Wednesday, January 29, 2014

2014 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: A REVIEW

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EDITORIAL.

US President Barack Obama
Addressing a joint session of Congress and the nation Tuesday night, United States President Barack Obama called for America to move forward, while chastising Congress for their inactions of the past year(s).

The President said that, while he welcomes and hopes for Congressional action, he will do what he can independently to promote job and income growth for the average American citizen.
It should be noted that while his office does have some executive privileges, no one side of government structure (Congressional legislative, Courts' judicial, and Presidential executive) can do everything on its own.

But although not as immediately ambitious as the accomplishments he hoped to see completed during his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama did focus upon the key points that currently need to be faced, stating that there was a growing inequality between the social classes in this country that needed to be addressed.

*To raise the minimum wage to $10.10, at least for federal contractors upon
new hires and contract renewals; while hoping Congress will increase the overall minimum wage, which currently resides at $7.25 nationally.
*To continue working to improve the American health care system, while pointing out that Congress didn't need to waste time with more appeal attempts against the Affordable Health Care Act, aka "Obama Care".
*Immigration reform
*Better national and international security while hoping to move America off a "permanent war footing"; including a desire to try diplomacy whenever possible before enacting troop movement.
*Improving the education system and getting students to think again, instead of being just good test takers.
*Improving the infrastructure, and helping Americans keep their houses while starting to save for their future.

Meanwhile, the Republican RESPONSES, and yes, you read that right; because there were FOUR of them!
01. Washington State Congressional Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers presented a response that sounded more like a Sunday Sermon, reminding people of the "little things" in life while saying the Republican Party wanted Americans to better themselves through hard work and personal empowerment instead of government "intervention"; even to the point of closing her speech by offering everyone a prayer!
02. Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee gave a response on behalf of the Tea Party, comparing the original American Revolution to the current Tea Party, which allegedly has a lot of reform proposals that will eliminate the Obama Administration's "big government" and grant Americans the change to improve themselves individually, but without most of Rodgers' religious references.
03. Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul presented his own via YouTube and Facebook; comparing the current situation to when former President Ronald Reagan first took office and presented his own ideas on how to solve the problems at hand, in light of the fact he might run for the Presidency in 2016.
04. There was also one solely in Spanish given by Florida House of Representative member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

And why did Speaker of the House John Boehner look so overly tanned?

THE ABOVE WAS AN EDITORIAL.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

THE 2014 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, A PREVIEW

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EDITORIAL.

US President Barack Obama
Tuesday night (January 27, 2014) United States President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver the annual State of the Union address at 9pm Eastern Standard Time.
This will be the first of his second term and the fifth of his overall tenure in office.

Many are wondering what issues he will address and solutions he will propose.
But just as many people are wondering how the Republican party will respond to what the President says.

Whatever their position(s), let's pause to briefly consider their track record since President Obama was first sworn into office.

*The Republican Party does not seem to be Pro-Female.
Just this past week alone, Republican House of Representatives member Steve Pearce of New Mexico stated his belief that women should "voluntarily submit to their husbands".
*Former Arkansas Governor (Republican) Mike Huckabee, recently said that birth control coverage is for women who "can't control their libidos".
We wonder if Mister Huckabee is aware that, under the right circumstances, qualifying men could receive Viagra and/or Cialis?
*And surprisingly, Republican Missouri House of Representatives member Vicky Hartzler is on record for wanting to end a woman's right to choose (granted in Roe v. Wade, a law that has had several revisions since first being passed) because it "robs men of the right of fatherhood". One has to wonder if this position also includes women who become pregnant as a result of rape?

*Of course, there is also the Republicans ongoing battle against the Affordable Health Care Act, aka "Obama Care".
How many times have Congressional Republicans tried to alter, let alone stop this altogether?
Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington State House of Representatives member, recently blamed the Affordable Health Care Act for layoffs in the Health Care industry; a statement proven FALSE by factcheck.org

And the above is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Everything the President hoped to accomplish in his 2013 State of the Union address were stalled by (Republican) political stonewalling!

EVERYTHING ABOVE IS FACTUAL, IF ONE PAYS ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD AROUND THEM.

So whatever happens Tuesday night, the days and weeks afterwards will prove to be mighty interesting.

THE ABOVE WAS AN EDITORIAL.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

SUNDAY FUNNIES: MOOO-VING RIGHT ALONG (COW JOKES)

Hello Everybody! Waxy Dragon here!

I'm sure everyone has heard of cows, so let's mooo-ve right into today's jokes, because I'm going to milk this column for all its worth!

Why was the milk blue?
Because it came from a depressed cow.

A farmer was reporting his stolen cows to the police. "But stealing them won't do the thieves any good. I took all the milk out of them last night."

The diner asked, "Waiter, is this milk fresh?"
"Fresh?" replied the waiter. "Three hours ago, that milk was grass the cow was eating!"

The next time your store claims it gets their milk fresh from a local dairy, ask the store manager if you can see the cows!

First kid: "My uncle can't decide whether or not to get a new bicycle or a new cow for his farm."
Second kid: "Your uncle would look awfully silly trying to milk a bicycle."
First kid: "Maybe, but he'd look even sillier trying to ride a cow."

What kind of cow give evaporated milk?
A dry one!

Did you hear about the farmer who made his cows sleep on their backs?
He wanted the cream to be on top every morning!

First kid: "Do you tip cows?"
Second kid: "It depends upon what kind of milk they give."

Do you know how long cows should be milked?
The same as the short ones.

Teacher: "Name five things that contain milk."
Student: "Ice cream, cheese, butter, and two cows."

One neighbor asked the other, "Do you get your milk fresh from the farm?"
"No," replied the neighbor. "I get it fresh from the milk man."

First kid: "Did you hear about the farmer who bought a new cow?"
Second kid: "No. Does she give good milk?"
First kid: "No. You kind of have to take it from her."

The best way to keep milk fresh is to keep it in the cow until needed.

The farmer bragged about playing music to make his cows happy whenever they were milked.
"Oh? What kind?" asked his neighbor.
"Moood music," replied the farmer.

And on that note, have a great week everybody and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies when we will post not one, but TWO columns celebrating the Super Bowl AND Groundhog's Day February 2nd!
Until then....
wd.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 19-25, 2014

TODAY MARKS THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF NASA'S OPPORTUNITY ROVER LANDING ON MARS.

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week...
*The Philippines and Bangsamoro are brokering a peace deal that will hopefully end their 45 year old conflict.
*Despite the stoic denials of naysayers, independent studies by both NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agree that global warming IS real and ongoing!
*Catherine Samba-Panza has been appointed the interim President of the Central African Republic.
*South Korea reports over 20 million of their citizens' credit card accounts have been computer hacked!
*Revenge Porn has been declared illegal in Israel.
*Early observations of the Ceres asteroid/dwarf planet between Mars and Jupiter reveal that it may be releasing water vapor!
*The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe is preparing to land ON a comet (#67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko).
*Scientists in Brazil have identified a new species of river dolphin.
*Luis Avalos, an actor of Cuban heritage and part of the original ensemble of PBS' The Electric Company, has left the stage for his final bow.
*Civil unrest continues in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand, and Syria.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
*Other American retailers are reporting over the Christmas season computer hacking attacks of their credit and debit card customers.
*A US National Academy of Sciences' study reports that pollution from Chinese factories is able to reach across the ocean and affect the American Pacific coastline.
*The polar vortex is active again, with many east coast American cities not experiencing temperatures above freezing since January 19th!
*The 2014 Grammy Awards for Music and the Recording Industry will be presented Sunday night, January 26th.
*Ben Starr, a television producer who created The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons is no longer with us.

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: JANUARY 25, 2014

While many parts of the world are experiencing unusual weather conditions this weekend, let's keep our brains sharp with some enigmas.

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

MIDSTUCKDLE

COMMON BONDS
The items within each subset have something in common. Do you know what it is?

01. {Cell phones, personal computers}
02. {Bullet proof vests, windshield wipers, fire escapes, laser printers}

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of the January 18th, 2014 Puzzle Corner, where all the fun centered around one specific image!

TRIVIA TIME
The famous work of art shown in the image on the left is THE THINKER, a statue by Auguste Rodin.

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
Looking for two six letter words with the same letters in each to complete the sentence below,
"Some say The Thinker is so intelligent, you might call it an ASTUTE STATUE." 

Monday, January 20, 2014

IN REMEMBRANCE OF DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR (2014)

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EDITORIAL.


Today (at least here within the United States) we pause to honor the life and deeds of Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior.

A man of peace and both a believer AND practitioner of pacifistic opposition against what he felt was wrong with the world, Doctor King is famous for, amongst other things, his "I Have A Dream" speech, delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; August 28, 1963.

"I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

While Doctor King sadly did not live to see the day his dream came true for his children, it is even sadder that prejudice still exists, and that hatred and bias continues in the world along other factors; including differences in personal preferences and economic status.

The day when EVERYONE, not just in this nation but the entire world, is judged only by the content of their character is one I greatly look forward to, but doubt I will ever see within my lifetime.

Lee Houston, Junior
Editor-In-Chief of The Free Choice E-zine
20 January, 2014


THE ABOVE WAS AN EDITORIAL.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

UPDATING PAST HEALTH CARE INFO...

THE FOLLOWING IS PRESENTED WITHOUT ANY COMMERCIAL ENDORSEMENT FROM THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE!

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We get e-mails at FreeChoiceEzine@gmail.com all the time.
Some are praise, which we don't let go to our heads. Some are suggestions, which we consider and do where viable.

And others are criticisms, which we do consider in hopes of serving our readers better.
To wit:
This lady, while perusing our archives, says she came across some old e-links in previous posts that are no longer active, and took the time to send us some current information in regards to coverage via the Affordable Health Care Act, aka Obama Care.

We are presenting her e-mail verbatim as a public service only for those of you who might be in need of this information.

**************

 Hi, My name is Chloe Pearson, and I’m working on writing a guide to help individuals understand their health care options under the Affordable Care Act. I’m gathering quite a few resources, and firstly want to say thank you for all the valuable information you provide on your site.

I also wanted to let you know that I found a link on your site that doesn’t seem to be working. It’s a link to http://www.healthreform.gov/ (found on this page:  http://www.thefreechoice.info/2009/08/health-care-reform-reminder.html), which was archived when the Affordable Care Act became law. This page has replaced it: https://www.healthcare.gov/, which I thought would be helpful to you in case you’d like to update the broken link.

I’ve also found a few other resources that I thought you may want to link to. These have been really useful to me, so I’m passing them on in hopes you’ll agree they would be useful and helpful to others via your site:

Affordable Care Act: Obamacare & Health Reform Facts: http://healthreform.kaiserpermanente.org/

Understanding the Impact of Obamacare on Medicare: http://blog.ehealthmedicare.com/media-center/infographics/?pid=11

What does Marketplace health insurance cover?
https://www.healthcare.gov/what-does-marketplace-health-insurance-cover/

Affordable Care Act: State-by-State Impact: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/bystate/statebystate.html

The Lifestyle Revolutionaries Guide to Addiction Intervention: http://www.lakeviewhealth.com/InterventionGuide.pdf

I hope you’re able to use these on your site!

If you are looking for more info, I’d be happy to show you my guide when I’ve finished it! I’m hoping it will be very useful. Or if you know of any other resources that might help, I’m open to suggestions.

Thanks so much! Hope you’re able to use these resources. All my best,

Chloe

Chloe Pearson
chloe@consumerhealthlabs.com
Consumer Health Labs | Informed Consumers Make Healthier Choices.
2054 Kildaire Farm Rd. #204 | Cary, NC | 27518

**************

Well folks, this is not what I originally had planned for The Free Choice E-zine's 1200th post (that would have been our annual Martin Luther King, Junior Day remembrance Monday, January 20th), but if the above helps anyone, it was worth it.
Lee Houston, Junior
Editor-In-Chief: The Free Choice E-zine

THE ABOVE WAS PRESENTED WITHOUT ANY COMMERCIAL ENDORSEMENT BY THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: QUOTE THE CELEBRITY...

The noblest dog at this E-zine
Hello Everybody. Autumn the Puppy here!
The other day, my owner actually said "Speak girl", when trying to get me to bark for a treat.
As if I would stoop so low.
Instead, I started reciting the famous soliloquy from William Shakespeare's Hamlet:

To be, or not to be. Or maybe it was 3A?

Anyway, it got me the treat, and served as a reminder that I haven't ran any funny celebrity quotes lately. So here we go...


Winters, circa 2002
If God had intended for us to fly, He would have made it easier to get to the airport.
Jonathan Winters, long before the tragedy of September 11, 2001

John Glenn
As I hurdled through outer space, one thought kept crossing my mind.
Every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder!
Former Astronaut turned U.S. Senator John Glenn

Steve Martin
Hollywood must be the only place on Earth where you might be fired by a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a baseball cap.
Steve Martin, actor, comedian, author, banjo enthusiast

Arthur C. Clarke
I don't believe in astrology.
I'm a Sagittarius and we're very skeptical about such things.
Noted Science Fiction Author Arthur C. Clarke. 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc.

We are here upon this Earth to do good unto others.
What the others are here for, I have no idea.
Poet W. H. Auden; 1907-1973

"Unfortunately we're out of time, so have a great week and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies." Autumn the Puppy.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 12-18, 2014

Popeye the Sailor celebrated his 85th anniversary yesterday.
The Six Million Dollar Man debuted on television 40 years ago today.
For those celebrating, Mawlid begins at sundown tonight.
The annual Prayer For Christian Unity event begins today through January 25th.

Amongst events happening around the world this past week...
*Egypt has passed a new constitution that, among other things: bans political parties based upon religious beliefs and gives women the right to vote, although it is also pro-military.
*Michel Djotodia has resigned as President of the Central African Republic amidst the civil conflicts there.
*Australia is on alert for potential bush fires during the latest heat wave down under.
*China says test results of their new "WU-14" hyper-sonic missile vehicle reveal it has reached speeds between Mach 8 and Mach 12.
*The jewelry collection of the late Imelda Marcos has been ruled government property and her family is to turn it over to the Philippines.
*Civil unrest still continues in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Thai, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

This is the first time we have ever had enough news items to justify giving the topic separate space.
IN SAME GENDER PREFERENCE NEWS
*While Russian President Vladimir Putin has not banned "gay people" from attending the 2014 Winter Olympics in his country this February, he warns against them spreading "gay propaganda", although no consequences of that action were mentioned.
*Same gender marriages now carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years in Nigeria.
*Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has refused to sign a bill that would make preferring your own gender a criminal act, saying that such people should be rehabilitated.
And for the record, while the staff and management of The Free Choice E-zine are all straight, as long as the mutually consenting participants are not hurting either themselves or others, does it matter what they prefer?

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
*Amidst growing concerns about spying on Americans on native soil, United
States President Barack Obama has promised to initiate change that will lead to sweeping reforms at the National Security Agency.
*New York Yankee Alex Rodriquez has vowed to appeal his suspension from Major League Baseball yet again after this week's court ruling. Originally sentenced to sitting out a year and a half, Rodriquez is now ineligible for the entire 2014 baseball season.
*Amongst the winners of the 2014 Golden Globe Awards are 12 Years A Slave (Best Picture, Dramatic), American Hustle (Best Picture, Musical or Comedy), Frozen (Best Animated Film), Breaking Bad (Best TV Drama), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Best TV Musical or Comedy), and Behind The Candelabra (Best TV Mini-Series or Movie).
*Gravity and American Hustle lead the field of nominations for the 86th Oscars presentation, which will be held March 2, 2014. Meanwhile, the 34th annual Razzie (Golden Raspberry) Awards, honoring the worst in the past year's movies, will be presented the night before.
*Ruth Duccini, the last surviving Munchkin actress from the original The Wizard of Oz (1939) has passed away at age 95.
*Actor Russell Johnson, best known as the Professor on Gilligan's Island, has left us at age 89.
*Actor Dave Madden has passed away at age 82.


AFTER GRANTING US OVER 1000+ PAGE VIEWS FOR THE 29TH STRAIGHT MONTH LAST WEEKEND, THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ITS READERSHIP FOR GIVING US OVER 2000+ PAGE VIEWS FOR THE FIFTH STRAIGHT MONTH!

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: JANUARY 18, 2014

We're going to try something different for this weekend's Puzzle Corner.
All our enigmas are going to be based upon the same picture! Ready?

TRIVIA TIME
What famous work of art is shown in the image on the left?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
We are looking for two six letter words that have the same letters in each word to complete this sentence:

"Some say <answer to Trivia Time> is so intelligent, you might call it an ____ _____!"

We'll reveal all next weekend.
But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from the January 11, 2014 Puzzle Corner.

COMMON BONDS
The items in each subset have something in common.
Do you know what it is?
01. {B. J. Thomas, Gene Kelly} RAIN

Kelly was Singin' In The Rain while Thomas complained Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.
02. {The Beatles, Katrina and the Waves} SUNSHINE

The Beatles proclaimed Here Comes The Sun, while Katrina and the Waves were Walking On Sunshine.

TRIVIA TIME
On the classic western series The Virginian, what was the full name of James Drury's title character? IT WAS NEVER REVEALED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE ENTIRE SERIES!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

SUNDAY FUNNIES: ANIMAL AMUSEMENTS

Hello Everybody!
Waxy Dragon here with my first Sunday Funnies of the new year!
Now, I had a terrific holiday season, spent not only with my dragon family, but I got to see a lot of my other animal friends; catching up on the latest news and plenty of jokes.
Want to hear some of them?
Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now.


"I CAUGHT MY FIRST MOUSE!"
A football landed in a chicken yard. The rooster called all the chickens together and said, "If you think things are bad here, look at what's being done in the other poultry yards!"
That reminds me of an old hen I met once. She would sit on anything. One day she sat on a block of ice and hatched two quarts of water.

Two mice were staring at a trap. "Go ahead and get the cheese," one said to the other. "It will be a snap!"

A mad scientist was able to successfully cross a kangaroo with a raccoon. He's now raising living fur coats with plenty of pockets!
The same scientist has yet to successfully cross a turkey with a centipede, although he still wants to make sure everyone gets a drumstick at Thanksgiving.

Did you hear about the shepherd that kept falling asleep on the job?
Well, if you had to count all those sheep...

"Since we have chocolate milk and strawberry milk shakes, is there such a thing as blue milk?" asked the little boy.
"Only from sad cows," replied his mother.

"I'm always pro animal!"
With all the other holidays we have each year, I'm working to create Animal Year! Every dog will have his day. The cats and owls will share the nights, and Sundays will be for the road hogs!

Now, before we go, I've got a special treat for everyone. This show is way before my time, but for your enjoyment, courtesy of YouTube, here's the theme song from a very famous animal star's show!



Take care everyone, and please be back next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!--wd.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 5-11, 2014

Amongst events happening around the world this past week...

*Spain announced that Sephardic Jews are now welcomed back into the country after 500 years of exile.
*Archaeologists have found the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Sobekhotep the First.
*The nominees for the 67th annual British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been announced. Winners will be revealed during the February 16 ceremony.
*Porsche, Audi, and Bentley all report "record sales" for 2013.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria (which has possibly spilled over into Lebanon), Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
*The Target store chain now faces a possible investigation of their own for allegedly downplaying the seriousness of the Christmas season hacking of credit and debit card customers. Target originally claimed that up to 40 million customers might be affected, when that number is actually OVER 70 million!
*Meanwhile, retailer Neiman-Marcus is now reporting a Christmas season hacking too, but the exact number of how many customers of the high-end retail chain might be affected remains to be seen.
*Although claiming a senior aide intentionally engineered a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge for political retribution in September 2013 without his participation, instructions, or prior knowledge of the event; New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been sued for his (alleged) part in what is being called "Bridge Gate".
*Janet Yellen has become the first female supervisor of the Federal Reserve System.
*American born Colleen LaRose, aka "Jihad Jane", has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in a failed al-Qaeda assassination attempt.
*Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas will be the 2014 inductees into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
*The 2014 Golden Globe winners will be announced in a live ceremony Sunday (January 12) night.
*The hip-hop duo known as OutKast has reunited.

THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ITS READERSHIP FOR ALREADY GRANTING US OVER 1000+ PAGE VIEWS THIS EARLY IN THE MONTH!
THIS RECORD HAS BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE SEPTEMBER OF 2011, MAKING JANUARY 2014 THE 29TH STRAIGHT MONTH OF 1000+ PAGE VIEWS!

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: JANUARY 11, 2014

Depending upon where you are right now, it's a pretty dreary weekend weather-wise, so let's try to cheer things up with some enigmas.

COMMON BONDS
The items in each subset have something in common.
Do you know what it is?
01. {B. J. Thomas, Gene Kelly}
02. {The Beatles, Katrina and the Waves}

TRIVIA TIME
On the classic western series The Virginian, what was the full name of James Drury's title character?

We'll reveal all next weekend, but for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from our Famous Firsts quiz that celebrated the first Puzzle Corner of 2014.

The first names of all our contestants are:
01. Mr. Magoo (voiced by Jim Backus): QUINCY
02. MacGyver (played by Richard Dean Anderson): ANGUS
03. Robert B. Parker's Spenser: NEVER REVEALED!
04. Doctor Mallard from NCIS (David McCallum): DONALD
05. The Fonz (Henry Winkler on Happy Days): ARTHUR Fonzerelli
06. Quincy, M.E. (Jack Klugman): NEVER REVEALED, but it was confirmed on the show that his first name did start with an R!
07. Columbo (Peter Falk): Officially, NEVER REVEALED, but whenever his LAPD ID was shown, a freeze frame shows his first name was Frank.
08. McCloud (Dennis Weaver): Sam
09. McMillian... (Rock Hudson): STEWART. Most people on the show referred to him as either "Mac" or his formal position as a Police Commissioner.
10. ...and Wife (Susan Saint James): Sally

01)Mister Magoo

02
04)Dr. "Ducky" Mallard
05)The Fonz

06)Quincy, Medical Examiner

07)Columbo
08)McCloud




09 and 10


Sunday, January 5, 2014

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: A WORD BY ANY OTHER TERM...

Hello Everybody, Autumn the Puppy here welcoming
you to the first Sunday Funnies post of the New Year.

Funny, so far this year looks just like last year to me.

Anyway, I've been thinking about how to kick off 2014, so let us start by dusting off and hopefully getting rid of one of my pet peeves, misused words.

William Shakespeare observed that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, but using a word incorrectly throws everything off. To wit, this poem that has been making the rounds on the Internet:


Other examples include the fact that it is still sheep, no matter how many there are. The same with deer, although someone can be quite dear to you while it is possible to have multiple dears in your lifetime. Of course everyone is hoping the buck stops here, because their respective wallets are pretty empty.

Most books have an index, but two of them are not indices.
You can make amends, but you cannot make just one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one, what do you call that?

There's plenty more where that came from, but I think I'll save them for another time. I have to go lie down for a while, unless you want me to say something untrue, because that is a lie too.

In any event, have a great week everybody and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!--AtP.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: DECEMBER 29, 2013 - JANUARY 4, 2014

As another year arrives, let us look at some of the events that have happened around the world in this unique week...



*Latvia is now officially using the Euro.
*The United Nations Security Council has sent troops to South Sudan in hopes of avoiding a civil war in that country.
*The Philippines is dealing with a measles outbreak in metro Manila.
*Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers has passed away.
*Actor James Avery has passed away following complications from an operation.
*The 125th Tournament of Roses Parade was held New Year's Day.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Anbar, Somali, and Afghanistan.

And The Free Choice E-zine would like to thank its global readership for closing out the year by giving us over 3000+ (monthly) page views for the first time ever!

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.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

THE PUZZLE CORNER: JANUARY 4, 2014

Welcome one and all to the first Puzzle Corner of 2014!

To kick off the New Year right, we are going to do a special edition of FAMOUS FIRSTS!

All you have to do is give us the first names of the people listed below.

Ready?


02. MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson)

01. Mr. Magoo (voiced by Jim Backus)









03. Robert B. Parker's Spenser


04. "Ducky" (David Mcallum on NCIS)



05. "The Fonz" (Henry Winkler on Happy Days)
06. Quincy, M. E. (Jack Klugman)
07. Columbo (Peter Falk)
08. McCloud (Dennis Weaver)
09. and 10





















09. Mc Millan (Rock Hudson)
10. And his wife (Susan Saint James)


We'll reveal all next weekend, but for now let's open THE ANSWERS BOX and see how well you did on our 2013 Year's End Quiz.

01. We lost this actor, who was nominated EIGHT times for an Oscar, but never once won! He was given an honorary Oscar before his passing. Who was this person? Peter O'Toole
02. The next time Hanukkah and Thanksgiving will occur within the same 24 hour period is not until what year? 2070, since Hanukkah begins at sundown the night before. The 79811 is for an EXACT overlapping of the holidays, unless the Jewish calendar is revised.
03. Author Tom Clancy passed away this year. Can you name his last book, published posthumously? Command Authority
04. What accomplishment can trumpeter Derek Watkins claim that no one else can? He played on EVERY James Bond movie soundtrack from "Doctor No" to "Skyfall", although we're not sure if that includes the 1960's version of "Casino Royale" and the canon questionable "Never Say Never Again".
05. Who won the 2013 World Series? The Boston Red Sox
06. Who won the 2013 Super Bowl? The Baltimore Ravens
07. What makes the annual Tournament of Roses Parade so unique? Every float is 100% decorated in organic materials.
08. What famous science fiction series celebrated its 50th anniversary this year? Doctor Who
09. 2013 is allegedly the year the X-men have to worry about mutant hunting Sentinels taking over the world in the acclaimed "Days of Future Past" story line that is being made into a movie. But when was this comic book tale first published? 1980
10. Who did Time magazine name their 2013 Person of the Year? Pope Francis