memeorandum: HHS announces first guidance implementing Supreme Court's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act (HHS.gov)

9:55 PM ET, August 29, 2013

Top Items:

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Obama Set for Limited Strike on Syria as British Vote No — WASHINGTON — President Obama is prepared to move ahead with a limited military strike on Syria, administration officials said Thursday, despite a stinging rejection of such action on Thursday by America's stalwart ally Britain and mounting questions from Congress.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Guardian, Reuters, Lawfare, NPR, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Telegraph and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, more at Mediagazer »

Jim VandeHei / Politico:

The ironic war plan — Imagine Dick Cheney in a “Saturday Night Live” skit fantasizing about Barack Obama handling the pressures of going to war. — Cheney's sitting there, yucking it up with Rummy and the boys, eating yellow cake. He laughs off his own reckless rush to an unwinnable war fought on flawed grounds.

Discussion: Reuters, CNN, Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, AEIdeas and The Hill

BBC:

David Cameron loses Commons vote on Syria action — British MPs have voted to reject possible military action against the Assad regime in Syria to deter the use of chemical weapons. — A government motion was defeated by 285 to 272, a majority of 13 votes.

Discussion: Guardian, Samizdata, Daily Kos, The Volokh Conspiracy and The Daily Caller

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:

British parliament rejects military strike against Syria — British lawmakers on Thursday delivered a stunning rejection of Prime Minister David Cameron's bid to punish the government of Bashar al-Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons, citing skepticism over the misinformation used …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, Wonkblog, Outside the Beltway and Lawfare

Associated Press:

UK Prime Minister Cameron loses Syria war vote — LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron lost a vote endorsing military action against Syria by 13 votes Thursday, a stunning defeat for a government which had been poised to join the U.S. in strikes to punish Bashar Assad's regime …

Discussion: The DiploMad 2.0, Scared Monkeys, JustOneMinute, Ed Driscoll and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

CNN:

British leader loses vote on Syria response — (CNN) — [Breaking news alert, 5:52 p.m. ET] — British Prime Minister David Cameron was dealt a blow Thursday in his push for a strong response, including possible military action, against Syria after the House of Commons voted down the measure.

Discussion: CBS News, The Economic Collapse, AL.com, KDVR.com, Here & Now, NPR, ABC News, New York Times, Balloon Juice, Guardian and Online NewsHour

Associated Press:
AP SOURCES: INTELLIGENCE ON WEAPONS NO ‘SLAM DUNK’

Discussion: Associated Press, BBC, Wall Street Journal, NBCNews, Reuters, CNN, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, Firedoglake and AL.com

GOV.UK:
Chemical weapon use by Syrian regime: UK government legal position

Discussion: ThinkProgress, BBC, Guardian, Amnesty's global human …, News Desk, Moon of Alabama, Business Insider, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Washington Post:

U.S. spy network's successes, failures and objectives detailed in ‘black budget’ summary — U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats …

Washington Post:
To hunt Osama bin Laden, satellites watched over Abbottabad, Pakistan, and Navy SEALs

Discussion: New York Times, The Switch and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
U.S. spy network's successes, failures and objectives detailed in ‘black budget’ summary

Discussion: msnbc.com and NPR

Washington Post:
Inside the 2013 U.S. intelligence ‘black budget’

Discussion: FP Passport and Business Insider

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

All Legal Same-Sex Marriages Will Be Recognized for Federal Tax Purposes — Ruling Provides Certainty, Benefits and Protections Under Federal Tax Law for Same-Sex Married Couples — WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Towleroad News #gay, Wonkblog, AL.com, The Volokh Conspiracy, Advocate, Arizona Republic, Daily Kos, National Review, msnbc.com, Althouse, Firedoglake and NPR

Annie Lowrey / New York Times:
Gay Marriages in All States Get Recognition From the I.R.S.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and LGBTQ Nation

HHS.gov:
HHS announces first guidance implementing Supreme Court's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, LGBTQ Nation, The Heritage Foundation, ThinkProgress, Joe. My. God. and Weekly Standard

Allison Benedikt / Slate:

If You Send Your Kid to Private School, You Are a Bad Person — A manifesto. — You are a bad person if you send your children to private school. Not bad like murderer bad—but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation's-most- essential-institutions-in-order-to-get- what's-best-for-your-kid bad.

Discussion: his vorpal sword, National Review, Ace of Spades HQ, Hot Air, The Week, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Banter, FITSNews, Weasel Zippers, Business Insider, NewsBusters, TheBlaze.com, The Other McCain, BizzyBlog, JustOneMinute and Overlawyered

James Pethokoukis / AEIdeas:
Please, sending your kids to private school doesn't make you a bad person

Discussion: protein wisdom and National Review

Telegraph:

Kim Jong-un's ex-lover ‘executed by firing squad’ — Kim Jong-un's ex-girlfriend was among a dozen well-known North Korean performers who were executed by firing squad nine days go, according to South Korean reports. — Hyon Song-wol, a singer and rumoured to be a former lover of the North Korean leader …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Via Meadia, The Other McCain, The Daily Caller and Boing Boing

Digital Chosunilbo:
Kim Jong-un's Ex-Girlfriend ‘Shot by Firing Squad’

Discussion: Fox News, NBCNews, Gawker, FP Passport, Business Insider and AL.com

Joe Kemp / NY Daily News:
Ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un executed by firing squad: report

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

The United States Department of Justice:

Justice Department Announces Update to Marijuana Enforcement Policy — Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize, under state law, the possession of small amounts of marijuana …

Discussion: Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, VICE, The Verge, The Reality-Based Community, The Volokh Conspiracy, Firedoglake, msnbc.com, BBC and TalkLeft

Evan Perez / CNN:
No federal challenge to pot legalization in 2 states

Discussion: New York Times, The Huffington Post and AL.com

Blake Neff / The Hill:
Justice Department eases rules on marijuana enforcement

Discussion: Politico and The Democratic Daily

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Senator Tim Scott Turned Down Invitation to 50th Anniversary of MLK Speech — One of the controversies surrounding the 50th anniversary celebration of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King's “I Have A Dream” speech has been the absence of Republicans at the event, despite many of them having been invited.

Discussion: Joe. My. God., theGrio, PoliticusUSA, msnbc.com and Goppers

Emma Dumain / The World's Greatest Deliberative Body:
Tim Scott Declined Invite to Attend MLK March as Spectator

Discussion: theGrio, The Week, Washington Examiner, The Spectacle Blog, Washington Post, PoliticusUSA, USA Today and Washington Wire

Eliana Johnson / National Review:

Cory Booker's Imaginary Friend — Go back and listen to Cory Booker's stump speeches over the years, and, as in those of any politician, you'll hear many of the same stories. But Booker's are more dramatic and heart-rending than most. They draw heavily on his experiences in Newark, N.J. …

Discussion: Twitchy, TheBlaze.com, Gawker, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Real Clear Politics, Ed Driscoll, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Daily Caller, Taegan Goddard's … and Post Politics

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:

OBAMA OFFERS NEW GUN CONTROL STEPS — You are here — Home » United States government » Obama offers new gun control steps — WASHINGTON (AP) — Striving to take action where Congress would not, the Obama administration announced new steps Thursday on gun control …

Discussion: Associated Press, BuzzFeed, Weekly Standard, msnbc.com, Global Grind, The Truth About Guns, The Week, Daily Kos, BizzyBlog, The Raw Story and UrbanGrounds

Clara Ritger / NationalJournal.com:

Obama's Affordable Care Act Looking a Bit Unaffordable — Independent National Journal analysis finds premiums higher under Obamacare as employers weigh dropping coverage. — Republicans have long blamed President Obama's signature health care initiative for increasing insurance costs, dubbing it the “Unaffordable Care Act.”

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Yahoo! News, JustOneMinute, Speaker.gov, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon, Taegan Goddard's …, First Read, Power Line and kff.org

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
This Is What Obamacare Outreach Looks Like (VIDEOS)

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Fix, American Prospect, PERRspectives and A plain blog about politics

Rush Limbaugh:

Minimum Wage: How Much is Too Much? — RUSH: Let's go to San Diego. We'll start with Sean. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello, sir. — CALLER: (Unintelligible) tell (unintelligible) — RUSH: Shh. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. Hang on, folks.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Stan Solomon: Trayvon Martin Deserved To Die And So Does ‘That Faggot’ Dan Savage — Conservative talk show host Stan Solomon is obsessed with the idea that President Obama is fomenting a race war in order to murder white, Christian heterosexuals, so when we noticed he was hosting a special …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Investigations / NBCNews:

Snowden impersonated NSA officials, sources say — Edward Snowden accessed some secret national security documents by assuming the electronic identities of top NSA officials, said intelligence sources. — “Every day, they are learning how brilliant [Snowden] was,” said a former U.S. official with knowledge of the case.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Week, Techdirt and The Huffington Post

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

In Michigan, a Defeat for the Tea Party—and Victory for Common Sense — Obamacare took a big step forward on Tuesday night, when the Michigan Senate approved an expansion of the state's Medicaid program. The state House is likely to back the same measure, as early as next week.

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Wonkblog, Plunderbund and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Alex Seitz-Wald / The Plum Line:

GOP leader chose oil industry over MLK marchers — There are 233 Republicans in the House of Representatives, 46 in the Senate and 30 in governor's mansions across the country. Guess how many made the effort to appear at Wednesday's giant rally commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.