Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2635

Codex or Screen?

by Conor Friedersdorf

Alan Jacobs decided to read Infinite Jest.

But darn, that book is big and awkward. Also, it has a lot
of words per page, and per line — understandable, given the novel's
length, but not ideal for readability. And then I started thinking that I
might want to blog about it, and in that case, being able to access
underlined passages online for quick & easy copying & pasting
would be a large plus. . . .

So I bought the Kindle version. All the above problems solved . . ...

"Depressing Because It Is So Persuasive" Ctd

A reader writes:

That clip of Michelle Rhee is definitely inspiring. Her students' success is, without a
doubt, a credit to the time she invested as a teacher. That said,
being straight out of school herself, my guess is that she was unmarried at
the time or had yet to have her own children. What happens when the teacher has a family of her own? Must a teacher
be expected to dedicate so much time when she has to care for her own
family (as well as help them with their own homework)?

Another...

Wasilla Soap Opera Update

by Chris Bodenner

Levi talks to Jimmy Kimmel about his run for mayor.

Arts - Television - Soap opera - Programs - Chris Bodenner

Israel's Central Problem

by Patrick Appel

The intra-Atlantic debate over Jeffery Goldberg's cover story is here. Elsewhere, Ezra Klein's criticizes:

The Israeli government is currently willing to do dangerous things when they involve firepower -- like attacking Iran or bombing Gaza -- but not hard things when they involve fighting domestic battles to restart to the peace process and reverse the settlements. That's a world in which their central problem keeps getting worse, and there is no hope of it getting better...

The View From Your Window

Boulder, Colorado, 8 pm

Colorado - United States - Business and Economy - Law - Prison

Running Towards America, Ctd

by Chris Bodenner

Reihan says Ross' column "captures my feelings almost perfectly."  He offers a unique - and very American - perspective:

I wouldn't say I'm a very religiously observant person, but theobservant Muslims I know best are my parents. Both of my parents havelived in New York city for over thirty years. Both of them worked inthe World Trade Center in the 1980s, when I was a kid. Some of myfondest memories of growing up involve visiting them at work, andwatching the 4th of July...

Anarchy Beneath the Border

by Conor Friedersdorf

The Los Angeles Times has a troubling report from Mexico:

A new word has been written into the lexicon of Mexico's drug war: narco-censorship.

It's when reporters and editors, out of fear or caution, are forced to write what the traffickers want them to write, or to simply refrain from publishing the whole truth in a country where members of the press have been intimidated, kidnapped and killed.

That big shootout the other day near a Reynosa shopping mall? Convoys of gunmen...

A Tunnel On Tracks

by Chris Bodenner

Will Wlizlo takes a glimpse at the future:

The latest, most outlandish transit solution, reports China Hush, is a "straddling bus" (also called a "three-dimensional fast bus") that travels over the tops of automobiles, like a mobile
Commuters board from a station one story above the ground, and when
straddling bus parks to pick up riders—as many as 1200 per
doesn't disrupt the flow of traffic.

The project seemsalmost too good to be true, even though...

Do Prop 8 Proponents Have Standing To Appeal? Ctd

by Patrick Appel

Emily Bazelon warns:

In the end, do we really want gay marriage to become legal in California because of what's essentially a technicality? That seems a highly unsatisfying resolution to what was always billed as an epic case, and it would expose in the left a bit of hypocrisy about standing much as it would the right. Far better would be for the Prop 8 proponents themselves to decide not to bring an appeal. David Barton of the American Family Association has already floated...

"The Gay Subculture Is One Of The Most Violent"

by Chris Bodenner

A peculiar case against allowing gays and lesbians to fight for their country.

Lesbian - Gay Lesbian and Bisexual - Religion and Spirituality - Chris Bodenner - Mailing Lists