Today on the Dish, Andrew landed more blows on the GOP – its failure on healthcare, Romney’s fuzzy fiscal math, and his cynical positioning. He’s not the only one: the attrition of "honest conservatives" from the "goofy" party continues.
There was little good news in the June jobs report, though disagreement abounds on whether and how the Fed should react. Meanwhile, Kaiser broke down the irony of Republican rebuffing the ACA's Medicaid expansion, while Barro wondered how healthcare consumption can be equalized, given rising costs and income inequality. Douthat and Reihan scuffled with Chait and Barro over the existence of a GOP healthcare plan. An instructive thought experiment reminds us that John Roberts' mind is pretty much a black box. And, on the ad war front, Rove is dropping $25 million in nine states to go after Obama on the economy.
The Libor manipulation scandal is way scarier than the lack of coverage suggests. A Rachel Maddow profile reminded Andrew of the self-critical knack of some modern gayfolk. And US weightlifter Sarah Robles' lack of sponsorship illustrated how narrow-minded advertisers are when it comes to marketing female athletes. And many readers disagreed with Veronique (who today discussed the US election and the euro crisis) on her characterization of Krugman – which Andrew defended, in a way.
Google Glass is the latest in dazzling Google technology that nobody wants. Bespectacled Rick Santorum rocked the plaid in a collection of US politicians in high school, in which Michael Bloomberg is revealed to be the president of his school's slide rule club. And Andy Griffith was shown to have backed Kerry.
Also today, Andrew parried yet another attack on his circumcision argument, and a 12-year-old met up with his 32-year-old self. A Brazilian soccer team came up with a novel was to promote blood donation. Hipsters grappled with the Higgs Bosun, perhaps unaware that another post was pondering their extinction. Readers sounded off with views from (in and outside of) their closets and tips on tomato selection. A new medical marijuana strain allows you to get baked without getting stoned. A showdown on a Jordan cables news station revived the old firearm or shoe debate. And a Venn diagram exposed Romney's Gotham overlap. Aspen pickup lines made Tom Friedman book titles sound raunchy, Friday poem here, VFYW here, and MHB here.
The rest of the week after the jump:
Lake George, Indiana, 3.50 pm
Thursday on the Dish, Andrew took on Romney?s pandering, explaining how he "outsources" his views to various conservative bases. On that note, an Yglesias Award Nominee nominee, Bill Kristol, railed against Romney for failing to generate much in the way of policy details. Opinions on this differ, though – this post explored this in greater detail, as Chait, Larison and Bernstein debated the implications of Romney?s avoiding the policy "weeds", and not one but two QFTDs hammered home this point.
Meanwhile, we delved into Romney?s shady investments during his Bain days, as well as his just-this-side-of-legal accounting habits. That business record looked to be rubbing swing voters the wrong way, and the Obama ad team didn't hesitate to pounce on Vanity Fair's report on the Swiss bank account. The Romney side, for its part, lobbed a "movie trailer" of an Independence Day ad. Just after we highlighted a 2010 book showing voter fraud to be more or less a chimera, the Pennsylvania House Majority Leader is shown to have shed 9.2 percent of the state's registered voters. All of that against the backdrop that Americans seem to be bored with politics again.
In a series of powerful posts on the closet, Andrew emphasized the importance of coming out and his own "stumbling" into openness; a similar revelation by gay R&B/hip-hop performer Frank Ocean offered a hopeful new chapter; and this post showed that hiding in the closet can be hazardous to your health.
In US colonial history, this post recalled a snarky Tory takedown of the Declaration of Independence, while Juan Cole explained how early America was just as sectarian as many present-day Arab states. We plucked a quote capturing unrepentant Jewish colonization, this post assuaged fears of Iran, and Hamas paid its respects to Mossad.
In assorted commentary, Veronique explained how Europe bungled its austerity programs, this post showed the silver lining to British cynicism, and this one conveyed how kids still get banged up on boringly "safe" playgrounds. Meanwhile, Ron Paul has a new hobbyhorse, Andrew posted a Oakeshott blast from the past, readers brought their wisdom to bear on America’s power costs, and this post explored the evolution of Anonymous. "Premature ignition" excused San Diego’s one-hit wonder of a fireworks show, only to be debunked by canny Dish readers. And if you realize you need to know what a Higgs Bosun is, go here. VFYW here, FOTD here, elitist Hathos here and a lovely MHB here.
Wednesday on the Dish, we commemorated America's independence.
Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew illustrated Romney’s rock and a hard place on the individual mandate, among other things, and scrutinized his silence on foreign policy. The debate over healthcare raged on, as readers weighed in on Andrew’s commentary from yesterday and Douthat celebrated Justice Roberts' "umpiring" of healthcare policy – but the resounding absence of a GOP healthcare plan suggests a lack of interest in playing ball. And in his new book, Scalia turns himself inside out.
Ad spending will hit $15 million this week, with the Battle of Bain barreling on. Obama’s drug policy suggests the independent power of the DEA, while in Mexico, the ostensible war on drugs has given rise to an explosion in organized crime. Elsewhere in the world, things look bad in Afghanistan and ever-more horrific in Syria. On the environmental front, Frum made the case for burying power lines to reduce power outages and we highlighted the fault of urban planning in keeping America car-dependent – something the NYC-LA divide illustrates well through LA’s abundance of "pod people."
In political history, Ask Veronique broke down the Keynesian nature of the Bush tax cuts, Eric Rauchway refreshed the debate between FDR and SCOTUS over the New Deal, and a 1995 Charlie Rose interview featured a bright, young, beardless thing framing the arguments for same-sex marriage and DADT-repeal that would help define those issues to the present day. In a birthday tribute to Rousseau, Terry Eagleton wondered what he would make of our "selfish age," and, on that theme, a critique of the single life homed in on its embrace of selfishness.
Readers praised Anderson’s coming out and asked Andrew to try the email treatment on other celebrities. Meanwhile, this post explored the moral ambiguity of snitching-for-pay, readers added nuance to the male genital mutilation debate, and new data gave the atheism stigma some quantifiable definition. The absence of a synonym for synonym threatened to explode heads, while the origins of male stripping was, er, uncovered. In the annals of "ew," we explored a bloody sea creature that looks like a rock and and highlighted a beer made from beards. (Also in this category might fall Andrew’s flashback to a hunt for non-crusty black socks during his Oxford final exams.) VFYW contest here, VFYW here, MHB here, and our Face of the Day memorialized the late Andy Griffith.
Monday on the Dish, Andrew hailed the Chief Justice's ACA vote as a revival of conservatism in the face of Republican "contempt for institutions." Speculation of Roberts’ flip raged on following Jan Crawford's behind-the-scenes reporting; Salmon saw it as evidence of partisanship, Kerr wondered about the implications of the leak for SOCTUS collegiality, and Suderman interpreted it as Roberts succumbing to the threat of a Dem tantrum. Bernstein argued against Court reform.
Meanwhile, in the SCOTUS Medicaid debate, Yglesias countered Kilgore’s belief that Southern states will take the federal funds, pointing out that Medicaid expansion doesn’t assuage provider shortages in low-population states, while Drum threw water on concerns about the ACA tax increase. Klein joined Drum in arguing that Romney and a GOP senate would render Obamacare "toast."
In election news, we noted that nearly all of the anti-Bain ads are being launched by a Dem Super PAC, as compared to the Obama campaign, and that those ads are having a real impact on swing-state voters. Charlie Cook dismissed the usefulness of counting Electoral College votes while Ryan Noonan added some historical context. Perhaps as a canary in the partisan coal mine, CPAC wunderkind Jonathan Krohn renounced his GOP leanings. On the other end of the age spectrum, Bob Dole reminded us how "quaint" actual conservative principles have become.
In Drug War news, Ambinder reported that Obama might put the brakes on the Drug War if reelected. And the early outlook of the Mexican presidential election will have little impact on drug-related violence, argued Robert Beckhusen. In a similar vein, an infectious disease expert explained Chicago’s spike in violent crime.
In assorted commentary, Andrew held his line against infant circumcision, Veronique de Rugy explored the dangers of tighter financial regulation, Howard Brody pondered the ethics of the placebo, Damon Tabor discussed extreme geo-engineering, and readers continued to discuss baldness. Wi-fi debuted on the NYC subway.
On the food front, NPR detailed the history of America’s meat market, while the Guardian quantified the world’s livestock. The modern implications of that industry are apparent in Kuwait’s obesity epidemic - and, more rosily, to dietary recommendations for avoiding hangovers. Studies show that the redder the tomato, the blander the taste. And the invention of espresso was rooted in the need for reduced brewing time.
In music, a sound engineer rehabilitated the autotune, while London’s new Olympic anthem (heard above, by the Pet Shop Boys) brightened Andrew's day. VFYW here, FOTD here, and MHB here. We also announced the newest members of the Dish team, including a literary editor, a poetry editor, and two new interns. A fond farewell to outgoing Dishterns Maisie and Zack.
Last but not least, Andrew posted a moving letter from a friend, who happens to be gay.
–G.G.
