Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha dead at 77

    February 8, 2010 - 4:47pm

    Rep. John Murtha, the 77-year-old Pennsylvania Congressman who spoke out for veterans but opposed the Iraq war, died Monday of complications from gall bladder surgery.

    Elected to Congress in 1974, Murtha was the first Vietnam war veteran elected to Congress and was known as a rare Democratic hawk when it came to military issues.

    He also skated around ethical issues through much of his Congressional career, escaping indictment in the Abscam scandal and was recently under srutiny for intervening in the defense department contract process on behalf of campaign contributors, a role he could play as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that overseas Pentagon spending.

    Although he voted in 2002 to authorize America's invasion of Iraq, he grew frustrated with President George W. Bush's handling of the war and -- in November 2005 -- called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. military forces.

    "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," he said.

    Obama to Republicans: 'Can we talk?'

    February 8, 2010 - 6:10am

    President Barack Obama wants to sit down and talk to Republicans and Democrats about health care.

    And he wants to do it publicly.

    Obama said Sunday he will meet with Democratic and Republican members of Congress to try and find a bipartisan solution to health care reform.

    Obama adviser: GOP playing politics with terrorism

    February 8, 2010 - 5:52am

    The top counterterrorism adviser to President Barack Obama struck back at Republican members of Congress Sunday, saying they use national security issues as a "political football" for their own agenda.

    Republicans have pounded the White House for mistakes in the arrest of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, accused of the failed Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner.

    "Quite frankly I'm tiring of politicians using national security issues such as terrorism as political football. They're going out there, they're unknowing of the facts, and they're making charges and allegations that are not anchored in reality," White House counterrorism adviser John Brennan told David Gregory on NBC's "Meet the Press."

    Palin admits considering a Presidential run

    February 8, 2010 - 5:33am

    Yes, Sarah Palin is considering a Presidential run.

    Yes, she would do it is she thought the country needed her and if she thought it was "right" for America and her family.

    No, we're not making this up.

    False medal claims: Crime or just lying?

    February 7, 2010 - 4:26am

    Is lying about military service and claiming to have won a medal a crime or just bragging that is covered by freedom of speech?

    That's a question facing federal courts right now as they struggle to deal with those who lie about being war heroes.

    The question tests the validity of the Stolen Valor Act, a law passed by Congress three years ago that makes it a federal crime to falsely claim to have received a medal from the military. Those convicted face up to a year in jail even if they haven't profited from the lie.

    Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School says the law could violate the First Amendment protections of free speech because it, in effect, makes it illegal for someone to brag.

    "Half the pickup lines in bars across the country could be criminalized under the concept," Turley says.

    Sarah Palin to Tea Baggers: 'It's time for a revolution'

    February 7, 2010 - 2:56am

    Sarah Palin, the mouth that roared, brought Tea Party activists to their feet in Nashville Saturday with a rousing speech that called for a "new American revolution."

    Palin, of course, was preaching to the choir -- a conservative audience that provided the perfect venue for the former Alaska Governor and failed vice-presidential candidate.

    Alternating between folksy humor and sharp jabs at President Barack Obama and Democrats, Palin asked "How's that hope-y, change-y stuff workin' out for you?"

    She had high praise for the Tea Bag Party.

    "This movement is about the people," Palin said. "Government is supposed to be working for the people."

    Amid multiple standing ovations, the keynote speaker to the opening session of the Tea Party's first national convention played to the heart of the group's anti-establishment, grass-roots image.

    Her audience waved flags and erupted in cheers during multiple standing ovations as Palin gave the keynote address at the first national convention of the "tea party" coalition. It's an anti-establishment, grass-roots network motivated by anger over the growth of government, budget-busting spending and Obama's policies.

    James O'Keefe: A gonzo political operative

    February 6, 2010 - 8:39pm

    When it came to stunts, nothing was too gonzo for James O'Keefe.

    The man who offered himself up as a pimp to set up activists at ACORN would do just about anything for the cause -- as long as the cause was conservative and anti-liberal.

    O'Keefe would set up bogus photo ops, brandish over-sized checks and even dress up in a chicken suit if it suited the purpose.

    He produced a video, "Bailout Prize Patrol, on YouTube a year before his famous ACORN "pimp" undercover video.

    Sometimes people laughed. Other times they called the cops, like the New Jersey bank branch manager who wasn't amused when O'Keefe and four others conned her into posting for a photograph with an oversized check that was supposed to represent federal bailout funds.

    Obama tries to rally depressed Democrats

    February 6, 2010 - 8:07pm

    Just a year after celebrating Barack Obama's inauguration, despondent Democrats on Saturday heard from their party leader who urged optimism in the face of Republicans' strong challenge to their congressional dominance.

    The president said political leaders must plot their way forward to November with an understanding of the economic difficulties Americans face.

    "I understand their frustration. You understand it as well," Obama said.

    Obama on blizzard: 'Snowmageddon'

    February 6, 2010 - 12:12pm

    President Barack Obama calls the storm that shut down Washington Friday and Saturday "Snowmageddon."

    For a former Senator from Chicago, the storm that dumped more than two feet of snow on the nation's Capital shouldn't seem that bad.

    The President's motorcade had a relatively easy time navigating DC's snow-covered but deserted streets as it traversed a few blocks from the White House to the Democratic National Committe's winter meeting Saturday.

    Others had more trouble.

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