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US President-elect Barack Obama (R) meets with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Obama launched a hard sell for his near 800 billion dollar stimulus plan, warning the US economy would pay a dramatic price if the bill gets bogged down in Congress. President-elect Barack Obama, flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., meets with Congressional Republican and Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, right, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speak during a news conference...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office. Pelosi’s rule changes -- which may be voted on today -- will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.” In reaction, the House Republican leadership is sending a letter today to Pelosi to object to changes to House Rules this week...

"Let Me Just Cut You Off, Because I Don't Want You To Waste Your Question" That's what Barack Obama said today when John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune tried to ask about Rahm Emanuel's contacts with the Blagojevich team. Obama said, "It would be inappropriate for me to comment…and I don't want to get into the details at this point." So a short time later, McCormick came up with a more acceptable question: "Do you or [Secretary of Education-designate Arne Duncan] have a better jump shot?" The whole thing had a "Saturday Night Live" feel to it. The interaction with...

The Democrat Party senior leadership is feeling a Rush. Rush Limbaugh, that is. Late last week, DNC Chair Howard Dean, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, his deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin and Senatorial Committee chair, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi all signed off in some form or another direct mail fundraising plans that will feature Limbaugh for their national party. "'Don't let Limbaugh smear true patriotism,' that's the theme," says a DNC staffer. "We're not going to let Limbaugh determine what soldiers can talk and what soldiers can not." Bad grammar and ill-informed opinions aside, the DNC hopes to...

On the occasion of the death of President Gerald Ford, anti-American activist Cindy Sheehan released a statement today blaming Ford for the war in Iraq and the "deaths of over 3000 American soldiers" in the conflict.Sheehan, whose son Army Spc. Casey Sheehan was killed in Iraq in 2004, wrote about Ford on BuzzFlash.com, a leftist website.Sheehan has become the face of the antiwar movement since she started stalking President Bush at his Crawford, Texas ranch in August, 2005. She is currently in Crawford, as is President Bush.After writing the obligatory condolences on his passing, Sheehan ripped in to Ford:Usually, burying...

A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by third-party presidential candidates who wanted to force a recount of Ohio ballots even before the official count was finished. U.S. District Judge James G. Carr in Toledo ruled that the candidates have a right under Ohio law to a recount, but they have not shown "that they will be harmed irreparably if the recount is not completed by the time Ohio's electors to the Electoral College must be certified." The judge said Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik could not credibly claim that they did...

(Excerpt) Despite everything, Love believes her predicament is the result of a coordinated financial, legal and personal smear campaign. In a recent interview with London's Sunday Telegraph, she was asked if she bears any responsibility for her current problems. "The last thing I want to say is, 'I'm a victim', but I am. I believe it's a trickledown from Bush... I should have done an audit. I should have done face-time with people. That is true. But did I bring it on myself? I don't think so."

Received this URL for the postcard site of Dean's campaign in my email and think Freepers could do a much better job of designing post cards for Dean then what is on his site. With the ingenuity around FR with Graphics, let's see who can make the best post card which we can all use when we spot a Deaniac troll posting. From several accounts, his website has been hacked by other campaigns to change the postcards. Instead of hacking, we have FR where we can design our own postcards for use in sending out reasons why Dean would be...

Since Jan. 2, Iowans have been getting to know Mary Schlicte, R.N. In a barrage of folksy television spots and clever mailings, the veteran nurse has been telling them about her deep roots in Cedar Rapids, her seven children and her devotion to Howard Dean. "I’ve looked Howard Dean in the eye," says Ms. Schlicte, as the soft focus catches the flowers over her left shoulder. "I believe him when he says he’s going to work for me." Ms. Schlicte, with her earnest delivery and blond bangs, is pure Iowa. But the man who’s making her a star is just...

Critics of the war and critics of the critics of the war circle the wagons. by Hugh Hewitt 04/25/2003 12:00:00 AM Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer ACTOR EDWARD NORTON attacked President Bush as possessing a "low quality mind" this week, and thus joined a long list of stars, pundits, and professors who have elected to stand opposite three-quarters of American public opinion. Others who have done so--including Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Janeane Garofalo, and the Dixie Chicks--have discovered that a lot of folks listen closely when celebrities speak and respond in the marketplace by refusing to buy products or tickets or...

MIND READERUnimpressed by the speedy liberation of Iraq, Edward Norton is jumping on Hollywood's President Bush bashing bandwagon.As an actor I know in my mind watching him, what a low quality mind he has, Norton, whose chronic hamming helped ruin the film 'Red Dragon' with Anthony Hopkins tells the London Telegraph.'Because I have been doing this since I was 5 years old, I know when a person is saying words that aren't their own-and it is apparent as it could possibly be to me that he is a mouthpiece, and not even a good mouthpiece.'President Ronald Reagan was a B-Movie...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Actor and anti-war activist Tim Robbins said Tuesday that "it is time to get angry" over the Bush administration's alleged reprisals against opponents of the war. Robbins told an audience at the National Press Club that the Bush administration has taken advantage of the American people and squandered the good will the world had recently developed toward the U.S. "In the 19 months since 9/11, we have seen our democracy compromised by fear and hatred," he claimed. "Basic inalienable rights, due process, the sanctity of the home have been quickly compromised in a climate of fear....

Actors are jackasses. Ok, maybe that’s a bit much. But it’s sure true for three of them. Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Timothy Robbins. Fifteen years ago it was “Bull Durham,” now it’s bull crap. Let me tell you what I mean. Robbins and Sarandon are a couple. Which means he’s fond of old wrinkly women and she’s got a thing for self-important blowhards. They’ve been in the news lately because of their strident attacks on President Bush, the United States, the military, the liberation of Iraq, motherhood, apple pie, the flag, the Fourth of July and anything else remotely...

Re "Cooperstown Muffs One" (editorial, April 12): The politically motivated decision by Dale Petroskey, the president of the Hall of Fame, to cancel the 15th-anniversary celebration of the movie "Bull Durham" because he takes offense at Tim Robbins's and Susan Sarandon's opposition to the war in Iraq mocks the very values that baseball and our country purport to represent. I suppose that Mr. Petroskey would like to bar all of us who oppose the war from Cooperstown as well. As we number in the millions, perhaps this is the only way for him to receive a long overdue lesson in...

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON APRIL 14, 2003 09:25:49 ET XXXXX POSSIBLE MICHAEL MOORE DINNER INVITE UPSETS WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS Fresh off his Bush-bashing speech at last month's Academy Awards, White House officials are growing concerned that DirectorActivist Michael Moore may soon find his way in to the same room as President Bush -- at this year's White House Correspondents Dinner! "We'd hope all invited guests remember it is a night to honor journalists covering the executive branch," a well-placed White House source told the DRUDGE REPORT. There is growing concern in Bush circles over the possibility that Moore will...

Protesters attack Garofalo show With Ashley Pearson, MSNBC Will another anti-war celeb take a career hit? Bush supporters have been deluging ABC with calls and e-mails, complaining about a sitcom the network has in development starring outspoken war protester Janeane Garofalo. ABC HAS reportedly been working on the comedy, in which Garofalo plays a producer at a TV newsmagazine. The pro-war protesters are threatening to organize a major campaign against ABC, including a boycott of advertisers, if the network airs the show. "We do not wish to see the faces of liberal Hollywood, particularly those that provided aid and comfort...

VANCOUVER (AP) -- Jane Fonda told a Canadian audience that she fears the U.S. campaign in Iraq will turn people all over the world against America. "What it's going to mean for (America's) stability as a nation, for terrorism, for the economy -- I can't imagine," Fonda said Tuesday. "I think the entire world is going to be united against us." That frightens her, she said, but she isn't sure what Americans can do about it. "I don't know if a country where the people are so ignorant of reality and of history, if you can call that a free...

Moore tools up for another furor Michael Moore, who didn't endear himself to the Oscar audience last Sunday, will doubtless arouse further ire with his next documentary. The project will depict the allegedly murky relationship between President Bush's father and the family of Osama bin Laden. And it will suggest that the bin Laden family was greatly enriched by that association. Moore is making a deal with Mel Gibson's Icon Prods. to finance "Fahrenheit 911," a documentary that will trace why the U.S. has become a target for hatred and terrorism. It will also depict alleged dealings between two...

Filmmaker stirs emotions with anti-Bush remarks Oscar winner Michael Moore known for speaking his mind03/25/2003 By TOM MAURSTAD / The Dallas Morning News Sunday night's telecast of the 75th Academy Awards was almost an exercise in what happens when you take the show out of show business. Almost. The scaled-down ceremony seemed on track to pass with only the vaguest gestures and comments on the war – a scattering of dove-of-peace pins and a few support-the-troops/pray-for-peace comments. And then Michael Moore stepped up to the microphone to accept his award for best documentary feature for Bowling for Columbine and let...