Free Republic

Congressional Republicans are history’s most powerful court jesters. More concerned with earning momentary praise and social access from the people who hate them and their voters, they routinely refuse to deliver results for their constituents or capitalize on potential political wins. Just look at House Republicans’ failed attempt at impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas due to three members siding with Democrats. Republicans walked away from doing something their voters desperately wanted done and fumbled what should have been an incredibly easy political win. Much like the party’s refusal to take meaningful action in protecting the unborn, Republicans don’t want...

The Los Angeles Police Department will deploy 500 officers to wrap the Dolby Theatre in multiple barriers of armed security for the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday night, an event at which several of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars will actively push for more gun control in America. “We have these concentric rings of security that start in the middle and radiate outward,” said LAPD Cmdr. Blake Chow, the man tasked with overseeing the massive operation. “We have a lot of officers in fixed posts and foot beats keeping an eye on the event.” Several celebrities plan to wear orange lapel...

On Morning Joe today, Joe Scarborough nailed the Washington press corps for its sycophantish performance at the White House Correspondents Association dinner this past Saturday night: “like a bunch of teenage girls waiting for a Bay City Rollers concert, waiting to scream at the top of their [lungs].” Mika Brzezinski, agreeing with Joe, lifted the veil on the goings-on behind the scenes, describing an enraptured TV production crew scrambling to get the most flattering shots of the prez and First Lady. View video here.

What's so unfunny? That's what some comics - citing the scarcity of satire directed at President Obama and his administration - want to know. Claiming that his peers are "panicky" about "being called a racist," stand-up legend Jackie Mason said too many once-fearless satirists are settling for "hero worship" of the new U.S. president. The Great Presidential Comedy Drought of 2009 can't be chalked off to a lack of satirical fodder, said comic Jeffrey Jena, founder of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy blog. ("Looking at politics and life from the right side," proclaims its motto.) "Letterman used to do a...

After 100 days, television comics are still trying to get a grip on Barack Obama. It's not that Obama's opening days have been free of the criticism or embarrassment that feed David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, "Saturday Night Live" and the rest of TV's powerful comedy machine. When many of his appointees seemed to consider it optional to pay their taxes, Leno cracked that the IRS was going to start paying Obama a finder's fee. When bailout money went to some of the executives who had dug the hole, Letterman joked that "the Big Three CEOs have...