Free Republic

It's been a dopey campaign. But they usually are. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt ran on balancing the budget and cutting government spending. In 1940, it was preserving U.S. neutrality in the European war. In 1960, on the cusp of a decade of fundamental change in race relations and the size and scope of the government, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon spent a lot of time debating a nonexistent missile gap and Quemoy and Matsu. In 2000, the issue of Islamic terrorism was barely mentioned by George W. Bush or Al Gore. This isn't a criticism of America or of...

Marlon Brando may have possessed the greatest talent of any American actor of the past 100 years, but for most of his career, he wasted that talent. Charley Malloy: Look, kid, I -- how much you weigh, son? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast. Terry Malloy: It wasn't him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night....

There's a new bambino on the festival horizon this weekend, with a decidedly Latin flair. The first Cincy-Cinco Festival, Saturday and Sunday at Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., Anderson Township, brings the music, cuisine and culture of various Latin American countries together at the Ohio River venue It's an ambitious debut, with nationally known and regional musicians, dancers, children's activities, sport events, authentic food and education, health and business pavilions. "We want to make it a first-class event," said Neil Comber, who is co-chairing the event with Alfonso Cornejo. A Procter & Gamble retiree who works as a marketing and...