Author: Andrew Sullivan

I love this:

I generally support more sunshine in all government proceedings. But the judge’s unusual method of securing video coverage is extremely troubling. This isn’t a sincere educational effort to provide transparency to the public. It’s a flagrant attempt at making Prop. 8 a show trial — and intimidating Prop. 8 backers who will be called to testify.

Huh? How is something a show-trial because it is televised?

The trial, in fact, would be an excellent occasion for the anti-gay right to demonstrate the cogency of its arguments with respect to the second class status of gay couples under the law. And this lawsuit, remember, was brought in part by old-school conservative Republican Ted Olson. The truth is: in a legal proceeding, you have to rely on evidence, not scary television ads about gays coming to get your kids. On that level, on the level of rational argument, the anti-gay right is afraid.

Well: they're not stupid. Transparency kills them. Bring it on!

Radio Free Europe reports:

The state-television documentary suggests the video of Neda's dying moments merely depicted her pouring blood on her own face from a special bottle she was carrying. Later, the documentary alleges that 27-year-old Neda was shot dead in the car that was taking her to a hospital. The conspiracy theory alleged in the documentary is in line with comments by Iranian officials, who have repeatedly described Neda's death as "suspicious" and a "premeditated scenario" to defame Iran.

Dan Savage reacts to Letterman's comedy bit about Amanda Simpson, Obama's transgender appointee:

Better first than never. Unfortunately one of the jobs for a first—unfortunately—is to endure, deflect, defuse, absorb, lance, exorcise, etc., the cultural biases that created the discriminatory climate that prevented someone else, long ago, from being the first before you. Being the good-humored butt of a joke or two—jokes that acknowledge your arrival and help lance, exorcise, etc., some of those biases—is one of the ways a first like Simpson contributes. Ultimately this video tells us more about Letterman's discomfort with trans people—and his audiences' discomfort—than it does about Amanda Simpson. And it isn't a joke that Letterman can tell every time a trans person walks through the door that Simpson (and Obama) opened for her community. It's [a] "first" joke.

Isn't outing people something Drudge might want to avoid?

Deficits do matter now, apparently. Because they can be used to attack Obama. Why is the WSJ printing this dishonest crap that simply ignores Rove's long support for massive structural deficits throughout the eight years he was in power?

Reihan highlights this post by Tyler Cowen on the Visa fees NYT article and bloggy reaction to it.

Military medical staff attempt to save the life of an Afghan man who was wounded in fighting on January 7, 2010 at the trauma bay at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost, Afghanistan. By 9:00 pm today ten casualties, including two Americans wounded, were brought to the hospital at Salerno while three Afghans died in the trauma bay. By Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

A reader writes:

This lede from today's NYT business section is almost as poignant the Hiroshima/Nagsaki survivor obit:

Chris Birckhead came home Tuesday night hoping that his TiVo had recorded “Chopped,” his favorite show on the Food Network. Instead…

I’m furious at the no-firing response of the Obama administration. But Obama’s taking responsibility is, however, different than this:

It’s just one of those moments when you realize how profoundly weak and incompetent Bush and Cheney were, and how strong and adult Obama is in contrast.

It sure looks to me that Obama has done everything he practically could in response to the undie-bomber. The reforms he outlines seem sensible enough. Except one thing: no one will actually face consequences for this failure. Why? Because it was a system failure, and no one individual's fault. The only difference with Bush is that Obama wants to take full responsibility on himself:

I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer.  For ultimately, the buck stops with me.  As President, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people.  And when the system fails, it is my responsibility. 

Here's what that says to the men and women of the security and intelligence institutions of government who failed us: you will never be fired, and you will never face real consequences for failing to do your job competently.

And when a system never holds any of its specific members responsible, there is no direct incentive to get things right. This is simply human nature and one reason people are rightly deeply skeptical of government is its use of its monopoly power to prevent itself from ever being held as accountable as any other human being in any other line of work.

In the end, Obama is like Bush in this respect. In the struggle between citizenry and big government in ensuring basic competence, big government always wins, and always, always protects its own. Just as Obama has protected government officials who committed war crimes, he is protecting those who failed in basic responsibilities. This guarantees that reforms won't work.

Change we can believe in? Nah. Just big government covering its own ass yet again. I guess we can merely be relieved that all the people who failed us were not given Medals of Freedom.