When President Bush questioned Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the freedom of the press in Russia, Putin replied: "We didn't criticize you when you fired those reporters at CBS."

"I don't know if she'll run or not. She would make an excellent president, and I would always try to help her." -- Former President Bill Clinton

Hollywood has the help of some unlikely allies in court battles against file-sharing companies. "Hollywood is definitely a strange bedfellow to most of us," said Jim Backlin, vice president of legislative affairs for the Christian Coalition of America. "Our goal was to cut down child pornography and other kinds of pornography, and if for some reason we were allied with the Hollywood types this time, so be it."

Meet Noah McCullough, a 9-year-old from Texas, who is travelling as a political lobbyist for the Bush Social Security reform plan. "It will be bankrupt when I'm president."

Gaming the political process: Maine State Representative Brian Duprey (R) has introduced an anti-abortion bill in the state legislature that would forbid a woman from ending her pregnancy... because the fetus is gay. Duprey had earlier proposed a bill legalizing same-sex marriages... which he then opposed.

President George W. Bush wins "worst male actor in a leading role" award at the 25th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards.

"Germany loves to criticize US President George W. Bush's Middle East policies -- just like Germany loved to criticize former President Ronald Reagan. But Reagan, when he demanded that Gorbachev remove the Berlin Wall, turned out to be right. Could history repeat itself?"

The debate about Social Security reform is about to turn into a "Swift Boat" style war of attack ad politics. "Not content to limit the discussion to facts, figures and philosophy, some advocacy groups are beginning to employ assault tactics honed in the 2004 presidential race and other electoral battles. Drawing on the strategic expertise and fundraising acumen of veteran campaign operatives, they are turning Social Security into a staging ground for an increasingly shrill political exchange."

Project Runway: Secretary of State Edition. "The boots had a high, slender heel that is not particularly practical. But it is a popular silhouette because it tends to elongate and flatter the leg."

Unfortunate Cropped Photo of the Day.

"BlogCall is a regular conference call hosted by progressive and Democratic bloggers to discuss exposes of Republican and rightwing crimes and scandals that deserve national media attention. We invite mainstream journalists to participate fully in each BlogCall."

Unfortunate Cold Russian Stare Photo of the Day.

"You're an Ashcroft! No, you're the Ashcroft!"

A few members of Congress have taken up blogging. "It shows your constituents that you're going to be updating your Web site regularly, and the next time they log on, they will see something new."

"The US military has had to spend an estimated 200 million dollars over the past decade to replace the 9,488 gay and lesbian servicemembers kicked out of the service under the don't ask, don't tell policy."

When is pressing the flesh not pressing the flesh?

"A wealthy Washington socialite is offering a $10,000 reward for proof that Jeff Gannon, an allegedly gay kinky-sex prostitute / escort / white house reporter / GOP operative, has had sexual relations with top-ranking government officials."

"You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here." -- DNC Chairman Howard Dean, speaking before the Democratic black caucus in Washington.

Author Doug Wead regrets releasing secret tapes he recorded of then-governor George W. Bush. On the tapes, Bush discusses strategy for a presidential run and appears to acknowledge past drug use. "I am asking my attorney to direct any future proceeds from the book to charity and to find the best way to vet these tapes and get them back to the president to whom they belong. History can wait."

Framing "Jeff Gannon" -- "If anyone wants to step back for a moment and look at how the wingnut right avoids criticism in this country, look no further than the current 'Jeff Gannon' brouhaha and how the right frames its response."

Doesn't "homicide bomber" sound better than "suicide bomber"?

"Since April 2002, FOX News has consistently doctored Associated Press articles featured on the FOX News website concerning terrorist attacks in the Middle East to conform to Bush administration terminology. Without any editorial notation disclosing that words in the AP articles have been changed, FOX News replaces the terms "suicide bomber" and "suicide bombing" with "homicide bomber" and "homicide bombing" to describe attackers who kill themselves and others with explosives. In at least one case, FOX News actually altered an AP quote from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to fit this naming convention, and then revised it to restore the quote without noting either the original alteration or its correction."

Think Progress has been dissecting the 160-page GOP playbook by "spin pollster" Frank Luntz on lessons learned from 2004. "Without the context of 9-11, you will be blamed for the deficit," he points out "supporters are inherently turned off to the idea of fiscal irresponsibility." The best way to counter that fact? "The trick then is to contextualize the deficit inside of 9/11."

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on a constitutional challenge to an Alabama law that makes it a crime to sell sex toys, which is defined as "any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs."

The Republican National Committee has 6 more times the money than the Democratic National Committee.

The World's 10 Worst Dictators -- "Competition for the Top 10 Worst of the Worst was so heated that two dictators who made last year’s list were nudged off -- Fidel Castro of Cuba and King Mswati III of Swaziland -- even though their actions were as harsh as the year before."

The newest Belgian fad -- a George W. Bush urinal sticker? "This sticker has nothing to do with freedom of speech. If I go to the gents in the pub nowadays, I am forced to pee on Bush and the American flag because it is impossible to miss this sticker."

Poll: Ranking the greatest President.

The next target for the advisers behind the Swift Boat Vets: the AARP and it's opposition to the Bush plan for Social Security reform. "They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts. We will be the dynamite that removes them."

Former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards isn't ready to defer to running mate Senator John Kerry for a run for the White House in 2008.

American media vs the blogs -- "Some see the bloggers as an explosion of free speech, a democratic counterbalance to media arrogance and a much needed call for greater transparency in the media, while others see bloggers as vigilante partisans bent on discrediting and destroying the media."

Chef wanted: Must be expert in Tex-Mex and barbecue.

"It's me versus the world. The good news is, the world is on my side. Or more than half of it." -- President George W. Bush

A Citizen's United "Thank you Hollywood!" billboard has been defaced by vandals, who branded Bush as a Nazi.

"Congressional investigators warned federal agencies this week that the promotion of government policies through video news releases meant to look like TV news stories may violate federal rules against propaganda."

STOPHillaryPAC.com -- "It is very likely that Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to run for President of the United States in 2008. Right now the Republican National Committee is not taking the Hillary threat seriously. We at the StopHillaryPAC.com are not going to let it happen again! We are determined to keep Hillary out of the Presidency of our United States."

"A recent vote in Congress endorsing standardized, electronically readable driver's licenses has raised fears about whether the proposal would usher in what amounts to a national ID card."

Would making Election Day a federal holiday help encourage voter turnout?

The Once and Future President Clinton -- "It's not as crazy as it seems."

"Blogging might not sound an appropriate hobby for a senior Iranian government official, particularly one who is a Muslim cleric. But presidential adviser Mohammad Ali Abthai has turned the practice of writing Internet journals, or blogging, into a powerful tool against the reformist government's hardline foes and a means to reach out to the country's disenchanted youth."

asshat.

"For all that's been written and said about Clear Channel, the true reach of the company is not widely known. Clear Channel Communications is perhaps best recognized as the nation's largest radio station owner, with some 1,220 stations in upward of 250 markets nationwide--11 percent of all radio stations in the country--thanks to the deregulation that came with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It also owns 37 television stations and some 775,000 billboards across the United States."

President Bush has renominated 20 failed judicial nominees from the previous term, further pushing a conflict between Senate Democrats and Republicans over changing Senate rules (such as filibustering).

The new broadcast indeceny bill (which passed 389-38 in the House) boosts the maximum fines from $32,500 to $500,000 for a company and from $11,000 to $500,000 for an individual entertainer. "By significantly increasing fines, they are going to be at a level where they can no longer be ignored," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who introduced the bill. "Parents can rest easy."

Political Gateway's "Mother of All Blogs" is now in beta. Add your favorite political/news related XML feed to the site's blogroll.

DiscoverTheNetwork.org -- a Guide to the Political Left -- "identifies the individuals and organizations that make up the left and also the institutions that fund and sustain it; it maps the paths through which the left exerts its influence on the larger body politic; it defines the left's (often hidden) programmatic agendas and it provides an understanding of its history and ideas."

"A former White House official said yesterday that President Bush has failed to deliver on his promise to help religious groups serve the poor, the homeless and drug addicts because the administration lacks a genuine commitment to its 'compassionate conservative' agenda."

Why is the "Jeff Gannon" scandal important? Let us count the ways...

WriteToThem.com -- contact your UK MP (Member of Parliament) for free online.

According to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), Republicans have abandoned banning gay marriage this year (and likely the next year) in Congress. "Enacting the ban was a key issue in President Bush's reelection campaign platform. But Bush admitted in a recent interview that he doesn't have enough votes in the Senate."

Rolling Stone on the "vast right-wing conspiracy" of Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation's largest owner of television stations. "You were reporting a political agenda that came down to you from the top of the food chain."

Make that two-time Emmy Award winning former President Bill Clinton.

Working as a contractor in Iraq is a cash business. "In sum: inexperienced officials, fear of decision-making, lack of communications, minimal security, no banks, and lots of money to spread around."

Now that his Senate campaign is over, conservative commentator Alan Keyes has disowned his daughter for coming out (to the public) as a lesbian. "As long as I was quiet about being gay or my politics, we got along."

A majority of Americans recently surveyed were unable to correctly identify (within the nearest 500) the number of soldiers who have died in the Iraq war.

After making remarks that he thought U.S. forces were intentionally targeting (and killing) journalists in Iraq, CNN news executive Eason Jordan has resigned. "I have decided to resign in an effort to prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished by the controversy over conflicting accounts of my recent remarks regarding the alarming number of journalists killed in Iraq."

"The way to get people not to be skeptical about you is to show up and say what you think." -- New DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Interesting background on a recent Free Republic dirty tricks campaign. "Started in 1997 by a reclusive California conservative, freerepublic.com saw its membership blossom with Clinton's impeachment and the election of George W. Bush. Attention to the site reached a zenith last fall, when a "freeper" -- the group's moniker for its bloggers -- first discussed flaws in documents CBS News used in a report critical of Bush's National Guard service."

A Halliburton shipment of radioactive material was lost en route to Texas and was not found until Wednesday, when it turned up in Boston. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was not alerted to the missing shipment until Tuesday.

The United States Postal Service has issued a new 37-cent commemorative stamp featuring former President Ronald Reagan. "As an ex-president, Reagan became eligible for a commemorative stamp in the year following his death. Postal Service policy restricts stamps honoring people other than presidents to those who have been dead at least 10 years."

Apparently you will be free of fines when wearing your your low-rider jeans in Virginia. (Previously mentioned here.)

Rather than deal with the employee's union (attempting to establish their first labor contract), Wal-Mart chose to shut down the store.

United States to Iran: Don't do it. Iran to United States: Burn in Hell.

President Bush reached a job-approval rating of 57%, his highest rating in more than a year.

Virginia has justed added a $50 tax (or as they call it, a fine) for wearing low-rider jeans.

The Jeff Gannon "softball White House pseudo-reporter" saga keeps getting weirder and weirder.

"The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website."

Despite what Joes Canseco suggests in his upcoming book, President Bush has denied being aware of steroid use when he was a "team executive" of the Texas Rangers baseball team. "He has recognized, for some time now, that steroids is a growing problem in professional sports, particularly Major League Baseball. That's why the president has made addressing the issue a priority in his administration."

Rove gets even bigger.

The proposed 2006 budget takes into account revenue from opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, something which hasn't actually been approved yet, and would be opposed by Democrats and some Republicans.

"I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say ... If nominated, I will not run, If elected, I will not serve, or not only no, but Hell no." -- Vice President Dick Cheney, when asked about running for President in 2008.

Battle of the bulge? More conspiracy theories on Bush being wired for the debates.

Some Americans are concerned about the separation of church and state, especially with regards to the Constituion... in Iraq. "With religious Shiite parties poised to take power in the new constitutional assembly, leading Shiite clerics are pushing for Islam to be recognized as the guiding principle of the new constitution."

Former President George H.W. Bush as Deep Throat?

Apparently booing the President during a State of the Union address isn't quite so "unprecedented".

What are the inner workings behind the selection of the next Democratic party chairman? "The DNC chair race has exposed deep fissures within the Democratic Party. Some of these are ideological, but the real story of the race is the diffusion of power away from Washington and to new people and entities that have rushed to fill the power vacuum at the top of the party."

Unfortunate Child as a Campaign Billboard Photo of the Day.

The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center is providing a small online exhibit of source materials from the Watergate investigation by journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Inside Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror.

Parsing the State of the Union.

Meet Kinky Friedman, musican and author, who is running for governor of Texas.

A few key details were missing in the Bush State of the Union address from Wednesday night.

It looks like Howard Dean will emerge as leader of the Democratic National Committee.

"Now that Iraq's election has passed, several of the 28 nations in the American-led military coalition intend to withdraw their troops, citing the costs -- in lives and money -- of operating for nearly two years inside Iraq."

Nepal King Sacks Government, Assumes Power

Since the Can Spam Act went into effect in 2004, unsolicited junk e-mail on the Internet has risen from 60% to 80% of all e-mail traffic. Steve Linford, the founder of the Spamhaus Project, says the Can Spam Act legalized spam by giving bulk advertisers permission to send junk e-mail as long as they followed certain rules.

President Bush's State of the Union Addresses -- American Progress takes a look back at Bush's 2002, 2003 and 2004 speeches.

People have enjoyed seeing "pundit" Ann Coulter squirm when confronted with some actual facts. In this case, about Canada not sending troops to Vietnam. (video)

As President Bush prepares to give his State of the Union address on Wednesday, USA Today offers five reasons he was put back into office for a second term.