CPAC Panelist: It Is ‘A Liberal Lie’ That States Ban Gay Marriage  —  Conservative radio host Michael Medved said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that no state has ever banned gay marriage and any claim to the contrary is “a liberal lie.”

Rand Paul: A president should love liberty  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sen. Rand Paul urged the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday to “imagine a time when the White House is once again occupied by a friend of liberty” — and signaled that he might fit that bill — in an unabashedly libertarian speech.

A story too good to check: Paul Ryan and the tale of the brown paper bag  —  “The left is making a big mistake here.  What they're offering people is a full stomach and an empty soul.  The American people want more than that.  This reminds me of a story I heard from Eloise Anderson.

Ralph Reed Compares Barack Obama to George Wallace  —  US News & World ReportLibrary of Congress  —  Top social-conservative strategist Ralph Reed compared President Barack Obama to segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

The Republican Party's Pot Dilemma  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Christopher Beach was trying to defend keeping marijuana illegal to a roomful of conservatives, and it was not going well.  —  When Beach insisted the drug war has not been a complete failure, laughter rippled through the crowd.

The religious right's 5 most demented persecution fantasies  —  Anti-Christian oppression takes many forms, apparently: Hipsters.  Paperwork.  Johnny Weir's wardrobe.  —  AMANDA MARCOTTE, ALTERNET  —  You could call it chutzpah, except they'd probably claim that word oppresses them …

Last Word From Bartcop  —  Bartcop, who was one of the original (and best) liberal bloggers, died today.  —  This is the end of an era.  Bartcop, one of the original liberal bloggers, died this morning of flu, pneumonia and leukemia.  He inspired many of us, and left a legacy of hard hitting yet …

Tea Party Still Winning GOP Debate - NBC News  —  Why the Tea Party is still winning... And why GOP incumbents are going to have to fight tooth and nail to hold on to their jobs... Attitudes about the health-car...

EPA debunks one Bridgegate conspiracy  —  The Environmental Protection Agency has cleared New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration of allegations that it suspiciously shut off an air pollution monitor during last fall's lane closings on the George Washington Bridge.

Otter's career in film, as it were, is a cautionary tale  —  A Western shot in Idaho in 1993 was rereleased with many sex scenes.  —  Did you hear the one about the guy who went to see a man about a horse and ended up in a soft-core porn movie?  —  It is not a joke.

Activists to Kerry: Keystone a ‘bigger mistake’ than Vietnam  —  Academy Award-winning actor Jared Leto and 13 other young activists, including the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, are calling on Secretary of State John Kerry to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Millennials in Adulthood  —  Detached from Institutions, Networked with Friends  —  Overview  —  The Millennial generation is forging a distinctive path into adulthood.  Now ranging in age from 18 to 331, they are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion, linked by social media …

Counter Putin by Liberating U.S. Natural Gas  —  The de facto ban on exports should have been stopped long ago.  Now world events demand it.

Clinton ties ‘broader human development’ with women's reproductive rights  —  (CNN) - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a Friday speech at the United Nations to tie women's reproductive rights with the broader goal of human development.  —  “There is one lesson from the past …

Woman's auto-payments hid her death for six years  —  (CNN) — For years, the payments went out of the woman's bank account.  —  Nobody batted an eyelid.  Bills were paid.  And life went on as normal in the quiet neighborhood of Pontiac, Michigan.  —  Neighbors didn't notice anything unusual.

Ukrainian Lessons for an American President  —  There is the question of how to respond practically to Putin's aggression and there is the question of how to respond intellectually.  The latter is no less important than the former, because the Ukrainian crisis is not a transient event …

FRC Hot Mic: Boykin Jokes about Jews, Says Obama Supports Al Qaeda, Sends Them Subliminal Messages  —  The Family Research Council's executive vice president, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (retired), was caught on a “hot mic” following a panel yesterday at the National Security Action Summit …

The Pentagon's Phony Budget Wars  —  Despite the uproar over reductions to defense funding, less than 1 percent of the Pentagon's beefy $550 billion budget will be cut this year. … Washington is pushing the panic button, claiming austerity is hollowing out our armed forces and our national security is at risk.

Individual market enrollment: Updated view  —  The latest round of our national survey of QHP-eligible consumers tells a story of deeper engagement than previous surveys.  —  Amit Bhardwaj, Erica Coe, Jenny Cordina, and Mahi Rayasam  —  Center for U.S. Health System Reform

The Republican war on civil rights laws  —  Before Senate Republicans frightened a handful of Democrats into helping them shoot down Debo Adegbile's nomination to head the Justice Department's civil rights division, the chamber ran so loudly with the words “cop-killer” that you might have thought Ice-T was addressing the Senate.