People magazine first observed Abe Vigoda’s passing in 1982 — which means that he’s spent nearly a third of his life in the Mark Twain Twilight Zone. (Twain himself only outlived the exaggeration by thirteen years.) The other two-thirds began on this day in 1921.

“Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell says she’s been invited to be a contestant on TV’s ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ But the losing Senate candidate from Delaware isn’t sure she should accept, saying she has two left feet and a book about politics to complete.” [AP, via Political Wire]

Tweeter JCCentCom is known to his friends as Jeff Cox. He’s also known to his colleagues as a deputy attorney general for the state of Indiana. And now he’s known to his employers as somebody under “immediate review”.

Indiana Official: “Use Live Ammunition” Against Wisconsin Protesters [Mother Jones]

Bonus Instant Update!

The Indiana Attorney General’s office announced Wednesday afternoon its deputy attorney general is no longer employed by the agency, after reviewing political website Mother Jones’ published allegations that he advocated the use of force against protesters in Wisconsin.

Deputy AG loses job after tweet drama [WLFI]

Our guest columnist is Eric Holder.

In the two years since this Administration took office, the Department of Justice has defended Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act on several occasions in federal court. Each of those cases evaluating Section 3 was considered in jurisdictions in which binding circuit court precedents hold that laws singling out people based on sexual orientation, as DOMA does, are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment. While the President opposes DOMA and believes it should be repealed, the Department has defended it in court because we were able to advance reasonable arguments under that rational basis standard.

Section 3 of DOMA has now been challenged in the Second Circuit, however, which has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated. In these cases, the Administration faces for the first time the question of whether laws regarding sexual orientation are subject to the more permissive standard of review or whether a more rigorous standard, under which laws targeting minority groups with a history of discrimination are viewed with suspicion by the courts, should apply.

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.

Read more »

Ladies and gentlemen, the Golden Boy of American Conservatism today:

In Wisconsin and Ohio, they have decided there can no longer be two classes of citizens: one that receives rich health and pension benefits, and all the rest who are left to pay for them.

Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter. We are all facing the same problems. These problems are bigger than either political party. The promises of the past are too expensive, and the prospects of the future are too important to stay on the old, failed course.

That would be Chris Christie, giving his budget address in New Jersey on Tuesday.

The first thing you’ll notice is that a Republican is waging class war, something which apparently is permitted so long as the class doesn’t include the wealthiest two percent of Americans. (If you want to be precise, it’s really divide-and-conquer, couched in resentful rhetoric.)

But here’s the line that’s really gnawing at us:

The promises of the past are too expensive.

Read more »

“Sen. Harry Reid on Tuesday called for ‘an adult conversation’ about prostitution in Nevada, saying it is an impediment to economic development because it discourages businesses from moving here. ‘Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment — not as the last place where prostitution is still legal,’ he said.” [Las Vegas Sun, via Political Wire]

“Indiana Democrats are reportedly joining their Wisconsin counterparts in staging an exodus from their state to protest a new union-busting Republican measure. Only two of Indiana’s 40 House Democrats showed up for a session Tuesday morning, precluding Republicans from attaining the votes needed to proceed on motions.” Governor Mitch Daniels calls for Republicans to stand down. [Raw Story, Indianapolis Star]