memeorandum: BREAKING: Federal judge strikes down Texas' bans on same-sex marriage (John Wright/Lone Star Q)

3:35 PM ET, February 26, 2014

Top Items:

Dave Camp: How to Fix Our Appalling Tax Code — Every year Americans spend more than six billion hours and $168 billion to file their returns. — There have been so many changes to the tax code over the past decade that it is now 10 times the size of the Bible, but with none of the Good News.

Discussion: his vorpal sword, Post Politics, Business Insider, TIME, The Daily Caller, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Mediaite, Associated Press and Washington Post

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:

Why Lawmaking on a Grand Scale Is a Dying Art — When Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.) laid plans to unveil a big tax reform bill this week, it was as if he was operating in some kind of time warp. No one seemed to have told the Ways and Means Committee chairman that Congress isn't doing much legislating any more.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Booman Tribune and Althouse

Politico:

Republicans take on Wall Street — Republicans are proposing what was once unimaginable: raising taxes on big Wall Street banks. — Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp's Republican tax reform draft — slated to be released Wednesday afternoon — looks like it will reverse more than a decade …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Business Insider and AEIdeas

Robert T. Garrett / Trail Blazers Blog:

Federal judge voids Texas' gay marriage ban, though he delays order from taking effect immediately — Mark Phariss of Plano, left, held the hand of partner Victor Holmes, center, as they left the U.S. Federal Courthouse in San Antonio after a hearing earlier this month.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Joe. My. God.

John Wright / Lone Star Q:

BREAKING: Federal judge strikes down Texas' bans on same-sex marriage — Mark Phariss, right, and Vic Holmes of Plano are one of two same-sex couples challenging Texas' marriage bans in DeLeon v. Perry. — Feb. 26, 2014 — A federal judge in Texas ruled Wednesday that the state's bans …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Freedom to Marry Blog, Towleroad News #gay and The Raw Story

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Eric Holder: Actually, somebody does have to defend gay marriage bans — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL GAY MARRIAGE ERIC HOLDER ATTORNEY GENERAL GAY RIGHTS LAW — Attorney General Eric Holder stunned and disappointed many conservative lawyers with his decree that state attorneys general …

Discussion: National Review and Hot Air

CBS News:

Jeb Bush, Rand Paul top GOP's 2016 presidential wish list: Poll — Shares - — While the 2016 presidential election may be two years away, some prospective contenders have been getting a bit of media attention. The latest CBS News/New York Times Poll asked the public whether …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politico, Business Insider, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Post Politics and CNN

Dalia Sussman / New York Times:
Most Democrats Want Clinton to Run in 2016

Discussion: Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and OnPolitics

Virginian-Pilot:

Va. GOP official apologizes for genital slang “error” — UPDATE: In an email, FitzSimmonds said he thought the word he used had the same meaning as “twaddle,” which is defined as foolish speech. — “The minute I found out my error, I deleted the post and apologized,” he told Pilot on Politics.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Dish, Taegan Goddard's …, Mediaite and The Raw Story

Kathryn A. Wolfe / Politico:

President Obama to urge $302 billion transportation bill — President Barack Obama on Wednesday will call for a four-year, $302 billion transportation bill to replace the law that expires at the end of September, while repeating his pitch for tax reform to fill some of that gap.

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation and CNN

Kristen Soltis Anderson / The Daily Beast:
Obama Looks Weak Abroad to Those at Home

Discussion: Yahoo! News, PostPartisan, rubio.senate.gov and The Patriot Post

Wall Street Journal:
Viva Rubio — What a great, myth-destroying statement …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Tony Lombardo / Army Times:

Soldier flagrantly avoids flag salute, sets off online outrage — A soldier who hid in her car to avoid saluting the flag — and then flaunted it on Instagram — is the latest service member to come under attack via social media and be accused of dishonoring her service.

Discussion: Right Wing News, The PJ Tatler and The Daily Caller

Ilya Shapiro / Cato Institute:

For Marriage Equality, Religious Liberty, and the Freedom of Association — Even though I'm for marriage equality - next week I'll be filing a brief supporting the challenge to the marriage laws of Oklahoma and Utah in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit - I have no problem with Arizona's SB 1062.

Discussion: National Review and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

No, this is not Jim Crow for gays, Part Two — As I explained here, Arizona S.B. 1062 would not subject gays to a regime of discrimination. The bill is simply an attempt (successful in my view) to balance the right to religious freedom and the right of non-discrimination.

Discussion: Christian News …, Hot Air and The Week

Philip Rucker / The Fix:

What Mitch McConnell and a twice-heated biscuit have in common — Shortly after wrapping up her event with former President Bill Clinton, Kentucky Senate Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes sat down with me in Louisville to talk about why she thinks she can beat Sen …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Bill Clinton helps Alison Lundergan Grimes raise $700K

Discussion: New York Times and Taylor Marsh

Manu Raju / Politico:
Cruz's next battle

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

Obesity Rate for Young Children Plummets 43% in a Decade — Federal health authorities on Tuesday reported a stunning 43 percent drop in the obesity rate among 2- to 5-year-old children over the past decade, the first broad decline in an epidemic that often leads to lifelong struggles …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Centers for Disease Control, Taylor Marsh, Capital New York, Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire, VodkaPundit and The Week

jama.jamanetwork.com:
Prevalence of Childhood and Adult Obesity in the United States, 2011-2012

Discussion: Gawker, Wonkblog, BBC, CNN and Gothamist

irs.gov:

Four Tax Facts about the Health Care Law for Individuals — There are a few basic tips to keep in mind about the new health care law. Health insurance choices you make now may affect the income tax return you file in 2015. — Most people already have qualified health insurance coverage …

Discussion: Independent Journal Review

John Kartch / Americans for Tax Reform RSS:
IRS Warns: Obamacare Tax Must Be Paid with Tax Return

Discussion: irs.gov, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit and National Republican …

kff.org:

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: February 2014 — Liz Hamel, Jamie Firth and Mollyann Brodie … Overall, more prefer expensive broad-network plans over cheaper narrow-network plans, but potential ACA exchange customers lean in the opposite direction — There has been a lot of discussion …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Taegan Goddard's …, The Hill, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, The Fix, National Review and Jammie Wearing Fools

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:

New Sebelius Lie: Seven Million Obamacare Enrollments Was Never Our Goal — The woman lies routinely — see here, here, and here — but this one's a real whopper: — February 2014: “Seven million was not the administration['s enrollment goal].” — September 2013: “Success looks …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and National Republican …

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Kathleen Sebelius Has Changed Her Mind About What Obamacare “Success” Is

Discussion: The Switch, Americans for Tax Reform …, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Ed Driscoll

ThinkProgress:

Rand Paul Blocks Surgeon General Nominee For Saying Gun Violence Is A Public Health Threat — On Wednesday — two years to the day after George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) placed a hold on President Barack Obama's nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy …

Discussion: Rand Paul and Daily Kos

Ed Rogers / PostPartisan:

The Insiders: Another day, another Obamacare disaster — In a colossal “oh by the way” revelation, last Friday afternoon the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency under the United States Department of Health and Human Services (that would be the executive branch run …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, VodkaPundit, The Week and Speaker.gov

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:

Concealed-weapons laws have changed America regardless of national debate on gun control — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL GUN CONTROL SUPREME COURT — Over the last 25 years, we have had related national debates over proposed federal gun-control laws designed to restrict access to certain firearms.

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Fox Hosts Wonder If Anti-Gay Bill Is ‘Overreaction’ By Religious Right (VIDEO) — The rising tide of conservatives doubting the viability of Arizona's SB 1062 measure, which would allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT individuals on the basis of “religious freedom,” has now swept through Fox News.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite and Associated Press

Damon Linker / The Week:

Bring back the real neoconservatives — Confessions of a bona fide neocon, circa 1976 — I — n recent weeks, readers have asked me a cluster of questions about the positions I've staked out in my recent columns. The questions go something like this: How can you think that Lyndon Johnson …

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

Issa, House GOP to recall Lois Lerner — House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is hauling Lois Lerner back to Congress. — Issa told Lerner's attorney in a Tuesday letter that he expected the retired IRS official to appear before his committee on March 5.

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and Patterico's Pontifications