Today on the Dish, Andrew gave a fullthroated defense of a radical and individualistic Christian sexual ethic (response here), flagged the current Pope's old account of an apolitical Jesus, confessed the difficulties this Lent has brought, and listened to more reader feedback here. He also explored how the GOP turned Obama into a more vocal liberal, noted another instance of rank Obama-hatred, profiledthe psychology behind the anger, found it in cartoon form, aired reader thoughs, and saw no Palin bump. We tracked Obama's rhetorical escalation as the primary gave way to the general, got bored of primary horserace coverage, located Romney's base of "moderate cynics," dubbed him "Mr. Generic Republic," went over the merits of Paul Ryan as Veep (again), examined how Jeffrey Toobin shaped the SCOUTUS CW, and rifled through Congress' full e-mailbox. Ad War Update here.
On another front, Andrew dove in to the newly released Bush-era State Department memo explaining that torture was, in fact, torture. We kept track of more arguments on Beinart and the settlements, explained why adoption was banned in many Muslim countries, and worried about the effect of food prices on global stability. The world appeared primed to buy American, casinos profited from good design, and dating sites sold their clients' info. Google previewed a future of impossibly awesome glasses, driverless cars appeared to be coming to a street near you, apps seemed like the future of books, but suicide prevention wasn't progressing. The reflections of a gay doctor appalled and readers half-defended the MPAA on Bully. We grounded the us-versus-them dynamic in human biology, wondered if being ethical in one way served as a release valve to act poorly in others, noted that it was socially acceptable to say you suck at math but not at reading, and peered into the psyche of Mad Men fans. Many things seemed legit, including cremation.
Ask Jonah Anything here, Hathos Alert here, Quote for the Day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
– Z.B.
The Dish 