Free Republic

Columbia House, the subscription-based mail-order music club, has quietly announced it is shutting down. ”After 9/15/26, The Columbia House will no longer be accepting new orders,” noted a message on the company’s website. “You can still purchase books with your credit card or credits as normal.” Columbia House was originally launched in 1955 by Columbia Records. Designed as a way to reach music lovers in rural or suburban areas that often didn’t have record stores, the Columbia House concept was simple, yet revolutionary. Customers could order records by mail and have them delivered directly to their home. Membership often came...

Here’s a penny for your thoughts: One red cent could’ve landed you the Navy’s first supercarrier, the decommissioned Forrestal. The U.S. Navy sold the 1,067-foot behemoth to a Texas company, All Star Metals, to be dismantled, scrapped and recycled, Navy officials announced. It's an inauspicious fate for a ship with a colorful — and tragic — history. It's perhaps best known for a 1967 incident in which stray voltage triggered an accidental explosion that struck a plane on the flight deck whose cockpit was occupied by a young John McCain. A chain reaction of blasts and fires ultimately killed 134...