Free Republic

The new Sprinkles Cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills has been hyped up for a few weeks now. More details in Average Betty’s video post here. But would the crazy-cool idea for an ATM that dispences freshly baked cupcakes actually be successful? Would the cupcakes be tasty and moist? How many flavors would there be to choose from? Well after my visit to the ATM this weekend to pick up a few vegan red velvet cupcakes with my husband – I can give you my review of the experience.. My First Cupcake-Run at the 24-hour ATM. We were leaving Saturday brunch...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The prosecutor in the Casey Anthony murder trial has decided to retire, sources told WFTV on Tuesday. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton was part of the team of attorneys who tried to prove that Casey Anthony was guilty of killing her daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony. However, the prosecution was not successful. Casey was found not guilty Tuesday in a case that captivated the nation as it played out on national television from the moment the toddler was reported missing three years ago.

The 2011 Super Bowl was between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers—two squads whose monikers speak to their roots as factory teams in the industrial heartland. As these teams prepared to face off in the almighty spectacle that is the Super Bowl, the game’s pre-game show involved a salute to Ronald Reagan on his hundredth birthday. Considering how Reagan gutted the aforementioned industrial heartland, a more appropriate pre-game show would have been an intimate meeting at the fifty-yard line between a Reagan-disguised tackling dummy and fearsome Steeler James Harrison. (The Black Eyed Peas at halftime, however, made me...

An attorney for the former Mississippi State player who helped spark the NCAA's investigation of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton says his client has been interviewed by the FBI. Phil Abernethy wrote in an e-mail Tuesday to The Associated Press that John Bond met with federal and state investigators and "cooperated fully with both agencies." frpa

Sarah Palin attended Dancing With the Stars on Monday to watch her daughter Bristol during the second round of performances. Bristol Palin, whose teen pregnancy was one of the main controversies surrounding her Republican mother's 2008 vice presidential campaign, had told OnTheRedCarpet.com last week she was looking forward to a "more proper and more sophisticated" Quickstep routine that she is set to perform with partner Mark Ballas. Sarah Palin was spotted in the front row as the couples prepared to take the stage, said George Pennacchio of KABC Television, OnTheRedCarpet.com's parent company. "I'm excited for this one because it's more...

Here ya go, boys and girls. They are just starting to roll: http://www.nba.com/lakers/multimedia/2010_parade_stream.html

Like many Americans I’m a huge sports fan. I like a number of different sporting events from NASCAR to football. Most team sports are a combination of individual effort and teamwork with a goal of winning. Whether you participate or you’re a spectator, we all tend to get caught up in the games. For a moment in time our troubles seem to lessen as we cheer on our favorite team or player. We experience their successes and failures as if they were our own. Yes that’s right for a moment in time we are distracted from everyday events and all...

NEW YORK -- Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998. McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade. "I wish I had never touched steroids," McGwire said in a statement. "It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era." McGwire also used human growth hormone, a person close to McGwire said, speaking on condition of anonymity because McGwire didn't...

BuzzCharts spent much of 2003, 2004, and 2005 rebutting the media mantra that the U.S. was experiencing a “jobless recovery.” While unemployment rates bobbed between the upper end of 4 percent and the lower end of 6 percent, the press sang dirges about the “worst job market since Herbert Hoover.” So why is it that nobody seems to mention a “jobless recovery” anymore, especially with the unemployment rate marching toward 10 percent? The data now confirm that we really are in a jobless recovery. Unemployment just hit 9.5 percent, with few signs of a momentum reversal. And we just...

The king of pop, Michael Jackson, was laid to rest today. Every media outlet, the Communist News Network, the All Barack Channel, the Fe aux News Network, the Couric Buffoon Series, and the Never Been Credible news channels have taken the death of this troubled man and turned it into a circus. This particular circus has served to distract us from North Korea launching missiles in every direction, the Chinese murdering people in the streets, the Iranians crushing their people with an iron fist, our President and Vice President contradicting each other on foreign policy, cap and trade being shoved...

Okay...if I'm off-base, then flame me. But DH and I are fuming this evening to come home from work to learn that Fox News spent the 6-7 PM NEWS hour with Shep Smith crying over Michael Jackson. UN-FRICKIN-BELIEVABLE! There is so much crap going on in this country, the world, the economy, 10% unemployment, Congress/Obama getting ready to shove cap-n-trade down our throats, he and the big-she having a laeuiu at the Whie House...what in the hell is going on! The whole damn world is in fire! I'm so ticked off to not hear the Bret Baer news hour....what a...

Does anyone else think Kris Allen, who was very good won American Idol over Adam Lambert who was great because Red Staters siad "No!" to Lmabert for reasons other than talent? Lambert is the best ever on the show, but I think he was denied because Red State America has had "enough." I hope I'm wrong, just thinking out loud.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama says he still thinks there needs to be a playoff system for determining the country's college football champion. Obama, asked what he thought about Florida's 24-14 victory Thursday night over Oklahoma in the BCS championship game, congratulated the Gators and said he'd sent a message to a friend whose son plays for the team. At the same time, he said, "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles." Obama said, "That's why we need a playoff."

Consumers Union is urging Congress to delay the nation's transition to digital television, saying the program to help TV viewers prepare for the switch next month has been underfunded and poorly implemented. In a letter sent last night to President Bush, President-elect Barack Obama, House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the consumer advocacy group said Congress should push back the transition "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals." The request comes two days after the federal government said it...

Palin's secret? Victoria's Secret is on her latest list of shops

The Dutch Radio One news and sports station reports that a controversial Socialist Party policy has been introduced by the council in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. People on low incomes in the Groningen area will now be eligible to receive flatscreen televisions paid for by the council. The councillors apparently believe that everyone, including minimum earners, should be able to buy flatscreen TVs. They decided grants available to the poor to replace television sets should rise from the present 170 euros to no less than 450 euros.

Allentown police, already busy nabbing bad guys, may soon be on the lookout for good kids too. City leaders are considering having officers ticket youngsters for ''doing something good or for the absence of doing something wrong,'' according to an administration report. Mayor Ed Pawlowski said the so-called positive ticket program could make youngsters feel more comfortable around law enforcement.

SOURCES involved in the investigation into Aussie actor Heath Ledger's death say he might have died from natural causes, according to US website TMZ. The site has revealed that sources, who it says are "intimately involved" in the death case, say the level of toxicity (caused by medication) in Ledger's blood was low enough that it may not have caused his death. The revelation sheds new light on the actor's death which, so far, has been the subject of much speculation.

Millions of older and disabled Americans in nursing and adult-care homes are excluded from a government program that helps people convert their TV sets to receive a new digital signal next year. The reason? A federal program that pays for digital converter boxes for older televisions -- necessary when all TV broadcasting goes digital early next year -- specifically requires recipients to live in a "household" as recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau. Adult-care and nursing homes are considered "group quarters" instead of households by the census bureau, a spokesman for the bureau said. That means those residents might lose...

America feels Bill Clinton's pain. On New Year's Day, when many sports fans plant themselves on the couch to watch a day of college football games, the former president was stumping through the snows of Iowa for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. As Bill Clinton put it, "This morning, as I was walking out to come here, Hillary looked at me and said, 'Finally, after all these years I know you do love me.' And I said, 'You do?' She said, "Absolutely, you're missing six football games today." Clinton laughed along with about 300 people at Ashford...

NEW YORK Beyond his alleged steroid use, Barry Bonds is unquestionably guilty of the use of something that confers extraordinarily unfair mechanical advantage: the “armor” that he wears on his right elbow. Amid the press frenzy over Bonds’ unnatural bulk, the true role of the object on his right arm has simply gone unnoticed. This is unfortunate, because by my estimate, Bonds’ front arm “armor” has contributed no fewer than 75 to 100 home runs to his already steroid-questionable total. Bonds tied Henry Aaron’s home run record of 755 on Saturday night and will go for the new standard this...

Americans for weeks woke up and went to bed to news updates about Anna Nicole Smith's death and the fate of her daughter. Then, we seemed to go into near national paralysis over Don Imus' "hos" slur - yes, including this writer, who wrote half a column on his arrogance. But then actor Alec Baldwin came to the rescue screaming, "Pig!," at his poor 11-year-old daughter - and, of course, accepting Dr. Phil's televised offer of intervention. The media run with this trivia because they know it will hook viewers. But why do we care about this transient fluff? After...

Mayor wants Hunters Point Shipyard transferred to city to speed toxic cleanup - Mayor Gavin Newsom's office is pushing the Navy to transfer ownership of Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco to the city in hope of accelerating a toxic cleanup of the property in time to meet the 49ers' 2012 deadline to build a new football stadium. In a Feb. 16 memo obtained by The Chronicle, the city proposes to take ownership of the former naval base and assume responsibility for removing most non-radiological toxic material provided that the Navy covers the costs. The Navy believes the transfer is...

(CBS4) MIAMI Die-hard football fans attending the Super Bowl game at Dolphin Stadium are getting a rude awakening after finding out that no tailgating of any type will be allowed on game day within one mile of the stadium. "There is no tailgating allowed in the Dolphin Stadium parking lots," Sue Jaquez, a member of the Super Bowl XLI Host Committee, confirmed on Tuesday. "And there is no tailgating anywhere within a one-mile radius of the stadium." "And there are no RVs allowed." Tailgating is permitted during regular- and post-season games for Dolphins fans, a team official on Tuesday said...

Personally I will NOT be watching the opening night of the 205 NFL season on abc-tv.

TCU stuns OU 17-10 at Norman.

The NFL, which has vigorously protected its image since dust-ups involving Janet Jackson, "Desperate Housewives" and the cable series "Playmakers," is standing by a popular hip-hop artist who made a derisive remark about President Bush during a nationally televised Hurricane Katrina relief benefit. Rapper Kanye West, who said Friday, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," will perform as scheduled Thursday outside the Coliseum as part of the league's season-opening celebration show, which will be broadcast by ABC.

Do you spend this time of year staring at NFL offensive statistics and downloading injury reports? Do you pay exhorbitant fees to sports "experts" to get the inside scoop on the "upset of the week"? Well, come put your efforts and dollars to good use and join the FREEPS Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em contest. It doesn't cost anything, except the time to register to Yahoo.com. After you join, then just sit back and watch in amazement as the team you bet 16 points on fumbles the ball into the endzone and rolls out of bounds as time runs out on...

The NFL season starts next Thursday, September 8th at 9:00 pm (ET) with Oakland at New England. Yahoo Pick'em Football is open for Free Republicans of all ages. To join, you must have a Yahoo account. That's easy enough, just go to Yahoo and sign up for an account. To join the group, please note the following: Go to Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em... here is a link Pro Football Pick'em ... click on Join or Create Group" ... click on Join Existing Group... click on Join a Private Group... it will ask for GROUP ID# which 29746 .... then PASSWORD...

Today in Chicago, TV legend and billionaire Oprah Winfrey pledged to give one tenth of her salary for the coming year to help the displaced and flood ravaged citizens of New Orleans. "I'm not a particularly religious woman, said Winfrey," but the element of tithing, giving one tenth of what I earn, seems like a good idea." Winfrey, estimated by Forbes Magazine to earn at least $225 million dollars a year, or about a million dollars a workday, joins the swelling ranks of NBA, NFL and MLB players who have dedicated millions to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. "I...

Tom Benson, the wealthy owner of the Saints, has his tin cup out while money and relief workers pour into devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. If he has a heart, it is made of stone. Benson reportedly is entertaining the notion of moving the Saints to San Antonio or Los Angeles on a permanent basis, the team's vice president indicated to a television station in New Orleans. Arnold Fielkow told WDSU-TV that Benson is maneuvering to strike a deal with the highest bidder and does not care how he is perceived in New Orleans, Louisiana and nationally....

In the past month, I have seen a shift in Free Republic that makes me wonder if there is a coup d'etat going on. I haven't got a count, but it seems there has been more sex-related posts than in the past months since I started coming here. There have been threads about the gay life style, sex slaves, sex toys, a guy killed after having sex with a horse, numerous porn threads, and more. It is making me sick. I participated in many of the posts because I felt my input was valuable. However, every time I participate, I...

breaking

Yes, gas prices have soared, but they're still 34 percent below 1980 levels. Housing and baseball tickets are another story. HOUSTON – We groan when our grandparents go on about Coca-Cola costing only a nickel in their day. How did things become so much more expensive, they always want to know? Here's the short answer: With inflation factored in, that same bottle of Coke during World War II would cost roughly what we pay for it today. Eggs, milk, and bread now cost less. But when the subject of gasoline comes up, we sound like our elders. How did it...

A Lawrence Yankees lover livid over the Red Sox' 14th-inning ALCS Game 5 victory shot a rival fan to death and wounded two others inside a moving minivan early yesterday morning, sources said. ``They were arguing over the Red Sox game,'' said one source familiar with the investigation. ``The shooter was a Yankees fan.'' Julio Rodriguez, 58, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Woburn District Court for murdering Jose Rivera, 33, and wounding two others during an argument on Interstate 93 in Wilmington.

ADD Nation? Gary Aldrich (archive) May 19, 2004 | Print | Send Clarity is a focused state-of-mind – a concentration on one or just a few important issues. These days, clarity is a precious commodity, hard to come by and difficult to maintain. We had clarity right after September 11, 2001, but it soon slipped away. We are a nation on caffeine, desperately seeking its "meds." We jump from one manufactured crisis to another. I'm beginning to believe our society suffers from a collective Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to national security. We have all experienced clarity in our...

Man says stress of child support led to bank robbery The lawyer for a Carson City man charged with bank robbery says financial pressures of paying child support led to his actions. Forty-five year old Paul Pasillas pleaded guilty Monday in Carson City District Court to robbing the First National Bank of Nevada with a pellet gun on March 10th. He faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced next month by District Judge Michael Griffin. State Public Defender Steve McGuire says Pasillas was in financial straits after falling behind in child support payments and trying to provide...

<p>OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) -- The owners of Harry Caray's restaurant paid $106,600 for the ball that was deflected by a fan during a playoff loss, a purchase aimed at closing an agonizing chapter in Cubs history.</p> <p>The ball was sold at auction early Friday, with the winning bid by Grant DePorter, managing partner of Harry Caray's Restaurant group, named for the late Cubs broadcaster.</p>

Kobe Bryant Called 911 Day Before He Surrendered To Police Female Treated At Bryant's Home UPDATED: 7:57 p.m. PDT August 1, 2003 NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Kobe Bryant called 911 the day before he surrendered to police on a sexual assault accusation and medics later treated a female at his home, officials said Friday. The Los Angeles Lakers' star hung up the phone without talking, but a dispatcher called back, speaking to three people, including Bryant, before sending police and paramedics, Sgt. Steve Shulman said. Medics arrived at 12:40 a.m.