Judge Vaughn Walker Hands Victory to Proposition 8 Opponents  —  This afternoon U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in the case brought before him by lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies, which argued that the Proposition 8 ballot initiative denying marriage rights to same-sex couples in California was unconstitutional.

Prop C passes overwhelmingly  —  ST. LOUIS  • Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn …

Democrats' craven silence on Ground Zero mosque continues  —  Steve Benen, Matthew Yglesias, and Kevin Drum all have posts up blasting Republicans for their unwillingness to step forward and condemn bigoted criticism of plans to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero.

Bike agenda spins cities toward U.N. control, Maes warns  —  Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding, are “converting Denver into a United Nations community.”

EXPLOSIVE: New Video of Couric Mocking Palin on the Day She was Named as McCain's Running Mate!  ; UPDATED  —  The following video was sent to C4P's tips account.  —  As you can see, the video shows Katie Couric preparing to go on the air on the day John McCain announced Governor Palin as his running mate.

TRENDING: CNN Poll: Quarter doubt Obama was born in U.S.  —  President Obama's birth certificate (left) has been certified authentic by the Republican governor of Hawaii.  His birth announcement (right) appeared in print in 1961.  (PHOTO CREDIT: State of Hawaii)

JOINING THE RESISTANCE?  —  I have more than once in my time woken up feeling like death.  But nothing prepared me for the early morning last June when I came to consciousness feeling as if I were actually shackled to my own corpse.  The whole cave of my chest and thorax seemed to have been hollowed …

Angle: “What's happening (in America)..is a violation of the 1st Commandment,” entitlements “make government our God.”  —  That's what Sharron Angle, the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate, said in an April 21 interview with TruNews Christian Radio's Rick Wiles.

What Reagan Didn't Do  —  Via Ezra Klein, I see that the latest thing on the right is to compare the economic recovery from the 1981-2 recession with our current state and claim that it proves the superiority of conservative economic policies.  —  This shows why I can't maintain the pretense …

Crazy Muslim conspiracy theories  —  Politico's Laura Rozen points to this Times of India article, recounting how Rashad Hussain, the Obama administration's envoy to the Muslim world, was angered and “shocked” yesterday when — as part of a tour of India to promote better relations with Muslims …

Not at Ground Zero  —  The story of the proposed mosque at the site of the World Trade Center has been thoroughly misrepresented, as have the parties behind the project.  They present themselves as ambassadors of moderate Islam.  Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement …

Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images  —  For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they're viewed.  The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that “scanned images cannot be stored or recorded.”

U.S. To Train 3,000 Offshore IT Workers  —  $22 million, federally-backed program aims to help outsourcers in South Asia become more fluent in areas like Java programming—and the English language.  —  Despite President Obama's pledge to retain more hi-tech jobs in the U.S. …

IDF: Journalists were tipped off  —  Presence of cameramen, journalists at site of deadly clash proves it was planned ambush, IDF says  —  Journalists and photographers were briefed in advance of the intention to ambush IDF troops and were therefore present at the site of Tuesday's deadly …

Dodd Presses Senate Freshmen To Back Off Effort To End Filibuster  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Chris Dodd gathered with the Democratic Senate freshman class on Tuesday night at a dinner organized by Mark Warner to persuade them to back off their push to change Senate rules when the chamber returns …

Keyes Hits Graham For Politicizing The 14th Amendment: This ‘Is Not Something That One Should Play With Lightly’  —  In recent days, several leading Republicans have launched a movement to review or revoke parts of the 14th amendment, which guarantees birthright citizenship.

EXTEND AND PRETEND: The Obama Administration's Failed Foreclosure Program  —  What's Your Reaction: … President Barack Obama's signature plan to combat the housing crisis has fallen short of its goals — rather than significantly and permanently reducing home foreclosures, it is only delaying them.

How bad does it have to be?  —  H. Sterling Bennett's column Wednesday ("More Hype than Harm") claims the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico isn't that bad.  He says the environmental movement “is in absence of good evidence” when we call this BP oil disaster a massive catastrophe and horrible tragedy.

McCaskill: ‘Message received’ from Missouri voters on health reform  —  Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) said she had received the message from her state's voters after they approved a ballot initiative looking to exempt the state's residents from mandates contained within the healthcare reform law.

Reid plans September showdown on extension of tax cuts  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to take up legislation in September to address the tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush.  —  Senior Democrats had expected the controversial issue to be postponed until after the election …