Free Republic

Richard Roundtree, star of the genre-defining blaxploitation series Shaft, has passed away at 81 years old, according to his agency. Per Deadline, Roundtree died Monday afternoon surrounded by family, after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. A statement from his representatives reads: “Artists & Representatives Agency mourns the loss of our friend and client Richard Roundtree,” the agency said in a statement. “His trailblazing career changed the face of entertainment around the globe and his enduring legacy will be felt for generations to come. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.” ....Snip..... At the...

<p>Per Catherine Herridge: IC Inspector General told lawmakers the whistleblower did not disclose contact w Schiff/Committee staff - so IG never looked into it. IG “had no knowledge of it”.</p>

Well according to Box Office Mojo this morning the recent Shaft movie starring Free Republic Fan Favorite Samuel L. Jackson BOMBED at the Box Office over the weekend. Total Domestic Gross $8.3 Million. What a huge disappointment for the studio.

NAPA (KRON) — A naked man was rescued from a shaft at a Togo’s Sandwiches shop in Napa, California Tuesday morning. Fire and police crews responded at around 8 a.m. to the shop located at 269 Soscol Avenue. A man told WAVY sister station KRON that his coworker heard someone yelling for help. The man knocked on the Togo’s door and told a woman who was working there that someone is calling for help. It’s unclear how he became stuck but he said he was “looking for a wishing well.” Crews were able to pull the man from the shaft...

This will make your blood boil. Federal employees with the Park Service brag about how they swindled two World War II veterans off the land for pennies on the dollar. Federal employees revel in the fact that they swindle land from private property owners at pennies on the dollar, in astonishing admissions captured in a recently released video. “We went out to the mine and the owners were two little guys that had been in the Second World War,” a California park service employee recalls at a retirement celebration for Mojave National Preserve Superintendent Mary Martin in 2005. The employee...

Mrs. Hopie and I got our tax return back this week, providing an frightening opportunity to see our plummet into liberal-speak acceptance. I'm guessing I'm not alone, because my friend and neighbors also have the twisted view of tax returns as manna from the Potomac. But the initial excitement of our personal stimulus package (no, not in a dirty sense) soon waned as we reviewed this treasure given to the federal (and state) government to fund programs with which we wholeheartedly disagree. Look, I know paying taxes is my responsibility as an American citizen, and since I don't desire a...

Soul singer and arranger Isaac Hayes, who won Grammy awards and an Oscar for the theme from the 1971 action film "Shaft," has died, sheriff's officials in Memphis, Tennessee, reported Sunday. Relatives found Hayes, 65, unconscious in his home next to a still-running treadmill, said Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. Paramedics attempted to revive him and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2 p.m., the sheriff's department said.

By The Associated Press – 1 hour ago THE RACE: The presidential race for Democrats, Republicans nationally THE NUMBERS - DEMOCRATS Hillary Rodham Clinton, 48 percent Barack Obama, 41 percent THE NUMBERS - REPUBLICANS John McCain, 44 percent Mitt Romney, 24 percent Mike Huckabee, 16 percent Ron Paul, 5 percent

TOLEDO -- A golf outing for politicians left some embarrassed after they found out strippers were handing out drinks at the event. Days after the annual event, members of the Lucas County Democratic Party are calling for John Irish to resign and to clear the party's name. One participant said he saw a woman flash a group of golfers. Others at the fundraiser for the Democratic fundraiser said they didn't see any inappropriate acts. "When the word got out that these girls are strippers, it gave the party a black eye," said Clerk of Courts Bernie Quilter. "Every elected official...

Isaac Hayes Hospitalized for Exhaustion MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Isaac Hayes was being treated at a Memphis hospital Tuesday for exhaustion, his longtime songwriting partner said. "He's just overworked and had been in Atlantic City performing, the D.C. area performing, and in Tunica (Miss.) a couple of nights ago. He was just overworked," David Porter told The Commercial Appeal newspaper. "He's doing much better," Porter added

BRIDGEPORT TOWNSHIP, MICH. -- A Saginaw County man thought he was simply digging a basement for the house he would eventually build on Snowy Lane in Bridgeport Township. But the hole Arthur A. Shaft opened up in 2000 turned out to be an archaeological dig of sorts, too. The Saginaw County Historical Society last month confirmed that the object was a barbed stone ax head left behind by Indians 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. "I was amazed _ I thought it was just a couple hundred years old," Shaft, 52, a General Motors Corp. retiree, told The Saginaw News for...

Okay. If your children are listening... Well, never mind. This is okay for children because the UN is doing this. Never mind. If your kids are with you, it's fine. Don't worry. Forget I said that. (story) "A new global campaign to stop the spread of AIDS uses three animated characters dressed as condoms who deliver a serious message in humorous public service spots in 41 languages: If you're going to have sex, use a condom. The short spots are being offered free to broadcasters, community groups and universities and have the potential of reaching 80 percent of the world's...

A WEST Coast farmer has spent almost $320,000 with a dating agency -- without meeting one woman.The man from Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula, who does not wish to be identified, is taking legal action against Affinity Consulting International based in Queensland.It has led to the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Mark Bodycoat, to issue a warning when using such agencies.The man first contacted Affinity, which has links to the Church of Scientology, in March last year.An agency employee is alleged to have told the farmer if he spent $5000 he would receive a "basic introduction service", the court papers say.He...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The makers of a new anti-impotence drug said Wednesday they had reached a sponsorship deal with the PGA Tour, staking out a marketing niche in golf to compete with rivals' deals in professional football and baseball. Eli Lilly and Co. and Icos Corp., the joint venture partners behind Cialis, did not disclose financial terms of the four-year sponsorship. The deal follows Lilly Icos LLC's July announcement of title sponsorship of the Professional Golfers' Association's Western Open. The joint venture formed by Indianapolis-based Lilly and Bothell, Wash.-based Icos will develop golf-themed vignettes that will air during televised coverage...

To all families of 4 making 40k a year: From MSNBC "The president called on Congress to make years of projected tax cuts effective immediately, saying that a family of four with an income of $40,000 would see its federal tax bill fall from $1,178 a year to just $45." Swell, so that means that the costs of running this society are in the hands of the single people? This is typical. I believe we should all share in running this place together, but this seems quite unfair. What logic comes up a plan that penalizes someone who has worked...

Blaxploitation Films Get Closer Look Tue Aug 13,11:22 AM ET By DOUGLAS J. ROWE, AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Three decades after the brief ascendancy of blaxploitation movies, the people in front of and behind the cameras can still feel disrespected. That's the most heart-rending aspect of "Baadasssss Cinema," a documentary debuting Wednesday on the Independent Film Channel (10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific). The retrospective kicks off IFC's blaxploitation tribute, featuring "Foxy Brown" Wednesday, "Superfly" Thursday and "Shaft's Big Score" Friday. (All four will be rebroadcast Saturday). The documentary includes interviews with some of the era's stars and...

ArticleThe article says the People's Republic of Massachusetts has done it twice before.