Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) came into Congress with a trademark catchphrase.

“I just want to be able to close and say, ‘I’m Randy Weber, and that’s the way I see it from where I sit here in America,’” the Texas Republican explains to ITK of the expression, or some variation of it, that he typically tacks on to the end of his remarks on the House floor.

In the digital age, Weber says, “I think it’s important that people know who you are and what you stand for.”

That’s why he pegged his third-person patriotic phrase. “I wanted to make it kind of my tagline, so if people are going to send YouTube videos around — of course that doesn’t mean they won’t edit it out — but I wanted to make sure that people knew who I was because, you know, I’m pretty opinionated at times.” Read more...

The co-creator of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” is apologizing after posting a message on Twitter Monday saying the tornado in Oklahoma was aimed directly at conservatives.

Lizz Winstead reportedly wrote Monday, “This tornado is in Oklahoma so clearly it has been ordered to only target conservatives.”

She also wrote:

How long has Obama known about this Tornado?

— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) May 20, 2013

Following an outcry from some of Winstead’s more than 75,000 followers, she contended she was making light of last week’s revelation that the Internal Revenue Service targeted Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status.

“If Its not OK to YOU for me to combine news stories to point out hypocrisy AND Im not making fun of victims u shld Unfollow,” the New York Daily News reported Winstead tweeted.

Freshman Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) on Tuesday marked Harvey Milk day, which is tomorrow, by reading a famous speech on the House floor from Milk, the first openly gay person to win election in California.

Takano, the first openly gay non-white member of Congress in U.S. history, recalled Milk's comments that the election of gay people helps bring hope to gay children across the country.

"Two days after I was elected, I got a phone call, and the voice was quite young," Takano said as he read Milk's speech. "It was from Altoona, Pa. And the person said, 'Thanks.'

A bipartisan group of senators is going fishing.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are poised to co-host a preview screening of the soon-to-premiere National Geographic Channel documentary “American Heroes Fishing Challenge.”

The hour-long special, which airs on Memorial Day, follows a dozen wounded American veterans competing in a series of fishing tournaments.

The network describes the show as one that “illustrates the powerful effect that nature, coupled with competition, has on their healing process.”

The son of a former lawmaker and nephew of a current congressman has died.

Twenty-nine-year-old Lincoln Diaz-Balart, one of former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart's (R-Fla.) two sons, and nephew of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), passed away Sunday. 

The family did not say how Diaz-Balart died, but noted in a statement that the young man suffered from depression.

“Lincoln Gabriel was a kind and loving human being. His love and compassion touched many lives during his 29 years. We will remember him with profound love and devotion for the rest of our lives,” the family told The Miami Herald. Read more...

Gary Sinise’s TV series, “CSI: NY” just got the ax, but it doesn’t sound as if he’s looking for a career change that would guarantee at least two years of job security at a time.

Running for public office, he says, is “not something I’m interested in.”

Instead, the “Forrest Gump” actor says, “I’m interested in supporting veterans, so I’m kind of active with that.”

“Kind of” may be an understatement for Sinise, who’s well known for his veteran advocacy work. In Washington this week, the Illinois native is teaming up with the Get Skills to Work program, a nationwide initiative that helps transition veterans’ skill sets to careers in the manufacturing industry.

“What you learn in the military,” Sinise says, “is discipline and organization, and you have various job skills that you learn in the military that can be applied very specifically to the manufacturing world.”

He continues, “It’s so important to take care of our veterans after they leave the service and make sure that they move on with their lives, and that we as a nation not only give back to them, but use what they have to make our economy stronger.” Read more...

Comedian George Lopez says he has a message for Rep. Louie Gohmert: “You’re f---ing crazy, dude.”

The former late-night host’s comments about the Texas Republican came after Gohmert said during a recent C-SPAN appearance, "We know that people are now being trained to come in [to the United States] and act like Hispanics when they're radical Islamists. We know these things are happening.”

The congressman added, “It's insane not to protect ourselves and make sure that people come in, and, as most people do, they want the freedoms we have."

After seeing the clip and repeating his “crazy” assertion three times, Lopez, who is of Mexican descent, told Huffington Post Live last week, “Latinos are like the eggs of cooking — however you can put eggs in anything that you make. Some people like eggs, some people don’t. They only want the egg whites, they only want the yolks. We’re the eggs of the kitchen.”

It’s clear — Rep. Jared Polis’s Twitter followers dig videos of pint-sized primates.

The Colorado Democrat tweeted up a storm Sunday, posting messages on Twitter about everything from immigration reform (“I hope #immigration reform doesn’t get filled up [with] unrelated pet projects like this #marijuana prison clogging idea”) to education (“Based on twitterverse reaction I think the Polis admin’s nomination of @MichelleRhee for [Secretary of Education] is on life support at best #edreform” to his more than 22,000 followers.

But it turns out folks are suckers for cute animal videos.

The reaction when Polis, 38, tweeted about a furry creature in action was swift:

REALLY small monkey eating macaroni:youtube.com/watch?v=TDhR-C…

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) May 20, 2013

Former “Superman” actor Dean Cain has a lot to say about the three scandals plaguing the White House, remarking of the Obama administration, “For as transparent as they are, they put an iron curtain that even Superman can’t see through.”

The ex-Man of Steel, currently promoting his new VH1 series “Hit the Floor,” said during a Friday appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” “It’s not a good week for the current administration. There’s a lot going on. But you know what? Not a big surprise to me. When you grow government like that, things happen.”