Free Republic

The Washington Examiner has broken what is, so far, the best story of the year: It turns out that Jill Biden has her own “walk-up” music. That is, whenever she makes an official appearance, this music is played for her, just as Hail to the Chief is played when the president appears. Someone within the Marine Corps band wrote it, although there is some dispute as to whether the White House requested such music or the Marine Corps band members spontaneously felt that Jill needed that special song. Becket Adams broke the story: The Marine Corps band was instructed last...

Meanwhile, somewhere on Chouteau Avenue in South St. Louis…You can apparently still get donuts for a nickel each but brains will set you back two bits.Even Homer Simpson can do that math.That questionable nutritional choice however might explain Homer’s brain development – or lack there of.Homer gets a brain scan…And it might partially explain old “You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent, I’m not joking,” Joe.Joey DonutsWhich in turn could partially explain the brain currently playing a U.S. President on the world stage:“I think I probably have a much higher...

Eighty-five years ago today, the state of Georgia executed a gentleman whose most remarkable characteristic to his contemporaries was that he was the onetime Chief of Police of Cleveland, Tenn. — and most remarkable characteristic to posterity is that his name was Homer Simpson. Despite the inevitable cartoonish riffs in this here post, the Homer Simpson case was a shocking and controversial one. When Simpson was returned to his native Cleveland four days after he died in Georgia’s electric chair, a reported 10,000 souls crowded the funeral, predominantly sharing the sentiment that Simpson’s own father expressed in a subsequent book,...

Two recent films, Deepwater Horizon with Mark Wahlberg and Sully starring Tom Hanks, represent something of a breath of fresh air, for both movies feature men who are intelligent, virtuous, and quietly heroic. If this strikes you as a banal observation, that just means you haven’t been following much of the popular culture for the past twenty years. One of the distinctive marks of films and television programs the last couple of decades has been the Homer Simpsonization of men. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of the The Simpsons and laugh at Homer’s antics as much as...

Spain’s Socialist leader, Pedro Sánchez, has apologized after he accidentally voted for a law requiring girls under 18 to obtain parental consent for abortions. The law, introduced by the governing People’s Party and long opposed by the Socialists, was promised by the conservative PP last autumn after it abandoned its controversial attempt to reverse the country’s abortion laws. The legislation being proposed then would have turned Spain into one of the toughest places in Europe to obtain an abortion. […] On Wednesday, as social media poked fun at the opposition leader’s blunder, likening him to Homer Simpson at the control...

Bold move. Madonna’s been busy on Instagram promoting her upcoming 13th studio album Rebel Hearts by Photoshopping her cover art look onto famous heads like Marilyn Monroe and Homer Simpson. The iconic singer, however, upset fans when she took it a step further and began altering the famous faces of world leaders like civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela. “This #rebelheart had a dream!” the “Like a Virgin” songstress captioned a Photoshopped image of MLK Jr. on Friday, Jan. 2, replicating her album cover, which features her face tied with black...

Why didn't I think of this??? I vote a little bit of both, but leaning more toward "explanation."

D'oh! The producer for television show "The Simpsons" had a holy cow after learning that the Vatican considered Homer Simpson a Catholic. Executive producer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly on Monday he was in "shock and awe" when he heard the assertion, saying, "I guess it makes up for me not going to church for 20 years." The headline in the semi-official Vatican newspaper, the Osservatore Romano, recently read: “Homer And Bart Are Catholic,” and backed it up by arguing the family prays before meals and that the show explores issues such as family, community, education and religion in a...

The long-running cartoon series explores issues such as family, community, education and religion in a way that few other popular television programmes can match, according to L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily broadsheet. The newspaper acknowledged that Homer snores through the sermons of the Reverend Lovejoy and inflicts "never-ending humiliation" on his evangelical neighbour, Ned Flanders. But in an article headlined "Homer and Bart are Catholics", the newspaper said: "The Simpsons are among the few TV programmes for children in which Christian faith, religion, and questions about God are recurrent themes." The family "recites prayers before meals and, in their own...

Your humble correspondent realizes that a lot of celebrities are in the tank for Barack Obama but he is especially disappointed to learn that Homer Simpson appears to be numbered among them. The November 2 (just two days before the election) episode of the Simpsons will include this clip of Homer casting his vote for John McCain then changing his mind and attempting to vote for Barack Obama numerous times to no avail. Each Obama vote that Homer casts is registered as another vote for McCain. When Homer finally accuses the voting machine of being rigged...well, you'll have to see...

CBS) PEACH BOTTOM TOWNSHIP, Pa. They're on duty and fast asleep, security guards that are supposed to be protecting a major terrorist target in the United States. CBS 2 HD's three-month investigation into the security gap at our nation's nuclear facilities yielded some shocking information and video, and now officials have told CBS 2 first that the contract with the major security firm that hired the guards will be terminated. The video shows the inside of the nation's largest nuclear facilities. There are images of security officers responsible for protecting the plant against a terrorist attack, an attack that could...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Two college students believed to be over-exuberant fans of "The Simpsons" stole a life-sized figurine of Homer Simpson from a cinema, but police tracked them down and forced them to return it Thursday. "This case has been solved," Mazlan Mansor, police chief of Malaysia's central Petaling Jaya district, told The Associated Press. The fiberglass replica of Homer holding a TV remote control was part of a promotional display at a local cinema for the upcoming big-screen version of the U.S. TV cartoon series. The exhibit included the rest of the Simpson family — Marge, Bart, Lisa...

Ford is taking the task of designing cars to the public. The Detroit News says the nation's number-two automaker is planning its own television reality program. The show participants will develop concept cars with Ford designers. The paper says Ford showed a promotional video about the program at a dealer's meeting Thursday. An Automotive Marketing Consultants analyst says, "It's a very cool idea."

See for example this thread first. There is a spa over in Czech that will be worth making the trek From all that I hear it revolves around BEER Finally, men have a spa, too, by HECK!

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvanians legally would be able to buy a case of beer on Sunday in their own state under legislation approved by the Senate on Monday and sent to the desk of Gov. Ed Rendell. The bill would change current law, which limits purchases to two six-packs from a restaurant or tavern. Instead, the state's 1,300 beer distributors would have the option of paying $100 for an annual license and opening between noon and 5 p.m. on Sundays to sell cases. Rendell's spokeswoman said he is expected to sign the bill. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Sean Logan, D-Allegheny,...

I really almost had a hernia over this one.

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There's more than just a bountiful feast to be thankful for at Thanksgiving. From the main course to dessert, the traditional Thanksgiving meal is stuffed with healthy food choices, particularly those rich in disease-fighting antioxidants. Here is a sampling of recent research findings about the health benefits of some favorite foods featured on many Thanksgiving menus. The highlights are gathered from recent research publications and conferences of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Bon appetit! Honey-baked meats may help fight heart disease — That honey in your honey-baked ham and turkey does more than offer sweet taste:...

America's long, national nightmare is nearly over. After a painful, 169-day hiatus, new episodes of The Simpsons finally return to Fox TV Sundays at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. The characters who debuted in animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in April 1987 launch their 14th season on November 10. The Simpsons now ties The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as history's longest-running comedy series. How has it flourished so long? The Simpsons's knack for making viewers laugh out loud is obvious. However, among its secret ingredients, intellectual rigor is key. The uninitiated still assume The Simpsons is a children's cartoon...