Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2590

Mental Health Break

by Chris Bodenner

A symbolic love story:

Spheremetrical (Here With You) from impactist on Vimeo.

Vimeo - Health - Directories - Organizations - Humor

Lessons From Iraq

by Patrick Appel

Douthat hones in on the big one:

[W:]hat the war in Iraq has really impressed upon me is the bluntness ofmilitary force as an instrument of state, and the difficulty ofpredicting any of the long-term consequences that flow from adecision to make war. We can spin out complicated counterfactuals thatjustify the Iraq invasion, and complicated counterfactuals that make itlook even worse. We can hope for long-range developments that make theBush administration's decisions seem...

The Demented Genius Of Dina Martina

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

I can't describe my utter joy in your posting of the commercial clips of my favorite freak-tastic drag goddess, Ms. Dina Martina.She is THE must-see show for my partner and me every summer in Ptown. She was especially brilliant this year.And our annual tradition as we drive to his family for Christmas is to listen to Dina's holiday CD. We laugh just as hard as the first time we listened, singing along to all the twisted lyrics (baby Jesus loving baby-back...

The Power Of The Tea Party

by Chris Bodenner

Weigel writes a post-mortem on Murkowski:

She voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008. In October 2009 she said she was "open" to compromise on cap-and-trade legislation if it expanded drilling and nuclear power. She had a moderate record on abortion, siding with liberals on some matters of federal funding for the procedure. And she occasionally spoke dismissively of Sarah Palin. Tell me if I'm missing something, but I think that's it. Just like Sen. Bob Bennett...

Do Lions And Tigers Get High On Catnip?

by Chris Bodenner

Yes.

Cat - Pets - Shopping - Cats and Dogs - Toys

Money for Nothing

by Conor Friedersdorf

A couple years back a close friend landed a job at one of America's most prestigious law firms upon finishing her degree. Then the firm realized that it over-hired. As a result, it didn't retract its offer, but offered her roughly $80,000 to wait a year before starting. She did non-profit work in the interim, and never did wind up going back.

That must seem like an unbelievable story to a lot of people, but despite the economy, that kind of thing is still going on, as...

What Can We Believe About Palin?

by Chris Bodenner

The new Vanity Fair hit piece on Palin is providing plenty of grist for her critics. Gryphen plucks out the juicier parts. Ben Smith finds the piece embellished, and Weigel backs him up. I find this passage believable (if a tad exaggerated):

"This whole hunter thing, for Sarah? That is the biggest fallacy," says one longtime friend of the family. "That woman has never hunted. The picture of her with the caribou she says she shot? She got out of the R.V. to pose for a...

Protesting Too Much, Ctd

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

Glenn Beck said he wore a bulletproof vest because his wife insisted on it. And I don't understand how Hitchens can call the people at the rally self-pitying white people.  The Iraqi soldier with no hands (who is now training other soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, believe it or not) and the Vietnam vet whose face was burned off were far from self-pitying.  I believe the latter will be on Beck's Friday show, along with other clergymen and women.

I didn't see...

Keeping Government Out of Cocktails

by Conor Friedersdorf

Elsewhere at The Atlantic, an interesting post about craft cocktails and the impulse to protect certain recipes as intellectual property.

Jacob Grier reacts:

Intellectual property exists to promote progress. Its purpose is not to ensure that no one's ideas are stolen or that creative people can earn a living, unless those things are needed to promote progress in a field. The granting of temporary monopolies in the form of patents and copyrights is the price we pay for...

Boys In Afghanistan, Ctd

by Patrick Appel

In response to Conor's post, many readers have written in to recommend PBS's Frontline documentary on the topic, which we linked to several months ago. A soldier writes:

I want to say that the soldiers on the ground know about this and know it is rampant. We used to call it "man love days." We noted that attacks on our base did not occur during these events as all the men with money (Talibs) were engaging in this kind of activity. It is truly a disturbing sight to see...