memeorandum: Facebook Cares More About Targeting Ads Than Affirming Your Gender Identity (Sean Davis/The Federalist)

8:55 AM ET, February 14, 2014

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: Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reaction, Talking Points Memo, Runnin' Scared and Kansas City Star

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: The Daily Beast, American Prospect and Jezebel

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 …

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico and Gawker

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

Discussion: The Huffington Post, SCOTUSblog, The Week, Off the Kuff and Washington Blade

Martha Mendoza / Associated Press:

FACEBOOK OFFERS NEW GENDER OPTIONS FOR USERS — You are here — Home » California » Facebook offers new gender options for users — MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — You don't have to be just male or female on Facebook anymore. The social media giant has added a customizable option …

Discussion: New Jersey Online and Jezebel

Rich Ferraro / GLAAD:
Facebook introduces custom gender field to allow users to more accurately reflect who they are

Discussion: Digits, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
Facebook Cares More About Targeting Ads Than Affirming Your Gender Identity

Discussion: The Week and NewsBusters

Facebook:
When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes …

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, The Daily Banter, Re/code and The Verge

Brandon Griggs / CNN:
Facebook goes beyond ‘male’ and ‘female’ with new gender options

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Clsiteadmin / Crooks and Liars:

Securities Fraud Investigation Nabs Ohio Republican Along With A ‘Secretive’ Church — A Republican Ohio state representative was indicted today on 53 counts, along with a Cincinnati based church, described as ‘secretive’ — Ohio state representative, Peter Beck (R-54) was just indicted on 53 counts.

Discussion: Liberaland

Cincinnati.com:
With 53 new felony counts, Rep. Beck faces pressure to resign

Discussion: The Raw Story

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: Liberaland, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

Charles Riley / CNNMoney.com:

Tom Perkins' big idea: The rich should get more votes — Tom Perkins suggested Thursday that only taxpayers should have the right to vote — and that wealthy Americans who pay more in taxes should get more votes. — The venture capitalist offered the unorthodox proposal when asked to name …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and Fortune

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 …

Discussion: The Verge and Hit & Run

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, Mediaite, Liberaland and Gawker

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

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: Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Paul Krugman and Roger Ailes

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: Prairie Weather, The Dish and BizPac Review

Robert Pear / New York Times:

One-Fifth of New Enrollees Under Health Care Law Fail to Pay First Premium — WASHINGTON — One in five people who signed up for health insurance under the new health care law failed to pay their premiums on time and therefore did not receive coverage in January, insurance companies and industry experts say.

Discussion: ACASignups.net and The PJ Tatler

Stewart M. Powell / San Francisco Chronicle:

GOP' immigration effort may have been scuttled by Sen. Cruz — Washington — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz may have scuttled a compromise on immigration reform with just one sound bite. — House Republicans who supported the “principles” of immigration reform floated by Speaker John Boehner …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Post Politics and Hot Air

Niels Lesniewski / The World's Greatest …:

6 Republican Senators Switched Their Debt Limit Votes (Image) — Six Senate Republicans switched from “nay” to “aye” on the critical vote allowing the nation's debt limit to be extended, a copy of the official Senate vote tally sheet provided to CQ Roll Call on Thursday suggests.

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

Why Writers Are the Worst Procrastinators — The psychological origins of waiting (... and waiting, and waiting) to work — Like most writers, I am an inveterate procrastinator. In the course of writing this one article, I have checked my e-mail approximately 3,000 times …

Will Rahn / The Daily Caller:

Cuomo aide caught breaking gun law, quickly receives waiver — Jerome Hauer, a top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, appears to have regularly carried a firearm to work in violation of state law. — Hauer runs New York's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

Discussion: Right Wing News, Hot Air and The PJ Tatler