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via David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struck down a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on Wednesday and declared that same-sex couples who are legally married deserve equal rights to the benefits under federal law that go to all other married couples. The decision is a … Continue reading
A Letter From The Editress: I’ve been trying all day to find the right words to meaningfully express how I feel about today’s historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Prop 8. This morning, I was one of the hundreds (thousands?) of people standing outside the Supreme Court building anxiously awaiting the verdict. The … Continue reading
via Richard Wolf and Brad Heath, USA Today WASHINGTON — A fractured Supreme Court effectively opened the door for same-sex marriages to resume throughout California on Wednesday, saying it did not have the authority to hear a case challenging that state’s ban on gay and lesbian weddings. The court’s 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice … Continue reading
via Richard Wolf, USA Today WASHINGTON — If the range of possible Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage this month requires a scorecard, the potential confusion arising from those decisions may demand a manual. It’s not as simple as whether gays and lesbians can marry or not, and whether they become eligible for federal benefits. … Continue reading
via Ron Nixon, The New York Times Faced with billions of dollars in losses, the Postal Service announced on Wednesday that it would seek to stop Saturday delivery of letters, a sweeping change in mail delivery that immediately drew criticism from postal unions, some businesses and lawmakers. The post office said a five-day mail delivery … Continue reading
via John Constine, TechCrunch The White House wants you to hack for a better America. Last month it announced the National Day Of Civic Hacking on June 1-2 where many government agencies will liberate data for citizens across the U.S. to use to build tech that helps their communities. Twenty-seven cities have planned events where … Continue reading
via Kim Bhasin, Business Insider U.S. holiday sales growth was just 0.7 percent this year, missing expectations, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse. There was a drop in consumer confidence and it was primarily due to the media, said SpendingPulse. SpendingPulse VP Michael McNamara said that it’s the media coverage of the fiscal cliff — that is, not … Continue reading
via Ryan J. Foley, Chicago Sun-Times A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an “irresistible … Continue reading
Happy Holidays from The Brandt Standard via Newseum Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial September 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole … Continue reading
via David Strreitfeld and Nicole Perlroth, The New York Times Facebook may have quelled a full-scale rebellion by quickly dumping the contentious new terms of use for Instagram, its photo-sharing service. But even as the social network furiously backpedaled, some users said Friday they were carrying through on plans to leave. Ryan Cox, a 29-year-old … Continue reading
via New Jersey Area News Group Things were so bad for Speaker John Boehner Thursday night, support for his Plan B tax bill so diminished, the limits of his power with his own party laid bare, that he stood in front of the House Republican Conference and recited the Serenity Prayer. “God grant me the … Continue reading
via Declan McCullagh, CNET News Instagram said today that it has the perpetual right to sell users’ photographs without payment or notification, a dramatic policy shift that quickly sparked a public outcry. The new intellectual property policy, which takes effect on January 16, comes three months after Facebook completed its acquisition of the popular photo-sharing … Continue reading
via Patricia Zengerle and Susan Heavey, Reuters A growing number of lawmakers – including a leading pro-gun senator – called on Monday for a look at curbing assault weapons like the one used in a massacre at a Connecticut grade school, a sign that attitudes toward gun control could be shifting. Senator Joe Manchin, a … Continue reading
via Lauren McGaughy, New Orleans Times Picayune Gov. Bobby Jindal said oral contraceptives should be available over-the-counter in a Thursday evening op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. The self-described “unapologetic pro-life Republican” governor of Louisiana said this would lower health-care costs, prevent government intrusion into citizens’ lives and fight the influence of big pharmaceutical companies. … Continue reading
via Susan Heavey, Reuters President Barack Obama says federal authorities should not target recreational marijuana use in two Western states where it has been made legal given limited government resources and growing public acceptance of the controlled substance. His first comments on the issue come weeks after Washington state and Colorado voters supported legalizing pot, … Continue reading
via Greg Hinz, Crain’s Chicago Business Legal gay marriage may be coming to Illinois as soon as next month. After counting heads and consulting with legislative leaders, the chief sponsors of a bill to permit same-sex couples to get married in the state this morning disclosed they intend to push for a vote in the … Continue reading
via Dave McKinney and Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times In a huge win for gun-rights groups, a divided federal appeals court in Chicago Tuesday tossed the state’s ban on carrying concealed weapons and gave Illinois’ Legislature 180 days to craft a law legalizing concealed carry. “The debate is over. We won. And there will be a … Continue reading
via Matthew Dolan and Kris Maher, The Wall Street Journal The Republican-led Michigan legislature approved a pair of right-to-work bills, sending them on for the governor’s expected signature, as thousands of union activists continued protesting outside the state capitol. Two votes in the state House approved bills to allow workers in unionized workplaces in the … Continue reading
via Mark Sherman, Associated Press The Supreme Court plunged into the contentious issue of gay marriage Friday when it agreed to take up California’s ban on same-sex unions and a separate dispute about federal benefits for legally married gay couples. The court’s action gives the justices the chance to say by late June whether gay … Continue reading
via Vicki Needham, The Hill The economy added 146,000 jobs in November while the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent. It’s the lowest the jobless rate has been since December 2008, and the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was higher than estimates that had predicted Hurricane Sandy would hold total job growth down. … Continue reading
via Lucy Sherriff, The Huffington Post A university’s Christian society has banned women from speaking at events and teaching at meetings, unless they are accompanied by their husband, it has been revealed. The Bristol University Christian Union (BUCU) had originally decided women would be allowed to teach at meetings after their international secretary resigned in … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post In a historic bipartisan vote on Tuesday, the Senate passed Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-N.H.) amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that would extend abortion insurance coverage to victims of rape in the military. If the House of Representatives decides to include the measure in its version of … Continue reading
via Terry Baynes, Reuters The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday remained silent about whether it will enter the legal fray over same-sex marriage and hear one of several pending appeals on the issue. The court’s nine justices met in private on Friday to consider whether to review challenges to the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act, … Continue reading
via Beau Hodai, Alternet In Arizona an unsettling trend appears to be underway: the use of private prison employees in law enforcement operations. The state has graced national headlines in recent years as the result of its cozy relationship with the for-profit prison industry. Such controversies have included the role of private prison corporations in … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 