Sunday, September 25, 2011

A PULSE POUNDING PAIR FROM PRO SE PRESS

To kick off their second year of publishing, Pro Se Press released not one, but TWO new novels!
In alphabetical order by author, first up is Creeping Dawn: The Rise of the Black Centipede by Chuck Miller, featuring the debut of one of the creepiest characters in New Pulp fiction history in a world of magic, mystery, and mayhem.
The Adventures of Lazarus Gray by Barry Reese, creator/author of The Rook.
How can one man be expected to survive the mysteries and intrigue of Sovereign City when he doesn't even know his real name?
Both are fascinating reads and are available now from Pro Se Press via Amazon.com.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: WHAT'S UP WITH THAT CHICKEN?

Autumn the Puppy
Hello Everyone.
Autumn the Puppy here, and I just dug up a new mystery to investigate.
"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
That question has been asked for decades with a wide variety of answers. It has even gotten to the point where other animals and people have been substituted for the chicken, creating new variables and jokes on the age old question.
But WHY did that chicken cross the road?
Which came first, the chicken or the road?
My nose smelled a mystery. Of course I smelled a lot of other interesting odors too, but the mystery came first.
Curious, I started digging into the background of the riddle. According to Wikipedia, this joke's first official appearance was in a 1837 issue of The Knickerbocker, a monthly magazine that was published in New York City.
So obviously there might have been at least one witness to the first occurrence of this event, otherwise no one would ever have made a joke out of it.
Under the circumstances, it's also quite possible that the first chicken/road crossing occurred somewhere in New York City, which also leads one to wonder why what is primarily a country bird was doing in a metropolitan area at the time.
Did it have business in town? Was it up to no good? Fowl play maybe?
Maybe the witness didn't know, which is why he or she asked the question to begin with.
So why did the chicken cross the road?
Image by Phillip Halling via Google
The obvious answer is "To get to the other side."
But why?
What was the objective/purpose for doing so?
What was on the other side of that road that so interested the chicken that he had to cross it?
Then again, who ever said that first chicken to cross the road was a male?
It could have been a female, but then the joke more than likely would have been: "Why did the hen cross the road?" so it's presumed that the first road crosser was a male chicken.
Of course at this point, a more important question might be "Why am I even bothering with this dumb gag?"
It could be that I just have too much time on my paws, or needed something to fill in the space of this week's  post without repeating a bunch of lame jokes.
So why did the chicken cross the road?
We may never know for sure.

Please join us next weekend for more Sunday Funnies, and have a great week everybody.-AtP.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 18-24, 2011

The 2011 Autumn season has officially begun, and amongst events that have happened around the world this past week...

*NASA's deactivated Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite has fallen back to Earth, but if they know, officials as of Noon, Eastern Daylight Time September 24 have yet to reveal any more information on the situation.
*United States President Barack Obama has proposed a plan to cut the country's budget deficit by three TRILLION (US) dollars over the next ten years, provided Congressional Republicans agree to ending tax cuts for the rich.
*The Standards and Poor organization has lowered Italy's credit rating from A+ to A, over concerns about the country's economic situation and internal stability.
*Vladimir Putin has decided to run for the Presidency of Russia again in 2012.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria, Libya, Pakistan, and Yemen.
*The United States military has ended enforcement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*This week marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's album Nevermind.
*The rock group R.E.M. has announced their breakup after making music for over 30 years together.
*Amongst the winners at the 63rd TV Emmy awards held Sunday, September 18:
Mad Men (Outstanding Drama Series), Modern Family (Outstanding Comedy Series), and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Outstanding Variety Series).

IN SPORTS:
*The New York Yankees' General Manager Brian Cashman has admitted that, at least in the case of left fielder Carl Crawford, the baseball team faked interest in the player. This caused their rivals the Boston Red Sox to pay a lot more for Crawford's services than they should have. This practice of feigning interests in players to make other teams spend more money has long been suspected of the Yankees, but the Crawford situation is the first time it has ever been confirmed as fact.
*Former professional football player Brett Favre has decided to stay active in sports, and is now an announcer for Southern Mississippi College football. His first broadcast is scheduled for October 1 when SMU plays Rice University.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Ah... Summer might have given way to fall, but the puzzles are still in season.
Ready?

COMMON BONDS
The items within each group have something in common. Do you know what it is?
01. {B. W. Stevenson, Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn}
02. {The Beatles, Aerosmith}

REBUS
Something familiar is represented by the image below. Do you know what it is?
SEP
  TEM
    BER
       23

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX, and discover the results from September 17's Puzzle Corner.

WHO AM I?
If you knew that our mystery guest was "Weird" Al Yankovic, then...

TRIVIA TIME
You know that his three Grammy wins (to date) are for:
Eat It, Best Comedy Recording (1984)
Fat, Best Concept Music Video (1987), and
Poodle Hat, Best Comedy Album (2003)
Al also has several Gold and Platinum albums to his credit, and his latest CD: Alpocalypse is hilarious!
This reporter will be totally astonished if it receives no award nominations within the coming year.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

SELF-CHECK REGISTERS FOLLOW UP

The following is an editorial.

Dear The Free Choice E-zine readers.

A few weeks ago we posted an e-mail from "A Concerned Consumer" in regards to that person's position on self-check registers at grocery stores and other retail outlets. You can find the original article here:


Since that post, we have gotten a lot of responses in regards to other concerned consumers thinking along the same lines of being worried about the future employment of cashiers in these difficult economic times.

But now it has come to our attention, courtesy of a Free Choice reader in New England, that the Big Y grocery store chain, a regional company serving that area, is now removing their self check registers!

It seems that, whether by human error or intentional misconduct, not everything that goes to those registers within the grocery store is scanned, let alone actually paid for; although it all leaves with the customer.

The continued increase in shortages is what has caused the company to make the decision. For more details on the situation, you can read the article either on the front page of the September 18, 2011 Hartford Courant, or online here:

We must admit that in our initial response to "A Concerned Consumer", your Free Choice E-zine did not foresee that possibility.
Yet Big Y's decision will result in more cashiers and baggers being on duty during the course of any given week.
We applaud the grocery store chain's decision.
After all, whenever possible, isn't it nicer to deal with a real person than a machine?

The above was an editorial.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: OPEN MIKE DAY

Editor's Note: The following was originally scheduled for August 28, 2011 but delayed due to Hurricane Irene.

Ms. Waxy Dragon
Hello Everybody! Ms. Waxy Dragon here!
Now, considering that I missed a lot of Sunday Funnies while I was at Dragon School learning how to be a good baby dragon (as if I actually need lessons for that), I've accumulated a lot of jokes during my absence here.
So I thought I would just do an open mike routine.
No, that is not a reference to the Milton-Bradley game "Operation", but just letting you folks know that it's monologue time.
Ready?


Anyone in the audience have cats?
Well, technically one does not own a cat, you are just blessed with their presence and responsible for feeding them and cleaning the kitty litter. They're purrfectly capable of grooming themselves, if you know what I mean.
What song does a cat like best?
Three Blind Mice.

Why are cats so good at playing video games?
Because they have nine lives.

Why are leopards bad at playing hide and go seek?
Because they're always spotted.

Why didn't Tarzan believe the tiger?
He thought it was lion.

What about bird lovers? Any of those in the audience?
What bird can you find at construction sites?
The crane.

Why do school teachers keep bird seed on hand?
For parrot-teacher conferences.

What did the geometry expert say when his parrot passed away?
"Polygon." (Insert your own riff of Monty Python's Flying Circus' Dead Parrot sketch here.)

And a-parrot-ly that's the last of the bird jokes.
Well, it's always best to end on a high note. Who knew I could sing?
Take care everyone and we'll see you next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!-wd.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2011

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week....

*In his weekly radio/Internet address to the nation, United States President Barack Obama urged citizens to pressure their Congressional representatives to pass his proposed jobs program "without division or delay". Being the opposing party to a Democratic President, the Republican members of that august body have been at odds with the White House since Obama was sworn into office in 2009.
*Category 1 Hurricane Maria made final landfall in Newfoundland, Canada.
*Bushehr, the first civilian nuclear power plant in the Middle East, is scheduled to open this weekend.
*NASA's new Space Launch System, the replacement for the shuttle program, will hopefully be operational by 2017.
*While seeking out new life in the Milky Way, the Kepler Space Probe has discovered evidence of a planet orbiting two stars. "Kepler 16-b", for want of a better name, is 200 light years from Earth in the Cygnus constellation. Some science-fiction fans have already suggested naming the world Tatooine, after Luke Skywalker's similar home in the Star Wars saga, although other fans are quick to point out that both Gallifrey in Doctor Who and the solar system where most of the action in the Star Fox video games take place have the same scenario.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*The 2011 Emmy Awards will be presented Sunday night, September 18, before the fall television season officially starts the next day.
*The European Union has extended copyright privileges on music by two decades in that region of the world.

IN SPORTS:
*In the 2011 US Tennis Open: Samantha Stosur won the Women's single title, Novak Djokovic won the Men's single title. The Doubles Tournaments have yet to be played.
*While Professional Football has resumed in the United States, there is no projection on when or if the Professional Basketball strike will end, causing fear amongst fans that the 2011-2012 will at least be shortened, if played at all.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

This weekend's Puzzle Corner centers around one person. If you can guess who, you might be able to solve the other conundrum. Ready?

WHO AM I?
Can you guess the identity of our mystery guest from the clue below?
"I am still very active in the music industry and believe it or not, am an accomplished keyboardist with a couple of Grammys to my credit, although you couldn't tell that right off between my choice of instrument and music genre."

TRIVIA TIME
What are our mystery guest's Grammy wins?
Hint: The last nomination (to date) was in 2009 while the last win was in 2003.

Hmmm... Tricky little devil, ain't I?
But we'll reveal all next weekend.
Meanwhile, let's boldly go where no Puzzle Corner has gone before and peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX for the results of our 45th Anniversary of the original Star Trek series themed enigmas from September 10.

TRIVIA TIME
While working wherever they could within the early days of television before being cast in the original Star Trek series; DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner all found work amongst episodes of The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and other WESTERN programs.

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
Amongst the letters in the title STAR TREK, you can find the following words: A, are, ark(s), arrest, art(s), as, at, ate, ear(s), east, eat, era(s), rake(s), rare, rat(s), rate(s), rear(s), rest, sea, sear, seat, skate, stake, stark, start, steak, streak, take(s), tart(s), tea(s), tear(s), test, AND treat(s).
Although the two words that comprise the title do not count, TREKS could, which brings our word count to 47, but other words might be possible.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

TIM WAKEFIELD AT 200

Congratulations to starting pitcher Tim Wakefield. He achieved his 200th career Major League Baseball victory as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 18-6 in a home game at Fenway Park September 13.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

"THEY DID NOT DIE IN VAIN" by Nancy A Hansen

With all the memorials that have been or will be held today, The Free Choice E-zine would be remiss in its journalistic responsibilities to not add our own thoughts and memories to the subject of September 11, 2001.
In the past, the staff and management ran various pieces to that affect, but none stand out more than the following poem we annually present by our resident poet Nancy A. Hansen.

"THEY DID NOT DIE IN VAIN"

All humanity sighed
As souls left the earth
Lives taken swiftly
Unjustly so
They died not in vain
For tears and remorse
Wash clean the blood
On the crumpled edifices
Of steel and concrete
That makes civilization grand

But buildings do not define us
Within we are human
Warm and alive
Full of stories
Martyrs they became, oh yes
But so much more
Every last one
A living testament
To faith
Hope
Pride
Charity
Accomplishment
And the greatest force on earth
Love

We watched in horror
Over and over again
As the events were replayed
And reactions were given
Stunned looks
Terror in the streets
Angry oaths
Silent sobs
Open weeping
Our brethren were stoic
Or they cried and pleaded
They were dead heroes or victims
But they were all alive
Just moments before
Without any foreknowledge
Of their place in history
Etched on our minds
Engraved on our hearts
For eternity

I wept with them
The ones who died
The living left behind
The shattered hopes and dreams
Like the rubble in the streets
Made us all stop and think
That could be me!
I watched stunned
And vowed as did others
We will overcome this
We are one people
We are humane and caring
This cannot be!

Who dares challenge that right?
To live free and open lives
To send fear into our hearts
And sorrow of the most profound
For after all is said and done
Nevermore will we trust
With the heart of innocents
That we are safe and protected
In this womb of our building
In this fortress of our sovereignty

Will the swords of justice
Smite down the aggressors
And bring us peace and redress?
Or just a sense of revenge
I do not know
But I do know this
They died not in vain
Who gave their lives for freedom
And to help their fellow man
For as the tragedy struck
And lives hung in the balance
Or were snuffed out
I saw birds rise from the buildings
Sun on their wings
Angels of nature
Reminding me that there is a better place
Where there is no grief or pain
And no thoughts of war
May they live there forever
Those poor wretched souls
Till we join them again

And amid all the rubble
The twisted beams of steel and concrete
The dust and the fires
Papers fluttered to earth
A poignant reminder
We once lived and worked here
Do not forget us
We live on in your hearts
Forevermore
We did not die in vain
If the world becomes a better place
Because we once showed you
How to care about your brethren
And to value all you have
No matter how small it is
Or how rude and humble
Life is a gift
LIVE IT!

_______________________________________________________________
Nancy A. Hansen's first novel: Fortune's Pawn, is now available from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble online.

ADVICE FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

The following is an editorial.

Much has been or will be said about today.
There is no denying the cowardly attacks of ten years ago that have claimed so many innocent lives and changed the shape of the world for all time.
September 11, 2001 is a modern Pearl Harbor and no matter how much we wish otherwise, wounds like that do not simply go away.
You will not be totally able to escape it today. There will even be brief memorials at every baseball and football game held today.
Yet PLEASE DO NOT LET ALL THE REMEMBRANCES GET THE BEST OF YOU!
Go out for lunch. Take a walk. Have a picnic with your family. Hug the loved ones around you.
In other words, LIVE LIFE!

The above was an editorial.

THE SEPTEMBER 11th SUNDAY FUNNIES

Hello Folks.
There was a lot of debate and discussion in regards to what, if anything, to present in this column today.
The public is being inundated with all kinds of media coverage because of today marking the tenth anniversary of the cowardly attack against innocents.
So instead of Ms. Waxy Dragon, Autumn the Puppy, or myself, we thought that others should speak for us.
To have this weekly feature live up to its name, the staff and management of The Free Choice E-zine has scoured every newspaper and online source that we have access to, and amongst all the comic strips relating to September 11th, we humbly recommend the following Sunday Funnies to read.

In alphabetical order by comic strip title...
*B.C. by Mastroianni and the Johnny Hart estate
*Crankshaft by Tom Bautik and Chuck Ayers
*Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau
*Grand Avenue by Steve Breen and Mike Thompson
*Heathcliff by George Gately (although rarely shown, the title character does have a good side)
*Home and Away by Steve Sicula
*Ink Pen by Phil Dunlap
*The K Chronicles by Keith Knight
*The Meaning of Lila by John Forgetta and L. A. Rose
*Mutts by Patrick McDonnell
*On A Claire Day by Carla Ventresca and Henry Beckett
*Red and Rover by Brian Bassett

And our personal favorite in light of today:
*The New Adventures of Queen Victoria by Pab Sungenis

If not within your local newspaper, all can be found online with a little internet surfing.
Take care.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2011

Tomorrow: America and the world notes the tenth anniversary of the cowardly terrorist attack of September 11, 2001; that needlessly took so many innocent lives.
September is Hispanic Heritage month in the United States.

Meanwhile, amongst other events around the world this past week:
*United States President Barack Obama has announced he will seek a second term, while a field of over a dozen Republican hopefuls vie to be the Presidential candidate for their party.
*After being criticized by some of those hopefuls in a Republican debate Wednesday night, President Obama addressed Congress Thursday night about a new jobs initiative program that also included spending and tax cuts. Whether any or all of the proposal passes Congress for Obama's approval remains to be seen.
*Meanwhile, President Obama has declared a state of emergency in Texas, as wildfires continue, due to the heat wave and subsequent lack of rain experienced over the summer of 2011.
*While some portions of the Eastern seaboard saw rain from its outer feed bands, Hurricane Katia never neared the East coast of the United States to threaten those already trying to recover from Hurricane Irene.
*Scientists warn that there is too much "junk" in orbit around the Earth, and that outer space needs to be cleaned up.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Police Story, the critically acclaimed drama that paved the way for more realistic portrayals of police officers on television, has finally made it to DVD with the release of the first season.
*ESPN has bought the rights to continue showing Monday Night Football through the 2021 season.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Space... the final frontier!
On September 8, 2011; one of my favorite television programs, the original Star Trek celebrated its 45th anniversary.
In its honor, this week's conundrums are built around it.
Ready?

TRIVIA TIME
There are a lot of questions one could ask that just about everyone knows the answer to, like Uhura's rarely used first name is Nyota and Mister Spock's blood type is T-.
But, BEFORE Star Trek, where did DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner get a lot of their acting roles from?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
How many words can you make out of the letters in the show title STAR TREK?
Note: the two individual words (Star and Trek) will not count towards your grand total.

We'll turn on our tricorder and discover the results next weekend. But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from September 3's Puzzle Corner.

TRIVIA TIME
Doc was the only one of Snow White's seven dwarves to wear glasses.

REBUS
Believe it or not, it's a riding lawn mower!
What?
Considering the price of gasoline nowadays, were you expecting it to be motorized?


Monday, September 5, 2011

FORTUNE'S PAWN NOW AVAILABLE FROM BARNES AND NOBLE!

The Free Choice E-zine's resident poet Nancy A. Hansen is on the verge of having a best seller to her writing credits.
Thanks in part to the popularity of her debut novel Fortune's Pawn on Amazon dot com, the book is now available online from Barnes and Noble too!
For those wishing to purchase the novel from that retailer, just go to



and follow the instructions there.

Happy Reading!

HAPPY LABOR DAY 2011

Today is Labor Day in the United States and Canada.
A time when we pause to honor the hard work of those who came before us that helped build our respective countries and the effort it takes to keep them going.

However, some erroneously consider the holiday weekend as the end of summer, since many school systems are already back in session for the new school year.
As far as the seasons are concerned, autumn does not officially begin until September 23.

Meanwhile, another Labor Day tradition is now being reshaped for more modern times.
The annual Muscular Dystrophy telethon only ran for six hours on Sunday night, depending upon the local and national needs of those who carried it, instead of its past length spanning into Monday afternoon. Although a worthy cause, some affiliates of what has been referred to as the Love Network have been seeking more commercial success over the weekend and did not want to tie up such a big block of airtime on one program.

Also, for the first time since 1966, the telethon went on without perennial host Jerry Lewis. No explanation has yet to be given, although the comedian is supposed to hold a press conference sometime later this week to discuss the situation.

But the event still managed to raise $61,491,393 (US Dollars) to continue research in hopes of eventually combating and curing all forms of muscular dystrophy.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

SUNDAY FUNNIES: WEATHERING THE STORMS

Greetings!
Editor-In-Chief Lee Houston, Junior here, along with Ms. Waxy Dragon and Autumn the Puppy.
Weather has certainly dominated the news this past week.
Irene ravaged the Eastern seaboard of the United States.
Katrina is in the Atlantic right now and looks like she might want to follow in her "big sister's" footsteps, although most weather forecasts right now say that won't happen.
And we also have Tropical Storm Lee in the Gulf bringing a lot of rain to the state of Louisiana before it starts working its way eastward back to the Atlantic as just a rain front.
I'm sure I'm far from the first person to complain about having a major weather system named after them, but I do have to chuckle over the fact that my "namesake" has the same bad luck with timing that I do. The few times I have ever been to Louisiana, I never manage to make it to attend Mardi Gras either.
Yet can you imagine how weather reports would be if there was more corporate sponsorship in news casts?
"Stay tuned for further coverage of the worst storm ever, Hurricane Discount Store, sponsored by Rival Retail Outlet."
That would be like Aliens Versus Predators. Who do you root for, let alone which store do you give your patronage afterwards?
But now I think I'll turn the jokes over to the professionals. Take it away ladies.
"Thanks Lee," said Autumn the Puppy. "For a comedian, you make a great Editor-In-Chief. I just want to say to all my fellow canines out there, when it comes to storms, STAY INSIDE! Everything might look fascinating, and I grant you the wind stirs up some interesting smells, but it isn't worth risking your life to sniff everything. And when you are in, make sure your Humans have flashlights so they don't step on your tail. Also, don't drink out of the fancy water dish in the bathroom! Until the lights come back on, your people can't pull that magic handle to refill it with fresh water."
"When you are buying food, make sure you get plenty of stuff that does not need to be refrigerated," adds Waxy Dragon. "I'm sure everyone knows to stock up on bottled water too. But if you're worried about your chocolate supply, just send it to me. I love chocolate. Especially the Belgosian Dark. YUM!"

Okay Waxy. That's enough.
And unfortunately, we're out of space for this weekend.
I hope everyone fared well in the storm and are getting your lives back together now.
Take care and we'll be back next weekend for more Sunday Funnies.
=The Free Choice Trio.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

TROPICAL STORM LEE IS COMING INTO THE LOUISIANA COAST. RESIDENTS IN THE PATH OF THE STORM ARE ADVISED TO TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS.
IN THE WAKE OF IRENE, WEATHER SERVICES ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON HURRICANE KATIA, JUST IN CASE.

Due to a lack of power post Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, The Free Choice E-zine offices were without power from August 28-September 1. Normal operations have resumed since restoration of the electricity.

This is the Labor Day weekend here in the United States. Monday is a federal holiday honoring America's labor force, although a lot of them unfortunately have to work that day.

The annual Labor Day weekend Muscular Dystrophy Telethon begins Sunday night. If you can contribute to help the research to find cures for the various forms of this disease, please do so.

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week include:
*America is preparing to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks next weekend, causing some to speculate about the possibility of a new terrorist attack on that date.
*Civil War continues in Libya, with no one aware of the present whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi or his family.
*The WikiLeakes website has crashed, due to an alleged cyber attack.
*Tony Tan Keng Yam has been elected President of Singapore.
*In the midst of its long term mission on Mars, NASA's rover Opportunity has found strong signs that life might have existed on the edge of a crater named Endeavour.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

It may be a holiday weekend here in the United States, but your brain is never fully at rest, not even when you're asleep! So here's a couple of conundrums to keep it busy.

TRIVIA TIME
How many of Snow White's Seven Dwarves wore glasses?

REBUS
Something familiar is represented by the image below. Do you know what it is?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX, and reveal the results from the August 27 Puzzle Corner.

WHO AM I?
In 1969 Ron Dante "anonymously" sang lead on Tracy for The Cuff Links, and Sugar, Sugar for The Archies, both number one hits that year.

HORSE SENSE
Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, for the famous riders of each steed were:
01. Champion: GENE AUTRY
02. Trigger: ROY ROGERS
03. Butter Milk: DALE EVANS
04. Silver: THE LONE RANGER
05. Scout: TONTO

Friday, September 2, 2011

WE'RE BACK! (POST HURRICANE IRENE)

Dear Readers:

Like many individuals and businesses, the offices of The Free Choice E-zine were without power in the wake of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene between Sunday August 28 and Thursday September 1, 2011.

Now that the electricity has been restored, your e-zine is resuming normal operations.

The Sunday Funnies installment originally scheduled for August 28 will be posted at a later date.

Meanwhile...

With our local newspaper(s) as the only source of information for the last few days, we kept a close eye on the development of events as recovery efforts went underway across the eastern seaboard of the United States after Irene.

In light of this, we have to ask:
HOW DARE THE REPUBLICANS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS NOT ONLY BALK AT THE NEED FOR FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF FUNDING, BUT THREATEN TO WITH HOLD SUCH HELP UNTIL THEIR FELLOW DEMOCRATS CAVED IN TO DEMANDS FOR STEEPER BUDGET CUTS?


There are people in need in the wake of Irene!

And some of those people in need just happen to be constituents in areas some of those Republicans are supposed to serve!

As a friendly reminder to all politicians, you are supposed to be serving and tending to the needs of the people who VOTED for you, NOT those who financed your campaigns!

The November 2011 elections are fast approaching.

They may not be as important as the 2012 Presidential Race next year, but your jobs ARE dependent upon how we, the people vote!

Lee Houston, Junior
Editor-In-Chief, The Free Choice E-zine
Grateful that he still has a roof over his head and food on the table.