Read this “sordid history of the biggest taboo in sports” to find out why.
GRAMBO IS SUBLIME: I shat you nizz.
WILL IN THE WORLD: Whenever I want hard-hitting legal analysis, I look to Will Baude. Hard-hitting analysis or news about whales. That’s deep, man. Too Deep.
NEW LABOR: Steve Rosenthal, the brains behind uber-527 America Coming Together, is planning on souping up his operation for 2006 and 2008. He figures there are votes to be found in Republican-leaning exurbs “among teachers, police officers and other public employees who can’t afford the close-in suburbs.” What if the aforementioned public employees don’t want to live in the close-in suburbs for the same reasons they don’t want to live in the cities? Crime, crowded schools, congested roads, and a general perception of disorder, not to mention high taxes, might have been enough to drive them out. My guess is that the ACT will have a tough time.
Reaching out to the exurbs is worth a shot, but Rosenthal and his allies in the union movement might want to think about retooling the union movement itself. Instead of relying on constant growth in the number of public employees-trust me, conservatives are finding ways to outsource key functions to the private sector, and it’ll probably save money-why not create service-oriented labor unions focused on lifelong learning? Virginia Postrel had the right idea in 1998. Rather than shackle members to a particular employee, these unions would enhance labor mobility. They’d act as talent agents for regular workers, working aggressively on their behalf by upgrading their skills, negotiating better deals, and finding new opportunities.
DONNELLY RUNS DE-FENSE: Think disbanding Saddam’s army was a disastrously bad idea? Think again.
Before jumping off the bandwagon, don’t forget Jon Lee Anderson’s case for the prosecution.
— Reihan
The Dish 