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Obama reads riot act to European leaders in late night phone calls and orders them to take more dramatic action on debt crisisBy Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 12:55 PM on 11th November 2011 Barack Obama has read the riot act to the leaders of several European countries - saying more dramatic action is needed to avert a eurozone meltdown. The U.S. President made telephone calls to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano late last night. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the president had demanded faster action from Europe. It came as...

Contending that Congress’ failure to enact President Obama’s “Jobs Bill” amounts to “disloyalty to the duly authorized ruler of this nation,” Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill) called for “extraordinary measures to restore orderly compliance with the steps the President deems necessary for the country.” “No one can argue that these are not critical times for America,” Jackson said. “The time for disputation has passed. It is now time for action. Since Congress will not obey, the President must take the actions he thinks appropriate by using his executive powers unilaterally.” Jackson sought to draw parallels with the secession crisis of...

A West Coast legend does his part. ​Yup. This just happened. Right after receiving the victorious news from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that Occupy Wall Street doesn't have to move out of Zuccotti Park after all, protest organizers learned they'd been blessed with a Shepard Fairey original. An East Coast art-blog editor who's been keeping up with the artistic aspects of OWS (and oh, there are many -- in L.A. too!) told WNYC radio of Fairey's "Occupation Party" invite: "I think it's really great that it's an upward looking positive image, as well as it tries to tie...

The first lady of television has called on critics of President Obama to show 'some level of respect' - even if they weren't in support of his policies. Speaking on a special edition of Morning Joe today, Oprah Winfrey said the presidency is a position that 'holds a sense of authority and governance over us all'. The chat show host, who also talked about her new network OWN and the end of her long-running show, has been extremely vocal about her support for the president and made many campaign appearances during his race to the White House. Morning Joe host,...

Late yesterday, Gallup came out with new numbers on the generic ballot question—which party’s candidates would you vote for in the election for House of Representatives? Among registered voters Gallup shows Republicans ahead by 46%-42%, about as good a score as Republicans have ever had (and about as bad a score as Democrats have ever had) since Gallup started asking the question in 1942. However, Gallup also shows the results for two different turnout models. Under its “high turnout model” Republicans lead 53%-40%. Under its “low turnout model” Republicans lead 56%-38%. These two numbers, if translated into popular votes in...

Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.) came to Congress in the spring of 1969 after winning a special election to succeed Republican Melvin Laird, who had left the House to become President Richard Nixon’s defense secretary. At the end of this year, Obey will retire, and as a bookend of sorts for this magazine devoted to new faces, POLITICO asked Obey to talk about what changes he’s seen in Washington’s culture.Below are excerpts from the interview recorded after Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, had flown back from memorial services in West Virginia for his late colleague on the Senate Appropriations...

A fascinating and depressing interview with David Obey: The problem for Obama, he wasn’t as lucky as Roosevelt, because when Obama took over we were still in the middle of a free fall. So his Treasury people came in and his other economic people came in and said “Hey, we need a package of $1.4 trillion.” We started sending suggestions down to OMB waiting for a call back. After two and a half weeks, we started getting feedback. We put together a package that by then the target had been trimmed to $1.2 trillion. And then [White House Chief of...

WASHINGTON -- Gen. Stanley McChrystal's comments about President Obama and other administration officials went off like a roadside bomb at the highest levels of Washington yesterday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates blasted the general for "poor judgment" and ordered him to return immediately to Washington to discuss the matter face-to-face today. Gates said McChrystal had apologized to him and others named in the Rolling Stone article -- but Gates declined to let him off the hook. "I believe that General McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment in this case," he said in a statement. Wisconsin Democrat Rep. David...

House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey said he will hold off on new Afghanistan war funding until there is some resolution of a long-delayed economic relief bill extending aid to states and the jobless as well as tax breaks for individuals and business. With a July 4th Pentagon deadline looming, the chairman’s new posture is a blow to the White House and more than ever, explicitly links war funding with liberal concerns over domestic priorities. The so-called “extenders” bill—now bogged down in the Senate—carries with it $24 billion that Democrats want to help cash-strapped states meet their Medicaid payments next year....

Fairey, , "Some of the works are about gridlock in Washington. Washington is too intertwined with corporate America . . . I had a lot of hope for Obama, but it's not panning out. He's not pushing hard enough."

Blessed with a TV-star smile, an athlete's body and lawyerly gifts of gab and jab, Ashland County District Attorney Sean Duffy seems born for the role of small-town guy bucking the odds to win a seat in Congress on his first try. After U.S. Rep. David Obey's stunning retirement announcement last week, pundits and friends declared the father of six the new front-runner in the 7th Congressional District race. But Duffy, a world-champion lumberjack and speed-climber of 90-foot cedar poles, knows that winning means surviving the nerve-racking plunge to the finish. "Whether it's Dave Obey or someone else, this is...

When the chairman of the House's powerful spending machine, the Appropriations Committee, suddenly announces his retirement, it's news for budget watchers. But Rep. David Obey's announcement that he will leave Congress this year also sent political shockwaves through Washington. Democrats have even more reason now to be nervous about the fall elections. Mr. Obey clearly figured out that his party has gotten no bounce from the passage of health care and that he was in danger of losing back home in Wisconsin this fall. Mr. Obey is one of the last of the old-line liberals who reshaped the House in...

"Powerful House Democrat Obey retiring (Reuters) - David Obey, the powerful chairman of the House of Representatives committee that oversees U.S. federal spending, announced his retirement on Wednesday, saying it was unrelated to difficult political winds Democrats face in November's elections."Let me put it this way: I've won 25 elections. Does anybody really think I don't know how to win another one?" the 71-year-old Wisconsin Democrat told reporters. He was first elected to the House in 1969. But Obey did acknowledge his liberalism might be out of step now, given a voter backlash against U.S. budget deficits that could reach...

You all missed this one. Obey is retiring for one reason, and one reason only. Do you all realize that Obey's son's organization received $2B+ from last year's Porkulus bill? The only reason Obey is quitting is that he now has a nice little "nut" of tax-payer money and is going to retire in style with his pension and his son shuffling some cash under the table to him. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/29/stimulus-includes-plum-lawmakers-son/ http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/10/how-democrat-david-obeys-son-lobbied-for-porkulus-earmark/ http://www.npca.org/who_we_are/staff.html Craig Obey is David Obey's son. I am shocked, shocked I tell you!

In a major blow to Democrats, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey has told close associates that he will not seek re-election and an announcement of his plans is expected as early as Wednesday. The Wisconsin Democrat faces tough poll numbers at home but until Tuesday night his staff had insisted he was running aggressively and had hired campaign staff. But a person close to him confirmed the decision to POLITICO Wednesday and said Obey was preparing to make a statement.

David Obey won't seek re-election By DAVID ROGERS | 5/5/10 11:39 AM EDT Text Size In a major blow to Democrats, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey has told close associates that he will not seek re-election and an announcement of his plans is expected as early as Wednesday. The Wisconsin Democrat faces tough poll numbers at home but until Tuesday night his staff had insisted he was running aggressively and had hired campaign staff.

Shock journalist corners congressmen with actual text from reform bill. TIP: At :45 in, they try to assault cameraman.

U-S Congressman Dave Obey Holds Town Hall Forum On Health CareBy KBJR News 1 Story Updated: Mar 28, 2010 at 10:41 PM CDT More than 21,000 Northwestern Wisconsin residents joined U–S Congressman Dave Obey in a telephone town hall forum tonight... The topic? Health Care Reform. Multimedia Watch The Video Wisconsin's 7th District Congressman got straight to the answering the controversial question...why did congress act on the bill and why did President Obama Sign it into law? He says the status quo is unsustainable due in part to the rising cost of health care in this country. "Just in the...

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is going a step beyond simply pledging to fight efforts to pass the health care bill -- she's openly pronouncing that people should personally declare it unconstitutional and defy it, depending on how it ends up getting passed. At a rally at the Minnesota State Capitol on Saturday, Bachmann declared illegitimate the potential route that House Democrats could take to pass the health care bill. She was specifically railing against a parliamentary tactic by which the House could skip voting on the Senate bill by declaring it passed as part of the reconciliation bill. Bachmann pronounced...

  The powerful House Appropriations Committee announced Wednesday it will no longer approve earmarks directed at for-profit companies. Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) and newly appointed defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) made their ruling less than an hour after House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) asked that House Republicans meet to take up a unilateral moratorium on earmark spending. In a statement Obey said that "these new policies are not intended to be a one-year experiment. They are intended to be a long-term proposition." A number of Democrats and Republicans have undertaken efforts to rein in so-called "pork barrel"...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is getting involved in a Wisconsin congressional race.Palin on Wednesday announced that she was endorsing fellow Republican Sean Duffy in his race against Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Dave Obey.Palin made the announcement on her Facebook page.She calls Duffy a "brave soul" and a "daring David" who is taking on a "liberal Goliath."Obey has been in Congress representing Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District since 1969. The 37-year-old Duffy has been the Ashland County district attorney since 2002, a professional lumberjack and a former cast member on the 1997 MTV reality show "The...

Highlighting the GOP’s continued momentum, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report made ratings changes in 25 House races Thursday, all of which favor Republican candidates. The downgrading of Democratic prospects in the races paints an increasingly promising picture for GOP chances of taking over the House next year. The respected political publication now rates 54 Democratic-held seats in the most highly competitive category — with 26 of them either pure tossups or favoring the Republican candidate. The publication rates 95 Democratic seats in total as potentially vulnerable — over one-third of the entire caucus.

Conservative commentator and Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Wednesday that she is endorsing Republican Sean Duffy in his race for Wisconsin's 7th Congressional seat. Duffy is taking on Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Dave Obey. Palin referred to Duffy as a "brave soul" and a "daring David: who is taking on a liberal Goliath." Rep. Obey has been a mainstay in Washington D.C., having represented the state's 7th Congressional District since 1969. Sean Duffy, 37, has served as the Ashland County district attorney since 2002 and is also a professional lumberjack and a former cast member of the MTV reality...

http://duffyforcongress.com/ http://obeystimulus.com/ Sean Duffy is running for Congress in Wisconsin's 7th District and is looking to retire current Democratic congressman, David Obey, who helped author the 787 billion dollar stimulus passed last year. Sean is currently getting nationwide exposure in such venues as Time Magazine, National Review Online, and the Wall Street Journal. Is he the next Scott Brown? Show your support Free Republic! http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1958119_1958112_1958125,00.html http://article.nationalreview.com/422186/could-obey-be-coakleyd/kathryn-jean-lopez http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704130904574644672185089720.html

Could Obey Be Coakley’d? Welcome to a new, real political world. By Kathryn Jean Lopez Goliath has been known to win, or he wouldn’t be Goliath. But he didn’t win this time. And that could significantly affect what happens in November. Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts special election for the seat formerly considered by too many to be Ted Kennedy’s seat, is many varieties of good news. It’s especially good news for the Davids around the country who have their sights set on Washington. The “Yes, He Can” line emblazoned across the photo of Marco Rubio on NR’s cover...

Help support President Obama's initiative to reduce the national debt by bidding on this fine assortment of historic White House collectibles.

Who is going to pay for the $30 billion or more to be added to the cost of the Afghan war based on what President Obama discusses tonight? Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) of the House Appropriations Committee has an answer: "If we have to pay for the health-care bill, we should pay for the war, as well," he told ABC News last week. Obey did more than talk. On Nov. 19, with little fanfare and 10 Democratic co-sponsors, he introduced a bill, the Share the Sacrifice Act of 2010, which adds a chapter to the Internal Revenue Code titled "Temporary...

<p>No link for this as I just heard this being reported on FOX News. It appears that some liberal lawmakers, Charlie Rangel, David Obey and a couple of others may be proposing a "War Tax" on the wealthiest of Americans to pay for any upcoming troop surge in Afghanistan.</p>

Rep. Obey Warns President Obama He Will Ask Taxpayers to Pay for War, Should More Troops Be SentThe powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee has a stark message for President Obama about Afghanistan -- sending more troops would be a mistake that could "wipe out every initiative we have to rebuild our own economy." "There ain't going to be no money for nothing if we pour it all into Afghanistan," House Appropriations Chairman David Obey told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "If they ask for an increased troop commitment in Afghanistan, I am going to ask them to...

From the good congressman's website: I will be will fielding questions on healthcare reform during a District-wide Telephone Forum on Monday, August 31st. This follows an earlier healthcare discussion that I participated in on August 3rd with the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups in Superior. By allowing thousands of people from all across the Seventh District to participate from their own homes, a telephone forum is the most constructive way to involve the largest number of people possible in a good discussion on this important topic. I know folks have a lot of questions and concerns about healthcare reform. I’m...

I recently wrote a critique of the art community’s lack of dissent in the face of many controversial decisions made by the current administration. Entitled “The Artist Formerly Known as Dissident,” one of the key points argued in the article was the potential danger associated with the use of the art community as a tool of the state. Little did I know how quickly this concern would be elevated to an outright probability. Sometime between when I finished the critique and when it went live online, I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to take part...

<p>A Florida teenager could face felony vandalism charges for allegedly gluing posters depicting President Obama as the Joker onto public property, FOXNews.com has learned.</p> <p>Clermont, Fla., Police Capt. Eric Jensen said the state attorney will review evidence to determine whether to charge the unidentified teenager with gluing "dozens" of the posters last week to the city's light poles, public and private buildings, bridge overpasses, road signs and a mailbox.</p>

Washington - They're known as "monuments to me," airports, bridges and courthouses named after the lawmakers who secured the federal funds to build them. Dave Obey says he won't allow any more earmarks for such projects - even though his name is already etched on a building back home in Wausau.The David R. Obey Center for Health Sciences at Northcentral Technical College features a water wall, atrium and a state-of-the-art surgical suite. It was constructed thanks to a $20 million earmark the Wisconsin congressman tucked into a federal spending bill in 2001.Obey did not specify that the building be...

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) engaged in a late-afternoon shouting match on the House floor after Obey reportedly rebuffed Waters on an earmark request, aides and witnesses said. Witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared that Waters pushed or shoved Obey. ... The two veteran Democrats — each pugnacious and 71 years old — began shouting, with the L.A.-area congresswoman following Obey around the chamber, reportedly suggesting he channel the vocational money through a local school district. At some point, they collided, witnesses say, with one Obey ally claiming the lean...

Two Democrats got into a verbal altercation — and according to one a physical one — on the floor of the House on Thursday night over an appropriations earmark one was seeking. After the House floor had largely cleared following a series of votes, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) split apart from a heated conversation and began yelling at one another. “You’re out of line,” Waters shot while walking down toward the well. “You’re out of line,” Obey shot back before turning and walking away. But then Obey stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted:...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday reiterated the desire of Senate Democrats to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, dismissing any funding conflict with the House. Reid (D-Nev.) downplayed the significance of Monday’s decision by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) against including $80 million in a $94 billion supplemental spending bill to close the prison in Cuba. . . . . . But Reid distinguished the funding conflict from any disagreement over whether to close the prison, reminding reporters that 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also expressed a desire to close the facility....

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey threw a bucket of cold water on the Obama administration’s foreign policy agenda Thursday, admitting serious doubt about success in Afghanistan and Pakistan and no appetite for helping the International Monetary Fund until European allies do more to stimulate their economies.

STRAIGHT FROM CPAC: A Speech for the Ages From Rush Cal Thomas: Rush Limbaugh’s extemporaneous speech to CPAC was a tour de force. It was Reagan-plus. It had vision, passion, humor, ridicule (not only for liberals, but for “conservatives” and Republicans who want to accommodate rather than dominate) and power. Congressional Republicans and those who seek the presidency ought to listen and re-listen to this speech. Rush embodies real leadership: he knows where he wants the country to go and he is unapologetic about giving directions. He properly ridiculed liberals for their abject and proven failure to deliver the poor...

What do you do if you're a street artist turned marketing phenom who uses other people's images when someone uses one of your designs? If you're Shepard Fairey, apparently, you call your lawyers. Fairey, of Obama HOPE poster fame, is defending himself against charges he infringed on an Associated Press copyrighted photo in making the poster. He's also been criticized by artists for using others' work without attribution. His lawyers claim in the AP case that he is protected by fair use provisions of the copyright law. It turns out, however, that the activist art appropriator is a wee bit...

Via Breitbart, the “logic” of panic as articulated by Congress’s cuddliest Democrat. An even more glorious soundbite than Mitch McConnell’s yardstick for measuring a trillion dollars, I think you’ll agree. But is it more glorious than this? Recounting a conversation he had with Obama in the Oval Office earlier in the week regarding the economic stimulus bill and other matters, Biden said the two came to the realization that: “If we do everything right… there’s still a 30 percent chance we’re going to get it wrong.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are questioning a section of the economic stimulus package that routes nearly $2 billion to national parks, saying the money could be a hidden pet project for the son of a powerful Democratic lawmaker. A spokeswoman for Democratic Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said Obey's son, Craig, does not lobby the committee, and the parks proposal came from the head of an environment subcommittee. Craig Obey, a senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association, is a top lobbyist for the nonprofit group, which made public appeals for...

A top House Democrat is under fire about something specific in the stimulus bill — money that goes to the cause for which his son lobbies. The stimulus gives $2.25 billion to national parks. The Washington Times reports Craig Obey — son of House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey — is the chief lobbyist for the National Parks Conservation Association.

A top House Republican is demanding an investigation into whether the more than $2 billion for national parks in the House stimulus package is proper in light of the fact that the chief lobbyist for the National Parks Conservation Association is the son of House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey.

Heard this on Rush Limbaugh - The Washington Times is reporting on this (direct link to Washington Times):EXCLUSIVE: Stimulus has plum for lawmaker's son I already posted the Washington Times article (Free Republic link):EXCLUSIVE: Stimulus has plum for lawmaker's son

I think the thing the shocks me more than anything about the chutzpah of the Democrats is that the American people are so ignorant. Poll after poll has shown an utter contempt for the Pelosi/Reid-led Congress yet we as voters allowed this farce to play out. Those who have been paying attention are appalled that we are allowing the same leadership that got us into this mess to attempt to spend our way out of it and spend on ridiculous, non-stimulative things.

The $825 billion economic stimulus package rolled out by Democrats on Thursday might not be enough to prevent an economic catastrophe, according to the chief architect of the package. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) also told reporters it may not be the last effort to use big government spending to spur the economy. “This represents the largest effort by any legislative body in the world to take government action to prevent economic catastrophe,” Obey said, “and even that may be insufficient alone.” Later in his briefing, he added, “This product may undershoot the mark.” The bill could be...

Smith has staked his claim to play the role, even before Barack Obama has been inaugurated as president. Speaking at the premiere of his new film Seven Pounds at the Empire, Leicester Square, in London, Smith laughed about reports that the US President-elect had indicated that he would like the actor to play him if his life story were ever to be made into a movie.

Remind me to drink more Coke.

Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) is conducting a poll on his web page asking "Should Congress enact a second stimulous package to spur economic growth?" Currently, respondents aren't showing much confidence in Congress, and perhaps for good reason, as the poll results show 67% voting NO and 28% voting YES. Apparently the public is losing favor with Congress who, many feel, helped create the financial problem in the first place. Rep. Obey is chairman of the Appropriations Committee.