Vox Sentences: The FCC is finally voting on net neutrality

1. Full throttle

Some wires and stuff, you get it. (Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images)

• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is set to vote on a net-neutrality proposal tomorrow.

  [The Verge / Russell Brandom and Jacob Kastrenakes]

• "Net neutrality" is the idea, popular among open-internet activists, that internet providers like Comcast and Verizon shouldn't be able to block or slow ("throttle") certain websites or give other ones preferential treatment (by making them load faster, for example).

  [Vox / Timothy B. Lee]

• The FCC tried to implement net-neutrality rules before, but an appeals court decided that the FCC didn't have the legal authority to do so.

  [Washington Post / Brian Fung]

• FCC chair Tom Wheeler has endorsed a legal maneuver called "reclassification" that would render the court decision moot and let net neutrality move forward.

  [Vox / Timothy B. Lee]

• Republicans in Congress, like Senate Commerce Committee Chair John Thune (R-SD) have criticized Wheeler's proposal and argued it would prevent internet providers from innovating.

  [Vox / Timothy B. Lee]

• At the same time, opponents in Congress have more or less conceded defeat; President Obama's a big net-neutrality supporter and won't sign legislation weakening the rules.

  [NYT / Jonathan Weisman]

• Wheeler's plan is expected to pass tomorrow, though fellow Democratic commissioner Mignon Clyburn has lodged some minor last-minute concerns over the proposal.

  [The Verge / Jacob Kastrenakes]

2. Partisan diplomacy

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on February 1, 2015 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Kobi Gideon/GPO via Getty Images)

• The Obama administration is amping up its criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming address to Congress, which was planned without the administration's knowledge.

  [AP / Julie Pace and Laurie Kellman]

• National Security Advisor Susan Rice said that the visit, resulting from an invitation by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and taking place right before Israeli elections, "injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of the fabric of the [US-Israel] relationship."

  [NYT / Julie Hirschfeld Davis]

• A number of Democratic members of Congress — including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) — are skipping the speech, with Kaine stating, "There is no reason to schedule this speech before Israeli voters go to the polls on March 17 and choose their own leadership."

  [Bloomberg / Dave Weigel]

• Senate intelligence committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked Netanyahu for a meeting to address their concerns over the speech, but Netanyahu declined.

  [Reuters / Patricia Zengerle]

• Netanyahu's own advisers know the speech will backfire: "Netanyahu’s own national security advisor, Yossi Cohen, told at least two people during his visit to Washington last week that he wished the speech were not taking place."

  [The Atlantic / Jeffrey Goldberg]

• At this point the Obama administration is just openly mocking the PM; replying to Netanyahu's criticism of efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry noted, "He may have a judgment that just may not be correct here … The prime minister was profoundly forward-leaning and outspoken about the importance of invading Iraq."

  [NPR / Krishnadev Calamur]

3. Shutdown fight, this time as farce

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell just want this all to be over. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) appears to have figured out a resolution to the Department of Homeland Security funding standoff.

  [Vox / Dara Lind]

• He and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) agreed to hold a vote on a "clean" bill to fund DHS through September. Previously, Republicans wanted to tie funding to a measure blocking President Obama's immigration executive actions.

  [Politico / Burgess Everett and Manu Raju]

• A move to consider the clean bill passed the Senate 98-2, suggesting the bill itself will pass easily.

  [Reuters / David Lawder]

• But it's unclear if the plan will fly in the House; Boehner hasn't signaled a position on the clean bill yet.

  [NYT / Ashley Parker and Emmarie Huetteman]

• The bill is sure to garner some opposition from the right flank of the House GOP caucus; Republican Study Committee Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) has said he'd oppose any bill that doesn't block Obama's immigration moves.

  [Politico / Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan]

• That said, Boehner could easily pass the bill with Democratic votes, and while he doesn't like resorting to that, he's done it before.

  [Washington Post / Greg Sargent]

4. Misc.

• Murderers who kill white victims are much likelier to get the death penalty than murderers whose victims are black.

  [Vox / Jenée Desmond-Harris]

• Apparently having babies sleep outside in sub-freezing weather is a thing in Scandinavia.

  [BBC / Helena Lee]

• The recipe for Mendl's courtesan au chocolat pastries from The Grand Budapest Hotel is about as intricate as you'd expect.

  [AV Club / Caitlin PenzeyMoog]

• Here's a supercut of every acting nominee reacting to the clips of their performances at the Oscars. It's very uncomfortable.

  [The Verge / Emily Yoshida]

5. Verbatim

• "My model visualized online dating as a series of Bernoulli trials, a type of randomized experiment where two people’s first impressions of each other could be modeled via a pair of biased coin flips."

  [The Guardian / Sharif Corinaldi]

• "The only furniture you need is a single smooth stone that reminds you of your mother."

  [The Toast / Mallory Ortberg]

• "When you’re single, hating your body is more or less a victimless crime, if you don’t count yourself. When you get into a relationship, however, it becomes a constant referendum on the tastes and judgment of the person who loves you."

  [BuzzFeed / Kristin Chirico]

• "Not knowing a lot about Kenny G, other than what he looked like and his maligned reputation as an easy-listening saxophonist, I sat there imagining this man, 100 yards away from me in the still of the night, having some kind of super-weird Bergman-esque domestic meltdown, leading to him on his back deck indulging in some kind of improvisatory saxophone ritual."

  [The Talkhouse / Daniel Lopatin]