Dylan Matthews looks at American income mobility:
The U.S. does not come out the worst here; Italy and Great Britain have sharper class divisions than we do. But most other countries do substantially better. This includes not just Scandinavian social democracies like Denmark, Norway, and Finland (Sweden, curiously, does a bit worse) but Anglophone states such as Canada and Australia, with which the U.S. has much more in common.
Scott Horton watches the government's maneuvering. He poses a question:
Few functions are so fundamental to a democracy as the decision about when and how to wage a war. That decision means an investment of treasure and blood that can affect the lives of hundreds of millions in America and elsewhere. In this process, fair presentation and discussion of the facts is essential to a correct result. If information can be routinely suppressed because it is embarrassing to political leaders or would undermine the arguments they make to the nation, then our democracy is faltering. In the wake of these disclosures, Americans should carefully judge the conduct of those who claim that suppressing the leaks is in the interests of national security. Are they upholding national security, or are they betraying American democracy?
America's decline accelerates, with plenty of blame to go around.
Bristol and Levi are on the outs again. Mercede and Lanesia both deny that Levi has another baby on the way. I really want them all to go on Maury. And then I want Sarah cross-examined on Judge Judy. The only person qualified to interview Sarah Palin on national television is Judge Judy. She has experience with blizzards of lies and non-sequiturs.
Serwer sighs:
It's not just that [Andy] McCarthy ties everything he dislikes to an Islamist conspiracy to take over the United States, it's he genuinely believes that all the things he dislikes are all connected to a secret Islamist conspiracy to take over the United States. The sad part is that the man's ravings are the part of the intellectual foundation for the right's newfound penchant for treating all American Muslims as potential "stealth Islamists."
One of the more interesting long-shot candidates from this cycle:
Plumer takes aim at fossil-fuel subsidies:
A report from Harvard's Kennedy Center last year found that the world could cut global CO2 emissions by about 6 percent simply by scrapping price supports for fossil energy. (And yes, removing subsidies might, in the short term, have a regressive impact in the form of higher energy prices, but countries could easily take the money saved and use it to cushion the blow, via efficiency upgrades or even lump-sum payments.) Now, the worst offenders on this score are China, India, and Russia, but note that the United States does plenty of fossil-fuel subsidizing, too. We may not bankroll gasoline purchases the way Egypt or Venezuela do, but an analysis last year from the Environmental Law Institute found that the U.S. government offered $72 billion in incentives for oil, gas, and coal producers between 2002 and 2008.
Blumenthal watches Republican numbers tick back up.
From the 2009 Human Development Report. Steven Taylor opines:
What is interesting is that the lowest [Human Development Index (HDI)] county on the US side (Starr County Texas) is higher than the highest HDI municipality in Mexico (i.e., Mexicali).
This is, of course, likely not a shock to anyone paying even a modicum of attention to the situation. Still, it continues to underscore that fundamental aspect of this situation: it is the disparity of wealth between the two countries that continues to create the synergy of migration over the border. As I keep saying: any policy that ignores this fact will fail. As such, calls for massive deportations or that assumes it is possible to stop migration over the border is naught more than fantasy. “Seal the border!” is a slogan, not a viable policy.
Today on the Dish, Andrew and Joe Klein tallied up the costs of neoconservatism; a commenter at TPM nailed the Tea Party, and Andrew's hopes for one Republican congressman were bolstered by Ezra Klein. A terror rethink surfaced on the right, courtesy of Gene Healy and Jim Harper, and Frum called a Medicare spade a spade.
On the fiscal front Andrew differed with Douthat; and Anne Applebaum demanded honesty on the right. Andrew joined Joyner in being embarrassed by some conservatives, but not by being one. He remained incredulous at Sharron Angle's Palinization of the press.
Andrew shed light on the bigger picture for the Cordoba Mosque, with more Mosque parsing from Goldblog and Lieberman here. Insightful burqa reversal here. Misdirected honor killing here. And E.D. Kain reproached Anne Rice for quitting Christianity here.
Voter enthusiasm was a summer bummer. Prop 8 passed because of this ad, and this budding politician barebacked on Twitter. Mark Thompson paused to digest Thiessen on WikiLeaks — whereas Scherer openly rebutted him. The Newsweek ship weathered more rough waters, but marijuana might be going mainstream.
Slate got stoned. Twitter got its 20th billion tweet. Sanchez criticized the administration's digital power grab, Andrew dissed wonkery, and science bloggers got wrapped up in a war of their own. A nugget of Indian philosophy and faith here. TNC's insights into marriage, be they interracial or gay, here. And more Living Will reader emails led Andrew to bemoan a no-win situation.
Ever-industrious Dish readers pinpointed the VFYW contest #9 here, and then connected the place to Kevin Bacon in 3 steps. Malkin Award here, MHB here and E.D. Kain's response to Dish readers on abortion here. Hollywood finally went viral; and the Dish fell for the historical beard infographic. Prescriptions for preschool continued and this guy drank beer and vomited his way through a half-marathon.
–Z.P.
The Dish 