memeorandum: Americans Can Now Start Using Their New Obamacare Coverage (ThinkProgress)

11:25 AM ET, January 2, 2014

Top Items:

Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower — Seven months ago, the world began to learn the vast scope of the National Security Agency's reach into the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe, as it collects information about their phone calls, their email messages …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Pat Dollard, Slashdot, The Raw Story, Gawker, Post Politics, Mediaite, Business Insider, Mashable, AL.com, TheBlaze.com and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:

NYT calls for Snowden clemency — The editorial board of The New York Times is urging the Obama administration to grant Edward Snowden clemency. — “It is time for the United States to offer Mr. Snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home …

Discussion: Yahoo! News and Talking Points Memo

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Clemency for Edward Snowden Would Not Set a Dangerous Precedent — Some months ago, Edward Snowden wrote an appeal for clemency to the U.S. government, arguing that its “systematic violations of law” created “a moral duty to act.” — On New Year's Day, America's most influential newspaper officially agreed.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Guardian:
Snowden affair: the case for a pardon | Editorial

Discussion: The Week, more at Mediagazer »

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

The resurgent progressives — The reemergence of a Democratic left will be one of the major stories of 2014. Moderates, don't be alarmed. The return of a viable, vocal left will actually be good news for the political center. — For a long time, the American conversation …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Liberaland and National Review

New York Post:

Historic Bible goes missing after de Blasio swearing in — The FDR bible used by Mayor Bill de Blasio for his swearing in vanished after the New Year's Day ceremony, sparking a panicked, hours-long search for the historic tome. — “They had the whole detail looking through blankets,” …

Discussion: New York Times, Twitchy, Politicker, Mediaite, Liberty Unyielding and Capital New York

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Is New York's de Blasio prompting a repositioning by the Clintons? — It isn't often that the swearing-in of a new mayor of New York draws national television attention, but then, it isn't every day that you see a mayor sworn in by a former president of the United States with a prospective presidential candidate also on the stage.

Discussion: Capital New York, Taylor Marsh, The Fix, Althouse, New York Times and BuzzFeed

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Taking Office, de Blasio Vows to Fix Inequity

Discussion: NY Daily News, Algemeiner.com, Capital New York, Politicker, Daily Kos and The Reaction

John Fund / National Review:
Bill in the China Shop: 'We Won't Wait, We'll Do It Now'

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Front Page Magazine, alicublog, Politicker and The Daily Caller

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
De Blasio Draws All Liberal Eyes to New York City

Discussion: NPR, Politico, Capital New York, Washington Post, NewsBusters, Balloon Juice and Politicker

ThinkProgress:

Americans Can Now Start Using Their New Obamacare Coverage — On Wednesday, nearly four years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the major provisions of the health law that serve to expand coverage to millions of Americans officially took effect.

Discussion: Liberaland, The Atlantic Online, www.wftv.com and The Huffington Post

Jonathan Allen / Politico:
W.H. stands by birth-control rule

Discussion: Right Wing News, Taylor Marsh, New York Times and Los Angeles Times

Sandhya Somashekhar / Washington Post:
Supreme Court temporarily allows religious groups not to cover birth control

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, Washington Times and NBCNews

Michael Moore / New York Times:
The Obamacare We Deserve — TODAY marks the beginning …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Scared Monkeys, BizPac Review, Balloon Juice, TruthRevolt.org, Weasel Zippers, Pat Dollard, his vorpal sword, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Mediaite, NewsBusters, Hullabaloo, CANNONFIRE and Guardian

David Nather / Politico:
For Obamacare, it's finally showtime

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, The Hill and Reuters

George F. Will / Washington Post:

The price of political ignorance: More government — It was naughty of Winston Churchill to say, if he really did, that “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Nevertheless, many voters' paucity of information about politics and government …

Discussion: Hit & Run and Cafe Hayek

Jonathan Pearlman / Telegraph:

World's climate warming faster than feared, scientists say — Scientists say the world's climate is warming faster than feared because previous predictions were too “optimistic” and overestimated the cooling impact of clouds — As the planet marked its fourth hottest year on record …

Discussion: NoTricksZone, Right Wing News and Liberaland

Dan Vergano / National Geographic:
Climate: Cloud Mixing Means Extra Global Warming

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Real Science

Hayden Higgins / The Atlantic Online:

Manly Faces and Aggressive Men — The men featured are young. Most are white. Many have tousled hair, a couple sport grizzly beards, and a few are tattooed. As a rule, the men are good-looking. Their cheekbones would make Derek Zoolander proud, but the models are not sitting for their “Blue Steel” close-ups.

CBC News:

Rob Ford files papers for mayoral re-election — Toronto mayor registers as candidate in Oct. 27 municipal election — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford wasted no time relaunching his bid for re-election, officially filing his nomination papers Thursday shortly after the clerk's office opened on the first day for acceptance of nominations.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

John Ingold / Denver Post:

WORLD'S FIRST LEGAL RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA SALES BEGIN IN COLORADO — Colorado's ambitious experiment in cannabis policy hit a historic milestone Wednesday, when licensed stores began making the first legal sales of recreational marijuana anywhere in the world.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, WJLA-TV, New York Times, Americans Against the …, Hit & Run, The Raw Story, Gawker, The Verge, Politico, Guardian, Althouse, USA Today and The Cannabist

Niraj Chokshi / Washington Post:
Marijuana sales commence in Colorado for recreational use

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation and InvestorPlace

New York Times:

Boehner Is Said to Back Change on Immigration — WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio has signaled he may embrace a series of limited changes to the nation's immigration laws in the coming months, giving advocates for change new hope that 2014 might be the year that a bitterly divided …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Liberaland, PoliticusUSA, Prairie Weather and The BLT

Associated Press:

Former Rep. Renzi seeks later date to report to prison — FONT: — TUCSON — Former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi has asked a judge to let him wait until Jan. 13 to report to prison to begin serving a sentence for his convictions on public corruption, money laundering and other charges.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo