Month: August 2012

by Matthew Sitman

Writing at Front Porch Republic, Mark Mitchell takes to task the purveyors of "culture war" language and tactics:

Culture war suggests a battle to the death. But the metaphor is wrong and therefore fosters poor thinking. A culture is not something with which to do battle, either as an offensive weapon or an object of attack. A culture is a living thing, an inheritance, passed on from generation to generation. It is preserved by loving care not militant brow-beating. It cannot survive as a merely negative opposition to something perceived as its opposite. It is a creative, developing expression of a people’s view of the world that reaches ultimately to the highest things: to the good, the true, and the beautiful. To weaponize culture is, therefore, to destroy the very thing for which the battle is ostensibly waged.

Nosara, Costa Rica, 5.05 pm

by Zoë Pollock

Whitney Johnson wonders if it comes down to his faith:

In The Elephant in the Race, an evenhanded appraisal of unanswered questions about the Mormon faith, Liza Mundy points to “a patriarchal structure [within the Mormon church] in which men hold the important leadership positions, assisted by a women’s auxiliary called the 'Relief Society.' ” According to Apostle M. Russell Ballard, who holds one of the highest positions within the church hierarchy, “we can only fire on all cylinders … when the men and women who have been called to serve become part of a problem-solving team.” But in practice (the impetus for Ballard’s pronouncement) women frequently get sidelined.  For Romney, it may well be that his leadership model is that men sail the ship and women do what the name “Relief Society” implies, administering relief back in the harbor. 

Andrew's take on Mormonism's bizarre history of conspiracy theories and sexual panics, here. Marin Cogan proposed an alternate theory about Mitt's inability to connect – he's a mansplainer.

by Patrick Appel

Probably not:

So why might athletes continue to use it? Well, sometimes lying to yourself can lead to good things. Thinking you are better than you are (for whatever reason) might actually *make* you better than you are. Here was the conclusion of Joanna Stark and Caroline Keating’s 1991 study, “Self-Deception and Its Relationship to Success in Competition“: “The results were consistent with the proposition that self-deception enhances motivation and performance during competition.”

(Photo: Laura Ludwig and Sara Goller of Germany in action during the Women’s Beach Volleyball Preliminary match between Brazil and Germany on July 31, 2012 in London, England. By Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Now that both @sullydish and @nytimeskrugman are on vacation, I expect the Eurozone to promptly collapse.

— Ryan (@RyanWithCupcake) August 6, 2012

by Chris Bodenner

For any readers still confused by the various bylines on today’s posts, Andrew just started his yearly two-week vacation (read his parting message here). The Dish staff will continue to cull the inbox, however, so please keep the great content coming.

by Gwynn Guilford and Patrick Appel

Jared Bernstein's reflects on Paul Ryan's fiscal messiah posturing – which Andrew touched on last week. Bernstein unfurls the unspectacular success rate of the supply-side tax cuts Ryan champions:

[I]in real life, the government will continue to play a larger role in our lives than the plans imply, the unspecified loopholes will turn out to be both politically unassailable and not large enough to offset the tax cuts (PDF),* and thus the deficit will only grow larger, as it has under other Republicans, like Reagan and GW Bush, who proclaimed similar visions of limited government and trickle down.

Meanwhile, Stephen Hayes and Bill Kristol argue that Ryan's budgetary expertise, such as it is, makes him a compelling VP pick:

[P]utting Ryan on the ticket would ensure that the presidential race is a contest of ideas, not just personalities. In a country where conservatives outnumber liberals two-to-one and where President Obama is thought to be more likable than Mitt Romney by huge margins (+30 according toUSA Today/Gallup, +38 in the Washington Post/ABC poll), this strikes us as a good idea. Of course Democrats will demagogue the entitlement reform proposals in Ryan’s budget. But they’re going to do that anyway. Romney and Republicans already own those reforms—97 percent of congressional Republicans voted for them, and Romney has embraced them without much qualification.

Pareene begs to differ:

The Obama administration cackles with glee imagining the opportunity to explain the contents of the Ryan budget to moderate voters. Ayn Rand starts showing up in Democratic attack ads if Paul Ryan is the running mate.

Past Dish coverage on Ryan here, here, here, here and here.

by Chris Bodenner

Throwing can be tricky with the other hand:

(Hat tip: Kottke)

by Zoë Pollock

J.D. Tuccille spotlights two developments in the 3D printing revolution. First up, the manufacture of a gun that can actually shoot:

An American gunsmith has become the first person to construct and shoot a pistol partly made out of plastic, 3D-printed parts. The creator, user HaveBlue from the AR-15 forum, has reportedly fired 200 rounds with his part-plastic pistol without any sign of wear and tear.

Next up, drugs?

Researchers have used a £1,250 system to create a range of organic compounds and inorganic clusters – some of which are used to create cancer treatments. Longer term, the scientists say the process could be used to make customised medicines. … We're extrapolating from that to say that in the future you could buy common chemicals, slot them into something that 3D prints, just press a button to mix the ingredients and filter them through the architecture and at the bottom you would get out your prescription drug.

Tuccille's takeaway:

Think of it — a world of plenty, with easy localized manufacture of almost anything you might need. It's a world in which "that should be illegal" becomes a punch line.

by Gwynn Guilford

The latest marriage equality ad – this one out of Washington, where a ballot measure seeks to overturn a law recognizing same-sex marriage:

After the release of the affecting Maine ad, it suggests that marriage equality campaigners may have finally found their secret weapon: older folks. Simply having parents and grandparents saying "gay" without flinching makes it seem like it's not that big a deal. To this effect, the Maine campaign also rolled out this ad last year.

by Zoë Pollock

"For once, I’d like a pool report to tell the truth 'Candidate x got off the bus and addressed an enthusiastic crowd with the exact same platitudinous crap he said four hours earlier to another equally enthusiastic crowd. There was no sense to it whatsoever, but man, these people really ate it up. And his enemies will twist his words into slightly offensive shapes and make a big dumb boring hullaballoo about it until the nation finally stirs itself to end this thing with their votes,'" – Michael Brendan Dougherty.