memeorandum: Republican State Rep. Mike Fleck: I'm Gay (Keegan Gibson/PoliticsPA)

5:25 PM ET, December 1, 2012

Top Items:

Keegan Gibson / PoliticsPA:

Republican State Rep. Mike Fleck: I'm Gay — State Rep. Mike Fleck (R-Huntingdon) publicly acknowledged Saturday that he is gay, making him the first openly gay lawmaker in Pa. and the only* currently sitting openly gay Republican state legislator in the entire country.

Discussion: Gawker and Towleroad News #gay

Rebecca Berdar / www.huntingdondailynews.com:

Rep. Fleck takes place in history — First openly gay member of Pennsylvania House — Pennsylvania's 81st District is a diverse place — a threecounty territory that encompasses Appalachian, Amish and liberal arts cultures in the midst of the urban and academic centers of Altoona and State College.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', BuzzFeed, Advocate, Mediaite and DownWithTyranny!

Paul Finkelman / New York Times:

The Monster of Monticello — Durham, N.C. — THOMAS JEFFERSON is in the news again, nearly 200 years after his death — alongside a high-profile biography by the journalist Jon Meacham comes a damning portrait of the third president by the independent scholar Henry Wiencek.

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

NPR:

What Allen West And Abraham Lincoln Have In Common … U.S. Rep. Allen West came to Washington as part of the 2010 wave of Tea Party-backed candidates. He became known as aggressive and outspoken, but his tenure in Congress was short-lived. He recently conceded a close race for Florida's 18th District.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:

West: Lincoln only served one term, too — GOP Rep. Allen West, the outspoken Florida conservative who lost his bid for a second term, doesn't sound like someone who's finished with national politics. — From his interview Friday with National Public Radio's Michel Martin:

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

KCTV:

Police: Chiefs player kills girlfriend then kills self — Police are investigating two deadly shootings Saturday morning that they said are related. — The shootings involve a Chiefs player and his girlfriend. — The first shooting was reported about 8 a.m. at a home near East 54th Terrace and Crysler Avenue.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Hinterland Gazette, The Other McCain, ESPN, Scared Monkeys and Althouse

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

Hillary Clinton no fan of Susan Rice, prefers Kerry for State — American Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice speaks to reporters after a Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo) — The Rice Report...

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and Weekly Standard

Paul Singer / USA Today:

West Point chapel hosts first same-sex marriage — The ceremony comes a little more than a year after President Obama ended the military policy banning openly gay people from serving. — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — 3:17PM EST December 1. 2012 - The U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Towleroad News #gay

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

Infrastructure Spending Needed: Century-Old New Jersey Bridge Collapses For Second Time In Four Years — A bridge in Paulsboro, New Jersey collapsed Friday morning, derailing a train carrying highly flammable and carcinogenic vinyl chloride into Mantua Creek.

Discussion: Philly.com and Crooks and Liars

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:

Mitt Romney's loss creates GOP leadership vacuum — BOSTON (AP) — Mitt Romney's shadow looms over a Republican Party in disarray. — The face of the GOP for much of the last year, the failed presidential candidate has been a virtual ghost since his defeat Nov. 6.

Ron Scherer / Reuters:

Why Obama is pushing for stimulus in ‘fiscal cliff’ deal — President Obama's opening offer in ‘fiscal cliff’ talks includes $255 billion in stimulus spending - tax cuts, incentives, and more. It could be a bargaining ploy or a bid to offset rising taxes on the rich. — How about a little government economic stimulus?

Discussion: Reuters, Michelle Malkin and The Lonely Conservative

BREITBART.COM:

NORQUIST: NEW, LARGER ‘TEA PARTY SECOND WAVE’ COMING — “We are about to have a Tea Party second wave that will dwarf the first wave and that is because while ‘spend too much’ brought the Tea Party into existence, we're about to walk into ‘spend too much, regulate too much, and tax too much,’ all together.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Conservatives4Palin

David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:

Nate Silver: Politico Covers Politics Like Sports But ‘Not In An Intelligent Way At All’ — New York Times polling guru Nate Silver took aim at Politico's brand of reporting on Friday, saying the Washington-based news outlet covers politics like sports but “not in an intelligent way at all.”

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, ESPN, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Hans Bader / Col·lege In·sur·rec· tion:

School Quotas and Speech Codes May Result From Senate Amendment to Defense Bill — Suing schools and colleges has nothing to do with supporting our troops. — But that didn't stop Senators from seeking to add an amendment, SA 3215, to the 2013 Defense Authorization bill on Thursday …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion