The Dish

Richard Florida does some number crunching to determine which factors correlate with multiple marriage:

Multiple marriage was significantly less likely in states with high immigrant concentrations (-.38). Multiple marriage was also less likely in states with high bohemian concentrations (-.49). So much for the libertine bohemian lifestyle – at least when it comes to multiple marriage that is. There was no correlation between multiple marriage and the share of the gay population.

(Sign from the Equality March)

Hot Air rounds up reaction and video of Bill Maher's anti-vaccination nonsense.

Today on the Dish we discovered that the US caught an alleged spy for Israel, Karzai acquiesced to a runoff, Iran and the West actually seemed to compromise, the Vatican welcomed married Anglican priests, and the GOP was still comatose.

In commentary, Goldstone defended himself, Andrew supported a federalist public option, Steve Coll addressed Afghanistan, Kristol continued his chutzpah, Weigel pwned Mike Steele, Reihan discussed Ron Paul, and Bill Donohue was just awful.

Another servicemember offered more great insight on DADT. The latest coverage of Maine can be found here, here, and here. And if you watch anything today, watch this.

— C.B.

A reader writes:

The beauty of the video you posted showing the WW2 vet calling for marriage equality in Maine lies in the paradox it reveals. This father may never have had the opportunity of standing up so beautifully for his four children were it not for the ignorance and fear that surrounds us at this moment in time. It is a painful reality that we must have the dark in order to reveal the light. The two sides of the coin, the opacity of ignorance and the translucence of truth, can only be revealed in the presence of each other. For every moment of exasperation I feel in hearing Carrie Prejean chatter or the sycophants at FOX News yammer on, is the knowledge that in their darkness they enable the light of truth to shine ever brighter.

This is, indeed, the dynamic of civil rights movements. By standing up for real equality, we actually provoke more and more vocal hostility among some. What matters is the response to this hostility. Do we return it in kind – as we can often do? Or do we respond with the truth of our lives?

Sometimes, you have to bring the fear out in the open to dispel it. And that demands courage.

Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing is launching a publishing experiment. The project has a lot of moving parts but here is the bottom line:

I have set out to produce a book that can be had in a range of packages and at a range of price points from $0.00 to $10,000.

James Joyner parses the latest Gallup poll:

A sizable percentage of those who will privately tell a pollster that they think marijuana should be legal would be unwilling to make that statement publicly, owing to pressure from their church group, social circle, and so forth.  Conversely, those who favor criminalization are likely to be quite vocal and highly organized. We’ll need more than a slight majority supporting decriminalization to actually achieve it.

A reader writes:

How odd that you would call attention to Michael Shermer's open letter now, given the excellent article in the current Atlantic, "Does the Vaccine Matter?" The logical fallacy of the letter is obvious. Just because evolution is the cornerstone of biological science does not mean that any particular vaccine is effective, safe, or worth the risk. Those are empirical questions to be answered experimentally. Good research often results in medical discoveries that look good in theory but fail in practice. The idea that no one should doubt the worth of the flu vaccine if they believe in evolution is comical. If most scientists felt the same way, the creationists would be right to call science an ideology.

There is irony in Shermer's point about herd immunity. He complains that if enough people forgo vaccination, an otherwise avoidable disease can spread. That's only true if the vaccination works, so it begs the question. But the point that any biologist would understand is that natural selection often rewards free-riders as long as the gene responsible for it remains rare. Someone who reasons like a moral human being wouldn't refuse to share in the risk of immunization, but someone who reasons like a selfish gene might. Bill Maher may understand natural selection perfectly.

Nate Silver sorts through the various Maine marriage polls:

A couple of weeks ago, I gave the marriage ban 3:1 odds against passing. I might lower that slightly to about 5:2 given the PPP poll, but the fundamentals remain fairly good for proponents of marriage equity. If the marriage ban passes, the pro-gay marriage side is really going to need to rethink its messaging strategy (my suggestion on how to do so here.)