Free Republic

Spaniards and Latin American immigrants who bought lottery tickets in an upper middle class Madrid neighborhood hit the jackpot on Monday, cracking open bottles of champagne on the streets as they celebrated winning €400,000 ($490,000) payoffs from a €2.5 billion ($3 billion) pot of cash divided among thousands of ticketholders. More than 100 of the top winning tickets were sold in the downtown neighborhood, though 20 were also purchased in the southern city of Cádiz and a handful were sold in other cities across the nation. …

Have no doubt about it: Film critic Roger Ebert is no fan of Rush Limbaugh. The unabashed liberal reeled off a series of one-liners on Twitter against the radio talk show host over the weekend, in the wake of Limbaugh's hospital visit due to chest pains. A sampling: "Rush: Hawaii is the only country where the Hawaiian shirts come in S, M, L, XL, Rush, and Sumo." "Rush: Nurse at snack time: 'You have nuts?' 'No!' 'You have dates?' 'Hey, if I had nuts, I'd have dates!' Ah...Har! Har! Har!" "Rush: Stuck in this hospital room watching TV, I really...

Having read through some 600 comments about universal health care, I now realize I took the wrong approach in my previous blog entry. I discussed the Obama health plan in political, literal, logical terms. Most of my readers replied in the same vein. The comments, as always, have been helpful, informative and for the most part civil. My mistake was writing from the pragmatic side. I should have followed my heart and gone with a more emotional approach. I believe universal health care is, quite simply, right.

A documentary film is being produced by Magnum Films/Cabin Creek Films about our favorite country music group, the Dixie Chicks. The feature length documentary film will cover a broad base of subjects, including their early years, their unprecedented success, the controversy surrounding their comment about President George W. Bush, and what they are doing today. The film will have a special focus on the last couple years, especially the aftermath and repercussions of the Bush incident. There are elements of the film that will "shock and surprise" fans. Cecilia Peck, daughter of Gregory Peck, and close friend of Adrian Pasdar...

SWEET SIXTEEN / ***1/2 (R) June 13, 2003 BY ROGER EBERT "Sweet Sixteen" is set in Scotland and acted in a local accent so tricky it needs to be subtitled. Yet it could take place in any American city, in this time of heartless cuts in social services and the abandonment of the poor. I saw the movie at about the same time our lawmakers eliminated the pitiful $400 per child tax credit, while transferring billions from the working class to the richest 1 percent. Such shameless greed makes me angry, and a movie like "Sweet Sixteen" provides a social...