Free Republic

We all have sad stories to tell occasionally and I have one. I have a friend I known for well over 40 years and she has always been fun to be around and we have stayed in touch all this time on and off. Until about a year ago I had no idea she was a committed, hard core, alcoholic. The last two years she had been talking about a decline in her health. She had taken the Covid vaccines and at least one booster and I was fearful this caused her to have some adverse effects. But the surprise...

A friend of mine suggested I try Netflix's new series; The Diplomat, with Kerri Russell, and Rufus Seawell. It had an interesting plot and premise and tonight I decided to give it a try. In the first 10 minutes of this show they had managed to find a way to include every Diversity Demographic possible, including what appeared to be a non-binary character. Part of the plot concerns the President appointing a career Foreign Service official as the Ambassador to England, and she is female. As most know that plum job usually goes to a high political donor. In this...

Okay I have been trying to locate any Polling Data on the N.Y. 14th Congressional Race, AOC vs Tina Forte. Have checked all polling websites and nothing. Even checked Charlie Cook's website, he is usually very reliable, but he had no information at all. He had info on other N.Y. races but not that one. So anyone who has anything please pass it along. This race is in the Bronx.

MY FRIENDSHIP WITH QUEEN ELIZABETH If you are of a certain age then you will remember a TV show from the 1960’s called “Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea”. It debuted in 1964 when I was 9 years old. It was a show, in many aspects, ahead of it’s time, but came out during the time of our countries efforts to conquer space. It stimulated the imagination and helped make it seem anything was possible. As a 9 year old kid it was exciting and who didn’t want to be onboard the Seaview with Admiral Nelson and Captain Crain...

J. Kim Murphy Sun, January 9, 2022, 11:53 AM Dwayne Bernard Hickman, an actor, producer and television director best known for his starring role in the 1950s and ’60s sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease on Sunday. He was 87 years old. Hickman’s death was confirmed to Variety by the actor’s public relations head Harlan Boll. Born on May 18, 1934 in Los Angeles, Calif., Hickman began screen acting at a young age with appearances in “The Boy With the Green Hair” and 1940’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” As a teenager, he...

I have been researching putting Solar Panels on my home and would like to know out there who has done this. How did it work out and what suggestions or opinions do you have. I live in Arkansas and my home seems to be a good candidate for Solar Panels, it is finding the right company and getting the price that makes sense. So far on Monday I dealt with a company here in Arkansas and I received a estimate for $35,000, without a battery backup system. That would cost and extra $25,000. Well I can't make those numbers work...

I was waiting to see of anyone would mention this and as of now no one has. 80 years ago today Germany invaded the Soviet Union in a surprise attack. It started one of the bloodiest and catastrophic episodes of W.W. II. The scope, scale, casualties , and atrocities almost dwarf anything that happened anywhere else in the ETO. Without the sacrifices the Russians made on the Eastern Front the invasion of Europe would not have been successful. Estimated deaths on the Eastern Front are not totally known but an estimated 20 million died

Now for a little comic relief. Over the weekend while trapped in my home from the snow here in Arkansas I read a wonderful book by Dean Martin's late son Ricci. It was great and showed a side of Dean most don't even know about. From from being the party guy he was the exact opposite. He would rather be home with his family and left alone than anything else, he was basically a recluse when he wasn't working. Anyway his son made mention of the TV show I don't remember called "Half Nelson", starring Joe Pesci. It didn't last...

I turned 65 in June and got on Medicare. I got the normal Medicare plans including Plan D, and optional Dental and Vision overage. Cost about $150 a total. I opted not to go Medicare Advantage at that time until and I could research it and see if it was all that was claimed. I recently talked to the Blue Cross rep here in Arkansas and after all my questions were answered and i knew my doctor was in the network I opted for a Advantage Plan, PPL plan for $49.00 a month and I am satisfied I made a...

Anyone know what Biden's Campaign schedule is today? I assumed after last night he would have a LID Day or several of them. Talked to a friend a short time ago and he said where he saw Biden was on a Train Whistle Stop tour to someplace. If true Joe is certainly campaigning 19th Century Style so he can rest and sleep.

In the last several days it has come out that "30 Rock" creator and star Tina Fey has decided that four episodes of the show "30 Rock", will be pulled from viewing because there were incidents of Blackface in them. I find this all absurd as the very concept of comedy has been turned on it's ear by Political Correctness. The concept of Satire and Sarcasm just no longer has a place in the venue of comedy. I suppose all sorts of past entertainment will now be erased from history. Anyone old enough to remember Dean Martin and Sammy Davis...

About two or three weeks ago I was thinking about all the absurd regulations in place to reopen businesses. In my thinking I came up with a idea that might work very well. Back in March I had to put in new HVAC unit for my upstairs, I had put in a a new downstairs unit in four years earlier. Well the HVAC guy told me that included with my new unit was a UV Light Filtering system. Since I am downstairs more than up I had him put UV system on the downstairs unit. According to the HVAC guy...

Ken Osmond, best known for his role at the troublemaker Eddie Haskell on the television comedy “Leave It to Beaver,” died on Monday morning. He was 76. Sources tell Variety Osmond passed away at his Los Angeles home surrounded by family members. The cause of death is unknown.

I live in Arkansas and have been waiting to hear if our community, public swimming pools and aquatic centers will open this year. Well the other day the state released rules for opening the pools on the latter part of this month. Among the rules, only 50% of capacity allowed, families can sit together, social distancing for all others, this next point is confusing, it seems they want social distancing in the pool. In addition all surfaces must be wiped today on a regular basis, bathrooms, snack bar, and all railings, etc. My opinion is that you are out in...

Well the new meme from the Left is compare the Deaths from Covid-19 to deaths in war, specifically the Vietnam War. That started I think at a Q&A at a Virus Press Conference last week when a reporter asked that question. First of all it's illogical to compare the two. War deaths have no relation to deaths by disease. War can be avoidable, getting a virus isn't. I would hazard to guess that disease and pestilence have killed more people than wars through out history. Witness the Bubonic Plague that killed an estimated 200 Million of the world's known population...

This past week I have been re-watching Herman Wouk's masterpieces, "The Winds of War", and "War and Remembrance". In my opinion two of the finest TV miniseries ever made and timeless. I have always been fascinated with W.W. II history and consider that era in many ways the High Point of this countries history. An era that will never be again. A time when all America came together to fight a war that had to be fought. I contrast that time to today when we make politics out of everything including today's Virus Crisis. For those of you interested you...

BREAKING NEWS: President Trump and Former VP Joe Biden spoke on the phone last night to discuss the Coronavirus Crisis. Mr. Biden brought up a number of concerns and suggestions. President Trump assured Mr. Biden that most of his suggestions had already been addressed and that everything that could be done was already in place. Mr. Biden offered his services to help in the crisis and the President told him that there was one critical area he might be able to help. President Trump indicated that with all of the urgent priorities his administration was dealing with there was one...

In all of the hysteria we are seeing I think it behooves us to look back at two Pandemics that have happened in the last 65 years that were worse than this, worse than the Swine Flu, SARS, AND MERS in terms of people infected and deaths from it. 1957-1958 Pandemic (H2N2 virus) In February 1957, a new influenza A (H2N2) virus emerged in East Asia, triggering a pandemic (“Asian Flu”). This H2N2 virus was comprised of three different genes from an H2N2 virus that originated from an avian influenza A virus, including the H2 hemagglutinin and the N2 neuraminidase...

The issue of Joe Biden's health will become more evident as the campaign goes on. So let me throw this out there for comment. Is it possible Biden is having TIA's, Mini Strokes? It seems his gaffes and omissions are getting worse and more frequent. It will be impossible for this guy to take on the rigors of general election campaign as he is. My opinion is that it is only a matter of time before he has a complete meltdown, by that I mean a stroke given his health history and brain surgeries.

In doing a cursory look at some recent past Pandemics, Flu related I found the following: Asian Flu Another flu pandemic, the "Asian Flu" began in East Asia in 1957, according to the CDC. That specific influenza virus was an H2N2 strain, which was first detected in Singapore in February 1957. From there, the virus made its way to Hong Kong in April 1957, and in coastal cities in the United States in the summer of 1957. An estimated 1.1 million people died of the Asian flu worldwide, with 116,000 of them in the United States. 1968 Flu Pandemic The...