From United Press International:

Terrorism and the economy top the issues for voters ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections in the United States, a UPI-Zogby International poll showed.

The 8,090 likely U.S. voters participating in a Zogby interactive poll were asked to select two issues most important in selecting a candidate when they head to the polls next week.

Terrorism led with 36 percent of those asked picking that threat. The war in Iraq was third at 26.9 percent. The Bush administration has worked to link the war on the terror and the fighting in Iraq. Critics say that situation has made the United States less safe from terrorists.

Some 43.6 percent of Democrats in the poll listed Iraq as their top issue while 66.9 percent of Republicans mentioned terrorism.

The issue of the U.S. economy, seemingly strong, was second at 28.4 percent overall and second across the political spectrum.

The immigration issue was fourth at 22.5 percent followed by foreign policy (21.9 percent), healthcare (16.3), taxes (12.9) and civil rights (8.2).

The poll was taken Oct. 20-23 and has a margin of error of 1.1 percentage points.

From United Press International:

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Wednesday attempted to repair the damage from a "botched joke" that wound up insulting U.S. troops.

On Monday, Kerry told students in Pasadena, Calif., if they didn't value their education, they would end up "stuck in Iraq," which President George Bush promptly seized on in a speech in Georgia, where he called the remark "insulting" and "shameful."

Kerry issued a statement Wednesday saying he wanted to make it clear he did not intend to insult any of the men and women in uniform.

"I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended," Kerry said in a statement.

"It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don't want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops."

From United Press International:

The "values, morals and character" of a candidate top the pre-election selection process of participants in a UPI-Zogby International poll.

The 8,086 likely U.S. voters who participated in a Zogby interactive poll were asked to select two areas of consideration as they prepare for Tuesday's election in the United States.

The option "their values, morals and character" topped the results with 42.6 percent of those asked giving that response. That choice was first among Republican respondents -- 63.2 percent choose it -- and self-described independents, 39.2 percent of whom listed character. However, it was fifth on the list of Democrats, 24 percent of whom mentioned "values, morals and character."

The top consideration for Democrats was opposition to the war in Iraq; 42.3 percent of Democrats said that was important. But that issue came in fourth overall at 22.1 percent of all participants mentioning it.

Second overall, at 34.9 percent, was a candidate's leadership and experience while "concern for people like you" was third at 22.3 percent.

"Support for the war in Iraq" was fifth (18.8 percent) followed by opposition to U.S. President George Bush (18.1 percent) and support for the president (12.4).

Party allegiance -- mentioned by 4.2 percent -- was 10th.

The poll, conducted Oct. 20-23, has a 1.1-percentage-point margin of error.

From United Press International:

A foiled British terror plot to blow up 10 passenger aircraft with liquid bombs was meant to occur over U.S. cities, a senior FBI official says.

Mark Mershon, head of the FBI's New York field office, made the observation at the Infosecurity 2006 conference in New York on Oct. 24. The conference was reported on this week by Government Security News.

"The plan was bring them down over U.S. cities, not over the ocean," Mershon said, adding the plotters' goal was to maximize damage and loss of life.

On Aug. 10, British police and the MI5 domestic security service conducted raids in which 25 people were arrested and charged with conspiring to mix liquid bombs from common chemicals taken aboard in carry-on baggage on non-stop Britain-U.S. flights.

U.S. intelligence officials had originally thought the plan was for the suicide bombers to strike while the aircraft were over the Atlantic Ocean, The New York Times said.

From United Press International:

The Central Command's report that Iraq was nearing chaos was a snapshot, not an overall portrait of the war, White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

Snow, during a briefing Wednesday, said the report was taken during Ramadan, when violence was intense. Since that time, sectarian violence and casualties across Iraq and in Baghdad dropped, Snow said.

Snow was commenting on whether President George W. Bush was aware of the Central Command report during his conference last week when he said, "We are absolutely winning" in Iraq.

Snow said Bush understands "the only way we'll lose is if we give up, if we walk out before the job's done."

Snow said the improved numbers don't mean the United States should be overly optimistic.

"It's a war," Snow said, "and sometimes things get worse, and what you do is you adjust to make sure that you win."

From United Press International:

A new challenge to the U.S. government's detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba has been filed in Washington.

The federal appeals court petition claims the United States cannot indefinitely imprison foreign nationals in a military prison without charging them and cannot deny them access to the judicial system.

The move is the first to challenge the Military Commissions Act, which U.S. President George Bush signed into law Oct. 17. It set new rules for terror suspects, replacing military tribunals with military trials. It also set the stage for the government to move to throw out hundreds of pending lawsuits by detainees, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Wednesday's challenge claims the new law doesn't override centuries-old burden-of-proof concepts known as habeas corpus, which Congress can only circumvent in cases of invasion or rebellion, the Post said.

The Justice Department has a Nov. 13 deadline to respond in a court brief, the report said.

John Kerry’s Career

Reaction:

Republicans Tuesday said U.S. Sen. John Kerry insulted the troops when he told Los Angeles students they might "get stuck in Iraq" if they do not study hard.

"This is an absolute insult," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "And I'm a little astonished that he didn't figure it out already. I mean, you know, if I were Senator Kerry -- I mean, you've seen me, I say something stupid, I apologize as quickly as possible. And this is something for which he ought to apologize."

President Bush and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also denounced Kerry's remark, the New York Times reported.

The Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 presidential nominee struck back, although he said that he was making a "botched joke" during a campaign appearance for a Democratic congressional candidate Monday. He said that Snow and the others distorted what he said.

"I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed-suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq," Kerry said in a statement. "It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have."

From United Press International:

The North Korean government said Wednesday its decision to resume nuclear disarmament talks was based on the United States easing economic sanctions.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the country would resume talks with South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia "on the premise that the issue of lifting financial sanctions will be discussed and settled."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the diplomatic breakthrough Tuesday, and said talks would resume soon, although a date was not set.

The U.S. sanctions were imposed on a Macao-based bank the Bush administration contends was fueling a North Korean money laundering and counterfeiting operation.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised North Korea's decision and China's role in getting the talks resumed after nearly a yearlong standoff, the Kyodo news agency reported.

However, asked if the talks would lead to Japan lifting its own sanctions on North Korea, Abe said "Not at all," Kyodo reported.

From United Press International:

Experts say the Bush administration will face a number of challenges if the Democrats take over Congress in next week's U.S. mid-term elections.

Current and former government officials predict Congress will take a more active role in U.S. foreign policy and other issues if Democrats prevail on Nov. 7, The Washington Times reported Monday.

"You're going to have much more legislative oomph, and (Congress is) going to be much more active on a whole range of issues," said Kurt Campbell, who served under the Clinton administration as a top Pentagon and National Security Council aide and now directs international security programs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"It won't be, 'Oh, that's fine; you go about your business in Iran and just let us know how it's going,' or, 'Tell us about North Korea when you're done with the negotiations,'" he said.

Some Republicans have claimed a Democrat-led Congress would bog down the administration's efforts in the war on terrorism with oversight hearings and investigations into past events.

"I think Americans would prefer our generals to be fighting terrorists as opposed to fighting subpoenas," Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said.

From United Press International:

The Democratic Party, seeking to retake the U.S. House of Representatives, has recruited some conservative and moderate candidates.

The candidates often hold views at odds with the national Democratic platform, such as opposition to abortion rights and gun control laws, The New York Times reported Monday.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, pushed aside criticism that the new moderate voices in the party would not have a strong voice in a Democrat-controlled House.

"Will they have an impact? Absolutely," Emanuel told the Times. "They're going to have an impact on the Congress and the caucus."

Democratic officials said they did not specifically seek moderate and conservative candidates, they merely looked for potential congressmen who could win against Republican incumbents and challengers for open seats.

"My guess is that if Democrats are in the majority, it's going to be because of these New Democrat, Blue Dog candidates out there winning in these competitive swing districts," said Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., referring to the Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions of conservative and moderate Democrats.

From United Press International:

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney suggested Monday that Iraqi insurgents have stepped up violent attacks to influence next week's U.S. congressional elections.

In an interview on Fox News, Cheney said he believes the U.S. public is more willing to take military casualties since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"They specifically can't beat us in a stand-up fight," Cheney said in the Fox interview. "They never have. But whether it's al-Qaida or the other elements that are active in Iraq, they are betting on the proposition they can break the will of the American people. They think we won't have the stomach for the fight long-term. Osama bin Laden says as much. He talks about this."

Cheney did not mention the Shiite militias and the sectarian violence that has killed hundreds of Iraqis in Baghdad.

The vice president defended the Bush record on the economy and suggested that if the Democratic Party wins control of Congress its leaders would try to roll back the Bush tax cuts, Fox reported.

GOP USA chronicles ACLU lawsuit.

A Christian mom in Indiana is praying the American Civil Liberties Union will not succeed in shutting down a release-time religious education program in her children's school district.

The ACLU recently filed a lawsuit challenging a program in the Mooresville school district that allows third and fourth graders to leave the classroom for one hour a week to learn about topics such as the creation, the flood, and key figures in the Old Testament. A parent objected to the fact that the classes are held in a trailer on school property and teachers hand out enrollment cards to students wishing to participate.

The ACLU claims it does not have a problem with the release-time program itself. Rather, the civil liberties group says it objects to the fact that the religious classes are held on school property and that teachers are involved in collecting parental permission slips from students who enroll. But according to one of the community parents, the lawsuit is not sitting well with the majority of Mooresville residents.

Some demographics and details from the AP-AOL News poll on people looking for political news and information on the Web. The poll was conducted by Ipsos, an international polling firm.

OVERALL: 35 percent in this country say they look to the Internet for political news - a number that rises to 43 percent among likely voters. Online political browsers are most likely to go to news sites such as those operated by the newspapers, networks and newsmagazine - with almost nine in 10 saying they check such sites. More than one-third go to candidates' sites and almost half go to political sites.

WHO CHECKS THE WEB: Among all adults, almost four in 10 men check the Web for political news compared with three in 10 women. About four in 10 of those under age 50 search the Web for political news, compared with fewer than two in 10 of those 65 and over. More than half of those with college degrees look to the Web for politics, compared with one-third of those who have some college and fewer than one in six with a high school education or less.

ISSUE DIFFERENCES: Likely voters who get election information from the Web are more likely to trust Republicans on who would best handle taxes, 46 percent, compared with 38 percent who don't use the Web to get election information. Those who use the Web for political information are less likely to say that corruption and scandal in Congress will influence their vote in November, 34 percent, than those who don't use the internet to get election information, 48 percent. Online political browsers are somewhat less likely to say terrorism is a very or extremely important issue to them personally, 74 percent, than those who don't use the Web to get election information, 84 percent.

Perhaps convinced that their sanctimonious tongue-clucking over the Mark Foley scandal would keep us Christian rubes from voting at all, Democrats began writing off our votes weeks ago. I get the sense that they picture us sitting in our rocking chairs, spittoon nearby, shotgun across our lap, whittling-stick at the ready, muttering to each other, "If them Republicans are gonna allow ho-mo-sexuals into that there party of theirs, I ain't never votin' fer 'em agin!"

The radicals at the heart of the Democratic Party actually think we will stay home while they are elected to lead our country. From the ominous specter of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House to the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling mandating marital rights for homosexuals, religious conservatives are waking from their lethargy and realizing that Democrats are not who we want making the crucial decisions for our lives. However, they really believe we are too stupid to realize they will not keep us safer, tax us less, restore order to our society and renew our common commitment to life, liberty and traditional values.

There is a reason why America's founders created a representative government, rather than a direct democracy. Representative government makes public-policy sausage that requires a critical selection process for the ingredients, grinds the ingredients extensively through legislative debate, and produces a product that is more likely to be digestible.

Direct democracy, on the other hand, uses large chunks of ingredients, often selected by special-interest groups, rarely ground at all, and then forced into the diet of all the people who have no choice but to suffer the consequences.