Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- It isn't easy to put words in the mouth of the president of the United States, but the White House stable of speechwriters does that almost every day. The frustrations of such a prestigious post are painfully recalled by Matt Latimer, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, in his new book "Speech-Less." The subtitle of the book by the conservative speechwriter is "Tales of a White House Survivor." Latimer's book divulges rich insights into the Bush White House. The rivalries, the egos, the fears and the trepidations of having written a prime time speech only to...

RUSH: David Axelrod there saying that Obama doesn't listen to polls, doesn't read polls, doesn't care what NBC says, and the first obligation of the president is to keep the American people safe. No, the first obligation of this president is to make sure our enemies are not offended. Now, yesterday -- and I got a lot of grief on this, caught a lot of grief in the e-mail. Yesterday, I kind of lost it toward the end of the program, all the sound bites and Afghanistan was a big subject yesterday and, you know, the general says we need...

I just watched Bill O'Rielly talk with George Stephanopolis and I was struck with a sense of deja-vu. I have seen this BS before and steffi was on the inside that time. I find it impossible to believe that this excuse for a journalist has more than 20 viewers outside of the beltway and New York. The boy is about as objective about politics as my 18 year old cat is about home life. I mean, as long as she has a clean box, food and water, she is happy, but this nitwit is happy with nothing more than re-processed...

Obama transition chief and head of the leftist Center for American Progress, John Podesta, laid in to Glenn Beck tonight with a spirited but after the fact defense of former Obama administration official Van Jones that was posted tonight at Think Progress:Van Jones is an exceptional and inspired leader who has fought to bring economic and environmental justice to communities across our country. He has chosen to resign because he believed he was serving as a distraction to the president’s agenda. I respect that decision. Van was working to build a common ground agenda for all Americans, and I am...

BURBANK, Calif. - Spider-Man and Iron Man have a new boss: The Walt Disney Co. Disney announced this morning that it is buying Marvel Entertainment -- and the more than 5,000 Marvel characters. They include X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor. "This is a great fit for us," Disney boss Bob Iger told CNBC this morning. He said the acquisition was a way to attract more boys. Disney said the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share -- or about $4 billion. Iger said the acquisition will grow both Disney and Marvel.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Kenneth Bacon, a former reporter and Pentagon spokesman who later served as a top advocate of displaced people all over the world, died Saturday, according to Refugees International. He was 64. Kenneth Bacon was "one of the great voices in humanitarian advocacy," says Joel Charny of Refugees International. Kenneth Bacon was "one of the great voices in humanitarian advocacy," says Joel Charny of Refugees International. Bacon had served as the president of Washington-based Refugees International since 2001, the group said in a statement Saturday. The former Wall Street Journal reporter died Saturday morning from an aggressive melanoma...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The chief of staff of former President Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas was charged on Wednesday with smuggling tattoo needles into the death row unit of the state prison. Betsey Wright, a death penalty opponent, reportedly plans to surrender to authorities next week. According to a police report posted online by the Arkansas Times, Wright tried to bring in contraband into the maximum security unit during a May 22 visit. The items were an ink pen with tweezers and a needle, a knife, a boxcutter and 48 tattoo needles hidden in a Nachos...

Bill Clinton's chief of staff when he was governor of Arkansas is expected to turn herself in after authorities issued a bench warrant for her arrest for allegedly smuggling contraband into a state prison, her attorney told CNN Wednesday. Betsey Wright served Clinton as chief of staff for 7 years in Arkansas and ran 3 successful campaigns for governor. Betsey Wright allegedly smuggled a red Doritos bag containing 48 tattoo needles, a pen with tweezers and a needle inside, a Swiss Army knife and a box cutter into the Varner Unit, a high-security state prison in Grady, Arkansas, according to...

Ex-Clinton aide named in prison case Staffer for then-governor faces charges of smuggling items onto death row LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A former chief of staff for Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas faces felony charges accusing her of trying to smuggle a knife and 48 tattoo needles onto the state's death row. The charges against Betsey Wright come as The Associated Press obtained documents showing death-row inmate allegedly passed love letters and contraband to a guard with whom he committed a sex act. Combined, the events represent just the latest in a series of high-profile incidents at...

<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A former chief of staff for Bill Clinton when he was Arkansas' governor has been charged with attempting to smuggle contraband goods into the state's death row.</p> <p>Betsey Wright, of Rogers, faces 51 felony charges stemming from her arrest May 22 at the state's Varner Unit. An Arkansas State Police report claims she attempted to smuggle in a box cutter, a pocket knife, tweezers and tattoo needles.</p>

<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A former chief of staff for Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas faces felony charges accusing her of smuggling a knife and 48 tattoo needles onto the state's death row.</p> <p>The charging of Betsey Wright, 66, of Rogers, Ark., comes as The Associated Press obtained documents showing death-row inmate passed love letters and contraband to a guard he committed a sex act with. Combined, they represent just the latest in a series of high-profile incidents at the state prison system, ranging from two convicted murderers escaping in guard uniforms to a man being shot to death at a contraband checkpoint.</p>

The Oxford English Dictionary added several new words to their lexicon today. The complete list can be accessed online here: http://www.oed.com/help/updates/latestadditions.html#oos Highlights include: + amateur night, n. and adj. + bailout, n.2 + bupkis, n. + buttload, n. + Clintonista, n. + commitment-phobe, n. + dwarf planet, n. + grilled cheese, n. + searchability, n. + turducken, n. + Many others Source: Oxford English Dictionary

On April 4, 1996, the subject of my radio show in Kansas City was Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown. He and 34 others had died the day before when their Air Force plane crashed into a Croatian mountainside. Not one to shy from exploitation of a tragedy, President Clinton was busily profaning the memory of Martin Luther King – who had been killed on April 4, 1968 – by comparing King's mission to Brown's. What Clinton did not say was that Brown had gone to Croatia to broker a sweetheart deal between the neo-fascist strongman who ran Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, and...

Holder says he approved Clinton-era renditionsCannot be posted, due to FR rules.

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2009 – The director of the White House Military Office has submitted his resignation in the wake of an April 27 aerial photo shoot with a presidential aircraft over New York City. Louis Caldera, who served as secretary of the Army during the Clinton administration, resigned his office effective May 22. “I have concluded that the controversy surrounding the Presidential Airlift Group’s aerial photo shoot over New York City has made it impossible to effectively lead the White House Military Office,” Caldera wrote in his letter of resignation. President Barack Obama has accepted the resignation, White House...

The Atlanta-based firm Kilpatrick Stockton LLP says attorney Mark Levy, who served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice between 1993 and 1995, died Thursday. An attorney who served in the Clinton administration was found dead Thursday in an apparent suicide at his Washington law office. The death comes after the chief financial officer of mortgage giant Freddie Mac killed himself last week. David Kellermann was found dead April 22 in the basement of his northern Virginia home.

Washington - An attorney who served in the Clinton administration was found dead Thursday in an apparent suicide at his Washington law office. Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, an Atlanta-based firm, confirmed in a statement that attorney Mark Levy had died. "Mark Levy was well known and highly respected for his successful appearances before the Supreme Court of the United States," said Bill Dorris, the firm's co-managing partner. Levy was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice between 1993 and 1995 and served five years in the Solicitor General's office.

An attorney who served in the Clinton administration was found dead Thursday in an apparent suicide at his Washington law office. Kilpatrick Stockton, an Atlanta firm, confirmed in a statement that attorney Mark Levy had died. "Mark Levy was well known and highly respected for his successful appearances before the Supreme Court of the United States," said Bill Dorris, the firm's co-managing partner. Levy was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice between 1993 and 1995 and served five years in the Solicitor General's office. D.C. Police spokeswoman Helen Andrews said officers were called to an office...

Lanny Davis talks to Bill Clinton on release of the torture memos, and prosecution of Bush officials, from todays washingtontimes. No doubt Bill Clinton, deep down, would love to see Bush officials prosecuted, to level his image as President...

ABC News' David Chalian Reports: Hillary Clinton stepped directly into the middle of this week's political fray when she questioned former Vice President Dick Cheney's credibility on the torture memos recently released by the Obama administration. Congressman Dana Rohrbacher, R-Calif., took up Dick Cheney's cause today and pressed Secretary of State Clinton to urge the Obama administration to declassify and release documents he believes demonstrate the success of the enhanced interrogation techniques employed during the Bush administration. Rep. Rohrbacher referred to Mr. Cheney's recent comments where he claimed the memos released by the Obama administration last week tend to only...