Free Republic

Apple Corps Ltd., is like a doting parent when it comes to The Beatles, looking after their interests and promoting their recordings, but it also makes sure no one tries to mess with the band's legacy. The company is in court again this week, fighting Apple Computer Inc. over the iTunes Music Store, the latest battle in a long-running dispute with the U.S. company over the apple logo. "They regard the Beatles as their four boys — John, Paul, George and Ringo — so Apple Corps looks after their music," Keith Badman, a Beatles expert and author, said Friday. "You...

Alabama: Like the third world, but closer. or, Because SC is a Little Too Progressive for Some of Us Alaska: Yeah, but it's a dry cold. or, We Get to Kill Whales and You Don't! Arizona: Oh, crap. I guess now WE'RE gonna need a new motto, too. Arkansas: It's Trailer-rific!!! or, Attention, K-Mart Shoppers! California: Our Governor Can Beat Up Your Governor Colorado: Now 100% John Denver free! Connecticut: The "c" is Silent, Casshole! Florida: Hey you kids, get off of my state! or, More than just a great place to die. Hawaii: Why Does Everybody Think Putting Ham...

Harris Needs Image Change to Win Seat By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer Sat Sep 17, 2005 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - If Katherine Harris has any hope of beating U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), she may need an extreme makeover. The Republican congresswoman's poll numbers are poor; her appearance is a distracting issue; and many non-Republican voters see her as a flirty, vacant, beauty-queen wannabe who used her role in the 2000 presidential recount to get to Capitol Hill. Most political observers think that she can make the race competitive, though, as long as she can shed that...

Panel spares S. Dakota air base, senator relieved Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:48 PM ET By David Lawder WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A military panel on Friday voted to keep open South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Base, a decision that overturned a Pentagon recommendation and spared the state's Republican senator a major political defeat. The decision to preserve the base for the Cold War-era B-1 bomber was a victory for Sen. John Thune, a freshman Republican who beat former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last November based on his claims that he would be better placed to save the facility....

A friend of mine, named Cherilyn, and I have been exchanging emails today on the on-going "drama" of Cindy Sheehan, and my friend sent what I consider to be a dead-on analysis of the left. (I've included my own comments in response to hers, which I emailed back to her. I share her thoughts for the good of the order.)[Cherilyn:] To continue my rant about radical left/liberals: I have observed that there seem to be two groups (probably more...). One group is the ruling elite, who want power, and will do whatever they can to get it. These people are...

By now it should be clear that President Bush's words on the subject of Iraq have ceased connecting with the American public. His speech yesterday to the Veterans of Foreign Wars is the latest - and one of the most serious to date - manifestations of the problem. The polls tell us that the American public is losing heart. A substantial majority (56%) now say that the war is going either "very badly" or "moderately badly." More than 50% now regard the war as a mistake. One-third want an immediate and total withdrawal. Maybe most fatefully: a plurality now say...

Image above: STS-114 Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda (left) and Steve Robinson (right) with Commander Eileen Collins at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility Sunday morning after practice in the Shuttle Training AircraftLaunch of Space Shuttle Discovery on NASA's Return to Flight mission is still on track for Tuesday at 10:39 a.m., NASA Test Director Pete Nickolenko announced during a morning briefing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Our teams have worked hard to prepare Space Shuttle Discovery and her crew for launch," Nickolenko said. According to International Space Station Mission Manager Scott Higginbotham, the hardware in Discovery's payload bay is ready for...

We've all heard the phrase, "Well, if it works for you...", as a justification for this or that behavior or attitude. It's a reflection of the relativistic yet utilitarian values of our society. "It may not work for you, but it works for me...," and who are we to question the efficacy of "what works"? The truth is, "If it works for you..." is a myth. I'm old enough now, and have observed enough of life and how others live their's that I know with a high degree of confidence that no one has an answer, nothing truly "works" for...

Since our falling-out with a “prophetic church”, my wife and I have begun visiting other churches in search of a place to call home. This past Sunday we attended a start-up church that meets in the theater of the city’s community center. The atmosphere was pleasant; the people seemed pleasant; the worship was good; the young pastor (young compared to us!) seemed like a decent chap – he seemed earnest and full of zeal and energy. But the sermon was more of the same, more of what we’ve come to realize is the typical message found in the typical contemporary...

It is beginning to dawn on Democrats that the compromise in the Senate that averted the "nuclear option" over judges was not the victory they thought it was. Republicans, meanwhile, are beginning to come to terms with what it means to get not half a loaf, but I'd say three-quarters to seven-eighths, rather than the whole.

With Terri Schindler-Schiavo’s death now literally yesterday’s news, I suppose much of the dust stirred up over the legal issues of her case will start to settle. Yet I find myself hoping it won’t. Her case drew tremendous attention and stirred a lot of emotion because it involved questions of when life-supporting procedures should be terminated, what is an acceptable quality of life, what legal protections should be extended to someone whose condition has dipped below that “acceptable” level, and where are we as a society on the slippery slope which ultimately leads to genocide. These are not questions that...

A person on an Internet discussion thread regarding the fate of Terri Schiavo had this to say about Friday’s unfolding drama: A federal prosecutor refuses to enforce a congressional subpoena, and they all claim to be powerless to force him to do so. This refers to the 11th-hour effort of the House of Representatives to subpoena the principal parties in the case for a hearing that, it was hoped, might forestall the pulling of the feeding tube from Mrs. Schiavo. The judge in the case, the Honorable George "Rush To Judgment" Greer, thumbed his nose at Congress and decided this...

One of the more important books on the condition of the church written in recent years is Dancing with the Devil: The Mega-church Movement Flirts With Modernity, by Os Guinness. In his book, Guinness observes that a church does not have to be of the mega-variety, or even necessarily be a large church, to begin to take on the traits that all too often characterize megachurches. While Guinness points out the great positive potential for the cause of the gospel that is inherent in the mega-church movement, the focus of his book is to highlight the dangers that are also...

I was asked today by my mentor at Solomon's Porch to provide a response to a poster over there who asked about Rick Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Life. I had to admit that I have not read the book, but that this has never stopped me before from having an opinion. So, from a starting point of near-complete ignorance, I attempted a response, not so much on the book itself, but on the phenomenon that surrounds the book. I did a quick Google search of more credible reviews of PDL, and found a great commentary on "The Internet Monk" (in...

Email from a friend who is a tax-preparer: "Just had a new client in - Hmong family with traditional middle and last names - 4 kids - first three kids first names were - Reagan, Ronald and Nancy! must be good republicans"

Have We Lost Our First Love? Among the letters to the seven churches in the opening chapters of Revelation, Jesus Christ has words of praise, but also words of warning for the church at Ephesus. He commends them for the fact they had suffered and yet endured persecution; they did not abide immoral behavior; and they took a stand for sound teaching, opposing apostasy and false teachers. Any evangelical congregation in our day would likely be pleased with such a commendation and reputation for standing firm in the faith. But Jesus also communicates a word of warning. While acknowledging all...

You know you're from California if: 1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible. 2. You make over $100,000 and still can't afford a house. 3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English. 4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower. 5. You can't remember . . . . . is pot illegal? 6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor. 7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are...

In the effort to remove Christmas from...well...Christmas, here's a sampling of politically correct revisions to common "winter solstice" themes found at "A Small Victory.". ================================= The Grinch Who Allegedly Stole Christmas The Grinch Who Redistributed to the Poor During the Holiday Season Revised carol: "O Occupied Town of Bethlehem." Alternative classic seasonal story:Twas the night before a non-denominational celebratory day, when all through the residential dwelling of no particular size or shape, not a creature was stirring, not even an evolutionary small furry creature who must be respected. The hosiery which may be worn by any person regardless of gender...

U.N. panel to frame guidelines on legality of pre-emptive strike By Heather J. Carlson THE WASHINGTON TIMES From the World section Members of an international panel studying United Nations' operations say the group hopes to lay down clear rules declaring when it is legal for a nation to use pre-emptive military force in its own defense. The issue grows out of the international controversy over the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq without a final U.N. Security Council resolution explicitly authorizing the war, said panel member Gareth Evans, a former foreign minister of Australia. "I expect the panel to be...

In 2000, my wife and I hosted a nightly meeting in our home to pray over the post-election situation in Florida. We're organizing a similar prayer meeting to meet through the current campaign. I'm posting the invitation in hopes that 1) others so inclined might organize similar prayer meetings, and 2) those in the greater Sacramento, CA, area might consider attending the meeting we're organizing. Let the godly ones exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance...