Prop.  8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, court rules  —  A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year.  —  The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court …

We Will Not Play by Two Sets of Rules  —  In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs—non-candidate political committees that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests.

Karen Handel resigns from Komen for the Cure  —  Karen Handel, the former GOP candidate for governor, just announced her resignation as a senior vice president for public of Susan G. Komen for the Cure - one week after the breast cancer charity reversed itself on a decision to sever financial ties with Planned Parenthood.

Big Day for Santorum?  —  Rick Santorum could be headed for a big day in today's contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri.  Missouri looks like a probable win for Santorum.  He's at 45% there to 32% for Mitt Romney and 19% for Paul.  Minnesota provides an opportunity for a win as well.

Obama's Baffling Catholic Decision: Birth Control Trumps Religious Freedom  —  The administration claims its decision to force Catholic institutions to pay for insurance covering contraceptives is 'balanced"—so why, when religious liberty was weighed against access to birth control, did freedom lose?

This Friday and Saturday, Occupy CPAC: Liberate Discourse  —  On February 9th through February 11th, a who's who of dastardly politicians will be holding the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel at 2660 Woodley Road, NW.

Influential conservative blogger endorses ‘sweet meteor of death’ in GOP primary  —  Influential conservative blogger Erick Erickson said he would endorse the “sweet meteor of death” over any of the current GOP candidates, but would back the party's eventual nominee in the general election against President Obama.

Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures  —  Banks, accelerating efforts to move troubled mortgages off their books, are offering as much as $35,000 or more in cash to delinquent homeowners to sell their properties for less than they owe.  —  Lenders have routinely delayed …

U.S. Planning to Slash Iraq Embassy Staff by Up to Half  —  BAGHDAD — Less than two months after American troops left, the State Department is preparing to slash by as much as half the enormous diplomatic presence it had planned for Iraq, a sharp sign of declining American influence in the country.

This Is So Classy: ‘Yellow Girl’  —  Thanks to TPM for a tip to what you see if you examine the HTML code* of the Pete Hoekstra / Fred Davis “we take your jobs” video.  —  The image of the “Chinese” girl in the video, who speaks American-accented English, is labelled as ... well, see for yourself:

FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists  —  (Reuters) - Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday.  —  These extremists, sometimes known as “sovereign citizens …