Free Republic

When President Barack Obama speaks tonight during his State of the Union address, all Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will be hearing is actor Christopher Walken’s iconic voice. Asked by a reporter Tuesday whether he found anything to like in Obama’s proposal to impose new fees on big banks, Politico reported that Cruz compared the president’s ideas to Walken’s most famous “Saturday Night Live” sketch where the actor plays a music producer. “To every problem his solution was, ‘more cowbell, more cowbell.’ This president, to every problem his solution is ‘more taxes, more government,'” Cruz said. “He’s not listening to the...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)On Monday’s “The Daily Show,” host Jon Stewart scolded former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) for quitting his Saturday night Fox News show to take another shot at the White House as a Republican candidate. According to Stewart, Huckabee had made a mistake and should go to back to Fox News and be a show host. Partial transcript as follows: STEWART: I want to talk to you. This is — the book is called “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy.” You have a show on Fox News — you had a show. HUCKABEE: I had a show. STEWART: How long did you...

FTVLive told you yesterday that Fox News and Dish Network had ended their retrans dispute and FNC has returned to the Dish bird. As we predicted, the terms of the new deal weren’t disclosed. However, people familiar with the talks said Dish is paying a significant increase for Fox News, which is one of the most popular networks, not just among news channels but entertainment and sports services as well. According to research firm SNL Kagan, the average monthly fee for Fox News is currently about $1.00 per subscriber. Under terms of the new pact, the price Dish would pay...

One look at the political history of Dish Network founder and Chairman Charles Ergen places the idea that the network dropped Fox News over a simple contract dispute in serious doubt. Since Dec. 20, when the Dish network dropped Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, the former has lost about 90,000 subscribers. The Media Research Center’s Dan Joseph decided to take a look at OpenSecrets documents revealing Ergen’s political donations from last year, which immediately raised some red flags. Ergen donated a total of $64,000 to the Democratic Senatorial campaign Committee, according to the report. As Joseph writes, Ergen’s donating record obviously doesn’t prove he...

Complete Headline: EXCLUSIVE: The beginning of the end for Rosie and Whoopi as ABC considers abandoning The View and extending Good Morning America as infighting grows and ratings plunge The View is dimming at the show that Barbara Walters built. Network insiders tell Daily Mail Online that the long-running talk show could end after this season, amid struggling ratings and infighting among the talk show hosts. Currently in its eighteenth season, the show created by retired TV journalist Barbara Walters is suffering some of its lowest ratings ever with its new team of Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Nicolle Wallace and...

You don’t usually here denunciations of “deranged neocons” on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, but HBO star Lena Dunham uncorked this attack on her Twitter enemies to Ryan Seacrest on the E! Network. Seacrest noted that her show “Girls” began its fourth season on Sunday night, and he asked if she would be checking for online reaction:(VIDEO-AT-LINK)LENA DUNHAM: I deleted Twitter because I tried to create a safer space for me emotionally. RYAN SEACREST: Explain. DUNHAM: People threaten my life and tell me what I cow I am, so I decided....I check it occasionally but it’s not the...

Primetime TV Shows That Flopped Find International Success On Viki As a global TV site, Viki doesn’t just offer subtitles to make popular TV shows understandable, it’s now helping shows that don’t do well in their home countries capture loyal fans from unsuspecting places in the world. Filipino shows, for example, are finding success in Japan. When the Japanese film, “Tragedy of W” first aired in 1984, it flopped in its home country, but was a hit once it appeared on Viki—particularly in Europe. Similarly, the Korean TV show, “Playful Kiss,” didn’t take off in Korea initially, but is now...

Donna Douglas -- who famously portrayed Elly May Clampett on the legendary 60s TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" -- passed away Thursday at her home in Louisiana with friends and family by her side. Douglas' granddaughter confirmed the death to TMZ. Donna starred on "The Beverly Hillbillies" for all nine seasons and even returned for the 1981 reunion TV movie.

Oprah Winfrey has been watching the protests in Ferguson and New York like everyone else. "I think it's wonderful to march and to protest and it's wonderful to see all across the country, people doing it," she tells PEOPLE exclusively. But it's not enough to march, says Winfrey. "What I'm looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, 'This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we're willing to do to get it.'"...

Just a few years ago, underemployed TV writers were complaining that reality programming was taking over their industry. Now the scribes are having their revenge: Unscripted programming is mired in an unexpected slump. Onetime smashes such as "Survivor" and "Dancing With the Stars" are drooping with age. Coca-Cola recently wrapped up its 13-year sponsorship of "American Idol" after Fox's singing hit plummeted in the ratings last season. NBC's own singing show, "The Voice," saw its season finale drop nearly 10% this month. And what's worse, no new hits are taking their place.

Remember the old Christmas commercials? The one that just popped into my head was the old Folger's commercial where college age Peter comes home and makes morning coffee for the family. That commercial made a come back Christmas after Christmas for years years.

Joseph Sargent, who directed The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and MacArthur for the big screen and captured three Emmys for his telefilm work, died Monday at his home in Malibu from the lung disease COPD, publicist Dick Guttman announced. He was 89 ...  In addition to the taut New York City subway hostage drama The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) starring Walter Matthau and the 1977 biopic MacArthur toplined by Gregory Peck, Sargent directed the features The Hell With Heroes (1968) starring Rod Taylor; White Lightning (1973) with Burt Reynolds; and Jaws: The Revenge (1987) ... He gained...

The year is winding down with some good TV news: The amoral biker-gang drama "Sons of Anarchy" has ended its seven-year run on the cable channel FX, after a final season drenched in pointless sex and violence. Jax, the leader of the gang, shot a bunch of his enemies dead and then drove his motorcycle straight into the oncoming grill of a semi truck. The show wound down into a relentless deathfest. Jax shot his mother dead, because she stabbed his wife in the neck with a barbecue fork. Most of the cast was slaughtered. And for what? It all...

"Extra's" Charissa Thompson caught up with Sarah Palin on location for her Sportsman Channel show "Amazing America," where Palin opened up about running for president in 2016. Palin explained, "2016 is a long time away… that's a big darn deal when it comes to family." Thompson asked, "Hillary Clinton's name has been floating out there for a long time as the Democratic nominee. Are we ready for that?" Sarah responded, "I would love to see a woman on both sides of the aisle shooting for that top spot." As for the second season of "Amazing America with Sarah Palin," Palin...

You won’t likely see MSNBC host Rachel Maddow filling in for Brian Williams on “NBC Nightly News.” While Maddow is usually described as the “host” of a cable news show, she is rarely called a “news anchor.” Her own NBC bio describes her as a “host”–and never even uses the word “journalist.” So it’s worth noting that a new MSNBC promo flips the script, describing Maddow as a “news anchor with a big personality. She’s smart, funny and passionate.” Conservative critics immediately jumped on the promo, noting that previous “Lean Forward” promos for MSNBC included hosts like Maddow talking about...

Joe Scarborough is mad as hell and not etc. “Someone needs to tell me why Michael Brown has been chosen as the face of black oppression,” Scarborough said, arguing the left’s martyrdom of Brown mirrored the right’s lionization of George Zimmerman. “There are so many great people to embrace as heroes in the black community, that deciding you’re going to embrace a guy who knocked over a convenience store and then according to a Grand Jury testimony acted in ways that would get my children shot? …That’s your hero? That’s the reason you want to burn down black businesses?…Really? This...

While discussing The View on Tuesday's Wendy Williams Show, Joy Behar called Nicolle Wallace “a day at the beach” in comparison to her predecessor Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck, who has since moved on to a cozy job with Fox News Channel, was known for her conservative opinions, which often resulted in heated debates between her and the show’s other hosts. Wallace, who has been labeled a conservative, peculiarly finds herself in the favorable opinion of Behar: "I like that little Republican over there. Nicole [Wallace]," Behar said of The View's newest co-host. "You know, I have dealt with Elisabeth Hasselbeck and...

Fifty years ago this Thanksgiving the crew of the starship Enterprise walked in front of cameras for the first time and began filming on a new sci-fi show that would make television history: "Star Trek". But the results of the day's filming weren't seen in their intended form for more than 20 years -- and the legendary show nearly didn't make it to the screen at all. The brainchild of former bomber pilot and police officer turned television writer Gene Roddenberry, "Star Trek" was planned to be a utopian sci-fi show featuring a diverse crew exploring the galaxy. It began...

Rachel Racusen joins MSNBC as VP of Communications, replacing Lauren Skowronski MSNBC has hired Rachel Racusen to be its Vice President of Communications, President Phil Griffin announced Friday. She will start on December 8th. Racusen comes from the Obama White House, where she last served as Associate Communications Director. Other roles she undertook included Deputy Communications Director for the president's re-election campaign; Deputy Communications Director for the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee, and Director of Public Affairs for FEMA, where she led response efforts to Hurricane Irene among other natural disasters. “I'm thrilled to add Rachel to our senior team,” Griffin...

It’s been some time since Roy Clark could bound out onto a stage like a puppy just turned loose, brandishing an electric guitar and a joyous smile, ready to captivate a crowd with his personality and talent. Friday night, it took him a number of slow and careful steps, and the assistance of a cane and a couple of colleagues, to make his way to a chair on the small stage of Tulsa’s Spotlight Theater. Once he settled himself, Clark said, “I have to be careful I don’t...,” and he gave audience a comically knowing look, “...make an entrance. Which...