Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) used Sunday's Mother's Day holiday to take a swipe at the United Nations.

Palin chided the UN for having elected Iran to its commission on women's rights.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate tweeted Sunday:

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) performed the Heimlich maneuver on Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) last month to keep her from choking on a turkey sandwich.

Schakowsky (pictured here) told ITK that on April 21, she was eating a turkey sandwich with her friend, Illinois Democratic strategist Carol Ronen in the members only dining room when a piece of turkey went down the wrong tube.

She began choking. "I stood up, and I think there's an international symbol for choking, but at that moment, I made the international symbol for Heimlich instead."

Ronen noticed it first and did one Heimlich hug, Schakowsky said, " but then Kendrick, who was at the next table, realized what was happening."

Meek is a former Florida state trooper and a trained emergency responder, so when he saw Schakowsky having trouble breathing, he didn't hesitate to act.

Meek put his arms around Schakowsky, made a fist, and pressed upwards into her diaphragm, further dislodging the turkey. "He only did the maneuver once, then he pounded on my back, which is when I finally spit it out," Schakowsky said.

"He really knows what he's doing, given his experience," she continued, "And he told me later that the Heimlich can break someone's ribs if you're not careful, so that's why you pound on the person's back between grips."

Schakowsky said she felt fine afterwards, but the incident reminded her, "of how fragile life is."  Despite lasting "only 30 seconds," she said, "This was no joke. I couldn't breathe at all, and I was really scared."

Schakowsky credits both Meek and Ronen with saving her life, and she recounted the incident on Friday in Chicago during her big annual fundraiser, the Ultimate Women's Power Lunch, which was attended by more than 1,500 supporters.

Meek is running for the Senate seat that's being vacated by Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.), and as Schakowsky mentioned a number of Democrats running for higher office this year, she said, "Kendrick Meek is a great guy, he even saved my life!"

Financial industry regulation is no laughing matter, but Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) employed a cartoon by The Washington Post's Tom Toles this week to argue an amendment on the Senate floor.

The cartoon depicts a fat, slovenly figure skater labeled 'Wall Street' getting three perfect 10 scores from judges labeled 'Ratings Agencies.' The bubble above the skater's head says "I pay their salaries." 

The cartoon refers to the fact that Wall Street banks pay bond rating agencies like Moody's for their ratings, a relationship some argue undermines the impartiality of the eventual ratings. Franken has proposed an amendment in the financial regulatory reform bill that would change how ratings agencies are paid.

Franken had the cartoon blown up into a poster that he exhaustively explained to his colleagues, pointing out each item that was spilling from the trash can the skater is carrying (an apple core, a fish head, etc.). "You don't want those on the ice," he said, "you just don't."

Rep. Darrell Issa (D-Calif.) took a moment on Friday to respond to "The Dude," the fictional character from the movie "The Big Lebowski" on Twitter.

A fire broke out Thursday on a farm in Frederick, Md. owned by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.). According to police, rental apartments and a barn suffered significant damage, but no one was hurt.

The Frederick News-Post reported that the fire burned for several hours until firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.

Bartlett said in a statement on Friday, "Thankfully, no one was hurt and everyone is taken care of ... I knew many of the fire and rescue personnel already, but seeing them in action was awe-inspiring."

Bartlett was not at the property when the fire started, but left Capitol Hill when he learned of the incident.
According to The Washington Post, Barltett owns additional rental properties in Knoxville, Md., and Pleasantville, Tenn.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recently used professional hockey, one of the nation's most popular sports, as an example of how little he could care.

In an interview with the Huffington Post on Thursday, Reid responded to a question about competition for the Majority Leader's position by saying, "I feel about them like I do the Stanley Cup. I could care less. Don't follow it."

Reid's lack of interest is understandable: Nevada isn't home to any major professional sports teams, and the closest NHL franchise is the Phoenix Coyotes, who declared bankruptcy last year.

"Maliyah" was the fastest-growing name in popularity in 2009, a jump that the Social Security Administration attributes to the first daughter.

Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) has been on C-SPAN a lot, and CNN plenty, but this week he stumbled upon a Food Network camera crew, and the rest is TV history.

Capitol Hill has been buzzing for weeks with the news that the Tune Inn would be featured on an episode of "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives," the travel show hosted by the bleached blond Guy Fieri. But nobody told LeMieux until he got to the dive bar on Wednesday night for a burger and fries.

The cameras were rolling, and the host picked out LeMieux and interviewed him.

LeMieux's staff told USA Today that after the interview, the chef/host ferried the senator back to his office in a red convertible, prompting producers to call him worried that Fieri had disappeared.

From now on, LeMieux's spokesman said, whenever his staff can't locate the senator, it'll be known as "pulling a Guy."

Former Sen. Fred Thompson's (R-Tenn.) memoir "Teaching the Pig to Dance" isn't long on juicy political or celebrity gossip, but there are a few exceptions.

The actor-turned-politician-turned-actor writes mostly about growing up in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and his early years. His time in Hollywood and Washington barely get mentioned.

There are a few interesting tidbits, however:

-- Thompson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were born at the same hospital exactly one year apart.

-- He was recruited to run for the Tennessee state house by Hal Carter, the brother of actress Dixie Carter. Hal Carter was the Republican leader in the state Senate.

-- And his advice to would-be lawmakers:  "I often tell aspiring candidates, half in jest, that the most brilliant politicians are the ones whose daddy left them a fortune or who run for office in a year when their party is sweeping everything."  Thompson took his advice to heart. He was elected to the Senate in 1994, which proved to be a banner year for Republicans. 

To purchase the book, visit the website here. The release date is May 18.