Month: October 2011

Today on the Dish, Herman Cain faced allegations of sexual harassment, a few on the right took them seriously, and it's possible that we're headed for another "high-tech lynching" drama. A management-side employment lawyer urged caution, the legacy of Palin endured, and in our video feature, Andrew discussed Cain's performance art in the context of a degenerate Republican Party. Bartlett pinpointed Cain's underlying appeal, and Andrew took Obama to task for ducking the marijuana debate entirely.

The GOP suffered through a love-hate relationship with Mitt, Tea Party leaders in Congress begged for stimulus, and lower speed limits save lives. Hollywood entered the OWS fray, we wondered how the movement would end, and financial services professionals only comprise 14% of the top 1%. We assessed population growth and inventoried global resources, campaign finance reform obscures the path of money, and the drug war undermines American foreign policy. The problem is that we're "so damn stubborn," Steve Jobs was sort of a jerk but we're inclined to deify him anyway, and niceness is penalized in the workplace. Readers defended patent laws, effective studying requires deep thinking, and our national anthem thread continued. We revisited moving costs, foster care families are confronted with a political dilemma, and a Catholic priest celebrated Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.

In Wiccan New Year-related coverage, we relished highbrow fright, caught up on the neuroscience and pharmacology of zombies, and Williamsburg observed Halloween constantly. We were captivated by Spike Jonze’s spooky stop-motion animation, and cars haunt trick-or-treaters. Pet costume of the day here, Jack-o'-lantern of the day here, cool exorcist ad watch here, FOTD here, and MHB here.

Quote for the day here, reality check here, VFYW here, and charming, illustrated guide to depression here. 

— M.A. 

From Ossian Brown's collection of antique photographs of Halloweens dating between 1875 and 1955, in the new book Haunted Air.

Newsweek has a helpful compendium of Tea Party players who bashed government spending, and then personally requested stimulus funds. A taste: 

To Cantor, an $8 billion high-speed rail connecting Las Vegas to Disneyland is wasteful “pork-barrel spending.” The Virginia Republican set up the “You Cut” Web site to demonstrate how easy it is to slash government programs. …  Letters obtained by Newsweek show him pressing the Transportation Department to spend nearly $3 billion in stimulus money on a high-speed-rail project—not the one he derided in Nevada, but another in his home state. 

Starhawk, a practioner of Wicca, explains the day's significance:

For Witches, for those who practice the renewal of the ancient, pre-Christian Goddess religions of Europe and the Middle East, Halloween is our most sacred holiday, our New Year. In Celtic Ireland, Wales and Scotland, Samhain, pronounced ‘sau-in’, was the time when the sheep and cattle were brought down from the summer fields, when the harvest was gathered in and the dark time of year began. The fruits of the harvest, the blessing of the year’s abundance, was shared with the ancestors in the form of offerings which have come down to us in modern times as the candy we give to children-who are the ancestors returning. Harvest is a time of ending, but also a time of beginning, for the Goddess stands for the great regenerative powers of nature. Out of darkness, light will be born anew. Out of the time of cold and dormancy, new life will return. Death is part of a cycle that brings about rebirth.

(Photo: Names of donors are carved into bricks at the Witch School October 25, 2006 in Hoopeston, Illinois. Wicca is a neo-Pagan religion which uses magic and nature in its teachings. The school, which opened in 2003, offers courses in Wicca theology, hosts seminars and Wiccan rituals at the campus. By Scott Olson/Getty Images.)

A spooky literary romance, directed by Spike Jonze.

Friedersdorf wishes Will would take his critique of Romney's candidacy a step further: 

Can I request a sequel? If not Romney, who? … The rise of Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Herman Cain weren't accidents. They were the logical products of an ideological movement whose leading voices place no value on governing experience, credible policy proposals, or any other quality needed to be a successful general election candidate or president. 

Steve Benen adds his spin. Chait has more on the GOP's love-hate relationship with Romney. 

Michael van Baker argues for lower speed limits in residential areas:

Someone hit by a car traveling at 40 miles per hour has an over-80-percent chance of being killed. At 30, it’s still 37 to 45 percent. But at 20, it’s just five percent. The key factors are stopping time and response time–at 20 miles per hour, the driver is in control of their car, and can stop before hitting someone. As you increase speed, you have less time to respond, while stopping distance increases.

Douglas MacDonald has more on how pedestrian deaths disproportionately affect the elderly in Seattle.

(Chart via Eric de Place)

The handheld craze gets its Hitchcockian moment:

A perennial debunking:

[C]hildren do face some real health risks on Halloween, but the risks come from cars, not candy. The National Safety Council reports that children are at an increased risk of injury as pedestrians, being four times more likely to be killed by a car while walking around on Halloween than on any other night of the year. So, if you really want to keep your kids safe, focus on making sure they are visible to cars and are very careful about crossing the street, particularly as darkness falls.