Top Items:
Swalker / Duck Commander:
The Robertson Family Offical Statement — We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E's decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word.
Discussion:
Deadline.com, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, CBS Houston, The Gateway Pundit, Gawker, Patterico's Pontifications and TMZ.com
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ThinkProgress:
Why The Racist And Homophobic ‘Duck Dynasty’ Comments Have Nothing To Do With Free Speech — On Wednesday, Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson made comments in a GQ interview condemning homosexuality as sinful and comparable to bestiality, as well as claiming that African Americans were better off under Jim Crow laws.
Discussion:
American Thinker, CNN, Liberaland, The Daily Caller, The Week, The Jawa Report and The Moderate Voice
Dean Obeidallah / The Daily Beast:
The Right's ‘Duck Dynasty’ Hypocrisy — By Dean ObeidallahDecember 19th 201312:00 PM — Conservatives think people should be held responsible for their actions—until one of their own, like Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson, has to pay a price for their hateful views.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Politico, New Orleans Times-Picayune, RedState, Right Wing Watch and CNN
Andrew Sullivan / The Dish:
A&E Cannot Bear Very Much Reality
A&E Cannot Bear Very Much Reality
Discussion:
Mediaite, Rush Limbaugh, National Review, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and Twitchy
Governor Bobby Jindal:
Gov. Jindal on Phil Robertson Suspension: I Remember When TV Networks Believed in 1st Amendment
Gov. Jindal on Phil Robertson Suspension: I Remember When TV Networks Believed in 1st Amendment
LZ Granderson / CNN:
‘Duck Dynasty’ suspension doesn't violate First Amendment
‘Duck Dynasty’ suspension doesn't violate First Amendment
Discussion:
The Fix, Nashville Scene, The Week and Associated Press
Ted Cruz / Facebook:
Free Speech Matters — The reason that so many Americans love …
Free Speech Matters — The reason that so many Americans love …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, ABC News, The Heritage Foundation, ABC News, The Raw Story, CNN, NationalJournal.com and Twitchy
Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Knew Exactly What He Was Doing
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Knew Exactly What He Was Doing
Discussion:
Equality Matters
Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
Obama administration relaxes rules of health-care law four days before deadline — The Obama administration Thursday night significantly relaxed the rules of the health-care law for millions of consumers whose individual insurance policies have been canceled, saying they could buy bare-bones health plans …
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Avik Roy / Forbes:
Utter Chaos: White House Exempts Millions From Obamacare's Insurance Mandate, ‘Unaffordable’ Exchanges — It's hard to come up with new ways to describe the Obama administration's improvisational approach to the Affordable Care Act's troubled health insurance exchanges.
Discussion:
NBCNews and Los Angeles Times
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
The individual mandate no longer applies to people whose plans were canceled — Today, the Obama administration announced that people whose insurance plans were canceled this year will “temporarily” be exempted from the law's individual mandate. Here's how they're doing it — and what it means for the law.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Byron Tau / Politico:
For Obamacare boosters, all memes are good memes
For Obamacare boosters, all memes are good memes
Discussion:
Reuters, CNN, CBS New York and Betsy's Page
The White House:
Statement by the President on Clemency — Three years ago, I signed the bipartisan Fair Sentencing Act, which dramatically narrowed the disparity between penalties for crack and powder cocaine offenses. This law began to right a decades-old injustice, but for thousands of inmates, it came too late.
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, ThinkProgress, Connecting.the.Dots, Hit & Run and TalkLeft
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Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Obama Commutes Sentences for 8 Drug Convictions — President Barack Obama on Thursday commuted the sentences of eight people he said were serving unduly harsh drug sentences in the most expansive use yet of his power to free inmates. — All eight were sentenced under old federal guidelines …
Discussion:
The Hill and The Raw Story
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Obama Commutes Sentences for 8 in Crack Cocaine Cases
Obama Commutes Sentences for 8 in Crack Cocaine Cases
Discussion:
TIME, Hit & Run, Debra J. Saunders, The Volokh Conspiracy, Gawker, BBC, Occupy DemocratsOccupy …, Business Insider, The BLT and Mediaite
Donna Cassata / Associated Press:
Senate To Vote On Yellen For Fed Chair In January — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will vote on the nomination of Janet Yellen to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve in January. — Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Thursday night that Republicans and Democrats had worked …
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Meredith Shiner / The World's Greatest …:
Senate Deal Sets Up Friday Christmas Exit, Pushes Yellen Confirmation to 2014 (Updated) — Updated 10:25 p.m. | A bit of bipartisan Christmas cheer finally arrived in the Senate around 10 p.m. Thursday. — That's when senators locked in an agreement that will set up a series …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Messina rejects holding Baucus's Senate seat — Jim Messina, who served as President Obama's 2012 reelection campaign manager, said Thursday that he is not considering an appointment in the Senate to replace departing Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat. — The comments came on the heels …
Discussion:
Washington Wire
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First Read / NBCNews:
First Thoughts: Baucus' ambassadorship gives Democrats a potential 2014 break
First Thoughts: Baucus' ambassadorship gives Democrats a potential 2014 break
Discussion:
The Fix and Outside the Beltway
Washington Post:
Officials' defenses of NSA phone program may be unraveling — From the moment the government's massive database of citizens' call records was exposed this year, U.S. officials have clung to two main lines of defense: The secret surveillance program was constitutional and critical to keeping the nation safe.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather, The Reaction and Pocket Full Of Liberty
Verizon:
Verizon to Publish Transparency Report Disclosing Law Enforcement Requests for Customer Information — NEW YORK - Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today announced plans to publish an online report that will provide data on the number of law enforcement requests for customer information …
Discussion:
Associated Press, BBC, NYT Bits and The Verge
Adam Serwer / msnbc.com:
Conservatives freak out over ‘pajama boy’ — Conservatives are in a tizzy over a seemingly innocuous Obamacare ad from Organizing for Action featuring a young man in pajamas. — He's “a metrosexual hipster in a plaid onesie” scowled National Review's Charles Cooke, a “vaguely androgynous …
McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
Paul Ryan Finds God — How a backstage prayer in Cleveland and a new leader in the Vatican set the budget-slashing congressman on a mission to help the poor. “My bet is that he's on Pope Francis's team.” — On Oct. 24, 2012, Paul Ryan slipped into a high-ceiling backstage room …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
First Look / Omidyar Group:
Pierre Omidyar Provides Initial Funding of $50M to Establish First Look Media — Honolulu - Dec. 19, 2013 - The news organization created by Pierre Omidyar (formerly dubbed “NewCo") has taken another step forward with an infusion of $50M in capital to fuel operations being established on both coasts.
Discussion:
Politico, Gigaom, Mediaite, Guardian and Pressthink, more at Mediagazer »
ice.gov:
FY 2013: ICE announces year-end removal numbers — 98 percent of the agency's total removals were convicted criminals, recent border crossers, illegal re-entrants or those previously removed by ICE, in line with agency's enforcement priorities — WASHINGTON — Today …
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Bradley Klapper / Associated Press:
Defying Obama, 26 Senators Push New Iran Sanctions
Defying Obama, 26 Senators Push New Iran Sanctions
Discussion:
Politico