Today on the Dish, Andrew disparaged the GOP's sabotage of economic growth for short term political advantage, but Krugman defended the Buffett tax. Eric Kleefeld reminded us how liberal the GOP platforms were in 1860 and 1864, readers pilloried Rep. Fleming's shoddy math, and the GOP still largely owns the debt. Andrew bashed Perry's "Christian" willingness to support Israel over his own president, and recalled how he has been burned by Bush's fundamentalist psyche and the Christianism that now dominates conservative politics. We remembered the first gay soldier to fight for the right to serve, and honored the ones still coming out today. John Guardiano warned Republicans they need to put homosexuality on a legal and social par with heterosexuality, and It Gets Better lost a 14-year old to suicide.
On the campaign trail, we analyzed Perry's overblown cinematic ad about "President Zero," Jonathan Cohn parodied David Brooks' disappointment, and Nader and Cornel West's call for a liberal primary challenge fell flat with most of the left. Palin delayed her decision about whether she'll run, Bernstein prepared for a short GOP nomination battle, and Christie hasn't been in office long enough to make 2012 viable. Internationally, Exum explained how all parties have lost faith in the peace process, an assassination in Afghanistan challenged any sort of rapprochement with the Taliban, Iraqi wishes about our presence in the country barely registered with politicians here, and Egyptians conflate democracy with lowered economic inequality. James Hamilton urged America to take advantage of its vast natural resources and terminator-style robot warfare looked more and more feasible and secretive every day.
A ton of police resources went to busting victimless possessors of pot, social media is holding police more accountable for brutality, and even if it's legal, cops can still arrest you for recording them. Readers defended organic and local produce, scientists were prosecuted for not predicting an earthquake in Italy, and gamers helped solve a puzzle in AIDS research that has stumped scientists for decades. Netflix can't stream everything because it'll ruin the studio system; meanwhile they can't even claim their own Qwikster Twitter handle. Humans loved spoiled endings, and we admired Fred Rogers' lifetime achievement acceptance speech.
VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
–Z.P.
The Dish 