Month: May 2011

Greg Beato synthesizes why driving 10 minutes out of your way to save three cents per gallon on gas isn't worth it:

A 10-minute detour theoretically results in a 20-minute round trip. At an average speed of 45 mph, the trip would cover 15 miles. If your car gets 30 miles to the gallon, you have to burn half a gallon of gas to reach the station with the cheaper prices. At $4 a gallon, that’s a cost of $2. To make such a trip worth your while (without factoring in the value of your time or the additional wear and tear on your vehicle), you’d need a fuel tank capable of holding 67 gallons. At a savings of three cents a gallon, that 67-gallon tank would cost $2.01 less to fill up at the cheap station versus the more expensive station. This means that after subtracting the cost of the extra fuel it necessitations, your excursion would save you a penny!

Sarah Hepola finds one after falling for a "free movie ticket" email herself:

Eventually, I did send out that walk-of-shame email to my contact list. "Sadly, I did not buy you a free movie ticket," it began. "I wish I had — but I didn't." Emails started pouring in almost immediately. Laugh-out-loud jokes from clever friends, sympathetic "don't-sweat-it" messages. I did not go to a movie that night. Instead, I caught up with dozens of people I hadn't talked to in years, making arrangements to see some of them soon. I spent that evening alone — but it sure didn't feel that way.

Karl Taro Greenfeld makes the case that America's fast food enterprises are today's preeminent version:

Go into the kitchen of a Taco Bell today, and you'll find a strong counterargument to any notion that the U.S. has lost its manufacturing edge. Every Taco Bell, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King is a little factory, with a manager who oversees three dozen workers, devises schedules and shifts, keeps track of inventory and the supply chain, supervises an assembly line churning out a quality-controlled, high-volume product, and takes in revenue of $1 million to $3 million a year, all with customers who show up at the front end of the factory at all hours of the day to buy the product. Taco Bell Chief Executive Officer Greg Creed, a veteran of the detergents and personal products division of Unilever, puts it this way: "I think at Unilever, we had five factories. Well, at Taco Bell today I've got 6,000 factories, many of them running 24 hours a day."

(Photo by Flickr user Gary Blakely)

A reader writes:

I was disturbed to see one of your readers say, "I doubt either Sarah or Bret Baier know the lyrics to Rapper's Delight," and you did not immediately correct him or her. Surely you've seen the video of Baier's performance at the Bob Hope charity event.

Brendan Kiley exposes the disturbing details of a two year undercover sting operation in Seattle that spent inordinate amounts of money for little to no actionable results. Rick Wilson, unknowingly best friends with a Seattle police detective, got hauled in:

"The degree of surveillance and monitoring has been extremely expensive," the officer tells Rick, sounding equal parts intimidating and frustrated. " … I have to emphasize the level of surveillance we've run over the last two years. Tell us about all the drug deals in The Yard. You want me to tell you about the red cabinet where you keep the drugs? The cocaine? We have hundreds of hours of surveillance, wire, video…"

"That would seem to be an absurd waste of state financing and funding," Rick says. "And that actually scares me more than the charges… You guys aren't after anything bigger than this? This is it?"

Jess Zimmerman clocks it:

We don't want to underestimate Americans' ability to buy things they don't use, but bike sales were up 9 percent this quarter. There was an even bigger jump — 29 percent — in sales of road bikes, implying that people are using their new vehicles to commute. … The federal government has invested $2 billion in bike lanes over the last two years, and several cities have instituted bike share programs or expanded bike lane networks (New York City added more than 50 miles).

A.K. Streeter applies the brakes a little by citing a new study:

Almost all the growth in cycling in the United States has been among men between 25 and 64 years old, while cycling rates have remained steady among women and fallen sharply for children.

(Photo by Flickr user Kicki)

"Kicking off with head-spinning timetable changes and sky-shattering reconstructions to Healthcare, The Path is positively vicious. From massive entitlement crunch to barreling tax cut lows, this plan rips like a Martian gas-guzzler determined to alter civilized society for generations to come. … Ryan’s angst is addicting. His lyrics are dramatic and heartfelt, recalling, at times, a budding, Republican Trent Reznor," – Benjamin Shanbrom, an out-of-work music critic reviewing Paul Ryan: The Path to Prosperity.

Today on the Dish, Bush turned his back on the Cheneyites, and ate his freedom souffle. Matt Yglesias found we've accomplished all Bush wanted to from the Taliban, so we agreed we should probably leave now. Andrew defended Israel's un-hawkish society, and hoped that the bullies were losing. Brave Syrians took to the streets, Assad continued to contradict himself, and Andrew insisted only Obama could oversee an Arab Spring like this one. Marc Thiessen and Mukasey were almost indistinguishable on torture, a reader insisted the Libyan war is illegal, and TNC couldn't get over Osama's evil. 

We rounded up the full internet reax to Romneycare, Jay Cost was more concerned about his Northeastern roots, and Steve Kornacki had faith he'd outlive the drama. Andrew rejected readers' defenses of Rand Paul on the healthcare mandate, we laid out the facts on raising the retirement age, and Virginia came around on gay marriage. Tyler Cowen feared the mandate for practical reasons, Andrew corrected the record on Newt's hospital scene via his daughter's account, and Huckabee branched out into infomercial territory. The media crushed on Huntsman, and his Mormonism might not matter. Frum questioned Pawlenty's record on healthcare, Nyhan eulogized the birthers, and Michael Kazin outed Mitch Daniels as a conservative.

Wasilla High didn't approve of "Bohemian Rhapsody," someone penned a Palin version, and no one called out Johnny Cash's lyrics. Audrey Ference sympathisized with Bristol about jaw surgery, and a reader doubted that Sarah Palin knows all 70 – 100 lines of "Rapper's Delight." Andrew revealed his editing philosophy, education doesn't predict income, Alex Massie maintained why a growing population is good, and Erica Greider explained why bear attacks and illegal immigrant crime both shouldn't be feared. Adele remixed Angry Birds, scientists could read your mind, and Osama succumbed to porno.

Beardage watch here, hathos alert here, quote for the day here, VFYW here, FOTD here, MHB here, and last call for interns here.

Accokeek, Maryland, 8.04 am

Thursday on the Dish, McCain corrected the record on torture, and asked General Mukasey to do the same. Ackerman summoned a final review by the 9/11 Commission, and the Taliban tweeted. Conor Friedersdorf demanded Congress authorize or end the war in Libya, and Andrew stayed dismayed by the imperial implications. Qaddafi may be shacking up in the journalists' hotel, cutting aid to Pakistan is complicated, and violent standoffs continued in Yemen. Uganda continued to persecute its gays, and the internet made Tanzanians cynical about elections.

Andrew went another round with Josh Green on Palin's threat level, but maintained she's the same as she ever was. We calmed the masses about Common, remembered his incendiary Gap ad, and were calmed by the fact that Palin knows the words to 'Rapper's Delight'. Ezra Klein flipped through Romney's new healthcare proposal, the WSJ attacked, and unlike Obamacare, Romneycare does cover abortions. Newt's mother revealed his penchant for name-calling, and Weigel reviewed Newt, the Amazon book reviewer. Republicans and Dems found some green common ground, Drum fixed social security, and Annie Lowrey advocated for skilled immigrant labor. The housing market still struggled, Kevin Drum redrew the tax chart, and readers defended chicken shit in the tax code. Readers defended the IUD and vowed not to sit while reading the Dish, and Tom Friedman harassed more street vendors.

Mural of the day here, hathos alert here, chart of the day here, Malkin award here, powerful ad watch here, beardage watch here, quote for the day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.

Wednesday on the Dish, Andrew critiqued Palin's North Korean-style portrait and the balm it offers for the right, and rejected Andrew Breitbart's vision of a multicultural Tea Party a la the original constitution. Andrew responded to readers on the rules for torture and war, defended Obama against charges of exploiting his success, and went another round with Ross Douthat on Libya. 10,000 protesters were detained in Syria, snipers were ordered to aim for protesters' heads, and Hillary considered Assad's replacements. Scott Horton made the case for releasing the photos down the line, and Tom Ricks outlined a breakup plan with Pakistan.

Andrew questioned the immigration paradox, marveled at the chicken-sh** tax credit, and rallied for Palin to fill Trump's crazy shoes. Larison schooled Mike Gerson on the drug war, Romney flailed on healthcare, and Gingrich promised to love America unless it gets cancer. Cuomo's support for same-sex marriage edged him up for 2016, progressive Christians still couldn't handle families with two moms, and Obama's bounce grew. Ezra explained the logic of Boehner's debt ceiling demands, and Reihan pointed out where the real taxable income lies (spoiler: it's not with the ultra rich). The internet mattered in developing countries before elections, and readers argued the IUD is a form of abortion. We charted how long we live, Conor Friedersdorf remembered the history of the entitlement movement, and rock reviewers are easy targets. Showtime hired women to hire gigolos, graphs matter, and sitting is deadly.

Hathos alert here, quotes for the day here and here, mural of the day here, VFYW here, MHB here, FOTD here, and last call for interns here!

Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew maintained that killing Osama was moral for the same reasons torture still isn't and never will be. Andrew ran some numbers comparing the Beast and the Atlantic and came around to the hippie, while readers blamed the Boomers for our obsession with the 60s and 70s.

We charted progress in Libya, neocons called loudly for doing "something" in Syria, and Andrew pressed on for truth about the Gitmo "suicides." Beinart juggled the contradictions of a Jewish and democratic state of Israel,  fake tears weren't entirely faked, and a pastor could lie about being a Navy SEAL. Trees started to bloom at the 9/11 memorial, children absorbed bin Laden's death, and we examined the morality and legality of FOIA requests for the bin Laden photos. Max Rodenbeck wondered if Osama was already irrelevant, we collected reactions to Chomsky on bin Laden, and a crow could have helped SEALS take him down.

Andrew backed Michael Tomasky's argument for ending corporate and lobbyist tax loopholes, and wagged a finger at Boehner's debt ceiling demands. Huckabee's Christianist extremism freaked us out, Mitch Daniels' rationality discouraged the right's talk radio hosts, and Josh Green pegged Palin's greatest accomplishment (spoiler: she raised taxes). Nyhan butted heads with Nate Silver over early polls, Suderman critiqued single-payer healthcare in America, and we pored over an explanation of high healthcare costs. Schock's white jeans gave us pause, Fat Admirers adopted queer nomenclature, and marriage equality in New York would generate some serious economic activity. Americans worked 2 hours a day to pay for their cars, and barbers used to give enemas.

Sean Avery's greatest hits here, poseur alert here, creepy ad watch here, map of the day here, quote for the day here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and contest winner  #49 here.

   

Monday on the Dish, Andrew frisked Cheney for continuing to endanger US troops, and rebutted Ross' defense of the Bush-Cheney years. Andrew questioned the Catholic Santorum's embrace of torture, Obama's leadership veered starkly from Bush's, and Les Gelb demanded we get out of Afghanistan asap. We watched Osama enjoy some me time, and Bush traveled through time. Hasids photoshopped Hillary out of history, totalitarian art endured, and Sara B. King psychoanalyzed terrorists. Syria got some help from Iran in cracking down on protesters, Iraq debated whether to ask some US troops stay, and Dagan tried to restrain Barak in Israel. Issandr El Amrani defended Turkey's independent policies, and Christians suffered as the Other in Egypt. 

Lawrence J. Korb proposed budget cuts to defense, bloggers settled on muddling through the deficit, and the marriage equality momentum built in New York. Canada's conservatives could teach the US a thing or two, Gay Inc backed Obama's reelection, and Tina Fey brought Sarah Inc back to life. Trump reiterated he isn't a racist, a reader pegged our political zeitgeist, and Weigel cheered up over Obama's bump in swing states. Finland's education system bested ours, cursive writing lured youngsters like sex, and Kevin Outterson placed bets on Vermont's single-payer healthcare system. Dara Lind skewered Shakespeare's birthers, and we admired the extinct thylacine, which is more marsupial than cat or dog. Kevin Fanning contemplated the commute, Mark Post tried to grow sausage in a petri dish, and failure leads to success. Andrew admired Schock's abs and Beckham rocking toilet paper, beardage trended in golf, and Strindberg on drugs made us giggle. Orwell kept great diaries, Hitchens lost his voice, and Eeyore the sad donkey would have made a great blogger.

Yglesias award here, chart of the day here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and MHB here.

–Z.P.

Ta-Nehisi tries to comprehend a world where Osama bin Laden’s son Omar could admit “My father hated his enemies more than he loved his sons”:

One of the motivating beliefs behind this blog is that people are people, that tags like “madman,” “evil” and even “terrorist” are, very often, escape hatches which allow us to avoid the hard work of understanding the evil encoded in all of us. Often I argue that slaveholdersConfederateswhoever must be seen as humans.

But he admits he doesn’t “care how they shot Bin Laden” and that he is “unable to consider Bin Laden as part of the human family”:

It is such a scary thing when it happens to you, when your principles become alleged and incidental, when you lose interest in the debate. It is so very dangerous to make exceptions. It is so very dangerous to go cold.