Author: Andrew Sullivan

Karl Smith counters Frum.

Cailey Hall forms a theory about soldier music videos (several examples at the link):

These videos may not be as "real" as the shaky camera footage of embedded reporters (most recently on view in Restrepo), but they somehow feel more immediate. Yes, movies like Restrepo and The Hurt Locker make a concerted effort to depict soldiers in their down time, goofing off—but there's the inevitable Heisenberg effect. Being acknowledged observers, we change the dynamic. But watching these videos, we get to be in on the joke. It's the closest many of us get to being allowed into the soldiers' world. And so watching a group of camo-clad soldiers pop, clown-car style, out of a Porta-Potty and lip sync to "Ice Ice Baby," while waving around AK-47s and dancing against the bleached, barren backdrop of their concrete-enclosed compound becomes unexpectedly compelling.

Josh Green harshes the mellow:

From what I've read of the literature, there does seem to be some fairly compelling evidence that the anti-gay marriage initiatives had an effect in areas with heavy concentrations of Protestant evangelicals. That would imply that the effect of marijuana initiatives on Democratic candidates would be strongest in areas with heavy concentrations of pot supporters–i.e., blue states like California, but probably not red states. Sorry to be a buzz kill.

The inevitable is getting closer and closer.

Via Yglesias. Ryan Avent rounds-up expert reactions to this trend. Here's Stephen Roach:

According to research published in the Monthly Labour Review of the US Bureau of Labour Statistics in April 2009, compensation of Chinese manufacturing workers was only $0.81 per hour in 2006—just 2.7% of comparable costs in the US, 3.4% of those in Japan, and 2.2% of compensation rates in Europe. While these figures are now out of date by nearly four years, they underscore the magnitude of the gap between China and the developed world—and how difficult it would be to close that gap even under the most excessive of Chinese wage inflation scenarios.

Chait watches their grip slip:

In the past, the Republican Party has always managed to hold in check the tactical radicalism of its base. It's starting to run wild. In past elections, I would have totally discounted the possibility that the party might nominate a figure like Sarah Palin, because the party establishment has always been strong enough to push aside candidates who were not strong electoral vehicles for conservatism. I'm no longer sure they have that power anymore.

Good to have your eyes open, Jon. Now start looking at what's going on in Israel.

Noah Millman shares why he changed his mind (at least twice) on marriage equality. It strikes me as a model of bloggy discourse: allowing oneself to change one's mind in public and change it back if necessary, and using the process to understand yourself and the world a little better.

Read the whole intellectually honest thing.

Melody Dye passes along some research suggesting that our slow cognitive development is key to our intelligence as a species:

In a recent article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, Sharon Thompson-Schill, Michael Ramscar and Evangelia Chrysikou make the case that this very helplessness is what allows human babies to advance far beyond other animals. They propose that our delayed cortical development is precisely what enables us to acquire the cultural building blocks, such as language, that make up the foundations of human achievement. Indeed, the trio makes clear that our early vulnerability is an evolutionary “engineering trade-off,” much like the human larynx—which, while it facilitates the intricate productions of human speech, is actually quite a precarious adaptation for anyone trying to swallow safely. In the same way, they suggest, our ability to learn language comes at the price of an extended period of cognitive immaturity.

Jonah Lehrer adds his two cents.

Joel Wing covers the political stalemate:

As always, Maliki is the main barrier to forming a new government. He insists that he return as prime minister, which is opposed by almost all the other parties. The negotiations with the Iraqi National Alliance and the Iraqi National Movement have gone nowhere because of him, while the Kurds are largely staying on the sidelines willing to support any coalition that emerges that will agree to their demands. Maliki has the luxury of being able to drag out the process because he still holds onto his office. That means four months after Iraq’s election, the country’s politicians are still no closer to forming a government. 

When a politician refuses to acquiesce to the demands of all the other parties and remains the national leader four months after an election, with no resolution in sight, have we really constructed a workable non-sectarian polity? Or did Petraeus successfully p.r. his way toward a face-saver?