Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2608

"I'm Sorry" Ctd

by Chris Bodenner

Dan Savage draws distinctions between Andrew Marin and the evangelical pastor who wrote to the Dish. Dan's larger point:

I have no beef with evangelical Christians who support full civilequality for gays and lesbians despite believing that gay sex is a sin.Heck, I'll personally mow the lawns of evangelical Christians who arewilling to refrain from actively persecuting gays and lesbians. I'vesaid that it's a mistake to get into arguments about theology withpeople, and that...

Can Church Be Hip? Ctd

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

A lesser-known band, but one that's easily as inventive and respected in certain circles as Starflyer 59 and David Bazan, is mewithoutYou. They formed out of the Philadelphia hardcore scene in the late '90s, have been on Tooth and Nail - the same label Starflyer and Pedro the Lion got their start on - since their first album in 2002, and have toured with David Bazan a couple times. The first album was pretty hard stuff, with singer Aaron Weiss doing more...

Quote For The Day

by Chris Bodenner

"I don't think being mayor is about qualifications.  It's really about the people liking you and believing in you," - Levi Johnston, on his intent to fill Palin's old seat in Wasilla.

Levi Johnston - Wasilla Alaska - Sarah Palin - Wasilla - People

Wasilla Soap Opera Update

by Chris Bodenner

Levi is sorry for saying sorry to Sarah Palin. Meanwhile, his baby-mama is set to appear on "Dancing with the Stars" with David Hasselhoff and The Situation.

David Hasselhoff - Sarah Palin - Dancing with the Stars - Soap opera - United States

Judging a Book By Its Title

by Conor Friedersdorf

Michael Moynihan takes aim at the overheated language on the cover of that new book by Markos Moulitsas, "American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right." And he rightly dings progressives who gave it cover blurbs, despite lamenting similarly idiotic language when it was used by blowhards on the right.

I understand the financial incentives that cause authors and publishing houses to choose these kinds of titles. But I don't know why...

Cool Ad Watch

by Chris Bodenner

Neetzan Zimmerman explains:

This ever-so-slightly homoerotic spot promoting twist-off Coca Cola
bottle caps wouldn't be worth more than a passing glace if it wasn't
produced in Egypt, where homosexuality is pretty much illegal.

cocacola - Soda - Egypt - Recreation - Food and Drink Related

The Military Takes Over? Ctd

by Patrick Appel

Exum sounds less worried about the political clout of Pakistan's military than Rashid:

The military in Pakistan is hugely influential but doesn't definethe state - possibly because it wasn't instrumental in its inception.The idea of Islam defines the state, but at the same time it remains avague concept that the people who call the shots don't agree on. That'sa problem but also an opportunity for Pakistan. Those who say Islam isall about fighting Kafirs can't completely...

The Critic as a Useful Enemy

by Conor Friedersdorf

Reihan Salam has nice things to say about Will Wilkinson:

Will is one of the best, most trenchant libertarian critics of U.S. conservatives and conservatism. He's the kind of thinker who keeps you on your toes by identifying and dismantling muddled thinking. I happen to think there's something to be said for incompletely theorized agreements and muddling through, which is why we don't always see eye to eye. But I know that engaging with Will's work has made me sharper...

Real Life Illustrations

by Zoe Pollock

This week BBC reported that, according to a new police-department probe, in 1972 "the police, the
Catholic Church and the state conspired to cover up a priest's suspected
role" in an IRA bombing that killed nine people, including an 8 year old girl. Connecting it to the continuing controversy over the Cordoba mosque, Commonweal's Mollie Wilson O'Reilly asks:

On one level, it's the same dynamic we've seen revealed in the sex-abuse scandal applied to a different crime. But it's...

Where The Rich Live

by Patrick Appel

Dylan Matthews looks at the distribution of high earners across the country, which prompts Reihan to sound off on dual-earner families. I'm with Joyner:

[Reihan:] points to a posting by Gothamist's Jen Carlson ("Think You're Making $250K In Manhattan? Think Again")which notes that a "lifestyle that would cost $250,000 in Salt LakeCity would cost $545,000 in Manhattan, $261,750 in Miami-Dade, and$405,250 in San Francisco."  That's true if by "lifestyle" you mean"house size and...