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WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama accepted a South Carolina Republican's apology for shouting, "You lie!" Wednesday night, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said no sanctions are planned against Rep. Joe Wilson. Obama said Wilson apologized "quickly and without equivocation" and the congressman told reporters the shout-out "spontaneous." "We all make mistakes," Obama told reporters, a day after Wilson stunned the presidents and his colleagues with his outburst. Infuriated Democrats briefly considered sanctioning the four-term congressman, but decided early to look beyond it. "It's time for us to talk about health care, not Mr. Wilson," said Pelosi, D-Calf. Though stunned and...

Front & Center... Guess Which Hopey-Changer Interrupted Bush's Speech in 2006? In 2006, Congressional Democrats wildly cheered their own intransigence, obstruction, and reverence for the broken status quo. Democrats rudely interrupted President Bush to applaud their own obstruction of legislation to fix Social Security: Today Social Security is bankrupt and could face default in 2 years. And, guess who was up front and center: Bambi.

Under the brilliant leadership of my own beloved senator, John Cornyn, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is going for a full court press against the Democrat leadership in the senate, painting them as being in complete disarray. It's not hard to do in the wake of the August recess, which saw Democrats struggling to stay on message...whatever the message is, exactly. Public option, or not? No one can be sure. Under the brilliant leadership of my own beloved senator, John Cornyn, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is going for a full court press against the Democrat leadership in the senate,...

Democratic leaders are planning a rally this weekend in "appreciation" of embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel's "lifelong work in behalf of the people of Harlem and this country," according to a press advisory sent out by Bill Lynch Associates. The event, which is taking place at the Harlem State Office Building at 10 a.m. Saturday, will be attended by former Mayor David Dinkins, former BP Freddy Ferrer, Assemblyman Keith Wright and others.

Yesterday we reported on a Libya reception at the Willard Hotel Wednesday, and wondered who from the U.S. government might dare show up in the wake of the Al-Megrahi controversy. POLITICO's Ken Vogel poked around, and discovered that not everybody in the U.S. government wants to pile on Libya. Here's his report: Not for Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) the Libya-bashing that followed Scotland’s release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the terrorist convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, and the hero’s welcome he received when he returned to Libya.

Top oil-producing countries expressed "grave concern" that a recovery from the economic downturn crippling energy demand will be slow and uncertain, as they held their output steady on Thursday. "Since the market remains oversupplied and given the downside risks associated with the extremely fragile recovery, the conference once again agreed to leave current production levels unchanged for the time being," said the closing statement by OPEC.

BOSTON -- Citing needed support for health care reform, President Barack Obama said Thursday that Gov. Deval Patrick should have the power to appoint an interim senator to fill the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat. Following up on his congressional address Wednesday night, Obama said he supports rewriting a 2004 election law to allow Patrick to appoint an interim senator to fill the seat. The move would require many Massachusetts lawmakers to reverse the stances they took five years ago, when they stripped Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of appointment power. Obama's Organizing for America committee said in an e-mail that...

The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission says he doesn't believe President Barack Obama will ram healthcare reform through Congress if it means losing control of the House and Senate. As President Obama makes what many believe is a final push for a healthcare reform bill, conservatives say the outrage over the proposal could spell trouble for Democrats during next year's elections. Dr. Richard Land, president of the ERLC, says the president has a lot at stake over the healthcare reform package. "If he's willing to possibly be a one-term president and try to ram...

MENDHAM -- Rick Pressl burst into the board of trustees meeting, a boyish exuberance overcoming his normally reserved temperament. The retired fire chief pulled aside Tanya Sulikowski, the executive director of the Schiff Natural Lands Trust, to show off a rusty, barely recognizable object. It was a Revolutionary War era stirrup, Pressl said, his first major find while excavating the nature preserve. He would soon have much more to show the board. Photo by Hilary Klimek/For the Star-LedgerRick Pressl, a retired fire chief, and students from Ridge High School have unearthed Revolutionary War era memorabilia in Mendham, including a set...

Well, since 8/25 actually... (Hey, my email is on a roll)

Virginia Beach Del. Bobby Mathieson said he filed a report with the Virginia State Police today alleging that a legislative aide and campaign worker may have taken and misused campaign funds. State police confirmed they are investigating. Mathieson would not say how much money was missing, only that it was “substantial.” The worker was fired on Tuesday, Mathieson said. Mathieson, a first-term Democratic delegate, is facing a challenge from Virginia Beach Councilman Ron Villanueva for the 21st District seat.

I can say now that I think the worm is about to turn, that the Offensive to take back America has started in Earnest. As one hero said on that fateful day eight years ago, "Let's Roll!" Let us continue the great work and make sure that 9/12 is only the beginning, the beginning of the battle to take back our country. Next year on 4/15, I hope there are rallies like DC all over the country, from small towns to big cities, telling the government that "We will not go into the night, we want our country back, we...

Our friend Mary S. forwarded a message Sun Sunstine, the man being considered for regulatory czar, to Eyewitness@abc.com. The message forwarded was as follows: Cass Sunstine One of the most dangers men on face of the earth. Check him out and call your congress men both republican and democrat. Obama wants him confirmed today. He is an extremist wacko. Please look up more information on this guy and see for your selves. http://www.resistnet.com/video/the-czars-cass-sunstine-van http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/27/112259/40 Listen to Glen Beck, Sun Sunstine is being nominated for regulatory czar. He wants to limit water to all growers in the imperial valley, and Napa...

Republicans have an offer -- or 35 -- for President Obama if he is serious about wanting to listen to alternative proposals. "You've got the House working group -- solutions working group on health care; you've got a proposal there. You've got H.R. 3400. Or you could go to healthcare.gop.gov and you can see all of the proposals -- all of them. They're right there," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters on Thursday. H.R. 3400 is the Small Business Health Fairness Act. It calls for small businesses to offer employees health insurance through group health plans. It's one...

Hillary Clinton may end up the accidental heroine in the battle to reassert First Amendment rights over restrictions on political speech. Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard a historic reargument in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and the Justices have a chance to revisit two of their greatest offenses against the Constitution. The case involves a political documentary made during last year's Presidential primaries about then-Senator Clinton called "Hillary: The Movie." It wasn't what you'd call a glowing portrayal. Funded by a group called Citizens United, the film was intended to be shown on cable TV during...

The World Health Organization has carried out the first ever analysis of the world’s health systems. Using five performance indicators to measure health systems in 191 member states, it finds that France provides the best overall health care followed among major countries by Italy, Spain, Oman, Austria and Japan. The findings are published today, 21 June, in The World Health Report 2000 – Health systems: Improving performance. The U. S. health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance, the report finds. The...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A museum dedicated to the September 11 attacks will play "martyrdom" videos made by the hijackers but testimonials by the public would be screened to prevent sympathizers from praising the perpetrators, museum officials said. Previous attempts to put into context the motivation of the September 11 hijackers have been met with emotional public opposition, with politicians canceling plans for an "International Freedom Center" in 2005. But the president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum said videos made by some of the 19 hijackers in preparation for their suicide missions make up part of the...

The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Harvard professor Cass Sunstein as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Budget and Management.

I'm a Marxist. A limp-wristed, freedom-hating, baby-killing, tofu-eating, plastic-recycling, Prius-driving, pagan vegan Commie. All because I believe that the health care system could use a little improvement. At least that might be the blind assumption for those who vehemently oppose congressional efforts to upgrade health care vis-Ã -vis what some quarters derisively call "ObamaCare." If you regularly use that phrase (or "death panels" or "Palin/Limbaugh 2012") in daily conversation, I'd strongly recommend updating your rabies vaccination. Alas, it may not be covered by your current insurance policy as it's probably a pre-existing condition. The current health care "debate" has become...