Free Republic

Humorist/satirist Stan Freberg produced this wonderful Broadway musical-style album in 1961 presenting an alternate version of early American history. Part 1: Overture Part 2: Columbus Discovers America (and Indians discover Columbus) Part 3: Pilgrim's Progress (A candidate panders for the Indian vote) Part 4: The Thanksgiving Story (Why the turkey isn't our national bird) Part 5: The Sale of Manhattan ($24 worth of junk jewelry) Part 6: The Boston Tea Party (Oops!) Part 7: Declaration of Independence (Franklin, the cautious conservative businessman) Part 8: Betsy Ross and the Flag (Why the flag has stars instead of polka dots) Part 9:...

Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy is confronting worrisome new poll numbers in his rematch against former GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. A new Franklin & Marshall survey out Thursday morning shows Murphy trailing Fitzpatrick by a steep 49 percent to 35 percent margin among likely voters — perilous territory for the two-term Democrat, who occupies a Bucks County-based 8th District seat. The poll of 379 likely voters was conducted Sept. 14-19.

Another twist developed late Thursday in the bugging scandal at City Hall. Federal authorities confirm that on the day the bug was uncovered at Mayor Street's office this week, they served him with a search warrant for his personal wireless communication device called a "Blackberry," and he turned it over to them. Blackberries (such as sample shown) are popular and offer users a variety of functions such as wireless e-mail, scheduling, address books, and two-way paging. Following Thursday night's televised debate between Mayor Street and Republican challenger Sam Katz, reporters asked Street why he didn't own up to the Blackberry...

Police and the Philadelphia fire marshal are investigating an incident in which an incendiary device -- or "Molotov cocktail" -- was thrown through a window of a North Philadelphia campaign office of Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz. But the investigation may be hampered, since the bottle was discarded by a campaign volunteer, who didn't realize what it was. The device came through the front window sometime overnight, after a heated argument between the building's owner, Louis Harris, and a companion of Mayor Street's son Sharif -- later identified by a neighbor as Joey Temple. A spokesman for the Fire Department...

Last night (Jan 6, 2001) on the History Channel, I saw a portion of a fascinating show entitled "Secret Passages". A portion of this show dealt with speakeasies of the Prohibition era, particularly the secret passages, hidden rooms, trapdoors, and the like that were used to hide the booze, or give patrons a quick way out in case of a raid. One featured location was a speakeasy that is now the posh Club 21 in Manhattan where we were treated to a tour of the once secret wine cellar. Many celebrities (living and dead) maintain a private stock there, including ...