memeorandum: The Skunk at the Oscar Party (David Freedlander/The Daily Beast)

4:20 PM ET, February 26, 2014

Top Items:

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: Advocate, The Heritage Foundation, No More Mister Nice Blog, 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: Freedom to Marry Blog and Towleroad News #gay

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

CNN:

Texas ban on same-sex marriage struck down — (CNN) — A federal judge has struck down Texas' ban on same-sex marriage, ruling Wednesday it has no “rational relation to a legitimate government purpose.” — The decision is the latest in a series of federal and state court moves …

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Federal Judge Rules Texas Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional — A federal judge in San Antonio declared Texas' ban on gay marriage unconstitutional Wednesday. — But U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia issued a stay along with the ruling, so the ban remains in place for the time being.

Discussion: The Raw Story

Dave Camp / Wall Street Journal:

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

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

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 Hill, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, National Review, The Fix and Jammie Wearing Fools

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Americans know there's no GOP ‘alternative’ to Obamacare

Discussion: The New Republic, Taegan Goddard's … and Liberaland

Philip Rucker / The Fix:
What Mitch McConnell and a twice-heated biscuit have in common

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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, Hit & Run, Business Insider, Politico, 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, The Patriot Post and rubio.senate.gov

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

Discussion: Christian News …, Hot Air and The Week

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 …

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: National Review, jama.jamanetwork.com, Gawker, Hit & Run, Centers for Disease Control, Taylor Marsh, Wonkblog, Capital New York, BBC, Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire, VodkaPundit, CNN, The Week and Gothamist

Miles O'Brien:

“Just a Flesh Wound” — I wish I had a better story to tell you about why I am typing this with one hand (and some help from Dragon Dictate). — A shark attack would be interesting. An assassination attempt would be intriguing. Skydiving mishaps always make for good copy.

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Banter, ABC News, The Daily Caller, TVNewser, Mediaite, American Power and The Huffington Post

David Freedlander / The Daily Beast:

The Skunk at the Oscar Party — Jeremy Scahill may not fit in amongst Leo and Marty, but even if he doesn't take home a statue for his documentary ‘Dirty Wars,’ he's already winning big with the launch of ‘The Intercept,’ his new online venture backed by Ebay's Pierre Omidyar.

Discussion: Mediaite

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

“Stand Your Ground” Nation — America used to value the concept of retreat. Now we just shoot. — Ever since George Zimmerman gunned down Trayvon Martin in his Sanford, Fla., gated community, it's become an article of faith that the rash of lethal shootings in public places …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress and BillMoyers.com

Robert E. Scott / Economic Policy Institute:

Stop Currency Manipulation and Create Millions of Jobs: With Gains across States and Congressional Districts — Six years after the start of the Great Recession nearly 8 million jobs are still needed to return to prerecession labor market health (EPI 2013). Job creation should still be goal number one.

Discussion: Wonkblog and Campaign for America's Future

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

Dennis Tang / GQ Magazine Online:

Worst Congressional Style Ever? Yeah, Probably — Worst ever? Yeah, right, how bad could it possiblyyyyyeeesh, okay, yeah, now that I look at it. Definitely. Is that a purple golf polo? With a bow tie? Is that a clip-on? Did Craig Sager win a seat somewhere? Am I having a seizure?

Discussion: The Daily Caller, KDVR.com and Talking Points Memo

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.