Free Republic

Tell me if I have seen this before: Swine flu, Russian subs off the American coast, indecision toward Afghanistan, hot summers followed by cold winters. And then there is high unemployment and soon-to-be high inflation. Am I imagining things or is this a return to the 1970's? I remember the ‘70's very well, especially the winter of '78. The heater broke in the middle of the coldest winter on St. Louis record and it was a miserable time. What struck me most was scientists trying to blame the frigid temperatures on global cooling. Make up your minds, will you. Today,...

Ann and Nancy Wilson are p*ssed at the Republican Party and have fired off a cease and desist letter to the McCain/Palin campaign. Specifically, the Heart women are upset that the GOP has used their classic "Barracuda" as a theme song for Sarah Palin. TMZ obtained a statement from Heart's rep, who says "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission." The statement goes on: "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Vinny Appice, Anita Baker, Jello Biafra, Andrea Bocelli, Simon LeBon, Kate Bush, Belinda Carlisle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shaun Cassidy, Darby Crash, Randy DeBarge, Bruce Dickinson, Thomas Dolby, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Siobhan Fahey, Neil Finn, Bela Fleck, Martin Fry, Lisa Germano, Grandmaster Flash, Jools Holland, Ice-T, Alan Jackson, Michael Jackson, Tony James, Joan Jett, Al Jourgensen, Nik Kershaw, Sammy Kershaw, Limahl, Madonna, Bird McIntyre, Mike Mills, Thurston Moore, Alannah Miles, Gary Numan, Michael Penn, Vicki Peterson, Prince, Stacey Q, Will Sergeant, Nikki Sixx, David Sylvian, Toyah, Tanya Tucker, Paul Weller, Jane Wiedlin, Jah Wobble.

Per popular demand, after the very successful "Who Is Your Favorite Drummer?" thread, here we have a new posting to determine who is your favorite guitarist of all time.

A'Keiba Burrell - daughter of rapper MC Hammer. Landon Brown - eldest son of R&B singer Bobby Brown. Lara Johnston -daughter of Doobie Brothers' singer Tom Johnston. Chloe Lattanzi - daughter of Olivia Newton-John. Crosby Loggins - son of singer Kenny Loggins. Jesse Money -daughter of singer Eddie Money. Jesse Blaze Snider - son of Dee Snider. Albert J. Brown IV - son of R&B singer Al B. Sure. Lucy Walsh - daughter of legendary guitarist Joe Walsh.

Two robbers, one of them armed with a gun, messed with the wrong 70-year-old. The septuagenarian, a security guard who works nights, kicked the gun out of the hand of the armed man, drew his own weapon and chased both men away. The robbery happened about 3 a.m. Monday at the El Palacio de los Jugos in Hialeah at West 24th Avenue and 78th Street. The security guard watches the store and the parking lot. The two men, wearing Halloween masks, came at him from behind with a gun. After disarming the man with a swift kick, the security guard...

Benito Valdez had settled in for the night security shift, listening to Spanish radio on a chair outside a Hialeah juice bar when he saw shadows coming toward him. That's when the 71-year-old's training in the Cuban navy kicked in. Two thugs -- who between them had at least one gun, a Halloween mask and a pair of fuzzy black slippers -- approached Valdez and told him not to move, police said. Keeping his seat, Valdez rotated slightly and kicked his left leg at the man holding the gun. Valdez then fired at least two shots in the air from...

Jerry Belson, Emmy-winning comedy writer, dies of cancer at 68 ANDREW GLAZER LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jerry Belson, an Emmy-winning comedy writer for "The Tracey Ullman Show" whose wit graced numerous other films and TV shows, including "The Odd Couple" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," has died. He was 68. Belson died of cancer at his Los Angeles home on Tuesday, said friend and writing partner Garry Marshall. A "writer's writer," Belson inserted into his scripts what was funny to him, even if he thought only four others in his television audience would join him in laughter, said Marshall,...

(AP) CLEARWATER, Fla. Evel Knievel has trouble now just walking from his condo to the pool. The '70s cultural icon and poster boy for fast living and derring-do is 67, his body broken by years of spectacular crashes and ravaged by a multitude of serious ailments. The king of the daredevils can hardly get out of bed most days, let alone straddle a Harley. On bad days, Knievel wishes he had gone into another line of work. On better days, he doesn't regret a minute. Lung disease sometimes makes it hard for him to talk, but his stories still drip...

I found this URL a few weeks ago. It has 50s, 60s and 70s rock 'n roll - The Allman Brothers, Joan Baez, The Band, Big Brother, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield Booker T. & the MG's, Butterfield Blues Band The Byrds, Joe Cocker, Wayne Cochran, Elvis Costello CSN&Y, King Curtis, Miles Davis, Derek & The Dominos, Doobie Brothers, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Electric Light Orchestra, Everly Brothers, The Grateful Dead, H.P. Lovecraft, Emmylou Harris, George Harrison Jimi Hendrix, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Al Kooper, John Lennon, Little Feat Loggins and Messina, Mahavishnu Orch., Taj Mahal Steve Miller,...

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter criticized the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program Monday and said he believes the president has broken the law. "Under the Bush administration, there's been a disgraceful and illegal decision - we're not going to the let the judges or the Congress or anyone else know that we're spying on the American people," Carter told reporters. "And no one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act." Carter made the remarks at a union hall near Las Vegas, where his oldest son, Jack Carter, announced his candidacy...

LOS ANGELES - Former teen idol Leif Garrett is hooked on heroin, his mom says - and she blames hard-partying rock 'n' roll legends like the Rolling Stones for steering her son toward drugs. "Leif idolized rock stars ... that whole life of rock 'n' roll and drugs ... the Rolling Stones. He figured if they could do it, so could he," Garrett's distraught mother, Carolyn Stellar, told the Daily News yesterday.

A man who helped make famous the songs "YMCA" and "In the Navy" will soon be featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted," after failing to appear in a San Mateo County courtroom for his sentencing in October, according to San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. (snip) Willis was found to be in possession of 3.23 grams of cocaine and a loaded .45-gauge, semi-automatic handgun, according to the district attorney's office... (snip) ...also charged with violating his probation from a 2003 incident in which he was found in possession of 4 grams of cocaine.

Infinity launched the Jack format in New York City and Chicago today. WCBS-FM in New York City made the switch at 5 p.m. ET, kicking off the new programming with "Fight For Your Right (To Party)" by the Beastie Boys. In Chicago, WJMK-FM launched Jack at 4 p.m. CT. The WCBS-FM Oldies format will continue to exist as an online radio station (www.wcbsfm.com). WJMK-FM will also transfer its Oldies format online at www.WJMK.com. "New York deserves a radio station that is equally as eclectic as its listener's personalities and attitudes," said WCBS-FM VP/GM Chad Brown. "Jack-FM promises to be unlike...

TIME   February 9, 1971 / 6:01 am PST LOCATION   34° 24.67' N, 118° 24.04' W MAGNITUDE   MW6.6 DEPTH:    8.4 km TYPE OF FAULTING  thrust - ANIMATION FAULT INVOLVED   San Fernando fault zone; minor offset reported on the eastern Santa Susana fault zone Also known as the Sylmar Earthquake, this earthquake occurred on the San Fernando fault zone, a zone of thrust faulting which broke the surface in the Sylmar-San Fernando Area. The total surface rupture was roughly 19 km (12 miles) long. The maximum slip was up to 2 meters (6 feet). The earthquake caused over $500 million in property...

Happy Days

I grew up in the Boston area. Lived there from 1966 through the early 1990's. During the 70's there was a parody of the film Gunga Din that was played on the radio that was one of the funniest things I have ever heard. I can't remember who made it or even if it was a local creation. Basically it starts with a brief introduction (from the poem) and then features a bugle sounding the alarm as the sound of horses and gunshots can be heard in the background. As the sound of horses and gunshots gets louder, the bugler...

FRESNO — There was no way to anticipate it at the time, but Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones owes his political career to a black student radical with the tongue-twisting name of Bill Riddlesprigger. It was 1970, and Jones, conservative son of a Central Valley rancher, had just been elected president of the Cal State Fresno student government. In his long-sleeved sweater with the cuffs folded back an inch, Jones had the anachronistic look of a Four Freshmen Republican in a Jimi Hendrix world, puffing on a pipe while many in his generation smoldered with rage. There was a...

25 Years Later: 'Disco Still Sucks' DISCO DEMOLITION DISC JOCKEY STEVE DAHL IN 1979 Disc jockey Steve Dahl in 1979. (PRNewsFoto)[RV] CHICAGO, IL USA 07/08/2004 Disco Demolition Anniversary Celebrates 'The Day Disco Died' CHICAGO, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Monday, July 12 marks the 25th anniversary of "The Day Disco Died," when nearly 90,000 people showed up at Chicago's Comiskey Park to participate in radio disc jockey Steve Dahl's Disco Demolition. The "Disco Sucks" demonstration is widely credited for causing the official demise of disco, and 25 years later, Dahl is sending a message to the world again: "Disco Still Sucks."...

Nineteen Something Written By: Chris DuBois & David Lee I saw Star Wars at least eight times Had the Pac-Man pattern memorized And I've seen the stuff they put inside Stretch Armstrong, yeah Well, I was Roger Staubach in my back yard Had a shoebox full of baseball cards And a couple of Evel Knievel scars On my right arm Well, I was a kid when Elvis died And my momma cried Chorus: It was nineteen seventy something In the world that I grew up in Farrah Fawcett hairdo days Bell bottoms and eight track tapes Looking back now I...

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...