Today on the Dish, Andrew wrestled with deficits and healthcare in relation to his Catholicism and emphasized how cruel torture tactics beyond waterboarding are. World leaders demanded Qaddafi go, but didn't explain how and Larison called his bluff. Andrew supported recognizing a Palestinian state, and the American Red Cross defended its study of how kids view torture. Anchorage gave up on Trig's birth certificate, but Andrew wasn't going anywhere.
We welcomed a White House version of a tax receipt and collected the last of our tax bracket docs, and Peter Suderman rained on the Do Nothing for the deficit parade. Howard Gleckman called both sides on fiscal bullshit, we considered cashing in entitlements, and the debt was paid off in full (in 1835). Nate Silver parsed whether Dems will lose the Senate, polls had Trump pulling ahead, and Santorum aped gay poet Langston Hughes, in all his glory. Julian Sanchez rolled his eyes at TSA patdowns for children, and David Simon begged politicians to admit the drug war is a lost cause.
Readers joined us on our gender bender, had tough love for HuffPo writers, and refused to ride the dangerous Fung Wah buses. The Internet made sociology easier, twin studies favor advantaged homes, and dropouts were still saddled with student debt. Ayn Rand contradicted Jesus Christ, but would still sell mad movie tickets, and Greenwald excised his demons by blogging. Andrew approved of biases in love, wasn't keeping up with the Queen, and only wanted to learn what was true.
Metaphor of the day here, deep thought of the day here, quotes for the day here, here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
Thursday on the Dish, rifts in the GOP leadership deepened, Andrew called them on their panic, and wasn't buying their dishonest memories of Bush as budget master. Andrew defended Obama's plan, Ezra sized up the cuts, and prisons robbed us blind. Henry Blodgett dared to question Palin's pregnancy, Andrew hoped we were reaching critical mass, and we remembered Palin's crush on Ivana. We measured how many could ride on Obama's tiny coattails, Mark Blumenthal rooted for the underdogs in Iowa, and Romney wasn't throwing in the cards yet.
Dani Rodrik defended dining with dictators, kids these days didn't know better about torture, a reader criticized the study's methods, and we eavesdropped on North Korea's cellphone conversations. We got an update on Libya's genocide threat, NATO was still debating whether to arm rebels, and Ackerman checked in on our exit from Iraq. PM Carpenter bashed the Beltway's rules, and Andrew drummed up pity for the unpaid HuffPo bloggers.
The Civil War lived on, Andrew ripped apart the culture war's stigmas against gay kids, and abortion remained personal. Readers kept tabs on our tax brackets, a startup could fund college kids to drop out, and cheap bus travel wooed customers. Books made a beeline for perfumes, Andrew didn't hop on the Foodie bandwagon, but we can blame that on jellied eels. Southpark weighed in on The Giving Tree, readers identified with the empty trees, Andrew judged American Idol, and the three elements of Dishness converged.
Deep thought of the day here, VFYW here, headline of the day here, quote for the day here, poseur alert here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
Roseburg, Oregon, 9 am
Wednesday on the Dish, we previewed Obama's speech, Andrew live-blogged it, and we gathered the web's full reax here. Andrew sized up the Do-Nothing Plan and read in between the lines on Obama's, Ezra Klein wanted to hold future Congresses to any budget plans, and Jonathan Chait wanted Obama to wait. Andrew eyed Ryan's healthcare plan next to Obama's, Paul Ryan's voting record was a pretty glaring fault in his deficit stance, and Allahpundit wasn't sure what Boehner was thinking. Trump undid his own image, a reader called Ann Coulter on her birther whitewashing, Massie spotted another weakness in the Romney attack ads, and we parsed Romneycare's effect on his image. Mark Seddon lauded the UN's intervention in the Ivory Coast crisis, Qaddafi had a thing for hot nurses, and America still hadn't healed its 9-11 trauma.
Andrew remembered Sidney Harman, and readers continued to psychoanalyze The Giving Tree. We oogled other nation's dress codes, Mike Ervin relished his adult sippy cup, and Vanity Fair continued to drool over the Kennedys. Indoor-grown pot hurts the environment, snacks influence how judges rule, and Tina Fey trumped Palin's pregnancy. Bryan Caplan promoted Serenity Parenting, and readers shared hyperlexia stories, stories of parenting or not, connected Ayn Rand to video games, and high-fived their pro-pot doctors.
Creepy ad watch here, time suck of the day here, quotes for the day here and here, map of the day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
By Bill Clark/Roll Call
Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew tried to reconcile the Sophie's choices of healthcare rationing, and suggested harnessing the power of the consumer. The political tides turned, Trump tied with Huck, giving Ed Morrissey flashbacks to Perot, but Andrew thought a Trump-Bachmann just might be crazy enough to change the GOP. Andrew weighed in on whether Palin is done for, and rehashed the Trig birther question with a new academic paper. Andrew remembered England's war memorials, and pinpointed the incoherence of fusing Rand's ideology with Christianism.
Pete Davis acknowledged the risks of Obama tackling the budget, Andrew parsed Obama's approval of Simpson-Bowles, and Stephen Colbert roasted Jon Kyl. Berlusconi ramped up the crazy, and Scott Morgan reprimanded legislators who joke about medical marijuana. Kevin Sablan unraveled the facts behind Facebook Likes, David Runciman tracked down the world's tax havens, and America is better equipped to deal with high gas prices. Freddie DeBoer defended James Joyce, pot allergies exist, and the Sassy Gay Friend talked sense into The Giving Tree. Priscilla Gilman celebrated the small things, Andrew relished being the fun uncle, and thanked readers for their warm welcome to the country.
Attack ad of the day here, reax here, creepy ad watch here, cool ad watch here, Yglesias award here, FOTD here, MHB here, VFYW here, and VFYW contest winner #45 here.
SF to Paris in Two Minutes from Beep Show on Vimeo.
Monday on the Dish, Andrew wrestled with healthcare costs and humans being forced to play God. Andrew grappled with a NOM organizer finally seeing the conservative nature in gay rights, we rounded up the reax to the narrowly averted shutdown, and Andrew finally got approved for a Greencard. National Enquirer blew up Todd Palin's spot again, and Sarah put her foot in her mouth on birth certificates. Rick Hertzberg explained why Fox dumped Glenn Beck, Chait sized up us sizing up the candidates based on looks, and Trump relegated Birtherism to the backwoods of conservatism. David Kenner kept his eyes glued to the YouTube, Henry Farrell analyzed bigotry in France's veil ban, and we tracked a possible Libyan ceasefire and its quick demise.
Andrew appreciated the polyglot bluntness of Anglo-Saxon English, cooed over other people's babies, and couldn't get behind an Objectivist worldview, while readers chimed in. Flowing Data informed us how long we'd get in retirement, GPS technology could spark cab wars, and America remained exceptionally tan. Nina Simone had the final word on Mississippi, Habitat For Humanity lead with a partnership model, and tsunami debris headed for the west coast. Suicides kill more than automobiles, Peter Smith shared the neuroscience of overeating, and readers calculated our tax brackets.
Hathos alert here, chart of the day here, correction of the day here, FOTD here, VFYW here, nixed regular airplane views here, but a window-seat-worthy MHB to make you feel better here.
–Z.P.
The Dish 