memeorandum: A Defeat for Religious Neutrality (New York Times)

10:10 AM ET, May 6, 2014

Top Items:

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

Mortality Drop Seen to Follow '06 Health Law — BOSTON — The death rate in Massachusetts dropped significantly after it adopted mandatory health care coverage in 2006, a study released Monday found, offering evidence that the country's first experiment with universal coverage …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire, healthinsurance.org, The Mahablog, WJLA-TV, The Reality-Based Community, The Dish and Prairie Weather

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

Mass. discarding broken ObamaCare site — Massachusetts is preparing to abandon its troubled ObamaCare website, a system so problematic that the state was forced to enroll tens of thousands of people in temporary insurance plans through Medicaid. — The plan underscores the depth …

ACP Journal Club:

Changes in Mortality After Massachusetts Health Care Reform: A Quasi-experimental Study — Benjamin D. Sommers, MD, PhD; Sharon K. Long, PhD; and Katherine Baicker, PhD — Ann Intern Med. 2014;160(9):585-593. doi:10.7326/M13-2275 — Background: The Massachusetts 2006 health care reform …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Incidental Economist, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Liz Kowalczyk / The Boston Globe:
Mass. says flawed health website is too broken to fix

Discussion: Townhall.com, Boston Herald, Daily Mail, The Heritage Foundation, Hit & Run, Instapundit and The PJ Tatler

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Lawmaker Who Compared Obamacare To Holocaust: You're Missing My Point — The Tennessee lawmaker who compared Obamacare's individual mandate to Nazis deporting Jews to concentration camps thinks his critics missed the point. — State Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) caused a stir Monday morning …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Raw Story

The Sen / Camp4u:

Here you go. — I regret that some people miss the point of my post. It was not to offend. It was to warn. To draw attention to Obamacare and the slippery slope that I see occurring in the lives of myself, my constituents, and the rest of the country with the continued taking of freedom by the federal government.

Discussion: Washington Post

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Tennessee State Senator Compares Obamacare To The Holocaust

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Liberal Values, Booman Tribune and CNN

The Sen / Camp4u:
Thought of the day. … Older Post — Home — Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Discussion: TNGOP, Associated Press, Daily Kos, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, Washington Post, News, Nashville Scene and The Raw Story

Melissapamerktla / KTLA 5:

Rialto Assignment Asking Students to Question Holocaust to Be Revised — The Rialto school district planned to revise an eighth-grade assignment that raised red flags by asking students to consider arguments about whether the Holocaust — the systematic killing by the Nazis of some 6 million Jews …

Discussion: Hot Air, RedState, The Raw Story, The Week, The PJ Tatler, Instapundit and Los Angeles Times

Beau Yarbrough / sbsun.com:
EXCLUSIVE: Rialto Unified defends writing assignment on confirming or denying Holocaust

Discussion: National Review, The Week and Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

New York Times:

A Defeat for Religious Neutrality — The American values of pluralism and inclusion are central to the First Amendment, which forbids government from favoring or aligning itself with any particular religion or believers over nonbelievers. — In a lamentable ruling on Monday …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Reaction and susiemadrak.com

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Opinion analysis: Prayers get a new blessing

Discussion: Constitutional Law Prof Blog, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, ACS Blog, Outside the Beltway and USA Today

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Republican senators turning against their own in 2016 — Fearful of a third successive Democratic triumph, concerned Senate Republicans are turning against 2016 presidential bids by upstart hopefuls within their own ranks. — In forceful comments to The Hill, GOP senators made it plain …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times: Judicial Nominee's Memos on Drones Stirring Bipartisan Concern in the Senate

Juan Williams / The Hill:

House GOP walking into a trap — What happens to the House Republican caucus if Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) forces a vote on immigration reform? — Here are three predictions: — 1. The bill passes. An overwhelming majority of Republicans vote for it.

CNN:

White House says effects of climate change are here — Washington (CNN) — Flooded rail lines. Bigger, more frequent droughts. A rash of wildfires. — Those are some of the alarming predictions in a White House climate change report released Tuesday, part of President Barack Obama's …

Discussion: Guardian, The Huffington Post and The Agonist

Wall Street Journal:

The Catholic Church and the Convention on Torture — Child sexual-abuse cases and teachings on abortion don't put the Vatican in violation of an international treaty. — The United Nations committee that monitors compliance with the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel …

Cosmopolitan:

Why I Filmed My Abortion — When Emily Letts got pregnant, she knew she would get an abortion. Then she decided to film it. Letts, 25, is an abortion counselor at Cherry Hill Women's Center in New Jersey, which is where she had her abortion. The non-graphic video focuses on her face …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, National Review and The Other McCain

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
This Woman Filmed Her Abortion To Show Other People It Doesn't Have To Be Scary

Discussion: LifeNews.com and The Gateway Pundit

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:

Kerry: 'Two Years and Three Quarters Left as the Secretary, Provided I Don't Screw Up' — Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to the U.S. embassy staff in Luanda, Angola on Sunday as he continued his visit to the continent of Africa. A portion of his remarks seemed to reflect …

Discussion: US Department of State

Arthur Chu / The Daily Beast:

Yes, Brendan Eich Is Like Donald Sterling (He's Even Scarier) — Did Donald Sterling ever try to use the power of the state to annul the marriages of thousands of people he never met because he disapproved of them? Ex-Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich did. — We've heard a lot recently about what constitutes …

Laura Donnelly / Telegraph:

Hundreds of asthma deaths could be prevented — Two thirds of deaths from the respiratory condition in the UK — including almost all those involving children — might be avoided — Asthma sufferers are dying needlessly because of failings by GPs and health services, a national review has found.

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Joe Hagan / New York Magazine:

Benghazi and the Bombshell — Is Lara Logan too toxic to return to 60 Minutes? — Eleven years ago, the 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan was sitting in the InterContinental hotel in Amman, Jordan, watching her career flash before her eyes. — She was 31 years old, a rookie at CBS News …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, CANNONFIRE, Politico, The Moderate Voice, Daily Mail, The Daily Banter and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
CBS News Asked Nexis To Delete Transcript Of Discredited Benghazi Report

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and The Huffington Post

Speaker.gov:

Boehner Taps Gowdy to Lead Select Benghazi Panel … WASHINGTON, DC - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced today that he has chosen Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC) to serve as chairman of the select committee to investigate the 2012 tragedy in Benghazi, Libya.

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line, ThinkProgress, CBS DC and National Review