Monday, February 8, 201008 Feb 2010 11:55 pm The Daily WrapToday on the Dish, Cohn and others reacted to the news of Obama's HCR summit - just as his support among Independents was slipping. Andrew countered the claim of fiscal conservatism among the tea-partiers, called out the crazy side of the Tea Party movement, and took another look at Palin's convention speech. He also highlighted another bit of odd evidence related to her pregnancy. Frum and DiA scrutinized her speech, NIAC confronted her Iran rhetoric, and Continetti still had starbursts. Samberg pwned Palin and the Dems. Weekend recap here. In other coverage, Douthat examined Paul Ryan's sensible plan for fiscal reform, Andrew sounded off on the Hoyt-Keller spat over Ethan Bronner, and a reader challenged Totten over The Hurt Locker. Ana Marie Cox took on Rich Lowry over DADT while FNC displayed some admirable opposition to the policy. Jane Mayer, backed by Horton, put the spotlight on Rahm Emmanuel over torture policy. We highlighted the right way to interrogate. And there was a shocking report of an American soldier waterboarding his own daughter. Green Movement update here. Recession update here. Images from the snowpocalypse here and here. Creepy ad here. Another children's masterpiece from Herzog here. -- C.B. 08 Feb 2010 09:55 pm Face Of The DayOn February 8, 2010 a man bathes at one of the many tent cities that have sprung up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The death toll from the Jan. 12 earthquake has reached 212,000 people with 300,000 injured and over one million homeless. By Mario Tama/Getty Images. 08 Feb 2010 09:16 pm What Sort Of Politician Do You Want?TNC has one answer. Jonathan Bernstein another:
But one overwhelming reason they did was precisely because they worried about being out-machoed on the Iraq war and torture or pummeled by opposing the Medicare Prescription Drug Act, to name just three. I prefer Edmund Burke's advice myself. It's called representative - and not direct - democracy for a reason. 08 Feb 2010 08:25 pm Palin Emails ICheck out a very rare piece of third party documentation of governor Palin's long plane-trip back to Alaska, in labor with her fifth child, many hours after her water broke. It's an eye-witness account of her state of mind in an airport lounge. Several readers have noted that the interaction seems to have taken place in the Seattle airport lounge, not Dallas. So she was even closer to giving birth at that moment than I previously believed. Thanks for the eagle eyes. Use them to peruse the rest if you're stuck in the snow like we are. More contemporaneous emails on this subject from this period in Palin's life to come. Stay tuned. 08 Feb 2010 07:53 pm Watching The Snow FallA time-lapse: 08 Feb 2010 07:52 pm Palin's Modi OperandiE.G. at DiA watched Palin's speech:
Frum dead-blogged it on YouTube: Continue reading "Palin's Modi Operandi" » 08 Feb 2010 07:33 pm The Tebow AdIt was much tamer than the controversy around it suggested: Basically a rather touching, funny way for Focus on the Family to airbrush its image. And nothing wrong with that. Amy Davidson reflects on it. 08 Feb 2010 07:10 pm Why We Tip, CtdA reader writes:
Continue reading "Why We Tip, Ctd" » 08 Feb 2010 06:55 pm Green Shoots Of Sanity On The Right, CtdE.D. Kain explains:
Bruce notices a revealing shift in the WSJ editorial page that begins to drag them back to fiscal sanity as well. 08 Feb 2010 06:34 pm The View From Your WindowEllicott City, Maryland, 9.45 am. The book, The View From Your Window, with 200 of the best window views published by the Dish over the last three years, beginning at dawn and ending at dusk with a foreword by Andrew Sullivan, can be previewed here and ordered here. 08 Feb 2010 06:24 pm Totten On The Hurt Locker, CtdA reader writes:
Continue reading "Totten On The Hurt Locker, Ctd" » 08 Feb 2010 06:02 pm Force As Slot MachineFrom Andrew Bacevich's article in The American Conservative: An alternative reading of our recent military past might suggest the following: first, that the political utility of force—the range of political problems where force possesses real relevance—is actually quite narrow; second, that definitive victory of the sort that yields a formal surrender ceremony at Appomattox or on the deck of an American warship tends to be a rarity; third, that ambiguous outcomes are much more probable, with those achieved at a cost far greater than even the most conscientious war planner is likely to anticipate; and fourth, that the prudent statesman therefore turns to force only as a last resort and only when the most vital national interests are at stake. Contra Kristol, force is an “instrument” in the same sense that a slot machine or a roulette wheel qualifies as an instrument. John Quiggin follows up: Continue reading "Force As Slot Machine" » 08 Feb 2010 05:39 pm Creepy Ad Watch(Hat tip: BF) 08 Feb 2010 05:17 pm The Tea Party's Weimar TingeOne of the weirdest aspects of TP ideology is that Obama deliberately created and facilitated an economic and financial crisis in order to allow the government to take over the entire economy to turn the US socialist. Bush, of course, did TARP - as any responsible president would have. A stimulus package which even AEI concedes help put a bottom on the economy and a bank bailout during a potential financial crisis that, if allowed to spiral down, could have begun a Second Great Depression: these are obvious, debatable but mainstream measures to cope with crisis. Somehow Tim Geithner does not come off as a Leninist to me. But the invaluable Weigel - a sane libertarian last time I checked - noticed something truly disturbing:
Continue reading "The Tea Party's Weimar Tinge" » 08 Feb 2010 04:57 pm Green Shoots Of Sanity On The RightLast week Douthat parsed Rep. Paul Ryan's moment in the sun:
Continue reading "Green Shoots Of Sanity On The Right" » 08 Feb 2010 04:41 pm How Americans InterrogateWe all know that the US never tortured prisoners of war before Bush and Cheney adopted Gestapo and Khmer Rouge techniques in secret torture camps, kept from the Red Cross. That doesn't mean legal - and often frightening - ways to get people to talk were not very much part of the tool-kit. From an obit today from the days when America was a beacon of human rights:
Continue reading "How Americans Interrogate" » 08 Feb 2010 04:20 pm Mental Health Break(Hat tip: Wooster) 08 Feb 2010 03:44 pm The "President's" BudgetBruce Bartlett offers a brief history of the budget:
Continue reading "The "President's" Budget" » 08 Feb 2010 03:17 pm The Real Cameron?Johann Hari interviews David Cameron:
I'm not so convinced he's going to win a real majority. The electoral math is very, very hard, given the way the constituencies are constructed. I side with WIlliam Hague on guarding against complacency. But read the whole thing. The Dish intends to cover the British election with almost as much scrutiny as an American one. Our British readership keeps growing - and the evolution of the Tory Party toward the pragmatic center might help bring the GOP back from its increasingly deranged brink. 08 Feb 2010 02:56 pm Palin And Iran: NIAC ReactsThe National Iranian-American Council notes a congruity:
Interesting, but not surprising. Palin, however, attributed this idea to Pat Buchanan. Pipes and Buchanan are not exactly buddies. My view is that, until you understand the depths of Palin's Christianism - she explicitly called for "divine intervention" in her Q and A - you can't understand her foreign policy. It's about the End-Times. And how to follow God's will. 08 Feb 2010 02:43 pm Starbursts WatchContinetti is still standing on the sinking ship:
Oh, yes, she'll end polarization all right. 08 Feb 2010 02:25 pm "Like Watching A Public Execution In Slow Motion"Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel gets the Herzog treatment: In case you missed Curious George, go here. 08 Feb 2010 02:17 pm The Christianist Core Of The Tea-PartiersAn important thing to note from the weekend:
More on Moore here. If you're a fiscal conservative rightly outraged at the sending and borrowing binge in DC, know who these people are, and that they have no plans to seriously tackle the debt at all. 08 Feb 2010 02:16 pm There's An App For ThatThe XXfactor women debating Grindr, the gay GPS-equipped hook-up app, is oddly fascinating:
Follow up here. 08 Feb 2010 02:02 pm Yglesias Award Nominee"Being brave in the battlefield has nothing to do with how you go to the bathroom or how you have sex. … If you volunteer to serve this great country, we should welcome you, not push you away because of some arcane attitude about sex," - Col. David Hunt, a hawkish FNC military analyst. And the Fox host agrees, calling DADT "absolutely absurd." The whole 3-minute segment is worth watching. 08 Feb 2010 01:47 pm The View From Your Recession: Checking Back InA reader writes:
Continue reading "The View From Your Recession: Checking Back In" » 08 Feb 2010 01:26 pm The President Makes His Move, CtdAndrew Sprung praises the health care summit:
Brendan Nyhan is less sure: Continue reading "The President Makes His Move, Ctd" » 08 Feb 2010 01:14 pm Obama Loses IndependentsThe barrage against "his" debt has gotten through. For a long time I've been arguing that Obama desperately needs to to take on both his own party and the Republicans and propose a serious plan to cut the long-term debt. I think he needs to go on and on and on about this - and mean it - if the Independents are going to come around. 08 Feb 2010 12:51 pm The Palin Emails IYou may recall that MSNBC managed to get the state of Alaska to release them and they showed a deep enmeshment by Todd Palin in the affairs of state. Dish coverage here. MSNBC story here. And Christian Science Monitor story here. Andrew Halcro gave his interpretation of the role Todd Palin played in state politics here. In the best traditions of the Internet, I invite you to peruse them at will and send me anything interesting you find. I'll post any of salience. Some, of course, give a glimpse into the Palins' lives around the birth of Trig - about which we have almost no independent confirmation or records. Here's an email that gives an independent glimpse into those hair-raising hours before her trans-continental flight half a day after her water broke. It's from an eye-witness in the waiting lounge for Alaska Airlines as Palin was ready to go back to Alaska because giving birth at world-renowned Dallas Childrens Hospital (with Down Syndrome experts on hand) would have violated her husband's insistence that the child be born in Alaska. You may recall that when the Anchorage Daily News asked Alaska Airlines how they allowed a woman eight months pregnant with a child with special needs get on a trans-continental flight, they got the following response:
My italics. In Going Rogue, she tells us her state of mind as she realized she was in labor earlier that day:
Her italics. Half a day later, preparing for a long two-plane flight trip all the way back not just to Anchorage but to Wasilla, she was sitting in the Seattle airport lounge in a lay-over when recognized by a fellow passenger. All her earlier anxieties appeared to have disappeared, as she delivered her fate - and Trig's - into God's hands. What an incredibly cool and collected woman - someone with amazing reserves of steel. A day later, the stranger emailed to congratulate her on her birth and amazing composure. This seems to confirm Palin's version of the flight:
Since I long ago committed to publishing any evidence I could find related to Palin's remarkable pregnancy stories (she steadfastly refuses to provide any), I post it below: Continue reading "The Palin Emails I" » 08 Feb 2010 12:23 pm The Revolutionary Guards Prepare For ThursdayOne of our Iranian sources writes:
Evgeny Morozov looks closer at the online obstructionism. The LA Times offers a comprehensive view of the run-up to Thursday. 08 Feb 2010 11:40 am In Defense Of Ethan BronnerThe test of a journalist is his work. I haven't detected a shred of bias in Bronner's pieces from the NYT on Israel and the Middle East, even though his son is now in the IDF. I agree with Goldblog on this for the most part. I do believe, however, that it should have been clearly disclosed without pressure from the outside forcing the NYT into a disclosure that clearly would not have happened without a public editor. Keeping such a potential conflict of interest under wraps - even as questions of war crimes are being debated in a military in which Bronner's son is now fighting - was a clear lapse of ethical judgment on Bill Keller's part, not Bronner's, who rightly informed his editors. Hoyt also makes a fair point:
Continue reading "In Defense Of Ethan Bronner" » 08 Feb 2010 11:36 am Palin's TriumphMichael Wolff has an insightful piece on Palin's opening campaign speech for 2012 on Saturday night, but seems to misinterpret my analysis. I think it was quite brilliant as a political speech, just as her convention speech was extraordinarily effective. It was and is pure sophistry - a string of crowd-pleasing slogans with no content whatever, except for an endorsement of a global war on Islam, tax-cuts, populist attacks on Wall Street, a subtle but scary attempt to politicize the military as belonging to one party, cooptation of one religion in America, and, with the exception of nuclear power (I'm with her on that) a desire for more carbon energy, not less (as long as it's developed in the US). She has literally no serious plans commensurate with the health care crisis and no plans to cut spending in any serious way at all. But she sure can make a speech. It was the most electrifying speech I have heard from a leader of the GOP since Reagan.
Continue reading "Palin's Triumph" » 08 Feb 2010 11:14 am Rahm Apologizes08 Feb 2010 10:43 am In The BunkerAna Marie Cox debates Rich Lowry on ending the persecution of gay servicemembers in the military. It's a very pleasant and honest chat. I always learn something from hearing straight people talk about us. I repeat my firm belief that the day after this ban is fully lifted ... nothing will happen publicly. The closet will not burst open; these many patriots, often from the heartland, have absolutely no desire to inject their sexual orientation into combat or military culture. They want to do their jobs without fear of others targeting them, and to do so with integrity. The big change will happen in the minds and souls of gay servicemembers, who will fight without fear. I ave known countless of these men and women. They are among the best in our community. It pains me deeply for years to see them endure this kind of stress and fear, let alone the incidents of intense cruelty and humiliation when they are outed, sometimes days before they are due pensions for a lifetime of service. Rich says that it's no big deal to live hiding one's sexual orientation. If you're straight, try it for one day.
Continue reading "In The Bunker" » 08 Feb 2010 10:39 am Debating A FantasyJane Mayer reports on the heat Eric Holder has taken, the fight over KSM's trial, and the controversy over the handling of the undie-bomber:
Scott Horton praises the article:
08 Feb 2010 10:21 am A US Soldier Waterboards His Own ChildThe British Daily Mail - a populist right-wing paper - reports:
Continue reading "A US Soldier Waterboards His Own Child" » 08 Feb 2010 10:20 am Why Has Obama Indirectly Endorsed Bush-Cheney Torture?Two words, according to Jane Mayer's must-read: Rahm Emanuel:
Continue reading "Why Has Obama Indirectly Endorsed Bush-Cheney Torture?" » 08 Feb 2010 10:04 am Pass. The. Damn. Bill.Clive Crook has a very thoughtful post on why and if the bill remains unpopular. 08 Feb 2010 09:52 am The Next Industrial Revolution?Chris Anderson thinks small:
Continue reading "The Next Industrial Revolution?" » 08 Feb 2010 09:21 am The Tea Partiers: Fraudulent Fiscal ConservativesJonathan H. Kupitsky attended the tea party convention:
I think the MSM is missing the real focus of this movement. We keep describing the tea-partiers as fiscal conservatives. But this is patently untrue on its face.
Continue reading "The Tea Partiers: Fraudulent Fiscal Conservatives" » 08 Feb 2010 09:00 am The Weekend WrapAndrew live-blogged Palin's speech here and here. His immediate take-away here, and further analysis here, here, and here. Later on, she essentially announced her candidacy, called for full-scale war with Iran, and kissed Limbaugh's ring. Weigel corrected her false history, moderated a fratricidal spat, and scooped up other details from the Tea Party Convention. Mark Leibovich profiled her in the NYT. In Levi coverage, his pistachios are huge but his Playgirl cover is lacking. Fox edited Stewart and O'Reilly to make the latter look better, Oliver North played the NAMBLA card, Theissen topped himself, and DiA delved into the disturbing use of torture treaties to torture. In science coverage, we learned how to survive a fall from 35,000 feet and the many uses of nano glass spray. Nick Carr informed us how unhip blogging has become, Ryan Sager examined tipping, Totten reviewed Hurt Locker, and Jake Weisberg told us to quit our whining. Andrew meditated over Montaigne, friendship, and time. His column this week focused on the Gitmo "suicides." Super Bowl coverage here, here, here, here, and especially here. The snowpocalypse drove a weatherman crazy. Our window book is a big hit in the bathroom. Action-movie rap-ups here and ugly furniture here. -- C.B. 08 Feb 2010 08:46 am Chart Of The DayThe drug war lives:
This waste of resources never really shifts from president to president. It's like defense spending in the war on terror, structured so that it never ends, and can never be cut. It's true, however, that under Obama, the most insane aspect of this - the war on marijuana - has been greatly ameliorated through the sanity of federalism. But you know that under president Palin, the feds would swoop back in. 08 Feb 2010 08:17 am The President Makes His MoveObama is going to hold a health care summit with the GOP. Cohn's reaction:
I agree with Jon. Keep the Dems out of it. Just looking at them makes me ill. And call these GOP phonies' bluff. GOP leader Palin's only solutions to soaring healthcare costs and 40 million uninsured and millions more denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions on Saturday night were: being able to purchase insurance across state lines and tort reform. That's it. Seriously, that's it. Sargent's thoughts here. Ezra's here. 08 Feb 2010 07:41 am Testing Too YoungJennifer Senior carefully explains why IQ tests for toddlers are worthless, or worse. David Shenk highly recommends the article:
Sunday, February 7, 201007 Feb 2010 11:14 pm Face Of The DayBy artist Walee, for Beaux Arts Magazine. Via LikeCool. 07 Feb 2010 11:00 pm Not Crossing LimbaughOf course she won't:
So how about Coulter, Ms Fox Contributor only being interviewed on Fox? Or is it okay to call the first female Speaker of the House "mentally retarded"? 07 Feb 2010 10:23 pm Three "Suicides" At Gitmo: The Story So FarMy column this week in the London Sunday Times is on a story the US MSM has so far decided not to delve into more deeply. I believe the weird lacunae in the Pentagon report on the alleged suicides, carefully examined by the Seton Hall Study, and reported in extreme detail by Scott Horton in Harper's Magazine, merit much more scrutiny than they have so far gotten - and it remains instructive to me that, apart from one small AP story, only the foreign press is interested:
Continue reading "Three "Suicides" At Gitmo: The Story So Far" » 07 Feb 2010 09:32 pm The View From Your WindowWellington, New Zealand, 6.50 am. The book, The View From Your Window, with 200 of the best window views published by the Dish over the last three years, beginning at dawn and ending at dusk with a foreword by Andrew Sullivan, can be previewed here and ordered here. 07 Feb 2010 09:18 pm A Superbowl AlternativeFor my readers - male and female - who are not into the Superbowl, but like looking at hot guys not on so many steroids they look like cattle in lycra, this has to be the coolest ad I've seen in months. It's for Wrangler's Blue Bell fashion brand. If you're a gay man or heterosexual woman, it's particularly awesome. You get to interactively toss Tony Ward around and even rip his shirt off. Ward, if you recall, is Madonna's former baby-daddy. And the one thing you can say about Madonna is that her taste in men is flawless. Seriously, seriously: way hot and fun. And the music is awesome. 07 Feb 2010 08:30 pm For The Non-Football WatchersAdland archives 38 years of Super Bowl commercials. This one counts as two (do you know what I am saying?): Another Dish fave, after the jump: |

