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I need information and opinions of Montessori schools. I'm thinking about sending my 5-y.o. granddaughter to one. Many thanks in advance.

Everybody who's heard Johnny Cash's classic live album "At Folsom Prison" remembers the audience of convicts erupting in bloodthirsty whoops when the singer growled out the line "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die." According to Cash's biographer Michael Streissguth, however, it never actually happened. A studio engineer created the chilling moment by...(snip)

Republicans claim a victory in a New York City district that has something in common with...Appalachia (snip)

The cowboy archetype runs so deep in American culture that even George W. Bush couldn't ruin it (snip)

The Wall Street meltdown happened at the perfect moment for Republicans to blame the fallout on Obama

Let's hope the president who came out of hiding on Labor Day doesn't go away...(excerpt)

I'll arrive in the Adirondacks late September; staying a week and a half. I have a few guidebooks but there's nothing like having first-hand info. Any and all info you wonderful FReepers can provide is much appreciated! Thanks!

Sorry for the vanity, but this is very urgent. I have a liberal acquaintance who claims there is no journalist on the left who ever falsely accuses racism. Trust me, he is really convinced of this. Please help me open his eyes, as he is an honest liberal (yeah, very rare, I know; almost an oxymoron)! Names of journalists and quotes MUCH appreciated, and thanks, Freepers, in advance!

The Shirley Sherrod affair illustrates only three of the main problems with modern American media and politics. First it demonstrates — hardly for the first time — that there no longer exists any meaningful divide between the irresponsibility of partisan bloggers and the supposed news professionalism of the mainstream media. By mainstream media, I primarily refer in this case to the cable news networks, mainly the most disgraceful one.

SYDNEY (AFP) – An anti-whaling activist has boarded a Japanese security ship to make a citizen's arrest of its captain over last month's sinking of a high-tech boat, an animal rights group said on Monday.

It's a long story, so I'll spare the details, but I have a "must take" trip to Pittsburgh the first week in March (I know; not the optimum time for a visit). My wife and I will be picking up my 2-1/2 year old great-grandson and squiring him around the area. Any and all advice is appreciated; museums, food, places to avoid, etc. Thanks again, Freepers!

There is a clear and present danger brewing in this country, and it needs to be taken seriously, investigated and prosecuted when appropriate. I’m talk ing about attempts to nullify democracy and to incite hatred and violence

Looking back, it's hard to believe that Walter Cronkite's career anchoring "CBS Evening News" lasted only two decades. To persons of my generation-I was a college kid when he took the job in 1962-his avuncular presence lent reassurance through turbulent times. Nobody who watched Cronkite choke up as he announced the death of President John F. Kennedy on that terrible afternoon in November 1963 will ever forget it. Nor the awful events of 1968: the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and then Robert F. Kennedy, rioting in American cities, and pitched battles between anti-war...

Text of statement by Pres. and CEO of Wal-Mart

Shortly before Christmas, I posted an item in the Corner called “The Conductor’s Podium as Political Platform.” This drew an unusually big response, from readers. I propose to examine that response and see what it tells us about our political culture today — or about our culture plain and simple. But first, that item:

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel on Wednesday rebuffed French calls for a 48-hour humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip and stepped up preparations for a possible ground offensive after Hamas's long-range rockets hit a major population center.

When news stations announced that Barack Obama had won the presidency, I released tears of joy and relief, followed by tears of sadness and fear over what he was about to inherit. The joy was still in me when I saw my friend in her yard, stopped my car, and we stood hugging and screaming in the middle of the road while the fall leaves fell. And that joy has stayed with me. But so has the sadness, the fear and, I'll be honest, the anger. Such is the legacy of the last eight years.

September 12, 2008, 0:00 a.m. Giants Among the Lilliputians True honor. By Kathleen Parker Camden, S.C. — While the political class was focused on the meaning of pigs wearing lipstick, a few fortunate South Carolinians were riveted by the meaning of valor. The occasion was a celebration of four of the state’s living recipients of the Medal of Honor — Charles Murray Jr., (Army, WWII, 1944), John Baker (Army, Vietnam, 1966), James Livingston (USMC, Vietnam, 1968), and Michael Thornton (Navy, Vietnam, 1972). (snip)

I've been hiking in the wilds of Northern New Mexico since Sunday-what have I missed. Sorry for the vanity, but FR is my ONLY news source...

Sarah’s speech [Tom Gross] Sarah Palin is preparing to take the stage at the Republican convention, and here is a sneak preview of what she might say (as told to Claudia Rosett): There are a few more things you need to know about me. As a troubled teen-ager, I myself used cocaine and marijuana (yes, I inhaled), and as an adult... (snip)