example, a wiretap could lead to an arrest.

People have a right to privacy, that is, they have a right to expect that the government will do as little as necessary to intrude upon their rights. This right is expressly provided for in the bill of rights. These rules govern due process. This is why the police must obtain a warrant to do a search