Free Republic

Pay TV service providersare among a few groupsof companiesthatcustomers loveto hate, and sometimes they go out of their way to reminduswhy. As familiesacrossthe country come togetherto celebrate theholidays, satellite TV giants DishNetwork andDirecTV arewishing them a Merry Christmasby hiking the cost of theirserviceplans. In line with years past, both companieshave confirmed that they will raise the pricesof various television packagesand increase service fees as well. The increases come ata time when “cordcutting,” or canceling pay TV service in favor of onlinevideo streaming services, is becoming an increasingly common trend — to thepointwhere cable companiesare producing awful, awful anti-cord cutting campaigns...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could...

The silence is deafening. A depraved photographer accused of abusing and exploiting young models enjoys access to the entertainment industry's hottest female stars, from Rihanna to Lady Gaga to Beyonce to Miley Cyrus. He counts "progressive" feminist celebs among his most intimate friends. He's even photographed President Obama. But when confronted with his sordid history and career degradation of women, these elite friends of Terry have nothing to say. Meet Terry Richardson (but be sure to bring your mental Purell). The Guardian touted him as "the former junkie punk who put the filth into fashion." The son of a fashion...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could...

GRAVITY is the most realistic space movie ever. I mean, that Clooney guy looks just like me! Actually I've been besieged with questions about what I thought about this movie ever since it came out. Just here at work at SpaceX last week,I was asked that question about a dozen times a day. I quipped that "What do you think of Gravity?" was becoming every astronaut's least favourite question, surpassing even "How do you poop in space?" So, to help me deal with this onslaught, here is my more serious attempt at a movie review: First of all, it's a...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Fabulous FRiday FAVORITES What's your favorite PIZZA (TOPPING) Pepperoni? Deep Dish? Cheese? Wanna brewsky? Come on in, grab a slice, and a brew. This is the last FRiday Favorites.Join us in 2 weeks for FReeper Canteen ~ Just Hangin' Cafe. Remember, the Canteen is a family friendly place. We welcome the military, our allies, and their families.Continued prayers for the success and completion of your mission. Prayers for your safe...

On a very slow late-August weekend, Lee Daniels' The Butler easily held on to the top spot at the box office. We're the Millers also continued to play well, while all three new nationwide releases opened to less than $10 million. Overall, the Top 12 earned an estimated $91.6 million. That's up 10 percent from the same weekend last year, when The Expendables 2 led with a weak $13.4 million. With good reviews and strong word-of-mouth, The Butler fell 31 percent to an estimated $17 million. In comparison, The Help dropped 23 percent at the same point in its run...

DID Brandy play to a stadium of 89,960 empty seats? That's what the Twitterverse is saying after reports the singer performed to just 40 people in a 90,000 capacity arena at the Mandela Sports and Culture Day in South Africa on Saturday. The American R&B star was the surprise guest at the FNB stadium in Soweto - the only problem was that no-one knew she was playing. Tens of thousands of people had therefore left the arena before she arrived on stage. "Brandy [just] performed to an empty stadium. With the stadium lights on," tweeted South African musician, Kabomo. "People...

More pictures here, unfortunately without me-  I do hope the poor thing's coping, somehow... See the attitude I had to deal with? More at Reaganite Republican...

EMAIL Email: mostatefair@mda.mo.gov

"I knew it was you all along, Richard Nixon!" — Officer Barbrady, South Park As might be inferred by the title, a Nixon Mask is a rubber mask with the cariactured features of Richard Nixon, specifically a large nose, and creepy wide grin. Its status as the best-selling political mask of all time (and in many ways the inspiration for all political masks), as a symbol of famous counterculturists like Hunter S. Thompson and Bob Dylan, and as a hilarious remnant of the seventies have made it a classic go-to prop when a strange/hilarious mask is needed.

According to Essence magazine, the GRAMMY Award winning gospel dou Mary Mary will Join Stevie Wonder in his Florida concert boycott following the acquittal of former neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. "We will stand with Stevie Wonder & boycott Florida until the Stand Your Ground Law is changed," the pair reportedly told their Twitter followers. The pair explained "We love our fans but we MUST do something. We understand that a No from us isn't as big as a 'No' from Stevie Wonder, but if all our voices join together we can REALLY change things." Before the announcement, Mary Mary singer...

I need help from fellow FReepers. My mother is living in assisted living 2500 miles from me. She will turn 100 in August, and I need ideas on how to help her celebrate. She is mentally sharp, but she is declining physically. She is confined to a wheel chair, or a walker, now and her hearing is quite impaired. Consequently, she does not like more than one, or two people in the room with her at the same time; and she just gets furious if people talk to each other in her presence.I think the sounds get all jumbled and...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Fabulous FRiday FAVORITES Tell us about your favorite 4TH OF JULY tradition. Grilling out? Hanging with Family/Friends? Enjoying a nice cold one? Eating Watermelon? Watching Fireworks? Come on in and join the conversation. Share your favorite July 4th tradition. Remember, the Canteen is a family friendly place. We welcome the military, our allies, and their families.Continued prayers for the success and completion of your mission. Prayers for your safe return...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Fabulous FRiday FAVORITES Tell us your favoriteDINNERKFC? HAMBURGER AND FRIES? PIZZA? PANCAKES? MEATLOAF?SPAGHETTI? HOT DOGS? Come on in and join the conversation. Remember, the Canteen is a family friendly place. We welcome the military, our allies, and their families.Continued prayers for the success and completion of your mission. Prayers for your safe return home. Food fight!

The feel-good musical "Kinky Boots," with songs by pop star and Broadway newcomer Cyndi Lauper, strutted away with a leading six 2013 Tony Awards on Sunday, including best musical, best original score and best leading man...

Walt & Lillian Disney with Richard Nixon and his family at Disneyland, 1959 We tend to think of Hollywood as a bastion of leftism, and rightly so. Books like Ron Radosh’s Red Star Over Hollywood demonstrate the deep-seated left-wing dominance of the entertainment industry. Even with the leftism prevalent in Hollywood’s Golden Age, many unabashed conservatives found success without compromising their principles, including one of the most creative minds in the business — Walt Disney.Several biographers and writers that I’ve read have tried to declare that Walt Disney was apolitical, but I find this conclusion not to be true....