Top Items:


Phil Robertson's America — I've yet to take in an episode of Duck Dynasty. I hear it's a fine show, anchored by a humorous and good-natured family of proud Americans. I try to be good natured, and I have been told that I can appreciate a good joke. I am also a proud American.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Prospect and Balloon Juice
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Duck Dynasty Star is Rosa Parks of Our Generation — Today, Ian Bayne called Phil Robertson, star of the A&E series “Duck Dynasty,” the ‘Rosa Parks’ of our generation. — “In December 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand against an unjust societal persecution of black people, and in December 2013 …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Politico, Little Green Footballs, Liberaland, The Huffington Post and The Raw Story


Ian Bayne, GOP Congressional Candidate: ‘Duck Dynasty Star Is Rosa Parks Of Our Generation’ — WASHINGTON — Embattled “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson has been suspended from his show by A&E for his remarks about gays and African-Americans, and now some high-profile conservatives are rallying to his side and defending him.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Lone Star Q, The Hinterland Gazette, Wonkblog, PostPartisan, The Baffler, Gawker and ABC News

GOP Congressional Candidate: Duck Dynasty Star Is ‘Rosa Parks Of Our Generation’
Discussion:
his vorpal sword and Suburban Political Recount


Obamacare Initiates Self-Destruction Sequence — On Wednesday, Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown reported that the administration was saying fewer than 500,000 people had actually lost insurance due to Obamacare-induced cancellations. This struck me as a strange leak: Half a million is a lot less …
Discussion:
American Power, Reuters, Hit & Run, The Incidental Economist and ThinkProgress
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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:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, neo-neocon, Associated Press, Guardian, Connecting.the.Dots, Shakesville, Power Line, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, American Power and Washington Post


Who Says Obama Hasn't United the Country?
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

Let's call the whole thing off
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, New York Times, BizPac Review and neo-neocon

Utter Chaos: White House Exempts Millions From Obamacare's Insurance Mandate, ‘Unaffordable’ Exchanges
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm, National Review, Josh Blackman's Blog, American Spectator, The PJ Tatler, NBCNews, Los Angeles Times and Betsy's Page

Does New Obamacare Mandate Exemption Open A Pandora's Box?
Discussion:
Health Affairs Blog

White House Will Allow Some To Buy Catastrophic Health Plans


Obama Vows ‘Year of Action’ After He ‘Screwed It Up’ on Health Care … President Obama acknowledged that his administration “screwed it up” on the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in an end-of-year news conference at the White House today but, eager to pivot to 2014, suggested that the new year should be a …
Discussion:
Politico, Reuters and Balloon Juice
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Obama promises review of NSA spying program, possible reforms
Discussion:
The Fix, Post Politics, Prairie Weather and Hit & Run

Officials' defenses of NSA phone program may be unraveling
Discussion:
Investigations, Hot Air, Right Turn, Conservative Intelligence …, Secrecy News, New York Times, Prairie Weather and The Reaction

Well, let's delay the mandate after all
Discussion:
PostPartisan, The Plum Line, JustOneMinute, americanthinker.com, Liberaland and The Daily Caller

Federal judge strikes down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage — A federal judge in Utah Friday struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process. — “The state's current laws deny its gay …
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Daily Kos
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Federal Judge Rules That Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal in Utah — Salt Lake City began issuing marriage licenses to jubilant same-sex couples on Friday hours, after a federal judge ruled that Utah's amendment barring same-sex marriage violated the United States Constitution.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Hot Air and GLAAD


Harry Reid hospitalized — Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D- Nev.) was hospitalized early Friday after not feeling well, according to his office. — “Early this morning, Senator Reid was not feeling well and as a precaution decided to go to the hospital. Tests have been conducted and everything is normal.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Senate hatches last-minute deal
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos and Booman Tribune


Supreme Court strikes down Canada's prostitution laws — The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down the country's major prostitution laws, saying that bans on street soliciting, brothels and people living off the avails of prostitution create severe dangers for vulnerable women and therefore violate Canadians' basic values.
Discussion:
Hit & Run and Outside the Beltway
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CANADIAN COURT STRIKES DOWN ANTI-PROSTITUTION LAWS — You are here — Home » Canada » Canadian court strikes down anti-prostitution laws … TORONTO (AP) — Canada's highest court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws Friday, a victory for sex workers who stepped …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money

Trooper Joe Petty assisted by Tpr Dave Stucenski & K9 Frankie Locate 1250 Bags of Heroin in Hatfield — Early this morning, Trooper Joseph Petty was on a traffic stop of Route 91 in Northampton when a vehicle passed by him. Trooper Petty observed several violations.
Discussion:
CBS Boston, Mediaite, Politico, Business Insider and The Raw Story
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Massachusetts State Police Bust ‘Obama Care’ Heroin
Discussion:
The Jawa Report


GCHQ and NSA targeted charities, Germans, Israeli PM and EU chief — • Unicef and Médecins du Monde were on surveillance list — • Targets went well beyond potential criminals and terrorists — • Revelations could cause embarrassment at EU summit
Discussion:
Spiegel Online, New York Times, Lawfare, Techdirt, Mashable, Washington Post, Angry Bear, The Daily Caller, Boing Boing and The Verge
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Cards Stolen in Target Breach Flood Underground Markets — Credit and debit card accounts stolen in a recent data breach at retail giant Target have been flooding underground black markets in recent weeks, selling in batches of one million cards and going for anywhere from $20 to more than $100 per card, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.
Discussion:
NYT Bits, Target Pressroom, NBCNews, The Verge and TechCrunch


Jack Kingston defends school lunch quote — Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, who suggested children should sweep cafeteria floors to earn meals from the federal school lunch program, is clarifying his comments Friday, saying he meant all children should be instilled with a work ethic.
RELATED:

GOP Rep.: School Lunch Comments Not Targeted At Any Income Group
Discussion:
Balloon Juice

President ends year at all-time CNN polling low — Washington (CNN) - Fourteen points. — That's how far President Barack Obama's poll numbers fell in CNN polling over the course of what's been an especially tough year. — Obama's approval rating stands at 41% in a new CNN/ORC International …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Hot Air, Reuters and The PJ Tatler

High Schoolers Staged A Massive Sit-In After Their Vice Principal Was Ousted Over Same-Sex Marriage — The students of Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Washington staged a sit-in Thursday after it was announced that their vice principal was being fired.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Seattle Times blogs and The Dish