Top Items:
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Kansas' Anti-Gay Segregation Bill Is an Abomination — On Tuesday, the Kansas House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a measure designed to bring anti-gay segregation—under the guise of “religious liberty”—to the already deep-red state. The bill, written out of fear that the state …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, Runnin' Scared and Kansas City Star
RELATED:
CNN:
Kansas House passes bill allowing refusal of service to same-sex couples — (CNN) — Denying services to same-sex couples may soon become legal in Kansas. — House Bill 2453 explicitly protects religious individuals, groups and businesses that refuse services to same-sex couples, particularly those looking to tie the knot.
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Daily Beast, Jezebel and BuzzFeed
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Federal judge strikes down Va. ban on gay marriage — A federal judge in Norfolk struck down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage Thursday night, saying it violates the constitution's guarantee of equal protection. — U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen stayed her decision …
Jon Passantino / BuzzFeed:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Virginia's Same-Sex Marriage Ban — “We have arrived upon another moment in history when We the People becomes more inclusive, and our freedom more perfect,” the judge wrote. — Spencer Geiger and Carl Johanson demonstrate outside Federal Court in Norfolk, Va., on Feb. 4, 2014.
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Yep, The Supreme Court Lit A Fuse To End Gay Marriage Bans Across USA
Yep, The Supreme Court Lit A Fuse To End Gay Marriage Bans Across USA
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Off the Kuff and Associated Press
Associated Press:
Facebook adds FIFTY new options for users to describe their gender — Site has also updated its setting to allow users to select a neutral pronoun referring to them as they, their or them — Facebook came up with its range of terms after consulting with leading gay and transgender activists
Discussion:
NewsBusters, The Daily Caller and Jezebel
RELATED:
Brandon Griggs / CNN:
Facebook goes beyond ‘male’ and ‘female’ with new gender options
Facebook goes beyond ‘male’ and ‘female’ with new gender options
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Alex Pareene / Salon:
Sad fake “millennial” anti-debt group completely broke and confused — The Can Kicks Back is confronting both funding and identity crises — Everyone is having a bit of a laugh today at the expense of “The Can Kicks Back,” the youth-oriented affiliate of the group known as “Fix the Debt …
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Eschaton
RELATED:
Byron Tau / Politico:
Anti-debt group finds itself in red
Anti-debt group finds itself in red
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos
David Weigel / Slate:
James O'Keefe Sued for “Wrongful Termination,” “Defamation” — February started off quite well for James O'Keefe and Project Veritas. The New York Department of Labor had been requesting information from PV, the hidden-camera investigation outfit founded by the conservative undercover journalist.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice
Andy Greenberg / Forbes:
Silk Road 2.0 ‘Hack’ Blamed On Bitcoin Bug, All Funds Stolen — The same bug that has plagued several of the biggest players in the Bitcoin economy may have just bitten the Silk Road. — On Thursday, one of the recently-reincarnated drug-selling black market site's administrators posted …
Jim Romenesko:
Brent Bozell urges liberal media to ‘tell the truth,’ while he fibs about writing a column — that appears under his byline. — Brent Bozell (pictured here) wants the media to tell the truth — It is longtime MRC media analysis director Tim Graham who writes “almost everything published under …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Paul Krugman and Roger Ailes
Arturo Garcia / The Raw Story:
Judge bans Wisconsin man from the Internet for harassing neighbor with fake Craigslist ad — A Wisconsin man was banned from using the Internet after being found guilty of using his neighbor's personal information to post an explicit fake online personal ad, WTMJ-TV reported.
Discussion:
UPI, Liberaland, Mediaite and Gawker
NBC News:
Exclusive: Snowden Swiped Password From NSA Coworker - NBC News — A civilian NSA employee recently resigned after being stripped of his security clearance for allowing former agency contractor Edward Snowden to use his pers...
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, Mashable, New York Times, TIME, Firedoglake, Little Green Footballs and Re/code
Alec Macgillis / The New Republic:
Chris Christie's Entire Career Reeks — It's not just the bridge — Has there ever been a political reversal of fortune as rapid and as absolute as the one just experienced by Chris Christie? At warp speed, the governor of New Jersey has gone from the most popular politician in the country …
Discussion:
TheBlaze.com, The Reaction, Washington Monthly, Guardian, The Dish, Shakesville and Balloon Juice
Politico:
Icy blast heats up coal debate — As another snowstorm socks the East Coast, the coal industry has a message for the nation's electricity customers: We told you so. — Signs of growing pains have abounded in the past few weeks of frigid weather, which struck a U.S. electrical grid that's …
Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
Why the Republican Push for Black Voters Is (Mostly) Doomed to Fail — As long as the GOP is pushing voter-ID laws that make it harder for African Americans to vote, the party's appeal to identity politics will come up short. — The GOP has a new strategy for turning African Americans into Republicans.
Discussion:
The Dish and BizPac Review
Cassandra Sweet / Wall Street Journal:
The $2.2 Billion Bird-Scorching Solar Project — At California's Ivanpah Plant, Mirrors Produce Heat and Electricity—And Kill Wildlife — A giant solar-power project officially opening this week in the California desert is the first of its kind, and may be among the last …
Discussion:
The Verge and Power Line
Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
Latest Obamacare Delay Is Probably Illegal — The Barack Obama administration recently announced that it is going to delay the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's employer mandate for medium-size companies and reduce the requirements for larger businesses. Again? What does it all mean?!
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
Eugene Volokh / Washington Post:
Ninth Circuit holds Second Amendment secures a right to carry a gun — So holds today's Peruta v. County of San Diego (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2014) (2-1 vote). The court concludes that California's broad limits on both open and concealed carry of loaded guns — with no “shall-issue” …
Discussion:
National Review
Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:
Iowa welcome mat awaits Christie, but not Jersey swagger — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said he would gladly campaign alongside beleaguered New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. But he suggested he leave some of his New Jersey attitude at home if he hopes to do well in the state's presidential caucus.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Maddow Defends Bridge Coverage Following ‘Morning Joe’ Criticism (VIDEO)
Maddow Defends Bridge Coverage Following ‘Morning Joe’ Criticism (VIDEO)
Discussion:
New Jersey Online and The PJ Tatler
James Hohmann / Politico:
Bobby Jindal to warn of ‘silent war’ on religion — In a Thursday night speech at Ronald Reagan's presidential library, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will warn of a “silent war” on religious liberty in America and urge states to pass laws designed to block overreach by the Obama administration.
John Bresnahan / Politico:
President Obama to raise money for House Democrats — CAMBRIDGE, Md. — President Barack Obama will headline at least six fundraisers for House Democrats this year, with “the potential for more,” according to Democratic sources. — Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic …
Discussion:
CNN
RELATED: