Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2544

Bicycle Manifesto, Ctd

Bike Snob counters Salmon:

Excluding for the moment the fact that many people are pedestrians and cyclists anddrivers at various points in the day, a considerate person is aconsiderate person and an idiot is an idiot, and both will behave assuch regardless of how they are propelling themselves at any givenmoment. "People are People," sang some awful 80s band, and sayingdrivers rarely break the rules but cyclists always do is like sayingpoor people commit crime all the time but rich people...

Creepy Ad Watch

(Hat tip: BF)

Intel Corporation - Intel Core i7 - Business - Intel Core - Xeon

What A Knowledge Economy Looks Like

Stephen Rose provides the basic numbers:

According to the Center on Education and the Workforce's Help Wanted
the fastest-growing job clusters are those found in the
that demand the highest levels of education: managerial
professional, education, health care professional and technical
science, technical, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and
service and arts occupations.

Together, these career paths will account for 31 percent of jobs in2018. In the...

The Daily Wrap

Today 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...

A Cannabis Tipping Point

Pete Guither notes that "nine previous heads of the Drug Enforcement Agency [have:] sent a letter to
the Attorney General suggesting that the federal government should sue
California if Prop 19 passes":

There is real fear out there on the part of the prohibitionists.They see Prop 19 as the thread that could start to unravel the entireprohibition regime. If Prop 19 passes and the world doesn't end/skydoesn't fall/streets don't erupt with violence/population doesn'tsuddenly become mindless...

Where's Dubya? Ctd

A reader writes:

I think there might be a simpler explanation than that: Bush has stayed out of the Islamophobia debate because he's stayed out of everything. There is a school of thought that this is exactly how a former president should behave. It's not one I completely agree with, but it's one I understand and respect. It's also the same route his father took. (The only time I can remember George HW saying anything publicly after his presidency ended was in a charitable venture in the...

If The Republicans Take Congress

Brent McGoldrick measures expectations:

[I:]n our poll, we find that voters generally believe:

1. A GOP majority in the House will improve overall economic conditions;

2. A GOP House would do a better job than past GOP-controlled Congresses (i.e., the party has
learned their lesson);

3. But, voters want a GOP Congress to work with President Obama and Democrats, as opposed to pursuing their own agenda.

Republican - Barack Obama - Democratic Party - United States Congress - Unit...

The Seniors Behind Bars, Ctd

A reader writes:

Oh what a great idea, to release prisoners with life sentences, just as they are getting old and sick, when they have no marketable skills, no health insurance but Medicaid, no place to live, no real-life experience with today's economy and culture, and quite likely no family to provide a support system, and no track record in getting along peacefully with other people, especially if they were incarcerated for several decades for heinously anti-social crimes. 

What a...

Let The Pundits Play Chess

Spurred on by Andrew Sprung's criticism of Tom Friedman, Jonathan Bernstein argues for another understanding of sacrifice:

[E:]veryone understands that a sacrifice in chess is self-interested.There is no moral or character component to sacrificing a piece; it's agood idea if it helps the player win, and a bad idea otherwise. No oneanalyzes a chess game by saying that the player lost, but at least shewas willing to sacrifice her rook, or that he didn't deserve to winbecause he was unwilling to...

Face Of The Day

Sergio Enrique Villarreal (aka "El Grande") of the Beltran Leyva drug
cartel, one of Mexico's most wanted men, is presented to the press at
the Mexican Navy headquarters in Mexico City, on September 13, 2010.
Mexican authorities had offered a reward of up to 30 million pesos (2.2
million dollars) for information leading to his arrest. By Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images.

Mexico City - Drug cartel - Mexican Navy - Mexico - Beltran Leyva