Today on the Dish, we collected reax to the payroll tax cut extension, Andrew went another round on Ron Paul and race, he elaborated on his philosophy on endorsements, and explained his support as a form of protest. Paul won the endorsements of weary troops, he's heavily invested in gold, and should stay away from the cover of Newsweek. We addressed the (im)possibility of a "triple-flip" election, SOPA is a bipartisan disaster, and sympathy requires self-awareness.
The situation in Iraq quickly deteriorated, Syria faced a sectarian civil war as violence erupted, and Christianity disappeared from the Middle East. A bar owner risked his life to buy liquor in Baghdad, something's gotta give in the US-Pakistan relationship, and Chinese authorities viewed popular protests as a learning opportunity.
In our AAA video, Andrew discussed a potential move to Brooklyn (about his three-legged dog t-shirt here), a mushroom channeled Santa Claus, and Christmas carols have always been hated. We revisited the unruly spirit of Christmas, considered American attitudes toward the rich and powerful, and reflected on our lives as told by Facebook Timeline. New census data confirmed the South's demographic dominance, porn beat Christmas at search, and nicotine doesn't improve focus. Immigration arrests skyrockted, good beer proliferated, and readers exchanged tips on watching sports without cable.
Musical ode to mall Santas here, Kristen Stewart explains Christmas here, a brief history of Christmas here, Malkin award nominee here, VFYW here, FOTD here, and MHB here.
Thursday on the Dish, the economy exacted enormous strain on the middle class, Andrew put the Ron Paul newsletters in perspective, and he took on the larger issue of bigotry in the GOP. Michael Dougherty offered a short history of the newsletters, readers stormed the in-tray, and Neil Cavuto urged the Republican media to take Ron Paul seriously. WFB would not have disqualified the congressman based on foreign policy, and Paul shirked front-runner treatment as he neared a maximum level of support. We debated Romney's relative weakness, analyzed conservative policy dysfunction on the payroll tax, and in our AAA video, Andrew discussed campaign finance and the First Amendment.
We addressed the security risks of bird flu research, the surge failed by its own standards in Iraq, and Republicans favor "economic and diplomatic efforts" in Iran. Romney changed positions on the Bin Laden raid, the clock ticked for Assad in Syria, and the neocons smothered the debate surrounding America's role in the world. Corruption tainted the adoption process in Ethiopia, and the North Korean famine was perhaps the greatest man-made catastrophe of the post-Cold War period.
The ACA exceeded expectations, polls are like blood tests, and the Depression killed Prohibition. We weighed the dispensability of HR, became well-versed in efficient gift-giving, and considered doing away with presents altogether.
Huntsman's lame joke here, gospel music in the car here, the Christmas of your nightmares here, Moore award nominee here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and the kiss of the day here.
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Wednesday on the Dish, Andrew sensed a watershed moment as the House GOP played "high stakes poker," the WSJ ridiculed congressional Republicans as the McConnell method prevailed, and Romney naturally refused to take sides. The GOP discounted an electable candidate, Paul's candidacy could ultimately make room for pragmatism in the Republican Party, and Jennifer Rubin faced a hard road. The GOP establishment has morphed into a "Washington consensus," Gingrich got pummeled on TV, and he and his party turned away a whole group of people (follow-up here). Paul surged (and he under-polls), Silver broke down Obama's approval rating bounce, and the Dish reader survey continued. In our AAA video, Andrew addressed Reagan's response to the AIDS crisis and his presidency in general, the presumptive nominee equivocated on Iraq, and he's a big fat liar.
We tracked developments as Assad slaughtered 250 Syrians in two days, Eli Lake checked in on major political squabbling in Iraq, Issandr El Amrani exposed the reality in Egypt, and we thought through the consequences of a North Korean collapse. Andrew discussed North Korea and torture, protesters marshalled the arts, and Hamas signaled a transition to nonviolent resistance.
Hitch's life was ended by addiction, deep local knowledge is overrated, and homophobia is fucked up. Piers Morgan was "extremely hands on" as editor of the Daily Mirror, policymakers must behave as if "there will, in fact, be a future," and Ryan-Wyden forged a consensus around competition in healthcare. James Madison approached the environment with humility, readers weighed in on pubic hair and the lack thereof, and cleaning is a form of conspicuous consumption.
Lamest jokes from the GOP candidates here and here, tweet of the day here, Newt's turn at bad lip-reading here, Kim Jong-il dropping the bass here, Moore award nominee here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew stood by his endorsement of Ron Paul, he reflected on Hitch's force of will, and Marc Tracy put forth a theory of Hitchens' Jewishness. Obama has had a good fall, we wondered when his views on marriage equality would fully "evolve," and Keith Humphreys predicted that the president would win the Iowa caucuses. Ron Paul is officially the frontrunner in Iowa, we dusted off his eponymous racist newsletters (a reader's take here), and the RNC-FNC prepared to continue to ignore Paul and disregard Iowans. We pictured a Paul victory in Iowa, everyone can agree that Congress is a disaster, and Caddellchanneled Kaus. Erick Erickson highlighted some important inconsistencies in the GOP field, Romney's nose grew, and the former governor made jokes about butts. In our AAA video, Andrew elaborated on his critique of the Catholic Church.
Russia absorbed the Arab Spring, Syrian protestors retaliated with song and mockery, and a sanctuary in Costa Rica gave orphaned monkeys a second chance. We worried there would be no genuine democratic transition in Egypt, rated US leverage in the Middle East, and discussed the implications of Saudi Arabian investment in Twitter. North Korea remained a mystery, the Israeli left was crowded out, and Maliki's government came apart.
Piers Morgan equivocated, he encountered the "whole new universe" of ethics, and likely voters are unreliable. Thatcher's handbag was her gavel, tobacco posed a colossal threat, and readers reimagined cable.
Shit black girls say here, supervillain or Newt? quiz here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and VFYW contest winner #81 here. Our thriving Dish reader poll here.
Monday on the Dish, we collected reax to the death of Kim Jong-Il, wondered if the tears were fake, and summoned the ronery song. We delved into the psychology of dictators, charted the dramatic divergence of North and South Korea, and Jim Pethokoukis flipped out. The Dish memorialized Hitch, virtues cohabit with sins, and our readers got to know one another (update here). Ron Paul took the lead in Iowa, he's a demographic dream for the GOP, and news pegs obscured campaign coverage. Gingrich fell fast, he went after the "judicial dictatorship," and even the Rasmussenites fear government passivity.
Preemptive war made a comeback, the power of denial prevailed in Egypt, and Tahrir erupted once more. We checked in on the gay community in Uganda, and Syrian defectors were executed en masse.
The prison population dwindled in the US, the Freakonomics approach is flawed, and our peach fuzz is perfectly evolved. We sized up the ambitions of Andrew Cuomo, higher education met Moneyball, and health care price controls flopped. Biometric IDs keep things honest, girls are catching up with boys in math, and bikes can save us. In our AAA video, Andrew explained why he opposes criminalizing prejudice.
Tweet of the day here, creepy ad watch here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, our year-end lamest GOP jokes contest here, brave highdeas (including emergency texting) here, and Kim Jong-Il looking at things here.
– M.A.
The Dish 