Muse are unhappy with the way American right-wingers, particularly Glenn Beck, have embraced their music, The Guardian reports. In an upcoming interview with the Observer on Sunday, singer Matt Bellamy singles out Beck's affinity for the band's 2009 album "The Resistance," and criticizes the conservative radio host for using the single "Uprising" in rightwing conspiracy-theorist videos on YouTube.

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"In the U.S. the conspiracy theory subculture has been hijacked by the right to try to take down people like Obama and put forward rightwing libertarianism," said Bellamy, who describes himself as "a left-leaning libertarian -- more in the realm of Noam Chomsky." He continued, "'Uprising' was requested by so many politicians in America for use in their rallies and we turned them down on a regular basis."

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Bellamy maintained his lyrical content is more about personal healing than espousing political sentiments. "When I dabble in watching the news and reading about current events I tend to get a future negative view and that's something I've dealt with through music," he said. "It's quite possible I'm slightly paranoid. But I'd say making music is an expression of feelings of helplessness and lack of control that I think a lot of people can relate to."

Muse's next album, "The 2nd Law," is out Oct. 2.

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Hey, Mitt Romney: actor Samuel L. Jackson has it out for you, and Obama supporters, the actor's got a strong message for you, too. In a political ad/video funded by the Jewish Council for Education & Research, Jackson tells voters in the same vein of the bedtime book he narrated, "Go the F@#k to Sleep," that they need to "Wake the F@#k Up."

In the video (which includes multiple uses of the F-word -- though it's bleeped in the above version), Jackson narrates a message about taking a careful look at the candidates and not being lazy about the election. An excerpt:

"Sorry my friends, but there's no time to snore
An out-of-touch millionaire just declared war.
On school, the environment, unions, fair pay.
We're all on our own if Romney has his way.
And he's against safety nets, if you fall, tough luck.
So I strongly suggest that you wake the f--- up."

Jackson's video is likely to go quite viral, thanks to his increasingly popular online presence. As one of the break-out Tweeters of the 2012 London Olympics, Jackson has more than 1.5 million Twitter followers.

And while he didn't use the Twitter platform to spread the word about his political video, Jackson has made political commentary on the platform before. After Hurricane Issac did not make landfall in a time or place to interrupt the GOP Convention, he tweeted, "Unfair S---: GOP spared by Issac! NOLA prolly f----- again! Not Understanding God's plan!" While that tweet shows off Jackson's penchant for inflammatory (and profanity-laden) syntax, some are intended more to start a dialogue: "If U had a direct line to Mitt, like U do to me, what would you say? Seeking knowledge not vitriol!"

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Many movie-world watchers were shocked when Jane Fonda, she who so angered many Americans with her actions during the Vietnam War, was cast as Nancy Reagan in the upcoming movie "The Butler," about the life and times of White House butler Eugene Allen.

Now Oprah Winfrey has  tweeted a photo of Fonda as Nancy Reagan and Alan Rickman as President Ronald Reagan, posing with Winfrey herself and the film's director Lee Daniels.

In 2005, Fonda told Lesley Stahl of "60 Minutes" that her actions during the Vietnam War were a "betrayal" of her country and "the largest lapse of judgment that I can even imagine."

It's not known how large a part Fonda's Reagan role is, since the film covers decades of White House life.

"The Butler" does not yet have a release date.

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Who knew that political conventions could make an empty chair and the hashtag #sexyface go viral? "Harold and Kumar" star (and former White House staffer) Kal Penn took the podium Tuesday during the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina, and wasted no time before referencing Clint Eastwood's RNC address last Thursday.

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Penn -- who asked tweeters to use #sexyface when referencing his speech on Twitter -- first acknowledged that he has "worked on a lot of fun movies," but noted that his favorite job was working for "a boss who gave the order to take out Bin Laden and who's cool with all of us getting gay married."

And then the Eastwood remark came, "So thank you, invisible man in the chair, for that."

Afterwards, Penn listed specific examples on how Barack Obama's policies have helped fellow Americans, and urged everyone to vote.

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"We can't turn back now," he said. "I ask all of you young people to join me. You don't even have to put pants on. Go to commit.barackobama.com and register right there."

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Hank Williams Jr. continues to make his feelings about President Obama as well-known as possible, spouting off about the Commander-in-Chief at a music festival Sunday. And this time, his comments are drawing some blowback from a well-known celebrity tweeter: Alec Baldwin.

“We’ve got a Muslim for a President who hates cowboys, hates cowgirls, hates fishing, hates farming, loves gays, and we hate him!” Williams said to the crowd at Stockyards Music Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, reports DallasNews.com.

According to the report, the country singer also called out “queer guitar pickers” and told liberal politicians to “move to Mexico.”

The newspaper reported that the 63-year-old singer's comments were met by applause, with one man “waving a Confederate flag in front of the stage.” Williams’ choice of words appears to be a new mantra, as he made almost identical comments at the Iowa State Fair in August.

“What a disgusting human being,” reader Mark Frisk wrote on DallasNews.com.

“Hank has a right to be upset with Obama,” reader David Simmons said. “Obama has voted on weapons bans on a lot of guns that Hank owns, He wants to put extreme taxes on his private jet and tax what ever else is left too. Entertainers suffer the worst in a bad economy because it is a luxury to go to a concert or buy a CD. Obama has done nothing to improve [our] economy.”

Reader Rex Curry added, “Hank Williams Jr. and Ted Nugent are great representatives of the Republican party.”

But not everyone is so supportive: actor Alec Baldwin has taken to his Twitter account and called Williams out: "If Hank Williams Jr wasn't such a pathetic, wheezing fossil I'd have a talk with him," wrote the actor Tuesday. "I think we need to call Hank Williams Jr what he is.... A broken-down, senile, racist coot."

"I love to insult these right-wingers, draw them out, then block them," he wrote in an earlier tweet.

Williams is a political activist who campaigned for George W. Bush in the 2000 election, rewriting his song "Young Country" to include the lyric, "This is Bush-Cheney Country.” In 2008, he altered his song "Family Tradition" to be “McCain-Palin Tradition” in support of that year's GOP ticket.

This July, the rocker released his new album, “Old School, New Rules,” featuring several tracks blasting Obama and the state of the country. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he explained, “If I was at my office and I could get to my Internet and list the things like where our economy is –- you don't want to go there with me. I mean, (Obama) is the worst.”

Williams’ latest comments come nearly a year after he compared Obama to Hitler on Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends.” Reports Sports Illustrated, Williams was discussing the fact that Obama and Vice President Biden played a round of golf with two Republican leaders, commenting, “That'd be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.”

While on-air, the show’s anchor Gretchen Carlson questioned, "You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe, I think, the president."

Williams replied, "Well, that is true. But I'm telling you like it is." 

Following the appearance, ESPN pulled the rocker’s Monday Night Football theme song from its weekly game-cast.

Williams responded in a statement, "Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme - but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me - how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the president."

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Harold and Kumar have battled cheetahs and extreme sports punks, been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, and been held prisoner by Ukranian gangsters. But now the comic duo have received a call from the president. Well, kind of.

In a new video, President Barack Obama is seen on the phone, telling an unseen someone that he's "counting on" them and there's a lot at stake.

When he hangs up, the camera pans to Harold and Kumar flopped on a couch, watching TV and surrounded by junk food.

"Dude, who was that? Sounded intense," says John Cho, who plays Harold.

"The president," says Kal Penn, who plays Kumar.

"Sweet," says Cho, popping in a Cheeto.

The ad's a promotion for Penn's upcoming work "hosting" the Democratic National Convention for barackobama.com. Penn left acting in 2009 to serve as associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and is co-chair of the president's re-election campaign.

Penn will also address the convention Tuesday night.

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Chuck Norris and his wife Gena made a YouTube video encouraging evangelical Christians to oust President Barack Obama, with Norris warning that the nation stands on the brink of "socialism or something much worse."

Gena Norris also quotes a 1964 speech by Ronald Reagan, saying that failed actions "will sentence (our children) to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness." Reagan gave the speech on behalf of then-presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who went on to lose to Lyndon Johnson by one of the largest margins in history.

In the video, Norris warns that the nation "may be lost forever if we don't change the course our country is taking."

Norris also says "our great country and freedom are under attack," while Gena says that 30 million evangelical Christians failed to vote in 2008, resulting in Barack Obama winning the presidency by 10 million votes.

Norris is far from the only celebrity to interject himself into political discourse recently. Actor Clint Eastwood captured headlines by pretending an empty chair was President Obama at last week's Republican National Convention, and singer Ted Nugent has issued numerous controversial remarks about Obama in the past months.

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No hard feelings. Even after Clint Eastwood pretended to have a conversation with him via an empty chair at last week's Republican National Convention, President Barack Obama still says he's a "huge" fan of the actor and director's work.

Obama told USA Today that he thinks Eastwood is "a great actor, and an even better director," adding that "I think the last few movies that he's made have been terrific."

The newspaper also asked the president if the skit offended him, to which he replied, "One thing about being president or running for president — if you're easily offended, you should probably choose another profession."

He said there would be no responding empty chair skit at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Comedian Bill Maher, for one, thought Eastwood's act was brave.

Said Maher on his HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher" Friday night, "As a performer, as a stand-up comedian for 30 years who knows how hard it is to get laughs, excuse me, (Eastwood) went up there, without a net, on a tightrope. There was no teleprompter. He did a bit with just an empty chair and killed."

The late-night talk shows also couldn't get enough of Eastwood's skit, with Jon Stewart offering up a special edition of "The Daily Show," and announcing, "this is the most joy I've gotten from an old man since Dick Cheney non-fatally shot one in the face."

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Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood legend, but not all of his movies were smash hits. He’s no stranger to getting poor reviews.

But he may never have received worse reviews than the ones he’s hearing from late-night talk-show hosts after his performance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, where he spent quality time on national television in spirited debate with a figment of his imagination.

“Amidst the tired rhetoric, empty platitudes and overwrought attacks, a fistful of awesome emerged in the night … where it spent 12 minutes on the most important night of Mitt Romney’s life yelling at a chair,” Jon Stewart said on “The Daily Show.”

Much to the Romney campaign’s dismay (and to Sen. Marco Rubio, who might have otherwise earned headlines for his introduction of the nominee), Eastwood’s argument with an invisible man was the story of the day.

“I don’t care how many Marco Rubios you put in between Clint Eastwood and Mitt Romney, Romney ain’t outshining this playlet I call The Old Man and the Seat,” Stewart said.

And to the “Daily Show” host, it explained a lot.

“We owe Clint Eastwood a debt of thanks, not only because it was a truly hilarious 12 minutes of improvised awesome in a week of scripted blah, but because it advanced our understanding,” Stewart said. “This president has issues, and there are very legitimate debates to be had about his policy and actions and successes and/or failures -– I mean, tune in next week –- but I could never wrap my head as to why the world and the president that Republicans describe bears so little resemblance to the world and experience that I experience.

“And now I know why. There is a President Obama that only Republicans can see.” 

Steven Colbert went so far as to bring on a chair of his own to debate on the “Colbert Report.” This invisible foe was more convincing than the one Eastwood debated, as it had the house spouting Democratic slogans by the time the skit ended. So at least he showed the RNC that it could have been worse.

Colbert also had to go back in time for something comparable, arguing “there has not been a political speech this powerful since the famous Lincoln-Bookshelf debates.” And he and guest James Carville differed on the impact the convention would have on the polls, with Carville predicting a 2-3 point increase.

“The Romney people are privately predicting 11,” Colbert said

“The Romney people put Clint Eastwood out there,” Carville replied.

Jay Leno was no kinder.

“Wasn’t that bizarre? The only time I ever talked to an empty chair is when we had Paris Hilton on the show,” he said on his “Tonight Show” monologue.

Leno also speculated, “Clint Eastwood said he got the idea earlier in the day when he saw John McCain talking to an empty chaise lounge at the hotel pool.” But McCain’s running mate looked better by comparison.

“Be honest. After watching Clint Eastwood last night, Sarah Palin isn’t looking so bad, is she?” Leno said.

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Creationists: Please don't teach your kids to deny evolution, begs science educator and television personality Bill Nye, who hosted "Bill Nye the Science Guy"  in the 1990s.

Nye's earning attention for a two-minute YouTube video he recorded for online knowledge forum Big Think, in which he defends the theory of evolution and says that those who don't believe in it are a drag on the nation.

"Denial of evolution is unique to the United States," Nye says in the video. After praising the U.S. as the world's most advanced technological society, he credits that ranking to "intellectual capital we have, the general understanding of science. When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in that, it holds everybody back, really."

Nye goes on to say that he asks those who don't believe in evolution to explain to him why they feel that way, and that "your world just becomes fantastically complicated when you don't believe in evolution."

He notes that explaining dinosaurs, radioactivity and other concepts is all linked to understanding and accepting evolutionary theory, and says that "if you try to ignore that, your world view just becomes crazy, just untenable, itself inconsistent."

His plea to parents comes with the hope that the children they're raising will become "scientifically literate."

"And I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine," Nye says. "But don't make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can — we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems."

Nye also says that in a couple of centuries, the creationist viewpoint "just won't exist. There's no evidence for it."

Nye has already helped raise at least one generation of scientists. The NASA team that helped the Curiosity rover land on Mars are big fans. In a recent question-and-answer session for Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" series, when the rover team was asked which educational or science-oriented TV shows influenced them as children, "Bill Nye the Science Guy" was called their "hands-down" favorite.

Naturally, his video sparked some heated debate in the YouTube comments.

"GOD IS THE CREATOR AND SCIENCE IS THE EVIDENCE OF GOD....IF YOU BELIEVE THAT MONKEY BUSINESS,YOU ARE BEING DECIEVED," wrote one viewer.

Another had some fun with the concept, writing, "Why stop at creationism? There are plenty of highly unlikely science fields that we could be confusing our children with. I really want my children to learn about orgones, pherenology and crystal focusing energy. I really wish schools would consider pet sciences that confirm MY worldview."

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The Democratic and Republican conventions of 2008 had guest lists that read like any legitimate Hollywood party. Ben Affleck, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, Susan Sarandon and literally dozens of other celebrities had a massive presence at political events and on the streets of Denver and St. Paul. 

Four years later, the tip sheets for the conventions’ big events in Tampa and Charlotte, N.C., are decidedly less glamorous. Is this a sign that celebs have fallen out of love with politics? Is hope so 2008? While there will still be some Hollywood presence, the majority of A-listers will be of the political variety at these upcoming conventions, and according to some experts, that’s to be expected.

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“It was unlikely to happen again. (2008) was a really unique confluence of events,” former democratic strategist Matthew Hiltzik told NBC News of the 2008 conventions. “You had the entertainment world, which typically does skew democratic, and the opportunity to have a Democrat in the White House for the first time in eight years combined with historic nature of Barack Obama’s candidacy. It lead to overwhelming enthusiasm. I think this year it’s a lot more focused on the issues.”

That is definitely the case with the One campaign, Bono’s anti-poverty organization. In 2008, One was behind the DNC’s toughest party ticket: a Kanye West performance attended by Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Ashley Judd. This year, One is hosting panel discussions.

“No big parties this time, instead we’re focusing on policy-heavy panel discussions,” One spokesperson Ari Goldberg said. “It’s not that celebs weren’t interested. It’s definitely a decision that was made on our end to be more policy heavy. It’s a time of fiscal responsibility, too.”

Hiltzik agrees that there’s added focus on the cost associated with such events. Headliners don’t perform out of the kindness of their own hearts, after all. At a minimum, it’s standard to cover travel expenses and accommodations for most celebrities, and some also command appearance fees. “Four years later with many Americans facing challenging economic times, it would seem that the celebratory celebrity tone would be off message,” said Hiltzik.

Even though One has swapped Kanye in Denver for talks in Tampa it doesn’t mean there won’t be some fun. The Recording Industry Association of America (which was also part of the One/Kanye event in Denver) is teaming up with charity Musicians on Call for a Gavin DeGraw fundraiser concert in Tampa and one featuring Common in Charlotte, N.C.

“For us, it’s a bit of the same as 2008,” said RIAA’s Cara Duckworth. “We celebrate music so we always get a good level of interest. And we’re seeing that leading up to both events. We’re happy to accommodate.”

Rock the Vote says its presence will be quite similar to that of 2008.

“We’re doing a concert at each of the conventions, which is what we did last (time),” spokesperson Chrissy Faessen said. “For Rock the Vote, it’s core to our history. Musicians and artists have always been a part of how we deliver our message to young people. They’re great messengers for getting young people out there to vote.”

Regardless of the economy, “people still love the music,” said Hiltzik. “Some people are going to come out for the access to that concert, to the performance. The primary celebrity is most helpful when it’s musical talent performing at fundraisers. Those events have a much bigger draw than one where Joe Schmo celebrity shows up.”

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George Clooney is the star attraction on Monday in what is being billed as the U.S. Democratic Party's biggest fundraising event abroad aimed at helping President Barack Obama win re-election.

The actor and activist, who traveled by car from his residence on Lake Como, Italy, arrived in Geneva's Old Town ahead of a private reception followed by a gala dinner.

About $500,000 could be raised for Obama's campaign coffers as he battles to keep pace with the fundraising of his rival, Republican Mitt Romney, sources close to Obama's campaign said.

At least 100 American supporters paid $1,000 each to attend the champagne reception being held in a museum, while about 35 high-rolling donors paid $15,000 a plate for the gourmet dinner with Clooney, the sources said.

Democrats Abroad Switzerland, the U.S. party's Swiss branch, said in a statement the event was expected to be the "single most important fundraising event" outside the United States for Obama's campaign.

Some participants said it would be the Democrats' biggest fundraising event abroad to date.

Clooney, 51, was to address the gathering, along with Matthew Barzun, chairman of the Obama Victory Fund, and organizer Charles Adams, a Geneva-based American lawyer on the National Finance Committee of the campaign who declined comment.

Supporters willing to pay $5,000 get to have their photograph taken with the Hollywood star and director -- who was not accompanied by his latest girlfriend Stacy Keibler.

Clooney hosted a glitzy campaign fundraiser at his home in Los Angeles in May, raising nearly $15 million at the event where Obama called his endorsement of same-sex marriage a "logical extension" of his vision for the country.

The Geneva fundraiser is a virtual carbon copy of one attended here by Clooney four years ago that raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars to help take Obama to the White House.

Obama's campaign to win re-election in the Nov. 6 poll has struggled to match the enthusiasm of his 2008 run and compete financially with the hundreds of millions of dollars being raised by conservative outside groups known as super PACs.

In July, Romney and his Republican Party raised $101 million, outpacing Obama for the third month in a row. Obama and the Democrats hauled in $75 million.

Romney and his party said they had $186 million left in cash on hand at the end of July -- almost $60 million more than Obama and his party, who had $127 million left in cash on hand, disclosures filed last week showed.

"We're being outspent and outraised. It's everyone to their battle stations, we've got to keep the playing field as level as possible," a participant at the Geneva fundraiser told Reuters. "Clooney has made himself available to an extent above and beyond the call of duty."

Tropical Storm Isaac forced Republicans on Sunday to postpone the start of the Republican National Convention being held this week in Tampa, Florida, where the party will officially nominate Romney as their candidate.

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