Free Republic

Michael Jackson is surely not sleeping well these nights. In lieu of having him take the stand at his child-molestation trial in Santa Maria, his attorneys played nearly three hours of outtakes from the infamous Martin Bashir TV documentary, in which a tipsy Jackson revealed that the way he really loves to sleep is onstage under seven spotlights, all on him. Presumably, when the spotlights dim, what's next best is getting an endless string of little boys to share his bed. The sad truth is that were Jackson any other 46-year-old man with a history of alcohol use and prescription...

Countless conservatives fear the quickening onset of judicial activism. Challenges that never would have passed the laugh test in days of yore are passing the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to find sympathy from our Supreme Court. We all remember Michael Newdow, aptly named “America’s least favorite atheist” by Time Magazine. The man had the hubris to charge that our Pledge of Allegiance was an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion, due to the inclusion of the phrase, “under God.” While it is unremarkable that a wannabe Perry Mason would allege anything to argue before our nation’s highest court, the...

The end, when it came, was not entirely unanticipated.But it left others around him wondering what they might have done to halt the downward spiral from which he seemed on the verge of emerging.Bubba the lobster was found unresponsive in a tank of water Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. His death eerily recalled the demise of Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones guitarist, who was discovered at the bottom of his swimming pool in 1969.....

Scott Eilertson and Norman Lee Busse, both from Minnesota and Grigoiry Shulik from Russia are being inducted as adventurers. Fifteen years ago this group completed a life long dream of an inter-continental snowmobiling experience come true. Also to make a World Record and promote friendship and understanding between snowmobilers world wide. It took three years of planning and the support of Arctic Cat, Tousley Sports Center, Minnesota based 3M, Eureka Tents, Scott Eyewear along with the hundreds of individuals, families, and small businesses that provided food, shelter, and support. Eilertson was the route-planner, the arranger of lodging, and public relations...

Catastrophic Coverups... Hall of FameCBS gives Gunga Dan the boot! This is an email-able, copyright-ready graphic you can use in emails, on blogs, in flyers, on posters... anything that's noncommercial.

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 Magazine cover brings whirlwind of fame and attention to soldier Spc. Billie Grimes By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes European edition, Tuesday, January 27, 2004 Lisa Burgess / S&S Spc. Billie Grimes, one of three 1st Armored Division soldiers featured on Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” cover in December, during a Monday visit to the Pentagon. ARLINGTON, Va. — At 26, Spc. Billie Grimes is too young to remember Andy Warhol, the New York artist who once said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” After appearing on the Dec. 23 cover...

LOTTO LOSERS by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher January 8, 2004 With the turn of events the last couple of days regarding the MegaMillions winner in Ohio, this was simply too good to pass up. Then as a bonus, the richest loser in America made the papers again with yet another case of men behaving badly.We begin with America's idiot of the moment, and I'm not thinking of Mr. Britney Spears (aka Jason Alexander of Kenwood, Louisiana), but rather 40-year-old Elecia Battle (right) of Cleveland. For the unfamiliar, here's what happened: Last weekend, there was a single winner of the...

Since its inception, Free Republic has been the world's premeire online gathering place for the discussion of the news, issues, opinions, and just about everything else.There have been several times when the members of Free Republic have posted important breaking news stories first, scooping the outlets of the mainstream media.Some exemplary threads merit mention in what I'd like to call the Free Republic Hall of Fame Threads.I believe this is a good way to remember and share some of the most important discussions that have occured on Free Republic.

<p>California moved a step closer Monday toward a quarter-sized defining image, as Gov. Gray Davis announced the five top designs to depict the Golden State on a two-bit piece.</p> <p>The five designs will be fine-tuned by the U.S. Mint before the official California quarter is selected by Davis. The coin is scheduled to be issued in January 2005.</p>

Someday I'm gonna be famous, Do I have talent, well, no. These days you don't really need it, Thanks to reality shows Can't Wait to date a supermodel, Can't Wait to sue my dad. Can't wait to wreck a Ferrari On my way to rehab.... Chorus- Cause when you're a Celebrity It's adios reality You' can act just like a fool People think you're cool Just cause your on TV. I can throw major fits When my latte isn't just how I like it They say I've gone insane, I'll blame it on the fame, And the pressures that it...

There aren't many great movies about sports but there is one about baseball and it's called "Bull Durham." It was made in 1988 and people today still swear by it. It was funny and warm and acerbic and crazy, much like the game itself. So beloved is this film, that the Baseball Hall of Fame had a 15th anniversary celebration scheduled for it later this month at Cooperstown, N.Y. I say "had" because the event was just canceled. The reason it was canceled was because the president of the Hall of Fame, a Michigan native named Dale Petroskey, didn't like...

National Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors has only one choice with regard to Dale Petroskey -- it must fire him. The sooner, the better. Failure to do so would be an implicit endorsement of his outrageous decision to cancel an April 26-27 Cooperstown celebration of the movie "Bull Durham" because he disagrees with the stars' political views. Please don't pretend to believe that his decision was anything but a political statement that exposed his roots in the Republican Party, which has a way of defending to the death your right to agree with its policies and positions.

Dale Petroskey, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, deserves our thanks and support for bouncing Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins from their April 27 gig there. Roger Kahn (baseball's most overated, self-righteous, and self-important author) has cancelled an August appearance in protest. The AP and various editorial writers are in similar high dudgeon. Email your words of support to the Hall's PR Director Jeff Idelson. His address is: jidelson@baseballhalloffame.org. Thanks.

<p>The baseball Hall of Fame has canceled a 15th anniversary celebration of the film "Bull Durham," and the shrine's president said it was because of anti-war criticism by co-stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.</p> <p>Hall president Dale Petroskey sent a letter to Robbins and Sarandon this week, telling them the festivities April 26-27 at Cooperstown, N.Y., had been called off.</p>

A 17th-century Louis Vuitton trunk containing numerous Barbra Streisand records, the complete Rogers and Hammerstein video collection, and a signed copy of Miss Collins’s Joan’s Way: Looking Good, Feeling Great was recently discovered on the South Bank, near the site of the Globe Theatre. This must be further compelling evidence that William Shakespeare was a flamboyant (by law all gays have to be described so) homosexual. Entering the scrum that passes for Shakespearean Lit Crit comes Sir Ian McKellen, leading thesp, with his claim that the Bard is as gay as Judy Garland’s fan club. His sexuality has long been...

it seemed only a few weeks ago that Pete Rose was hustling back into baseball's good graces, he now appears to be running in place. A baseball official said yesterday that recent revelations about tax and gambling matters involving Rose had slowed the process by which Commissioner Bud Selig would determine whether to remove Rose from the permanently ineligible list. "It has slowed down to nothing," the official said. "Rose keeps shooting himself in the foot, no, the heart. There's so much stuff coming out. Everything is being thoroughly reviewed." Even if Rose is able to withstand the recent revelations,...

The popularity of television broadcasts of live high-speed car chases has led to a dramatic rise in criminals trying to out-race pursuing officers, according to Los Angeles police. They said they have documented cases of offenders waving to helicopters filming the pursuit and attempting spectacular manoeuvres in the hope of appearing on one of the seven Los Angeles television channels which show such chases live. "They are trying to get their 15 minutes of fame," said David Doan, deputy chief of police in the city, who is heading an investigation into the reasons for a rise in chases. After taking...