I think it's fairly random what hits the front page, but inside-valley drama has a higher probability than general political news. That said, the top story on t

I think it's fairly random what hits the front page, but inside-valley drama has a higher probability than general political news. That said, the top story on the front page currently is about the rise in disability claims, which has a fairly political discussion thread, and isn't tech-specific (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5424241 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5424241). The internet sales tax is hardly the only major political news this week which didn't make the HN front page. My own top story of the week would probably be the U.S. Congress repeatedly interfering in scientific research, with exhibits (a) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/tom-coburn-national-science-foundation_n_2921081.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/tom-coburn-national... and (b) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5418473 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5418473. But those didn't interest HN either, whether due to submission randomness or actual disinterest.