Today on the Dish, Andrew relayed his outrage at Santorum and the GOP for disrespecting the troops only when they happen to be gay, and badass gay athletes should give those who booed some pause. On the debate front, Perry disappointed even the far right partisans, got the pile-on for his jumbled foreign policy answers, and may be nearing the end of his run as frontrunner. Pareene got psyched for a real libertarian like Johnson, Frum sized up Huntsman's challenge to Romney, and we corrected Herman Cain's accusation that Obamacare could kill you. The Granite State swooned for Romney, Chait assessed his chances outside of the debates, and Philip Klein didn't think Romney would have the gall to repeal Obamacare.
The Economist nailed the Palestinian statehood drive with the requisite snark, Eli Lake piled on with news of Obama's sale of bunker-busters to Israel, and Allison Hoffman revealed Bibi's right-hand man.
Will Wilkinson took the uproar about the death penalty as a sign of moral progress, Hitchens blamed it on America's religiosity, litigation can stall social progress, and readers reminded us of the other execution that happened Wednesday night. Wheat, even the whole grain kind, may not be very healthy for us at all, the student loan bubble expanded, models make no money, and the economic shitstorm escalated. Apple's valuation is worth more than the drug trade, most commutes are in the 15-to-19-minute range, and single parent families struggle the most with poverty. Young people delayed life while the economy remained bad, long-term trusts blew our mind, and raising the minimum wage could help decentivize them for illegal immigrants willing to take them.
Sentimental women often save their pregnancy sticks just like Sarah Palin, it can get expensive for an older man to land a date with a younger woman, and a new video game armed its player with only a camera.
Chart of the day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
By Franck Prevel/Getty Images.
Thursday 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.
Samish Island, Washington, 8.07 am
Wednesday 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.
Tuesday on the Dish, DADT officially ended and we watched as a gay serviceman finally came out to his dad. Massie credited British secularism with their embrace of marriage equality, readers insisted that out-lesbian sports stars aren't the same as male versions, and we awaited gay marriage on prime time. Andrew defended Obama from David Brooks' real beef with the GOP, and Focus on the Family downsized because the right has already absorbed all of its skewed ideology. Andrew backed Greenwald's horror at a system where torture isn't enough punishment for some and Georgia may be about to execute an innocent man.
The good Eagle Scout Perry edged out Romney but we kept our eyes on Palin, while the mainstream media continued to dismiss McGinniss' book, even though the anonymity was completely necessary. Jennifer Rubin drooled over the idea of a Chris Christie candidacy, Super PACS buy access to candidates, and even Honore de Balzac understood that newspapers have become political party weapons. Tax reform offers long-term benefits, poverty indicators don't tell us enough about how many people are really struggling, and emotional arguments have to wreak havoc with expectations. A reader took issue with our limited quote from Rep. Fleming about his $400k, and we parsed whether a "Buffett tax" on the wealthy would even bring in that much revenue. Daniel McCarthy sussed out the tensions between empire and conservatism and Julian Sanchez reconciled religious faith with our desire to believe in the fictions.
On the UN- Palestinian front, Chait diagnosed Jewish Republicans with an overdeveloped sense of black anti-Semitism, Beinart told American Zionists they were going to regret this missed opportunity, and a Palestinian shared what it's like to fight the Israeli settlements. Abbas Milani posed questions to Iran at the UN, and terrorists don't have nukes because they're actually hard to make even if the directions are on the internet. Veiled women in France were essentially put under house arrest, and the FBI trained the military to go after Islam's holy texts and clerics.
Andrew relished his dead-tree reading, not everyone in the world counts continents in the same way, and specialization matters less in the Information Age. Today's international politics resemble surfing more than chess, and R&B beats country music, proving that sex sells. Fredrick the Great made his troops drink beer instead of coffee, high rates of disease correlate with autocracy, and a sex strike brought peace to the Phillippines.
Chart of the day here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here and contest winner #68 here.
Summer feelings from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.
Monday on the Dish, Andrew supported Obama's call for the rich to contribute their share, with which most Americans overwhelmingly agree. The full web reax is here, Bruce Bartlett questioned Obama's attention to the economy, and we pursued more analysis on whether green jobs are endangering the cause. Andrew cheered news of the Conservative party in Britain's support of full marriage equality, and assessed how this recession differs from those in the past, while a Louisiana Congressman argued he can't afford a tax increase because $400,000 isn't enough to live on.
Andrew parsed the evolution of the Israel lobby and being pro-Israel or pro-Greater Israel, while a majority of the world's public, including America, supports a Palestinian state. NRO earned its keep for a Palestine-inspired Malkin Award, Republican infighting broke out over defense spending, and Andrew Breitbart jumped off the paranoid deep end but promised to be packing heat. Terror alerts should tell us what to do in the event of a terror attack, the "responsibility to protect" imagery projected pure imperialism, and the world turned its back on Yemen's massacre over the last couple of days.
We awaited DADT's end tomorrow and reconsidered how much of our own tax dollars goes towards policies we disagree with. Perry's approval ratings plummeted, his Afghanistan policy defied logic, but his campaign methods have proved very successful in the past. Romney appeared the strongest contender for Obama, attack ads work, and the GOP needs to get over its anti-intellectualism. Mike Tyson bragged about Dennis Rodman's endowments, Gaultier survived childhood by doodling, and Netflix gambled on our willingness to compartmentalize our desires. A father pondered circumcision, we tracked Medicare Advantage improvements that may be a result of Obamacare, and Obama's war on drugs was basically indistinguishable from Bush's.
Chinese restaurants wooed Halal diners after they'd successfully nabbed the Jews, and a new report busted the myth that minorities get more scholarship money. Charles Kenny argued organic food markets hurt the world's poor, we chastised but never changed the financial and oil drilling systems that went so horribly wrong, and an end to smoking could save us $211 billion. One reader attested to high levels of meth use in some gay communities, another connected meth to lethal prescribed drugs, and another reminded us there's already been a great gay superstar: Martina Navratilova. Good schooling isn't tied to price, and Mr. Rogers is reason enough to support PBS.
MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and the views from your airplane window here.
–Z.P.
The Dish 