Free Republic

You might not know her name, but you should. She beat out John Glenn in physical and mental readiness for space in the Mercury program, in fact. And how could you forget a name like Wally Funk? Despite the fact that our nation is fresh on the heels of women's history month, is it any surprise that we don't know the names and accomplishments of some of the most interesting women in history, despite the depth or, in Wally Funk's case, the height of their achievements? They should be household names - The Mercury 13. That's right, 13. In 1961,...

The extended post-election public despair of disappointed Democrats has been nearly as remarkable as the Republican victory, its supposed proximate cause. Therapists, anxious to keep their couches warm, have rushed in to make up a self-serving syndrome for their clients to overcome, “Post Election Selection Trauma.” A nice bit of marketing, that. Most important is the acronym PEST. Turn the electoral mandate of George W. Bush into a public affliction, with overtones of vermin as the root cause. Throw in a hot button word like “selection” to get to the right four letters, dredging up memories of the 2000 Florida...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has named James Brown, the so-called "Godfather of Soul," to a new and unusual, but apparently fictitious, senior diplomatic position, the State Department said. Spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed Monday that Powell had indeed appointed Brown to be the first US "secretary of soul and foreign minister of funk" but said the job description for the post had not yet been drawn up. In addition, he told reporters that it was uncertain whether the new title carried with it any salary or if Brown would be entitled to an office at the State Department. "I...

George Clinton, the godfather of American funk music, was arrested in Tallahassee early Saturday and charged with cocaine possession outside an Apalachee Parkway Circle K. According to arrest reports, Clinton was sitting in a Gold Nissan Sentra smoking what appeared to be a cigar. A police officer found a bag containing a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine and a glass pipe, which the officer said is commonly used to smoke crack. Clinton could not be immediately reached at his office/recording studio in Tallahassee. Clinton is the founder and musical leader of legendary funk group Parliament, which became the equally...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Funk music pioneer George Clinton was arrested and charged with drug possession after allegedly telling an officer he had cocaine in his pocket. Clinton, of Tallahassee, was arrested Saturday and bonded out of jail over the weekend, according to jail officials, who wouldn't release any other information. Clinton's lawyer, Shoshana Zisk of San Francisco, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Clinton, 63, who headed the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic — and the collaboration later known as P-Funk — in the 1970s and 1980s is considered a father of the genre. In 1983, Clinton's solo record...

NEW ORLEANS — A judge declined yesterday to throw out the Marine Corps' case against a conscientious objector from Seattle who claims he is being court-martialed because he publicly criticized the war in Iraq. Navy Judge John A. Maksym also denied Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk's lawyer access to Marine files on who else may have been absent without leave and how they were punished. Funk's lawyer, Stephen Collier, had noted at a hearing Monday that a Marine sergeant said the Marines wanted to make an example out of Funk, a Marine reservist, who attended anti-war rallies and criticized certain training...

COLUMBIA - Singer James Brown was granted a pardon Tuesday for his past crimes in South Carolina. The Godfather of Soul appeared before the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services on Tuesday. Agency spokesman Pete O'Boyle said Mr. Brown had friends, family and state lawmakers speak on his behalf. The seven-member board granted Mr. Brown a pardon for his crimes in 1988 and 1998. After the board made its decision, Mr. Brown sang God Bless America to the crowd, said his publicist Dan Forman. "God bless America on this beautiful day. I hope my pardon shows the youth...

The San Jose Mercury News has indicated that "conscientious objector" Stephen Funk is reporting daily to the Marine Corps Reserve HQ at 901 East Mission Street in San Jose, California, in lieu of a stay in prison. This is a good Freep opportunity - show up there at the corner of 19th Street and East Mission at lunchtime or at his 4:30 departure time and let Mr. Funk know how we feel with flags and signs: "I Concientiously Object to Saddam Hussein" "Freedom is worth fighting for" ...etc... Since it would have to be during the work day, I wouldn't...

http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/ North American Release November 15, 2002 Fourteen years in the making, this film is based upon a book of the same title that won the 1989 Rolling Stone / BMl "Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award", STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN was shot in 35mm film, on location in Detroit and elsewhere. This one hour and forty-eight minute documentary and performance film tells the Funk Brothers' saga through archival footage and still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Funk Brothers backing up Chaka Khan,...