Top Items:
Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
How McCutcheon Could Come Back to Haunt the Republican Party — When my kids were younger, I loved to roughhouse with them. For a while, we'd all have fun. But then I'd get tired and want to stop, only to realize, to my dismay, that they were just getting started. I'd created something I could no longer control.
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
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Gail Collins / New York Times:
Surprise! The Rich Won One — Today, we are going to discuss the Supreme Court decision on political donations. Already, we have run into a terrible problem, which is the difficulty in having a fun conversation about campaign finance laws. — Let me try for a second: On Wednesday …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather and The Reaction
Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:
A Few Data Points on the Supreme Court's Donor-Limit Decision — The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits. For 2014, the overall limit was $123,200. There was a lower limit of $74,600 for donations to PACs and party committees …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Fix, The Monkey Cage, OpenSecrets.org, SCOTUSblog, CNN, WRAL-TV, Business Insider and ABC News
Jonathan Rauch / The Daily Beast:
The Answer to the McCutcheon Decision Is More Big Money in Politics
The Answer to the McCutcheon Decision Is More Big Money in Politics
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, New York Times, The Dish, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hullabaloo, ACS Blog and OpEdNews
Lawrence Lessig / The Daily Beast:
Originalists Making It Up Again: McCutcheon and ‘Corruption’
Originalists Making It Up Again: McCutcheon and ‘Corruption’
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Concurring Opinions, BillMoyers.com, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Hit & Run, New York Times, SCOTUSblog and USA Today
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
The chief either doesn't believe, or doesn't care, that money corrupts politics.
The chief either doesn't believe, or doesn't care, that money corrupts politics.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Althouse, Center for American Progress, Post Politics and Unfogged
Bradley A. Smith / National Review:
Free Speech at Last: McCutcheon Decision Just Right
Free Speech at Last: McCutcheon Decision Just Right
Discussion:
Politico, Hot Air, The Mischiefs of Faction and American Prospect
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Kelly refuses to use Ft. Hood shooter's name — Fox News host Megyn Kelly said on her Wednesday show that she will not be saying the suspected Ft. Hood shooter's name as a policy. — “Authorities are identifying the shooter. If you are interested you can get his name on other show …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
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Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
Both Fort Hood Shooters Bought Their Guns At The Same Store — The man identified as the gunman in Wednesday's mass shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas purchased his gun from the same store where Major Nidal Hasan purchased a gun he used when he killed 13 people at the base in 2009, according to reports.
Discussion:
Liberaland and CNN
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Fort Hood Shooter Had .45-Caliber Pistol That Wasn't Registered On Base
Fort Hood Shooter Had .45-Caliber Pistol That Wasn't Registered On Base
Discussion:
Liberaland
USA Today:
Fort Hood shooter Ivan Lopez had mental problems, saw no combat in Iraq
Fort Hood shooter Ivan Lopez had mental problems, saw no combat in Iraq
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mashable, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, HyperVocal, Hinterland Gazette and NBC News
Washington Post:
Here are the rules on carrying firearms on Fort Hood
Here are the rules on carrying firearms on Fort Hood
Discussion:
Fox News, Post Politics and Twitchy
Kristina Wong / The Hill:
Four dead, 16 wounded in new mass shooting at Fort Hood
Four dead, 16 wounded in new mass shooting at Fort Hood
Discussion:
Joe. My. God., Hullabaloo and Politico
Charles G. Koch / Wall Street Journal:
Koch: I'm Fighting to Restore a Free Society — Instead of welcoming free debate, collectivists engage in character assassination. — I have devoted most of my life to understanding the principles that enable people to improve their lives. It is those principles—the principles of a free society …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, New York Times, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Rush Limbaugh, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Independent Journal Review, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Outside the Beltway, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Post Politics, Crooked Timber, Shot in the Dark, alicublog, The Daily Banter, VodkaPundit, susiemadrak.com, American Power and Weekly Standard
Associated Press:
US SECRETLY CREATED ‘CUBAN TWITTER’ TO STIR UNREST — You are here — Home » United States government » US secretly created ‘Cuban Twitter’ to stir unrest — WASHINGTON (AP) — In July 2010, Joe McSpedon, a U.S. government official, flew to Barcelona to put the final touches …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Week, Gigaom, Techdirt, Gawker and The Awl, more at Mediagazer »
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Associated Press:
US SECRETLY BUILT ‘CUBAN TWITTER’ TO STIR UNREST … WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government masterminded the creation of a “Cuban Twitter” - a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign banks, The Associated Press has learned.
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville, Mashable, Fox News Insider, Hinterland Gazette and Liberaland
Kathryn Mayer / BenefitsPro:
Gibbs predicts employer mandate will be killed — COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— A former longtime advisor to President Barack Obama predicted Wednesday that the employer mandate — a key piece of Obamacare — will not survive. — It was among several predictions Robert Gibbs …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Firedoglake, Post Politics, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Weekly Standard
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
John Roberts's rules of money in politics — Chief Justice John Roberts has a blunt message for wealthy donors tired of campaign finance rules: Fund a super PAC. — It's simpler, he wrote in his McCutcheon v. FEC opinion Wednesday, than dealing with a web of interlocking fundraising committees.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
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New York Post:
Rogue alcoholic court reporter kept writing ‘I hate my job’ — An alcoholic Manhattan court stenographer went rogue, channeling his inner “Shining” during a high-profile criminal trial and repeatedly typing, “I hate my job, I hate my job” instead of the trial dialogue, sources told The Post.
Discussion:
Guardian, The Jawa Report, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Raw Story
Jonathan Helman / CNN:
Bill Clinton 'wouldn't be surprised' by an alien visit — (CNN) - It has been a question plaguing man for ages: Are we alone in the universe? — If you ask former President Bill Clinton, he would tell you that he “wouldn't be surprised” if we were visited by extraterrestrials someday.
Discussion:
The Hill and Shakesville
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Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Bobby Jindal: Conservatives ‘absolutely’ can't give up fight to repeal Obamacare — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE 2016 ELECTIONS BOBBY JINDAL — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal came to Washington on Wednesday with a message to those arguing that conservatives would have to operate within …
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Gov. Bobby Jindal / Fox News:
Real health care reform: Give states the tools, and let them do the job
Real health care reform: Give states the tools, and let them do the job
Discussion:
American Spectator, RedState and Washington Post
Mara Liasson / NPR:
NPR Poll: Obamacare More Popular Than President … A new bipartisan NPR poll shows approval numbers rising for Obamacare —which is now slightly more popular than its namesake. — Our survey of likely voters, conducted for Morning Edition by Democrat Stan Greenberg of Democracy Corps …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Hinterland Gazette and The PJ Tatler