Free Republic

Ah, March, the time of year when the music business heats up, the world's hot bands descend on Texas and the hipsters get their marching orders on which groups to worship for the next few months. By the time you read this, Racket will be in Austin, wallowing in the rock and roll phantasmagoria of South By Southwest – more than 1,100 bands playing on probably twice that many stages amid fields of fajitas, kegs of Lone Star, breakfast tacos by the ton and caramel-colored oceans of Shiner Bock, all at the world epicenter of twitching, frenzied, clench-jawed hype. While...

The Martha verdict appears quite popular with the political classes and the vaunted "man on the street," not to mention the nation's mainstream journalists.  The post-trial comments of one juror, Chappell Hartridge (Juror Number Eight), say it all: "Maybe this is a victory for the little guys who lose money thanks to these kinds of transactions. Maybe it's a message to the big wigs." Remember that this was not a trial about "insider trading."  The judge said so, the prosecutors said so, the pundits said so.  Even the New York Times declared that it was not an "insider trading" charge. ...

Anthem for Doomed Youth What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells, Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -- - The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Their...

Comcast changes channel line-up March 1.

FreeRepublic censors posts! Here is proof!

A joint British and American spying operation at the United Nations scuppered a last-ditch initiative to avert the invasion of Iraq, The Observer can reveal. Senior UN diplomats from Mexico and Chile provided new evidence last week that their missions were spied on, in direct contravention of international law. The former Mexican ambassador to the UN, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, told The Observer that US officials intervened last March, just days before the war against Saddam was launched, to halt secret negotiations for a compromise resolution to give weapons inspectors more time to complete their work. Aguilar Zinser claimed that the...

<p>Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky conclusion of a religious cult, but rather the result of diligent analysis sourced by hard data and the scientists who study global “Peak Oil” and related geo-political events.</p>

from his lecture given in 1927 One of the commonest charges brought against Islam historically, and as a religion, by Western writers is that it is intolerant. This is turning the tables with a vengeance when one remembers various facts: One remembers that not a Muslim is left alive in Spain or Sicily or Apulia. One remembers that not a Muslim was left alive and not a mosque left standing in Greece after the great rebellion in l821. One remembers how the Muslims of the Balkan peninsula, once the majority, have been systematically reduced with the approval of the whole...

Forget Janet Jackson: The Veterans of Foreign Wars is peeved at Kid Rock . The VFW is upset that media outlets are ignoring the poncho Rock wore during the Super Bowl (search) halftime show, which was made by cutting a slit in an American flag. Rock later tossed the flag into the crowd. The VFW's commander in chief, Edward Banas Senior, says Rock's outfit was "in poor taste and extremely disrespectful." Banas lamented that the NFL, MTV and CBS have issued apologies for Justin Timberlake's ripping Janet Jackson's clothes but have said nothing about Rock.

While Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's stunt that closed the Super Bowl halftime show continues to fuel a national backlash, the Veterans of Foreign Wars is criticizing another halftime performer. Kid Rock donned what appeared to be an American flag slit in the middle so he could wear it as poncho for his part of the show Sunday, and the VFW is outraged. "That is just blatant, disgusting disrespect for the flag," national spokesman Jerry Newberry told the St. Petersburg Times on Tuesday. "We have people dying for that flag right now, and that just goes beyond any realm of...

The Congressman Who Cried Wolf Every red-blooded American has heard of the little boy who cried wolf. It’s a story of a young shepherd who used the people’s fear of wolves to get attention. He cried wolf when there was none and laughed as the people scurried to stop an imagined threat. Congressman Bob Ney is like this little shepherd. Congressman Ney was quoted in an article entitled “Terrorists plan DC Fund Raiser” in “The Hill” magazine. His accusations implied an Al-Quida like front group was planning the destruction of the American way of life right under our noses. He...

Are You Going To Get Mad? It is now about as clear as it's going to get that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. Secretary of State Colin Powell even contradicted himself (in his U.N. speech) by admitting recently that there is no evidence of any link between Saddam and al-Qaida. Prior to the Iraq War, the Bush administration asserted as fact that Saddam had huge quantities of chemical and biological weapons and was actively pursuing nuclear weapons. Administration members ridiculed people who expressed any doubts. Today, after spending millions of dollars looking for the weapons, they haven't...