Free Republic

Jolly ol' Joe always in Nick of time St. Jude's Santa marks 80th visit By Tom Bailey Jr. baileytom@gomemphis.com December 21, 2002 The children formed a remarkable line to Santa's lap Friday at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They approached St. Nick with their limps, their scarred scalps, their tethering tubes, their masked faces, their bald heads, their wigs, their tracheotomies, their crutches and with inky X's on their skin showing where to aim the radiation. Some staggered to Santa, exhausted from the day's cancer treatment. One was so tired, she never woke as Santa placed gifts in the toy...

Hollywood star Michael Douglas has admitted albeit grudgingly that Republicans under President-elect Donald Trump are now the “party of the people” while Democrats are now seen as “elitist.” The Wall Street actor appeared Friday on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, where the episode revolved almost entirely on Trump’s stunning victory over Kamala Harris. Michael Douglas, who is a longtime supporter of Democrat candidates, was clearly upset over Trump’s win.

A den of 38-million-year-old snakes were found in the White River Formation near Douglas, Wyoming, have paleontologists super excited. They're among the most important complete fossils of snakes ever found. ======================================================================== Two of the three specimens of Hibernophis breithaupti, the 38-million-year-old snake from the White River Formation near Douglas. These snakes are members of the boid family, which includes modern-day anacondas and Wyoming's rubber boas. (Courtesy Jasmine Croghan) ================================================================== Around 38 million years ago, three small snakes slithered into a burrow seeking shelter from an apocalypse blanketing their world in volcanic ash. They never escaped, becoming entombed in the spot...

Actor Michael Douglas said Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that he is “deeply concerned” about President Joe Biden, adding calls for him to drop his reelection bid were valid. Co-host Joy Behar said, “So, Michael, I know you’re a longtime Biden supporter and we’ve been watching the news this week, a little bit disheartening. you even hosted a fund-raiser at your home in April. Do you agree for calls for him to step aside? Even Nancy Pelosi seems on the fence about him stepping aside?” Douglas said, “This is such a tough one. I adore the guy. 50 years of...

A rare artifact has been discovered by archaeologists at an ancient mammoth kill site near Douglas, Wyoming, which they say is the oldest of its kind ever found in the Americas. The discovery, a tube-shaped piece of bone, is likely to have been a bead dating to around 12,940 years old, potentially making it the oldest known instance of American perforated jewelry. The discovery was made by University of Wyoming archaeology Professor Todd Surovell and his team at the La Prele Mammoth site, a location first revealed to archaeologists in 1986 when mammoth remains were found eroding out of a...

If you aren't familiar with Douglas Murray, you will be soon. In the wake of the Hamas invasion of Israel which has now led to a prolonged conflict in Gaza, the author and journalist has emerged as a rare voice of clarity. Specifically, Murray has not held back in critiquing the threats to Western civilization that have become entrenched over the years, and while his domain is primarily Europe and the United Kingdom, his warnings extend to the United States. As RedState reported, recent violent protests in New York City resembled something you'd see in a third-world Middle Eastern country,...

As Title 42 came to an end last night, members of our government scrambled to find a way to address it and President Occupant told us to prepare for a “chaotic” period at the border. Never mind that the “chaos” was entirely preventable and was in fact the doing of his administration. Thanks for the heads up, Joe. We kinda saw that coming. For that matter, so did you. It’s a little late to telegraph that haymaker. Of course, this raises the specter of just who is crossing the border. I know that issue has been tackled multiple times before,...

A former Pentagon advisor says the most likely culprits behind the Nord Stream pipeline blasts are the United States and Britain, and that the attack was carried out to prevent Germany from bailing on the war in Ukraine. Retired US Army colonel Douglas Macgregor made the comments during an appearance on the Judging Freedom podcast. Macgregor said a process of elimination rules out Germany, because they are dependent on Nord Stream for their energy security, while it also served no benefit for Russia to have sabotaged its own infrastructure. “Would the Russians destroy their own pipeline? 40 percent of Russian...

Visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, one of the masterminds behind the visual effects on some of the most visually audacious science fiction films of all time, including “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Blade Runner,” died Monday from complications from mesothelioma. He was 79.

BRANDON, Minn. (Valley News Live) - The small town of Brandon, Minnesota has gone viral after someone attached the word “Let’s Go” to the city sign. “Let’s Go Brandon” has become popular on social media as an expletive anti-Biden phrase, but the sign has brought mixed reactions. Brandon city officials say there were six city signs that had the additional wording attached. The Douglas County emergency management director stated some were pieces of cardboard taped up on the sign while others were nailed down with plywood. One resident says she looked at these actions as a simple joke. “I think...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — An employee of a Hermitage KFC tore apart the kitchen and threw multiple heavy items at a co-worker because he was mad over how they were preparing the food, according to an arrest warrant. Metro police responded around 5:45 p.m. Sunday to a disturbance on the fast food restaurant on Lebanon Pike near Andrew Jackson Parkway.

THEY WERE THE Navy’s last chance. It was 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, June 4, 1942. Forty-seven U. S. Navy dive bombers had found what they were looking for. Far below, four Japanese aircraft carriers were launching the first planes of a massive strike that could decide the Battle of Midway. So far, two days of American air and submarine attacks had failed to damage a single ship of the peerless Japanese Aircraft Carrier Striking Force. The priceless intelligence advantage the U.S. had gained through years of backbreaking effort by Navy codebreakers was about to be squandered. The heroic sacrifice...

Chicago Park District staff began removing signs bearing the name “Douglas Park” Thursday morning. The Park District Board voted Wednesday to officially remove the former namesake of the North Lawndale park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive. Commissioners opened a 45-day public comment period to solicit ideas for renaming the park. A campaign to rename the park after Frederick Douglass and his wife Anna Murray-Douglass has been in the works for years. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist, escaped in large part because of the support of his first wife Anna Murray-Douglass. The park district plans to have the old signs...

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Tropical Storm Douglas has strengthened to a category 1 hurricane Wednesday, according to the Pacific Hurricane Center. This is the first hurricane of the 2020 eastern Pacific season, with wind speeds up to 75 mph. Douglas has resumed strengthening, after remaining steady for almost 24 hours. The system has developed a ragged eye during the past couple of hours. The system is expected to reach the islands beginning with Hawaii Island on late Sunday into early Monday.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Thursday called for a portrait of the late Illinois U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas in the Capitol’s House chamber to be removed and replaced with one of former President Barack Obama, whom he called “a more fitting representation of the modern-day Democratic Party.” Madigan also called for the removal of statues on the Illinois State Capitol grounds of both Douglas, a defender of slavery, and Pierre Menard, the first lieutenant governor and a slaveholder. The speaker’s call to take down the portrait and statues is part of a movement to remove memorials of historical figures...

Toledo police on Wednesday arrested a man for the murder of University of Toledo junior football player Jahneil Douglas, who was shot and killed Tuesday night. Charged is Michael Mitchell, 24.

Catherine Zeta-Jones got married almost 20 years ago, but she's reportedly only just seen her entire collection of wedding photos for the first time. According to the Daily Mail, the actress revealed that she'd never seen most of the official snaps from her nuptials. Zeta-Jones allegedly said, "I looked at the proofs and that was it - I never made an album. The photographer got in touch recently, so about three weeks ago I got to see all my wedding photographs. It was a wonderful day." While it's unclear why the Oscar-winning star had waited quite so long to see...

Actor Michael Douglas hit the campaign trail on Sunday for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Douglas calls “the best presidential candidate in 40 years.” The Fatal Attraction star appeared in Bloomberg’s hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts, and told the crowd, “This is really, truly one of the best candidates we’ve had running for office in 30 to 40 years,” the Boston Herald reported.

With the death of Kirk Douglas I cannot help but recall the creation of my screenplay I wrote for him and his son Michael.Back in 1978 I was out in Hollywood trying to peddle two of my screenplays and auditioning for any acting jobs I could. One of those auditions was for as a day player on The China Syndrome of which I did not get but did get to read before Michael Douglas as he was the producer-- My agent at the time back in Dallas, called me a week or so after that, saying she had heard that...

LOS ANGELES — Kirk Douglas, renowned actor and father of Michael Douglas, with a decorated career spanning more than six decades, died Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 103, TMZ reported. Kirk Douglas’ health had been in decline. In 1996, he suffered a stroke, but recovered most of his faculties. TMZ reported Wednesday the last time he was seen enjoying life was in April 2019 when he was “camping” in his grandson’s backyard. Douglas appeared in a few minor Broadway productions in the ’40s but then put his career on hold and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941. After several years...