Top Items:
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Marriage Ideal — Here are some commonplace arguments against gay marriage: Marriage is an ancient institution that has always been defined as the union of one man and one woman, and we meddle with that definition at our peril. Lifelong heterosexual monogamy is natural; gay relationships are not.
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Marriage and the role of the state — Ross Douthat uses his New York Times column today to put what he undoubtedly considers to be the most intellectual and humane face on the case against marriage equality. Without pointing to any concrete or empirical evidence, Douthat insists …
Discussion:
National Review and GayPatriot
Steve Chapman / Reason:
Overreaching on Gay Marriage
Overreaching on Gay Marriage
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Hit & Run and Balloon Juice
Michelangelo Signorile / The Huffington Post:
Judge Vaughn Walker Gets Smeared By the Media
Judge Vaughn Walker Gets Smeared By the Media
Discussion:
Advocate
Michael P. Fleischer / Wall Street Journal:
Why I'm Not Hiring — When you add it all up, it costs $74,000 to put $44,000 in Sally's pocket and to give her $12,000 in benefits. — With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off. I think it's going to be later—much later.
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Logan Penza / The Moderate Voice:
Why They're Not Hiring — It's those Evil, Greedy Corporations. — That's the simple explanation most of the talking heads have for the continuing high unemployment numbers. Those Evil, Greedy Corporations horde their money and refuse to hire anyone. When they do hire someone …
Shannyn Moore / The Huffington Post:
Palin's Homer Moment: Celebrity Sarah Confronted by Citizen (WATCH) — I'm really proud of my home town. When I say, “I'm just a girl from Homer” on my blog, radio or television show, I like to think it's not so much self-deprecation as it is a friendly warning.
Discussion:
Think Progress, Mediaite, SHANNYN MOORE, Political Byline, Gawker, Brilliant at Breakfast and Wonkette
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Dan Amira / New York Magazine:
Did Sarah Palin Roll Her Eyes at Teaching? — Sarah Palin was up in Homer, Alaska, recently, fishing with her Discovery Channel crew in tow, when she was met with an unpleasant protest: a giant banner reading “Worst Governor Ever,” unfurled nearby by local Kathleen Gustafson.
Discussion:
The Politico, The Note, Ballot Box and Towleroad News #gay
GQ:
GQ Exclusive: Rand Paul's Kooky College Days (Hint: There's a Secret Society Involved) — When the Lexington Herald-Leader reported last week that Rand Paul was, in effect, a college dropout, it looked like the 2010 midterms might feature yet another fabulist.
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Charge: Rand Paul tied up teammate, tried to ‘force her to take bong hits’
Charge: Rand Paul tied up teammate, tried to ‘force her to take bong hits’
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Mediaite
James Surowiecki / New Yorker:
SOAK THE VERY, VERY RICH — The fight on Capitol Hill over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts is about many things: deficit reduction, economic stimulus, supply-side ideology. But at its core is a simple question: who counts as rich? The Obama Administration's answer is that you're rich …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, The Atlantic Online, Clusterstock and Democratic Strategist
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
How Much Revenue Would a Millionaires' Tax Raise?
How Much Revenue Would a Millionaires' Tax Raise?
Discussion:
TalkLeft, JustOneMinute and The Atlantic Online
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
The tea party's growing money problem — Some leading tea party activists are concerned their efforts are undermined by a shortage of cash. AP — Some leading tea party activists are concerned that their efforts to reshape American politics, starting with the 2010 elections …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Congress.org, Think Progress, Hot Air, Political Byline and FrumForum
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
America Goes Dark — The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.
David Frum / CNN:
Frum: Bristol-Levi more significant that Prop 8 ruling — Editor's note: David Frum writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A special assistant to President George W. Bush in 2001-02, he is the author of six books, including “Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again,” and is the editor of FrumForum.
Discussion:
Box Turtle Bulletin
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Nelson Lund / San Francisco Chronicle:
Prop. 8 judge makes strange charge
Prop. 8 judge makes strange charge
Discussion:
The League of Ordinary …, National Review and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:
Democrats Duck an Unpopular President — Ever had a date you didn't want to introduce to your mother? — Bill White knows how you felt. The Democratic nominee for governor will campaign today in Midland, Abilene and Alvarado. Where he won't be is in Austin and Dallas …
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News, The Atlantic Online and Weasel Zippers
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The Politico:
Rep. Maxine Waters charged with three violations — The House ethics committee released its formal charges against Rep. Maxine Waters Monday. AP — The House ethics committee released its formal charges against Rep. Maxine Waters Monday, accusing her of three counts of violating the letter …
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Wendell Cochran / msnbc.com:
Bank in Maxine Waters case was weakest to get TARP help
Bank in Maxine Waters case was weakest to get TARP help
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, TPMMuckraker, Weasel Zippers and The Huffington Post
Mark Whitehouse / Wall Street Journal:
Some Companies Struggle to Fill Jobs — In Bloomington, Ill., machine shop Mechanical Devices can't find the workers it needs to handle a sharp jump in business. Job fairs run by airline Emirates attract fewer applicants in the U.S. than in other countries.
Discussion:
Salon, The Glittering Eye, The Atlantic Online, Clusterstock, Outside the Beltway and Crooks and Liars
RELATED:
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
“Public Internet,” Private Plan: Verizon, Google Announce Joint Broadband Policy — Oh, now I get it.... (photo: tantek) — Google and Verizon have announced their joint policy agreement on the Internet and broadband, seeking a continuation of the free and open policies around …
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NY Daily News:
Republican Party starts to kill its own: S.C. Rep. Bob Inglis ousted for not hating Obama enough — There are landmarks all over our city named after LaGuardia and Javits and Rockefeller, names out of the city's great Republican past, when the party was one of intelligence, not fear-mongering and hate.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, About.com Conservative …, The Impolitic, JammieWearingFool and Don Surber
Janet Hook / Los Angeles Times:
Democratic candidates all but ignore their legislative successes — Avoid bragging, strategists advise, and warn against putting Republicans back in charge. — Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., briefs reporters on Capitol Hill. “The question for 2010 is: Whose side are you on?” he said.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Verum Serum, Liberty Pundits Blog and Weekly Standard
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Avg. Midterm Seat Loss 36 for Presidents Below 50% Approval — Presidents above 50% lose average of 14 House seats in midterm elections — PRINCETON, NJ — Presidents who retain majority job approval from Americans at the time of midterm elections are much less likely …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Politics Daily, Hot Air, YID With LID and Commentary
J. Christian Adams / Washington Examiner:
Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is out of control — Two unpleasant topics of conversation most of us avoid are the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and a variety of sometimes violent events resulting in transmission of the disease. Some states long ago implemented policies …
Discussion:
Moe_Lane's blog, International Liberty and The Daily Caller
Quinnipiac University:
Dem Gov Primary Too Close To Call As Malloy Closes, Quinnipiac University Connecticut Poll Finds; McMahon Up 22 Points In GOP Senate Primary — The Democratic primary for governor in Connecticut is going down to the wire with businessman Ned Lamont at 45 percent and former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Fix, Ballot Box, My Left Nutmeg, Daily Kos, Taegan Goddard's … and TPMDC