“This is the first time in the history that a presidential nominee for secretary of defense has been filibustered. What a shame.” —Harry Reid, mourning the use of nonconstitutional parliamentary tactics that he did nothing to prevent. [Politico]

“The Defense Department is reportedly inventing a new medal designed to reward soliders who fight battles from the safety of their computer consoles. The Associated Press says the Pentagon is creating a new ribbon, called the Distinguished Warfare Medal that will be given for ‘extra achievement’ related to a military operation. That would include drone pilots…” [Atlantic]

“An eastern Kentucky pastor wants Tennessee wildlife officials to return five venomous snakes confiscated in Knoxville. Gregory Coots, who is known as Jamie Coots, is pastor of at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro. Coots handles the snakes as part of worship services.” [AP, via jwmcsame]

Rubio’s awkward sip didn’t hurt him. If anything, he connected with Americans who fear such a public-speaking moment–aka everyone.

— Robert Costa (@robertcostaNRO) February 13, 2013

It’s time once again for our national celebration of Civic Calisthenics! Having endured dozens of them by now, that’s all we really remember about any of them — Aisle Hogs, Common Man Cameos, and Bouncy-Bouncy. (Well, plus the occasional Accusative from a Backbencher.) The ritual is so established, we swear you could set it to music.

“A new academic study confirms that front groups with longstanding ties to the tobacco industry and the billionaire Koch brothers planned the formation of the Tea Party movement more than a decade before it exploded onto the U.S. political scene…. The two main organizations identified in the UCSF Quarterback study are Americans for Prosperity and Freedomworks. Both groups are now ‘supporting the tobacco companies’ political agenda by mobilizing local Tea Party opposition to tobacco taxes and smoke-free laws.'” [DeSmogBlog]

“CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that Sarah Palin had signed on as a contributor to the Al Jazeera America news network. The blogger cited a report on the Daily Currant Web site as the basis for that information without realizing that the piece was satirical.” [WaPo]