Month: October 2009

In Praise Of Online Food Shopping

Cheesy-poofs

Mark Bittman daydreams about the future:

[Y]ou could ask and be told the provenance and ingredients of any product you look at in your Web browser. You could specify, for example, “wild, never-frozen seafood” or “organic, local broccoli.” You could also immortalize your preferences (“Never show me anything whose carbon footprint is bigger than that of my car”; “Show me no animals raised in cages”; “Don’t show me vegetables grown more than a thousand miles from my home”), along with any and all of your cooking quirks (“When I buy chicken, ask me if I want rosemary”).

Jonah Lehrer takes a different tack, lauding the Internet for removing the "hot" stimuli of junk food:

[W]e can ignore that pint of Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche when we're only looking at a picture of it. The stimulus has been cooled off by the online shopping experience – it's an abstraction, a mere image – which allows us to make more responsible shopping decisions. […S]omeone should do a carefully controlled study looking at how our online supermarket decisions differ from our in person supermarket decisions. I'd bet that we make healthier choices when those tasty snacks are just photographs, shrunken to fit our computer screen.

Halloween In DC

The holiday is celebrated a bit differently in the nation's capitol:

Any thoughts on what this year's top Beltway ensembles will be? "Olympia Snowe" dressed as Hamlet–or covered in waffles? "Roger Ailes" carrying around a shopping bag containing David Axelrod's scalp? "Anita Dunn" carrying a bag containing Ailes's? "Liz Cheney" as rabid werewolf? "John Boehner" with miniature Eric Cantor dolls buzzing 'round his head? I personally am voting for The Public Option. (Suggestions for execution welcome.)

I'd also like to plead for a moratorium on costumes involving Glenn Beck, Rahm Emmanuel, tea bags, and death panels. And, above all, please, Lord, spare us legions of Tom Delays in cha-cha pants.

But more Gosselins! And Levis!

Clinton’s Pakistan Strategy

Scott Horton despairs of the MSM's misreading. Money quote:

An important part of Clinton’s job is public diplomacy, and her remarks in Pakistan this week are just that. A focal relationship is being recast, new points of connection are being defined, and criticisms once only whispered in back corridors are now stated openly. Clinton has made clear that the United States is prepared to dish out serious criticism, and also to receive it in return. Pakistan, at long last, is being treated as a fellow democracy and not as a military dictatorship in waiting. Beyond this, Clinton has forced open again a platform for more peaceful relations between the subcontinent’s two major powers. No one thinks peace is just around the corner for Pakistan. But we are witnessing the development of a policy that seriously engages its problems.

Yglesias Award Nominee

"If I had been free to blog earlier, I would have added my voice to those, starting with Kathryn, who praised the president's dignified trip to Dover Air Force Base to comfort the families of our fallen, and honor the dead. It was well done, and the right thing to do, and I'm delighted. Moreover, he has continued his regular visits to the wounded vets at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval. I had worried, in the first days of his presidency, that he might use these occasions as photo ops and promos for his presidency, but he has not. Morale of our soldiers suffers when he dithers, and soars when they see he understands and honors them. Which he clearly does. Good on him," – Michael Ledeen.

The Daily Wrap

Today was a big day for the Dish, as the HIV ban was finally struck down by the president's pen. Andrew shared his thoughts.

Levi continued to turn up the heat on Palin, who appeared less qualified than Quayle. Freddie, Rauch, and Andrew examined the pitfalls of empire in Afghanistan, Goldstone sat down with Bill Moyers, Hillary played the bad cop to Pakistan, and Andrew explained to John Cole the wariness of dealing with a Democratic president who supports gay rights. More details from the Nozette case emerged here and here.

In Halloween coverage, we judged the best costumes, saw the holiday as a pride parade for straight people, looked at fellating bats, really looked at fellating bats, and featured one of the best MHBs in a while. Meanwhile, young Iranians were still in the streets.

— C.B.