The Dish

Ambers dusts off his David Letterman routine. Here's an opener from John Cook:

It doesn't work, of course. (It's actually called "GOP beta," which is a rich metaphorical truth.) But if you keep clicking "reload," and if you're lucky, you'll actually bring up the page and be shocked to find a tiny, adorable little Michael Steele walking across your screen and addressing you directly, in the fashion of a Princess Leia hologram, to beg for "Republican coders" to help make the site actually work, which it doesn't.

Wonkette has a field day.

Today on the Dish, as the need for troops grows ever greater, we corralled the debate over DADT. The Washington Post pointed the finger at Congress; Zac Morgan showed how conservatives could pick up the standard; Patrick compiled comments that are splitting the right; a civilian reader counseled caution; a former marine threw caution to the wind; and a soldier saw the glass half empty (but sparked Andrew's most eloquent post of the day).

The Dish also aired some lingering coverage of the weekend. Andrew went off on Solmonese (with cheers from readers here and here) while Jim Burroway saw the light in Obama's speech. We also screened a cheesy but cheery compilation of the march.

In other coverage, Snowe backed the Baucus bill, Palin remained hidden over email, DiA contrasted Afghanistan with Mexico, Brooks looked at our brains, and Jonah Lehrer waxed poetic on cooking. Our MHB was particularly catchy today, and we gave you a big dose of hathos and pathos.

— C.B.

Qualifications here.

A reader writes:

I used to be of the same mind as your military reader who says we cannot repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, as it would bring homosexual men and women into danger. I had served in the Marine Corps, and still bear my marine tattoo. I believed that we had to keep homosexuals safe from the barbarous military men (the women weren't violently homophobic, in my experience) until I spoke with another former marine who told me that my good intentions were small minded.

Homosexual men and women needed to suffer publicly. They needed to be beaten and keep standing. They needed to be promoted into powerful non-commissioned officer ranks. There needed to be gay drill instructors who put recruits in awe of their abilities. There had to be openly gay marine and soldier heroes to show the homophobes that they are wrong, just as Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, and all the rest have done.

And, as I write this, I realize that's why so much of the country fears letting homosexuals serve openly in the military, because it will show America that they are not inferior. The hardscrabble Americans in the military will learn that there are gay men who are better than themselves, that there are lesbians tougher, and smarter, and more heroic than they will ever be. That's why they must keep Don't Ask Don't Tell, in order to maintain the hideous illusion of superiority for the homophobes of all stripes.

Please keep up the fight; there is much at stake here.

Yesterday Ross Douthat, Daniel Larison, Virginia Postrel, and David Frum sat on a panel and debated the future of the conservative movement. Pivoting off one of Postrel's pet peeves, Frum explains why the Bush administration banned incandescent light bulbs:

It was a characteristic Bush administration maneuver: fight to oppose any large action on climate change (carbon tax, cap-and-trade) but yield on a small symbolic act. Yielding was all the easier since almost all the relevant major industry groups quietly favored the ban. The incandescent bulb is a low-margin item, usually manufactured in China. Very nice to have government prod every factory, shop and home into converting to a more lucrative substitute!

Here's Mark Thompson's shrewd take.

Too many snacks:

In 1977, Americans reported eating about 186 calories outside of mealtimes. By 1994, that had rocketed to 346 calories. It’s likely even higher now. That difference alone is enough to explain the changes in our national waistline. And it won’t go away if we begin cooking dinners but still are purchasing 20-ounce bottles of Coke at the office.

Further thoughts on home cooking and snacks from TNC, Yglesias, and James Joyner.

Miami Dolphins fans scream at New York Jets fans prior to their game at Land Shark Stadium on October 12, 2009 in Miami, Florida. By Marc Serota/Getty.

A reader writes:

I read your post and watched the video about the Solomnese email urging us to hold our judgment until 2017. Your comment that HRC should change their name to the Gay Rights Campaign reminded me of my early days out of the closet.  I had never heard of HRC when I first came out, but eagerly embraced the equality logo.  I put a sticker on my car and wore a cap because I saw it as a way to let other gays know I was one of them while flying under the heterosexual radar. 

Most straight people have no idea what the anonymous yellow and blue symbol means and certainly don't see it as representing the gay rights movement.

In other words, the sticker and cap were tools for me to remain partially closeted.  I could tell myself I was out and proud without ever letting a heterosexual know I was gay.  Today, sitting here at work with a picture of my husband on my desk, I can hardly recognize that person.

Thank God.

Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

Peter Beinart jumps aboard the Petraeus-for-president meme:

Pundits have mused about the Eisenhower-Petraeus comparison before, but the Afghanistan slugfest gives it new relevance. In the late Truman years, MacArthur, Joseph McCarthy, and the rest of the Republican right wing were a bit like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck today. They succeeded in bloodying the Democrats and scaring the country about overseas threats. But their overseas warmongering and domestic radicalism made them too extreme to ever win national office themselves. Ike was different. He exploited the right’s hysteria, and yet sailed above it at the same time. […] Parties that have grown narrow and extreme tend to spiral downward until they nominate someone who is not beholden to their narrow, extreme base. That person has to be so popular that he or she can defy the normal rules about how candidates get nominated. Right now, David Petraeus is the only Republican who fits the bill.

I sure can see the potential here. But, ahem, how do we know that Petraeus is, or will be, a Republican? Does anyone actually have evidence of this? Or is all this speculation based on the stereotype that military = Republican?