Author: Andrew Sullivan

Greg Sargent asks:

We've just seen the release of a massive, painstaking, thoroughly professional report from the Pentagon finding clear support for repeal among our service members. The Defense Secretary continues to insist in a high-profile and very compelling way that Congress must repeal the policy right now for the good of our military.

Can anyone imagine a more politically opportune time to repeal DADT presenting itself in the near future?

Gates isn't optimistic:

Gates seems to think that the Senate will not find the time in the lame duck session to hit President Obama's goal of ending DADT by the end of 2010. Supporters of repeal say they have the votes to get the job done, but worry that the legislative calendar the way it's currently written won't allow a vote to take place.  

Today on the Dish, Andrew countered Brendan Tapley on the future of manly love in a post-DADT world. We tracked the Prop 8 oral arguments, and Adam Bink summarized Olson's points. David Link exposed a McCain clinging to prejudice, Brian Beutler killed the GOP defense canard to stall a DADT vote, and Andrew urged them to extend the calendar. James Harkin wasn't impressed with Iran's Twitter revolution, and Peter Beinart exploded the Arabs versus Iran argument on democracy in the Middle East. The Russians almost waged nuclear war on the Chinese (in 1969), Goldblog got accused of anti-Israel leftism, Scott McConnell calculated the real cost of our relationship with Israel, and a no-knock drug raid gone wrong turned a corner on the road to justice.

Andrew weighed the problems of debt vs unemployment, and compared Sarah Palin (who has been killing it lately) to a zombie. Andrew saw cold-blooded pragmatism in Obama's tax cuts compromise, Weigel saw disappointment brewing on the left, and Dan Bartlett relished the tax-cut trap he and Bush set for the future. Democrats were willing to bargain, Felix Salmon offered historical perspective on why federal taxes are the lowest they've been in 60 years, and millionares are now people who earn a million dollars a year. The left trumped the GOP on fiscal conservatism, Don Taylor watched for Obama's next move on the debt, and Ross praised progress made by a failed Simpson Bowles. Allahpundit propped up Mike Pence for 2012, and bloggers agreed that the dickishness of the GOP was out of control.

Racial profiling at the airport doesn't work, the Washington Monument will never be secure from terror, and we trust people more when we're holding a warm cup. Cablegate Roulette is Chatroulette without the penises, Umberto Eco compared Wikileaks to Orwell, and on the anniversary of prohibition's repeal, cigarettes got burned. Michael Lind defended big biz, Stephen Bainbridge tracked the church's moral evolution and readers debated whether religion is inherently sexist. Al-Qaeda could poke you, Cory Doctorow likened newspapers to vinyl, and Mark Halperin kept hackery alive. American hunters comprised the world's largest unofficial militia and the internet pounced on Mel Gibson's The Beaver. Portland and Wisconsin hoarded all of America's pubs, New York lured a lot of college graduates, and Colorado didn't want you to order a beer that wasn't strong enough. New Kids On The Block sang one for the children, Turks had to take it from behind and smile to prove they unfit for service, and Nicole Kidman moved her face.

VFYW here, quote for the day here, dissent of the day here, chart of the day here, MHB here, and FOTD here.

–Z.P.

Spencer Ackerman reads a new study:

[P]rimarily, [the Department of Homeland Security] finds, al-Qaeda uses Facebook to launder its message through an outlet that the kids think is cool. Extremists quoted in the study talk about disguising their involvement in the group for maximum appeal. Partially, that’s to keep “the idolator dogs” of U.S. intelligence off their scent — they recommend takfiris sign up for Facebook using identity-masking tools like Tor — but it’s also for propaganda purposes.

Adam Bink's hurried thoughts:

Ted Olson hammered home repeatedly, and without interruption that the US Supreme Court has never said marriage is just between man and woman when ruling in the context of prisoners, contraception, divorce, other cases that marriage is (a) liberty (b) privacy (c) association (d) identity. He noted the Supreme Court said this 14 different times. That, along with Olson’s discussion points that (a) even if raising children in same-sex households were a problem, the remedy is not to deny the freedom to marry to same-sex couples, and (b) as Brian put it, you can’t wall off a right because children shouldn’t be exposed to sexuality… it just doesn’t stand up to even the lowest level of rational basis- seemed to be the most poignant in the entire day.

The Texas GOP wants a "Christian" Speaker of the state house. It's useful to see an explicit religous test now in operation in the GOP. The Republican party is, at its core, a religious organization, especially in states such as Texas. Why shouldn't explicitly sectarian tests be used for high office?

Andrew Gelman notes that the definition has changed:

It used to be that a millionaire was someone with million dollars. Nowadays, though, the term is often used to refer to people who make a million dollars a year. (See here, for example, in a discussion of the so-called millionaire's tax break.. I guess it makes sense–lots of Americans have a million dollars in assets, and so for "millionaire" to keep its traditional meaning of "really rich," it had to shift somehow. It still seems funny to me, that this change in definition has occurred without it being formally acknowledged.

A reader writes:

Portland, Oregon has more breweries (36) than any city in the US, and they all have their own brewpubs. Oregon law requires bars to serve food, and a lot of them serve stunningly good fare. 

The Stone is my local drinkery. It's quaint, rustic, and they have about a half-dozen regulars there regardless of what time or day it is.  I like to call it The Winchester.  This is just the pub that happens to be closest to my house; there are countless more on every corner, and a new one seems to open every day.  The County Cork is another awesome pub. We watched the World Cup there with some pretty fervent soccer fans, who were all drinking and cheering and blowing into mock-up vuvuzelas while families with children dined around them.

Another writes:

Steinglass is simply incorrect in his claim that brewpubs are illegal in the US. Here in Oregon, breweries ARE permitted to operate bars, and many do. One of the best-known chains in the Northwest is McMenamins, many of whose establishments are similar to the typical British corner pub. 

McMenamins brews its own beer (which is only available in their establishments; they do not bottle and sell it elsewhere), they have a halfway-decent food menu, and minors are permitted in many establishments until late in the evening.  They also specialize in renovating old buildings and converting them into brewpubs, nightclubs, and hotels – and even run a few converted movie theaters which show second-run films to patrons as they drink.  And McMenamins is far from the only game in town.

What is true in New York or Washington is not necessarily true elsewhere in the country.

Another:

In a significant number of neighborhoods in Portland there are corner pubs, or at least corner restaurants that serve beer, wine, and liquor.  Within a 3/4 mile walk of my house, which is a pretty nice urban neighborhood, there are roughly 14 such spots (11 of which are decent-to-fantastic, and of those, about half could be considered pubs or pub-like – the rest restaurants). Not all neighborhoods here are like that, but plenty are, especially on the east side of the Willamette River (the west side is more suburban in feel, so it has far fewer walkable corner pubs). And every single establishment near my house is independently owned.

(Photo by Flickrite John Carleton. Caption: "My parents took the kids and we headed down the street to McMenamin's Kennedy School for dinner and a movie. We love McMenamin's because we can do both at the same time! Plus the couches are comfy and the beer is good. Much better than those mall theaters.")

Piotr Zalewski reports on Turkey's military gay ban:

[I]t's practically impossible for Turkish men to avoid exposure to military life, and the burden is on them to prove they are unfit for service. Every man between 20 and 41 years old is required to serve at least six months. Exemptions are granted only under two conditions: a mental or physical disability, and homosexuality. Turkey does not recognize the right to conscientious objection. …

Astoundingly, some gays … report that they were asked to produce photographs showing them as participants in anal intercourse. Even then, Turkish authorities are said to apply special criteria. According to the military, and Turkish society at large, penetrating another man does not necessarily qualify as a homosexual act; only being penetrated is undisputedly homosexual. Hence the unwritten rule when it comes to such photos: "The man should be in the passive position, receiving from behind," L. explains, "and looking at the camera. Preferably while smiling."

After Brazil, more recognition for a Palestinian state.

Umberto Eco on the Wikileaks hall of mirrors:

Formerly, back in the days of Orwell, every power could be conceived of as a Big Brother watching over its subjects' every move. The Orwellian prophecy came completely true once the powers that be could monitor every phone call made by the citizen, every hotel he stayed in, every toll road he took and so on and so forth. The citizen became the total victim of the watchful eye of the state. But when it transpires, as it has now, that even the crypts of state secrets are not beyond the hacker's grasp, the surveillance ceases to work only one-way and becomes circular. The state has its eye on every citizen, but every citizen, or at least every hacker – the citizens' self-appointed avenger – can pry into the state's every secret.

(Hat tip: Alexis)