On the 2oth anniversary of Dazed And Confused, Tom Junod considers the film’s legacy: But the movie caught, like no other piece of art I’m aware of, what really was at play in 1976 — that weed was the solvent that, for one blessed moment, managed to cut through the most rigid social stratifications in … Continue reading Pot Nostalgia
Friday on the Dish, Andrew took McCain to task for betraying his own presidential slogans to place country first, before calling out Rand Paul’s blatant opportunism in the Hagel filibuster. He delved deeper into Benedict XVI’s abandonment of renewal for sheer reaction, sparred with a reader on why he prefers “Burma” to “Myanmar,” and answered … Continue reading The Weekly Wrap
(Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Friday on the Dish, Andrew cut to the heart of Lance Armstrong’s maliciousness, which was not the athlete’s doping but his vicious campaign against those brave enough to speak the truth. He reflected on David Remnick’s latest dispatch from Israel and discussed with readers his reaction to Jon Stewart’s interview with Zero Dark Thirty’s lead-actress Jessica Chastain. Elsewhere, Andrew gaped at … Continue reading The Weekly Wrap
Today on the Dish, Andrew denounced the undue viciousness of Aaron Swartz’s prosecutor at DOJ, and wondered whether academic literature could be made a public good. He applauded Matt Stone and Trey Parker breaking free of Hollywood studios and called out Jodie Foster on her narcissistic coming-out speech at the Golden Globes. He chided Dreher … Continue reading The Daily Wrap
By Ryan Pierse/Getty Images Friday on the Dish, Andrew announced that not only was the GOP unfit for government, but that “the Republican slide into total epistemic closure and political marginalization has now become a free-fall.” He also defended Hagel over his 15-year-old anti-gay comments (later highlighting Hagel’s apology) and thoroughly enjoyed Pareene’s takedown of MSNBC. In political coverage, we rounded up many reactions to Speaker Boehner’s inability to get his Plan B passed (a train-wreck he seemed to deny). We also considered Scott Brown’s chances of filling John Kerry’s Senate seat, readers responded to Andrew’s epic anti-GOP rant, Jeff Madrick believed the economy would fall off a cliff whether there was a fiscal deal or not, David Kuo hoped for the return of compassionate conservatism, David Sirota questioned the extent of the CIA’s involvement in Zero Dark Thirty’s script, and Kleiman and Friedersdorf got in the mix over Frum’s weed naivety, while Tim Dickinson mapped the next states likely to legalize it. In ongoing coverage of the Newtown aftermath, the NRA head’s “meaningful contribution” was to stay true to character regardless of what happened last week, and readers unloaded on him for it — twice. Then Noah Millman and J.L. Wall discussed how we imagine mass murder and Firmin Debrabander explored how a society being armed can pose a threat to its freedom of speech. In assorted coverage, Benjamin Breen brought us back to the age of the curiosity cabinet, J.J. Gould surveyed the state of contemporary slavery, Christopher Robbins found out where we bury the homeless after they die, and readers weighed in on the violence in the book version of The Hobbit. Babbage explained a major reason we won’t be able to use our phones on airplanes anytime soon, Claire L. Evans detailed the self-inflicted awe of viewing planets through a telescope, Derek Thompson compared the digital ad divide between Google and newspapers, Paul Myers looked at the Twitter effect on comedy writing, and readers added their takes on IUD birth control. Then while Tim Parks struggled with the Englishness of his writing, we contemplated the possible corruption of the Internet’s original principles, celebrated the non-apocalypse by learning how to start a fire at Ikea, heard about one of Robert Lowell’s most famous poetry seminars, saw the Palisades through the VFYW, met a solstice unicorn (at Stonehenge!) in our FOTD, and nodded our heads as the Urban Dance Camp brought Michael Jackson back to life in our MHB. The rest of the week is after the jump:
Today on the Dish, we focused most of our day on the aftermath of last week’s school shooting in Connecticut. Andrew believed that the nation didn’t just need to tackle paramilitary weaponry, but also had to work equally hard to help those with mental illness and their families, sharing his first-hand experience growing up with … Continue reading The Daily Wrap
Friday on the Dish, we sadly followed the horrifying school shooting in Connecticut, covering the initial reports, then hearing from a reader who noted the difference between the shooting here and another school-attack in China, while other readers later elaborated on how the Chinese try to counter such violence. We also watched Obama's emotional press conference, rounded up commentary from across the blogosphere, published many readers' responses to the tragedy, and thought it would be a good night to feature a beautiful poem about children by Rainer Maria Rilke. Also, our Faces Of The Day are in the above photo, taken from one of the last tweets sent by Dawn Hochsprung, the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School who was among those killed.
In other coverage, Andrew finally saw Zero Dark Thirty and reported that not only was the film not an apology for torture, it was in fact a compelling indictment of the Bush adminstration's war crimes as well, crimes that include the torture Khaled El-Masri received at the hands of the CIA. Andrew was also relieved to hear Obama did not seem interested in messing with Washington and Colorado's newly-legal weed.
In political coverage, Julia Preston checked in on the continuing pressure Obama faces over DOMA now that SCOTUS has taken the case, Erica Grieder told us why Texas doesn't yet have civil unions for same-sex couples, Stan Collender expected us to fall off the fiscal cliff, and Ezra believed that the White House was honestly seeking a deficit deal, while TPM reiterated that yes, Obama has a mandate in negotiations — though Douthat doubted the fiscal cliff would lead to any grand bargain.
In assorted coverage, Shafer dreaded the oncoming end-of-the-year listgasm, Michael C. Moynihan reflected on his expose of Jonah Lehrer, Chana Joffe-Walt examined Lego's dominance through quality control, Tim Heffernan introduced us the increasingly high-tech deer-hunting industry, and a reader contributed another story to our thread about sudden heroism, while other readers added their thoughts on the ways we can micro-pay for online content. We also explored why a new climate change report was leaked by one of its deniers, learned that paper towels were the most hygienic option for drying our hands, and admired a foggy morning in the Pacific Northwest through the VFYW.
The rest of the week is after the jump:
Today on the Dish, Andrew differentiated his opposition to affirmative action from his support for marriage equality, ripped apart the bizarre reasoning of Justice Scalia’s anti-gay statements, responded to the European Court of Human Rights’ decision in favor of a former CIA-detainee, and raged against the GOP’s filibuster abuse and “legislative terrorism”. In political coverage, … Continue reading The Daily Wrap
A reader writes:
The trouble may be in the fact that those of us who smoke herb illegally have already negotiated all of the pitfalls only now being considered by those who don't. Yes, it stinks. That's why we eat it. (THC is fat-soluble, so melting it into butter or oil makes all kinds of yummies!) Yes, it causes second-hand smoke. That's why those of us with kids already keep our activities far away from them. In our house, for instance, pot is only smoked in the garage, which the kid has been informed is too dangerous for him to go into, what with the sharp tools and all (he's six, so this is working so far).
A reader writes:
You have argued passionately the case for marijuana legalization (which I agree with), but it made me think of your arguments for the health insurance bill; it's a similar case (individual freedoms vs. collective good) but you argued exactly the opposite case (essentially: the benefits of forcing people to buy health insurance provide enough societal good to outweigh the rights of the individual to not be insured).
I'd be interested in why you view this issue differently than other issues, and where you see the line drawn in which personal freedom should be constrained in the interest of the collective concerns/needs.
First off, we already guarantee emergency room healthcare for those who choose not to be treated or to get insurance. It seems to me that once you have conceded that principle, and are not going to let people die hideous or long deaths alone or in the streets, then the collective costs clearly authorize a collective solution that would be more humane and cheaper.
I suppose someone who smokes pot might, in a haze, drive a car and crash; or fail to show up at work regularly; but Prop 19 made stoned driving and working illegal; I cannot see anything like the collateral costs of lacking all health insurance. Another writes:
