Month: June 2011

Alex Klein thrashes InTrade:

So could the online market know something about the GOP field that the rest of us don’t? Conversations with several economists indicate that the answer appears to be a resounding no. While InTrade’s cold hard data can seem soothing to many a frazzled political journalist, there’s just one problem: In this context, so early in a nomination race, the numbers it produces are virtually useless.

Under considerable pressure from the pro-democracy movement that arose back in late February, the Moroccan king over the weekend announced he will soon hold a referendum for political reform, essentially ending his absolute rule.  Marina Ottaway sees approval as inevitable and offers a useful primer on the referendum debate:

The impact of the new constitution depends on the way in which it is implemented. As an opposition legislator put it to this author, the constitutional text has potential. In order for it to be realized, the parliament has to adopt the necessary legislation and make sure that it provides maximum space for the political forces. The past performance by the parliament suggests that it is not a foregone conclusion that the parliament will make good use of the potential. Although Morocco has a stronger tradition of political parties than most other Arab countries, the parties suffer from the same problems as the entire political system does: they are top-heavy, internally undemocratic, with little renewal of leadership.

Ahmad Charai believes the approval of the new constitution would mean genuine democracy in the Muslim nation, but Sarah Lazare is skeptical.  The February 20 movement has called for a boycott of the referendum because it "does not meet the conditions of a democratic constitution."  Jillian Schwedler connects the developments to similar movements in Jordan and Kuwait:

And the monarchs are clearly panicking, as they should be. The Gulf Cooperation Council (of Sunni monarchies) is seeking to expand its membership to the non-Gulf monarchies of Morocco and Jordan (what, no invitation to Yemen, despite its far greater proximity to the Gulf than either Morocco or Jordan?). Jordan has already sent troops to Bahrain to help quell the (Shia) protests there. But more importantly, this week saw back-to-back announcements from Morocco's King Muhammad VI and Jordan’s King Abdullah announcing significant (if limited) expansions of powers to the popularly elected parliaments.

The monarchs – all of them – have gotten the memo, they just need to heed it: everything is on the table, and superficial reforms will no longer suffice. No regime is immune from demand for substantive change, meaningful representation, and greater dignity for the quarter million people in the region. Monarchies, get thee on the right side of history.

There’s a whole lotta quittin’ goin’ on.

Does this also mean her attempt for a visual Thatcher photo-op has also been dropped? And, yes, for the record, her performance in the weeks since her bus tour rolled out has indeed left me wondering if I will be proven wrong in my view that Palin will run regardless. Let me just say that if I were to be corrected for this error, it would make my fucking day.

The point is not about a clinically deluded Alaskan. It’s about protecting the republic from her.

Meanwhile, check out Laura Novak’s admirably dogged attempt to get some answers on the Trig matter from the Anchorage Daily News. Disappointing from the ADN, I have to say.

Ackerman explains:

People are focusing on the fact that Huntsman won’t win. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is the fact that he can easily shift the Overton Window on security questions. The structural dynamic of the GOP race is that it’s the most foreign-policy starved that the party’s fielded in a generation. Huntsman’s ambassadorial experience might not grant him that much electorally, but for the purposes of the other candidates, it means Huntsman is the yardstick by which the press will measure the gravity of their foreign policy pronouncements.

From a blog that makes the Dish look well-shaven, Beards From Below. Gallery here. I love this from the FAQ page:

Q:  What’s my motivation to send YOU my beard from below?
A:  Fame. Glory.  Spiritual solace.

So true. A somewhat scarier version after the jump:

Love the beads. But he looks like some hirsute mushroom.

Many readers are upset by this post:

Nice article by Jeffrey Goldberg, but why did you excerpt the douchey part? He's "reasonably sure an atheist would sacrifice his life for his child?" How generous of him!

As someone who finds the Jewish/Christian god both implausible and abhorrent, I guess you'd describe me as an atheist. But whether Goldberg or you can accept it, that makes me no more or less capable of acts of generosity than you religious folks. And I would do anything to save my son if he was in danger. Are you guys really condescending enough to believe otherwise?

Another writes:

The Goldberg quote you featured is infuriating.  

Imagine the equivalent sentence: "I’m reasonably sure that a gay couple shares just as much love as a heterosexual one." Reasonably sure? Either he believes that atheist parents are just as self-sacrificing as religious parents (in which case, why bring faith into it at all?); or else he doesn't (in which case he should have the stones to say it).

Another:

Sorry Jeff, but fatherhood imparts a desire to save one's child even without impulse from scripture or faith. My daughter is something "larger" than myself, and I came to feel that way organically, thank you. I'm a father first and atheist much much farther down the list, and that should be the real message of Father's Day.

Another:

I would suggest that Woude's devotion to his children presupposed his belief in God's plan for him. Otherwise he may have been just as likely to consider the story of Abraham and Isaac, or Jesus commands to abandon their families in order to follow Him, or God's own sacrifice of his Son, and come to the opposite conclusion. And to the extent that his actions were driven by his faith, it makes them seem somewhat less heroic.

One more:

The sacrifices that we make for each other (parents, friends, siblings, spouses, whatever) are big and hard enough without making some of them more noble than others because of what our beliefs may or may be.  Let's celebrate what Mr. Vander Woude was: an amazing, loving father, who knew in that moment he could make his frightened son less afraid.  If being a Christian was part of that, then I hope more Christians try to be like him, and I hope other people try to be like him, too.  But people of every faith and no faith make those kinds sacrifices, and there's no need to diminish them to raise up this already praise-worthy father.

Approaching the third day of an extended session, it couldn't get more dramatic:

Well, Instinct Magazine is reporting — citing the Twitter feed of the Capital Tonight news program — that gay marriage proponents have the 32nd vote they need to break the 31-31 deadlock in the senate over the issue. In addition, the New York Civil Liberties Union claims, also via Twitter, that pro-marriage forces “have more than enough votes” to carry the measure.

But no vote has been scheduled as of now. If you support gay marriage in New York, now would be a good time to contact your senator.

A vote could possibly occur tonight. The Conservative opposition is sweating. The central contention of the bill, religious exemptions, seems to be resolved:

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver emerged from the three-way meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to say he has seen a draft of the chapter amendment for religious exemptions on same-sex marriage and it’s “acceptable.” Silver also said his chamber would vote on the amendment to the same-sex marriage bill only after Senate Republicans take up the measure.  … The fact that language exists for religious carveouts on the bill is a signal that the measure could move forward in the Senate, where the measure is deadlocked 31-31.

All signs point to a tie-breaking vote by Staten Island Republican Andrew Lanza, and some suspect that up to five Republicans will follow suit – if the GOP conference actually brings the bill to the floor. Stay tuned.

A report on the Bruins, Sexual Coding and Playoff Beards. Money quote:

Bears tend not to be all, “I’m a bear, yo.” The literal thing is that the Bruins literally looked like bears. The padding of the uniforms provided those extra plies of huskiness and, in Tim Thomas’ case, of squatness. It’s possible only one sort of bear crossed the player’s minds as they clawed their way through the playoffs.

It’s also possible that at some point, maybe after flying to Vancouver for the start of the finals, a player walked into the locker room, and said, “Guys, you know what we look like, don’t you?” Hockey might actually be the one professional sport where not only could someone wonder that aloud but where someone else really might know the answer. Perhaps that someone else could have been the coach, Claude Julien, whose face could use the cheesy pizzazz of a goatee or a soul patch.

They also did a very Bear-like thing: turned their facial hair into a charity.

Is her latest declaration that she has an infant son because she was raped … as predictable as it is outrageous? Think of her mother's political career: insular, narcissistic, thin-skinned, attention-whoring … and with a tendency for her to turn opponents or critics into sexual predators. Sexualized performance (think Sarah as Miss Wasilla, Bristol dry humping in Dancing With The Stars), self-enrichment (the massive book contracts, the reality show aspirations), and general and sexual paranoia, which is invoked at the slightest criticism.

Think of Madame Palin's insinuation that Joe McGinniss was really a pedophile because he moved in next door. Think of her paranoia and hysteria about trooper Wooten. Now think of what they have both done to Levi. One worries he is out of his ultimate fighting championship league.

(Correction: as noted above, a reader writes:

Bristol's not claiming that she's pregnant because she was raped while she was drunk. Those were two separate incidents. She lost her virginity while drunk, thus breaking her promise to God that she would wait until she was married. Then she proceeded to have more sex with Levi (using condoms and the pill) because she knew she would marry him. I guess it's OK as long as you're planning to get married.)