Today on the Dish, Andrew chastised Netanyahu and the Christianist GOP for shutting the door on a two-state solution, and was joined by Clinton in criticizing Perry's theological foreign policy. Andrew drew a distinction between religious faith as practice and as a literal truth, and Alan Dershowitz earned a Malkin award on Israel.
Georgia likely executed an innocent man in a perversion of justice under the law. William Jelani Cobb considered the racial makeup of Troy Davis' supporters, and the web weighed in on whether this case could end the death penalty. Andrew challenged Hitch's opposition to the term endless war, and Eric Cummings reconsidered why the forever war has to be emotionally exhausting. The FBI opened an investigation based on the work of a blog, Michael Yon drove home the constant fear of hidden bombs, we tried to understand how the Republic of Korea has survived, and the Taliban refused to cooperate with Karzai's government.
Andrew live-blogged tonight's GOP debate and watched Perry flail; the full debate reax is here. The GOP lobbied for less financial regulation as the country struggled to get over Wall Street's mistakes, and we debated what qualifies as GOP compassion in regards to the government. Perry's Texas miracle was dominated by jobs for immigrants, his popularity plummeted, and Elizabeth Warren wooed progressives by defending taxation of the rich. Levi and McGinniss raised new questions about Palin's pregnancy, and Andrew still hoped to resolve it empirically. Julian Sanchez united Ron Paul and Ron Dworkin, and Chait assessed how the GOP are tiptoeing around supporting Romney without throwing Perry under the bus in case he gets nominated. Perry couldn't carry New Hampshire, Florida braced to be the decisive state for choosing the nominee, and the GOP tried to change Pennsylvania's electoral system because the party is getting whiter as the country's demographics get more diverse.
Readers absorbed the emotions brought on by the servicemember's confession to his father, but those who serve still aren't accorded the same rights for their spouses or children. Obama surpassed Dubya in terms of deportations and closing pot dispensaries in California increased crime. International poker sites operated outside of US gambling regulations, America's rich benefited from a generous tax rate compared to the rest of the world, and America could have its first trillionaire in 50 years. Ted Haggard was appearing on "Celebrity Wife Swap" with Gary Busey, and readers shared more of their favorite out athletes, including Billie Jean King and Brian Sims.
Map of the day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
–Z.P.
(Photo: A supporter quietly awaits the execution of Troy Davis at Jackson State Prison on September 21, 2011 in Jackson, Georgia. Davis' time of death was 11:08PM on Wednesday, September 21, 2011. By Jessica McGowan/Getty Images.)
The Dish 