The Proposition 8 oral argument  —  Much will be written about the Proposition 8 oral argument.  The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the Court probably will not have the five votes necessary to get to any result at all, and almost certainly will not have five votes to decide the merits of whether Proposition 8 is constitutional.

Secret Service Gets First Female Director  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday appointed Julia A. Pierson, a longtime Secret Service agent, as the first woman to head the agency best known for protecting the president, vice president and their families.

How not to seem like a racist  —  A tip for right-wingers angry about charges of racial bias: Try treating the Obama daughters with decency  —  Writing my piece on Andrew Breitbart and Tucker Carlson, I missed a huge example of overlap between their two sham-empires: the reporter who broke …

Despite Abortion Bans, TRAP Law Is the Real Threat to Abortion Access in North Dakota (UPDATED) … “Personhood,” heartbeat bans, forcing women to give birth to babies diagnosed with genetic anomalies that make them unlikely to survive long after birth, if they make it that long …

Egyptian mosque turned into house of torture for Christians after Muslim Brotherhood protest  —  Islamic hard-liners stormed a mosque in suburban Cairo, turning it into torture chamber for Christians who had been demonstrating against the ruling Muslim Brotherhood in the latest case …

Alito's provocative question  —  I'm still working my way through the transcript (pdf) of today's Supreme Court oral argument on California's Prop 8, but there's one quote that already seems to be generating quite a bit of attention.  It comes by way of Justice Samuel Alito:

Actor Jake McClain Tweeting Every Word Of 906-Page ‘Obamacare’ Health Reform Law  —  Actor and director Jake McClain has taken on the monumental task of tweeting every single word of the 906-page “Obamacare” health reform law in hopes of drawing attention to the bill's content …

Your taxes help promote world's most hated dictators  —  Thanks to your generous support, the New York City-based People's Rights Fund has been able publicize the great work of Karl Marx and dictators Kim Jong-Il, Hugo Chavez and Saddam Hussein.  —  Don't remember writing that check?

Oh brother: David Miliband to quit as MP for “dream” charity job in New York  —  The Mirror understands the brother of Labour leader Ed intends to step down with immediate effect, triggering a by-election in May  —  David Miliband is to stun Parliament by stepping down as an MP tomorrow to take up a “dream job” in New York.

Ted Cruz flip-flopped on guns, Democrats say  —  Senate Democrats are accusing Sen. Ted Cruz — one of the conservatives threatening to filibuster gun-control legislation — of flip-flopping on the issue.  —  Majority Leader Harry Reid's office posted a video of Cruz raising the possibility …

David Keene, NRA President, Has No Regrets About Newtown Massacre Response  —  WASHINGTON — “We had to change the subject,” said David Keene, as if making an obvious, unobjectionable point.  —  We were sitting at the back table of his favorite Italian restaurant.

Steele: Priebus ‘crapping’ on my legacy  —  Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele continued to feud with his successor Reince Priebus on Tuesday, accusing the current chairman of “crapping” on his legacy.  —  “I kept my mouth shut for two years because, hey …

Food vouchers to provide emergency help but prevent spending on alcohol  —  Campaigners raise alarm as English councils replace cash loans with payment cards for people facing short-term financial crises  —  “Food stamps” arrive in Britain next month, when tens of thousands of vulnerable people …

The Killing Chain  —  Let's say you were writing a novel about a homicide.  You'd want to describe the killer's neighborhood and family background.  You'd want to describe his school, his culture and his gang.  —  You'd want to describe how he got into crime, his prior arrests …

CNN Eying Anderson Cooper-Kathy Griffin Series?  —  EXCLUSIVE: Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin may make their popular New Year's Eve specials a regular thing.  I hear the duo filmed a pilot today at the CNN studios in the Time Warner Center in New York.  Details about the hourlong project are sketchy …