Free Republic

At Venice High School in Florida, an advanced placement and honors English teacher quit her job after the school ordered her to remove several books from her classroom shelvesShame on the school for banning these books.I trust the teacher to offer these books to her students.This skilled and talented teacher is very brave to quit her job.Atlas is shrugging.Here’s the article:https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-quit-sarasota-teachers-story-184654179.html

June 7 is National VCR Day. Yes, you read that right. Videocassette recorders are still around and there are enough of them to justify a spot on the National Day Calendar — the national day marketing calendar under digital media company Zoovio, Inc. While most people have retired their VCRs, not everyone has gotten rid of these devices or the VHS tapes that worked with these physical video players. Some might even be holding onto the retro gadgets after seeing that a sealed, mint-condition "Star Wars" VHS tape from 1977 sold for $57,600 in New Jersey by Goldin Auctions, a...

A former Oklahoma resident got married and while trying to change her last name on her Texas driver’s license, found out she was a wanted woman in her old state. “I went to change my driver’s license, during this COVID thing you had to make an appointment, and so, I sent them an email (and) they sent me an email and they told me… that I had an issue in Oklahoma and this was the reference number for me to call this number and I did,” Caron McBride told the local Norman, Oklahoma Fox station. McBride was bowled over when...

A former Oklahoma resident is facing felony embezzlement charges for not returning a VHS tape rented in Norman more than two decades ago. Online documents show Caron McBride is a wanted woman for never returning 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' on VHS tape in 1999. "The first thing she told me was felony embezzlement, so, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack," McBride said. McBride said she first learned about the charges when trying to change her name on her license after getting married in Texas. "I went to change my driver's license, during this COVID thing you had...

A man in North Carolina was arrested for failing to return a 2002 VHS rental movie. James Meyers told WSOC-TV that he was driving his daughter to school earlier this week when he was pulled over for a broken tail light. When the officer ran his license, the officer found Meyers had a warrant for his arrest for failure to return rental property, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200. “The officer said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this but there’s a warrant out for your arrest from 2002. Apparently you rented the movie “Freddy...

MOSCOW, Idaho--One local man said he dedicates his free time to collecting copies of the movie Speed. Ryan Beitz, of Moscow, wants to be the sole owner of every VHS copy of the 1994 thriller starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. “One time I bought 30 copies from a store,” said Beitz. What started as a joke, when Beitz bought six copies from a pawnshop seven years ago, turned into a campaign. “We're running a Kick-Starter to get the van fixed up and painted like the bus from the movie Speed. It's so we can travel the country, come to...

I have a question. I would like to get a system to convert old VHS video tapes to DVDs. Simplicity is key. Ideally, I would like to be able to simply put a tape into the machine, along with a blank DVD, push a button, and walk away. Money is not the key issue here, but I do want good quality results. I would be willing to go up to about $400 without blinking an eye, for the right system. If such a push-button system is not available, I could do a Windows 7 thing, but I'd prefer not to....

Convenience, choice drawing consumers to other movie options On a recent weekday, Ken Moore browsed the new release wall at Hollywood Video but he couldn’t avoid the “Store Closing’’ banners that draped the inside and outside of the Quincy store. “I’m like a dinosaur,’’ said the father of two from Milton. “People tell me ‘You’re still going to the video store?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah.’ ’’ Moore is a part of a growing minority of movie renters who shun the convenience of instantly uploading moves online or grabbing a DVD at supermarket kiosks in favor of roaming the aisles of...

Pop culture is finally hitting the eject button on the VHS tape, the once-ubiquitous home-video format that will finish this month as a creaky ghost of Christmas past. After three decades of steady if unspectacular service, the spinning wheels of the home-entertainment stalwart are slowing to a halt at retail outlets. On a crisp Friday morning in October, the final truckload of VHS tapes rolled out of a Palm Harbor, Fla., warehouse run by Ryan J. Kugler, the last major supplier of the tapes. "It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," said Kugler, 34,...

CHICAGO, April 20 — A virus that has already killed tens of thousands of fish in the eastern Great Lakes is spreading, scientists said, and now threatens almost two dozen aquatic species over a wide swath of the lakes and nearby waterways. The virus, a mutated pathogen not native to North America that causes hemorrhaging and organ failure, is not harmful to humans, even if they eat contaminated fish. But it is devastating to the ecosystem and so unfamiliar, experts said, that its full biological impact might not be clear for years. It is also having a significant impact on...

A New Box From Sony Turns Videotapes Into Shiny DVDs Citizens of ancient cultures made no multimedia records of their own birthday parties, weddings or babies’ first steps. How tragic and boring. When they sat down in front of the TV after dinner at family gatherings, what on earth did they watch? The Sony DVDirect VRD-MC3 converts video from various formats to DVDs, working by itself or with a PC. Yet even in the most recorded, videotaped and photographed society in history, we have our own issues. For example, we insist upon upgrading our recording technologies every few years, each...

After a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has died of natural causes in the United States. The format was 30 years old. No services are planned. The format had been expected to survive until January, but high-def formats and next-generation vidgame consoles hastened its final decline. "It's pretty much over," concurred Buena Vista Home Entertainment general manager North America Lori MacPherson on Tuesday. VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs and laserdiscs. Although it had been ailing, the format's death became official in...

THOSE WHO IGNORE HISTORY are doomed to repeat it. One of life's more satisfying ironies, however, is that the same fate often befalls those who fixate on history. Consider the coming train wreck of Sony's PlayStation 3.At this year's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony announced that its next-generation video-game console will begin retailing in November for $599 (or $499 for a stripped-down version). The news rippled through the gaming industry, the consensus being that Sony had doomed its new system with such a high price tag. Traditionally, home video-game consoles have sold for $199 to $299.This news...

Liberals have no real solutions for what ails the country. In fact, their solutions are usually the cause of what ails it. But, rather than realize their errors and change, they use whatever propaganda they can, to reinforce what they what to believe, and what they want us to believe. It is said that the first casualty in any war, is the truth. This we have seen in MSM’s disregard for accuracy and their often palpable duplicity in their war on Truth. Anyone, not remotely isolated, by geography or fantasy is aware of that. But it isn’t just the MSM...

The Anti-Smoking Nazis are at it again. This time, Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. and 31 other State Attorneys General have sent a written request to Paramount Pictures asking that an anti-smoking public service announcement (PSA) be included in all DVD movies that depict smoking. Yeah, like there isn’t already enough junk to deal with on a DVD or VHS before I finally get to see the movie. Here’s an excerpt from the written request: Dear Mr. Grey We the undersigned Attorneys General write to request that Paramount Pictures demonstrate a commitment to protect the health of our...

I have about 200 hours of home movie videos on VHS. My VCR is on its last legs. Can anyone recommend VHS to DVD software that is fast, easy, and inexpensive? Thanks.

A 49-year-old woman and her 12-year-old son were shocked when a Disney movie they rented from a Central Florida public library was instead filled with images of hard-core pornography, according to Local 6 News. Shirley Satcher rented the Disney movie, "Home on the Range," from the Alachua County Headquarters Library at 401 E. University Ave. in downtown Gainesville. Satcher checked three different spots on the tape and discovered that the adult movie, "Voyeur #5" filled the entire videotape. "You know, you think it's a Walt Disney (movie) but you go ahead and see what Walt Disney is talking about and...

I just spoke with a few friends of mine in Iraq. I sent his unit 100 DVD's of the WMD Movie. He said he could not describe the emotion, and sense of pride it brought when they watched it. I suggest every one buys a copy http://www.wmddvd.com and show it to all doubters about the war. You will win them over. People have to know the truth about Iraq. Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com Monday, Oct. 18, 2004 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Weighing the human and economic toll of going to war against a tyrant in Iraq, a new film answers the question...

Betamax finally laid to rest Fans said Betamax had better quality pictures Betamax video recorders are finally being phased out almost 20 years after losing the battle for dominance of the home video market to VHS. Betamax's manufacturer, Sony, has announced that it will make only 2,000 more machines for the Japanese market. They have not been on sale in the rest of the world since 1998. VHS became the dominant format by the mid-1980s Betamax was launched in 1975, and won many fans who said it was better quality than its VHS rival. Some 2.3 million Betamax machines were...