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:
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 …
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 and Off the Kuff
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
RELATED:
Rich Ferraro / GLAAD:
Facebook introduces custom gender field to allow users to more accurately reflect who they are — Facebook announced today that it will now offer a custom gender field for transgender and gender nonconforming people. The new feature, which GLAAD helped develop, enables users to select …
Discussion:
Digits, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay
Facebook:
When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes …
When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes …
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Daily Banter, Re/code and The Verge
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
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
RELATED:
Cincinnati.com:
With 53 new felony counts, Rep. Beck faces pressure to resign — Church, pastor investigated by Enquirer also indicted — A powerful state lawmaker from Mason, a secretive Linwood church, its pastor and her business face dozens felony charges, decades of jail time and the forfeiture of a “castle” owned by the church.
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:
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 …
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
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
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
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:
The Reaction, TheBlaze.com, 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 …
Anna Waugh / Dallas Voice:
BREAKING: Texas appeals court rules in favor of trans widow Nikki Araguz — CORPUS CHRISTI — The 13th District Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi issued a landmark opinion Thursday in favor of Houston trans widow Nikki Araguz, ruling that Texas must recognize the marriages of trans people.
Discussion:
LGBTQ Nation and ThinkProgress
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:
americanthinker.com, The Verge and Power Line
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
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:
Hot Air 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.
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