Today on the Dish, the O'Donnell deluge continued: on AIDS and homosexuality, on masturbation, and also on Tolkien. Her resemblance to Palin was uncanny, so we kept a pulse on her and the Tea Partiers - neither of whom should be allowed to sit on the master's porch. But that's what you get when the right stared down the Democrats.
On the home front, Andrew dashed defenses of Newt and D'Souza; "Galileo Was Wrong" was not a joke; and alcohol competed with pot. We looked at what the Bush tax cuts did to our economy and examined the varying levels of poverty and inequality in America. DADT took a hit and needed some help.
The arms race escalated; we looked to the status quo to see the future in Iran; and Castro created a wedge. Map of the day here; cool ad watch here; VFYW here; Malkin Award here; FOTD here; and MHB here.
TNC let go; Judge Judy owned Oprah; and some guys admired their guns.
By Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images.
Thursday on the Dish, Palin took on and ousted Rove; and Andrew answered Glenn on what differentiates the Tea Party from the rest of the right-wing. O'Donnell's lesbian sister believed in Wicca and the "starfish" Tea Partiers might have a plan. O'Donnell retreated into the Palin school of media; and the inevitable pile-on gained momentum here, here and here.
Fallows and Bob Wright offered insight into Marty's hypocrisy; and Kinsley proposed the price for the Boomers' legacy in America. Americans hated the stimulus because it trickled in; Cash for Clunkers was a clunker, and our ability to feel rich depended on where we live. Childish Americans were still drawing lots of disability insurance and big agriculture wasn't going anywhere. Democrats still weren't selling health care reform; crying for a murdered parent meant you had to get drug-tested in Texas; and McCain wasn't going green again.
Britain became a third world country and atheism is the new Nazism according to the Pope's PR. Afghanistan remained difficult; and the UK figured out how to stay Tea Party-free. France may actually be home to Islam's new McCarthyism; "Draw Mohammed Day" put its pioneer in the witness protection program; and Nazis tortured but Americans don't. Yglesias award here; VFYW here; MHB here; and FOTD here.
The internet owed a thank you to Craigslist; Zuckerberg needed to learn some IM-etiquette; and Australia outlawed speaking out against illegal things.
Wednesday on the Dish, Christine O'Donnell won the Delaware primary, a scary prospect for the future of the conservative movement. Weigel didn't think she had a chance in Delaware; and Malkin jumped on Rove. Mitch Daniels may run in 2012; and a GOP-ruled House could finally make the movement grow-up, forced to battle Obama's calm and poise. The Tea Party tiger continued to bite the GOP in the ass; and now 2012 is Palin's to lose.
Alaska experienced Not Fox News Islam; Brian Williams had a platform and didn't know it; and the Forbes brand devolved further. Andrew defended Marty; and D'Souza finally got the take-down he deserves.
We looked at what people bought online which didn't include seats to see the Pope. James Parker exposed the vaudeville roots of Jackass; bicyclists were people too; and Judge Judy in slow motion made everyone sound drunk. Creepy ad watch here; VFYW here; quote for the day here; Yglesias award nominee here; email of the day here; MHB here; and FOTD here. Dynamic duos do it better than one and robots learned how to deceive.
By Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
Tuesday on the Dish, Holder held back unclassified evidence on torture victims, while even Iraq held its government torturers to account. Two American-Muslims searched for good in the aftermath of the summer's Anti-Muslim sentiment; and Hitch was as on as ever. Islam was the new communism for Republicans huffing their own glue and one Republican, Mitch Daniels, actually wanted to have grown-up conversations about fiscal responsibility.
Readers told us about their own conflicted relationship with the Catholic church; we incarcerated old people and universities outsmarted rent controls. A Miami hospital circumcised a baby by accident; Americans loved to hate reality television; and blogging tested the soul but debate team predicted a lot about the bigger issues.
Iran released U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd; a British teenager called President Obama a prick; and pockets of inequality persisted. Aggressive drones in Pakistan made us wonder about troop numbers in Afghanistan; and settlements still loomed over the peace talks. Question for the day here; MHB here; VFYW here; Colbert bait here; FOTD here; cool ad watch here; and VFYW contest winner #15 here.
The gaggle over Gaga carried on; female snail heads grew penises; someone was studying beardedness in advertising; and Jon Stewart had had enough of America's shit-tacos.
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 4.30 pm
Monday on the Dish, Andrew explained the origins of his own faith, in advance of the Pope's visit to the UK. He expected something better from the right's best and brightest, Yuval Levin. The Missoulian was sick of Sarah's smears and the Republican echo chamber got louder over at Fox News. Obama was not a Kenyan anti-colonialist but he was a voice of sanity and reason in a world unwilling to hear it. We debated intellectual honesty and discovered that Instapundit sure had changed a lot since September 11, 2001. Nate weighed the odds of the House flipping; Chait defended Obama from progressive attacks; and we looked at the future for DADT.
The world was a fractal of inequality, but America's Muslims were better integrated than those living in other Western countries. Joshua Foust annihilated the Afghanistan Study Group's report; various voices sounded off on a still-violent Iraq; and for peace-keeping in Africa to work a constitution matters less than peace on the streets.
Lady Gaga got the Camille Paglia treatment; we picked our nose five times an hour; e-readers made reading too easy; and Google Instant may make us less unique. The haiku bandit hit the streets of Atlanta; our happiness came with a price-tag; and technology made us move to a winner take-all market. Chart of the Day here; VFYW here; MHB here; FOTD here; and the sobering View From Your (Former) Window in Boulder, here. Most sex-workers were paid to listen; our fascination with figs continued, this baby contended for the best, worst stump speech ever and Katie Rooney said yes.
--Z.P.